# How *should* I have done this?



## kweinert (Jun 13, 2012)

My boss at work has taken to ask me for doing some custom projects. Nothing large (so far) and up to this point it's all been turned things.

She bought a 3 gallon, six-sided glass jar with a spigot at the bottom. This is going to hold 'enhanced' beverages up at the lake house and, given that the people using it will be 'enhanced' as well she doesn't want it sitting next to the edge of the table.

So I came up with a design and threw together a prototype using some scrap p - which she liked. The real deal is being made out of maple and walnut. Maple for the main construction with splines and pegs from walnut.

Here's a view of the platform the bottle will sit on:

[attachment=6710]

In order to add more strength (because a thick glass jar and 3 gallons of liquid will weigh a bit more than I trust end grain glue joints) I'm inserting the walnut splines. This means I have to cut a groove in the ends of the 6 platform pieces. They end up looking like:

[attachment=6711]

And this is how I did it:

[attachment=6712]

That's a 3/4 inch piece of plywood as the zero clearance insert (because a) I didn't want any flex and b) that's what I had laying around.) I had my hand on top of the pointy end pushing down to keep the end flat on the board and pushed the flat stick laying on the ZC insert to push the piece in.

I didn't take any pictures of my hands but i assure you that I have all 10 digits and no bandaids. I didn't have any close calls but i was a bit nervous.

Now that I'm all done and survived I thought I'd ask for better ideas in case I need to do this sort of work again.

Thanks.


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## Mike1950 (Jun 14, 2012)

Lots of ways to do this. Tennon jig is one. I get very nervous near the blade especially if I am pushing down into it. Another way would be to glue piece together in final form, Make a jig for that angle, cut splines in then. Keeps fingers a long ways from blade and makes glueing easier. Pictured is simple jig for boxes-wrong angle for you but gets the basic idea over.

[attachment=6716]


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## kweinert (Jun 14, 2012)

Mike1950 said:


> Lots of ways to do this. Tennon jig is one. I get very nervous near the blade especially if I am pushing down into it. Another way would be to glue piece together in final form, Make a jig for that angle, cut splines in then. Keeps fingers a long ways from blade and makes glueing easier. Pictured is simple jig for boxes-wrong angle for you but gets the basic idea over.



Well, and it's the wrong kind of spline as well (unless I'm missing something.)

In order to get a spline the entire depth of the wood (it's 1 1/2" wide) I'd have an entirely too wide slot showing on the face.

I can see that it most likely would have been better to work up a jig that would hold the pieces in place. Trust me, I get the 'very nervous' you speak of.

It's that situation where you think "I'm only making 12 short cuts and it'll take too long to work up a jig for a one-time deal". Since I "got away" with it I was right (and, to some extent, lucky.)

However, if I were to do it again a jig would be involved. That, to me, would be pushing my luck further than I already did.

Thanks.

Ken


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## Mike1950 (Jun 14, 2012)

I realize that would be a different spline- that is why I pointed out tenon jig.


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## kweinert (Jun 14, 2012)

Mike1950 said:


> I realize that would be a different spline- that is why I pointed out tenon jig.



So you did - and I missed the significance of that.

My apologies.

I do appreciate the advice and feedback.


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## Mike1950 (Jun 14, 2012)

No problem- another way with tennon jig that might have been cool would be a bridal joint- stong and half as many pieces. Need the tennon jig though.


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