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Gong Shooter
ive been woodworking off and on for many years. Here are my thoughts:
1. Larger pieces give me problems. Like making straight cut with the circular saw on a piece of ply or larger board.
Do I buy a clamp one straight edge, or a curcular saw sled, or what? Is buying precut pieces from a lumber yard the better choice here?
You can get by with using a factory edge on a piece of MDF as a straightedge, and using a good quality circular saw with a good, sharp blade. Diablo blades are pretty good. I use a Festool rail system with great results for sheet stock, and a "suped-up" contractors table saw or vintage radial arm saw set up for rip and crosscuts in lumber, but those just make things easier, faster, and more repeatable. You can do the same with the straightedge.
2. Handling larger pieces. Dont have room for a dedicated table. End up using a plastic picnic table, which is wobbly, and a BD folding stand, which is too small. Do I need to make a collapsible table, which will be a pain to store?
I've sometimes put a sacrificial sheet of plywood on the garage floor to cut sheetstock. Works just fine and no wobble.
3. Joining. Dont have a system picked out and not sure which one will work for 95% of general joinery. Pocket screw jig, dowel and screw jig, biscuit joiner, routing for finger joints?
Biscuits and glue work great for edge joining. Kreg jig for pocket screws for joining butt to edge grain. And lapped joints for butt to butt (uncommon).
4. Finishing and staining. A can of poly is probably a great choice here, or should I brush? Staining always looks bad. Any hints on how to stain well?
Wipe on poly with rags works great. Just do multiple coats to build up a surface. Wipe on Danish oil also works great for getting color and sheen. A high quality pure carnauba wax is good for a real shine, but I usually go lower luster. I've had good, long term results with Danish oil even with bathroom cabinets.
5. Glue. White carpenter or the foaming gorilla types?
Basic yellow wood glue is great.
6. Any other tips you can share on making things easier?
In no particular order: Measure twice, double check, then cut. Also, use "story sticks" (where you make marks on a piece of scrap to measure distances) then you won't make a memory mistake. On important cuts with the circular saw, put the finished side down to avoid tear out. Taping the cut line can also reduce tear out. Don't sand past 220; there's no benefit. Make sure your saw blade is square to the saw base vertically and horizontally. Make test cuts on scrap whenever possible to check your setup.
Thank you.
My pleasure! Feel free to PM with any other questions, and good luck!
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