Joined
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129 Posts
Hello,
This is my first post here. I'm a woodworker with basic skills. I'm nearly 100% self taught. My dad has some basic carpentry skills and passed those on to me, but I prefer to get most of my knowledge from books and the internet. I just think it's faster that way these days.
I got into woodworking because I bought an old 1920s house and I wanted to fix it up. 2 years later, that's still my driving motivation. When I started, I had a hammer drill and a demolition saw. 2 years later I have a ridiculous number of tools that span the bridge between "woodworking" and "carpentry" pretty evenly. As an example, my most recent purchases included a set of Lie Nielsen hand planes and a Paslode air powered framing nailer. I buy what I need to do the projects quickly when I can, but versatility is most important to me.
I'm the sort of person who is more interested in the process than the end result. As such, I don't mind doing things the long way if I think it buys me something valuable. However, I go nuts if I have to do something repetitive too often and I know there is a better way.
Because of my remodeling focus, I'm particularly interested in millwork (doors, windows, etc). However, most of the projects I'm proud of to date have been focused on organizational "furniture". I've found that as my tool collection grows, my need to organize it effectively grows in proportion. So far I've built a massive 6ft x 6ft cubby shelving system for glass rod storage (my girlfriend is into lampworking) using dovetail joints for all of the joinery, and an even more massive, but much less refined 8ft x 2ft heavy duty 2x4 shelving system for scrap wood storage and tool storage. My next project with be a 2x4 based workbench so I can use my hand planes effectively.
Alright, anyway, I gave you all of that back story to let you know that while I'm not an idiot, I'm certainly quite ignorant in a lot of areas. Being self taught often leaves you with weird holes and blind spots in your knowledge base.
One problem I've had during both of these "furniture" projects is layout and marking efficiency. I think I spend MOST of my time using my tape measure, pencil, and square to draw perpendicular lines on boards. For example, the cubby project required a metric a$$ ton of markings for dados and markings for sliding dovetails.
This is a two step process. First, I measure the length from one end of the board and make a mark with my pencil. Second, I use my square and pencil to extend that line across the width of the board. Usually, I need a second line next to the first to designate the width of the saw blade (1/8") or dado or sliding dovetail. I fill in the space between these two lines using the pencil so I won't become confused when it comes time to cut.
All of this marking takes a lot of time. I recently realized a speed square will help speed up step #2 dramatically. However, what I'd really like to do is make this a one step process. Measure and draw. Boom. Done. It should be that easy.
What is the industry accepted way to do this? I've searched for linear slide measuring tools on google and I found the Acro Precision T-Rule: Incra T-RULE12 12-Inch Precision Marking T-Rule - Amazon.com
The T-Rule almost seems useful, but I don't think it's a full solution. I've been toying with the idea of making my own jig, maybe some sort of long linear slide. How do you people do this? Any ideas?
This is my first post here. I'm a woodworker with basic skills. I'm nearly 100% self taught. My dad has some basic carpentry skills and passed those on to me, but I prefer to get most of my knowledge from books and the internet. I just think it's faster that way these days.
I got into woodworking because I bought an old 1920s house and I wanted to fix it up. 2 years later, that's still my driving motivation. When I started, I had a hammer drill and a demolition saw. 2 years later I have a ridiculous number of tools that span the bridge between "woodworking" and "carpentry" pretty evenly. As an example, my most recent purchases included a set of Lie Nielsen hand planes and a Paslode air powered framing nailer. I buy what I need to do the projects quickly when I can, but versatility is most important to me.
I'm the sort of person who is more interested in the process than the end result. As such, I don't mind doing things the long way if I think it buys me something valuable. However, I go nuts if I have to do something repetitive too often and I know there is a better way.
Because of my remodeling focus, I'm particularly interested in millwork (doors, windows, etc). However, most of the projects I'm proud of to date have been focused on organizational "furniture". I've found that as my tool collection grows, my need to organize it effectively grows in proportion. So far I've built a massive 6ft x 6ft cubby shelving system for glass rod storage (my girlfriend is into lampworking) using dovetail joints for all of the joinery, and an even more massive, but much less refined 8ft x 2ft heavy duty 2x4 shelving system for scrap wood storage and tool storage. My next project with be a 2x4 based workbench so I can use my hand planes effectively.
Alright, anyway, I gave you all of that back story to let you know that while I'm not an idiot, I'm certainly quite ignorant in a lot of areas. Being self taught often leaves you with weird holes and blind spots in your knowledge base.
One problem I've had during both of these "furniture" projects is layout and marking efficiency. I think I spend MOST of my time using my tape measure, pencil, and square to draw perpendicular lines on boards. For example, the cubby project required a metric a$$ ton of markings for dados and markings for sliding dovetails.
This is a two step process. First, I measure the length from one end of the board and make a mark with my pencil. Second, I use my square and pencil to extend that line across the width of the board. Usually, I need a second line next to the first to designate the width of the saw blade (1/8") or dado or sliding dovetail. I fill in the space between these two lines using the pencil so I won't become confused when it comes time to cut.
All of this marking takes a lot of time. I recently realized a speed square will help speed up step #2 dramatically. However, what I'd really like to do is make this a one step process. Measure and draw. Boom. Done. It should be that easy.
What is the industry accepted way to do this? I've searched for linear slide measuring tools on google and I found the Acro Precision T-Rule: Incra T-RULE12 12-Inch Precision Marking T-Rule - Amazon.com
The T-Rule almost seems useful, but I don't think it's a full solution. I've been toying with the idea of making my own jig, maybe some sort of long linear slide. How do you people do this? Any ideas?
