Day 8 (Kamilla) - Assembling the Jig & Cutting Dadoes

My set up preparations. Left: Test trials with the dado stack displaying the minor changes between runs. Right: My fully assembled miter splint jig, with a tool to ensure it is 90-degrees 

    

    Most of day 8 was spent making the final preparations to cut dadoes along the mitered edges of my stool. This included assembling the pieces for the miter splint jig that I cut out the day before, and ensuring a precise 1/4 of an inch dadoe stack cut to fit my wooden splints. Both of these steps took quite a bit of trial and error with many adjustments and lots of patience. To construct the jig, I needed to make sure everything was perfectly aligned so that it would create straight cuts. Although I tried my best to secure the wood, I still had a little bit of a tilt past 90-degrees that needed to be re-adjusted with some tightening and loosening of the screws. When securing the dadoe stack, we had to reset the spacers 5 different times before we achieved a viable width. This set-up process took a lot of time and care. 

    Prior to this M-term, I would have said that doing something efficiently and well is preferable to taking the extra time to do it perfectly; however, I have learned that this is not always the case. Woodworking is a craft in which precision is crucial, and taking time to double check measurements, or to secure extra clamps around a glued piece will save time and effort down the road. Even though cutting and construction feel most rewarding, their success depends on a thorough and mindful set up. I could really feel the realization of this philosophy when I cut my dadoe slots at the end of the day. I have never before had a cut on the table saw go so smoothly and effectively. Each set of dadoes went through like clockwork and I was very happy with the end result. Although Mr. Grisbee's assistance with pushing the miter splint jig across the table saw definitely helped, I also believe that every step of careful measuring and adjusting lead up to the final success. 

    I have greatly enjoyed learning all of these skills and life lessons through the Advanced Woodworking term, and it has also been inspiring to see how far everyone around me has come. In the span of 3 days, the Tinkería has gone from storing plain wooden boards, to the frames of future shelves, tables, and artworks. I am very proud of the progress we have made, and I am looking forward to seeing all of our finished pieces together on Friday!

The process and result pictures of my dadoe cuts spaced along the miter joints.