Squaring large panels

[Christian Thompson]

Guys,

I'm working on a tool chest and have a question about squaring the panels. I've got them glued up and flattened. The next step is to square them up and dovetail them together. Everything I have done up to this point has been much smaller and I've used a shooting board to square the end grain. I'm building the tool chest to the dimensions specified in Chris Schwarz's book - 24" x 38" for the long sides. That's too big to fit my shooting board. So my question is how you guys would approach something that size - build a big shooting board or try to do it freehand (I'd probably at least use a fence)?

Thanks,
Christian

[David Weaver]

Mark it square and cut it to the mark (if it's not showing) or cut it just short of the mark and plane to the mark like you would with a long grain edge. If you're not confident about your abilities to keep the cut square, then mark it all the way around and plane it until your mark is gone.

Support the end grain at the back of the cut with something clamped against it if you are worried about blowout (if you're not worried about it and you take a heavy shaving, you'll be doing some gluing).

[Christian Thompson]

OK. Makes sense. Thanks.

[Prashun Patel]

Further, I don't know that it's super critical. *If you are dovetailing, then the critical square lines will be at the base of your pins and tails. *Any inconsistency in the end of your panel will be planed flush after. *If however, yr ends are not perfectly square, then you'll need to use a method other than a marking gauge to scribe yr base lines.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Prashun's method is how I've gone about it in the past, partcularly if the ends are square the sides, but the edges of the ends aren't perfectly square like they would be off a shooting board.

If your bench is flat enough, you can elevate the piece just a hair with some shims and use the plane on it's side on the bench, like one big shooting board. If what you elevate the piece with has a long enough true edge, by clamping the assembly in place, you final cuts the plane could run against that like the edge of a shooting board.

But I'd probably just mark the lines and plane to it, like David says. If your sawing was accurate, there shouldn't be too much to remove.

[Charlie Stanford]

Guys,

I'm working on a tool chest and have a question about squaring the panels. I've got them glued up and flattened. The next step is to square them up and dovetail them together. Everything I have done up to this point has been much smaller and I've used a shooting board to square the end grain. I'm building the tool chest to the dimensions specified in Chris Schwarz's book - 24" x 38" for the long sides. That's too big to fit my shooting board. So my question is how you guys would approach something that size - build a big shooting board or try to do it freehand (I'd probably at least use a fence)?

Thanks,
Christian

Get accurate marks on the wood and cut just shy of them with a handsaw and finish to the line with an edge-tool, usually in this instance a hand plane. If you can get a good mark on the wood you're 95% of the way there. An eleven year old can be taught how to saw shy of a line and square enough to the face so as not to affect cleanup to the line.

Hand tool woodworking relies on knowing how to mark individual cuts and laying out joints. Layout is EVERYTHING. Frankly, I'd use your shooting board as kindling the next time it gets chilly. I can't stand the bloody things.

A better question is how to get square layout lines on a big panel if you don't have a large square that's accurate. You didn't ask that question.

[Christian Thompson]

Further, I don't know that it's super critical. *If you are dovetailing, then the critical square lines will be at the base of your pins and tails. *Any inconsistency in the end of your panel will be planed flush after. *If however, yr ends are not perfectly square, then you'll need to use a method other than a marking gauge to scribe yr base lines.

Interesting thought. I hadn't thought of doing that. My plan was to use a marking gauge to layout the base line so I think I'll try to get it square. It's an idea to file away for future projects, though.

Prashun's method is how I've gone about it in the past, partcularly if the ends are square the sides, but the edges of the ends aren't perfectly square like they would be off a shooting board.

If your bench is flat enough, you can elevate the piece just a hair with some shims and use the plane on it's side on the bench, like one big shooting board. If what you elevate the piece with has a long enough true edge, by clamping the assembly in place, you final cuts the plane could run against that like the edge of a shooting board.

But I'd probably just mark the lines and plane to it, like David says. If your sawing was accurate, there shouldn't be too much to remove.

Heh. Definitely not a given . I think I can get it close enough so I don't have to spend too much time on it, though.

Get accurate marks on the wood and cut just shy of them with a handsaw and finish to the line with an edge-tool, usually in this instance a hand plane. If you can get a good mark on the wood you're 95% of the way there. An eleven year old can be taught how to saw shy of a line and square enough to the face so as not to affect cleanup to the line.

Hand tool woodworking relies on knowing how to mark individual cuts and laying out joints. Layout is EVERYTHING. Frankly, I'd use your shooting board as kindling the next time it gets chilly. I can't stand the bloody things.

A better question is how to get square layout lines on a big panel if you don't have a large square that's accurate. You didn't ask that question.

My plan was to use my framing square. It's probably not super accurate, though. Other suggestions?

Thanks for the replies guys.
Christian

[Jack Curtis]

...If your bench is flat enough, you can elevate the piece just a hair with some shims and use the plane on it's side on the bench, like one big shooting board. If what you elevate the piece with has a long enough true edge, by clamping the assembly in place, you final cuts the plane could run against that like the edge of a shooting board....

That's what I do, use the back of the bench as one long sticking board. Works great.

[Derek Cohen]

Just one point (which may be obvious but has not been mentioned): mark your lines with a knife, not a pencil. Plane to these lines. A pencil line may not be accurate enough as it is difficult to keep it thin.


Regards from Perth

Derek

[David Weaver]

Interesting thought. I hadn't thought of doing that. My plan was to use a marking gauge to layout the base line so I think I'll try to get it square. It's an idea to file away for future projects, though.



Heh. Definitely not a given . I think I can get it close enough so I don't have to spend too much time on it, though.



My plan was to use my framing square. It's probably not super accurate, though. Other suggestions?

Thanks for the replies guys.
Christian

If it's something very large, I'd make a wooden square to do the job and just test it by marking the same line a mm or two apart with the square laying one direction for the first line and the other direction for the second. If they stay parallel and the reference edge is straight, you're in good shape.

[Evan Ryan]

A better question is how to get square layout lines on a big panel if you don't have a large square that's accurate. You didn't ask that question.

that is a good question. Does anyone know how to square a big panel without a large accurate square?

[Marc Seguin]

If you have a straightedge and a compass you can use them to layout a line at 90* from any point from your reference edge. Here's how.

[Evan Ryan]

Thank you mark.
How effective is measuring corner to corner to check square?

[Mike Henderson]

Thank you mark.
How effective is measuring corner to corner to check square?

If your two sides are parallel, measuring corner to corner is pretty accurate.

Mike

[Jim Matthews]

If this is a large panel (bigger than 20" or so) the baseline where
the dovetails interlock is a PITA to get right.

No matter how sharp I get my chisels, or how carefully I approach
the baseline - I inevitably have blow out, fracturing or undercutting.

I now cut everything except this step by hand.

Once I get close with a coping saw, I use
Glen Huey's method to square up the 'bottom'
of the joint where the boards meet.

I don't use the bit to hog out waste - only to defined the bottom plane.

I've just completed a glue up using this method
and it is a MUCH cleaner fit than I've achieved before.

For me, the challenge is in maintaining that base line
along the entire length. The trim router has a fixed
depth, and follows the 'perch' that each board
is clamped to, securely.

The trick is to have a stable perch that's wide enough
and verified to square along it's length.

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