We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations.
Today, Phil Lowe set up a jig to waste out the front side of the bridle joint that the leg sleeves over in our demilune tables, and a niggling thought crept in to my head. Did I really keep the screws out of the leg locations when bricking the rim? I think I did, but…¦ The last thing I wanted to do was hit a screw and set off the Saw Stop. For one thing, the Marc Adams School of Woodworking has only the one dado stack at the moment, and I didn’t want to keep anyone else in the class from getting their work accomplished. And it would be really embarrassing.
Just in case, I moved to the end of the line. I figured if I did set it off, I could handle the embarrassment , as long as I didn’t hold anyone else up. But as I waited, I decided I’d best chop out the waste by hand. The longer I stood there, the more I convinced myself that I’d misplaced a screw. But my handsaw skills are, shall we say, in the developmental stage. So at Phil’s suggestion, I clamped a guide block along my scribed line, and kept the saw blade pressed flat to that “training wheel” as I cut down to the shoulders at each location. Then I chiseled out the waste and flattened the bottom with a shoulder plane. Of course, there was nary a screw in sight.
This was the first time I’d used a chisel for precision work other than dovetails. Dovetails are small. This joint is not. I’ve struggled with getting things flat and even, and squaring the shoulders (among other things). Phil makes it look so easy.
I knew coming into this class that I was jumping into the deep end. In theory, I know why the blade is cambered in a smooth plane, and how to use that plane. I’ve read reams on how to hold and use a handsaw. I’ve watched editor Christopher Schwarz demonstrate plane us, and the three classes of saw cuts , more than once. (Chris makes it look easy, too). Heck , Chris has even stuck a plane in my hand and given me a lesson on its use. But I didn’t pick up the plane again until this class. Using these tools with purpose is very different than reading about it, watching someone do it, or taking a few desultory swipes at a board , no matter how good the instructor. Use it or lose it.
My table might approach mediocrity. My cuts aren’t great, my tenons are loose, and I got so excited about my plane shavings that I was overzealous , the ankles on my tapered table legs are very delicate indeed. But it will be the best darn demilune table I’ve ever built. The next one will be even better , and will use no screws at all.
Read Part 1 of this series here. And Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here.
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
Megan,
I love your spirit! I bit off more that I could chew on my first real project. It’s not the prettiest but it hasn’t fallen apart either :). It’s been a few year now. I can now smile when I see it, instead of thinking of grabbing an ax and chopping it up for firewood. Always keep your first projects to remind you how far you have come.
Mike