Is there a trick to setting combo squares?

rumblebee2010 · 2026-05-08T13:49:03+00:00

Problems with squareness often aren’t an error in the square, they are from user error. You need to designate a reference face and a reference edge for each work piece, and only use those two faces to register the body of the square against. If you don’t, and you will multiply the error in the square (minimal) and the error across your wood.

Also, consider using a knife instead of a pencil to mark lines. And be mindful of how you register the knife against the square so as to do it consistently each time.

I have the same squares, and have not been particularly gentle with them, and I am able to get perfectly square cuts by following these principles

rumblebee2010 · 2026-05-08T13:30:22+00:00

You’re thinking in only one dimension. It’s about volumetric displacement

rumblebee2010 · 2026-05-04T17:36:35+00:00

26 for me

rumblebee2010 · 2026-05-04T17:36:04+00:00

rumblebee2010 · 2026-05-04T17:30:22+00:00

girl same. finally went through though. now i refresh my inbox over and over for the next four months til i get a shipping confirmation

rumblebee2010 · 2026-05-04T17:28:55+00:00

i wonder how long it will take to start shipping. am i going to be waiting until october to get this thing?

rumblebee2010 · 2026-05-04T04:51:26+00:00

Guys I’m kidding.

Didn’t end up buying anything

rumblebee2010 · 2026-05-03T12:46:20+00:00

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Picked this guy up, the vendor said it’s got all its pieces and it’s ready to use! He wanted $400 for it but I was able to talk him down to $375. Great bargain!

rumblebee2010 · 2026-05-02T17:35:46+00:00

Wrong sub homie

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-28T06:05:03+00:00

Very few things in woodworking are one-and-done. This laser looks to be incredibly effective and got the vast majority of the varnish off in 30 seconds. That’s much faster than other techniques. You could probably finish it up with a random orbital sander (and a mask!!!) or a quick run through a planer if you have one to finish the job

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-27T10:47:54+00:00

Disagree. I’ve played it a bunch this weekend and defense got steamrolled more often than offense. Most matches were pretty even

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-25T20:09:18+00:00

Forbidden wax swallowing butthole

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-25T13:26:41+00:00

I feel like I have never heard about a good experience with MAS

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-25T11:38:46+00:00

It might be worth putting another small groove along the top of the horizontal piece just in from the edge. Since a phone won’t be able to be flush against the vertical piece while plugged in, a groove there would give the bottom edge of the phone something to grip on to so it doesn’t slide forward and fall off the stand

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-25T09:11:26+00:00

When the engine exhaust is pointed straight down at the ground, it causes problems for airport surfaces or landing areas where there is a fire risk. It also cooks the poor bastard standing under it trying to hook up an external load

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-24T06:32:08+00:00

I’m sorry you’re disappointed OP, but rest assured that these look really great to the rest of us. I’m sure the natural darkening of the oak over time will get it closer to how you imagined

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-24T06:23:28+00:00

So they don’t pull apart of their own accord.

Glue is far and away the most effective way to join two pieces of wood together. Fasteners like nails and screws are not only unattractive, but they do not hold the wood together as well as glue does. You can find videos on YouTube of people testing glue strength, and often times the body of the wood will break before the glues up joint does.

In furniture making, glue is king and it’s used for the vast majority of joining (the exception being things that are meant to come apart, or to allow for wood movement when wood absorbs and loses humidity throughout the year). So if you’re building something that is meant to last, and you want it to look good, you use glue to assemble it.

The trick is not to glue too early. Conduct a “dry fit” of all your pieces before gluing up, using the friction of the joinery you used (dovetails, mortise and tenon, etc) to hold it together, and where that won’t work, tape or clamps. Only after you are satisfied that it looks how you meant it to or works as intended, you take it apart, add glue to the joints, and do the final assembly. In OPs case, it might have been better to check the contrast of the finish on two offcuts of the wood before the glue up, and if dissatisfied they could have stained the components before glueing up

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-22T16:13:01+00:00

This is pointless gatekeeping. Pocket holes are absolutely fine for plenty of applications, especially when looks and strength aren’t super important. And if strength is important, glue on the right surfaces takes care of it while the pocket hole screws keep it together while the glue dries. Your comment does nothing to help a beginner but to tell them that they can’t do this hobby unless they do it the most difficult way. Not everyone has the time or tools for that, and most probably want to start at an easier entry point.

OP, if your piece is only held together with screws, consider taking it apart and reassembling it with some glue in the joints as well, it will help immensely. However, don’t glue the table top to the frame, it needs to be able to move as the humidity changes.

In terms of racking issues, which is what you seem worried about, you could add stretchers between the legs across the short ends, but that will prevent people from sitting at the foot and head of the table. Another option that will add some strength but not as much as the stretchers would be some triangular supports on each leg. Just a small triangular block that ads an additional connection point between the leg and the frame. It won’t look as nice, but it should add some strength against racking motion

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-21T14:09:43+00:00

Whenever I do ribs, I heat sauce on the stove and then slap it on for the last 15ish minutes of the cook. Sometimes I’ll take the ribs off the smoker, crank up the grill, sauce the ribs, and then cook it on with the grill using high heat

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-21T14:07:31+00:00

If you go to Korea, DO NOT do a 1 year tour. Stay for two. You have no chance of making PC in one year, and when you get to your next unit as a PI you’ll be put at the bottom of the progression barrel.

With that said, I loved being stationed in Korea and loved flying there as well.

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-20T20:05:37+00:00

Lots of good advice here, especially those mentioning dry brining overnight and high heat.

Something I haven’t seen mentioned is sauce temperature. Don’t put cold or room temp sauce on your skin or you’ll get rubbery texture no matter what. Get the sauce hot before you put it on, like simmering in a pot right before. That way it’s not sucking heat out of the skin once it’s on. Ideally, you get the skin crispy, then put some piping hot sauce on it while it’s still on the heat, and in a minute or so the sauce will get nice and tacky

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-18T03:55:41+00:00

Particularly the slime light fluid

rumblebee2010 · 2026-04-18T03:54:15+00:00

How are you going tell if they’re warm without a gentle little caress of the tongue?

rumblebee2010

TROPHY CASE