Practical tips for beginners.

[Robbo3]

Why not put 101 tips into a seventeen & a half minute video?
Someone has
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJTaHO2NCDA

I'll wait for the marmite comments.

 

[richarddownunder]

My 5 cents...Wood has a mind of its own. When I started out, I enthusiastically made large chests and TV cabinets. They all split and warped. I gave up after that for a few years.

SO, my tips are

1 use plans to begin with and get an understanding of contraction and expansion, when to use screws, when to glue and when to have things in a frame, floating - there are some right ways and wrong ways to make things.
2 store your wood for a while (time depends on thicknes) so the moisture levels are equilibrated to your ambient environment - before you start cutting. Someone else might have a rule of thumb for this. I usually leave wood for months as I'm sooooo slow to get anything done. There is another tip...
3 dont be in a hurry

Also, you can do a lot with a small number of (sharp) hand tools, as others have said.

Cheers
Richard

 

[Kalimna]

A couple of things, have scouted over this thread (which is an ace idea, by the way).
1) Buy more (and better) clamps than you think you will need. There is no such thing as too many clamps.

Memzey posted a while back about not using PVA glue that has been left around too long. A good piece of advice, but what do you mean by 'too long'? 6 months? A year? 2 years? This isnt meant to be pedantic, but quite useful to know.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[MatthewRedStars]

Wear a decent mask if you're making dust.

There is a dangerous outdated view held by a lot of people that MDF dust is fatal but everything else is fine. This is still passed around daily. But it is complete nonsense. ALL fine dust is very bad for you, MDF is no better or worse, and the obsession with MDF dust is a huge red herring.

Wear a mask!!!

 

[memzey]

A couple of things, have scouted over this thread (which is an ace idea, by the way).
1) Buy more (and better) clamps than you think you will need. There is no such thing as too many clamps.

Memzey posted a while back about not using PVA glue that has been left around too long. A good piece of advice, but what do you mean by 'too long'? 6 months? A year? 2 years? This isnt meant to be pedantic, but quite useful to know.

Cheers,
Adam

Fair point Adam. In my, all be it limited,experience the conditions the glue is kept in and the glue itself impact on when “long” is in fact “too long”. If you keep the bottle well sealed, out of direct sunlight and in room temperature glue lasts longer in the bottle than when you don’t. I don’t have this down to an exact science though so perhaps the beginner’s advice ought to have been “do a test glue up if you are in anyway unsure” and “if your test leaves you less than 100% convinced - buy new glue”. PVA is cheap in comparison to wood and time.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've got D4 decanted into a small bottle from a litre bought this year that's not been to hot or cold and is already thickening.

 

[Mark A]

I've been using two-year-old Everbuild 502 PVA with no issues recently. For something special I may have bought a fresh bottle, but since I was only gluing window boards I wasn't concerned.

I also found an ancient bottle of blue EvoStik (weatherproof) that's been stored in various unheated sheds and garages for maybe eight years. It's still pourable, though even I won't risk it.

 

[memzey]

I think there are always going to be outliers to any principle. I’ve had glue that lasted quite well and other stuff I dumped as it was lumpy in half the time. To my mind the key is to be sure of the glue before you use it. A couple of bits of jointed scrap and a couple of hours in the cramps is cheap insurance compared with the consequences of something you spent lots of time and money on failing.

 

[Kalimna]

That makes sense, and ties in to much advice regarding woodwork - always check that what you are using is correct. Be that measurement, edge sharpness, grain direction etc. And it applies to glue as well.

I have used the D4 glue, but the bottle seemed to recommend using only within 6 months (or so) of it's manufactured date. I have used plenty of titebond after a year or two of being opened and it has been fine, stored in an unheated garage (though integral to the house). In fact the only time I have had issue with it is when glueing-up in too cold an environment. In such cases, the glue becomes chalky with almost no strength.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[Halo Jones]

Why not put 101 tips into a seventeen & a half minute video?
Someone has
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJTaHO2NCDA

I'll wait for the marmite comments.

I don't like marmite but I did hit his subscribe button :lol:

 

[OscarG]

Why not put 101 tips into a seventeen & a half minute video?
Someone has
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJTaHO2NCDA

I'll wait for the marmite comments.

Ha.. watched a few, funny guy.

Look forward to watching whole thing when I get a minute.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[DrDerrick]

Great advice!

 

[Bm101]

Why not put 101 tips into a seventeen & a half minute video?
Someone has
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJTaHO2NCDA

I'll wait for the marmite comments.

"An extra slice of pizza will make your Bodyclamp a lot more efficient"

 

[macca]

Some great advice here,

I rarely contribute, but being a beginner who has recently learnt to cut straight and true (most of the time 8-[ ) I thought I'd offer some advise that helped me.

Stop and look at where your cuts go wrong, understanding why you saw goes off course will help you counter the problem(s).

If your cuts across the piece are not following the line its likely to be your elbow is out of line, try to keep your elbow inline your wrist and shoulder. If this is uncomfortable your stance may be wrong and you may be need to move your whole body until your arm can move smoothly back and forth in a straight line.

If your cut wanders off as you cut down through the piece its probably your wrist, on the next cut try to counter this by turning your wrist slightly in the opposite direction, this only has to be slight and you shouldn't have to force the saw whilst cutting.

I know its not always so simple and I'm sure i will catch flack for this advise but it helped me greatly. In short the real tip is practise does help but blindly repeating the same thing does not solve the problem and just reinforces bad habbits, look at whats going wrong and find possible solutions. Then, if they work, practise that technique until it feels natural.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

...In short the real tip is practise does help but blindly repeating the same thing does not solve the problem and just reinforces bad habbits ...
Yes, as my cousin used to say when someone said practice makes perfect - it doesn't, perfect practice makes perfect.
On the subject of sawing, it's probably stating the obvious but keep your index finger in line with the saw (or plane) - it keeps the wrist and forearm more rigid. It's second nature when more experienced, but it might not be to a total beginner.

 

[Mr T]

Good advice there Macca. On sawing straight vertically I, assuming your saw is cutting true, I find that the position of you head is important. If you drift off to the right try moving your head a little more to the right so you are looking more on that side of the saw and vice verse. Sawing straight vertically is more about getting techniquer right than actually looking at the line you are sawing to and good technique only comes with practice as you say.

If you think your saw is not true try feeling the edges of the teeth on both sides, you may find that they have more "bite" on the side you are drifting to. Lightly rub that side on a stone, just once, then feel again and try the saw. Until your techniques is perfected it's difficult to tell if it's the saw or the sawyer.

Chris

 

[Jacob]

........
I know its not always so simple and I'm sure i will catch flack for this advise but it helped me greatly. In short the real tip is practise does help but blindly repeating the same thing does not solve the problem and just reinforces bad habbits, look at whats going wrong and find possible solutions. Then, if they work, practise that technique until it feels natural.

Spot on. Same with a lot of craft techniques - practice is no good if you just repeat the same mistakes. I'm learning music stuff currently and it applies here too - you have to pick your technique to pieces rather than carry on rehearsing the same mistakes.
Incidentally, part of what brought me back to playing music was the realisation that it's just another craft technique which you have to learn, similar to woodwork, knitting, cooking etc. There is no mystery anybody can do it if they take the right steps.

 

[Lons]

I agree with you and Macca, it applies to everything in life really.

Hows your knitting Jacob? :lol:

I'm a fly fisherman and tie my own flies so regularly buy jewellery beads and other girlie stuff. I get a few funny looks when browsing through the beauty sections looking for sparkly nail varnish. :wink:

 

[Mr T]

I'm a fly fisherman and tie my own flies so regularly buy jewellery beads and other girlie stuff. I get a few funny looks when browsing through the beauty sections looking for sparkly nail varnish. :wink:

I am also a fly fisher Lons and can see parallels with woodworking, especially casting, I think it's the physicality and repetition, and of course they are all only prefected by practice, reflection and more practice.

Chris

 

[Lons]

I'm a fly fisherman and tie my own flies so regularly buy jewellery beads and other girlie stuff. I get a few funny looks when browsing through the beauty sections looking for sparkly nail varnish. :wink:

I am also a fly fisher Lons and can see parallels with woodworking, especially casting, I think it's the physicality and repetition, and of course they are all only prefected by practice, reflection and more practice.

Chris

Yebbut you can't eat your woodworking efforts Chris. :lol: :lol:

I'm mostly on small stillwaters now having come back to it after many years and casting is hard work but I find it very relaxing. Until I get home and fall asleep in the chair 'cos I'm knackered. #-o

Bob