Band Saw Projects
by Crabb, Tom
pub. by Sterling Publishing Co. Inc, NY, 1988 -       isbn; 0-8069-6718-8     LCCN = 88-2162 -     Black and White photos   Appendix - how to make a Pantograph, Ovaler, Sriber 122-127p - - Index p. 127-128 - - 128 p.
Tom Crabb presents a very straight forward book on the band saw. Pages 6 - 19 are particularly useful for one who has a new band saw and needs to know how it works, and how to properly set it up and adjust it for best use.
One of the first -chapters- involves making joints (mortise, rabbet, dovetail, half lap, saddle, box or finger joint as well as the birds mouth joint. He also explains about jigs for repetitive work. He discusses various types of glues at some length.
- polyvinyl resin emulsions
- polyvinyl acetate or PVA - yellow or white emulsions (examples Tight-Bond and Elmers carpenters glue) - grab quickly and do not irritate the skin - less resistance to moisture - tends to clog sandpaper - main limitation is ~cold creep~ lacks resistance to continuously applied loads
- epoxies - developed in 1940s - must be accurately mixed - is a good gap filler - only requires contact (no clamps necessary) is waterproof
- urea formaldehyde - Weldwood Plastic resin (powder must be mixed with water) hard and brittle when cured, sands well but will take an edge off cutting tools. - will stick to any kind of wood. It resists moisture and high temperatures better than PVA glues. - can be cleaned up with soap and water before it cures.
Crabb advises keeping many kinds of glue in the shop and using what is most useful for any particular job.

He has a short chapter on scaling up plans and sketches - grid example, use of the pantograph, and using a photocopier.

After expounding on glue he gets into the 25 different projects, many of which can only be easily accomplished using the band saw as a machine tool vs. any other normal woodworking tool. Several of the first involve cutting a small log or balk of wood into cylinders.
Another is making folding baskets, which are spiral cut boards which get pushed out to form a basket. The angle of cut needs to be between 4 percent and 6 percent
Cutting rings and glue stacking them is another technique. (Most of these types of techniques involve cutting into the ring and gluing the entrance cut shut before proceeding with the projects.)
The Lap Desk (a historical project) and the ~Chicken Box~ use finger joint hinges in a most interesting way, doweling through the joint to make a hinge.
All in all, a very interesting book which is as or even more valuable introducing the band saw as a tool and discussing technique as it is demonstrating the various individual projects.
A very interesting read if one has a new band saw. (Which I do.)
~2014-02-15~

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