Academy Notes and Tips - Basic techniques for Faceplate Turning


	*Academy Notes and Tips*
	MAY/JUN 2003 Volume 46/Issue 3 *IN THIS ISSUE* Project Articles • Wall-Hung Curio Cabinet • Mobile Potting Table • Pencil and Stamp Holder *DEPARTMENTS* • Ask Smitty • Owner’s Gallery • Letters from Owners Academy Notes Furniture Joinery Service Pointers MARK V Speed Change Mechanism Safety Tips Safety Do's and Don'ts What's New Shopsmith and Lowe's Team Up *EDUCATION* • Find A Shopsmith Woodworking Academy Near You • National Woodworking Academy in Dayton, OH *ONLINE CATALOGS* • Online Accessory Catalog • Request Printed Accessory Catalog • Online Replacement Parts Catalog *MARK V INFORMATION* • Find A Shopsmith MARK V Demo Near You • Request MARK V Information Package *LINKS* • Links Worth Visiting • Free Woodworking Tips *FEEDBACK* Contacting Shopsmith Copyright 2003. Shopsmith, Inc. All Rights Reserved
				From the Shopsmith Woodworking Academy Basic techniques for Faceplate Turning Printer friendly PDF copy of article
				The Tools Of Precision Joinery There is an endless array of tools available to help the modern-day woodworker create more attractive, stronger joints for his (or her) projects. Some are “Must-Have” tools, while others fall into the “Handy-To-Have” category. Let's take a look.... Layout/Marking Tools Here is a list of layout tools used for marking-out tight-fitting joints: Precision steel rule - 12" long is best, that measures all the way to the end Precision square - All-steel models, permanently set at 90-degrees are best 45-degree miter square - For marking mitered joints. Again, all-steel models, permanently set at a 45-degree angle are best Protractor/bevel - For measuring and marking angles other than 90 or 45-degrees with precision Precision Triangles - A set of 45-degree and 30/60-degree metal triangles are often the best choice for marking-out specialized cuts and setting-up your tools for making those cuts Sliding Bevel - These are used for transferring odd angles when marking-out or setting-up your machines to make special cuts Dial Caliper - Perfect for accurately measuring the thickness of boards or the depths and/or widths of mortises and holes Cutting & Fitting Tools The following is a list of “Must-Have” and “Handy-To-Have” tools for creating heirloom-quality joints: “MUST-HAVE” TOOLS A Table Saw, of course with a Hollow-Ground Planer Blade or top-quality Carbide-Tipped Combination Blade for making smooth cuts. A good quality Dado Blade Set is also a real “must” A Jointer for truing-up the mating edges of your boards. A Disc Sander for smoothing end grains and squaring-off your cuts. A Conical Sanding Disc will do an even better, swirl-free job of this task. A Drill Press with a good set of non-splintering, easy-centering Brad Point Drill Bits to bore smooth, accurately-placed holes A Dovetail Fixture with a matching Dovetail Bit and hand-held Router are a requirement for making conventional drawer and cabinet dovetails “HANDY-TO-HAVE” TOOLS A Micro-Adjustable Table Saw Indexing Fixture such as the Incra TSIII Ultra Fence System simplifies and dramatically speeds the task of making minute adjustments to your machinery for creating super tight-fitting joinery Miter-Cutting Attachment for your Table Saw, such as Shopsmith's Miter-Pro makes easy work of cutting 45-degree miters for picture frames and similar projects A Miter-Setter such as Shopsmith's MiterMatic is an invaluable aid for setting-up your Table Saw for making precise angled cuts, time-after-time A set of precision Dado Shims will be of immeasurable help in making the often miniscule adjustments required for setting-up tight-fitting dado joints with a stacking Dado Blade Set A Mortising Attachment is the easiest way to cut precision mortises for mortise-and-tenon joints A Tenoning Jig is used on your Table Saw for cutting precision tenons on the ends of boards when creating mortise-and-tenon joints A Biscuit Joiner will help you reinforce butt joints when joining narrow boards together to create wide ones...or for cabinet face frames One final thought on joinery -- Of course, there's a lot more that can be said about joinery. But the fundamentals are nothing more than god woodworking sense - governed by the three rules: 1): Allow the wood to move 2): Support the loads and 3): Join long grain to long grain. Once you understand that basic concept, you can design and build almost anything. As you start out to build your own furniture, here's one last thought; Design a piece around good, solid joinery; don't add the joints to fit the design.