Splines
I’ve been thinking about splines lately. Not the curve, but the slice o’contrasting beauty you stick in the corner of something to strengthen it.
I cut my first splines in some picture frames I made. It’s generally a good practice, and in this case, I was very unsure that the wood was dry, so it was extra necessary–I didn’t want the corners popping open when the wood dried. I used a Delta tenoning jig, but you don’t need to; it’s easy to whip up a little sled to slide along your fence. Just put two 45 degree blocks on it and you’re in business. One note–make sure in this (and any) jig that any screws you use aren’t in the path of the saw!
In any case, cutting the suckers is easy (although I still managed to be careless and get them non-centered). Filling them is what’s hard.
The big problem is that you want to cut a bunch of thin strips of wood, one saw-kerf wide, to put in there. But the obvious way to do that is put the fence 1/8 of an inch away from the sawblade, and that’s an excellent recipe for turning your spline into a projectile weapon. Remember the rule, skinny side on the outside. Anything else results in kickback.
But if you do that, it’s a royal pain to measure the width, and you have to move the fence closer every time. I cut it the wrong thickness three times (wasting about 3*2*1/8 = 3/4 inch of walnut), and when I finally got it right, I had to move the fence and start over again. Not cool.
So here’s my new cheating trick. I set the fence the nasty kickback way. I cut the spline, but not all the way through, so it’s still firmly attached to the base block. Then I use a sharpened chunk of obsidian tied to a twig with dried sinews to hew off the last bit, and repeat. Ok, so I use a saw and chisel… it still seams backwards when I have a perfectly good table saw sitting in front of me. But I digress.
Make sure you cut it flush (or slightly indented) and you can repeat indefinitely. You’ll have to discard that ragged last bit that you hacked off so crudely, but it beats the heck out of readjusting each time.
(you could probably use a bandsaw to trim off that last bit as well, but alas I’m ashamed to admit I am without le saw du band. I’ve got my eyes open though–drop me a line if you see a good deal on one!)
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