Vices, Chippers....

[Mogulite]

In the shop I purchased, getting a perfect 45 degree angle is driving me nuts. The way I see it, there are three places it can go wrong, the chopper, the sander, and the vice. I have adjustable vices and the sander is adjustable. I am constantly adjusting them, as moulding straight from the chopper does not give me perfect fit. Can a chopper be off, assuming you have the moulding perfectly seated. Last, is there a superior vice?

Thanks, Steve

 

[Mogulite]

I meant Vices, Choppers

I didn't say I could type!

 

[RoboFramer]

Can a chopper be off,

Yes - adjustment is made with the L/H fence, best use a four by half inch piece of batten - set your vice with a set square first, chop batten and adjust fence in or out - with cheap batten you can afford to experiment but must be tons on this here if you search.

is there a superior vice?

Yes - alcohol!

 

[Val]

Hi Steve!! You're chopping now? Good for you!

I have several "vises" (John!) and a couple of them are about useless....they're pretty though (turqoise blue!) and I can't find a brand name on them, but I can have a perfect join in the old ones, and put them in the blue ones and they gap...Ack!! Needless to say, they rarely get used anymore.

The very best ones are the good ol' Stanleys. I changed the water-faucet-type handles that hurt my hands to the barrel-shaped ones with the rubber grips, and there's no substitute, although the ones I got from United are fine too (are they Stanleys too?).

And what John said about the chopper....blades must be aligned properly and sharp. I find when they start getting dull, they push through the wood rather than slice, and miters start to get gappy. That's how I know it's time to change them. Have yours been sharpened lately?

 

[joe]

I have four of those pretty blue vises myself and they are useless! I am looking for a better type of vise. I got mine from United but they don't sell them any longer(which is good). The one's they sell now at least look better than what I have. Maybe I can find something on e-bay.

 

[Baer Charlton]

Last, is there a superior vice?

Well many things are in play here...

Drinking good liquor alone can lead to early bed time and solitary sexual activity... but at least you would respect yourself in the morning.

Drinking PBR and trying to use a framing VISE, well, now THAT can lead to bad joints.

Now... bad joints are a very bad bad BAD Vice...

Of course there are the Miami Vices and the California Vices.... which are more hard core than the main stream of NY and Chicago Vices.... but now wandering into the grass laaaaands of Ohio or Mooonntana....

Stick to Vises and framing.... carry on.

 

[j Paul]

Steve,

Vices, Chippers....

Yes the Chippers.... are what you use when the Chopper and the Vises and the Sander don't work out!:######:

 

[dougj]

Your chopper and sander work from the outside surface of the moulding and if your vices work from the rabbit surface these surfaces are(an usually are)not parallel you will always have to tweak something. If you have vices that the outside of the clamp is adjustable you should be able to match them to the sander or visa versa. It would be nice if someone would design a sander that sands from the rabbit as that is where most vices work from.
So with that said happy tweeking

 

[Bogframe]

The best clamp I've used was the M*********p that A** G******** used to make. I think (read hope) he's out of business. At any rate, his website is no longer with us and the domain name is for sale. Vast improvement over the last time I ched it...it was a porn site a year ago! :-D

 

[artfolio]

I hate the term "chopper". I use a chopper when I want to smash up firewood or destroy something in the garden. For finely cutting picture frame moulding I prefer a mitring guillotine, preferably a Morso but there are several other makes which also do a pretty good job. It is very rare that a manual guillotine will cut out of square and/or need any adjustments.

Like all tools, though, there are still ways to get a lousy cut and I will list a few now:

1) Blunt blades:

The most important part of the blade is the very tip because this part does more work than the rest. Test the edge with your finger towards the back of the blade then test the tip. If you can feel the difference, change the blades. Next, try cutting a wide, fairly hard moulding, holding the stick with your left hand. If the blade is blunt you will feel the wood kick back against your hand and, if you then move it back against the blade to check the angle of the cut you will see a tiny gap at the inner edge. This gap only has to be small to be a problem because it is multiplied by 8 mitres.

2) Poor cutting technique:

One reason I hate the term "chopper" is that it implies chomping through the wood in one bite. Do this and you will get lousy corners every time. A guillotine nibbles through the wood in small bites and the last cut should be little more than a fine shaving. If you follow this method your cut end should be smooth enough without any sanding.

3) Hard compo moulding:

These days there are too many mouldings armoured with up to 2mm of rock-hard concrete. These cannot be cut in a guillotine. You will get gappy corners and ruin your blades in no time flat.

If all these factors check out I would definitely look at the vices you are using.

Good luck.