Full-Size Performance in a Shop-Built \\f | i , SZ GOs Ui aie) eae Ce ETRY ela Problems Forever § s Plywood for Your Shop WJan./Feb. 2004 Donald B. Peschke ‘Terry J.Strohman Bryan Nelson Vincent Ancona Phil Huber Cary Christensen Roger Reiland Jamie Downing epITor associsrTe epiTons [ART DIRECTOR. ‘szwion muusTnaTon SR, GRAPHIC DESIGNER ‘heatie Dicer Ted Kien «Se. 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Tang eat” ‘Stennaueg (SSN 0; Sp apatecinemyln Mises Re nt ene Ping 29 Gra ShcoNaess nerd rere sf Acpuone Ping ‘Sargon Aart ie busing Al uae Sttaolplone ngewe tneyearsbaneen hah ite Canna toga ‘stra Sed cate fore foentn e c IRerticneste Pb, eres OTERO, BEGiePeage Ponce Money dato istmat caterer Shp PRS ‘Sehciten Qi Wie Sop tes Castor Barca, Nida las ys Cet tan wets PARELSISE RT Email ShopNetechopedtencon lmtp pce PRINTED INUS.A. 3 Cutoffs eae an old saying that “a woo: worker can never have too many clamps."T certainly find myself adding tomy collection with some regularity However, an expanding clamp collec- tion has a problem — storage. Most clamp racks are designed to hold a fixed numberof clamps of one particular style. There's rack for pipe ‘lamps, another for bar clamps, and yet another for C-clamps, ete. Now there's nothing wrong with this approach. The only downside is ‘eventually the rack will be ful. Then you usually have a couple of options. Build another rack, or pile the extra clamps in some out of the way place. In this issue, we feature a third ‘option — it’s a new type of clamp storage system that can be adapted tohokd more clamps as your coletion grows. Andit solves many ofthe prob- lems with clamp racks. Its easy-to- build, expandable, and adjustable. ‘The key to making this work is a piece of aluminum ‘rack that’s mouinted to the wall. To hold the clamps, you simply attach wood Visit other ShopNotes subscribers’ workshops and see photos of the shop projects they've built. I’ all online at ‘Woodvorking Shop Tours on the ShopNotes web site: ‘wwwShopNotes.com ‘We want you to be part ‘of our shop tours! To submit, photos of your favorite ShopNotes projects or views of _Your shop, jst follow the instrac- ‘ions you'll find on our web site. ‘ShopNotes blocks to the track. Since the blocks can slide sdetosice, its easy to create different size openings fora variety of clamps. When your clamp collection ‘grows, justadd on a few more blocks. I’sa simple solution to clamp storaxe that wll work for years to come. ‘To find out how to put this project ‘to work in your shop, besure to check. out the article that begins on page 28. ‘Shop: built Mini lathe — Speaking of working in the shop, Chris Fitch, ‘one of our senior designers, has been spending some serious time down in the shop fine tuning the feeture project in this issue —a shop built lathe. ‘Chris came up with an ingenious, ‘compact design that can be built with ‘common hardware. But don't let its small size fool you. It has plenty of fullsize features, For starters, there's bed extension thatallows you to turn 42"Jong pieces. And you can add a faceplate for bow! turning. There’s even disk sanding table attachment. Ifyou're looking to try your hand at turning, and don’t want to spend alot cof money, thisis the project for you. Spicer rma No. 73° Contents * Features Lathe Tool Cabinet _______6 ‘Keeping your lao tools and accessories within oasy reach can be @ hase, This storage contor can be placed right ‘Lathe Tool Cabinet page 6 next to yur lathe to keep your too ard supplies C080 at har. When you's done, justfol up the top andro tout ofthe way. Router Circle-Cutting Jig ____ 12 Thisalhnew circle-cuttng ig makes ita snap to cut circles and ares quickly and accurately with your hanct-held router Benchtop Mini-Lathe _________ 16 ‘Build your own lathe? Absolutely! With this shop-built mini- Jathe you can try your hand at turning without spending a Jot of money. The optional accessories make it easy to turn ‘small bowls or outiit your lathe as a disk sander. @ 7 Must-Have Turning Tools ___ 26 You don't need a shopful of ting fools to tum a table leg or a bowel, As a matter of fact, we'll show you the seven tools that will allow you to tum just about anything. Clamp Storage System________ 28 Whon you have a wid assortment of clamps, finding a convenient way to store them can be a challenge — uni now. Our adjustable clamp storage system can be changed or expanded overtime to sut your needs. Departments Readers lips ee eee Shop-tested tips to solve common woodworking problems. eoliGheet =x. Ses esses 37 ‘Square up your assembiies automatically during glue up wih parallel jaw clamps. We take a look af three top modes SHOP aE Soc ee Looking for the perfect material for building shop jigs, fixtures, and storage projects? Batic birch plywood i the answer e Soliteze tits Soe 35 ‘Mail-order sources and supplies to help you complete the ‘projects featured in this issue. Clamp Storage System page 28 No. 73, ShopNotes 3lam Get more wood- working tis free. Usitus onthe Web at ‘ShopNotes.com Signup to receive 2 free shop tip by emall every week. NOTE: us rate ane MADE OF Me When it comes to cutting tenons ‘on the end of a workpiece, I usually use the table saw fitted with a dado blade, The problem with this method is that the cheeks of the tenons can end up pretty rough. To get tenons with smooth cheeks, you can use a standard blade and hold the workpiece on end. But ‘you need a good way to control the workpiece and keep it from tipping, ‘Todo this, I madea sled that rides oon the rip fence, as you can see in the left photo. This sled not only works ‘great for cutting tenons, but I found that it can be used to cut spline grooves in miter joints as well, as shown in the far right photo. Building the Sled - Best ofall, it doesn't take much material or hard- ware to build the sled. As you can see in the drawing below, the main section of the sled is a pair of 3" ‘MDF faces that straddle the rip fence. A groove in the front face holds a length of Track. The two faces are held together by a pair of spacers that are glued and screwed into shallow grooves, asin detail‘a. also glued a block behind the front face to give the screws for the Track some- thing to bite into. Pivoting Fence - To guide the workpiece, I made a fence out of DF. It's fastened on the lower end. by a knurled brass knob. The top Feuce ourroers, Pwr aoe ovate BKE™ ShopNotes <@ end can pivot to support either straight or mitered workpieces. I dcilled three holes to hold apivot pin. ‘Then to hold the workpiece secure while cutting, I attached a hold-down ‘with a toilet bolt, washer, and knob, ‘Marvin Robinson Arlington, Texas "neeerWhile recently working on an ‘outdoor project, I needed to cut some long stock with a compound iter saw. But I didn't have a way to easily support the stock. To solve the problem, Iturned to my aluminum extension ladder. AS ‘you can seein the drawing at right, ‘setthe ladder on pair ofsaw horses, toform a solid base forthe miter saw ‘and some workpiece supports. ‘Next, Iattached the miter saw to a Plywood platform that gets clamped to the ladder. To support a work- piece on either side of the saw, I smacle several supports. Like the plat- form for the saw, the supports have a small plywood base. On one end of each base there isa beveled cleat to hold it in place. The uprights are Mobile Base 1 Since my workshop shares space in the garage with cars, my tools need to be mobile. So I made a simple base fr each tool. ‘To build a base, I screwed swivel casters to a 2x4 attached to the legs of the tool, as in detail ‘a’. To lock the machine in place for use, I added a pair of fipdown feet tached tothe base with piano hinges. Magnets attached to the feet hold them up out cof the way when moving the tool, Irvin Schmidt Lakewood, Washington Quick Tips A To hold screws on his screw ‘river, Charles Sturm of Vancouver, WA slips a short piece of plastic tubing over the tip of the driver. No. 73 Ladder Miter Saw Station TIPS & TECHNIQUES nothing more than short pieces of “tworby” stock, They're ripped to ‘match the height of the saw table so that the workpiece stays fat. Carey Moore Livingston, Alabama mit NOTE: Rip “rwo-2 | ee 4 Orlando Bauman of Lakewood, WA glued a washer over the ‘on" bution of his dust collector remote ‘s0 he can find it without looking. ShopNotes ee een a Send in Your Tips To share your original tips and soki- ‘ions to problems you've faced, send them to: ShopNotes, Attn: Readers’ ‘Tips, 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, JA 50312, (Or ifit's easier, PAX them to us a BIB 282-6741.) ‘Well pay up to $200 depending on the published length. Please include a daytime phone number so we can call you ifwe have any questions.Flip open the lids of this roll-around tool cabinet to reveal a complete am ULC R Eat a) Le fingertips. ra SN No:73EWS Pebtecr Denver Poeiarne neteésores— 4 Gees roe lencee ‘TuRNING TOOLS RA Keer. ‘ShopNotes EXPLODED VIEW OVERALL DIMENSIONS: 2VW26°Dx 54a" REGINScosemen eSherGion neces SSBB Ge anes) ) Heareoury. HINGES SBbeomr WeioHT oF Uo J A Under Wraps. With the lids closed, the lathe tools, «are protected and the cabinet can be wheeled out of the way. At the same time, you stil have access {0 the drawer and storage area below. 7| Case ‘As you can see inthe photo on page 6, the thing that makes this project unique is the fipopen lid. With the Tid open, you have instant access to your turning tools. And by rolling open the cabinet right upto your lathe, the ie tools are always right at hand. But as interesting as the lids, ‘when itcame to building the cabinet I started by making the case first. “Then I added the lid later. And if youre not a turner, you might want ‘to build only the case and then puta plain top ont instead ofthe fipopen Tid (Gee box on opposite pag). The case is really just an open plywood box with a drawer and 2 shelf To build it, you can begin by cuting out the case top and bottom (A), sides (B), and back (C) irom a sheet of 4" plywood. You can get the dimensions for these pieces by referring to Figure 1. Simple Joinery ~ The joinery for the case is pretty straightfor ward — rabbets, grooves, and a few screws. I started by rabbeting sripoune X gases, the ends of the sides to hold the Ete wooecnew top and bottom panels (Figure 1a). ‘The back panel is captured on all Figure Icand you'llseethatthe back rack on the top of the cabinet (see ‘our edges. Grooves are cut in the panel is recessed « few inches from photo on opposite page). sides and dadoes are cut in the top the back edge of the cabinet. This Assembly ~ Before you start and bottom of the case to hold the creates a shallow storage compart: assembling the case, there’s just ~ back. But before you cut these ment for additional lathe tools that one thing to take care of. In order grooves and dacioes, take a look at you might not have room for in the to mount a shelf that willbe added later, I drilled some shelf pin holes EE ‘@.) in the sides of the case. It's a lot FRONT VIEW easier to drill these holes before ’ assembly rather than after. th Once the shelf pin holes are race > riled, you can assemble the top, oy ay bottom, and sides around the back | panel. Glue and screws with finish washers will hold everything together (Figure 1). Walls ~ Atri cae was bled, I measured the inside for a ‘couple of rails. These rails (D) are nothing more than hardwood strips that are glued to the bottom of the cane Gigs band). THe keer @ small items from rolling off the bot se ofthe cae Is tre ond he sho NOTE: Heir ao BREE ote Ane EBininpoe Shee iP ees ShopNotes No. 73Casters ~ Speaking of moving the ‘cabinet around the shop, I added a set of locking, swivel casters to the bottom ofthe case to make it mobile. ‘These are simply screwed in place, as shown in Figure 1b. Shelf ~ With the basic structure ‘of the case complete, you can turn your attention to making the drawer ‘and shelf that ft insieit. The shelfis ‘easy to make. Ifs just apiece of 9" plywood with a hardwood lip added to the front to prevent items from rolling off the edge. You can see the shelfin Figure 2. Drawer ~ The drawer is little ‘more involved. Its constructed out of hick hardwood stock with a" plywood false front. As you can see in Figure 3a, the sides ofthe drawer are joined to the front and back with locking rabbet joints. A groove near the botiom edge of each piece holds EE DRAWER SIDE is) a aoe Noresreurzsros: Front VIEW 4 See al!’ hardboard drawer bottom. the cabinet, you can center the false ‘The drawer rides on fullextension front in the drawer opening and tee aed aR ie lore pe ea a esse aoe oe Our es Glutton Gare tose tie ae MAES Tae ee A hats eft now i oa the fp ‘open lid (see page 10). Or if ETAL cetera at NOTE: arracr ror eager Ron Below mioceews | wood top for the cabinet and call it finished (see box at lef), Materials & Hardware ToplBem.(2) 10x24 -%/ Py Sides (2) 24x 265-7 Ph Back) 18x26°% -°h Phy Rail (2) Six Mole Sholf()) 1x19 =P She ipl) Sax tla 1B Dranor Fr/Back (2) axle 17 Drawer Sideo(2) lax aa 18 Drwr. Bem. (1) 17x 17le="%y Habe, aloe Frt. (1) ¥lax18% -%/ Ply LidEnde (4) Ze 9-2/4 Py. id Sides (4) lax 24-%/ Ply. Lid Tops(2)_ 10'f4x25-21 Ply. Toot Racks (2) axt!n-10}/2 ZErRe-zosmeoeD + (16) #8.x1%" Fh Woodecrews (16) #8 Finioh Washers (4) 5" Locking Swivel Casters (18) #1275" Panhead Screws (4) 4" Shelf Pine (6) #0x"" Rh Woodscrews © (0) Drawer Pull w/Sorews + (1 pr) 18° FullExtension Drawer Sildes + (14) #8x8"Th Woodocrews * (8) #8x 1" Fh Woodscrews + (4). 2H Inset Hinges + (96) #8.x2/" Fh Woodecrews eer Ceuta 2 2B ‘ShopNotes 9eg ibaa! See ST Flip-Open Lid ‘hector tod abies i wot what you might expect. Instead of a single lid that is hinged at the back, this top is actually made up of two sat Taye Hagelon sie cette wh il oper at from the center (see photo). The lids open up to reveal a rack that holds a setet tuning tok Lids you ae alookatFgure 4, you se thatthe two Eds of the top are really nothing more than Shut tone. A lrg cult on ove side of each lid provides clearance forthe ol rack at wl be aed later. And the sides and ends of the lids are joined with locking rabbet joints Figure 4), Aer assembling the framework {or each lid, you can add the tops ‘These are simply screwed in place as shown in Figure 4b. Once this is done, you can install the hinges and ‘add the idsto the cabinet. For more detailed directions on installing the hinges, see the opposite page.) Tool Rack ~To hold the turning ‘tools, mounted a tool rack othe top of the cabinet, As you can see in Figure 5, the rack is really just two strips of hardwood with some ccatouts to cradle the tools. To make these cutouts, I started with ext wide Blanks for the racks, Then I died a row of holes in each Blank with a Forstner bit, Finally, I ripped the blanks to width and’ screwed them tothe top of the case. Figures Sand 5b wl give you an idea ofthe size and spacing of the holes for the cutouts. But you may need to change these dimensions to accommodate your own turning tools &. END. eres LD pee A Woo. 10 ‘ShopNotes No. 73Installing a Heavy-Duty Inset Hinge Wheniteame to mounting the idsto of the lid to end up flush with the the lathe tool cabinet, Iwas worried side of the cabinet. To do this, use @ that if L used ordinary butt hinges, scrap piece of plywood (the same the weight of the lid would cause the thickness as the side of the lid) and screws to tear out from the edge of a straightedge to position the the plywood. So instead I used hinges when laying out the mor. heavyeduty, inset hinges (also called ties, as you see in Step 1 “institutional” hinges). This type of After the mortises are laid out, hinge has a leat that is bent to wrap you can remove the waste with around the side of the lid, making handheld router and a straight bit them much less likely to tear out teps 2 and 3). You'l have to clean (Gee photo). As an added bonus, up the edges and corners of each these hinges are made out of beefy, mortise with a chisel slart, set each lid on top of the cab- Inset Hinge. heavy gauge see. Todiillthe holes for the serews of inet and mark out the hinge loca Macle out of eavy- Mounting the hinges isn't too dit the hinge, Tused a Vix bit. This type tions on the side of the lid Step §). gauge steel, hese ficult, bucthe procedure is alittle bit of bit has a spring-loaded collar that Once this is done, all you have to beefy hinges wrap) different than for mounting an ord automatically centers the bit in the do is rout a shallow notch along the around the sicle of nary butt hinge. The flat leaf of the screwhole ofthe hinge Step). _ edge ofthe id for each hinge, asyou the lid for extra hhinge is mortsed into the top of the Aer you've mounted the hinges see in Step 6 Then you can drill the strength. See pa cabinet, But when youre laying out tothe top ofthe tool cabinet, thenext pilot hole for the screws and serew 35 for sources the mortises, the goal is for the side steps to mount them to the lids. To the hinges in place. Using a straightedge and a Ap Tosetthe depth ofthe bit place “% Nibble away the waste from the serap of $4" plywood, position data hinge leaf under each side of mortise with the router. Then, the hinge 90 that the lid vill end up the router. Lower the bit uni it just using a sharp chisel, square up the flush withthe side ofthe case. touches the surface ofthe wood. edges of the mortise (see detail) 2 Gienenteptanestrne RP uy au te nosso te apng a eacr Deok he hinge soravs, place the hinge fa, setine on op ofthe case Osco of neo wi hep suspor Inne morse and uso tas a tory Sothat ho sides are fushand mark your routr and prevent toarou plate wnie cing he noks, out the rnge locaton when routing the mortises No. 73 ShopNotes uwA réuter and this simple jig are all you need to create perfect cireles. I Jiven it comes to cutting cir MW cles, there's more than one way to go about it You can use a band saw or a handheld jig saw. With both of these methods though, you'll most likely have to sand the edge of the circle to remove the saw toarks, But arouter cua circle wth 2 smooth, clan edge the frst te around. And with the ji you see here, using a router to make circles (or large holes) couldn't be easier. How it Works - The way the jig works is actually pretty simple, The router is mounted to a plywood base that is attached to the end of an arm. The arm pivots on a steel pin that can be positioned any- where along the length of the arm. By inserting the pin ito a hole in the center of your workpiece, of into a pivot plate that fs mounted to the top of the workpiece, you can rout a perfect cle every time 2 Arms — I began by making the arm of the jig. T actually made two arms —a long one and a short one. Having two lengths of arms gives the jig a greater range. With the long ‘arm, You can cut circles up 8 feet in diameter. For smaller circles (from 20 inches to 4 feet in diametes), the ShopNotes, short arm is more convenient to use ‘And with the exception ofthe length, the two arms are identical To make each arm, I started with a rectangular piece of ¥4" plywood (24 tong for the short arm and 43" Jong for the long arm). The profile of the arm is faid out on the plywoodaccording to the dimensions shown in Figures 2 and 2b, But before cut- ting the arm to shape, there's a couple of things you'll need to do while the blank is still square. To start with, youTl want to drill ‘the two mounting holes near the end ofthe arm (Figure 2b). These will be used to attach the arm to the base that holds the router Second, you'll need to create the ‘Tlot down the center of the arm, This is a two-step process. First, I drilled a hole at each end of the slot and routed out the waste in between the holes on a router table. Then I cout a groove down the center of the ‘blank, as you see in Figure 2a, Once you've finished making the ‘slot, you can cut the arm to shape. In order to keep the sides of the arm straight and parallel, 1 used the rip fence to make stopped cuts, fon the table saw, as you see in Figure 3. Thea the curved portions of the arm can be cut on the band BANK FOR BASE TA ore ieee wen saw or with a jig saw and sanded smooth. Base ~ As you can see in Figure 2, both the base of the jig and the pivot plate are cut from a single blank. Start by laying out the shapes of both pieces on the blank, ‘The next step is to dril a couple of ‘counterbored holes in the base for a pair of Tuts ‘that will be used to attach ‘the arm to the base. To make sure the Tsnuts line up with the holes you already drilled in the arm, ‘you can just use the arm as a tem- plate, as shown in Figure 4. Simply position the arm over the blank for the base and use a dril bit to marke out the hole locations, Then drill a shallow counterbore, followed by a smaller through hole Figure 4b). ‘When this is done, you can cut (or dril) a 3dia. opening in the base Bae Sean Hiatn nae 2oRAF ight where the router will be ‘mounted. This opening is for the router bit Then you can cutthe base out and sand the edges smooth, Finally, drill some holes in the base to allow you to mount it to the ‘bottom of your router. (You can use the baseplate from your router as a ‘template for drilling the holes.) ShopNotesPivot Pin. Ali you need to make the pivot pinis a standard hex bolt and a threaded knob. (See page 35 for sources.) Ses ala ‘TO SCRAP PIECE, ‘THEN CLAMP 10 Port Pivot Plate & Pivot Pin Ass With the arm and the base com pleted, you can turn your attention to ‘making the remaining parts of the jig. All that’ letis the pivot plate and the pivot pin assembly. Pivot Plate - There's realy not much to the pivot plate. Te’ just a 6 dia, circle cut from the leftover blank that you used to make the base ofthe jig. Inthe center ofthe plate isa" dia. hole that will receive a pivot pin that is added later. But for now, you an just set the pivot plate aside once you've finished making it. Pivot Pin Assembly - Although its the smallest part of the jg, the pivot pin assembly is really the heart ofthe jigs The assembly holds a steel pivot pin that willbe the centerpoint ofthe circle (or arc) that you want to cut. To adjust the size ofthe circle, all you dois simply slide the pivot pin assembly along the sit in the arm. ‘The assembly consisis of three parts — a pivot pin block, a pinch block, and a pivot pin. The pivot pin block fits into the T-slot of the arm and holds the pivot pin. The purpose ofthe pinch block is simply to Tock the pivot pin block in place. Both of these pieces are fairly small. So to 4 embly u vores. sat avon (eee aren) make it safer to work with them, 1 started by cutting the blanks to exact ‘width, but Teeving them extra long, Pivot Pin Block ~ The pivot pin block starts off as a narrow blank about 12" long. The first step is to hill a centered hole that will hold the pin, Then youl need to drill a Janger,counterbored holefora Put, as shown in Figure 6. ShopNNéfs NOTA BP EN BSE Akeoiiean ero (CR088 SECTION) Once the holes are drilled, the next step is to cut a rabbet along, each side of the blank to create a ee ne Figure 7 shows how I did this. Then just cut the block to length and install a Pnut. That's all there i to it Pinch Block ~The pinch block is even simpler to make. Its just a short block with a dado cut down No. 734, - Fate REO RE ER Dette a. the center to allow it to fit over the pivot block (Figure Sa). After cut- ting the dado as shown in Figure 8, youll need to drill a hole near the ‘end of the blank and then cut the block to length. A studded knob ‘and washer are used to assemble the pivot block and pinch block to the rest of the jg. Pivot Pin ~ The last part to make is the pivot pin. Thisis nothing more than a hex bolt with a round knob on one end (see photo in margin at left and sources on page 35). ‘To make the pivot pin, you can start by cutting off both ends of the bolt so that it's about 24/4" long with, only "of the threads remaini ‘Then run a litle epoxy on the threads ofthe boltand add the knob. Finally, grind a slight chamfer onthe end of the pin to make it easier to insert into the pivot hole. Using the Jig ~ There's not really much to using the jig. To start with, remove the base plate from your router and mount it to the base ofthe jig. The next step is, to position the pivot pin along the arm of the jg according to the size ofthe circle you wish to make. How you attach the jig to your workpiece will depend on your project. Ifyou don't want any holes Caren in the finished circle, you can carpet tape the pivot plate to the top of your workpiece over the center of the circle. Otherwise, just rill a "dia hole at the center of ‘your workpiece for the pivot pin When it comes to actually cutting, ‘out the circle, just remember to take it slow. You'll need to make multiple passes, lowering the bit no more than a 14" between each pass. And make sure to put some scraps of ‘wood underneath your workpiece before you start routing so that you don't accidentally cut through the Gircle and into your workbench (see photo on bottom of page 12).Ue acne ene Gs en eee eg Pianeta ees Sn Conese ten Som ues Omnia seme Vo esky eee eee Ue iea ae erc ee tire eat ernie Bt etsy Pr Snue aS OER i ape et! Genter Oe RR aactrarg Soe eng ueeesee ace reer Era enuckiecoe tr sett entt Oren) Cie arte serena ShopNotes No. 73FEATURE PROJECT @ | Materials A Yep) 4%ox96-Nary. M ToolRest Base()) 8x 2%e-%u Py 8 Bottom (1) 8126-1 Py. N ToolSuppore (i) Saxe Ph. © Vertical Supports (2) 2/4 x56 -°% Ply. 0 Support Base (1) 3x 2% -%% Ply. D Mounting Platform (1) 12 x 12 - % Ply. P. Filler Block (1) Mex ly -S E Suitch Mount () Zax dle-% Py @ Pact Arm (1) 3x8 Py. F Mounting Block () tr tle-6 R Faceplate Body (D) G Bases (3) 5x Olah Py. S Faceplate (1) Hi Locking Strips(8) Myx lo-8 T. Sanding Diok Body (1) 1 Upnates (4) Myx Ole tay Sanding Disk Plate (1) ‘J Base Blocks (2) As xB - Ba Ply. V Short Uprighto (2) Hex Pla - Ve Ply. K Handwheel (1) 5x 5-54 Ply. W Sanding Table (1) 1O X10 -%/s Ply. E Lockhes!() 343-7 Ph EXPLODED VIEW ‘oRDINAEY HagowaRe ——— OVERALL DIMENSIONS: HEM USED FOR. BOIL x 20°D x 1244 RvesAND CUP CENTERS if aera seuepee sussom, EEE gh gibt opus, > hp aa pues “Eadie ee FRE SPE one? So FERS TOR No. 73 Yet x The"- 36" Aluminum Steg ‘ics Motor (1725 RPM) w/Power (Cond & Mouiting Haraware + (2) 3-Step Plley @) * (17) 3" Unity Hing w/Serews + (0) On/0Ft Switch box + (48) #5.x1he"Fh Woodscrews #8 x2 Ph Woodocrews 8" Alumieum Seeaps 86" Ball Bearings ShopNotes TEST) 5p" Stop Collars [pt x 9 USE Bole Fiat Wa Threaded Rods gtx Ye" Threaded Rod 21" LD. x3/¢ O.D. Flange Bearing 2% Coupling Nuts 48x 2" Fh Woodscrews ‘A Threaded Inserts ‘We'x 1" Studded Knobs Ye Washers x" 1 Plastic Shae" Studded Knobs Sha" Washors ‘Wot xls"- 8" Stool Plato ”UEC Lathe Bed ‘The bed of a lathe has an important function — it needs to provide a strong and solid foundation forall the other parts ofthe athe, Plus, itneeds to be easy to move the tool rest and ae tallstock along the bed. Pty, To accomplish this, the bed is built as a a double Foeam structure with an angled top, like you see in the margin. Make the Bed - 1 make the top CA) and bottom (B). The extra width of the bottom makes it easy to clamp the bed to a benchtop. A Solid & Stable. Keeping, all the exiges of the ply- Glued-up layers of wood aligned when ghiing up multiple plywood and a layers can be a hassle. instead, T cut double Lbeam the plywood oversized (s") in both Gesign provide a length and width. Then once the glue solid support for is dry, you can trim everything, per- the mini-lathe. fectiy flush (Figure 1). Grooves & Vertical Support — ‘Toconnectthe top and bottom, you'l ‘need to cut a pair of grooves in each piiece to accept some vertical sup- ports, So after setting up your dado blade to match the thickness of the Ser peseray a Heenee! Serene nee roe vertical supports, adjust the rip to bevel both long edges of the top, fence and cut the grooves in the likeyouseein Figures3.and 3a. Why. bottom, as in Figures 2 and 2a. bevel the edges? The beveled edges Likethe botom, thereareapairof provide a connection tat interlocks grooves in the top to accept the ver- with the headstock, tailstock, and tical supports. But since the top is _ tool rest, yet still allows them to slide narrower, youl need to careflly lay easly along the bed. out the location of the grooves so Assemble the Bed — With the they align with the ones in the top and bottom complete, all that’s bottom of the lathe bed. left to do is cut the vertical supports Create the Beveled Top - After _(C) to size and then join the top and cutting the grooves, the next step is bottom, as in Figure 1.To help strengthen the bed and COND: Avow asce over = revent wear and tear along the a SMA STEP Mp roach exiges, [added a couple strips of au- Bee To awe minura tothe edges of the top. Teuteach strip from apiece ofa minum angle I picked up at a local home center. And to ensure the strip is flush with the top edge once it's screwed in place, it's best to turn the bed upside-down and clamp it to a bench, as seen in Figures 4 and 4a, ‘Mounting the Motor - To attach the motor, I used a simple system — a hinged mounting plat form. This system makes it easy to change the lathe speed, as you can | MOUNTING PLATFORM see in the photo below right. atts After cutting the platform to size, youcan atizchittothebedwithapair Add a Switch ~ Finally to make ofhinges Figure§).Butdon't mount _ it easy to turn the motor on and off, ‘the motor at this point. Later, when added a togele switch. The instruc- the headstock is complete and the tions for doing this are included with hardware is installed, you can mount most switches. If youre uncomiort the motoras detailed in Figure5. able witing a switch (or the motor), Ura TS CSC ww ‘This minHathe isn't just for small pro. cts. You ean build a bed extension for Yyour minithe that will allow you to handle longer workpieces, like the baluster shown above, or table legs up to 42" long, | As yout can see in the photo above, the 24"ong extension is iden- | tical to the main bed of the lathe, If possible, try to build the exten | sion a the same time to ensure the two beds line up exactiy. Finally, | allyou need to connect the extension to the main bed is amounting | block, like the one used for the switch platform (Figure 5). | No. 73 ShopNotes To ritrORid SO MAGE To muse We WEN BRET @ ACHES consulta licensed electrician. MOUNTING ‘The switch is attached to a plat- form that slips into the opening in the end of the bed. In Figure 5 you ‘can see that the mount is simply a plywood pad attached to a hard- ‘wood mounting block. Longer Turnings - One last thing. The minilathe will handle ‘workpieces up to 18" long, But if you think you'd like to turn something longer, like a table leg, be sure to check out the boxatleft. BLOCK (rte A Changing Speed. With the motor mounted to @ platiorm, shitting the belt io change the lathe speeds just ‘matter of iting the back end of the mount. After adjusting belt, swing the platform back down to reapply tension. 19Z7uT Headstock & Tailstock Although the heavy-duty bed pro: vides strength and stability to the lathe, it's the headstock and tail stock that actually support the work- piece you're turning. Start with the Base ~ The nice thing about building both these units is the base for each is identical. And the only difference in the uprights that supports the hardware is the size ofthe holes near the top. ‘The base (G) starts outas a single layer of plywood with a pair of hard- wood lacking strips (H) attached to the front and back edges. These strips are angled to match the beveled top of the lathe. When the knobs installed in the front strip are tightened, they pressa Jocking plate against the top of the bed of the lathe, asin Figure Ga, Figures 7 and 7a, Once that's com- bed to “pinch” the base against the Because the strips are somewhat plete, you can drill counterbored small, I started with two oversized holes in each strip for the T-nuts, as, Headstock. A beety plywood assembly provides ‘soli support forthe hard ware used to drive ~ the workpiece. Wee Ap ovenmew blanks, aillustrated in Figure 8. For in Figures and 8a, e o. BASE Block —-“NOWyottcan set one strip aside. Now all that's leit to do is tilt the = Oo ‘The first step is to cut a groove saw blade and trim both workpieces 1 down the inside face of one strip. at an angle (Figures 9 and {). This groove is sized to accept the Finally, cut the strips to length. { razteren, narrow strip of aluminum that locks Add the Locking Strap - After \ the base to the lathe bed, as in cutting the locking strap to size from asi pe endiBbuce of . cA EOF 4 20 ‘ShopNotes: No. 73TTT apiece of aluminum, you can tap the Touts into the counterbores. and then serew the strap in place, lke you seein Figure Ga. ‘Attach the Strips - After attaching the front stip flush with the edge of the base, you can turn Your attention tothe rear strip. To make it easy to slide the base along the bed, I used a playing card to “build in” some clearance when I attached the rear strip, as illustrated in Figure 10. The strip is glued and screwed to the base and then the corners of the base are sanded to case the sharp edges. ‘Make the Uprights ~ To support the hardware on the headstock and tailstock, there's a pair of heavy-duty uprights attached fo each base. Each upright (D starts out as @ rectangular blank glued up from two layers of plywood. You can see this by referring to Figure 6. Then to rate the upright to the base, a large rabbetis cut on one end Holes for the Hardware ~ At this point you need to drill holes for the hardware used to support the workpiece. But it’s important that all the holes be aligned. ‘To ensure this, I used a fence and a stop, as in Figure 11 below. The fence ensures that each hole is drilled along the centerline of the upright. And the stop blocks guaran- ‘tees that each hole is positioned the same distance from the top. ‘The uprights forthe tailstock have the least work, so I started with them. All you need to do is drill a single through hole in each upright, Tike you see in Figure 11a, For the headstock uprights youl need to do a little more work. First, drill a P/sdia. counterbore on the outside face of each upright (Figure 11). Then complete each upright by deiling aia through hole. After shaping each upright, glue and screw the uprights to the base. Here again, its important to keep the holes in alignment. So be sure the frontedge of each upright is post tioned the same distance from the front edge of the base (Figure 12). Beef Up the Assemblies — Finally, I reinforced the uprights by @, HEADSTOCK —_TAILSTOCK Pepa. ero, tet Tallsiock. As solid as the headstock, the lailsiock features an adjusiablo shaft that locks firmly in place. adding a base block (I) glued up from three layers of plywood. The block is cut to size to fit flush with the edges of the uprights. The block is glued and screwed in place, like you see in Figure 12. . eo} urRicHT / BASE BLOCK Oe ROR, 21A. Drive Center, A few taps with hammer is alli takes to embed the drive spurs in the workpiece. 21300 pen cueratt AB eABeron« ohne AsseerbLeb) Add Hardware ‘Completing the headstock and tail stock at this point is just a matter of adding some hardware. Headstock ~ As you can see in Figure 13, the drive shaft is just a heavy-duty bolt that fits through the headstock bearings. The bearings fit into the counterbores dried earlier inthe uprights. (used a couple dabs ‘of epoxy to hold them in place.) ‘The shaft is held in place by a pair of stop collars, The threestep pulley (identical to the one on the motor) is centered between the uprights with the largest diameter on the left. To ensure the stop collars and pally lock in place securely, I filed a slight flat on the drive shaft where each set screw made contact. Tailstock ~ To make it easy to install (or remove) a workpiece, the tailstock hardware needs to be able to adjust in and out easily. To do this, used a threaded rod attached to a plywood handwheel (Figure 14). 6" STOP COLLAR, eet. -upehdet no — ee ae SPER ERS, SEE PASE ‘The threaded rod fits through a Like the handwheel, the lock wheel flange bearing installed in the outside _ is just a plywood disk with a coupling upright of the tailstock. To allow you nut epoxied into a hole drilled in the to turn the shaft in and out, there’sa_ wheel. To lock the shaft, simply “jam” coupling nut epoxied into the other the coupling nut of the lock wheel upright. Finally, to secure the shaft against the nut in the left upright. when you're turning, | created a lock Centers - Finally, you can add the wheel that fits between the uprights, drive and cup centers after checking asin the detail below. outthe box on the opposite pare. mn bacco cote ShopNotes No. 73lo simplify the centers in the the drive center isto adda center- D hneaistock and ‘ailtock that point. For that 1 used a piece of support the workpiece, I turned to threaded rod that I ground and then common hardvare store items — fled to point as you can seein Step threaded rod and couplingnuts. 2, As shown in Step 3, ite epoxy Asyou can seein the photo atright, on the threads of the drive center with josta litle work you can turn secures the centerpoint in place. them into a spur center to drive the Cup Center = To support the workpieceandacupcenterto support workpiece at the tailsiock, [ also the worktice atthe tailstock used coupling nat. Bat since it Drive Center - Making the doesn't have to drive the workpiece, drive center requires the most work, 1 simply ground the outside of the so that’s where I started. After nut smooth and then chamfered the clamping a coupling nut in the vise,1 _ inside edge, as in Step 4. rotates around the center), the cup made a series of cuts to define the Hereagain, [repeated the process can be used to hold a dab of grease spurs, like you see in Step 1 below. jin Steps 2 and 3 for adding the cen- to lubricate the workpiece asit turns. ‘Once that was complete, I terpoint. What you'll notice is that a With the drive and cup centers smoothed the spurs with a fe to small “cups formed in the center, complete, installing them is just a ensure they were all even with each Since the center doesn't spin with matter of threading them in place on other Alltharslefttodotocomplete the workpiece (he workpiece the drive and tastock shaft, -& 4 Tetum the coupling rut into a ive centr wth spurs, make A) Creating a centerpoint is just a matter of grinding a A 2 single cut down every other pointon the nut, like you seein at length of threadied rod to @ point (left). To center the point, file the left photo. Once that’s complete, you can rernove the waste the point while the rod is turning inthe dill press (center). Final by cutting across the nut and then fling the spurs smooth. cht the point to length and cut @ sot inthe end (right) © greece menioneniincay a niorany one 4 tinere hecncs mynus serait raaaet threads near the end of the drive center (left). Then turn the “fa coupling nut smooth (left). Once that's complete, form a centerpoint in until it projects about '" in front of the spurs, sharp edge using a countersink bit (right). Finally, make 2 like you see in the photo at right. second centerpoint and install it just as before. No. 73 ShopNotes 23,Must-Have, Accessories eee for Your Lathe NO ren ECR e ition . esse Pe sOREDa welt Tool Rest 4 “09 BES A tool rest is. dest xe . is a definite =o) rmusthave for the lathe. Without an easily adjustable tool rest, working at the lathe can “turn"into achore. a Base ~ The main part of the tool rest is the sliding base. The only difference << etween this base and the previous slide easily back and forth, file and ‘ones s the top extends past the front sand the wear plate smooth) locking strip to provide for the pivot To make it easy to adjust the tool \ocxno emer eam, The pivot arm allows you to rest any poston, Tadded a pivot sq otis bite agjstthe tool restinalmost any pos- _armbetween therestand the bse, A on he" tion to suit the workpiece and tool _ pair of T-nuts, washers, and studded enn you're turning with. knobs lock the rest securely in place. Rest ~ The rest consists of atool One last ‘The rests Se support attached to a base (Gee designed to place the wear stip 1/1! eri8biiiion ——draving)-To reinforce the assembly, fdow the eentertine ofthe tthe. @ Tadded a hardwood filer block. And Depending on the type of projects a steel wear plate screwed to the top you turn, you may find a tool rest ofthe rest prevents wear and tear as that’s a diferent height (or not as you turn, (Note: To ensure tools long) more to your king, Wi Having a belt spinning at thou- sands of RPM right near your hand can be a bit unnerving, not to men- tion unsafe. So to provide some protection, it's best to add a belt guard, like you see in the photo. ‘The guard is nothing more than a piece of plastic bent to wrap around the top of the headstock (see drawing). The tricky part is bending the plastic justthe right amount. To do that, I used a heat gun to ‘warm up an area where Iwanted the bend. Once the plastic softened, a lange coffee can provided the perfect radius to match the headstock. ‘Tomountthe guard, I added a pair of threaded inserts o the headstock. ‘Washersand studded knobs that pass through slots cut in the bottom of the ‘guard secure itin place. oe ShopNotesauc e Faceplate & Sanding Disk m To give the lathe more capabiity, you might want to consider adding a faceplate or sanding disk. Neither ‘one requires much in time or mate- rials to make, but adds versatility Faceplate - The faceplate has three main parts: a coupling nut for ‘mounting the faceplate to the lathe, a need to dois make alarger body, add the coupling nut, and then glue a Tange sanding disk in place. I sized my disk for 8"-dia. abrasive disks. ‘Teue Up ~ One last thing. Before using either accessory, mount each ‘one to the lathe and ‘true it up so the face is lat and perpendicular to body glued up from three layers of the centerline ofthe lathe. plywood! and the mounting pate. T started by gluing up the body EASE Back and then cutting both the body and Saar plate to rough size. Once that's com. . plete thereareafewholesto dri.In "AEELATE,PREY the body you'll need to drill hole to ® acceptthe coupling nut. After gluing itin place with epoxy, you can drill se.o16 set of holes for attaching the face STREP | plate to the body as well as holes for ‘mounting the workpiece to the face- plate. Finally, ghue and screw the plate to the body. ae Sanding Disk - The sanding cour FACEPLATE disk is even easier to make, All you S Sanding Table m Tomake better use ofthe sanding \ disk, Ladded a sanding table, ike the one you see in the drawing (ef) and photo (ight). You can stat on the sanding table by building a base. Here again, the base is identical to the those made earlier forthe headstock, ‘alstock, and tool rest. (To see how to build the base, refer to page 20) But instead of adding fullsize uprights to the base, they're cut slightly shorter, ike you see in the drawing at left. The uprights are sized in length so the top of the sanding table is right atthe center- line of the sanding disk. Note: Because there isn’t much stress on the sanding table during use, didn't add a base block to the assembly to reinforce the uprights. ‘To allow you to use your miter _gmage to support the workpiece as ‘you sand (like you seein the photo), besure to cuta groove in the table to fit the bar on your miter gauge. SANDING TABLE, oe No. 73 ShopNotes SANDING Bisk PLATE, POOR, It's important that the groove be parallel to the face of the sanding disk, so I used a combination square to position the top before screwing it to the uprights. & 25 \into turning is and tools, Wel, handful of turning tools cover most turning ta So. whether returning something as small pen or as large as a table leg, you 26 Must-Have anything — from pens and pencils, alana can be sure to handle it more than a roughing gou diamond parti -eon these tools, check ‘out the opposite pas If your interest leans to turni small bowls, you'll want to add a bow! g ") along with square- end (1") and roundnose scrapers You can read more about are a large number of suppliers of ShopNot ‘turning tools. And ifyou turn to pag 35, you'l find a list in the margin. Just be sure to check out the price fon sets of turning tools. They often ost ofthe tools you'll need at a less expensive price. And if the sets missing one or two, itsasimple ‘matter to just buy those separa ‘The basic, heavy-duty '50) contained all the too sot the bowl gouge ($50). Or if all your turning will be small-scale, you can buy a “minia ture” set forRoughing Gouge. @ One of the first tools I reach for when turning a spindle is a roughing gouge. As you can see, a roughing gouge is designed to be quite stout. This way, you can take some hefty cuts that will make quick work of jiamond. Diamond Parting Tool____ 1 To set off parts of a turning or remove it from the lathe, I use a diamond-shaped parting tool. The shape provides better clearance and less friction when cutting, deep into a workpiece. Plus, a parting tool makes quick ‘work of cutting tenons on the ends of workpieces. “roughing” a workpiece into a cylinder (see below).. Spindle Gouge @ Aspindle gouge (see margin and drawing below) is ‘the multi-purpose tool of turning. With it, there isn't ‘much you can't do, I've used a spindle gouge to rough out a square blank and then shape it into a graceful table leg refined with delicate beads and coves Skew Chisel A skew chisel, like the ovalshaped model in the margin, is the smoothing plane of turning. Like a hand plane, it leaves behind a velvety-smooth surface that's: ready to be finished — whether you're turning a cylinder, a graceful taper, or a set of beads. m When it comes to gouge is the tool of choice. While it looks similar to a spindle ‘gouge, it actually has a thicker, beefier body and. a deeper, U-shaped flute. This design helps to quickly remove the large amount of waste neces- sary to create a bowl, yet produces a smooth chatter-ree cut, turning a bowl, a bowl | wm Finally, you can add a round-nose scraper and a ‘squareend scraper to QI complete your set of tools (See margin). 1 know, — scraping doesn't sound like fine turning. But in many cases, the tiny burr that’s formed at the end of the seraper when its sharp- ‘ened is often the only way to make a tearout. free cutin a workpiece. & ShopNotes 27 y Spindle Gouge Skew Bow! Gouge Round-nose Scraperclamp storage system d to grow along with | oriment of clamps, | basic parts — a track thats atiaghed to thé dl tha tonto thet Won the bloeks to accom particular clamps down the road) th‘a A Peg Blocks. By gluing a dowel in an angled hole drilled in a block, you can make @ handy place to keep spring clamps. Two peg blocks side-by-side can be used to hold C-clamps in place. No. 73 A. Narrow Blocks. The basic block is fastaned to the ‘track with a toilet bolt, a washer, anda nut. Grouping the blocks together makes slots for holding bar clamps. “ » Rees eee Be ShopNotes A Wide Blocks. To accommodate large, heavy-duty clamps like the parallel jaw clamps shown here, the basic block can be made a litle wider. A Lock-Down..Allit takes to recontio the clamp storage system is a rat with a %o" socket 29A T-Track. Each section of track consists of an aluminum Track fastened to a wall plate, The sections are then screwed to the wall studs. NOTE: sioce NARROW, EN ESOS. Track T began building the clamp storage system by making the track, Bach section of track is 48" long and can hold approximately 1824 bar clamps. t's a good idea to start by determining the number of sections of track you'l need. Wall Plate ~ As you can see in Figure 1, there's realy not much to thetrack.If'sjustapiece ofaluminum ‘Ttrack mounted to awall plate (a bet board). A shallow groove in the center ofthe board helps to position the track while you're screwing it inpplace.To center the groove on the wall plate, T used a narrow dado blade and cut the groove in two passes, fipping the board end for end between each pass, Figure 2, Customized Lengths - The reason I made my tracks 48" long is because this isthe longest length of Adjustable Blocks Once you've finished making all your track sections, you can start on. the blocks that hold the clamps. Although there are a few more steps involved to making the blocks, they're still pretty simple. And because I had to make dozens of blocks, I came up with a few jigs and ‘setups that will speed things along. Asyou can see in Figure’ below, made two different sizes of blocks. B= Den Hotes FoR MOUNTING Seen | ABS. 30 CROSS SECTION SRE en ‘Pack I could find. But you could also make shorter lengths, or you can make a longer track by using {wo or more pieces of Track, see the photo on the opposite page. ‘The narrow block is designed to hold smaller-sized clamps, The wide block is sized for large parallel ja and heavy-duty bar clamps. Sizing the Blocks ~To make the blocks, start by ripping some strips cof 1g/Uhick humber down to with, (L used “twoby” framing lumber) ‘The strips for the wide blocks are 4" wide and the strips for the narrow blocks are 214" wide, ShopNotes L< fo After ripping the strips to width, you can cut the individual blocks to length. I did this by clamping a scrap ‘of wood to my rip fence to act as 2 stop for setting the length of each block. You can see this in Figure 4. Drill Counterbored Holes - Once all the blocks are cutto length, the next step is to drill a counter ‘bored hole through the edge of each ‘lock. This hole receives the toiletbot, washer and nut that attach the @ dexktottetrack. “To speedup the process of driling all these holes, I made the simple jig that you see in Figure 5. Is really nothing more than a scrap of ply wood with a couple of fences attached to it It automaticaly post tions each block so tat the hoe wil bbe perfectly centered on the edge of the block. Drill al the counterbores first, then switch toa brad point bit and drill ll the through holes, as shown in Figure 5a Cutting Dadoes - To allow the block to fit over the Ptrack, a dais cut across one edge (he edge without the counterbore). The dado is slightly wider than the Track so thatthe blocks will slide smoothly cover the track. I used a stop black on the miter gauge and fipped the stock between passes so that the dado ended up centered on the length ofthe block Figure 6) ase the Edges ~ To complete the blocks, cut a small 9 chamfer along the two frontedges. To do this, simply ited my saw blade 45° and ran each lock over the blade twice, fipring the block in between passes, asillusrated in Figures 7 and 7a Peg Blocks — To hang up spring clamps and Cclamps, I mod ified some of the narrow blocks by aiding a peg. I did this by simply of the block and gluing a wood dowel in place (Figure 8) Race ee Easy Installation ~ With all the blocks completed, you're ready to install the storage system in your shop. After mounting the tracks to ‘your wall (be sure to screw into the ‘studs), you can go ahead and add the a NOTE: nu onus Pee awe soot Note For cow boa blocks. Simply slide the block to where you want it and tighten down the bolt to lock it in place. Once you've got all the blocks installed, you can say goodbye to your clamp Storage problem once and forall. ¢& A Gap. For extra-long runs of track, you can leave a space in between the aluminum Firacks to make inserting the blocks easier. ) dling an angled hole near the top No. 73 CROSS SECTION ‘ShopNotes. 31eee Parallel Jaw Clamps ‘ou may have heard the old Benefits ~ What adage that a woodworker can makes parallel jaw neverhave toomany clamps. Butthe clamps so greal? ‘ype of clamps you own is every bit Well itall has to do as important as the number. Over with how they/re constructed, you actually help to square up whatever the years, Tve accumulated quite a take a close look ata pipe clamp or is being clamped. This makes them Clamps have few differentkinds ofcamps—pipe anordinary bar clamp,you'llsee that great for gluing up flat panels as been around for camps, bar clamps, quickaction the jaws are tilted toward each other well as cabinet or door frames. conturies, So just Clamps, Clamps, even a few old slightly. As you tighten the jays But parallel clamps also have what is it that Wooden hand screws. But lately, down, they straighten out some. some other important features (see makes these TES one pe of amp that [find what. But the problem is that in photo below). For one thing, they myself reaching for more and more. doing so, they can pull your work- have large, deep jaws. The extra clamps so. jd thats ny paral gw dampe, "ples out of algnoent, leaving you reach ofthe awe means ha you can special? Now you may already be familar With bowed panels and cabinets that clamp up a frame and panel door in with parallel jaw clamps — even if are out of square. two directions at once without you dont realize it. That's because On the other hand, parallel jaw having to worry about the clamps these clamps are often referred to clamps have jaws that are not only getting inthe way of each other. by their brand names. The three parallel to each other, but also at Parallel jaw clamps are also amar- major manufacturers have each tight angles to the bar of the clamp. ingly tough and rigid. Made with sven thr clamp a diferent name, So as yu ighten the camps they _hearyduystel bars they are much Bessey calls their clamp the K- Body, Jorgensen. calls theirs the ‘ Cabinet Master, and Gross Siabit has dubbed theirs the PC?, While Bessey K-Body they’re all parallel jaw clamps, there are a few minor differences 2 between them. (More on that ater) i ap ‘ ° fc ‘Stee! Pins. Keep a jaws square and Henge rows you to End Stop. Removable / parallel andl ews YOH © end stop supports the devel ‘lamp ontop of your 2 workbench, Jawa, Large jaws remain parallel and square to the bar —m Gren won tontened awe are covered with tough, nyion Gross Stabil PC? Clamp Bar, Heavy-cus ~ ee er - Bend under prsure Jorgensen Cabinet Master 32 No. 73,less prone to flexing under heavy @ serge tp cme acme gear eee na ep er simply lift up slightly on the handle ae anaes aval foot Then an buy ale wo deny 100 to 1100 mf nue ‘The jaws of these clamps are covered with tough nylon plastic pads — so you don’t have to worry Seana cance dried glue doesn't stick to the pads, Breer End Stop — Two of the brands Gorgensen and Grose Stabil) fore moter ete tat ely once serves several purposes. First, it prevents you from inadvertently sliding the jaw of the clamp all the Se aniteranie eae tea e “oat a the er of he br en @ einen ne ta bench. It raises the clamp up just enough so that you can freely slide the jaw along the length of the bar ‘without having to lift the end of the clamp up off your workbench (Gee upper photo on opposite page). This, makes it a lot easier to adjust the clamps when gluing up flat panels. ‘The end stop is also removable ‘This allows you to slide the jaw off the bar, reverse it, and use the clamp as.a spreader (see photo at right). [ll admit that I don't do this ‘too often, but its a nice feature to have when you need it, KP Blocks - The Bessey clamp lacks the end stop feature, Instead, Bessey sells a separate rail and stile jig to hold their clamps while ging ‘upan assembly. This “ig” isjusta set of four plastic blocks with offset slots, {io hold the clamps at two different heights. The blocks really come in handy when gluing up frame and panel doors (see lower photo below) ‘The blocks will also work with the Gross Stabil clamps. @ > ater sie ig. 6055075 "Blots (coofea ke tera outing gta tba thano and part Coo Thy tld re clamps n pace ul yo e26/ 0 99 No. 73 Size - Like traditional bar clamps, parallel jaw clamps are available in a variety of fengrs, ranging from 12" ‘upto 100", So no matter what you are clamping up, you should be able to find a size that suits your needs, Brands - When it comes to selecting a brand of parallel jaw clamp, you really can't go wrong. All three brands are excellent. But if haad to pick a favorite, I'd go with the Gross Stabil PC? It has all the fea tures that the other clamps have, plus a couple of added benefits. For one thing, i’ the only clamp swith completely replaceable parts So ifthe jaw pads get chewed up — or if something breaks — you can just buy new parts, Plus, the jaw on. the Gross Stabil locks in place until you lit the handle, If you pick up either one of the other two clamps at the wrong end, the jaw can come crashing down 0 your fingers. Price ~ About the only thing that don like about parallel jaw clamps js the price. Depending upon. the brand, you can expect to pay $30 to $37 fora single 12" clamp (and even more for the longer lengths). For sources, see page 35. ‘At that price, I'm not about to run out and replace all of my frusty pipe clamps with parallel jew clamps any- time soon. And the truth is that for ‘many clamping tasks, pipe clamps or traditional bar clamps work just fine But there are definitely enough ben- efits and advantages to parallel jaw clamps in order to justify adding a few to your clamp rack 33, A Spread ‘Em. Reversing the Jaw allows you to use the Gross St clamp as a spreader. (The Jorgensen clare also has this feature.)Why we use Baltic Birch Plywood Tike to build projects just as much, the next guy. But one of the things about woodworking I really Strong, stable, and enjoy is making the jigs and fixtures voidfree, Baltic that make building projects easier, Dirch is the perfect ‘wicker and more accurate trae Whenever I build a jig or fixture choice for figs, Ft T know Tl be using over and tures, and shop ver, its important that it be strong, storage projects. sable, and most. importantly, it needs to maintain its accuracy each and every time I use it. Baltic Birch - The material I ‘turn to for most jigs and fixtures is Baltic birch plywood — a premium, hardwood plywood that’s strong and stable. This plywood gets its name from the birch trees that grow in a number of countries in the Baltic region in Europe. While that’s interesting, what makes Baltic birch plywood a great choice for use in the shop is the number of plies that make up each sheet. The 9/4" plywood you see on this page consists af 13 plies. Typical Ye" hardwood plywood made in the U.S. has seven plies. ‘These extra plies give Baltic birch a number of advan- ‘tages. For starters, it's stronger and more stable, Since it doesn't change ‘much in length or width, {its great for jigs and fx: I) creat Locks. No ‘matter how you cut the voicHres layers of Batti birch plywood ensure that you'll have an edge that looks great. A Joinery. the plies in Baltic are reo of voids, tracitional joinery and screws _make for ook-salid assembles. tures where you want to. maintain accuracy over the long ha. ‘The added plies also make for clean, solid joinery —whether you're cutting grooves, dadoes, rabbets (See inset above), or even dovetails Finally, the plies hold screws better than a typical sheet of plywood — whether you're close to an edge, or screwing into “end grain,” Tike you see in the main photo above. ‘The Baltic birch you'l typically find is graded BBB. So the face veneer (B) will be a single piece without any patches, The back face (BB) and inner plies may be tightly patched. These patches on the inner plies make it highly unlikely that youll run across a void or seam, something that’s fairly common with other plywood. And since any cut will be “clean,” the finished edge looks great, asin the photo at lf. Metric Thicknesses — One thing like about Baltic birch i thatyou can buy it in thicknesses listed from 1/4" ‘up to 5/'. But Baltic birch comes from Europe, 3 i's actually manufac: ‘ured in metric dimensions, ‘The reason for thisis that each layer cof Baltic birch is about 1.5mm thick. ShopNotes (The face veneers are about half as thick) So the actual thickness is i increments of 3mm. Although thi pretty close to 4/4" thick, each sheet ‘will run thinner (0.04" in the case of A" Baltic birch). 1 know. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, Butt’s ‘important to allow for that when cut: ting joinery lke dadoes. Overall Size ~ Youll also want to be aware of the overall size of the sheet youl end up buying. Instead of picking up a typical 4 x 8 sheet, Baltic birch is sold in 5'x 5' sheets. (Note: You ean often find it in half and quarter sheets) ‘Things to Consider - The size and thickness aren‘ the only things to consider before choosing Baltic birch plywood for your next project. Although the large number of plies form a very stable product, itis a plywood product and can warp. This is especially true with the thinner sheets. I don't consider that uch of a problem since most jigs consist of smaller pieces that are slued and screwed together. Also, Baltic bitch plywood is more ‘expensive, Since higher-quality plies ‘and more work go into assembling ‘each sheet, Baltic birch will cost about twice as much per square foot com pared to a typical sheet of plywood. Availability ~ You're most likely to find Batic birch plywood at a hank woo! lumber dealer. But if you can't find it locally, there are a number of mailorder sources that carry it in a variety of sizes and thicknesses. (Refer to the marin on the opposite page.) Sil, [think you'l find that Baltic birch js the best choice for making figs and fixtures youll be using in ‘your shop for years to come. No. 73‘ALE TE Sources ith, i Similar project Mini-Lathe Hardware supplies may ordered from m The biggest job you home center. If you can't Motor & Pulleys - If Ours came without a the following ‘may have to tackle when find the studded knobs you already have a motor, power cord, $0 you'll prob- companies: building the minilathe on used throughout the you have the biggest ably need to pick up some Rockler page 16 is rounding up all project, check for them at expense for the minilathe wiring materials along sneere ae ofthe hardware. Reid Tool (See margin). covered. Butifyounced to with anon/offswitch. gan pe a ‘You'll be able to find Bearings - If you buy one, check out the To get pulleys that fit a Clampe, Hinges, most of the items you decide to order the knobs _ sources in the margin. 31300 belt (which we Track need, like the heavy-duty from Reid Tool, be sure to. We used a 1/, hp, 1725 found ran smoother), we Dreisither Electric Mors bolt, coupling nuts, screws, order a pair of the double. RPM, 115 volt, open had to order them from a 800-922-1862 aluminum, steel, Tnuts, shielded bearings (NB- motor with a 48Y-style local hardware store. We ““°?ematorore.com washers, and stop collars, 1095) that support the bolt _ base. (It's basically abelt- used a pair of Congress gjectric Motor Warchouse: at a hardware store or inthe headstock. drive, furnace motor.) model SCA43 pulleys. (877-986-6867 eee Lathe Tool Cabinet Router Circle-Cutting Jig ae You can probably find ‘The solution was a im There's only a handful (R3) with a threaded wroriceriorsen all of the hardware for the heavy-duty inset hinge. of hardware required for insert from Reid Tool. Kras, Neewinng Tavs lathe tool cabinet on page ‘The setoffourdullchrome the router circle-cutting The 1Yong — studded Mike's Tools Gatalocal home center— finish hinges (C86026D) jigfeatured on page 12. ‘knobs are available from 800-253-0421 exceptforthehinges. we used came from For the pivot pin, we Reid and afew ofthe sup “smrmuambcom Hinges - The hinges Woodworker's Hardware. used a red plastic knob _ pliers listed in the margin. aatisan used on the rolkaround Rockler sells similar I 800-255-0421 cabinet are a little unique. hinges (slightly smaller) in were reidinal.con Meter woe citi oe Camp Storage System srivinmicm wanted the hinge knuckle finishes (31573 and 31586). ml For the clamp storage you'll want to look for con. ™* ond & Shop, Inc. to show with the lids Casters — Finally, ifyou system on page 28, you'll tractor packs. The ones We —_ www.woodnshop.com closed. And when the lds have any woublelocaing need ange boltsand afew found at a local home "Bt were folded open, the set of locking swivel sections of Track from center contained 20 bolts, Woodsmith Store hinges needed to provide casters, give Rockleracall Rockler They sell Parack nuts, and washers. And 800 S05;6084 solid support and attach securely to the narrow cedige of the lid, (Gee margin). They carry the casters under part number 31870, ‘many of our new project kits.To order, lease use ‘ourtoliee oder lne, seebelow. Is open Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM Central Time, Before calling, please have your VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express card ready. Ifyou would prefer to mail in an order, please call the tolliree phone number below for more information concerning, shipping charges as well as any applicable sales tax. 1-800-347-5105 No. 73 in2, 3} and 4' lengths. Because of the number of flange bolts required, P lo LLL “Online Extras” -Plans, Patterns, & More they were quite a bit less expensive than buying ‘everything individually. 8 str, Bezoy& Jorge Clamps, Kobe, Erk ‘Doing Te Woodworkers Harcinars| "200.282 0130 swovoardareco Hee Online Customer Service ‘ Over 100 Woodworking Tips Online ClckonSubsrbrSonies ot + Visit Our Woodworking Shop Tours Gallery we com + Project Plans You Can Download as ju oc as emg yor singer en aes stay fanny spon sTdls fy tenis ison Fn yar es ed * Catalog of Project Kits, Tools Jigs, & Plans + Forums for Woodworking, Tools, & Clasiieds + Links to Other Woodworking Sites * Onder ShopNotes & Words: Back Issues www.shopnotes.com ShopNotes 35