It’s show #493 for December 9th, 2020. On today’s show we’re talking about precision and accuracy.
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Main Topic: Precision and Accuracy
What are they and when are they important? We define each term and agree that precision is more important when it comes to furniture making but it can also depend on what kind of woodworker you are. We talk about when each is important but when a dependence on one can also get you in trouble.
Emails and Voicemails
- Kaleb asks about buying lumber when all the dealers in his neighborhood are wholesalers cue Shannon’s Lumber Industry Update theme song but also check out Episode 16 on Buying Lumber
- Andrew asks about a Moravian workbench and its effectiveness
- Jeff wonders when you should put wax over top of another finish
- Matt is renting and asks about altering his shop space
- Eric asks if he has to soak his new ceramic sharpening stones all the time
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Finally you can find us individually on Instagram at mattcremona, woodwhisperer, and renaissancewoodworker
9 replies on “WT493 – Don’t Trust Hand Tools”
Already done “Wood Talk #161 – Precision and Accuracy”
I’m an Architect, we maintain in my office that concrete foundation workers only have every 3 inches on their measuring tapes. Anything closer was probably a mistake
Go – No Go gauges are used a lot in mass manufacturing. It is a quick method of checking if the feature (hole, thickness etc) meets the tolerance provided on the print. A properly designed and manufactured Go-No go gauge checks that it does conform, and it does not require the operator to read any measurements, either it fits the go or the no go side of the gauge. In my day job (and night job some days) as a mechanical engineer every print I work with has tolerances on each dimension and when parts are machined they have to meet that tolerance. Unfortunately I have also had to deal with Go-No Go gauges that were not corrected and therefore caused accepting/rejecting parts incorrectly. (now on the correct episode)
On over building things: Step back and look at historic pieces, and then think things through. And, add in modern methods and materials.
For example the drawer boxes, with 3/4 sides because the drawers were deep/long. If you use modern drawer slides, the sides can be 1/2-inch thick. The slides are going to hold much of the load, and the drawer is held by the slide. Of more concern is the thickness of the bottom. A piece of 1/4-inch plywood probably wont last in a drawer full of tools, or hardware. and you should go up to 1/2-inch.
On over building things: Step back and look at historic pieces, and then think things through. And, add in modern methods and materials.
For example the drawer boxes, with 3/4 sides because they were deep. If you use modern drawer slides, the sides can be 1/2-inch thick. The slides are going to hold much of the load. Of more concern is the thickness of the bottom. A piece of 1/4-inch plywood probably wont last in a drawer full of tools, or hardware. and you should go up to 1/2-inch.
I found one of the best places to get figured wood, was the local office of a large national cabinet maker.
They buy wood in huge quantities. They do not typically want highly figures wood. If your building a whole subdivision worth of kitchen cabinets, they all need to look the same. So, they pitch figured wood into a cull pile, and let employees take it home as fire wood.
I showed up one day, and asked about buying some of it. The plant manager let me have all I could haul on my small pickup for $50.
Power in a rented shop. I rented a house with only two receptacles in the garage. But it also housed the laundry. I made up a panel with plug and tail which plugged into the 240V, 40-amp receptacle for the dryer. 1@240v-20Amp, and 2@120V-20Amp. Still had to run extension cords, but I now had enough receptacles to run the table saw, and a shop vac as a dust collector.
When I moved it came with me.
https://giphy.com/gifs/bill-murray-meatballs-jUnob4sFiHTX6t1gUN
I’m renting a house right now. The breaker box is in the garage, and it had enough space to add a 240V breaker. So, I temporarily installed a breaker and wired up a surface mount receptacle right next to the box. So, I can remove it when I leave with minimal work to restore everything. When I leave, I’ll pull out my breaker, the Romex and the receptacle, then just a little wall repair, and a cover for the breaker slot.
I use Go, No-Go gauges for building AR style rifles to check the chamber. There is also a Field gauge that I do not use. If the bolt closes on a Go and not on a No-Go, the chamber is good. The Field gauge is actually bigger than a No-Go. You can have a chamber that closes on a Go and closes on a No-Go, but does not close on a field gauge, and it will be in spec. However, the chamber will be at the high end of the spec. So, you can use a Go and a Field gauge, but many, prefer to use Go and No-Go to verify a tighter chamber than max spec. After all, the chamber will wear over time. If one day the No-Go fits when it didn’t before, you have indication that the chamber has worn a bit. I’d hate to have a Field gauge fit one day.