I got the fever, now I need some advice

Re: I got the fever, now I need some advice

David Miller from Iowa

>Keep at it - all you need is a little practice. is. I'm not aware of anything commercially available. Fine Wordworking a couple? issues ago had a thing where a guy made a dovetail guide using magnets - could be modified for straight cuts. You could always clamp a board on each side and track along that.

Good luck, David

Re: I got the fever, now I need some advice

Ernie Miller Topeka

>Could be your saw if there is more set on one side than the other it tends to pull to the side with more set. take the side of a corse sharpening stone and go ove that side a couple strokes try it again and see if it is better if not give it anothe stroke and it will come around

Re: I got the fever, now I need some advice

Sam Simpson

>Hi Y'all,

Mike, I fondly remember the days when I was learning that very thing.

If your saw is set up right it will continue to track straight once you have established the first 1/8" or so. As you so rightly detect, what you need is some sort of guide to help establish the first few strokes. In the very beginning I was taught to use a small block of wood, placed adjacent to the saw blade and held in place by my free hand. It only needs to be a reference. Eventually you learn to do away with the wood block and use your bent thumb as a guide. I'm not sure how it happens, but given enough practice a woodworker develops an eye for angles and measurements. My Father had an uncanny knack of being able to detect something that was out of square or judge just how long a board was. And I'm talking 1/4", not within a foot or so. So he was able to place his thumb, bent to just the right angle, and place it adjacent to the blade in the same manner as the earlier wood block. It was many years before I could do the same thing.

If a simple wood block is still not enough of a guide, you could make up a saddle of three pieces of wood, and have the saw track through it. Like a small miter box placed on the board you need to cut. By the time the slot in the box is deformed enough to be of little use, you will be able to make up a new saddle that has only two sides, and have the saw track down the edge rather than through a slot. There will come a day, not too far off, that you are cutting joints to a pencil line without thinking about how you set the angle for the first few strokes.

Owning a good saw is also a very important thing. Joel, Shepherd tools, and LN have all written about this recently. when holding the handle of the saw, your index finger should be pointing at the center of the cutting line. It's surprising how many saws are not set up this way. Good saws make it easy to develop the knack I was talking about above. Poor saws will just frustrate it.

Regards Sam Simpson.

Re: I got the fever, now I need some advice

Patrick Gibbons, Houston, no Astros in the WS, TX

>To get a very straight cut one would use a miter box. But it's not necessary. With hand tools, the processes of woodworking are different from the use of power tools. I was just like you when I first became interested in improving my hand tool skills. I thought of everything in terms of power tools and how one utilises them. With a table or miter saw, one cuts to the line with a finish-quality blade. With a hand saw, one cuts proud and uses a plane or chisel to finish to the line with a smooth, straight surface. It took me a long time to realize that all plans available for projects talk in terms of power tools. Joints and proceedures are based on how to do it best with power tools. Try rethinking your project based on what tools you have and what way you should proceed from there. It's a long process that requires learning techniques, joints, how tools work and how they don't work.

Re: I got the fever, now I need some advice

Patrick Gibbons, Houston, no Astros in the WS, TX

>I wanted to acknowledge that I did not answer your specific question about box joints. I'm sorry if my first post was confusing. I have been impressed lately with how different the use of hand tools can be from power tools. I am caught up in the zeal of proselytizing and apologize for my condescension.

Re: I got the fever, now I need some advice

Victor Parisian - Houston

>HI Mike,

I'm a bit of a newbe myself. I read this board everyday and get hints on every aspect of handtool work. I tend to straddle the fence here with a garage shop full of power tools and accessories along with a growing collection of hand tools (mostly ebay finds).

If I can be so bold as to suggest some reading, two books come to mind. 1st is "Woodworking Basics" by peter Korn; the 2nd is Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking (I have no idea how to pronounce his name.) Both are excellent the first is a starting point with the later going into much more detail.

Welcome to the slippery slope. Good luck. Hope to hear more from you soon.

Re: I got the fever, now I need some advice

Bill Murphy/Reading,PA.

>Hi Victor,

Tage's name is pronounced Tay, Like in "day" only with a T. I didn't know how to pronounce it either until I got his "Hand cut Dovetail" video(which I highly recommend) and heard the narrator pronounce it.

Bill Murphy

Reading, PA.

Re: I got the fever, now I need some advice

Bill Murphy/Reading,PA.

>Hi Mike,

You might want to try a Western Dovetail Saw with the pistol grip, like the Adria or LN. I have the Adria and find it easier to control than the straight handled type.

Bill Murphy

Reading, PA.