Tips for improving woodworking accuracy

[pe2dave]

A digital caliper was a game changer for me.... and a pair of spectacles.

And then add a cheap magnifying glass to read the micrometer

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

When cutting mortices I will, when I can, clamp a piece of wood outside of, but on, the side line. This serves two purposes. It's quicker and more precise to just butt the chisel up to the wood and if it's an inch or two high it helps keep the chisel vertical. Hope this makes sense.

 

[CatIII]

Hello,

Can you please provide me some useful tips and tricks for improving accuracy in woodworking? For measuring,layout, planing, chiseling, sawing, etc. Whatever comes to mind. This list maybe useful for someone else too in the future.

e.g. When you place your chisel for mortising, place it not directly on the line, but with the edge a little bit inside. Once you hit the chisel, it will wedge the wood towards the line a bit.

Thank you.

Tibor

Hello,

Can you please provide me some useful tips and tricks for improving accuracy in woodworking? For measuring,layout, planing, chiseling, sawing, etc. Whatever comes to mind. This list maybe useful for someone else too in the future.

e.g. When you place your chisel for mortising, place it not directly on the line, but with the edge a little bit inside. Once you hit the chisel, it will wedge the wood towards the line a bit.

Thank you.

Tibor

Hi Tibor.
I see there are quite a lot of ideas already so here's mine for what Its worth.

Like you, I struggle sometimes (most of the time) with accuracy and I find I have to resort to power tools some of the time but what I find helpful are these tips which I've picked up along the way.

1. When I try and make a straight cut with a saw, I use a guide (3x2 inch wood cut with a chop saw) which I rest the saw against. I clamp it in position so I know its firm and I only cut into the waste wood. I used to use a block of steel but it blunted the saw.
2. When chiseling a hole (a mortise), I clamp the same piece of wood to one side of the hole and rest the chisel against it to make sure the chisel is upright.
3. After I've cut the wood and I need to neaten (square up) up the sides and ends, I've used whats called a shooting board (why its called that I don't know). The only problem with using one of these is you need a really sharp wood plane. If you see the videos on YouTube, they make it look simple. I've spent a lot of time trying to sharpen my plane blade to get the same effect...its bloomin hard! Also the board does go out of square after a while so bear that in mind.
4. Dovetails...best avoided if you ask me. Its taken me many attempts to get anything worth looking at!
5. You tube. Lots of stuff to look at and lots of power tools too. Mostly American but I've found Paul Sellers (English) quite good to follow and good tips but quite long videos.

When I'm woodworking in my garage, sometimes my neighbour ask if I making another heirloom and I do wonder if shes right!

Best of luck and thank heavens for old pallets to practice on. Oh, a wood burner, you'll need one of these till you get good at it.

Regards....Geoff

 

[Jacob]

Hi Tibor

Put up a video on my YouTube channel a couple of weeks ago, hand cutting dovetails, it shows some of the techniques I use including marking out, sawing and chiseling and most important checking those elements before final assembly.



Cheers
Peter

Just had a look at the vid. Very clear demo etc but a but too long for me, this time of the morning!
Just for the record - this not how the majority of DTs are cut in trad joinery - they were almost always freehand and would have been cut using just a few bits of kit, no coping saw etc. The one essential being a cutting gauge - the simple wooden ones are best.
The trad way is faster /easier but less perfect and relies on hand/eye skill, but if you can do it the easy way you are well placed go the extra step for a perfect result, if the work demands it.
The problem with learning the "high end" way is that it isn't easily reversible if you want to just be fast and efficient
I've been experimenting with DTs and don't use a marking knife, I mark through with a craft knife chisel square end, little tap with a pin hammer rather than a slicing cut.

 

[Jacob]

I reckon the key is marking everything that needs to be the same size at one go(on large quantitys mark 2 and put them at the ends of the stack and mark across.
that way no matter how dodgy your cutting the accuracy is essentially built in. if a bit doesn't fit properly check the lines that should tell the story.

Yep. You draw out all the details on a board a.k.a. "the rod" (I use lengths of white MFC shelving) and mark from that to your stack of components sitting them on the board. You keep the rod throughout the job so that you can always refer back to it.
The main advantage is that once you have drawn up the rod you don't have to measure anything during the marking up - you are on auto pilot. It means you can mark up for the whole project and then set about making the bits and pieces in any order, knowing they will fit. e.g. If it's for a set of sash windows you can end up with hundred or more component pieces all marked up ready to go, and do all mortices in one session, all rebates in another, and so on.

 

[tibi]

Just had a look at the vid. Very clear demo etc but a but too long for me, this time of the morning!
Just for the record - this not how the majority of DTs are cut in trad joinery - they were almost always freehand and would have been cut using just a few bits of kit, no coping saw etc. The one essential being a cutting gauge - the simple wooden ones are best.
The trad way is faster /easier but less perfect and relies on hand/eye skill, but if you can do it the easy way you are well placed go the extra step for a perfect result, if the work demands it.
The problem with learning the "high end" way is that it isn't easily reversible if you want to just be fast and efficient
I've been experimenting with DTs and don't use a marking knife, I mark through with a craft knife chisel square end, little tap with a pin hammer rather than a slicing cut.

Hi Jacob,

I have an engineering background and this is the first time ever I have seen someone to layout dovetails by marking dimensions from a single reference point. This is exactly how I would do it if I had a CAD drawing and how I have thought that it is being done before I have learned the dividers method. Some people can produce beautiful furniture just by setting some basic proportions and then they adjust the dimensions as they build. Others need to have a detailed drawing of everything before and they produce in accordance with that drawing. And change the dimensions only if something backfires during the production process.

I will know what I need with experience.

 

[Jacob]

,,,,, Others need to have a detailed drawing of everything before and they produce in accordance with that drawing.

Thats the way to do it!
You have to make all the decisions anyway so you might as well work them out in advance, not least to make sure everything will fit. Though I guess in the old days when stuff was repeated then workers would have a repertoire and know what to do from some basic instructions

I will know what I need with experience.

Experience yes but also look closely at pieces of furniture and joinery, old and new, and ask yourself how they were made.
Older stuff is likely to be more hand made, and made as quickly efficiently as possible, with a few simple tools

 

[tibi]

Thats the way to do it!
You have to make all the decisions anyway so you might as well work them out in advance, not least to make sure everything will fit. Though I guess in the old days when stuff was repeated then workers would have a repertoire and know what to do from some basic instructions
Experience yes but also look closely at pieces of furniture and joinery, old and new, and ask yourself how they were made.
Older stuff is likely to be more hand made, and made as quickly efficiently as possible, with a few simple tools

As I am restricted to mostly hand tools, I would like to visit some museums with antique furniture to explore how the furniture was made and what quality was acceptable then. They would not probably let me run around with a straight edge and calipers, but I can still get the general feeling of quality of the furniture. And I am always studying new wooden furniture when I am in a furniture shop. Last time I have seen in a furniture shop on a laminated table top that the boards were rotated in random order, as far as I know, the growth rings should be rotated in the same manner on all the boards. - I see it on instagram many times to be done this way.

 

[Jacob]

As I am restricted to mostly hand tools, I would like to visit some museums with antique furniture to explore how the furniture was made and what quality was acceptable then. They would not probably let me run around with a straight edge and calipers, but I can still get the general feeling of quality of the furniture. And I am always studying new wooden furniture when I am in a furniture shop. Last time I have seen in a furniture shop on a laminated table top that the boards were rotated in random order, as far as I know, the growth rings should be rotated in the same manner on all the boards. - I see it on instagram many times to be done this way.

Perhaps start by looking at your own furniture and household joinery and the ordinary stuff around you?
It's handy to pull old stuff apart, for repairs, or for the wood-burner if it's too far gone.
Ordinary stuff made to a price with cheaper materials can be more demanding of practical skills than high end stuff made for wealthy clients! Hence the interest in "vernacular" craft and design.

 

[tibi]

Perhaps start by looking at your own furniture and household joinery and the ordinary stuff around you?
It's handy to pull old stuff apart, for repairs, or for the wood-burner if it's too far gone.

Unfortunately, the only wooden furniture that I have is the table that I have made myself. All other furniture is made of MDF joined by dowels. My woodworking mission is to replace all the MDF furniture with wooden furniture made by myself. And move from firewood quality to heirloom quality with destroying as little wood as possible.

 

[Jacob]

Unfortunately, the only wooden furniture that I have is the table that I have made myself. All other furniture is made of MDF joined by dowels. My woodworking mission is to replace all the MDF furniture with wooden furniture made by myself. And move from firewood quality to heirloom quality with destroying as little wood as possible.

My heirloom quality is low! These dovetails are the first thing I see every morning on a bedside bookshelf inherited from grandparents, probably 120 years old.
Obviously freehand but in spite of appearances these would almost certainly have been done at high speed by a highly skilled woodworker quite capable of much better stuff if called upon.
All the saw cuts are overcut which makes things faster. No trace of a shoulder line so it would have been planed off - the board end would not have been trimmed on a shooting board but would be planed flush on the finished drawer.
There is a shoulder line on the inner face
With ordinary stuff you get to see how they did things - you can see the tool marks as they didn't cover their tracks by over finishing

 

[tibi]

My heirloom quality is low! These dovetails are the first thing I see every morning on a bedside bookshelf inherited from grandparents, probably 120 years old.
Obviously freehand but in spite of appearances these would almost certainly have been done at high speed by a highly skilled woodworker quite capable of much better stuff if called upon.
All the saw cuts are overcut which makes things faster. No trace of a shoulder line so it would have been planed off - the board end would not have been trimmed on a shooting board but would be planed flush on the finished drawer.
There is a shoulder line on the inner face
With ordinary stuff you get to see how they did things - you can see the tool marks as they didn't cover their tracks by over finishing

View attachment 116475View attachment 116476

Maybe this furniture was made just for function. There were certainly pressures to produce as many pieces as possible in the shortest period of time. People were satisfied with almost anything, because resources were scarce. I cannot imagine a local woodworker producing André-Charles Boulle's style furniture for ordinary people He would not feed his own children this way, if he wanted to keep the price affordable.

 

[Jacob]

Maybe this furniture was made just for function. There were certainly pressures to produce as many pieces as possible in the shortest period of time. People were satisfied with almost anything, because resources were scarce. I cannot imagine a local woodworker producing André-Charles Boulle's style furniture for ordinary people He would not feed his own children this way, if he wanted to keep the price affordable.

They are all functional and all made with a view to price. My cupboard above is good quality but "ordinary". Quite attractive with pitch pine and has lasted 120 years in daily use - probably about 20 times as long as an IKEA piece will!

 

[TheTiddles]

If you want to replace MDF furniture because you want to, go ahead. If you just want quality furniture, that doesn’t exclude using MDF.

 

[Bristol_Rob]

Another vote here for using rods.
I don't see any videos on YouTube teaching this method any more.
Trade Colleges did used to teach this and I wonder if they still do?

One trick I was taught was to layout my rods using paper on the rod.
It was simply taped down.

Then at the end of the job we cut them off and they were stored away.

This meant they could be easily retrieved if another was needed to be made in the future and also an apprentice could retrieve one if they want to see how a master had previously laid out a particularly tricky detail.

I'd love to see someone produce a quality set of videos reviving this under talked about method of joinery preparation.

I do believe if new joiners to the craft were taught this early, they'd never go back to not using them on projects.
It prevents mistakes on expensive materials

 

[Jacob]

Another vote here for using rods.
I don't see any videos on YouTube teaching this method any more.
Trade Colleges did used to teach this and I wonder if they still do?

One trick I was taught was to layout my rods using paper on the rod.
It was simply taped down.

Then at the end if the job we cut them off and they were stored away.

This meant they could be easily retrieved if another was needed to be made in the future and also an apprentice could retrieve one if they want to see how a master had previously laid out a particularly tricky detail.

I'd love to see someone produce a quality set of videos reviving this under talked about method of joinery preparation.

I do believe if new joiners to the craft were taught this early, they'd never go back to not using them on projects.
It prevents mistakes on expensive materials

Absolutely agree. It's also the last part of the design process where you are sorting out the details and making sure things fit. Once finished you are on auto pilot like a human CNC machine; no need to think - just do the work!
It gets rid of all those back of envelope calculations and all the mistakes that ensue
I'd been reading woodwork mags and books for years but had never heard of 'the rod" until I did a C&G course. Other stuff too about which I had learned nothing previously.
So I stopped buying mags.
Later I dumped the stack I'd saved except for some torn out articles. Later I dumped them too!.
Haven't read one in 20 or 30 years!
PS The paper idea is good, there are a few I wish I'd kept
With hindsight I realised that some of the first things I ever made were with the help of a form of "rod": Kiel Kraft model aircraft came with a full size paper pattern on which you laid your bits of balsa and marked or cut them, to fit.

 

[NickM]

We're getting a new kitchen. The guy making it for us (small 2 man operation with a nice big workshop - they were kind enough to show me around) came round yesterday to discuss some of the details. He said the next stage is for him to make the rods which he will bring back to check the fit and do some fine tuning/work out the final details. I'm intrigued to see more of the process.

 

[Jacob]

We're getting a new kitchen. The guy making it for us (small 2 man operation with a nice big workshop - they were kind enough to show me around) came round yesterday to discuss some of the details. He said the next stage is for him to make the rods which he will bring back to check the fit and do some fine tuning/work out the final details. I'm intrigued to see more of the process.

At the simplest level it will be a paper pattern which you could lay out in the room and if necessary adjust to fit. Then the maker could add any amount of other design/construction detail to help the actual making, knowing that it will fit.

A typical rod would be just horizontal and vertical sections of the thing, not necessarily the whole plan, like these here: https://images.slideplayer.com/24/7303485/slides/slide_3.jpg
Once you have it you take all your marks from it by stacking similar components on top and marking with a set square and pencil. No more measuring or calculating!
If you were making a window to fit an existing opening the first marks you'd put down would be the width and height of the opening and its rebates or other details.
Slide show here Setting Out Joiners Rods “extracts from Practical Australian Carpentry” M. S. Martin Original 2005 Revised ppt download haven't gone through it but it looks good.

 

[Bristol_Rob]

Absolutely agree. It's also the last part of the design process where you are sorting out the details and making sure things fit. Once finished you are on auto pilot like a human CNC machine; no need to think - just do the work!
It gets rid of all those back of envelope calculations and all the mistakes that ensue
I'd been reading woodwork mags and books for years but had never heard of 'the rod" until I did a C&G course. Other stuff too about which I had learned nothing previously.
So I stopped buying mags.
Later I dumped the stack I'd saved except for some torn out articles. Later I dumped them too!.
Haven't read one in 20 or 30 years!
PS The paper idea is good, there are a few I wish I'd kept
With hindsight I realised that some of the first things I ever made were with the help of a form of "rod": Kiel Kraft model aircraft came with a full size paper pattern on which you laid your bits of balsa and marked or cut them, to fit.

Indeed.

I was taught 'if you can't draw it on a rod - you can't make it'

It proves you understand how to make what you are about to make before you start cutting expensive timber.

Mistakes and waste isn't tolerated in a joiners shop.

 

[JAW911]

A digital caliper was a game changer for me.... and a pair of spectacles.

Hah! I was going to post those exact words!!