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Thread: Joinery saw technique

  1. #31

    Pencil Lines

    Any pencil line is really a ribbon - with two edges. I keep track of which edge was next to the straight edge used in drawing it (put a dot next to the line when drawing - use the edge on the opposite side). Cut on the waste side of that edge. Sometimes this means cutting next to the line (leaving the line visible), at other times you erase the line - if it is narrower than the kerf.
    This method works for me better than using a knifed line. Oh, cutting to the edge is still not a freebie for me - I need to practice and do warm-ups.
    Best wishes,
    Metod

  2. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Voigt View Post
    Thanks Warren. Very helpful to hear your results. Further proof, I think, that there is no one size fits all solution. I'd be interested to know, though, if you are cross-dominant or same-side dominant.

    For me, I guess the larger issue is that some people can saw well right from the beginning, and others stink at it. For the ones who stink, it might be because they are uncoordinated, can't perceive square, or have mechanical flaws (bad posture, grip, etc.). But for those who have practiced hard, learned good technique, and still can't saw well, it makes sense to look for another explanation before concluding that one is inherently hopeless.
    I well remember how frustrating it was to learn to use a saw in 1955, but I don't remember too may details. I am right handed and right eye dominant, but am able to switch eyes. I think it is helpful to use both eyes and not to aim by lining up an eye with the saw and the cut. I believe that one can learn to influence these things, training the mind to see things in a different way, not stuck in a particular orientation.

    I once attended a master class where a teenage girl was playing flute for a conservatory teacher, who was in town for a concert. After about 30 seconds he walked up, closed up her music and asked her to start again. She was so dependent on looking at the music that she could not even start. Some kids learn best by ear, some by reading the music, some have such good memory that after a few repetitions they are no longer reading the music. In the beginning we can sort of work with their strengths and get them some success, but in the long run we want them to work on their weaknesses. We want them to be able read music while playing, to look at music and hear it in their mind, to play by ear, to be able to write down music they hear. It is a happy day when a kid realizes how valuable it is to work on his weaknesses.

  3. #33
    Most of my problems with dovetails are not from scribing or saw placement with respect to that scribed mark, but with the ability to saw straight. If it were me (and it IS me) I would focus on nailing vertical sawing and then see how much you need to correct your marking and starting. I bet it'll become moot for you as it is becoming for me.

  4. #34
    Join Date
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    Prashun, try this next time you are sawing DT's;

    Chuck the piece in a vise. Back a carpenter square up to it, preferably a long one, then line it up so that you can use it to sight how perpendicular you are to the board. Once you sight that, line up wrist and elbow so that your forearm is exactly in line with the back of the saw. Last line up your angle before you start cutting.

    Even if you are cutting a DT in 3/4" or 1" thick board it's no where near as accurate as having a 24" reference on the back of the board.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

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