How many times have I gone to the lumber store for plywood, and they ask me "What size you looking for?" and often my response is "Not sure, I need to see some sizes first". All that means is I don't have clue whether I need 3/8", 1/4" or 5/16" or what the equivalent size is. I have come unprepared and hoping to make the right decision .. on the fly !!
Not anymore, thanks to the small, 4 person woodworking group I meet up with every week for an hour or so over coffee, I now have made a wood thickness set AND a leg thickness set that I can use to pre-judge the woods that I need.
Every few months we meet at one another wood shop to see what they are working on. In a recent meet up I spotted a box of pieces of wood at Paul's place, all labeled with the proper thickness and all together in nice box and a couple of us commented ... "what a great idea". On my drive home I was thinking about those thickness sample and thought, wouldn't it be great to add the same thing off furniture legs. A box with the most common size legs for tables, stools, chairs and other stand-alone wood items.
Below is my sample of what I made and what the video is about. I also decided to label mine so they would show up better in the video, but then I realized, they show up better for ME TOO !! I did not do the same with the legs, but I think that will be a next step for me to update them as well.
I even put the millimeter equivalent next to the wood size so that hopefully it will be quicker for me to cross reference. Since I am using a laser etcher now, and everything is in millimeters and you NEED to know the thickness of wood or plastic you are using to set the machine, this will be super helpful.
The front of the thickness samples also has a small box I keep my dowel planners in because both the units are used often in tandem with one another.
And here is one example of setting the router bit depth without having to wrestle with a whole or half sheet of plywood to get an accurate measurement.
Setting Table Saw blade height can be much quicker, for example when you are cutting half laps on 3/4" wood, we know that half of 3/4 is 3/8, to the sample that is that thickness can be used to set the table saw blade height quickly and easily but most of all, accurately.
Another example for when I am cutting "inserts" or as shown below "butterflies" to use in end planks to prevent the wood from splitting any further (also used to disguise knots) and in many cases just something to add character to the wood project by using contrasting woods. Thicknesses can easily be checked and set as needed.
And what might be the MOST useful of all these thickness jigs is figuring out what size I should be using for making legs for table, standing cabinets etc. I my mind there is nothing worse that making a cabinet or table where the legs are too big or too small because they distract from the "balance" of the object. Big thick legs of a coffee table may look "cool" to some, but for most it is something unattractive and not something they would want. Who wants to make furniture that is hard or impossible to sell??? The opposite is true as well, I have seen lovely side boards (cabinets for storing dishes in the dining room) where the legs are so skinny an spindly they look like the might fall off or break. The truth is the won't (probably) they just give the illusion they will ... again, who want to make furniture that people find fault with or don't like ... not easy to sell objects like that.
And that's why Leg Thickness is very important, but your often have a couple choices that will work fine, so finding them is important for anyone who wants to make attractive furniture that people would want to have.
On top of all the benefits, these size samplers are easy make in a weekend or a few evenings. It's a bit fiddly work, but I found very enjoyable to make something that is not complicated, but will be very useful ... with or without the dividers :)
Copyright Colin Knecht
another non-AI article
- - Taylor Tools Affiliate Store - https://lddy.no/18zkg
