Fun With Wood
Have you ever heard the expression, "A poor carpenter blames his tools."? Well, that's a load of crap because a good carpenter wouldn't use a really ratty tablesaw. How does this apply to me? It doesn't because I use a really ratty tablesaw.
With the production of the second control panel in the works, I needed to start thinking about the control panel frame. I designed some plans in Adobe Illustrator over the course of a few hours. Building a wood control in the same shape and with the same angles as the original metal panel is extremely complex. Each support panel has three unique angles in order to support the upward angle of the button panel.
Once I finally worked out the complicated angles and drew out the plans, I piled up some lumber I had in my storage closet and headed to the workshop. This step caused me to face a problem I had known about for some time and had been avoiding. The problem? My tablesaw is a disaster. I purchased a portable Ryobi tablesaw this past summer knowing I needed a tablesaw for light woodworking. My attempt to saw a piece of pine with the included 24 tooth saw blade was met with the same results as sawing through an iron ship keel. Before I could proceed with any serious construction on my control panel I would have to roll up my sleeves and make some serious adjustments.
First step was to replace the blade. My dad and I installed a 10" DeWalt 80 tooth carbide blade which cut through my test lumber like butter. Next was to square the blade angle. My test cuts initially made 90 degree cuts that were approximately 87 degrees. With a few turns of the screwdriver we were finally making true cuts.
With the saw calibrated correctly, I could finally start working on building the panel. To support the weight of the controls I am making the frame from oak, which is a very strong wood. Oak, however, is outrageously expensive. Because of the complicated angles of the wood panels, I am making numerous pine copies before proceeding to the final oak version to ensure the craftsmanship is top-notch.
With the production of the second control panel in the works, I needed to start thinking about the control panel frame. I designed some plans in Adobe Illustrator over the course of a few hours. Building a wood control in the same shape and with the same angles as the original metal panel is extremely complex. Each support panel has three unique angles in order to support the upward angle of the button panel.
Once I finally worked out the complicated angles and drew out the plans, I piled up some lumber I had in my storage closet and headed to the workshop. This step caused me to face a problem I had known about for some time and had been avoiding. The problem? My tablesaw is a disaster. I purchased a portable Ryobi tablesaw this past summer knowing I needed a tablesaw for light woodworking. My attempt to saw a piece of pine with the included 24 tooth saw blade was met with the same results as sawing through an iron ship keel. Before I could proceed with any serious construction on my control panel I would have to roll up my sleeves and make some serious adjustments.
First step was to replace the blade. My dad and I installed a 10" DeWalt 80 tooth carbide blade which cut through my test lumber like butter. Next was to square the blade angle. My test cuts initially made 90 degree cuts that were approximately 87 degrees. With a few turns of the screwdriver we were finally making true cuts.
With the saw calibrated correctly, I could finally start working on building the panel. To support the weight of the controls I am making the frame from oak, which is a very strong wood. Oak, however, is outrageously expensive. Because of the complicated angles of the wood panels, I am making numerous pine copies before proceeding to the final oak version to ensure the craftsmanship is top-notch.
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