This Episodes Questions:

Brians Questions:

I’ve been making music boxes and trying to replicate the traditional style (see attached photos). I’m struggling to get the curved edge just right. I’ve tried using a planer, but I keep messing up and have ended up wasting a lot of boards.

Router round-overs almost work, but still need planed or sanded after routing to get the shape just right, and also they’re pretty dangerous given the small and awkward size of the pieces—I’m working with ¾-inch thick wood that’s 2.5 inches high for the box sides. I'd like a repeatable process that provides consistent shapes, but can't seem to find a way to achieve it.  Advice? Trish

I’ve heard a few of your podcasts where you speak about making boxes and using a router to make the miter. I’m assuming you’re using a bit with a 45° angle. What I don’t understand is, how do you get the sides to be the exact same length while using your router table. It would seem to me that having the top of the angle (the point of the angle) against the fence would be almost impossible to get perfectly sized sides.  Can you please describe what I am missing here, since a perfect 45° angle using a route a bit seems incredibly simple. Mike G.

Guys Questions:

I have always tried to select straight grain for legs, aprons, stretchers and the frame of a frame and panel.  I am now thinking this may be too much straight grain in a piece of furniture. When are the times that you would not do this and would instead use a more interesting grain pattern in these pieces.  Does the wood species affect your choice? For example, it seems like the current trend with walnut is not worrying about getting any straight grain in the pieces at all.  Thanks for all your help. Jeff

Hi from Melbourne Australia. I’ve been listening for years, and I like how y’all do things! Thanks for making the best woodworking pod.

Like everyone, I have a small shop, that I fit a lot into. Without listing every item… I’ve got stationary machines covered with a euro style slider (Hammer K3), a 14” bandsaw (N4400) and a combo planer/thicknesser (A3-31). Those 3 cover my needs really well, and I’ve learned to work within the capacity of my tools and space.

It’s the secondary/benchtop machines that are causing trouble. Mitre saw was first to go. Don’t miss it, don’t need it. I’m looking at sanders next. The disc sander stays, couldn’t live without it. But the 1632 drum sander and the oscillating bobbin sander are both rarely used and take up space I want back.

Could you life without them? If not, what’s the essential job they do for you?

I’m usually making furniture sized objects. With the finish I get off the helical thicknesser, I find that hand planes/scrapers, ROS, and hand sanding is usually all I need. For bigger flat things, I’m gonna pay a pro shop to put it thru a wide belt sander anyway. Johnny

Huys Questions:

I was trained on a belt sander, and as Guy has mentioned, there is a learning curve. I’m now very proficient with one and it is a central part of my stock prep: from the planer, I belt sand a rough-sized board with 80 grit, wet it down and let it dry to raise any remaining compression marks from the planer, and then belt sand with 120. I then cut the board to final dimension, random orbital sand with 120, cut the joinery, and then random orbital sand the fitted piece to 180 before final assembly. The process leaves flawless surfaces every time. For panel glue-ups and tabletops, I glue up from the planer using cauls and then make sure the 80 grit belt sanding that follows evens out any discrepancies in height along the joints (hopefully they are minimal).

I have zero experience with a drum sander, but I would consider getting one if it could replace some of the above belt sanding, as the belt sander is no light weight hand tool, and it’s a killer on my back when I have to sand a full width dining table. I would likely get the PM2244, as I have heard it is the easiest to adjust. You all have mentioned that a drum sander does NOT offer a finish ready surface, as it leaves sanding ridges along the workpiece. This is not a problem in my workflow if it replaces the belt sander.

My questions:

Are these ridges similar to what I get with the belt sander for a given grit, or are they deeper, requiring by comparison to the belt sander extra time on the following grit?

Since I am not seeking to dimension or flatten, but merely prep the surface for the next grit, would one pass in the drum sander for each grit be enough, or am I looking at multiple passes per grit? With a belt sander, there is a lot of back and forth, but with a drum sander I’m wondering if a single pass through will give the same result.

How easy and fast is it to change the grit on a drum sander if I want to run 80 grit and then 120 in each sanding session? A dual drum unit is not in the budget.

Finally, how reasonable is it to get good results sanding a tabletop that exceeds the width of the sander (i.e., the 22 in the Powermatic) but is within the bounds of the larger number (here, the 44)? With some practice, can I get reliable results, or does this just create more work after sanding, where I’ll likely be pulling out the belt sander to even out a center ridge anyway? Keep in mind this could include tabletops from small night stands to full 8’ dining tables.

As a professional shop, the whole endeavor would be to save me some time and labor. Is it worth getting a drum sander for my workflow, or should I just stick to the belt sander? Michael

After listening to your podcast this week I listened with interest the question that was posted by Jose about track saw blade deflection and you guys had a great response.  Unfortunately I was hoping that you would address the issue that I'm having with my Makita SP 6000 unit.  I bought this unit a couple of years ago and despite great reviews have been a little disappointed.  The saw seems to be underpowered.  It struggles getting through material whether its 3/4" plywood or thicker hardwood.  I started with the stock Makita blade 165x20 48 tooth then with with a CMT 165x20 24 tooth and am currently using a Ridge Carbide TRK16048A 48 tooth blade.  I have a Festool extractor and using Makita tracks.  The problem is the saw bogs down (I have to creep with the feed rate  and still have the issue although not as bad) and burning.  Also sometimes the right side of the track edges up where two tracks join causing the saw to catch.  I have the good TSO GRC12 track connectors.  The Makita ones are junk.  I What's up with this?  Do I need to move this thing out the door, bite the bullet and buy a Festool?

Love the podcast.

Tom