Timber
From Lumenlab
By RiCoda
1/ Throw away the Tape measure, if you want accurate work you need accurate measurements, buy a cheap steel rule at least 600mm long, still miles better than a tape.
2/ Mark accurate cuts with a knife, this does 2 things a knife cut is a lot more accurate than a pencil line (i still use a pencil, when it's not real critical) and if you score right around the piece you want to cut than you lessen the chance of breakout (chips). i just use a cheap stanley knife (carpet knife with replaceable blades) i tilt the knife slightly to make a square cut on the work side taking into account the sharpened bevel on these blades, means i can use the same blade to mark out on the left or right of a square or straightedge. this leaves a vertical cut on the workpiece on the good side otherwise it would tend to cut a V.
3/ Know your tools, a table saw will cause breakout on the bottom of the cut, a hand held circular saw will cause breakout on the top. A jigsaw can do it either side depending on the type of blade used (upcut or downcut - upcut is more common) - also know how the tools work best, a router likes getting fed into timber that will push the workpiece against a fence, feeding from the wrong side will pull the work off the fence. DON"T PULL THE TIMBER BACKWARDS THRU A SPINNING SAW! this could grab and kickback, and when it does usually the first thing in-line is the family jewels
4/ work to your skill level, dovetails might look nice, but if you havn't picked up a chisel before than stick to something easy. can't cut a straight joint? then devise a method of hiding it, a small strip of timber over a joint adds character and a bit of strength.
5/ Keep the tools sharp! a blunt saw will increase the effort required to use it, be it power or hand. increasing effort to feed into a cut increases the chance of errors.
6/ USE SAFETY PROTECTION. - like goggles, earplugs/muffs, filter mask with MDF. but steer clear of gloves around power tools, gloves decrease your gripping power and you could slip and a loose glove could also be grabbed by a spinning blade. same goes for long hair and drills ... ouch!
7/ Don't use a tool for what it's not intended for, a chisel is no good for undoing screws (ok it might be, but then it's no good for chiseling) a exemption to this rule might be to sharpen up a small screwdriver to use as chisel to clean out a joint, but then it's not used as a screwdriver again.
8/ Make a jig for a difficult job, ok it might seem wasteful of a lump of timber, but believe me a specially made jig for doing a job makes it that much easier. a - Crossdrilling round stock - use a V-Block b - ripping timber - use a purpose built straight edge. an easy one to make is to glue a strip on top of another piece of timber (use nice straight timber) then run the saw down this to rip it to the width of your saw base, it can then be sat on you markout lines for a accurate cut. c - want to drill a lot of holes a set distance apart use a piece of scrap with the holes drilled in it as a guide, lot more accurate than marking out.
9/ Want to divide a piece of timber into equal parts. use this method, say the piece is 187mm wide and you want 5 equal lines for some reason. think of a number thats divideable by 5 like 200mm sit the ruler at a angle with 0 and 200 lined up on the either edge and mark off from there, lot easier than trying to find 43.25mm or something like that. (use that knife to markout!)
10/ Have a nice sturdy well lit place to work at a comfortable height, even a piece of MDF sitting on the kitchen table (ask the missus first!) is better than balancing on a upturned drum.
11/ Don't be afraid to ask for help, that timber yard could cut the sheets to size for a small price, a friend with power tools is a big bonus.
12/ PreDrill holes for screws, nothing worse than assembling a job and then finding the screws have split the timber. edge screwing into mdf is prone to splitting.
13/ study the timber constuction, timber moves with the seasons (remember that sticky door in the house that jams in winter?, it's the house moving with the seasons) in other words try to keep the grain all running the same way if possible. if you looked at a lump of wood under a microscope (not MDF) you would see little tubes running with the grain, these are what the tree drew nurishment thru, so these tubes expand and contract with the humidity which makes timber expand and contract ACROSS the grain, there is still some lengthways movement, but nowhere near the same.
14/ want a nice finish? damp down the timber a little to lift the grain, then sand it off, does a wonderful job. again it's only for real timber not mdf.
15/ while on the subject of MDF, use a proper MDF primer thats not water based, water based primers will soak into mdf, expand the material splitting joints and such. after you use the correct primer you can paint with whatever you like.
16/ Will your design work? try a cardboard mockup first before you take saw to wood, lot cheaper!
