Splintered Board - Episode 6 - What I've Learned This Week 2008.06.13
- Blip
Splintered Board - Episode 6 - What I've Learned This Week 2008.06.13
This week?s episode is going to be the first in a series of at least 8 ?What I learned this week? episodes. As you may remember from my last episode, I was able to get into a woodworking level 1 class at the local community college. I?ll be sharing what I?ve learned each week, as well as other woodworking topics and events that have come to mind over the past week. If I haven?t already mentioned, I planned on doing a ?What I Learned This Month? episode each month, but that seemed to make news wait for too long before sharing, so I?ll be putting that stuff into each weekly episode until the class ends, and then we?ll see if a weekly episode of that type is still called for. So, week 1 of class was probably like what most of you went through in middle school or high school during your first week of shop class. It was all about safety, how to read a tape measure to 1/16th of an inch, the simple differences between hardwood and softwood, lumber dimensioning and board foot calculation, and demonstrations of the table saw, compound sliding miter saw, and almost a demo of the thickness planer. Unfortunately, I can?t say that I learned much in the first class. The only new tidbit that stuck in my mind was that you should never be cutting along the grain with the miter saw. I believe I understand why, even though the instructor didn?t explain why. The way I see it, visualize a board as a closely packed bundle of sticks, all pointing the same direction. Now put this board under the miter saw so that the blade will cut across the grain. Spin the blade in your mind and notice that the ?sticks? are being cut quickly because they are being broken in half by the blade. Now picture that you?ve put this board under the miter saw so that the end grain, or the points of these sticks that make up the board are pointing at you. Spin the blade in your mind again. Now the blade is catching the end grain, picking up a lot of the sticks and throwing them all over the place. Yes, this is the Splintered Board Podcast, but keeping the board from splintering is the goal, not destroying the board and everything in it?s wake.
Blip | October 15, 2008
