No Comment #2 - Bandsawing the Tapered Octagon

Cutting the assembled tapered octagon was a lot of fun during this build because I got to use the bandsaw in a way I hadn't before.  Certainly a technique I'll be exploring more in future builds!

Basically, we built a sacrificial jig to hold the tapered octagon "spatially" in the correct orientation for the bandsaw blade to remove planes.  While we could have computed the compound cut at the top of each triangle for the octagon to get a level top, to do two more cuts on each triangle to then remove the part for the table top would have been a lot of error-prone work... any deviation in length would have to be sanded out later (end grain!).  Then add the work of triple the glue-up.  Cutting the plane on the bandsaw, especially with a smooth-cutting Laguna Resaw King, left nothing to sand (sure there were tool marks, but those surfaces were perfect for gluing in this project).

Ah, the mysterious holes in the jig are explained, too.  Had some questions about those :)

Do remember the design episode where I explained how the top part of the octagon changed.  Originally, I wanted the octagon to continue through the table so the top piece needed to be exactly positioned so Dominos could go through the octagon top, the table, and into the octagon bottom.  In the video flashback, I explain that cut that ultimately we didn't keep (but did use).

However, properly cutting off that top piece does have an importance that we'll see in a future episode on the assembly.  As a spoiler, I'll tell you :)  That top piece was used as a template for where the Domino holes in the table top were needed in order to get them to go smoothly into the octagon bottom.  Without that template, it would have been long and messy to position those Dominos; with that template, it was as simple as tracing the revealed mortises.  But you'll see that in more close-up detail in the assembly episode.

I think the next episode will be another bandsaw episode; editing all this old footage with some new narration mixed in has me busy in the video editor, not in the shop.  Not a good thing.  The next planned episode will at least have me running a tool or two!



Here's a link to the video for my email subscribers: http://youtu.be/-6ID7hQwCHE

Review of the Laguna Italian-Made LT-18 Bandsaw

I recently upgraded to a Laguna Tools Italian-Made LT-18 bandsaw.  I've used it a lot since recording this multi-part review and like it even more now.  At the time of the recording, I had used it for a couple weeks.

Part 1 is a tour of the saw itself.  The "Italian-Made" is important as this saw is completely different from the LT-18 3000 series also from Laguna Tools.  This tour isn't a point-by-point comparison though a couple key points are compared to show just how different they are.

The tour also covers the DriftMaster fence.

Part 2 gives a tour of the Laguna Tools Ceramic Guides and shows an easy way to calibrate them.  On various forums I've seen people say they like the guides but find them finicky to adjust.  This method is very fast for me and I'll explain a couple key things to watch out for.  The Laguna Ceramic Guides were a key feature for me in a bandsaw.  That meant buying a Laguna bandsaw or one where the Laguna guides could be retrofitted.

Part 3 shows how to set the drift angle on the DriftMaster fence then does a number of resawing demos to show how consistently thin you can rip stock.  You'll get to see how clean and consistent the Resaw King blade and Laguna Guides can make a cut.


A woodworking friend Chris Wong is simultaneously posting a review of his new Laguna LT-16 3000 series bandsaw.  What's cool about Chris, among other things, is that he's from Port Moody, British Columbia.  This means you can easily find his site FlairWoodworks.com by Googling "Chris Wong the moody woodworker from Canada" :)  (Seriously! try it!)

Grab the Alder, er, popcorn!  (is it just me or does Alder smell like popcorn when cut?!)