I prefer screws but I guess nails are quicker. By the way, what's the advantage of using cleats if the sides of the cabinet are accurately cut and the construction is tight?
No table saw. I had one, it was a yard sale special some years ago that I had not used in a while. I recently started to get it setup again and discovered that it likes to smoke after about 45 seconds of running. Research tells me that it's most likely mechanical, bearings, and that they're virtually impossible to work on. I'm just trashing it, keeping the stand though.
As a hobbyist, I'm fairly certain that I can get by with a track saw. I have a miter saw for cutting small stock cleanly on angle.
I usually get away with jigsaw, ruler and electric screwdriver.
But I cover all my cabinets in thin carpet and this hides a multitude of sins !
But I cover all my cabinets in thin carpet and this hides a multitude of sins !
Blind nailing and ease of panel alignment.
I should point out that most of my boxes are rather large so I can blind nail easy enough and then the only exposed nails are on the back panel as it's the last to go on. I could use just glue on the back but then I'd have to wait for the glue to dry before moving on. I am naturally impatient so I nail it too. 🙂
This may sound like a stupid question, and yes, I believe such things exist, but, at any rate, does the ease come from fastening the cleats on the layed out side of the cabinet with the nailer and then, turning over and easily aligning the panels to the cleats, as opposed to, for example, trying to align the panels directly to the layout on one side while screwing/nailing from the other side?
(And yes, even if it's not a stupid question, it's certainly a run-on sentence!)
I have a access to a handheld belt sander, if that's what you mean. I can see how that might save some time for the impatient!
There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers so I'll do my best to avoid that.
Yes is the answer to your question.
You can't imagine how much a part of my arsenal it was in the early days. 🙂
I am an avid woodworker who is just finishing my first set of speakers, so let me weigh in based on what tools I actually used for the speakers.
Although I needed the track saw for some cuts it was rare and falls into the category of "make friends with someone who has a track saw so you can borrow it". In my garage shop the table saw is indispensable not because it is big and powerful but because it is accurate and repeatable. Need to cut a top and bottom and want them to be exact? Unless you are stacking and clamping you can't really do that with a track saw. With the table saw, set your fence an cut both pieces....they will be identical.
Ideally you need a router table and a hand-held but I only really needed the router table to make bending forms and true up sides due to their radius...so if you are not making curved speakers you can get by without it. The hand held however you will need for cutting circles and flush mounting recesses for the drivers.
Lots of parallel clamps, they are your friend and you can never have too many.
Dust collection and a respirator, dust generated in a shop can do all kinds of damage.
Maybe a jig saw for trimming and fitting things like a plant amp.
Those are the basics in my opinion and can all be used for many other DIY projects.
Although I needed the track saw for some cuts it was rare and falls into the category of "make friends with someone who has a track saw so you can borrow it". In my garage shop the table saw is indispensable not because it is big and powerful but because it is accurate and repeatable. Need to cut a top and bottom and want them to be exact? Unless you are stacking and clamping you can't really do that with a track saw. With the table saw, set your fence an cut both pieces....they will be identical.
Ideally you need a router table and a hand-held but I only really needed the router table to make bending forms and true up sides due to their radius...so if you are not making curved speakers you can get by without it. The hand held however you will need for cutting circles and flush mounting recesses for the drivers.
Lots of parallel clamps, they are your friend and you can never have too many.
Dust collection and a respirator, dust generated in a shop can do all kinds of damage.
Maybe a jig saw for trimming and fitting things like a plant amp.
Those are the basics in my opinion and can all be used for many other DIY projects.
This can not be overstated. If you want all the sides of your speakers to fit tightly, making caulking and extra sanding unecessary, a table saw is a must. Also, I find that a miter guage is a must for getting reproducible cuts on longer narrower pieces of wood that won't slide against a fence smoothely.
I have an extra router since it's a pain to have to take a router off my router table whenever I want to use it and vice versa.
I also forgot to mention that you will need that table saw or table mounted router to safely cut dados (I much prefer the table saw for this).
If you're like me and don't have the room to set up a heavy stationary table saw, get a portable table saw. I personally own a Ridgid because it has a fence that's on par with the fences on stationary table saws and it comes with a folding stand with wheels. It takes only a minute to set up and when folded it takes up very little floor space. The Bosch portable table saw is also rated highly, but keep in mind that not all portables are created equal.
While I understand the philosophy, I've owned several table saws in the past, this is one of those trade-offs that I've decided is ok for me, at least for now. If I were making many many speakers I might change my mind, but I'm keeping this squarely in the hobby domain and the track saw is more useful for me for other reasons.
If it turns out to be a serious mistake, I'll revisit the decision later, for now, the track saw is small, safe, cheap, and portable.
BTW: If you haven't been following the track saw market, I DID NOT lay out four to six bills for mine, if that were necessary, I would have just purchased a table saw. The Schepach sells for under $200 from Amazon with 50" of track.
There are numerous ways to setup reasonably repeatable cutting with a track saw and the right bench/accessories and I can explore them relatively inexpensively, adding features if I need greater accuracy.
The problem with table saws is that you simply won't get clean cuts and repeatability on a budget. You have to step up and pay quite a bit or spend time shopping for one used. While I'm sure that won't be too difficult, I then have to have space for it.
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Ok see, yeah, it's all butt joints for me, I'm only making PA cabs at this point, unless I'm missing something, I won't be needing any dados anytime soon.
Oh, I'm not so sure about that 😉
I suspect that I'm about to learn how important a belt sander with a nice stiff grit belt can be to a neophyte.
I'm a random orbit kind of guy. Belt sanders can gouge out some dandy divots, though the skil 3 X 18 you can find for 5 or 10 bucks second hand is pretty controllable. As for the track saw, or any other approach: you can do it with clear intention focus etc etc. Just keep your fingers please.
True but you get used to them pretty quickly and once you do, no more gouging or chipping.
Besides they're super handy for removing that extra 1/4" of material that you swear you measured twice. This is after you destroy your router bit when you found something nail-like in a reused piece of wood. 😀
BAM! And that's the story of my life! Anyway, I have a belt sander and an orbital sander so I can sand with gusto or finesse, depending on the situation.
I call my orbital sander - 'angle grinder'
I call my belt sander - 'workshop race car'
I call my table saw - 'javelin launcher'
I call my scroll saw - 'waste of time saw'
I call my chop saw - 'keep cutting, you'll get it right soon saw'
I call my hand saw - 'nothing' I've never wanted to cut my hand.
I think I need a new project. 🙂
I call my belt sander - 'workshop race car'
I call my table saw - 'javelin launcher'
I call my scroll saw - 'waste of time saw'
I call my chop saw - 'keep cutting, you'll get it right soon saw'
I call my hand saw - 'nothing' I've never wanted to cut my hand.
I think I need a new project. 🙂
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