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42K views 290 replies 44 participants last post by  DavePolaschek 
#1 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
 

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#2 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
That is an awesome addition to the shop Dave. I really need to look into getting better with hand tools. I have a few planes but always struggle setting them up and tuning them to be effective.
 

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#3 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
As long as the planes have got mechanical adjusters, the biggest thing is getting them sharp. I find it pretty easy to tweak the adjuster to get the thickness of shaving I want, but if I have to tappy-tap with a hammer, I'm sunk.

If you need to practice, use poplar. It's cheap, and pretty damned friendly to hand tools, in my experience. Pine is a pain in the ass because of the varying hardness between early and late growth. Oak has huge pores that make it a challenge. Poplar is just a darned easy utility wood.
 

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#4 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Those are really cool devices Dave. Thanks for posting some pics.
 

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#5 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.



This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.



It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.



But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.



Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Glad to, Duck. When I first heard about them, i was trying to figure out what they looked like and there weren't a lot of pictures of them showing how they worked. And they're pretty dang cool, I think.
 

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#6 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
I give you a lot of credit with your adventurous road on hand tools. Never too late to learn and they give you a good feeling. These days for me are whatever is the easiest. haha. Fine job on the miter.
 

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#7 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Thanks, Dave. I sometimes think about easier ways. Looked at bandsaw prices for a while the other day, after some particularly gruesome resawing misadventures (the board was too wide for my frame saw so I had to use a bow saw, which wandered) that'll cost me about half the wood I could've possibly gotten out of a nice piece of white oak.

But I'll hang in there, and keep learning new things. I've got an idea for something I want to try for the box swap that's turning out to be a real challenge. I figured out how I'd do it with a router in minutes, but I'm still stuck on exactly what I need in a jig for an all hand tool approach. Oh well, that's what plan B is for. And the miter jack will play a big part in plan B. :)
 

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#8 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Dave, have you thought about a mitre jack saw and a mitre plane?
 

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#9 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Kevin, I'm working on a miter plane. Dovetailed infilled brass and steel. Very slow going at this point, as I've plenty of wood projects to keep me busy, but I'll start tongue & grooving the shoe of the plane together later this spring. Still working on sourcing an adjuster, but I think I have all the other pieces parts I'll need.

As for the saw, I've given Mark down at Bad Axe a fair amount of money in the past year, but haven't bought a jack saw. We'll see.
 

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#10 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.



This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.



It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.



But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.



Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Dave, you have more ambition than I.

My set
 

Attachments

#11 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Nice! Looks like they've been used, too.

I'm not sure about the ambition. More likely I just don't know what I'm getting myself into. Or as Red Green says, "I either have a plan, or I'm an idiot."
 

Attachments

#12 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
I am a member of the Possum Lodge, have the duct tape to prove it!
 

Attachments

#13 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Then you are well acquainted with the land of "How hard could it be?" ;-)
 

Attachments

#14 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
I sent Mark at Bad Axe an email this morning asking what he'd charge for a plate for a miter jack saw. We'll see what he says. Worst case, I end up ordering a Great Neck off Amazon like Agent Twitch does and attacking it with tools.
 

Attachments

#15 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
One question to ask is what kind of file/set to use. At one time I think there was a special way to file mitre jack saws.
 

Attachments

#16 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Yeah, Kevin. My best guess is that it's filed crosscut, and either filed as a flush-cut saw (no set on one side) or the backing plate is thick enough that the set doesn't hit the miter jack. Also flush-set screws on the side that rides on the jack.
 

Attachments

#17 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Excellent show. I love to see these being used for something besides book ends!
 

Attachments

#18 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Hey, I didn't think to see if you had a miter jack saw in stock, Don. Any chance you might have such an odd duck laying around?
 

Attachments

#19 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Hey, I didn't think to see if you had a miter jack saw in stock, Don. Any chance you might have such an odd duck laying around?

- Dave Polaschek
no such luck.
 

Attachments

#20 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Ah well. Doesn't hurt to ask.

Next old tool on the shopping list will likely be a post drill, but there's a guy here in MN with a couple dozen of those, so I'll likely shop locally for that.
 

Attachments

#21 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
i can find them fairly easy, but shipping would kill the deal, and anybody local can find them as easy as I can. I have two. I have one i need to get cleaned up and working.
 

Attachments

#22 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood Font


This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.

Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Plank Wood stain


But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Dave, the underside of my saw.

Brown Wood Rectangle Floor Wood stain
 

Attachments

#23 ·
Miter Jack

A few months ago, I bought a miter jack, thinking that I would need to be making some 45 degree miters for the upcoming box swap. Since then, I've changed my plans for what I'm going to build (I got better at dovetails, mostly) and might not be doing miters, but figured that I would play with my miter jack a little before I get started on the box construction for the swap. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little procrastination?

For those who aren't familiar, a miter jack is basically a vise with angled jaws. I've read of ones that have both 45 and 60 degree angles, but the one I found on eBay just had 45 and 90. That's probably just as well. I don't plan on making hexagonal boxes. And the 90 will mean I don't have to dig out my shooting board as often.



This morning, while waiting for oil to dry on another project, I set it up and took it for a spin. I clamped a piece of ½"x6" poplar in the jaws, got out my jack plane (pretty sure the jacks aren't related) and started removing wood.



It works pretty well. One thing I need to watch out for is some spelching if I don't chamfer the far end, but that mostly gets trimmed away when I get down to level with the jaws. The other is that if I'm not paying attention, I can end up planing off a bit of the miter jack, which might change the angle from a perfect 45°︎ over time. Shouldn't be too tough to avoid though, and I can see where previous owners have dinged up the jaws a little.



But if I do my part, it looks like creating near-perfect miters is pretty easy. Here are my two test pieces of poplar, just standing up next to each other on the bench. That's a good enough miter that I should be able to make a nice box corner with almost no extra tuning. And while it's basically just another configuration of shooting board, having it be a vise means that I don't need a bunch of extra hands to hold the piece I'm working on.



Finally, my square says that's 90 degrees. It's just the photograph that looks a little off because of the extreme close-up.

Bob Summerfield wrote a good post on sharpening a saw for use with a miter jack
Thanks, Kevin. That's about what I figured. Wasn't sure if it was screws or some fancy saw nuts.
 

Attachments

#24 ·
Little froe and doweling plate

I put a handle on a big froe last year, but I've been wanting to make my own dowels lately, and that's too big for splitting off small chunks of wood for dowels. So I asked my friend Jeff for a smaller tool. The result was this little froe.

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain Metal


When combined with a doweling plate from Lie-Nielsen, I can split a piece of oak or ash off a scrap, run it down the sizes to 3/16" and trim it to length in under ten minutes. I did a half-dozen this evening to peg the French cleat into my rasp and file till in under an hour, and that included the time to drill six 3/16" holes, too.

Wood Gas Font Metal Auto part
 

Attachments

#25 ·
Little froe and doweling plate

I put a handle on a big froe last year, but I've been wanting to make my own dowels lately, and that's too big for splitting off small chunks of wood for dowels. So I asked my friend Jeff for a smaller tool. The result was this little froe.

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain Metal


When combined with a doweling plate from Lie-Nielsen, I can split a piece of oak or ash off a scrap, run it down the sizes to 3/16" and trim it to length in under ten minutes. I did a half-dozen this evening to peg the French cleat into my rasp and file till in under an hour, and that included the time to drill six 3/16" holes, too.

Wood Gas Font Metal Auto part
Sweet! It's nice to have a blacksmith as a friend. I wish I was in closer proximity to my cousin Erin in Maryland … one of the best blacksmiths I know!
 

Attachments

#31 ·
Mirror for cutting dovetails

As I attempt to get better at dovetails, one of the things that frustrated me was that I was continually cutting the back side either too low or too high. If I stop cutting to look around the back, I've changed my position, and it takes me a stroke or two to get everything lined up again and that can cause troubles.

So I got a great little tool for $6 at the drug store. A folding stand mirror I can set up behind the dovetail I'm cutting so I can see the back side of the cut without changing position. It's made a huge difference in getting my initial cuts to the line without crossing over.

Wood Wood stain Flooring Floor Hardwood
 

Attachments

#32 ·
Mirror for cutting dovetails

As I attempt to get better at dovetails, one of the things that frustrated me was that I was continually cutting the back side either too low or too high. If I stop cutting to look around the back, I've changed my position, and it takes me a stroke or two to get everything lined up again and that can cause troubles.

So I got a great little tool for $6 at the drug store. A folding stand mirror I can set up behind the dovetail I'm cutting so I can see the back side of the cut without changing position. It's made a huge difference in getting my initial cuts to the line without crossing over.

Wood Wood stain Flooring Floor Hardwood
Dave, That's a very handy tip! I'm quite sure I can benefit, as well as, many others of us who struggle with the problem.. Thanks.
 

Attachments

#45 ·
Scratch stock

Wood Rectangle Natural material Gadget Communication Device


Not quite a project, but definitely a handy tool. While making the box for the 2018 box swap, I decided I needed to add a little ornamentation, so I built a scratch stock to put a bead along the edge of some of the pieces. Because there were concave curves to follow, I needed to make the end rounded (I used a 1/2" radius to match the curved pieces I'd made). Then I cut the wood in half, stuck in a piece of steel filed to a profile I liked, and screwed the wood back together.

Here's a test piece I did in some walnut to see if I could follow a curve and to get a little practice before starting to use it for real.

Automotive tire Wood Grey Building Trunk


I can pull out the blade and make at least three more profiles on it, and I can adjust it in and out, depending on what I need. Turns out to be a darned handy tool.
 

Attachments

#46 ·
Scratch stock

Wood Rectangle Natural material Gadget Communication Device


Not quite a project, but definitely a handy tool. While making the box for the 2018 box swap, I decided I needed to add a little ornamentation, so I built a scratch stock to put a bead along the edge of some of the pieces. Because there were concave curves to follow, I needed to make the end rounded (I used a 1/2" radius to match the curved pieces I'd made). Then I cut the wood in half, stuck in a piece of steel filed to a profile I liked, and screwed the wood back together.

Here's a test piece I did in some walnut to see if I could follow a curve and to get a little practice before starting to use it for real.

Automotive tire Wood Grey Building Trunk


I can pull out the blade and make at least three more profiles on it, and I can adjust it in and out, depending on what I need. Turns out to be a darned handy tool.
Agreed, very handy tool. I'd consider it a project, you made a tool. It's functional and works as intended. Nice work.
 

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