square help needed

[sunnybob]

I have 16 pieces of walnut, approx 33 mm x 45 mm x 180 mm.

I want to glue them all together to make a 4 x 4 block. The sides are straight, but not parallel.

How do I achieve square sides on multiple small lengths of wood?

I dont have a table saw. I have a bandsaw which is not good enough for this work, and a mitre saw combi with a small table above the blade, but I am not convinced it will be accurate enough for gluing up.

Useful suggestions and opinions please.

 

[novocaine]

plane.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

^ +1 !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl5Srx-Ru_U

W2S

 

[DoctorWibble]

You'd need to glue it up in two stages anyway unless you're happy with a fairly rough result.
So providing the sides are flat you could do the first stage glue up without any further work. Four sets of four, arranged as best you can. Then when dry plane each board flat, two on both sides and the top and bottom only the inside faces then glue the four boards into a block. The intermediate boards will come out quite lumpy but aiming at true as well as flat in the intermediate stages is probably not necessary. True up once you get the final block.

 

[John15]

A marking gauge and a plane should do it.

John

 

[sunnybob]

How does putting them on an aeroplane make them square?

But seriously, no. I cant plane square. Couldnt if my life depended on it. I've tried several times since taking up woodworking and my failure rate is at a 100%, even after working my way through the pain barrier of my arthritic thumbs. I'm afraid I need a power tools answer.

I've just managed to get two surfaces parallel by using my router sled. But now I need to find a way to make a first 90 degree angle on each piece, then I can use the router sled again.

 

[Jacob]

Plane, square, marking gauge, pencil for face and edge marks.
It's about the second thing that any woodworker has to learn. The first being to cut to length.
Welcome to woodwork!

Just keep practicing until you get it right. Hint; stop telling yourself you can't do it!

 

[dzj]

Do as DoctorWibble suggests. Just instead of a plane, use your router to get the
surfaces flat enough to glue them together. No need to chase 90 degrees until you finished all the glue up stages.
Possibly not even then. Depends what your block is intended for.

 

[Racers]

If you have a router table you should be able to use it to form a 90deg corner, a tall cutter and an adjustable out-feed fence or a shim and you should be able to square a corner up.

I read the bit about arthritic thumbs!

Pete

 

[sunnybob]

Thank you Pete, so many people are blind to that short sentence, the one that makes it impossible for me to plane wood.

I couldnt figure out how to use the router table for this. I have a sliding mitre fence, but I still need a 90 degree on each piece to reference off.

I've glued up 5 pieces at a time, sticking the parallel sides together, then I (hope) I can run the flat sides through the router sled again. I'm going to lose a lot of wood though and there wasnt a lot spare to begin with. Luckily its another box so I can just shrink the drawing to fit the block.

I've managed to overcome most woodworking problems by making everything freehand, but getting pieces square for glue up are my nightmare. Luckily these pieces cost me nothing so its a free learning curve.
I just might have to bite the bullet and buy a small table saw.

 

[cyberheater]

I just might have to bite the bullet and buy a small table saw.

You can make a decent table saw from a circular saw which works quite well.

 

[sunnybob]

But then I have to buy the circular saw, all the plywood, nuts bolts, and then spend the next month building it.

Once upon a time I made do and made stuff myself, not prepared to do that any more.

 

[transatlantic]

How bad are they? You could use the trick where you glue it up the best you can, and then use the kerf of the blade to cut at the joint line, which assuming the gaps aren't too big, will give a perfect jointing line.

 

[LancsRick]

As above, a router table makes a perfectly good DIY planer.

Use your bandsaw first to get your rough shape sorted.

You need:
router table
tall straight bit (minimum of a mm or two taller than your work piece)
a split fence
a shim for the outfeed (I'd suggest 0.2mm) if your fence doesn't have them built in

Shim the outfeed fence, and align it flush with the router bit. Then run your piece across the fence and lo and behold, planing in progress!

 

[sunnybob]

Transatlantic, cant quite grasp what youre trying to tell me. If it involves a table saw then I dont have one.

The hand problem is in the thumb / hand joints. I can sand reasonably well because its just gripping the paper with fingers and palm and moving my arms to and fro. The plane however, sits right in that bad joint, and every time the plane blade jars against the wood (however slight it is) that hurts.

I've got it reasonably sussed using my router sled. Glued 5 pieces sideways using the good sides, Then wedged and glued each lump into the sled so that the sides are vertical against the square. Then take off the minimum needed to get a flat surface. Then flip and repeat. Lost several mm of wood, but cant be helped. I'm going to have to reduce the box size by 12%.

Very time consuming. If I was going to make any number of glued up blocks I would have to get a table saw (somehow) into my little workshop.

 

[thetyreman]

a sharp hand plane should make it easy work, and not only that, will give a superior surface.

 

[transatlantic]

Transatlantic, cant quite grasp what youre trying to tell me. If it involves a table saw then I dont have one.

The hand problem is in the thumb / hand joints. I can sand reasonably well because its just gripping the paper with fingers and palm and moving my arms to and fro. The plane however, sits right in that bad joint, and every time the plane blade jars against the wood (however slight it is) that hurts.

I've got it reasonably sussed using my router sled. Glued 5 pieces sideways using the good sides, Then wedged and glued each lump into the sled so that the sides are vertical against the square. Then take off the minimum needed to get a flat surface. Then flip and repeat. Lost several mm of wood, but cant be helped. I'm going to have to reduce the box size by 12%.

Very time consuming. If I was going to make any number of glued up blocks I would have to get a table saw (somehow) into my little workshop.

Sorry - complety missread the question. Ignore my suggestion. For reference though, I was meaning the following, but scaled down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRMkCawvSqk

 

[novocaine]

I shall extend my original response.

PLANE.

to east midlands

TAXI
to Steve's place

plane
to size

TAXI
to east midlands

PLANE
back to Cyprus.

 

[DoctorWibble]

Sunnybob I'm no expert on machines but would you not be better off seeking out a small planer/thicknesser rather than a table saw? Especially as you already have a bandsaw. Could be a lot more useful for someone unable to hold a plane. Less dangerous too. Just a thought.

 

[sunnybob]

Transatlantic... no track saw either, but it is on my wish list.

novocaine... closer to a sensible solution, but not much.

doc wibble.... I have whats known as a lunch box planer, but at only 8" long, these pieces are way too small, and I still couldnt get a 90 degree cut from wonky wood. The bandsaw is great for most things, but despite an enormous amount of "fettling" I have never achieved glue up quality surfaces.
If I like the result of this experiment and make more of them, then it either have to be a table saw, or a clever jig for my router table.

Anyway, its all glued up now, so tomorrow will show how much wood I lost.
Thanks all.