re: Getting started

lanwater, I haven’t planned anything out really. I went into the shop with an idea of what I needed ( a table) and just went from there. I learned a lot from building the sewing box. This time around, I didn’t cut anything until I was ready to cut everything, if that makes sense. I cut all of the legs at once, all of the apron pieces, etc. I knew I wanted mortise and tenon joinery, so I made sure to have every piece ready so I could cut them all at once. Doing it that way was not only fast (it only took about 10 minutes to cut all the tenons), but it also assured that all of the tenons would be exactly the same size. I was even careful to cut them a tiny bit wide so I had to pare them down with a chisel for a nice snug fit. I really want a shoulder plane now! I’m also not gluing anything together until I have all of the pieces completed.

I’m far from being a pro. This is just a simple table. I’m taking what I learned from building the sewing box and applying it. I’m trying to think the entire project through by building it in my head.

Bill, the jigs are great. They literally took only minutes to make. The sled took the longest because of getting the rear fence dead square with the blade. Now I can cut with 100% confidence, knowing that when I line up the marks with the cut in the sled, that’s exactly what I’m going to get. I still use the miter saw to cut 8’ stock to within a few inches of final length, but the table saw makes the finish cut.

And hey, everybody loves pictures ;)