[OP]
Member
I've been reading threads all over (this forum and others) and I sense what might be called an obsession for accuracy.
What is a reasonable objective for accuracy in a wood shop.
As a caveat, I would like to say that I believe a serious hobbiest and a profession wood worker are no different in terms of accuracy.
Member
I would say it largely depends on what you are making and what is the desired end result. For example if yer building a house 1/4" tollerance is acceptable but the same 1/4" on a face frame of a cabinet would never fly. For the most part I think a sixteenth of an inch is acceptable for most wood projects and a 32nd would be considered precision enough for all except a few rare occasions.
Member
In my shop I strive for +/- 0.005". I have all digital measurement devices so it makes it feasable. Before that I would go for 1/64" (0.016"). For corner to corner square measurements I try to keep it to 1/32" using a tape measure. Since I have gotten the digital stuff life has been grand.
Member
For me it's plus or minus six inches.
Member
My day to day job as a tool & die maker is +/-.0005. Therefore, 1/32" is tight enough to have room to swing a cat.
Member
That's funny, my saying is 1/8" gap!?! You could drive a train through that.Originally Posted by Roger Newby
Therefore, 1/32" is tight enough to have room to swing a cat.
Contributor
When I built my tool chest I kept things at 1/64 or less. I try to keep things close to that. Pride in workmanship I suppose. I repaired precision tools for 20+ years so being right on is a habit.
I never could have done that with my old C-man TS.
Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night
Contributor
As long as it looks good, I'm okay with it. Many times, I don't measure at all, or use something like a story stick.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Member
hmmm..... serious hobbiests can likely afford to spend the time to be more "obsessive" about measurements....
more seriously, my answer is it depends on the function.... in setting up woodworking machinery and tools(infeed and outfeed tables of a jointer, flatness of the sharpening stone for blade of one's smoothing handplane) I'd want "machinist" accuracy......
...in terms of finished pieces of constructed projects, the ease of assembly, its final appearance and its longevity (including dealing with wood movement) will also inform your own level of care about measurements
good luck
michael
Contributor
It really depends on what you are doing. If you are making a 96" long table and it ends up at 95-1/2 does it really matter? If you are making a mitered border around the top of the same table and one miter is open .010" that really does matter.
Steve Jenkins, McKinney, TX. 469 742-9694
Always use the word "impossible" with extreme caution
Member
I'm in the "It matters if you can see it" camp. Do I need a table top to be flat within .005" tolerances? Not hardly. I'm more concerned there with grain, color, and other aesthetics. You can't see it, it affects nothing. Do i need machine made matched joints to be within .005"? Yes, I need room for glue and not much else, and that is achievable. If i build a wall of custom cabinets that spans 14' and I make each box 1/16" too wide, that is a problem. If I make a free standing desk that is 1/16" too wide, that is not a problem. I find more and more that all the gizmos and measuring devices can be avoided by batch cutting parts with simple stops and using gauge blocks or story poles to set distances and thicknesses. It is often the cumulative effect of small errors that adds up to a large problem. If you start with a story pole that defines your overall length for a project and work backwards to calculate parts sizes things seem to go better, and you maintain the only accurate number you really need. Measure twice? How about not at all.
I recently made a series of 9' mahogany windows with 24 lites, 3X8. If each bar was 1/64" over on length, that adds up to a big problem. The lead guy at work taught me a simple system using MDF gauge blocks and punch sticks that guarantees a perfect job, puts all the mortises in the right place, cancels any error in either axis. No rulers, not digital whizmos, just $5 worth of mdf and a finger tip as a feeler gauge and you get within .005" over 7' and 7 horizontal bars. Much cheaper than a set of 24" calipers too!
Member
Same here. I have one of those inside/outside/depth vernier calipers, but I almost never actually read it -- just use it to check or transfer dimensions.
“I don’t have a lot of tools because it doesn’t take many to make furniture.” - Rob Millard
Contributor
For me, if it's close enough it's close enough.
Seriously.
Contributor
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with a piece of chalk, and cut it with an axe - precision work. All thing are relative as other posters have stated. Mainly what are you doing? In framing a house, an eighth is close enough, but in making a face frame for cabinets between walls, a sixty fourth is too much.
I run along the lines of Mike H and Steve J. I use setup blocks and story sticks more now than earlier in my efforts. I have re-made many a part to achieve a "proper fit" after i had cut it three times and it was still too short ;-)
I like my joinery tight (but leave room for the glue) and try to stick to things I am comfortable with if I am delivering on an expectation but, I try to challenge myself on every new piece so that new skills become comfortable.
My machines, I shoot for .001".
My projects get what looks right.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
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