thanks, I do have a piece like you mention which I stick between the rails to keep them spaced properly. I look forward to all the ideas I can get too. I've just learned by doing mostly, and my methods can be annoying and I know there's got to be easier ways.
Matt ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob Kennedy To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 8:12 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] wood working table recommendations please? That's the small Workmate, about half the size of the original. I think for what you are describing, you're going to need to make some specialized jigs for your specialty. You can always run a length of T track along a table and then you could fit toggle and hold down clamps in the track, and then you could rotate the clamp to the correct angle. There are several type of things to check square. I often use assembly squares when I want to be sure my pieces are at 90 degrees. Some I have are from aircraft aluminum and are only about a quarter inch thick but they look like a piece of aluminum angle iron. I use the spring clamps to hold them in place because it's fast. I also have some from Woodpeckers that are 3 quarters thick and you can use C clamps and not hurt them. They would work well for aligning and you can check the square of your wood as well. Woodpeckers guarantees their squares to .001 of an inch of being square. That's machinist talk not woodworking. Since you know how far apart the tracks need to be, you could rip a spacer the right width and butt the tracks against it before shooting a brad. I'm hoping there will be some more ideas to come along as well. ----- Original Message ----- From: Matt To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 8:08 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] wood working table recommendations please? Hello, I am just putting out feelers to see what is possible. I have never really seen a work bench with the different clamps and such. I have two tables, one I just pile stuff on for now, and the other is a long table which holds all of my bench tools, like band saw, drill press, and sander. I did go to the files area of the list's web sight today and downloaded the file concerning different sorts of clamps. So maybe If I study that, it will give me a better understanding. I have used the spring loaded clothes pin types of clamps, the long metal ones with the slidding pieses with screw down pieces, c clamps and that's about all I have ever used. My saws have fences and my compound miter has a sort of clamp which sticks in a hole on the side, and has a little lever you push down to make it come down and hold things. I make train tracks, which requires keeping the rails a certain distance apart and elevated or sitting over the cross ties? But Anyway, I have to work it out so that the rails are strait, and they are set over usually cardboard box so that when I shoot the brad or t nails in, and they poke through, I can still lift the finished piece and clip off the excess nail on the underside, before setting the tracks on a display piece of board. It would be nice to be able to work up some way of constantly spacing those rails and working out the set up of that. Keeping my ties up against a fence, and some how spaced properly. It would be nice to stick a piece of 1 by 4 which I intend to use as the bottom board for a truck, car or train car up against a strait and true l shaped angle and tell if I hadn't made a mistake in the cutting or selecting of the wood. And that it was at right angles and all. I probably could achieve this by clamping my square, which is just a l shaped piece of metal ruler I figure to my table. I would like a dedicated set up to work out where runningboards on truck and car pieces go, or to get pieces of wood which serve as bumpers on the cars or trucks sintered properly with less trouble. where fenders go and such as that. Mainly, I either need a table which already has places for the different clamps I might need, or which might make my life easier. Or, I need to get them and figure out what sort of holes I might need to drill in a wooden table I already have made out of a 3 or 4 foot by 2 foot piece of wood which is probably the thickness of a 1 by 4, maybe a touch less. But I don't know how I might go about cutting long slots, for a sliding fence or anything like that, so that I could but things up against that. I'm just curious as to what's out there. I am tired of having to get in the floor most times to work out the set up of pieces before I glue or nail them. The table someone had suggested is evidently really cheap and from what I read of reviews, they started good, but in recent years, the pieces are made in china and people told stories of having to rig and squeeze and hammer pieces that didn't really fit in to holes and just making it sort of work. My friend looked at the table in pictures online and said there wasn't much to it. Here's her description of it. It certainly sounds too small for my wants. For the work table, how big a surface are you looking for? The photos show the table is about as wide as a bicycle tire, and just big enough to set a circular saw on top. It looks sort of like a folding TV tray table. The work surface looks like 2 parallel one by four boards mounted on top of two bar clamps. The boards run side to side, the bars from front to back. You can clamp items between the 2 boards by opening or closing the bar clamps on either side. The clamps screw open or closed by cranking the handles that stick out the front on either side of the table. The clamps can be moved independently, ie. the boards don't have to remain parallel, so you can clamp uneven items. And you could certainly attach your own clamps to the surface. Each board has 3 holes in various spots toward each end into which you can insert what they call bench dogs which are pegs with a flat side. You can slide something up against the pegs to keep it from sliding off the bench. Here are additional specs from the Black and Decker page: Vertical Clamping - N/A Bench Height - 29-3/4 " Parallel Clamping - 4-5/8 " Diagonal Clamping - 24 " Parallel Peg Clamping - 10-3/4 " Diagonal Peg Clamping - 22-3/8 " Work Surface - 9"x24" " Capacity - 350 lbs http://www.blackanddecker.com/productguide/product-details.aspx?productid=4617&toolview=4#details ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob Kennedy To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 6:03 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] wood working table recommendations please? How much do you want to spend? Kreg has an assembly table with T tracks and 90 degree corners and all but that is more for cabinet work. Making the toys you list I'm not sure I see the need to put out lots of money on a fancy table. Not to say there isn't a need, I just don't see it myself. Maybe I'm missing something. How are you wanting to clamp things. If you want built in vises or something on that order, you'll pay a fortune. If you are looking for something to assemble your projects on, you could make a very sturdy table by gluing a couple sheets of 3 quarter plywood or MDF and making some legs and braces for it. Help us out with what type of clamp you want to use. Also, I would think it better to use a square in your hand but again I may be missing something in a special need. ----- Original Message ----- From: Matt To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 2:36 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] wood working table recommendations please? Hello, I am interested in finding a work table or bench with built in features such as clamps and maybe a good strait guide for making sure that pieces are square and so on? I make toy trucks, trains, cars, that sort of thing. Someone had suggested a black and Decker work bench, but I read some bad reviews. Of course, that doesn't always mean anything. What do you suggest I get in one or do you have a store bought one which you like? If you suggest my building my own, please indicate what sort of clamps and where to put them, and whatever else you might can think of which I am not writing here. Thanks a lot, I am not currently doing anything much in my shop but would like to be at it again. Matt [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
