It’s pretty difficult to work with wood that isn’t square. Not to mention the fact that your finished project is unlikely to turn out well. From selecting wood to making the final cuts you need to take care to be square. Being off by a degree when building a deck will never be noticed but on a table or a jewelry box it will leave a huge and very noticeable gap. And square cuts let your pieces fit together better. That makes for stronger joints and more durable projects.
Here are some tips you can use to be square:
Start Square. It all starts with the wood. Some boards are trouble from the start. If a board is cupped, warped, or twisted you will need to do some extra work to salvage it, so try to select nice straight boards. Sight down each edge to be sure they are true and lay a straightedge across it’s width to check for cupping. Always select the truest stock and it’s a good idea to buy a little extra so you can work around any problems you encounter when you get it back to your shop. (Or in the unlikely event you make a cutting mistake.)
Square It Up. If your board perfectly flat and has at least one straight edge you are ready to begin machining. If the board is cupped or twisted you will need to face joint it to get one side flat. Then you can run it through the planer to get the opposite face parallel. Of course that requires that you have a jointer and a planer and have them properly adjusted. (This is a great opportunity to rationalize more equipment if you don’t already have a jointer and planer.) If the board doesn’t have at least one straight edge, you will need joint the best side. Then you can run it through your table saw to get the opposite side parallel. You can also accomplish these steps with hand planes and routers but allow more time to get your board straight and true.
Keep It Square. Now that the board is ready, you need to be sure your subsequent machining steps keep it square. Before you start, check your equipment – you can’t do square cuts with tools that aren’t square. Check and adjust your engineer’s square, miter saw, table saw for accuracy.
Then there are things you can do while cutting:
- Use the same ruler and engineer’s square throughout the project for consistency.
- Cut like parts at the same time. That way you can stack and compare them.
- Don’t measure every time – use a stop block to cut similar pieces to ensure they are all exactly alike.
- Dry fit as you go – As soon as something doesn’t fit you know there there’s a problem and can you can recheck your equipment and techniques before making more cuts.
Keeping your board flat and your angles “right” is an essential to fine woodworking. Be square!
