68 – Gadget Station (11 of 12)

Video - October 22, 2008

In this video, I resaw the spalted maple panels on the bandsaw using Laguna’s Resaw King. What a bandsaw blade! I then glue up the doors and begin creating the ebony plugs for the case. I finish up by showing my process for fitting inset doors.

Discussion

Matt October 22, 2008 11:17 pm

Marc,

I gotta say that this Gadget Station is turning out awesome. The Spalted Maple complements the Bubinga PERFECTLY!

I also love how you always seem to focus on things like grain direction and bookmatching and stuff like that (a lot like David Marks does). That’s something I’m trying to teach myself to do.

I can’t wait to see the finished product. What are you planning to finish this project with?

Matt

Reply
Bill Akins October 23, 2008 8:35 am

So far so good. Thanks for the tips on getting the doors aligned just right, I really needed that.

Reply
WiZeR October 23, 2008 12:20 pm

Another great episode, the suspense is killin’ me. I really love the grain continuity, I want to try that on my next project.

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Andy October 24, 2008 10:37 am

Hi Marc,
First, I have a question on this episode. Why did you use a straight bit for cutting the slots on most of your door pieces, rather than the slot cutting bit all the way around? As for the stopped groves, it seems like it would be just as easy (or maybe easier) to move the piece away from the fence as it would be to lift the piece up off the table. In my limited experience, the slot cutting bit seems to cut more efficiently, and it lets you register off the table than off the fence.

Second, I just wanted to say thanks for producing an excellent show! I just watched Norm for the first time in quite a while, and I was struck by how much better your show is than his. NYW just felt rushed, there was not much explanation for why he did one thing over another, any minor mistakes were ignored or not filmed, and just not as much interesting detail overall. Keep up the good work!

Andy

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thewoodwhisperer October 24, 2008 10:56 am

Hey Andy. The reason for using the straight bit was for safety as well as saving me some work. Notice how I am able to drop the workpiece right on top of the bit, and the bit goes directly into the mortise. This means I am not cutting wood as I drop the piece onto the bit, which is always a little scary. Also, the straight bit makes a nice clean cut all the way from one side to the other. The slot bit, on the other hand. would actually leave some extra material in the groove near the mortise. The mortise is relatively small, and because the slot cutter is round, I couldn’t actually go as far as I would need to in order to completely clean out the groove. So I would have had to follow up with some chisel work. You can see an example of this in the episode where i added the ebony trim accents to the front of the case. Hopefully that makes sense.

And thanks for the insanely nice compliment! I am a big fan of NYW, and now that I make videos myself, I can see how hard it would be to do a whole piece of furniture in one 20 minute episode. Yikes!

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Chris October 24, 2008 7:04 pm

Marc,
Thanks for another inspiring episode. I was wondering what kind of push stick you were using when you were resawing the door panel wood.

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thewoodwhisperer October 24, 2008 7:23 pm

Actually, that was just a leftover test piece of bubinga stock. The end had a sample tenon on it so it worked well as a makeshift push stick. :) Whatever gets the job done. haha

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Andy October 24, 2008 9:05 pm

Hi Marc,
Yeah, that makes sense about the straight bit in the small mortise. Thanks for clarifying! I guess I was thinking about the pieces with longer mortises, where the slot cutter could be started inside a mortise also.

And re. NYW, I guess I wasn’t aiming for an “insanely nice compliment” – just sharing that I was a bit disappointed after watching his show. I felt like I didn’t learn anything, because he didn’t really explain his decision-making or thought processes. I also appreciate your opinions on your creative process and subtle but intentional design elements. I guess it’s a pretty different purpose behind the show, and a different market, but I’m glad you’re doing what you’re doing! Again, keep it up,
Andy

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Joab Oberlander October 27, 2008 10:48 am

Marc,
Great looking piece. I learn a lot from watching your web videos more than once. Why did you trim the door using the miter saw for one edge and then your table saw for the two others? Also, when you cut the ebony stock. were you using a feather board (the yellow plastic part)to hold the cut stock to the blade?
Thanks
Joab

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Phil _W October 27, 2008 11:35 am

Marc,
I’ve been following along and building a couple of campaign boxes in a Greene and Greene style. The lids will have panel tops much like your doors. Because the panels will move, should I finish them before assemble the lids? Otherwise, a line is going to show up every time it rains (in the Pacific NW)?

Phil

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thewoodwhisperer October 27, 2008 11:36 pm

Hey Phil. That is a very good idea. Whenever I can finish my panels ahead of time, I do. You will notice that in this series, I did not do that. I basically changed the order of things just a bit for the sake of continuity in the video.

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thewoodwhisperer October 28, 2008 1:36 am

Hey Joab. No real strategy involved. Just showing how it can be done multiple ways. And I believe I was using a magnetic featherboard to hold the ebony stock. Helps keep things that much safer on those small parts.

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DerekL March 18, 2010 10:01 am

Watching you scribe the lines on the door, why did you remain perpendicular to the line rather than parallel to the long side? Doing it the way you did makes a different shape than the other way.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer March 18, 2010 10:19 am
  
  I don’t understand what you mean Derek. Could you elaborate?
  
  Reply
  - DerekL March 18, 2010 10:24 am
    
    If you watch the video, while you’re scribing the left and right sides of the ‘cloud lift’ (for lack of a better term) your compass is perpendicular to the line and thus parallel to the long edges. When you scribe the curved portion, you turn your compass and stay perpendicular to the line, resulting in a scribed line that’s different from the original line.
    
    Everything I’ve seen says to keep the compass in the same orientation regardless of what the line does so you get a true copy. (The same way a key machine or lathe duplicator works.)
    
    Reply
    - thewoodwhisperer March 18, 2010 10:31 am
      
      I see what your saying. But in this case, we aren’t making a copy of the shape. We are trying mimic what the slot cutting bit would have cut. And for all intents and purposes, the slot cutting bit is doing the same thing I did with the compass, creating a profile that is a specific distance from the original line. Make sense?
    - DerekL March 18, 2010 5:42 pm
      
      That sound you just heard is me slapping my forehead and going “D’oh!”.
      
      Yet another thing that’s clearly obvious once it’s explained. :) :)
      
      Thanks Marc.
Johnathon September 18, 2010 8:49 pm

Marc,
Just watching the video’s for the first time and like how you spend time on all aspects of the project (most shows gloss over truing and squaring or glue-ups). I am interested in using spalted Maple for a similar project but I have heard it can be difficult to mill. Unfortunately the only portion you showed with the spalted Maple was the re-sawing to get the book matched panels. Were you able to joint and plane them or did you have to do something special? I have heard that you have to reinforce the spalting with glue etc.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer September 19, 2010 8:26 am
  
  Hey Jonathon. I didn’t have to do anything to reinforce the spalted maple. I suppose you might have problems with excessive spalting or one that just happen to create an unstable board. I simply jointed, planed, resawed, and finished as normal. But that doesn’t mean that will always be the case. Some spalted will need reinforcement.
  
  Reply
Seth January 22, 2013 9:32 pm

Marc,
I just acquired a new-to-me jointer so I’m looking for reasons to use it. In light of that, it occurred to me that your oversized doors could have been trimmed to fit using the jointer. Perhaps not the best idea though considering the opposing grain from the door’s joinery. Your thoughts on this technique?
Thanks!
-Seth

Reply

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68 – Gadget Station (11 of 12)

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