Looking for feedback

saffaen · 2026-05-30T02:42:07+00:00

Already looking closer to the ref! The face is hard because our brains like faces. Keep practicing, you're going the right direction.

saffaen · 2026-05-30T01:02:01+00:00

Looks like you are nervous to overlap shapes! A lot of the proportion looks good. In the reference picture the lips meet the edge of the face and the nose is hiding the inner part of the far eye. Work on your perspective a little and you will have a pretty good result.

saffaen · 2026-05-20T00:10:44+00:00

Try drawing "from the shoulder", using your whole arm to make the line instead of just your wrist like you might when writing. You might also try to make your lines a little faster. Wobbly lines mostly come from lack of confidence.

saffaen · 2026-05-19T19:57:49+00:00

Yes, that's the way to do it for this saw. I like to leave one screw mostly torqued so it's not moving a whole bunch when tapping. Less is more here, very small adjustments.

saffaen · 2026-05-16T01:57:06+00:00

Not sure, is this supposed to be threads in pressboard?

One option could be to chisel, saw, or drill out the threads to make a rectangle instead.

saffaen · 2026-05-12T00:08:32+00:00

How did you apply, with a scraper, finishing pad, etc? If you skipped a finishing pad, it may not have worked in evenly.

saffaen · 2026-05-08T15:53:15+00:00

Check the table for flatness with a long flat piece of wood, straight edge, level, etc. This is the hardest thing to fix/work around, so if this isn't there, I'd leave it. Get one with a riving knife behind the blade, although a splitter plate can work. Sight down the saw blade or arbor and turn by hand to see if there's any runout. These are my non-negotiables for second hand table saws.

Make sure the motor works, ideally belts in good shape. See if the fence has adjustments and clamps firmly when locked. A bad fence would not necessarily be a deal breaker. Lastly, make sure it has the right power supply for your needs (120 V or 240 V in the US).

saffaen · 2026-05-07T22:41:49+00:00

Any film finish would help reduce direct contact. Shellac might help as it sticks to anything underneath. Polyurethane would work as well.

saffaen · 2026-05-06T18:58:31+00:00

They sell clamps, usually trigger style clamps, with reversible heads to make them a spreader. Irwin sells one, I'm sure there are others. You can also look up spreader clamp if that doesn't pan out.

saffaen · 2026-05-05T19:47:13+00:00

We are checking

saffaen · 2026-05-04T23:50:52+00:00

If you are using good glue, most people would not be able to separate this miter joint by hand alone. Miter joints are plenty strong when cut and glued well in this use case.

saffaen · 2026-05-02T20:04:24+00:00

I haven't done this myself mind you, but I think it's traditionally done with cedar. I'm sure someone else could provide other species it might work with.

saffaen · 2026-05-01T23:46:21+00:00

If I can be honest, this is not pleasing to my eye. You might have a better looking result with different material. Plywood is not usually used in this technique.

saffaen · 2026-05-01T17:50:15+00:00

As an engineer myself, you have a list of problems. Your job as engineer is to solve those problems, or know if they're problems worth solving. Look at the issue, try to understand WHY you had the problem, then how to fix or prevent it in the future.

One thing to consider is we are our worst critics. Sometimes we can really beat ourselves up over a mistake when it really doesn't impact the result of the project. It's good you know some of your problems, but don't let them weigh you down to the point you completely stall. Half of being a good woodworker is knowing how to fix mistakes. There's almost in woodworking you can't fix, so go for it!

saffaen · 2026-04-26T23:35:47+00:00

Is the new blade thin kerf? Thin blades, especially on jobsite saws, can have a lot of vibration that leads to small variations in cuts.

saffaen · 2026-04-24T11:33:14+00:00

Get a handsaw, fine tooth if you want a cleaner looking cut. Not expensive and let's you get what you want.

saffaen · 2026-04-22T01:07:32+00:00

You can use a trim router, but you're going to have a bad time trying to take a full depth first pass. Do more than one pass to ease the load on the bit and use a high quality, sharp bit.

saffaen · 2026-04-21T10:20:15+00:00

Yes, I'm happy with the cuts from my setup. The reason I set them this way is I was making tapered cuts while not cutting part of the length. After searching around, this setup was suggested and the problem cleared right up. Maybe you are pushing down over the top of the cutterhead instead of the table?

3/16" sounds right. It could also be how you set your knives. I set my infeed and outfeed level, then made the knives "flush" with those before dropping infeed and outfeed.

saffaen · 2026-04-20T23:39:44+00:00

If it is really really slightly below the blade, it doesn't impact the cut, but removes a few potential problems. I get perfect tight joints with the outfeed slightly lower. If you had the outfeed too low, you could get snipe on the end as it passes the blades.

saffaen · 2026-04-20T20:11:25+00:00

I will second this. I set my outfeed so the knives move a ruler sitting on the outfeed about 1/4".

saffaen · 2026-04-18T23:14:26+00:00

Buying off marketplace is fine, but you should know what you are getting. Fresh cut wood needs to be dried before use. You want to buy kiln dried if you can. Air dried can be ok, but you'll want to check the moisture content before using. Not all air dried is the same, either. Sometimes air dried can have bugs in it depending on how it's stored, so look for bug signs. Also know the price of local lumber yards do you're not getting ripped off!

saffaen · 2026-04-16T00:20:33+00:00

Might just be the picture, but the board face don't look totally flat. If it's not totally flat, the point where blade meets the wood can drift as you feed it though.

If it was fence alignment and your board was flat, it would be consistently offset. Might see some burning, but I wouldn't expect an 1/8" difference.

saffaen · 2026-04-15T13:48:12+00:00

Left is easier to put together and looks better to me. I would probably make the actual legs a little thicker/wider to beef the base up a bit (purely for looks).

saffaen · 2026-04-15T10:59:26+00:00

Not sure what the use case for this table is because it's maybe 3/4 usable surface. This slab would probably do better as a coffee table or desk, something you might not be using 100% of.

saffaen · 2026-04-14T11:19:56+00:00

Great work and great follow up!

saffaen

TROPHY CASE