I know this is a very basic question but it seems to be a continual concern for me. I use a Chopper for duplicate cutting strip wood to length and I always have issues with uneven (not square) cuts. No matter how I fixture the strip wood, the blade seems to wander a little through the cut. This is especially true on angled cuts. What am I missing? Do most people cut parts directly on the template ? (currently working on some trestle bents) I don't know why this is such a problem for me. Anybody willing to share techniques for building strip wood forms (esp maintaining true cuts and getting correct angles) from templates would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Roy
The Chopper III is slightly better than the original Chopper, but you'll pretty much always get an off-square cut in anything larger than 1/16" thick.
Consider either a small chop saw (Harbor Freight has a cheap one, but the gold standard is the Proxxon saw) or a modeler's table saw (Micro-Mark or Proxxon) if you really want accuracy & square cuts.
dave
I have a Shay Wood Mitre that works for me.
But you can't buy those anymore.
MicroMark makes a nice little sanding block that allows for true and accurate sanding.
As I scratchbuild everything, I don't use any templates.
My methods are very easy for building board by board which is how I build everything.
For you I recommend cutting the pieces a little too long and then sanding them to the exact size needed.
Also when using the chopper don't cut through in one cut, go part way and turn the wood, it helps.
Turn the wood as you are cutting. Split the cut between each side.
-Steve
Thanks to all for all the good info.
Roy