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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 1st, 2023

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  • Windex to clean, let it dry for a bit, then a layer of gluestick has always worked for me, as long as the bed heats to 60°C for printing. The z offset has to be a bit different for PETG than PLA, which can be a bit tricky. I think (been a whole since I’ve printed PETG) it had to be a bit higher than PLA, so it wouldn’t “squish” as much as PLA. Seemed a bit counterintuitive, but it solved most of my problems


  • I’d agree with router before a drill press, miter saw, bandsaw, and a jointer. However, for simple furniture projects, I’d argue a planer is the second most important tool behind a table saw. You can use a planer with a sled for face jointing, and a table saw sled for edge jointing. Yes, you need a router for edge profiles, but not for dead simple tables and cabinets.

    Exceptionally versatile tool, and necessary to take you to the next level, but not more important than a planer.



  • People will complain about any number of tools. “THIS GUY HAS $10K IN TOOLS, MINIMUM, NO ONE CAN DO THIS PROJECT WITHOUT ALL THOSE TOOLS!!!1!”

    Ignoring the fact that while that particular shop has expensive tools, nobody (sane) goes out and drops all that money at once. Most woodworking projects only need a table saw, a planer, a cordless drill, an orbital sander, glue, sandpaper and finish.

    All of the tools can be found cheap on Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, OfferUp, yard sales, or estate sales/auctions.

    • Table saw: I ran with a DeWalt job site saw for years before my wife talked me into getting a saw stop. $350 new, or ~$100 used. You can also find used contractor saws for $300 on a regular basis on the aforementioned platforms.

    • Planer: I used a shitty lunchbox planer for years that I saved from a dumpster with some 3D printed gears that I designed. I bought a used tank of a planer (still only 12", but 230V and weighs about two of me) for $200. You don’t need a jointer. Make a jointer sled for your planer and a jointer sled for your table saw. Takes longer, but I still used the planer sled for boards that don’t fit on my jointer.

    • Cordless drill: Ryobi has a drill and driver combo for around $100, or get a DeWalt for $60. Or scrape the bottom of the barrel for Harbor Freight that’ll get you by for a bit for $20

    • Random orbit sander: I used a $14 one from Walmart for years until my hands started hurting after using it. $100 for a new Makita one, can be found for $50 or less used.

    • Sandpaper: $12 for a massive pack on Amazon

    • Glue: $10 for a medium sized bottle of Titebond II

    • Drill bits: $5 at harbor freight

    Woodworking isn’t a cheap hobby, but you can get into it with used tools and some restoration work. People love to nitpick shit, and it gets old seeing the same defeatist mentality of people talking themselves out of even trying it.

    Space is the only thing you need, but even then, I started on a 5’x5’ apartment balcony in Florida, and used an uninsulated, unpowered 9’x16’ shed in Alaska for several years.