Setup and more trial and error----Picture Problems?

     I'm fairly sure that it has something to do with how I am loading the pictures.  The problem that I am experiencing is that after I load one picture, (all goes well) then when I try to load another picture it seems to lock up.  I just keep getting the working symbol.  Also does anyone know if the pictures can be placed in different locations throughout the blog?  So far all of mine load at the beginning of the text.

Clamping the work piece.

Notice the miter gauge, it allows for the end of the workpiece to be cut on various angles.

A hodgepodge of joints, some good some not so good.

More of the same!

      Enough of the trivial, here are some more pictures of the joints and finger jig that I made.  Hopefully!  Make a liar out of me, maybe the pictures install wherever you place the cursor?

More later from---Beneath The Bark

Try and Try Again !!!

Incra Fence with the two sets of scales installed.  Also notice the Micro adjuster to the right.

Multiple tries and lots of scrap wood, is the secret???

     As you will see by the pictures that I'm going to post, perseverance is the key to learning.  At least for me repetition seems to be the best teacher, but even then I sometimes wonder.  I gain confidence in the creation of an acceptable fit for the joint and in just the next try it seems as if I have learned nothing!  Does this sound familiar or is it just me?  Things just weren't going all that well and I kept searching for answers and finally like a bolt of lightening I realized that I was using a thin kerf blade not the standard 1/8" kerf (saw cut) but 3/32" instead.  Now that may not sound like a big deal but let me tell you that when making multiple cuts that little 1/32" adds up to quite an error!  So, change the blade and go through the trial and error again and again, finally better results.
     When I first made my finger joint sled I was indexing it against my regular fence, which I had always had great results with.  Of course the thinner blade was on the saw and of course that ended up being part of the problem.  In order to obtain more precise settings and better control for all the cuts needed to make one half of the finger joint, 9 in all.  I decided to install my Incra Ultra Fence on the table saw and see if that would help to remedy some of the trouble that I had been having.  Through the use of slide in templates that have precise spacing over their 16" length I felt sure that this would be a big asset.  To make it even more precise the Incra fence has a micro adjustment incorporated within the assembly.  The micro adjustment will allow you to make 1/64" adjustments left or right of the index marks.  Using a 3/8" box joint template, the table saw blade set to 4 degrees of right tilt and a blade height of 7/8" on the highest point of the saw blade's tooth.  A joint blank properly marked I attempted another cut, aah finally progress.  More practice joints and I had it fairly well dialed in.
     On the top of the Incra Fence there is room for two numerical templates and two spacing templates.  This feature allowed me to use one of each of these to make a set for cutting one half and another set for cutting the other half.  During the making of the joint one must cut all the finger across the board and then turn the board 180 degrees and make the angle cut for the opposite side of the finger.

More later from---Beneath The Bark

The first two photos are of the finger joints that I am trying to duplicate and of course the last picture is of  my 32 Chevy.

More later from---Beneath The Bark

New To You, and New To Me !!

     This a new thing for me, blogging, hopefully it will be fun and informative, for myself and anyone that happens by.  I am now involved in the repairing of a 1932 Chevrolet 5 window coupe which I purchased a couple of months ago.  The repairs started out to be rather minor as things go, but things started snowballing on me.  You know how that goes, just a small thing here and there and the next thing you know you are in up to your eyeballs!  At first it was just a few mechanical issues, a new shift lever assembly and a emergency brake lever with attaching parts.  I knew that the rumble seat floor pan was in bad shape but in reality it was missing altogether.  There had been a 1/4 inch hardboard makeshift floor installed, so the search was on.  I found a fellow in Ohio that makes all the floor pans for the coupe and I promptly ordered the same.  As I kept digging I found dry rot in several places, you see the folks at Chevrolet were as much carriage builders as car builders.  There is a complete wooden frame glued and screwed together before any sheet metal can be attached.  In a way that is why I am now blogging.  I found several other blogs that woody wagon builders are writing, and it dawned on me that this might be a great way to share my experiences as well as garner some information.  The need to make several finger joints for the wooded skeleton of the 32 has had me searching the net high and low.  There is a lot of talk about the joint but very little meat and bones of the how to of the joint.  As time marches on and hopefully progress with the project I will post more information in regards to my accomplishments and hardships.
     I would like information on companies that manufacture finger joint cutters, not the big elaborate production machinery but something more for the home shop.  These joints are of the structural nature, that is,  they are 7/8 " deep.  Most others are a maximum of 1/2" in depth which is sufficient for joining two boards end to end for the purpose of lengthening the board and consuming short cutoff lumber pieces but not for structural purposes.  Nor is  it in keeping with the original methods of construction.  It is also not to be confused with a box joint which is commonly referred to as a finger joint.  The box joint has rectilinear (square or rectangle) fingers and the true finger joint has long tapered fingers.  These long tapered fingers provide much more long grain gluing surface and they also wedge together to create a very strong structural joint.
 
More later from---Beneath The Bark