Lessons learned from the begining of my first project

[Don Clark]

So I did the cuts for my first project tonight.  It's nothing special, just a pair of sawhorses, but since I need something better than the crappy plastic folding ones from The Depot that I can't clamp anything to I figured it was a good place to start and practice making joints.  The plans I am using also have a lot of miter cuts, so it also gives me a chance to break in and learn the new saw on something innocuous.  (I went with the Hitatchi C12FDH for those that commented on my thread).

So far I have learned:

- Miter saws are awesome
- Miter saws with freakin laser beams on them doubly so (gratuitous Austin Powers reference)

but most importantly i learned that my combination square.....isn't

I don't quite have the cash for a Starrett set, but was looking at the Pinnacle combo set that Woodcraft sells.  Anyone use them before and can comment on their accuracy?

[Don Clark]

Next thing learned...my table saw is a hunk of junk and I can't afford a new one right now.

[Don Grubish]

I hear you there. If you don't have a good table saw, life sucks. I was lucky enough to get a free one from my brother's friend. It's an old 1958 Craftsman, but it still runs like a champ. I added a Delta fence kit to it and now I am totally in love with it. Good luck in your search (try craigslist.com) and welcome to woodworking!

[Don Clark]

Yeah, we bought the HD $100 Ryobi special about 6 years ago because I needed a table saw to cut laminate flooring that had to be put in quickly. It got the job done, but I never tried to do anything that required serious accuracy up to this point. So now i have the choice of replacing my bottom-end Craftsman skilsaw or holding on getting a new table saw.

On the up side, my first little project is done. On the whole I am happy with them, they will serve me well, and I learned a lot in building them.

I couldn't figure out how (if its even possible) to join the shelf supports to the legs with a pocket hole, so I just used some screws.

Another lesson learned...this is what happens when you don't test your settings

[Pierre Vallee]

hi, nice work, must try one. What angles did you cut the legs at?

[KregRep]

Great first project, Don! Well done, and should be helpful when you build your next project.

[Ben Hidalgo]

those are nice, can you please post the measurements, thanks