Measuring/Marking/Cutting strategies

[Tom Slick]

I use a combination square alot. I don't use it for actual measuring as much as comparing. If I am going to "measure" the thickness of a board to set up the width of a dado I set the amount of ruler sticking out of the square equal to the thickness physically, I don't care about the actual width in numbers. with that set, I set up the dado to the same width as I just set my square to using the square to compare.

[cabinetman]

If I'm doing repetitious cuts on the CMS, or RAS, I will not move the first piece cut, but fix a stop block. If the "cut-to-a-line" is critical, I will use a knife mark.

On fences and stop blocks, I relieve the bottom corner with a rabbet to allow for sawdust. It can build up pretty quick and change the dimension. I don't want to be cleaning off the cutting area after each cut.
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[JimD]

Cabinetman brings up a good point. You either have to keep checking your stops, or undercut them as he describes, or use flip up stops that you can pivot up and sweep the dust past. Even one cut can mess up your well placed stop. DC helps but does not eliminate the need to check for dust against the stop.

The stops for my RAS are flip up and I keep a brush handy.

I did not mention steel rulers but I have to give Sam credit for recommending them to me in the early days of this website. I didn't listen at first but later bought 1, then another, then another. The ribbed surface of the BT3100 makes setting the rip fence with a tape hard and easy with a rule. The rule is also more accurate. I use it rather than a tape whenever possible.

Jim

[LCHIEN]

...

On fences and stop blocks, I relieve the bottom corner with a rabbet to allow for sawdust. It can build up pretty quick and change the dimension. I don't want to be cleaning off the cutting area after each cut.
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same here, but I use a 45° bevel of about 3/32 or 1/8th inch for dust relief on fences and stop blocks.

[drumpriest]

Many great pieces of advise here thus far. I use Incra rules a lot, and the gauge on my TS as well. One interesting things, don't adjust your indicator on your TS gauge mid-project, that can mess things up if you are trying to add together cuts.

Another, if you are to use a rule (we all have to for some things), make sure that your rule is parallel to the edge, so that you are not measuring the hypotenuse of a sliver triangle, and make your mark as close as you can to where you are going to site the cut. Many squares are not in fact square, and if you extend your line several inches from your mark, then align to that line, you could find yourself off a bit.

I only sneak up on miters occasionally, everything else is 1 cut, and it's mostly done on the TS with stop blocks. I use a 1/2" thick MDF spacer clamped to my rip fence to ensure cross cuts of the same length on the TS. Don't reference off of the rip fence while cross cutting! Kick back can easily happen that way.

[sleddogg]

I would think that the manner in which you approach marking and measuring can actually differ from project to project. For instance, I was once witness to a project of quite inspirational proportions wherein a contracted cabinetmaker was commisioned to build an entire motif for a restaurant and did it from about half way across the country. Almost everything slid in like a puzzle piece and I was amazed. But I figure if this man was building everything on site, his approach would have been significantly simpler. Only the last piece would have had to be perfect to make a sweet fit.

With that, I usually approach my marking first by realizing that unless I hold the pencil at the same angle and the tip is sharpened the same for every mark then the mark is always prone to variation, so after I make a mark I measure again and compare my mark to desired dimension. Only then, and if the mark is satisfactory do I make the decision to cut to save the mark, take the mark or split the mark. Of course this is only as good as the familiarity with what to expect from a cutting pass from any given tool which usually requires a couple test cuts on scrap, or just a lot of experience with a particular setup. Hope this was not to long.

[cabinetman]

I would think that the manner in which you approach marking and measuring can actually differ from project to project. For instance, I was once witness to a project of quite inspirational proportions wherein a contracted cabinetmaker was commisioned to build an entire motif for a restaurant and did it from about half way across the country. Almost everything slid in like a puzzle piece and I was amazed. But I figure if this man was building everything on site, his approach would have been significantly simpler. Only the last piece would have had to be perfect to make a sweet fit.

Most all of my work is done that way, as do most cabinetmakers. Handymen and on site carpenters may do on site fabrication which may differentiate the meaning of "built-ins". A "built-in" as far as I am concerned is done on site. Whereas a cabinet may be built off site and installed to look "built-in". Measurements for an on site are for cut-to-fit pieces that will be the framework for the installation. Or, a cabinet could be measured for on site, and built on site and installed.

As for measurements of an off site fabrication, what is used are overall measurements and in conjunction with scale drawings of each wall elevation, plan views of the entirety, section drawings, and detail drawings of each piece, make up the documents that represent the whole job.

Then, those measurements are transferred to a substrate. For example, in a kitchen, it would be the counter top and spacers for any areas without counter tops where upper cabinets, base cabinets or appliances are present. What the fabricator has then is the whole job laid out just as if he's standing right there on the jobsite. Everything is fabricated and stood up in place in the shop just as it would be in the kitchen. For questionable fit areas, scribe may be figured into those cabinets to allow trimming to fit.

It could be designed as you described as in a line of cabinets, the last one could be trimmed to fit.

The initial overall measurements that are used for the drawings and transferred to the patterns are done with a retractable tape measure.
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