Half Lap - Easy & Accurate Table Saw Method
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- Опубліковано 5 лис 2013
- Half Lap - Easy & Accurate Table Saw Method
No measuring!
Great accuracy with minimal set up time.
Watch as I show you how to cut half lap joints on the table saw.
As with all machinery:
FOLLOW ALL SAFETY GUIDELINES. USE SOME COMMON SENSE.
Sir, you are a woodworking GOD!
This is so simple and easy to remember.
And all it depends on is raising the blade carefully.
Thank you, sir!
You're too kind
I have had some experiments making tiny little half laps on tiny frames on the router table, and this method of finding center made my day when all that measuring and drawing line stuff won't work, this always will, even down to 4 mm thickness that I have been doing half laps in, don't ask me why :D. Thanks for a method I am gonna use forever!
The best explanation ever
Cheers
brilliant... your video is the best and the easiest to follow and I've been watching a lot of videos about how to do a half lap joint. you deserve more views a likes. thank you.
Thanks David. There's so much out there, it's a lottery which videos/channels get watched, but comments like yours and shares are always welcome and boost the videos in searches, so much appreciated
yep! i just watched probably 10 videos on how to make half lap joints, and this method is the one i feel is the best. i have a project ahead of me that will require about 50 half lap cuts, so i will be using this method for honing in my depth.
Very clever. you never stop learning things
Cheers Paul!
Nice point and you have the most beautiful cross-cut sled.
Thank you!
Nicely done!! Thanks so much for the insight!!
Thanks Jake, and welcome aboard.Happy woodworking, Mitch
superb demonstration. thank you!!
Thanks!
Good video. Thanks for taking the time to make it. Your sled looks nicer than mine.
Much appreciated. Happy woodworking / Mitch
I'm late to the party here, but this is super useful to me, and easy to follow. Thanks for posting!
Glad it was helpful!
Mitch this will save me a lot of time, thanks!
That's good - time's the one thing we never have enough of. Thanks for commenting
I was stunned to see your fingers so close to the blade.
+peggyt1243 Really - I suppose it may look scary, but I'm always braced against any slip, and always watching both hands and blade. Sometimes a long push stick, etc. prevents seeing both hand and blade at the same time, which I find much more scary.
+Mitch Peacock - WOmadeOD Look at 5:49
+peggyt1243 That was speeded up 😉 But seriously, the table saw sled is a particularly safe jig. Having said that, I'll probably go and have my first table saw accident now 😂
Nice Job and Sharing !
Thx’s
Simple, easy, smart...well done.
Thank you
Good job my friend! I do the same thing using my router table. It has a much finer adjustment and the advantage of using a wider bit.
oceannavagator That's a great way to do it, and probably leaves a slightly better finish on the glue surface too.Happy woodworking, Mitch
One thing as I watched your demo shocked me ------your fingers are extremely close to a running saw blade. Not safe at all.
Ideally, your fingers are somewhere above/behind that sled handhold, and the wood is held by a movable clamp. Thanks for the video.
Absolutely, I would advise anyone to take the precautions that they feel comfortable with. Clamping to the sled fence with something other than one's fingers would work just fine.
Appreciate your concern Robert. Happy, and safe, woodworking, Mitch
thanks for the tip.. keep em coming. I liked it
Thanks Scott - will do
Great video!
Cheers!
Very useful and nicely done.
Thank you! Cheers!
Thanks mate, appreciate your work
Patrick Cheers mate
How about a Slider Miter saw with a Depth stop, Faster.
A reckless one like myself could lose 2-3 fingers before having these nice halves - that's what I fear. Thanks anyway for teaching me more than making half lap joints.
Cheers. Do take care in the 'shop!
Easier still, you could draw a crisscross right on the end there: Start your line from one corner to the catty-corner on the opposite side. Start the second line from the next corner to its catty-corner on the opposite side. Where the two lines intersect - that's the middle, mate.
Drawing lines can introduce errors, but you're right it would give the middle if accurately done
Thank you!!!
Cheers
Nice. Thanks!
Thanks David!
oh my jeeeezus your FINGERRRRR!!!!! lol
Best method ever
Cheers!
you clever man!
Cheers Clem!
Hi Mitch I like the way you do the half lap joint..I am wanting to build a gun cabinet.the frame of the door is 1" inch thick by 4" inches wide and 72" inches long.the bottom and top pieces are 1" inch thick and 4" inches wide and 36" inches long. Do you think if I do the half lap on this and then drill 4 holes near the corners of the half lap then use walnut dowels it would be strong enough. I don't have a mortise and tenon jig. Or do you think I should do a loose tenon then do the 4 hole dowel thing thanks larry
Hi Larry, with 16"sq of long grain glue surface area at each corner, I'm sure it will be strong enough with a pva adhesive. The dowels would look nice, but shouldn't be necessary. 4" is about the widest I would make the joint because of the cross grain nature, and the possible movement across the width - if the cabinet was likely to experience a wide range of humidity then I might suggest mitred corners with splines (or loose tenons).Of course you might like the added challenge of a bridle joint - I haven't done a machine cut version on video yet, but the hand cut video will explain the joint.
Nice method.
The lap joint is far more accurate than the tuning of the guitar but that's for another video 😉
That's for sure 😆
Nice one, thanks. Good point about priorities. I was thinking of people, like me, who often misplace their ruler - easier to loose that than the table saw!
As for the video request. Set me a challenge by telling me what tools I do have available, including setting out tools such as straight edges, dividers, compases, piece of string, etc. If you have a videocam/webcam/etc. make your request on film, and I'll include it in the video.
Happy woodworking, Mitch
I agree about your hands being so close to the blade
Well done. But please show us the planning process, as that’s actually the hardest part.
Maybe this old video will help ua-cam.com/video/8hj3w5QKtnE/v-deo.html
Thanks, fingers were a bit close, good video, was your riving knife in place.
European riving knife, rides slightly below top of blade, was on but probably didn't come above sled height.
How about instructions on building the jig itself!! Nice video!
Chad Haidet Hi Chad, that will be in part 2, which should be available on 21st February.
WOmadeOD - Made in Wood with Mitch Peacock Oops, sorry Chad. I thought you were talking about my latest video on the mitre shooting board.I'll see what I can do about one for this in the future. Cheers, Mitch
My blade has angled tips so wouldn't give a smooth surface. Wheres the best place (UK) to buy a 'flat-top' blade on a budget? Not really sure of the proper term for them.
To be honest I'm not sure Michael. I have beveled teeth on my blades and the results are fine. Raker teeth, the flat top ones, can often tear out fibres, leaving a worse result
Ask for Doug... www.cutting-solutions.co.uk
or you could just slice to a certain height on one piece and then use that half lap to measure for the height on the other piece.
Yep. Wouldn't necessarily be dead centre, if that was important.
Mitch Peacock - WOmadeOD true. estetically speaking it would not be. but pieces would probably end up flush on the faces. jusr thought id mention it for someone as lazy as me to know heh.
Drawing two diagonals will also give you the middle of the block. Maybe that would be easier and faster?
+bkkrdbkstn Cheers. The diagonals on a squared block will give you the centre, and can be quick and accurate, but you still need to set the blade height to it. The method I show is quick once you get the hang of it, and works with the top dead centre of the blade to avoid any accumulated errors. Either method used correctly will do the job just fine.
That'll help you find the center with your eyes, but finding it accurately with the blade height is another matter altogether. His method might be a tad slower, but it'll get the better cut.
Great trick, but boy did you let your right hand fingers get close to that blade!
Cheers.
It's your thumb behind the sled fence as your index finger is visible your thumb isn't. If you understood the human nervous system and cognition you'd realize that it's only a matter of time. Either change by moving your hand or buy a sawstop Table Saw.
Was scared for your fingers
Good video. Pencil needs sharpening tho...haha
They always do! Pencils for rough work, knives for precision I used to say, now I have to add reading glasses too :)
😀👍💯
Cheers
You could just draw a diagonal line from the corners and get the center EXACTLY and then cut just below where the lines cross.
Same principle
No measuring, all you need is a straight edge
Agreed. Can be difficult on small parts though.
@@mitchwoodwork
Straight edges can be as simple as an index card which is adjustable if it's too large and stiff enough to stand up to being used in such a way, once at least. LOL
I'm a 30+ yr drafter by education, so I know a few shortcuts for these issues and use my old school tools to get things set up a little better.
Doesn't always lead to a better conclusion however.
Most of the things I make are more functional than finely finished, so my tendency to flub it, doesn't mean starting over. LOL
@@mdrobnson3912 In my fifties, my eyesight is usually the limiting factor, followed close behind by arthritic hands 🤣 Any build is an achievement now
@@mitchwoodwork
DITTO
My limiting factor is time and finance though
And the fact that my shop is tables in the backyard
Hey Larry here again what is a spline jig
Hi Larry. A spline jig normally refers to a tool that holds a joint while a slot (or slots) are cut through it. These slots are then filled with splines, which are like wide loose tenons, to reinforce the joint. They can be designed for use with table saws or routers mainly.
Finding the middle still takes too much work. We need a jig or some tool that can set the middle depth almost right away. Kerfmakers can account for the blade thickness almost immediately.. I wish we had something for depth.
I could make a jig to halve stock, but I'd probably lose it 🤣
Seems like the fingers are too close to the blade, even with a sled.
You could use hold downs or push sticks if you like. If you think ahead and don't attempt anything you're uncomfortable with, then there is a good chance you'll keep all your fingers. Stay safe, Mitch
If holding your fingers within 1 1/2 inches of the cutting blade is normal to you than cool. Repetition makes things safer.And you seem to have mastered that way of holding and cutting. But to have gotten this much practice using such a dangerous and bad form of wood&saw handling can defect all the good practice in the world, just fraction of a second of temporary mental distraction and you could lose a finger. But I don't really think that you actual cut that way. You were just being suspenseful for the camera, Right? Still the half lap was excellent.
My push sticks modelled on human hands scare the life out of viewers LOL
My dad's friend cut the end off his finger on a table saw just the other day - lapse of attention was all it took.
It's true that the camera foreshortens things and can make things look more dangerous, but it's not something I specifically try to engineer - I'm not that experienced a cameraman for a start ;)
The method is OK but as others already wrote, your fingers are way too close to the blade. Not a good example.
Consider using a stop block. This works more accurately as well. Don't forget to use a shim to eliminate the width of the blade
Your comments are appreciated, and it's good to keep the debate open on workshop safety. There are probably arguments against using a table saw in any way, and yet we still do.
In this instance, I don't think the inherent safety of anchoring hands on a cross sled is properly appreciated.
no sorry. use a straight edge corner to corner, mark the line, then do same the other two corners, then raise the blade’s highest point to the junction.
Sharpen your pencil and invest in a dado blade. All that back and forth made me dizzy.
HaHa I know what you mean
No dado blades in the EU
At the end you show a copyright on a jointery method that has been around since they started growing trees on this planet. It's called creeping up on the cut, everybody does that all the time in all situations.
I just found this to be odd.
Only the video is copyrighted, not the method