How to work wood and SAVE MONEY

[Alf]

Alf wrote:

If you're making tools I doubt you'll find a tap and die set is a one time purchase.

If you mean as in wearing out

Cynic. No, I meant it'll get used again and again. I bought this set when it first appeared (plus drill bits to suit) and use it all the time. The screws in the scraper in my avatar are screwed into tapped holes, f'rinstance. And you know about me and tapping hand planes... :lol: 'Course buying individual taps, bottom taps, dies, wrenches etc probably makes sense if you're using them all the time, but for my purposes a set is fine. Plus it means I can find the bloomin' things when I want them... :roll: :lol:

Cheers, Alf

 

[builderchad]

I bought the exact same set!

 

[Colin C]

Thanks Alf, I have been looking for a set have split dies.
That fits the bill

 

[johnelliott]

Alf wrote:

If you're making tools I doubt you'll find a tap and die set is a one time purchase.

If you mean as in wearing out, all cheapo sets are carbon steel and will quickly oblige. My money saving tip is don't buy the set - buy individual taps/dies as required, as many of the sizes in a typical set probably will never get used.

Buy HSS ones (like Dormer etc)from the local engineering supplies. They should last a very long time (unless you break them).

Ike

I totally agree with that. HSS taps and dies are far superior. I would suggest that M4, M6 and M8 will cover virtually all woodworking toolmaking situations. M6 has the extra advantage that 1 (360degree) turn equals 1mm. Very handy, especially if you are making a fine depth control for a router

John

 

[johnelliott]

Time we big spenders put forward some of our ideas on how to do woodworking tasks without expensive machines.

Here's the first of mine-

When I first started making guitar necks, years ago, I needed to thickness pieces of maple, approximately 900mm long and 100m wide. No money for a planer thicknesser and no space either.

I did have a 1/4 router, though, so this is what I did. Sorry, no pics. I made a table big enough to hold the maple blanks, then attached two pieces of steel to form rails above the level of the wood. Then I mounted the router on another two rails which bridged across the table rails. I fitted a 25mm face cutter to the router

To use the device, I fixed the maple so that the top face was sort of parallel to the table. Then I skated the router to and fro across the wood and skimmed it til it was flat. Then I turned it over and fixed the blank flat to the table. Skim the other side and, if carefully done, one perfectly thicknessed piece of maple!

I would then let the wood settle for a couple of days before the final skims. The results were at least as good as could be obtained with a planer thicknesser

I shall look forward to reading other poster's methods for bypassing the big spending route to woodworking (I realise that we have already had a good many of these eg Tony's thread on modifying circular saws)

John

There is something similar described in "Woodworking with the router" by Bill Hylton. In the book he says it's fine for small amounts of timber but not really feasible for larger amounts. I guess guitar neck blanks would come into the small category but I wouldn't want to do a kitchen's worth of cabinet doors by that method.

cheers

George

George has put his finger on the essential difference between professional tools (in this case a planer/thicknesser) and the type of money saving equipment such as that described above, likely to be used by amateur or cash-strapped professionals--- which is, SPEED

I'm not sure that his comment is entirely justified in this particular thread, though

John

 

[johnelliott]

Here's another one- need a decent table saw? How about starting with something like a Scheppach contractor's saw such as this one
http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/product.php?s ... SCHTS315GT

£249! good powerful induction motor, 12" blade, what's the catch? Well the catch is that with this type of saw the blade and motor are suspended from the table, and the table tends to bend as a consequence. Also there are no mitre slots.
Now, if I wasn't rich I would buy one of the above and, in a variation of Paul Chapman's earlier post, I would invest in a nice big piece of Tufnol, or maybe just MDF, and fit it to the saw so I had a decent flat surface, out with the router and machine in a couple of mitre slots.
For a fence I would start with a piece of aluminium profile clamped front and back, a scale set in a shallow slot, and another piece of profile fitted to the first to provide a short fence for ripping hardwood, and a decent square to check each set-up
Eventually I might treat myself to an aftermarket fence such as those sold by Rutlands
OK, so the MDF table isn't going to last forever (the Tufnol might, though) , but in a hobbyist's workshop it should be good for a couple of years

John

 

[Paul Chapman]

Time we big spenders put forward some of our ideas on how to do woodworking tasks without expensive machines.

Hand tools

That was easy. Next? :wink:

Cheers, Alf

Actually, some of us do manage with a very limited range of power tools and machinery.

While I do have a few power tools (the most useful of which are two routers and a biscuit jointer) there are lots that I don't have. For example, no table saw, no planer, no bandsaw, no cordless drills or drivers .......

Nevertheless, I've done quite a lot with a few power tools and mainly hand tools. For example, built two kitchens, several bits of furniture, such as beds, wardrobes, tables and the like, toys and all the usual DIY type of stuff.

Being retired now, I doubt that I will ever have all that "can't live without" machinery, but I've found that you can manage without a lot of it.

Whenever I feel envious of those of you who seem to have just about everything, I just keep repeating to myself:

Chippendale managed without all that stuff,
Chippendale managed without all that stuff,
Chippendale managed without all that stuff..........

:wink: :wink:

Paul

 

[PowerTool]

I recently bought a contractors saw - was in Machine Mart on a VAT-free day.
Yes,it has no mitre slot,and you need to check the fence and blade angle every time but it is a step up from the benchtop one I had to use before (this is much easier to use for cutting panels,mainly due to the extra table) and I am working on a better fence arrangement - but for £140 I don't mind spending a bit of time playing about with it.
Also currently making a router table - 6mm perspex off e-bay for a fiver,fastened onto the router base,which then fits into an old pub table (free from ex-wifes pub :wink: ) which I have routered out for it to fit - the table is flat,smooth and quite thick.

Woodworking on a budget....the mother of invention :lol:

Andrew

 

[tim]

Chippendale managed without all that stuff,
Chippendale managed without all that stuff,
Chippendale managed without all that stuff..........

two things:

he would have used them if they were available - market forces would have dictated that

and in fact Chippendale did have power tools, organic ones ie apprentices


Cheers

Tim

 

[Paul Chapman]

Point taken Tim, but I was simply pointing out (hopefully in a light-hearted way, hence the reference to Chippendale :wink: ) that if, for whatever reason, you don't have all the latest gear and have to do a lot of the work by hand, it is still possible to make good quality stuff and get a lot of satisfaction from it. Might take you a bit longer though.

If you do it for a living, of course, time is money and you need to invest in good quality machines.

Paul

 

[ike]

Alf wrote:

Cynic.

Ooh, you tease! :lol: and yes, I admit I do enjoy watching Grumpy Old Men on Fridays as well.

 

[Alf]

Chippendale managed without all that stuff,
Chippendale managed without all that stuff,
Chippendale managed without all that stuff..........

two things:

he would have used them if they were available - market forces would have dictated that

and in fact Chippendale did have power tools, organic ones ie apprentices

And his debts when he died were terrible...

no cordless drills or drivers

I was going to be impressed and ask how many braces and hand drills you have, until it dawned on me that probably doesn't mean your workshop is a power drill-free zone. #-o

Cheers, Alf

 

[Paul Chapman]

Hi Alf,

One brace that I don't use much, and two hand drills that I use all the time. I find that it's best to get the sort of hand drill which has a keyed chuck. 'course I have electric drills, but I wouldn't be without the hand drills - such a simple tool that works so well, they might even catch on one day :wink:

Paul

 

[Anonymous]

Nice thread John :wink:

I think the answer is to consider your philosophy.

I would like to make 3 points:

1)
Once the mindset that ONLY expensive machines cut well, or ONLY expensive machines are accurate OR more importantly that you do not have or cannot learn the skill to work well without expensive tools, then you are at the start of a lower priced woodworking adventure that leads to greater satisfaction and pride in the results of your endeavours. (skill comes from self belief and practice)

2)
My philosophy is that Festool et al are great but beyond my needs and means. However, moderately priced power tools work equally or pretty nearly equally well and with a bit of thought, can be made to work as well (like a tuned Stanley plane). Possibly try mods on them to get that litle extra or 'tune' them (see point 3)

3)
My most important point, is that your hobby time is FREE. It is not important that you can cut quickly without the need to run a plane over the work, or that you cut powered joints faster with a Festool Domino than hand-cut (or other means) mortise and tenon. The important point is that time is NOT money in a hobby and enjoyment of the process is the most important factor - more than the finished item.

Isn't that why we all do it? Because we enjoy the process of creation?

 

[Paul Chapman]

Good points, Tony.

Those of us who do woodworking as a hobby are really quite lucky. We have a choice whether to spend our money on tools or other things. Yes, I would like a table saw, planer, bandsaw, etc., etc. But frankly I have more important priorities at the moment when it comes to spending money. I also get a lot of satisfaction from making things by hand - so actually I win both ways

Mind you, planing stuff like oak from sawn to finished article by hand can be a bit knackering :shock:

Just keep reminding myself it's good for my cardiovascular system 8)

Paul