Wood 101: Circular Saw

The following tips are helpful for safely and skillfully using a circular saw.  I feel that knowing how to operate your tools, what purposes they have and safety basics are the most important aspect of woodworking   You will gain experience over time but must start with safe practices.  If not, you will gain many scars and possibly lose limbs instead of gaining skill in your woodworking endeavors!

WEAR YOUR SAFETY GLASSES!

Safety goggles might make you “look funny” for a minute but that is WAY than to not being able to look because you blinded yourself while sawing some plywood!!  Eye Protection is a must when working with a circular saw as chips fly and can obscure your vision and/or lodge themselves in your eye.  Ouch!  Also, you never know when gremlins might show up and start throwing things at you! 

Wood 101: Finger (Box) Joints

Finger joint or box combing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Finger joints are used to join two pieces of wood together  usually at a right angle, see illustration to the right. These joints are called finger joints as they look like interlocking fingers or box joints since they are commonly used when constructing boxes or drawers . Using this type of joint is both functional and decorative. The fingers fit together and are then glued to form a strong joint.