Recent content by smackie

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  1. smackie

    The State Of Furniture

    That just looks horribly shonky. The gap on the bottom right is quite something. Tell me the wheels are attached to a frame and not just the MDF bottom? It’s substandard stuff like this that makes me boil…
  2. smackie

    The State Of Furniture

    Absolutely this. If you have any interest at all in working with MDF (and especially if you have to use breakdown joints to get finished items into tight spaces), you owe it to yourself to stare at how IKEA furniture is assembled and where they put the work into the joints. Sure, the bigger...
  3. smackie

    Most optimistic eBay listing of 2021

    It’s going to take some effort to beat this for the most optimistic eBay auction of the year! 😀 Axminster Catalogue
  4. smackie

    Kitchen panel between integrated units?

    IMO, you definitely want a panel to the right of the dishwasher too. The sides of most built-in dishwashers are pretty industrial and designed to be hidden. Remember to leave yourself a reasonable cutout at the rear next to the wall to help get the waste from the dishwasher connected to the...
  5. smackie

    attaching pergola to wall

    Got a similar project soon with a lean-to covered area in the garden. The plan is to notch the wall plate to allow the rafters to sit in it. I’m planning to notch the rafters with an inset 90 degree cut so that the bottom of the rafter slot is level. The front beam on the lean-to will also be...
  6. smackie

    HSS Up cut Spiral Router Bits (from ebay!)

    Yup. This was kind of my point mentioning the chip extraction. There’s zero point getting aggressive with a router bit if the waste isn’t cleared out efficiently, even with an upcutter. Given that @Stevekane is using a domestic Dyson, I‘m just going to note that initially plunging to 35mm and...
  7. smackie

    HSS Up cut Spiral Router Bits (from ebay!)

    Depends on how good your chip collection is, to be honest. I’ve got a few larger shank upcutters and they throw out a lot of chips in a short period of time. Thankfully, I’ve got decent chip collection on the router but a 35mm plunge is pulling a lot of material out. If the bit is wide, you’re...
  8. smackie

    HSS Up cut Spiral Router Bits (from ebay!)

    If it’s a bit you’ve never used before, light passes would seem to be a sensible step but that’s true for every router bit you’re not familiar with. Practice on some pine scrap?
  9. smackie

    Stable Door...

    Minor tip. Tile spacers are really useful as easy guides for spacing looser T+G. The 1mm and 2mm ones are handy. Use them to space the boards whilst you’re pining (I usually clip a leg of the spacer so it sits neatly). They’re handy because you can space it all out evenly and check it all looks...
  10. smackie

    End Grain Splitting

    I’d always been taught to nail fascia boards to allow for movement. I’ve seen wide facia boards nailed in a zigzag (i.e. wide left and right nailing but not directly level) to avoid creating tension straight across the grain. External wood fascias move a lot more than you’d think and the fluted...
  11. smackie

    Electric light switch question

    The brass is just a faceplate by the looks of it. the interior looks a lot like some of the old MK stuff (before they went to the individual 1 unit clip in modular ones.
  12. smackie

    Drilling very wet, very hard wood

    Ah. Okay. Yeah, that gets pretty complicated. Sorry - wasn’t trying to teach you to suck eggs, just trying to figure out why the chamber couldn’t be drained... All I can think of is the same as @Argus - something like a 8mm pilot hole to allow the centering bit of the augur to get continual...
  13. smackie

    Drilling very wet, very hard wood

    Oof. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Canals and Rivers Trust (or British Waterways as was) ever attempt to do this underwater. There’s usually a deep groove in the stone lock chamber upstream and downstream of the gates to allow blanking timbers to be dropped in as a temporary dam that allows...
  14. smackie

    Shaper Origin

    As far as I can see, the main issue with the Shaper is that you provide the XY axis drive. That’s fine for small bits of work but complicated designs mean you could be guiding the Shaper router around for an hour or so (as, like a CNC, you’ll need to do multiple passes for precision). The Shaper...
  15. smackie

    First saw restoration

    The Garryflex blocks are great for removing crud from things like old saw blades. They’re also really useful as a first pass on old plane bases. They last a reasonable time too. Just make sure you have the shopvac nearby - the bits of the rubber get everywhere if you’re not careful.
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