Is woodwork really my hobby?

[Orcamesh]

I don't know, I went in the workshop yesterday full of the joys of Spring, only to find that I had to make a sliding mitre fence for my router table fit the router table aluminium slot. This meant that i had to hand file the strip of metal (which slides in the slot of the router table) from 19.7 to 19mm! (hammer)

After 4 hours of filing I finally managed to fit said metal strip into the slot. My hands were black with metal and bashed to **** and no woodwork completed whatsoever! :shock: :twisted:

Anyway, now this has been done I can now use the router table to cut profiles for door rails safely and with ease.

Hopefully next weekend I might even get to cut some wood, you never know your luck!

 

[myturn]

Don't you have an angle grinder? :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[Racers]

Hi,

Sounds like you need some good files, a nice big turnip cut one would have made short work of that metal.

Pete

 

[Chems]

Was it a nail file you were using?

 

[brihol]

Hopefully next weekend I might even get to cut some wood, you never know your luck! [/quote]
Okay! I feel your frustration at the struggle with this resistant material, but this site is about saying:
"Hi guys, I've got this problem with a mitre gauge - any suggestions??"
You would have had short-cuts within minutes.

If you come up against it, ask before you start 4 hours of needless work.
I'm an ex teacher - so cruel to be kind by nature.

Brian

 

[yetloh]

After 4 hours of filing I finally managed to fit said metal strip into the slot. My hands were black with metal and bashed to **** and no woodwork completed whatsoever! :shock: :twisted:

That's the trouble with metal; horrible dirty scratchy stuff. Every time I work with it I realise why I am a woodworker and could never fall in love with working in metal. I have a mate who says the same sort of things about wood.

Jim

 

[Orcamesh]

Well thanks guys! I guess my tongue-in-cheek approach didn't quite work out.

Myturn : angle grinder? Yes, I have one but I don't think that is the right tool for the job! So I assume that you are just having a laugh and if you're not then I am a bit worried about you!?!

Pete : Yep, that is exactly what I used, a turnip file then a smoothing file.

Chems : see above!

Brian : thanks for the offer, I am an engineer by trade and went through a 4 year apprenticeship 25 yrs ago where I did 4 days/wk for a year bashing metal by hand and machine so I guess I already know a bit about metalwork! I have also been on this site for years and realise that I can get advice here, but I didn't feel it necessary in this instance as it was just a question of getting the job done and there were no other options in my range of metal tools. I am probably a bit out of practice with hand files but it soon came flooding back. The piece of metal was mild steel, about 300 x 19 x 6 mm and I had to file it over its long edge and this is why it took a wee while (plus my weedy arms don't help!). The 4 hours was probably a bit of an exaggeration as I had my son in the workshop with me getting me to do "his stuff" at the same time so there you have it!

Jim : yep, I guess most people prefer one or the other.

thanks all

 

[Alf]

HM, you know where you went wrong, of course? Router table.

Know exactly what you mean though; I've been knuckling down to trying to deal with my little tool problem and have consequently been up to my elbows in rust for days now. I rejoice like crazy when the next tool to restore requires some sort of woodwork. Any kind of woodwork.

 

[myturn]

Well thanks guys! I guess my tongue-in-cheek approach didn't quite work out.

Myturn : angle grinder? Yes, I have one but I don't think that is the right tool for the job! So I assume that you are just having a laugh and if you're not then I am a bit worried about you!?!

I guess my tongue-in-cheek response didn't quite work out either!

Stay worried! :lol:

 

[hanser]

Its all in the nature of having a hobby. I like sailing my boat but I have to spend a fair bit of time maintaining her. No pain, no gain

 

[Shane]

I love metal work just as much as woodwork, nowt better than the satisfaction of grinding and welding 8)

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

I would have used an angle grinder then filed, then again I am a bit of a nut. 4 hours of sanding would make you nutty.

 

[jimi43]

I bloody hate steel! :evil:

I started reading "The Village Carpenter" by Walter Rose today and he is clear in that wood is for calm collected people and metal is for people who like to hit things! :lol:

Actually he didn't say exactly that...but that was the drift! And in those days...letting anyone with metal anywhere near the carpenter's shop was definitely not allowed!

One thing I have learned over the years...always use a new sharp file from Sweden if you want to cut properly....an old file is worse than a blunt plane...in that you THINK it works but it doesn't...

Jim

 

[Orcamesh]

Thanks Alf! You know I am partially on the Dark Side and partially on the Galoot Side! I'm not going to apologise for it though, I need both tailed tools and non-tailed tools. Note the word "need"!

I think what I was trying to say here and maybe didn't do so well in my original posts, was that I go into the workshop with a target like "I'm going to cut some door rails and stiles today" and I end up being side-tracked into metal work or making a jig or whatever it may be other than what I had intended to do. So I come out at the end of the session cursing because I haven't achieved what I went into achieve! BUT of course all these little extra jobs, like filing metal, lead to a better equipped shop so I'm not going to worry, it's just short term frustration. Rant over.

Myturn : I'm still worried about you!! :wink:

Hanser : yep, agreed, I still like to rant though!

Shane : yep, I love it too, I guess that's why I became an engineer, as I said above, it's just the derailing from what you are aiming for that is annoying.

HC : You CAN'T use an angle grinder to remove 0.7mm of metal along a 300 x 6mm edge! Well you CAN but expect to take off more than you need to! :shock:

Jim : well ok, I don't hate steel, that's a bit of a strong word. My files are fairly new condition, hardly used since I bought them, with exception of the smooth files. None of them are Swedish, but they still remove metal! They were all working fine, I was probably just being cautious creeping up on the final dimensions.

cheers all 8)

 

[Racers]

Hi, Hawk Moth

No problem, it gave me a chace to use "turnip" on the forum

I know what you mean its like tidying up suddenly the whole day has gone, and the workshop is to tidy to start doing any thing in


~Pete

 

[heimlaga]

Working outside with angle grinder and stick welder all day repairing the logging winch is woodworking isn't it.
Tearing apart the rear end of the tractor to fix a leaking o-ring is woodworking isn't it.
Working with the chainsaw in the woods limbing windfallen trees in knee-deep snow is woodworking isn't it.
Offbearing at the local sawmill is woodworking isn't it.
Taking a 60 years old planer apart in small pieces for cleaning rust and gunk is woodworking isn't it.
Forging a turning tool from a hay rake pin is woodworking isn't it.

Well....at times I actually get around to make some joinery.....so woodworking is definitely the name of my hobby

 

[Shane]

I earn my living doing woodwork (which I do enjoy), but I am a fully signed up member of the dark side, it's a bit of an obsession I'm afraid.

before

and after...

 

[jimi43]

The true measure of a REAL woodworker is how good his chopper is! :mrgreen:

Jim

 

[Shane]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Chataigner]

Woodwork - yes, definitely my hobby :

Some of the time I cut down trees with a chainsaw
Some of the time I cut up trees with a chainsaw
Some of the time I split logs with a fearsome machine on the tractor
Some of the time I cut up logs with a BIG circular saw
Some of the time I put planer and chain saw chips down as bedding for my horse
Some of the time I use planer and circular saw dust to smoke food
Some of the time I cut up seasoned oak boards with a bandsaw
Some of the time I plane and thickness the resulting parts
Some of the time I cut oak or cherry accurately with a table saw, router or spindle moulder etc.
Some of the time I assemble the parts into useful objects (what most people consider to be woodworking)
Some of the time I load logs into a wood burning stove
Some of the time I load workshop mistakes into the wood burning stove

The rest of the time? There is no "rest of the time"!