Tools, jigs and accessories | Syzygy Woodworks

May 17, 2013May 17, 2013

Quick and Easy Crosscut Sled

I built a crosscut sled many years ago and it has seen a lot of use. However, I have always wanted another crosscut sled set up with the table saw blade tilted to 45 degrees. Although the blade is titled, the principles behind the crosscut sled and its making are exactly the same if the blade were set at 90 degrees. It is a quick and easy project and will provide a jig which you will use in projects over and over again. A very useful addition to your workshop.

The image above shows the materials needed for construction of the crosscut sled.

A sheet of 1/2″ MDF cut to 2′ x 3′.
Two strips of hard maple sized to fit snugly in the miter gauge slots.
A piece of hard maple approximately 1″x 3″ x 12″ for the bridge. This will not really act as a fence, it is solely there to help keep the two halves of the sled together at the front.
A piece of hard maple approximately 1 1/2″ x 2 x 24″ for the fence. It is important that this piece is jointed so that it is perfectly straight.

Set a couple of washers in the miter gauge slots so that the runners are raised slightly above the surface of the table saw. Set the table saw fence at 18″ and lower the blade completely.

Run a thin bead of glue on each runner. Then butt the MDF against the table saw fence and slowly lower it down onto the runners. Using appropriately sized nails, tack the MDF sheet to the runners in a couple of spots.

The MDF sheet can know be lifted up with the runners in place and flipped upside down. Drill, countersink and screw the runners to the sheet from the underside.

Drill and countersink pilot holes for the bridge and the fence. Drill the holes for the fence slightly oversize. Be careful to position these holes so that they are well clear of the table saw blade!

Clamp the fence to the front edge of the sled and attach it with the screws. Also screw the bridge in place at the front of the sled.

Set the table saw blade to 45 degrees. If you are making a regular cross cut sled, then check the blade is at 90 degrees at this point.

Run the sled through the blade and establish a kerf. If you always use the same blade with the sled then this will be a zero clearance kerf supporting the work on the underside and preventing tear out.

The screws on the fence are now loosened slightly and the fence is set so that it is straight and at right angles to the saw kerf. As you can see, my wooden mallet has been well used since I made it.

This was just a test piece from some scrap plywood. It shows how I will be making the tissue box cover. I was pleased with the results. The vertical cuts were all square to the base of the box and all the miter joints fitted together perfectly.

I mentioned in the previous post how I planned on decorating the tissue box cover with some wood turning. The image is a teaser shot showing where I’m going with that.

April 2, 2013April 2, 2013

Silver solder a bandsaw blade

To my mind, one of the biggest factors in getting a good cut on a bandsaw is a sharp blade. Things like blade tension, blade guide set up etc are all important, but if the blade is not sharp you will have tracking problems, the blade will wander within the cut and you will have to force the wood through the cut. However, at $20 and up for a blade it is always tempting to use the blade long past when it should have been sharpened or replaced.

For years I have thought about the convenience and cost savings of making my own blades up. I always hesitated, worried that it would be difficult or involve expensive welding equipment. Well a couple of months ago, inspired by a Popular Woodworking article by John Wilson, I took the plunge and ordered a Bandsaw Blade Splicing Kit from Lee Valley and 100 foot coil of Lenox Flexback bandsaw blade, and started making my own blades up. I have been surprised at how quick and easy it is. The shop made blades are far cheaper as well, about $8 per blade. My only regret is that I didn’t start doing this years ago.

The image below shows everything that I use to make up the blades.

100 foot coil of bandsaw blade stock.
Bandsaw blade splicing kit including the jib, flux and ribbon silver solder. (Note: this is silver solder, not soft solder that is used for plumbing)
Propane torch.
Gloves.
Toothpick to apply the flux 🙂

First, measure and mark the blade. The blades for my bandsaw need to be 105″. Add about an 1/8″ of an inch to allow for the scarf overlap.

Cut the blade at that mark.

Hold the two ends back to back and touch them to the grinder to square them off. If you are off by a degree or so the fact that the ends were back to back will cancel that out. (This is a similar principle to joint two pieces of lumber at the same time.) You can also use a belt sander to square the ends of the blade and grind the bevel for the scarf joint.

Set the blade in the jig to double check the joints are square when the blade is aligned in a straight line.

Change the grinder platform angle to approximately 25 degrees and grind a bevel on each end. The bevel needs to be about an 1/8″ long. Note, you need to grind the bevel on opposite faces of the blade.

The image and diagram show the beveled edges. The joint is open here to try show the bevel. The joint needs to be closed tight when the flux and solder are applied and the joint is soldered together.

Place some of the flux on each bevel. Cut a piece of the ribbon silver solder the same length as the blade is wide and place it in the joint.

Using the propane torch, heat the blade until the silver solder melts and flows. The blade turns red hot at this point.

Allow the joint to cool. The metal has become hardened and brittle by the heat of the soldering, so it needs to be annealed. Back the torch away from the blade and apply heat for a few seconds, allow the blade to cool for about ten seconds, then back the torch away another inch and apply a couple more seconds heat, repeat this four or five times, drawing the torch back each time.

If the blade breaks during use, then have a look at where it broke. If it breaks at the joint, then insufficient flux or heat was applied during the soldering process. If it breaks within a coupe inches of the joint, then the blade was not annealed properly. If it breaks somewhere else, then the problem was not with the soldering of the joint.

Once the blade has cooled the joint needs to be filed smooth. Both sides of the blade and the back edge of the blade need to be filed and the surplus flux and metal removed.

The finished joint. One final note, check the orientation of the blade before you put it on the bandsaw. You may need to twist the blade inside out to get it orientated correctly. It needs to be orientated with the teeth facing toward you and pointing down.

March 24, 2013March 24, 2013

Panther Chainsaw Mill

I have been wanting to get some form of portable mill for a long time now. Portable mills can be divided into two categories, bandsaw mills and chainsaw mills. After much research, I finally settled on a chainsaw mill. My reasons for this were as follows:

Cost. An entry-level chainsaw mill costs a couple hundred dollars (not including the chainsaw), while an entry-level bandsaw mill costs a couple thousand.
Portability. The chainsaw mill is obviously considerably smaller than a bandsaw mill and so has the edge on portability.
Width of cut. Achieving a wider cut with a chainsaw mill is simply a matter of putting on a longer bar, assuming you have the power head to run it. A wider cut with a bandsaw mill starts to mean a much bigger and more expensive mill.
Waste. While the waste due to the kerf of a chainsaw is considerably more than that of a bandsaw, this was not really a major factor for me. I don’t plan on milling a huge amount of wood and I am milling the wood for my personal use, not for resale. Also the vast majority of the wood I will be milling will be reclaimed wood and won’t cost me anything so a little bit wasted due to the thicker kerf is not a big deal.
Ease of use. The bandsaw mill requires a whole lot less effort to use. Again, due to the limited amount of milling I will be doing, breaking a sweat with the chainsaw mill occasionally is not going to be a big deal.

Having decided on a chainsaw mill I needed to decide on which model/brand. Taking into account many of the reasons above I decided to get an Alaskan Chainsaw style mill. I was all set to purchase one of the original Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mills when I came across the Panther Chainsaw Mill. Looking through the website and searching for reviews of the mill I liked what I saw and placed my order for the Panther Mill II, along with a 6′ slabbing rail and an auxiliary oiler.

I knew that the mill was made by a small outfit, a guy based here in Florida on the other side of the state. I also read that delivery was not always quickest as the mills were made to order. I was in no hurry so that didn’t bother me. My mill actually took just over a month to arrive. I called about the order two weeks after it was placed and received an apology that he had some health issues. Another call two weeks later and I was told the mill was in production and would be shipped shortly. A couple of days later it arrived. It would have been nice to have received an email about the delay but at the end of the day it wasn’t that big of an issue.

The following are my first impressions of the mill. Actually they are also my first impressions of milling in general. This is a totally new area to me. I have done a lot of research into it, but today was the first time I’ve seen any sort of mill in real life. So bear that in mind while reading, I’m just getting started with this!

Opening the box, I saw the contents had been well packaged and it was obvious from the outset that the mill had been built well and by someone who cared about what he was doing. Just lying in the box it looked rock solid. No buyers remorse at all, I was very pleased with what I saw.

As well as the obligatory warning page, a couple of pages of assembly and use instructions had been included. They were well written and it seemed like I wouldn’t have much problem putting the mill together. It would have been nice to have had a couple more detail shots, but between the pictures and written instructions it was easy enough to figure out.

The first step was to attach the skid bar to the main body and bar clamp/height adjuster. The later came in two halves and each had already been assembled.

Next I needed to attach the push bar to the main body.

Finally I could loosen the bar clamps and slide the chainsaw into place.

Here are a couple of detail shots of the bar clamps at the tip of the bar and near the power head.

Two big bolts, one on each side of the main body, allow for the height adjustment. I initially set the assembly for an 8/4 cut.

A couple of technical specifications. I am a running a Stihl MS066 power head with a 32″ bar. I got it used on eBay from a guy in Canada. The mill is the Panther Mill II 42″, so I have the option of putting a longer bar on the chainsaw at some point in the future. The chain is a regular chain, not a ripping chain. I may be mistaken, but I did read that all a ripping chain does is provide a smoother cut. I’m not sure if it puts less stress on the chainsaw. As a lot of the wood I’ll be milling will end up on the lathe, I’m not really concerned about getting as smooth a cut as possible.

Now that it was fully assembled and all the bolts double checked it was time to head outside and put it to the test. I had been saving a log of maple for this occasion, it had probably been in my shop for about four to six months. The first step was to screw the slabbing rail to the log. This was going to provide a level and straight platform to register the first cut from.

Here are some action shots of the first cut in progress. I got a bit caught up in the moment and totally forgot to put my hearing protection on! Just left the headphones lying off to the side, my bad. Unfortunately I also miscalculated by about a quarter-inch the depth of the screws fixing the slabbing rail to the log. This after specifically reading in the instructions to watch out for this. Lesson learned. The chain was dulled by the brief contact with the screws as I realized my mistake and definitely made the cut a lot more work than it needed to be.

In spite of my rookie mistakes, the cut came out really well, and removing the slabbing rail revealed a smooth surface in the spalted maple. Here in Florida the challenge is often how to get the wood not to spalt!

Having removed the slabbing rail, the smooth freshly cut surface now provides a platform to register the next cut from. All subsequent cuts are now registered from the previous cut. I did realize to that I needed to adjust the height before the second cut as the depth had increased due to the slabbing rail not being used. Here are some action shots of the second cut.

The instructions had warned of a big grin after cutting your first slab. They were right!

All in all I’m really pleased with my purchase. I plan on using it to mill wood but for my woodturning, platters, bowl blanks, hollow form blanks and wall hangings, as well as my woodworking goal of making natural edge slab tables. I think it will work very well for what I intend to use it for.

September 13, 2010

Cutting a round log on the bandsaw

I love the smell of cedar in my workshop!

A friend gave me a couple of freshly cut cedar logs recently. The logs were fairly small diameter, about 5″ and the pith was offset quite a bit to one side. I cut the logs into 2′ lengths using my chainsaw, but did not want to split the logs using my chainsaw. I knew I would get cleaner, more accurate cuts with my bandsaw and would waste far less of the wood. I needed a safe way to cut the round logs on the bandsaw.

This is the simple jig I put together. Two pieces of scrap plywood with a couple of supporting triangular brackets.

The log is then screwed to the jig at the front and back of the jig. I made sure that the screws went into waste wood.

Set the bandsaw fence making sure that you will not be cutting through the screws! Because the log is screwed to the jig, it will prevent the log rotating while it is being cut.

Once a flat surface is established, cutting the log into spindle stock is fairly straightforward.

The end results. A bunch of 2″ to 2 1/2″ spindle stock with some beautiful color. Ready for the end grain to be sealed and then stacked and stickered to dry.

August 19, 2010

Installing Concealed Hinges

Installing concealed hinges can be a pretty simple process, even using a hand held drill, with the help of a jig. The Rockler Concealed Hinge JIG works really well at positioning the Forstner bit, as well as holding it square to the door frame surface and finally controlling the depth of the hole. Of course, if you have a drill press with a good fence and large enough table then that will work just as well.

The first step is to mark the center line of where the hinge will be positioned. Then position the jig using the alignment arrows and clamp it in place. Note: the clamp is on the underside, or show face of the door. You can’t see it in the following picture and I didn’t take a picture showing it. Sorry, my bad.

Set the stop collar on the bit guide so the bit drills to the correct depth. I like to drill a test hole in a scrap piece of wood and make sure the hole is deep enough to allow the hinge to fit in without bottoming out.

The bit guide is then positioned over the alignment plate. The wide circumference of the bit guide ensures that the bit is held square to the work surface, important when drilling with a large Forstner bit. As the bit guide fits over the alignment plate it also stops the bit from wandering.

After placing the hinge in the hole, check that the back of the hinge is parallel to the frame using a square.

Use a self centering bit to drill pilot holes for the hinge screws.

August 9, 2010

Shelf Pin Jig

I am busy working on a commission for a couple of base cabinets and a bookcase to be used as part of a TV display area. The cabinets require adjustable shelves which requires a quick and accurate way to drill/bore a series of holes on the inside walls of each cabinet, front and back. As each shelf sits on a pair of pins each side of the cabinet, the holes need to be level relative to each other for the shelf to be level. As with many things in woodworking, the best way to accomplish this consistency is with a jig.

A quick search on the internet for “drilling shelf pin holes” will result in many hits showing how to build and use a jig to drill the shelf pin holes using a hand held drill. There are even commercial jigs available. I prefer to use a plunge router to bore the holes. The work proceeds faster and the high speed of the router produces a cleaner hole. Also, as the weight of the router is supported by the workpiece, I find it less tiring than holding a drill. Often when drilling holes for shelf support pins you have to do a couple of hundred at a time, so these factors are important.

The jig that I use is made from a scrap piece of pine which I re-sawed and planed to 3/8″ thick. 1/2″ thick MDF or plywood would work just as well. The pine was ripped to 3 1/2″ wide and is just over 60″ long. A line was drawn down the middle of the board and then a series of marks at 2 1/2″ intervals were marked out along that line. The marks start and end approximately 9″ from each end of the board. A 3/8″ hole is then drilled at each mark and a slight counter sink at each hole. The counter sink is just to make it easier to locate the router collar in the hole. Take care to make sure the counter sink is not deeper than the depth of your collar, the collar needs to be supported by the walls of the 3/8″ hole.

Mark one end of the board “top” and the other end of the board “bottom”. This will make it easy to ensure that you are always referencing from the bottom of the cabinet wall. Then line the side of the jig up with the side of the cabinet wall and clamp it in place.

I use 1/4″ shelf pin supports, so I mount a 1/4″ spiral upcut bit in my router along with a 3/8″ collar. Set the plunge depth of the router so that the bit extends 3/8″ past the jig. Then it is just a matter of positioning the router collar in a hole in the jig and plunge routing a hole, repeat as necessary. I find the slight counter sink at each hole makes positioning the router quick and easy.

Once the line of holes at the front of the cabinet are drill, slide the jig to the back of the cabinet, making sure you are still referencing the bottom of the jig from the bottom of the cabinet, clamp it in place and bore the line of holes for the back of the cabinet.

March 2, 2009April 11, 2013

Veneer Cutting Jig

I use a lot of wood veneers in my segmenting. Initially I was cutting the veneers with a utility knife and ruler. I decieded I needed something more accurate and efficient. When I think accurate and efficient, I often think of my table saw.

The following pictures show what I came up with. The jig has a runner which fits in the miter slot. A couple of points when building the jig:

Assemble the base, leading and trailing edges first. When attaching the leading and trailing edges don’t use any metal attachments (brad nails or screws) in the area where the blade cut will be.

Attach the runner. Make sure the runner fits snugly in the miter slot with no play.

Raise the blade 1″. I used 3/4″ MDF so this meant the blade would be 1/4″ higher than the bed of the jig.

Run the bed through the saw. You now have a cut line in the bed of the base which is perfectly parallel to the miter slot without any measuring

Add the jig fence and hold down block with a handle. Make sure the screws attaching the handle of the hold down jig are well offset to the cut line! The bed of my jig will accept a piece of veneer just over 12″ long. I made the fence so that I could rip/crosscut a piece of veneer up to 2″

A good coat of wax on the base of the jig and runner will help it to glide smoothly.

Because the cut in the base is now a zero clearance kerf and you are supporting the top of the workpiece with the hold down block, I’m able to cut the veneer with no tear out at all.