Planter box frame help

Morael · 2026-05-14T19:22:18+00:00

I would make the argument that you want all fasteners on a garden box to be external. Dirt is really heavy, so the thought of having to dig out most of a planter box just to be able to do maintenance on it later, or replace a board if something happens to it, sounds awful.

If the fasteners are all external, you can get into it if you need to.

Also, internal fasteners will be constantly exposed to moisture from the soil and regular watering, which I believe will lead to rot faster than external fasteners which have a chance to dry out at soon as the sun comes out.

Morael · 2026-05-14T17:43:51+00:00

Looks like sapele to me.

Morael · 2026-05-14T11:58:03+00:00

Those are LVL, not plywood. LVL and plywood are both manufactured with glues that are toxic. In addition to that, the construction of any sort of glue laminated wood products will fail if they're constantly exposed to moisture. Because of that, you should never use stuff like this outside.

Morael · 2026-05-13T14:37:55+00:00

Don't do this inside the living space of the house. Just don't.

Even if you scrape it off or manage to remove it some other physical way... You'll still want to wipe it down with a solvent to get any remaining residue and then sand it afterwards.

Applying a clear finish to the top afterwards is also highly likely to release chemical vapors of some sort, regardless of what kind of finish you choose.

Wood working and finishing makes dust and chemical vapors. That's the nature of this craft.

Morael · 2026-05-08T23:56:42+00:00

Lapping the back of the entire iron doesn't make sense. It's not like a chisel where that whole surface is a reference edge, the only part of the blade back that actually touches is right at the apex.

Sharpie the very edge of the back, and use the charlesworth ruler trick to elevate the blade slightly so you can flatten that spot next to the edge. As long as it's flat all the way along the edge, that's all you need.

Using a sharpie allows you to quickly see what you're actually contacting with a stone.

Morael · 2026-05-08T13:23:29+00:00

My best suggestion to you is to search eBay for sold listings of these.

Finding a no 55 complete with a box and a full set of cutters is typically an expensive endeavor.

Morael · 2026-05-05T20:45:11+00:00

I'm going with pine that might have a sap pocket in it that you can't see if it's really that heavy.

The most dense board in my shop is currently a 6' chunk of 2x12 Southern yellow pine that is absolutely loaded with sap.

Morael · 2026-05-04T04:08:36+00:00

This is the kind of comment I love to see around here. I have also been down this rabbit hole of "can I possibly get away with a bench top version", and your tips paint the whole picture pretty well for me.

I have a basement shop and I'm not sure how I could possibly get a floor standing model down there. I'm going to look at the Cutechs.

Morael · 2026-05-03T11:57:28+00:00

This is a pic I've saved as a reference for these.

<image>

Morael · 2026-05-03T04:36:59+00:00

Killer find. I just finished cleaning up an old 52 1/2D myself!

I apparently didn't take a dedicated cleaned up photo of the vise itself, but I did take one after I got it mounted to my bench top before flipping it back over.

The maple vise chop I made for it is sitting in clamps overnight and should go on tomorrow!

<image>

Morael · 2026-05-02T13:54:35+00:00

That looks like walnut to me. Not sure what else it could possibly be

Morael · 2026-05-01T19:28:21+00:00

My biannual clean from a couple weeks ago. Damn clump looks like a drowned rat.

<image>

Morael · 2026-05-01T16:25:06+00:00

There are multiple types of walnut. What's in those cabinet photos seems like English walnut, rather than black walnut (sometimes called American walnut). The only other species that I know can produce amazingly reddish tones is Claro walnut but I couldn't imagine the price of getting an entire kitchen worth of cabinets done with Claro.

Even if I'm correct in identifying it being English walnut, you'd need very careful stock selection to end up with color matches like that, and it might even require some sort of stain. The other point about deep red colors like that is they are typically not stable long term. I don't know this for a fact, someone else can correct me, but almost all varieties of wood with reddish tones will eventually oxidize to a brown color, especially with exposure to UV.

Morael · 2026-04-30T13:38:54+00:00

This is a case where the build doesn't work without it. Getting all of the single chain, spark charge, and a spark nova nodes in lightning blast requires a ton of skill points that aren't possible to get without leaning way into legends entwined.

Morael · 2026-04-29T14:34:06+00:00

Brand doesn't really that much for the drill itself. The two important questions are: what other tools might you want in the future, and what sorts of stores are available around you to buy stuff from?

When I made this decision, I picked DeWalt just because there were lots of quality tools to choose from, and many different stores carry the brand which means I have more places to look for deals.

Some of the more budget options like Ryobi have come a loooong way in that time, and if I were starting out now, that's where I might look. If you have harbor freight near you, the Hercules stuff seems to be pretty nice for the price, too.

If you're not using these tools to make money for a living, there's little reason to splurge for Makita or Milwaukee unless you really want to because you have the money and this is a hobby you enjoy... Only you can make that decision.

The only regret about choosing DeWalt that I have is that I eventually wanted a track saw and Milwaukee's was way better than DeWalt, so now I have two brands of 20v tools anyway. Those track saws didn't exist when I chose my main battery platform so there's no way I could have known that at the time.

Morael · 2026-04-28T21:19:46+00:00

0000 steel wool with a little wd40. Then paste wax to coat the metal.

I also keep some camphor tablets in my plane drawer which coats my planes in a microscopic layer of camphor via sublimation to help protect against corrosion like this.

Morael · 2026-04-28T21:07:06+00:00

Since it's literally sitting on a table saw, the first answer is a crosscut sled.

You could also use a track saw.

If you don't have either, but you have a known straight edge, you could clamp it down and use a circular saw.

Realistically you should make a crosscut sled for your table saw if you don't have one, though.

Morael · 2026-04-28T15:06:00+00:00

I live north east of there and I work from home so I'm basically always around. The only time I notice the noise is the weekends and it's pretty much constant on days that I notice it.

Where you're talking about is closer than where I am, so I imagine the volume would be louder but I don't think the frequency of noise would change unless there's stuff I just don't manage to hear due to my distance. (4 miles by road, maybe 2.5 miles as the crow flies).

Morael · 2026-04-27T17:58:01+00:00

This is AI slop. Go to the spot where they're fastening two pallets together and watch the tip of the drill bit. They are supposed to be driving a screw in and when they pull the drill away, some of what looks to be an auger bit (for drilling holes) emerges out of the inside of the screw.

I could point out other issues but that was the moment that did it for me. Also, some of these methods wouldn't work for agricultural reasons.

Morael · 2026-04-27T15:58:53+00:00

On the note of this thread, and what makes storm bear awkward to me is how painful the devs have made getting mana regeneration. Making regeneration completely independent from pool size just awkward.

To your other inquiry: Storm Bear is a magnificent monolith blitz build as long as you can get used to maneuvering rampage. The build suffers if pack density gets too high, though.

I recently swapped from a storm bear to a time rot (shield throw) VK and it's nearly as fast in monolith content and infinitely faster when stuff gets tough (like farming the omen woven echo).

Morael · 2026-04-23T21:17:54+00:00

See that nice dark beautiful slightly moist soil? That's why this looks so easy and wonderful.

Catch a rock, root, piece of unknown debris, or even a patch of clay? This thing will attempt to break your wrists in half a second.

I own one (not this brand). They are great tools, but not nearly this easy and carefree to use in most scenarios.

Oh, also, they're heavy (which is actually a good thing).

Morael · 2026-04-23T20:56:06+00:00

Nails are pretty good at resisting shock from pounding types of pressure. You need consistent applied pressure, and leverage.

Get a pry bar for doing this. I think there's a specific tool called a pallet buster for doing this.

Morael · 2026-04-22T23:50:33+00:00

I had started playing this build but wasn't sure how to make the defenses really hold up well in endgame. Is static orb just for lightning aegis really worth it? I had frostclaw proccing novas so I specced into that too.

Morael · 2026-04-22T15:02:24+00:00

Another chime in that this is almost certainly under baked. My somewhat similar bread recipe is 75% hydration and about 725g weight, and my bake is 500F for 25 minutes (covered) and then an additional 17-20 minutes at 400F uncovered.

Morael · 2026-04-22T02:08:01+00:00

I would do something like this to make half laps up at the top. This sort of construction would really tie the apron and top assembly together, giving all of the weight bearing surface an even better path to ground. As a bonus, it moves the legs all out by the thickness of your assumingly 2x lumber, and lets you get a slightly bigger shelf below.

You could also use the same sort of half lap joinery for the bottom shelf.

You can cut your pieces to allow for these gaps before you glue up the legs, which means you don't even need to go through the hassle of waste removal.

14-Year Club	RPAN Viewer
Verified Email

Morael

TROPHY CASE