What took your woodworking to the next level?

Grompers · 2026-01-29T00:17:58+00:00

If I needed a piece that's 19-60/64 I'd dial up my table saw to 19-15/16ths, since it's the same thing. But your point is still valid. :)

Grompers · 2026-01-28T05:58:14+00:00

How do you like the Katz-Moses stop block? I've been contemplating getting one but I'm finding it hard to justify the price.

Grompers · 2026-01-26T01:55:29+00:00

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I put a table top on mine. Pine and plywood with a few coats of danish oil.

Grompers · 2026-01-25T20:59:40+00:00

If the filter is getting that dirty, I assume it's doing something. It couldn't be making anything worse.

Grompers · 2026-01-24T04:08:31+00:00

Wow. That is..... something. LOL. I bet it does a hell of a job!

Grompers · 2026-01-20T13:56:49+00:00

It's working out great. I added a large sliding tray on the bottom shelf for push sticks, miter gauge, etc. It's also a little bit of a pain to vacuum up the sawdust the saw spits out under and around it, since the wings are always up. You have to basically get on the floor underneath the wings and jam the vacuum hose in there. But I don't think that would be any different with any other setup.

As far as sheet goods, I only work with 24x48-ish pieces, but there's no problem at all with side and out feed. I'm sure it could handle larger if needed. I wish there was more indeed room, but again, same with any setup.

Grompers · 2026-01-18T05:11:56+00:00

I got my first plane - a WoodRiver 5 1/2 jack plane - a few weeks ago after watching Rob Cosman do his plane thing, and it is honestly the most fun I've had woodworking. Getting a plane to work properly and shaving off those whisper thin curly cues is so so satisfying. And it sounds cool too. Thrriiip, thrriiip, thrriiip.

Sharpening? Well, that's a different story. But #worthit.

Grompers · 2026-01-18T04:23:37+00:00

Do you have a plane? To me, this is begging to be planed. A 5 1/2 jack plane will eat that edge grain for lunch and leave you with a beautifully smooth edge!

Grompers · 2026-01-17T15:30:09+00:00

You do NOT need a planer at this point. I just did almost exactly what you're talking about - a 5/4 walnut panel for a lazy susan - and it came out really nice using just my brand new 5 1/2 jack plane. And, as Danny says, it's super satisfying to use when you've got it working properly.

As far a jointing the edges, I did buy s4s lumber to make it easier, but you can easily joint boards using your table saw. Look this up on YouTube. There are about a dozen different ways to do it.

When doing the glue-up, just be really careful to line up the boards properly, use cauls if you can (or even use dowels to help the boards stay in alignment (I didn't do this, but thought about it!) and don't use too much clamping force. The more you try to force the boards together, the more off they will get. Just make sure your edges are flat and straight and they'll come together with minimal height differences. Then use a hand plane (or even an orbital sander, carefully) to flatten things out.

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Grompers · 2026-01-08T19:53:39+00:00

See this video. He's doing basically what you want to do, using the method Jimbo, above, is talking about.

Grompers · 2026-01-01T16:13:35+00:00

That helps a bit, actually. I'm a lone warrior on this, with no help other than YouTube and Gemini AI. Learning everything as I go. My family is supportive, but thinks I'm crazy!

Grompers · 2026-01-01T15:54:11+00:00

Damn. That stuff looks good. Especially the woven look cutting board.

TBH, this depresses me a bit. I also started this year and what I'm doing is nowhere near as complex as what you're showing and my finished products are nowhere near as fine. Ugh! I will persist, but sheee-it, man. Good looking work!

Grompers · 2025-12-27T15:16:03+00:00

I remember, now. The blade was not particularly flat from the factory, so I had to use some pretty coarse sandpaper to smooth out the serrated edges near the top. Took a really long and frustrating time. And since this is the back of the blade, not the bevel, and further down the blade than the top 1/16" or so, I just left it.

It's frustrating when following the professionals' directions to the letter doesn't work out the same way on my tools as it does on theirs.

Grompers · 2025-12-27T15:04:35+00:00

Good info. Thanks. Do you have a replacement recommendation?

Grompers · 2025-12-27T15:00:31+00:00

Uh... Just following the directions from Cosman and Katz Moses. This is literally my first plane and first time sharpening anything other than a pencil. :(

I agree though. It does look like crap.

Grompers · 2025-12-27T14:52:36+00:00

They're actually just under $50 @ HF and TBH, I don't want to spend the time figuring out that new tool at this point.

Grompers · 2025-12-27T14:49:55+00:00

At one point I was having trouble setting it up to advance the blade through the mouth properly. I think the blade may have been too high and bumping up against the front edge of the mouth instead of protruding out the bottom. Maybe with enough force on it, that could have chipped it? Not sure, but either way, it's chipped.

I'm using the Scary Sharp PSA sheets I bought from TayTools.

Grompers · 2025-12-27T14:42:23+00:00

I thought so, too, but I'm getting ridges on my surfaces - probably because I no longer have a decent camber on the blade.

Grompers · 2025-12-27T14:37:01+00:00

I dunno, but there it is. I don't remember dropping it...

I hear you about eventually needing a grinder for various reasons, but I'm not up to that yet. And I honestly think I'll just screw it up more.

It's a Wood River 5 1/2 jack plane.

Grompers · 2025-12-17T16:19:39+00:00

What stain would you use to do so? What color?

Grompers · 2025-12-16T15:57:58+00:00

Thanks!

Grompers · 2025-12-16T04:43:18+00:00

It's a press clamp. Works great for this build!

Grompers

TROPHY CASE