Does your circular saw not already have a rip fence guide? My Skil saw has one that I have used quite successfully over the years. Honestly, until I was out of college, I didn't realize what "that little T thing" was until a friend showed me.
Circular saw over a jig saw all the way for ripping straight lines. If you want an even better straight line with a circular saw clamp a piece of wood to what you are cutting and use that as a guide.
Totally works great. I have a small portable contractor type table saw that doesn't handle big pieces, nor do I have the room to handle the infeed and outfeed of large boards. I just went out and got a long piece of melamine shelving material, cut it lengthwise about 1/3 over, took the small piece (with the engineered edge) and glued/screwed it on top of the 2/3 sized piece so that the engineered edge is now on top and in the middle of the total width to use as the straight guide up against the saw, then ran the saw down that straight edge to trim the bottom piece to be equally as straight. The melamine works awesome as it's nice and smooth with little friction, and it's got a perfectly straight edge on it. I now have that straight edge guide that I can clamp to any surface that is specifically for my circular saw. I actually have 2 of them... one 4.5' long, one 9' long, depending on the size of the cut I have to make. I use it all the time for trimming large 4x8' sheets down to manageable and desired sizes... put the piece up on a table, sawhorse, bench, whatever, clamp the straight edge to it, and go. Just be sure to get a nice blade for the saw, as they usually come with a really aggressive saw designed for framing or something... spend a few bucks and get a high-tooth blade and it'll make all the difference in the cuts.
Actually, this is close enough: That edge down the middle of the top piece is the original factory edge that is straight, and on the bottom piece, that overlap just has to be enough so that the first time you run the saw over it there's enough to trim it to be exactly parallel with that fence piece. Stupidly simple, yet amazingly effective. The only thing you have to realize is that most saws have different widths of bases on either side of their blades, so it's probably going to be a "use in this direction only" kind of fence. I put a big sharpie arrow on mine so that I know it's only going in that direction. This leaves the edge of the base always flush (zero clearance) with the blade and really limits any tearout.
And, if you're cutting a 1/2 thick board, don't leave the depth set for a 2x4, either. At least I've better luck with clean finishes that way.
Absolutely... you always want your blade to just barely clear the piece you're cutting for best results. And on that note, I spent the $$$ for one of those fancy finishing blades, and I'll be damned if it doesn't do a great job.
Any recommendations on bandsaw blades? I already have a decent 1/4" blade and an okay 3/8", but want a 3/4" blade for re-sawing and am officially done with the shitty old 3/4" blade that opened me up. I haven't touched the machine since that stupid accident but my thumb is healed up and I'm ready to get back in the saddle now. I need to work on it so the blade doesn't want to misbehave again but will add a thick piece of steel to the blade guard for piece of mind now regardless. The saw is a Delta 14" with a 6" riser block and I still need to measure how long it needs to be, but I have yet to buy any blades for it myself and don't know the good from the bad from the ugly brand-wise.
I'm not sure if I should put this here or Bob Villa thread, but since it's mostly going to be wood (I think), I'm putting it here. I don't have gutters on my house. My deck door takes a ton of splatter when it rains, and it's causing some moisture / rot issues. So, I need to do something. I was going to try and find just a plain awning, but I can't really find what I want that will look right. So, I'm considering building something instead. I have left over shingles from building the house, so I'll use those. I'm not sure if I want a small gable, or something with hips, or just a plain shed. And, I also have no idea what to call it to search on Google. I was going with "entry door overhang" so far, that seemed to get decent results. Probably something like this: or this: Does anybody know a good online source for plans for something like this? I also liked this video that shows what appears to be a kit assembly that I might could copy, but I can't seem to track down any info on it.
This worked great! I was able to rip down sheets of plywood with nice straight edges. I also built the cross cut guide as well and with both guides I could make really nice cuts. I spent the last couple of weekends making this table with the above mentioned guides: I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The stain didn't come out how I had pictured it in my head, but it came out fine in the end.
I'll admit, I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to anything related to woodworking, so I'm hoping somebody here can help me out. I got a Boos block as a Christmas present last year but I've just recently noticed some splitting and cracking at the ends of the board. From what I can surmise from my initial online searching is that this is caused due to either excessive moisture on the board or an improper gluing/drying procedure. I've tried putting a few extra coats of mineral oil and butcher block conditioner on to see if it helps and I've seen a bit of improvement, but as you can see in the picture, there's still some noticeable splits in the ends. So, is there anything I can do at this point? Would it be worth using some woodworking clamps on the ends to try and push the ends back together?
First I'd be curious if the manufacturer has any specific instructions. Wood is going to expand and contract with the changing of weather and seasons and take advantage of a weak adhesive bond or just go crazy if there's a lot of moisture left on it, it's the nature of the beast. So that being said, the boards may very well swell back to fill the gaps. Otherwise if it stays like that I'd try to rinse out some of the mineral oil and wax with a solvent like mineral spirits (mineral oil and waxes are not good for adhesives) and then fill in the gaps for good with a clear 2-part epoxy- not the 5-minute cure type if possible too so you have more working time. Compressed air can blast it deep into fine cracks like that where it would otherwise just want to sit on top. Fill, sand flush, and repeat as necessary 'til the gaps are no more. Take this advice with a grain of salt though since I have not actually repaired a cutting board like yours but have done similar repairs with cracks in gunstocks, I've been wrong many times before.
I've also used some thick CA glue that is designed to fill in cracks and gaps. Pour some of it in (the thick stuff is almost a gel) and then hit it with an activator, let it sit/cure (overnight?), and then sand/scrape it down. Something like this: http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/hlc/hlc108.htm It'll start to harden instantly when you hit it with the activator, which will hold it in the crack and fill the gap. At this point, it's probably just cosmetic, not structural. As long as you keep the rest of the board properly seasoned/oiled, it shouldn't be a problem.
Just as an aside, that's how I deal with loose knots on a flat surface. I really like cedar, but it's a pain in the ass for knots, so I just fill them all with that stuff so they don't fall apart later. Here you can see some that I have yet to scrape down (I use a furniture scrapers or a plane rather than sand it so I don't get divots around it and the surface stays nice and flat).
Good timing you post this, I was just using some CA glue gel this week to fill stupid little pinholes and flaws in a gloss finish before sanding with 800 grit and resuming with buffing finish over. It works! On that note I buy it in bulk from Harbor Freight. Makes no sense to pay more when it's the same stuff.
Here's a good example of a glued knot I just ran through the thickness planer. Normally that would fall out and leave you with an ugly edge, but filled with CA glue and it's solid and workable. (the edge hasn't been cleaned up yet, just the face)
Well, since I totally struck out finding plans, or a kit, or anything like I wanted (or any help from you losers), I just designed and built it myself. It's not exactly perfect, but turned out alright, for a hack. Spoiler: Before Spoiler: After