# What To Do With This Board?



## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*What To Do With This Board?*

Hey Guys,

My neighbor very generously gave me this board:










It is Luan mahogany, and is: 3/4" x 3 1/2" x 48" (T x W x L)

So, what project should I do with it?

Based on your suggestions, I'll then build the project, and blog the build.

Thanks in advance, and I'm looking forward to it!


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

Mean_Dean said:


> *What To Do With This Board?*
> 
> Hey Guys,
> 
> ...


Dovetailed box.


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## Bogeyguy (Sep 26, 2012)

Mean_Dean said:


> *What To Do With This Board?*
> 
> Hey Guys,
> 
> ...


Paint stirrers.


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

Mean_Dean said:


> *What To Do With This Board?*
> 
> Hey Guys,
> 
> ...


Ok, so box it is!

Though without dovetails.

For a few reasons: First, I don't know how to cut dovetails. Second, I don't have any dovetailing tools, saws, or router guides, and third, I don't want to learn on a nice board like this.

So it's time to draw up a plan, and then off we go!


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

Mean_Dean said:


> *What To Do With This Board?*
> 
> Hey Guys,
> 
> ...


Rip it and make a picture frame.


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## Makarov (Jun 16, 2013)

Mean_Dean said:


> *What To Do With This Board?*
> 
> Hey Guys,
> 
> ...


card box w/ sliding cribbage board top.


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

Mean_Dean said:


> *What To Do With This Board?*
> 
> Hey Guys,
> 
> ...


I like the sliding top idea-I'll incorporate that into the design!


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## Bill_Steele (Aug 29, 2013)

Mean_Dean said:


> *What To Do With This Board?*
> 
> Hey Guys,
> 
> ...


Make a tiny humidor?


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*The Plan*

Hey Guys,

Here's a sketch of the plan for the box:










(Disclaimer: I'm kind of a pencil and paper guy, thus the above sketch. Also, it didn't quite scan correctly, but at least you can see the general idea for the box.)

As you may remember, the board is 3/4" x 3 1/2" x 48". So I've decided to make the box 7"L x 5"W x 1/2"T. Since the board is 48" long, I thought I'd use the first 24" for the carcase of the box, and the remainder for the top, bottom, splines, and feet. The box will consist solely of the wood of the board, with no metal in the construction of the box.

As suggested in the previous installment, I'll make a sliding top/lid. The box will have mitered corners with two splines in each corner, and will have curved feet on each corner as well.

I'll begin the milling process tomorrow (Tuesday, 5/12/15), so if anyone has any suggestions for the plan of the box, you'd better get crack'n! (Sorry, couldn't resist the Tommy Mac vernacular!)

See ya tomorrow!


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*Rough Milling and a Change*

Hey Guys!

I started the milling process today-and discovered that, with the original plan, I didn't have enough wood in the board to make the box. So I modified the plan by making the box dimensions smaller. The box was going to be 7"L x 5"W, but will now be 5 1/2"L x 3 1/2"W.

With the box originally being 5" wide, I would have needed to glue up two smaller pieces to make the top and the bottom. By making the top and bottom 3 1/2" wide (the width of the board itself) I don't need to glue up the top and bottom, reducing the wood needed by half!

I learned to mill stock to its final dimensions via a two-step process. First rough mill the wood to just over its final dimensions, and then sticker overnight. Next day, mill the stock to its final dimensions. This process seems really to keep the wood from moving around after final milling. If the wood moves around overnight after the rough milling, the finish milling will straighten it back out the next day.

Here are photos of the rough mill from today:

Jointing on face flat on the jointer:










Planing the board to about 1/8" oversized in the planer:










Tomorrow is finish milling, and cutting the stock for the box carcase.

See ya then!


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*Cutting the Miters*

Hey Guys!

Well, a short day in the shop today. Lawn's not gonna mow itself…...........!

I laid out the parts on the board, in chalk, so as to get a 3-corner grain match. The grain match will die into a rear corner:










Next, I cut the 45 degree miters on all the box side pieces. I use a Wixey digital angle gauge, and it makes setting precise angles ridiculously easy. Every miter joint I've ever made with it is airtight-man I love this thing!










Tomorrow I'll cut the grooves for the top and bottom, and go from there. See ya then!


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## Alongiron (Jan 10, 2011)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Cutting the Miters*
> 
> Hey Guys!
> 
> ...


Looking forward to it! BTW… I love my cube too! It makes those miters spot on!


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Cutting the Miters*
> 
> Hey Guys!
> 
> ...





> Looking forward to it! BTW… I love my cube too! It makes those miters spot on!
> 
> - Alongiron


Thanks!

Great way to describe it-The Cube!

Just for kicks, one of these days, I'm going to cut a 32-sided round box or something, and see where the limit is on its accuracy. I've cut up to only 8-sided boxes with it, and every miter joint is nuts on.


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*Groov'n!*

Hey Guys!

Today I cut the grooves in the box sides for the top and the bottom. I debated whether to cut the grooves at the router table with a 1/4" straight bit, or on the tablesaw with a full kerf rip blade. I decided it would be quicker and easier to cut them on the tablesaw.

Here are the box sides from yesterday:










I used a Freud full-kerf FTG rip blade to cut the grooves. The FTG feature gives the grooves a nice flat bottom, instead of the sawtooth pattern of my combination blade.

A technician at SawStop told me that Freud blades are slightly smaller in diameter than 10", so whenever I use this blade, I need to adjust the blade brake, and remove the riving knife. The riving knife is just a hair taller than the Freud, so it needs to be removed to cut grooves. This operation is safe because the workpiece is not cut in two.










The grooves need to be 1/4" deep. Awhile back, I learned another technique for the Wixey angle gauge. For 1/4" grooves, take a 1/4" drill bit and lay it a few inches from the blade, and parallel to it. Next take a straightedge and lay it across the drill bit and the sawblade. Zero out the Wixey, on the saw's tabletop, then place it on the straight edge. Raise or lower the blade until the Wixey reads "0.0", and your blade is precisely 1/4" high.










Cut the grooves on the tops and bottoms of the box sides, except the top of the right side. The right side will be 1/2" narrower to accommodate the sliding lid, so it gets a groove only at the bottom. So, I cut all the grooves, slid the fence over 1/8" inch, and cut them to final width.










Tomorrow is milling to size the top and bottom of the box, and cutting the rabbets on their edges to fit into the grooves.

See ya then!


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## kaerlighedsbamsen (Sep 16, 2013)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Groov'n!*
> 
> Hey Guys!
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Looking good! Thanks for sharing this blog


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## BobAnderton (Oct 5, 2010)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Groov'n!*
> 
> Hey Guys!
> 
> ...


I'd like to offer food for thought on your blade height measurement method. If one were to use a caliper to measure be blade height directly they could reasonably expect to be correct to within a thousandth or two. Using the method illustrated above I calculate that with the drill bit 4 inches from the blade you have to raise the saw blade .0698" for every 0.1 degree change in the Wixey angle gauge, that reads to the 0.1 degree. Sine (0.1 degrees) x 4 = .0698. The further the drill bit is away from the blade the poorer the measurement capability of this method. Don't mean to be a negative nellie. Just thought you presented an interesting topic to discuss. It was a clever approach no matter how the math worked out. Ditto on thanks for sharing this blog.


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## BobAnderton (Oct 5, 2010)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Groov'n!*
> 
> Hey Guys!
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Well, heck. Make that .0698" per degree. For every 0.1 degree it would be 6.98 thousandths. Still not as good as one can do measuring the height directly with a caliper, but a lot closer to being in the same neighborhood, huh?


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Groov'n!*
> 
> Hey Guys!
> 
> ...


Bob, thanks for the discussion-that's the whole point of this blog!

And hey, if I'm within 7 thousandths of an inch for a 1/4" groove, using a quick and easy method-I'm not going to lose any sleep over it!

By the way, I thought you guys might like that method!


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*Silly Rabbet!*

Trix are for kids!

Hey Guys!

Trix may be for kids, but rabbets are for grown ups! Got the rabbets cut today on the router table. I used a 3/4" straight bit buried in the fence to cut the 1/4" x 1/4" rabbets.

Another interesting setup guide I use is a 1/4" square dowel. Since it's square, it doesn't roll around like a drill bit will. I used it to set both the height of the bit, and its distance from the fence.



















I cut the endgrain first, so that any tearout would be cleaned up by cutting the long grain, then cut the long grain sides.










Here's how they turned out: (The top is left intentionally long so that I can cut the handle detail later.)










After rabbetting the top and bottom, I dry-fit the box to see how she was coming along.



















A last detail with the box carcase/top interaction is to figure out the best way to attach the small mitered corners, either on the box itself or the top, so the box will look complete when the lid is closed.









That's all for this addition. I'm taking tomorrow (Saturday) off, and will see you back here on Sunday, when I'll cut the lid handle detail, and begin work on the feet. See ya then!


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## wdwrkr631 (Oct 5, 2014)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Silly Rabbet!*
> 
> Trix are for kids!
> 
> ...


Looking good Dean! Are you making the handle from the same piece of wood or are you using an accent wood? Thanks for posting this blog.


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Silly Rabbet!*
> 
> Trix are for kids!
> 
> ...


Brian, thanks for the compliment!

As far as the handle, technically, the entire box must be made from the one board my neighbor gave me, as per the first entry in this blog series.

I'm thinking that I would lay out a curve on the "handle" end of the top, and let it overhang the box by an inch or so, so that you can grasp it to open the lid. If a curve seem boring, let me know any ideas you have!

As for the mitered corner pieces, I'm leaning toward just cutting them to fit, and gluing them to the box carcase itself. But, since it's a endgrain-to-endgrain joint, it won't be very strong. Then again, the joint shouldn't take too much abuse. I just don't like half-assing it like this-I tend to overbuild things, and this joint won't be overbuilt!


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*Put A Lid On It!*

Hey Guys!

Today I worked on the lid, and the feet.

I wanted a curved end for the lid, that overhangs the box by an inch or so. I looked at several radiuses for the curve, from a 1-gallon paint can to a shampoo bottle to a quart can of expired contact cement. I liked the contact cement can best, and laid out the curve.









Next, I cut the curve on the bandsaw, then sanded it smooth on the oscillating spindle sander.


















Then I needed to notch out the curved end of the lid, so that the tongues on the sides of the lid didn't stick out past the sides of the box when the lid was fully closed.

Donald Rumsfeld famously quipped that "You go to war with the army you have." Well, I notched the lid with the only suitable saw I had-a flush-cut handsaw. (Someday, when I win the lottery, I'm gonna get a good dovetail saw…......!)


















Once the lid was finished for now, I began work on the feet.

From the tail end of the original board my neighbor gave me, I ripped 3 workpieces, 3/4" x 3/4" from which to make the feet. I use a featherboard when ripping narrow strips to keep the workpiece tight against the fence so all I have to do is concentrate on not getting my pushstick chewed up by the blade









Then I cut all the feet 1 1/4" long, with a 45 degree miter cut. 









I then sanded the curves in the show sides of the feet on the oscillating spindle sander.










Well, that's all for today. As Norm would say, "We're gaining on it!"

Tomorrow, I'll build a jig to notch out the workpiece with the miters on each end, to cover up the exposed miters on the lid handle end of the box. Time permitting, I'll notch out that workpiece.

See ya then!


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*The Fix Is In*

Hey Guys!

Well, a short day in the shop today.

As you may remember, when I cut the right side piece of the box to its correct height, it left the tongues and grooves exposed on that side. With the cutoff piece, I needed to notch out the cutoff to make room for the tongues of the lid to slide through when the lid is slid open.










In order to notch the cutoff piece, I made a jig to accomplish that safely.










I then notched the cutoff piece by making a couple of passes over the router bit with it in the jig. I actually made the notches wider than I had intended, but as it turns out, the size of the notches doesn't matter. 









After the box is glued up, this cutoff piece will be glued on the lid handle end, and then the middle portion of it will be cut away so the lid can slide in and out. Since the middle will be removed, the wider than intended notches will be cut away with it! It's always nice when your screw-ups don't matter!

The next steps are to finish sand the interior sides of the box, and stain the bottom piece, in preparation for gluing the box together. I'm going to make two test pieces to help choose the finished color of the box, and all of that will be next time!

See ya then!


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*Sanding and Staining and Glueing -- Oh My!*

Hey Guys!

Well, I got a little more time in the shop today, and got a little more work done!

First, I sanded the interior surfaces of the box sides and botttom. It's much easier to do this before the box is assembled. I started with 120 grit, then 150, and 220. Tage Frid said woodworkers sand too much, so I'm trying to cut down a little. I eliminated the 180 grit…......!










Next, I used the cutoff from the lid as a test board for 2 different coloring methods. First was mahogany-tinted Danish oil, second was Darrell Peart's Greene & Greene stain formula.

The Danish oil:









Greene & Greene stain formula:









The lighting in my shop doesn't seem to do justice to the colors in the photos. But, after seeing both in real life, I much prefer the look of the Greene & Green stain formula. It's gonna look great underneath the finish!

Since the stain is water-based, the procedure is to raise the grain, sand it back, and then repeat this process. That way, the water-based stain won't raise the grain very much when the stain is applied.

Lastly, I glued the feet pieces together. With their odd shapes, a rubber band turned out to be the best way to clamp them.

















That's all for today. Tomorrow, I'll prep the box interiors for stain, then stain the bottom piece, and prepare for glue up!

See ya then!


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*Glued Up!*

Hey Guys!

Well today was a big day! But more on that later.

I started off by prepping the interior surfaces for the stain they'll receive later. It's a lot easier to do this before the box is assembled!

Here are all the components of the staining and glue-up process:










Next, I stained the already prepped bottom. Once the stain was dry, it was time to glue up the box carcase

First, I laid out all the parts, in the order that they comprise the box sides. Then I put them up against a straightedge to keep them lined up when I applied the blue painter's tape that I'm using to clamp the box together.


















I started applying the glue, and the race was on! Of course, this Elmer's yellow glue has 18 minutes of open time, so I guess it wasn't that much of a horse race after all.

After getting the bottom into place, it was just a matter of folding the box sides around it, and taping the box together. Then I checked it for square, by measuring the diagonals-and it was dead on.









I also checked that the lid still fit, and it did. Don't laugh-I've had things fit perfectly on the dry-fit, and not very well after the glue-up!

So, a big day today! the box is in one piece. And believe me brothers and sisters, one piece is a good piece to be in!









Tomorrow, I'll get the trim piece glued on, and start prepping the rest of the box for staining.

See ya then!


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*Spline-al Tap*

Hey Guys!

Well, I goofed up a bit with the end of yesterday's entry. I forgot that the next step in the process is the splines procedure, so that's what we're doing today!

But first, I got the end-piece glued onto the box, at the lid handle end. It didn't come out perfectly, as there is a small gap showing, which you will see in a later photo, due to the kerf of the blade, when I cut this piece free. I didn't take the kerf into account, and that's a mistake. But I'll not make that one again!










So, without further adieu, on to the splines!

I made a spline-cutting jig awhile back, to cut spline slots in boxes with 90-degree corners. The jig has an aluminum runner on the bottom of its fence, so it rides in the miter slot. I did this so that the jig wasn't dependent on the tablesaw's fence to keep the jig's kerf in the exact same spot always.

















I made a story stick to locate the spline slots on the box carcase. The story stick is the same height as the box sides, and contains the layout for the spline slots. It's far faster and easier to use the story stick to set the location of the jig's stop block than trying to use the box itself!









So, using the story stick, I set the stop block for the first spline slot location.









I then placed the box in the jig, and set the blade height. The higher the blade, the deeper and wider the spline slot will be.









After everything was ready to go, I cut the spine slots.









I lowered the blade for the second set of spline slots, making them narrower when viewing the box. I like having wider and narrower spline slots on boxes, as it adds visual interest.










Then, using some already planed spline stock, glued the splines into the slots. The Freud rip blade, that I used in a previous installment of the blog, cuts a kerf exactly 1/8". My planer planes all the way down to exactly 1/8", so after cutting the spline slots, and planing the splnes, the splines fit into the slots perfectly.










In this photo, you can also see the end piece I glued on at the beginning of this installment. You can see the small gap between the bottom of the end piece, and the top of the box side. At this stage, I have cut away the middle section of the end piece, that I had left on to aid in gluing it on.

Because the splines will show endgrain, they will pick up more of the stain, and will appear a little darker when stained. That should provide a subtle contrast with the rest of the box.

Well, that's all for today. Tomorrow I have to help a friend move, and it'll be an all-day event! So our next installment will be Saturday, where I'll cut away the spline waste, and see what other trouble I can get into!

See ya then!


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## BobAnderton (Oct 5, 2010)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Spline-al Tap*
> 
> Hey Guys!
> 
> ...


I like that tip of setting up the spline jig using the story stick. I've always used marks on the box itself and it's hard to tell when you've got those marks on top of the slot in the spline jig. Good one.


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## MrFid (Mar 9, 2013)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Spline-al Tap*
> 
> Hey Guys!
> 
> ...


The volume goes to 11 on your box it looks like.


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Spline-al Tap*
> 
> Hey Guys!
> 
> ...


Bob, I'm glad you found the tip useful! I can't take credit for it, though, as I found it in a box-making book!

The next installment of the blog will be today. It was supposed to be yesterday, but I was too sore and tired from moving my friend. But we're back to work today!


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*Top to Bottom Review*

Hey Guys!

Sorry to have gotten off schedule, but I helped move a friend on Friday, and was too tired and sore to work on the box yesterday. Left the house at 9am, didn't get back home until Midnight…......

But today's a new day, and there's progress to report!

First I stained the lid. Gave it three coats of Darrell Peart's Greene & Greene stain formula.









Next, I flush trimmed the splines on the box carcase. I used the flush-trim saw from a previous installment, this time using it for its intended purpose…....!










Next, I sanded the splines smooth, starting with 100 grit, then 120, 150, and 220.









Since the box carcase was now finish sanded, I needed to wet it, sand back the raised grain, then repeat this process one more time, in preparation for staining.

The last step for today is gluing on the feet.










Once they're glued on, the box carcase/feet assembly will be ready for staining! After that will be finishing!

We'll get to the staining, and deciding on either clear or amber shellac tomorrow.

See ya then!


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*Stained*

Hey Guys!

Well happy Memorial Day to everyone! If you value your freedom, remember to thank a Veteran!

So, before the bbq, I got the stain on the box. It's getting 3 coats of Darrell Peart's Greene & Greene dye formula.









You can see from the photo above that the splines picked up a bit more of the stain, as intended, than the rest of the box.

Next, I retrieved the cutoff piece from the lid, which already has been stained, and used it as a sample board to test two shades of shellac, clear and amber.









As you can see from the photo above, there is virtually no difference in the color of the two shades of shellac. As the clear is already thinned to a 1 1/2 pound cut, I'll just use it. Shellac is used on the inside of boxes because it has no odor, unlike polyurethane! So I'm going to finish the entire box with shellac.

But that's tomorrow!

See ya then!


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

*Finished!*

Hey Guys!

Well, she's all done!

But first things first…...

As we discussed in the last installment, I decided to use clear shellac, as opposed to amber shellac, since I couldn't see any difference in the two shades on the test board I made up earlier. I chose to finish the box with shellac as it has no odor to it once it's cured, unlike oil-based finishes like polyurethane.

I applied the first coat, and let it dry for 2 hours.









The box surface after the first coat was pretty rough, so I sanded it smooth with 320 grit.









I've learned that any finish will raise the grain, some more than others, even oil-based. Shellac is thinned with denatured alcohol, and does raise the grain. Less than water-based, but more than oil-based.

After sanding the first coat smooth, I applied two more coats, at 2-hour intervals, sanding between coats. Shellac dries at gloss sheen (I've never seen any other sheen in the can other than gloss.) On previous projects, I've knocked back the sheen with 0000 steel wool, but on this box, I kinda like the gloss!

So, here she is, in all her glossy glory!










I enjoyed this blog, (my first one ever!), and I hope you did, too!

Thanks to everyone who followed along, and commented-I really appreciate it!

Until next time,


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## CFrye (May 13, 2013)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Finished!*
> 
> Hey Guys!
> 
> ...


Nicely done, both the blog and the box, Dean. Thanks for taking the time and sharing. Spline jig is on the To Do List.


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## Mean_Dean (Oct 13, 2009)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Finished!*
> 
> Hey Guys!
> 
> ...


Thanks, Candy!

When you build your spine jig, I highly recommend putting an aluminum runner on the bottom of the "fence." If you try to use the tablesaw's fence, you'll never quite get the jig's kerf in the exact same spot every time. The runner assures that the kerf will never move, so that you can align your story stick precisely.

Some lessons I've just had to learn the hard way….......!


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## CFrye (May 13, 2013)

Mean_Dean said:


> *Finished!*
> 
> Hey Guys!
> 
> ...


Thanks for the insight, Dean. The plans I have are for a box making sled-jig-thing from The Ultimate Table Saw Book (or something to that effect). I already have the cross cut sled part finished, just have to add the bells and whistles.


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