2. Most boards display rift grain at the edges and plain grain in the middle. To cut legs for a project that displays straight riftsawn pattern on all four faces cut your legs from the edges of your boards. You will get legs with four good faces and look good from any angle.
3. When preparing laminates make the bottom board wider than the others, with one long edge machined straight and square. During glue-up have the squared edge proud of the rest of the stack. Once glue has dried you can use this edge against your tablesaw fence to square the other side.
4. Compact discs make excellent shims for setting up dado blades. Simply enlarge the hole to your tablesaw’s arbor size, and insert the discs between the blades to the required thickness you need.
5. Some woods are more prone to tearout and require an extra step when cutting, especially plywood. Run a strip of masking tape down the length of your wood; mark your cutline directly on the tape. Saw and remove tape. It should be tearout free.
These are a few woodworking tips and tidbits that we picked up (and/or wrote down) over the past week. They come from a variety of sources including magazines, newsletters, online and personal experience.
There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.
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