SIX WAYS TO CUT A CIRCLE JOODWORKER’S | (ONSEN dworking authority"™ (Hanen= INSIDE: Se Aeris KC SEW O RT Mec ae ‘(Tare a like ivory!) February 6.00 rbd 7 3317555 145 18 & v rn eeeWhat Are You Waiting For? All the benefits of fast cure PT a Cem cet) wy RAPIDFUSE eae Wood Te ECR UCR La CdR Ge) Peet neDIREGT TAC TS Ce WELDED SAW BLADES Cree a ea T2"xY" (6'0"x%") aa) Pe ea a Perea Letts Paes) Cr ee ae Cees aaa) Fantastic everyday deals on our complete Gee line of saws and blades like these: are) " perry a Se Crest ee eet as Manufactured with precision ground SASS prea Trajan 0700 Carbide Sow (includes blade Trojan 125 Bond Sow ees Free sipping) (Free shipping) Ideal for the woodworking industry, our custom-welded blades feature spring tempered backs and precisely hardened teeth allowing for very Saw Wood Blade 71/4 SAWBLADEeC2M’ RUN LEAN x24T — QSaw Wood Blade 10° «5/8* x 407Woodworker’s Journal Contents Projects = : = Workbench By Sendo Negnitoncy | Aearetich henrday I aR etre a modern woodworking style that incorporates both hand tools and portable power tools, Spade Bookcase By Willie Sandry Spade-shaped inlays, a secret dovetailed drawer and locking miter joints make this Arts & Crafts styled bookcase a rewarding shop challenge. Classic Step Stool By Brad Holden Take apiece of hme center lumber, Sav itint five boards, spend abit of : ‘hop ime, and youve gota usefal Page 70 ote abion to Your bone Chairside Caddy By Carole Rothman This scroll saw box with a ‘drawer pull modeled after a fishing lure will be right at home next to your favorite re aed February 2017 Woodworker's Journalmeans Por SQUARE} ‘ne Pee Ral ar) Sut) SSE aM ‘© T-Square fence with one pice ste! al ystem on 30 in or 52. RH ip co Dee ea bee ke ena Reems) Se rec) Cou Oe ne portable design sro Doe Co Or eo OO acd er Oe RO CRG coo | BIESEMEYER § Ss wi I" 36-L552T2 NT] Seer joer system wit 35 54. RH ip apy eens Oe eee er See ee a Se aoa ee Gea cd Seu la us A TUR 1-864-231-5888 [ol ADELTA POWER EQUIPMENT CORPORATION The Measure of PreDepartments 8 Letters 24 Woodturning 76. What's in Store Cheek your chuck; precision vs. Turn the elephant-safe tagua nut New power tools, shop accessories accuracy, "50s furniture. for the look of faux ivory and supplies. 14. Tricks of the Trade 50 Techniques 82. Finishing Thoughts Cut veneer with a quilting tool, Arroundup of six circle-cutting Upward mobility finishing tricks and more handy hints. methods. to make your inexpensive wood look high-class. 16 Questions & Answers/Stumpers 58. Jigs & Fixtures Saw handles’ history, sharpening ‘Aknockdown turntable comes in 86 Hey... Did You Know? ‘carbide cutting tools, and what the ‘handy for spraying projects Thirsty trees, speedy tools, and hey is glue size. furniture styles. 62, Today's Shop 20 Battery breakthroughs. Game-changing tool innovations. and its contemporary relevance. ‘The past year in tools. woodworkersjournal.com videos on woodworkersjournal.com? * Hand Planes — 14 episodes * Chisels — 7 episodes Accessing our premium content is easy! Simply log on to the site to verify that you're a current subscriber, using your account number — you'll find that just above your address on the mailing label that’s stuck to the cover of every issue you receive. Other magazines charge extra for premium online content — but we give it to you free, so enjoy! (And thanks for subscribing.) JOODWORKER'S JOURNAL 7 ee ed ONS 1Ta) ce A] 2) ADJUSTING PLANES a Ld Dan Cary February 2017 Woodworker's JournalFEATURING THE WS1600SS STAINLESS STEEL WET/DRY VAC i at DRUM of a ting te Ino AVERAGE MOTOR HOURS to ASTM standards, this vac is durable. WORKSHOP With over 45 years of Wet/Dry Vac engineering and manufacturing excellence under our Peni emia tel meee eer nh rm Caen cael Ma Cae oe et Ree eee aa OU en ere tel eke ec er eee incredible power, and large diameter hoses. workshopvacs.comLetters Hey, What's Up? YOUR OPINION IS VALUABLE. JUST ASK US! (One thing I eally like about ou online newsletter (wunwavoodworkersioural.com/ezng|is that wien | ask a questi 2m of our readers, | get responses right away. (And | do mean “right away"! It is prety awesome. When it ‘comes to this print magazine, we love to hear fram you as well. Clearly, as evidenced by the letters below, we think Your opinions ae important to your fellow readers, too, But there are afew places inthe magazine where we really pu our money for ‘maybe some tools or other woodworking products) where aur mouth is. Our Trivia department, Ticks ofthe Tade, Questions & Answers and Stumpers all have tool giveaway opportunites for those who take the time to sendin their thoughts How great is that? Send in an idea, get your 15 minutes of fame and potentially tool of some sor. ifthatis nat a win/win, than | quoss | don’t understand what that means, ‘And, ontop of you wining something cool, our readers get the benefit of hearing from their pers. As facinating 2s | ind myself to be, | am guessing that you all don’t mind a break ar two fram my woodworking opinions and advice S.o. if you had the itch to send in a eter or some other sort of communication and have held back because you think we are not interested. get out your pen and start \riting. Not only do we promise to read it, butt just might get published! —Fob Johnstone Turn Your Chuck This Way Toloosen, Loosen In response to the entry “Which insert the key Way to Turn? Just Mark Your into the left side Chuck" in Tricks of the Trade, of the chuck. October 2016: Holding the ‘Ancasy way to know which keyhorizontal way to turn the key on a drill with its pin to press isto remember that“leftis the right, turn loosey, and right is tighty.” the key coun ‘Tottighten, insert the key into terclockwise, the right side of the chuck. Hold- This will also push the key into ing the key horizontal, with its pin the chuck teeth, again preventing portion on the slipping of the teeth. The chuck is Jef, turn the now loose. key clockwise. ‘An easy way to remember isto ‘This pushes insert the key (left or right) with the key into the pin on the near side (closest the chuck to the operator) and horizontal. teeth, prevent Couldn't be more simple. ing slipping. Darel Janis ‘The chuck is Tomball Tras now tight. Tighten Continues on page 10. - ROCKLER PRESS FEBRUARY 2017 Volume 41, Number 1 ROB JOHNSTONE Pwisher ALYSSATTAUER Associate Polisher JOANNA WERCH TAKES. Sty CHRIS MARSHALL Senior Et JEFF JACOBSON. Sovior Art isctor JOE FAHEY Associate At rector DAN CARY. Senior Web Proccer MATTHEW HOCKING lntemet Reduction Coorintor MARY TZIMOKAS Cicviatin Decor LAURAWHITE. Fullinen Manager Founder and Chairman [ANN ROCKLER JACKSON Contributing Editors NORTON ROCKLER SANDOR NAGYSZALANCZY ERNIE CONOVER Advertising Sales DAVID BECKLER. Netonl Soles Reprosentatve hector weodwortrsjoynalcor! (60) 66-8842 Fav 9) 470-8096 Editorial Inquiries JOANNA WERCH TAKES jtokes@wecdvertersouret can ‘Subscription Inquiries (@0n/76541180" | ven woodworesiouma ce Wite Wocdvarkers Jounal, PO Box 621, Harlan, 1 51589-1711 email: Wiideustsen@odsfulfliment.com. Include ‘mailing labo for renewals and adress changes. Fr git subscriptions include yourname and address and our gift recipient Book Sales and Back Issues Cal 1800) 610-0889, nv woodwortesiaval cam Other Questions or Problems Cal 769-478 8255 \jotnstonewoodwonesjoumal com ‘Woodware’ Jou! (SS O180182 publish in Fev, ‘Agri, Jno, August. October and Dace by Roa Fs he. 465 Wil Dr, Mein, MN S240, Priodalpastge pid at Nena, Miata an adil malig eas, Paenase: Send all aes changes o Woadwerers Jounal, PO. Box 621, Harn, 1481586171 Sutsritn Rees: One yo $1895 (U1 28 95, US. tus (Canaa and ater cous) Srl cop rice, $5.9. Feud wie gems oid Patan Mal Asner "NumoO861065. Carin PubiatonAyoement #000801, ©2016 RectiePress nc. Primed nUSA February 2017 Woodworker's JournalThe most complete catalog for woodworkers + Featuring over 10,000 items + Innovative jigs and tools + Router accessories + Rare hardwood + Turning supplies eee g a eee R cg Paso ead CRE rie ened he =) 4 5 ) Bendix Collection y Crafted by a Tradition of Elegance Moldings & Accents ‘a Order Online or By Phone: 1-866-963-5601 www.woodencomponents.com We Design & Fabricate Custom Filter Bags That REALLY WORK! (200 2679891 amerkanabititecom Woodworker’ Journal February 2017 From Kitchens to Heirlooms... Leigh Jigs Make Dovetails Easy. = —— Leigh Super Jigs SEE VIDEO leighjigs.com10 Letters continued There's more online at woodworkersjournal.com reckon formre content coven thats below ‘Shop Talk (page 20): Remarks ‘romeuratos of Yl Bt Fade sand Fare 180 11850 show hte teat acess (iden Rode land Fite Archive and Yale Fumiture Study (irs) Woodturning (page 24): How {ou the oat eo) Workbench (age 36 Foes fr mating avise toa weitere ind) Chairside Caddy (page 44): Author ison ging. sang clonping td sng oes for dowels ideo Techniques page 50 ating ces wit a panel cating ign table saw video) Weekend Project (page 70: Bandsawing step stool legs; cut angle ads ides) Readers share theit tellections on our antice on measuring and layout advice — plus addiional tips. Techniques Measurement. Accuracy vs. Precision Ljustreceived the October 2016 issue and am most of the way through the first read. I'm particularly pleased with Sandor Nagyszalanezy’s “Measurement and Layout Advice.” This is a great start Dut, in my opinion, there's another step that would be enormously beneficial to us ‘weekend warriors. Sandor’s article primarily focused on the issue of accuracy. A sug- gested next step is an article focusing on precision. The lead photo in the article isa ‘wonderful case in point. Tm admittedly abit ofa nerd and get a bit irked when vwiters use accu racy and precision interchangeably ‘They are very different statisti cal concepts. To iustrate, consider going to a shooting range and firing, multiple shots at a target. The shooter's accuracy is mea sured by the average distance of the shots from the ball'seye. Precision isa mea- sure of how tightly the shots are grouped. Four shots, a foot above, below, to the right and to the left of the bull's- ee represents very accurate shooting average is 2r0), but the precision stinks. Conversely, four shots that completely miss the target but are only an inch apart would be very precise but with poor accuracy. Inthe article's lead picture, the vertical pieces in the frame appear to have been cut precisely, while the horizontal pieces are way off. ‘Tm certain that many of your rears have built pro- ects where a series of pieces are to be cut the same length and a miter saw is our toot of choice for the task. How many of us cut the fist piece and then use itand a pencil to mark subsequent pieces? Inevitably, there will be one or more pieces where the pencil mar veers away from the initial cut and/or where the pencil ine gets abit messy. Those seemingly little errors add up, causing things to flat dry fit time, Having sulfered that embarrass- ment, we start using a stop block. Then we rediscover that the block ean slip from repeated tapping or that we have to be careful to pre- vent sawdust buildup at the block's edge. This list could ‘go on and on for every step inthe construction process. Stove Lanier Lays Island, South Croina ‘When I saw the picture on ‘page 58 of the sap in the pic- ture frame, I laughed, We've all been there and done that. There is a trick about ‘framing anything (pictures, windows, doors, etc). Three ‘measurements are needed: 1. Length and width of the rectangle or square to be ‘windows and doors, this may be zero, ‘The outside length of the frame or molding piece, cither length or width, is the measured dimension of the rectangle plus twice the ‘width of the frame or mold- ing minus twice the overlay. ‘This number is the outside dimension of the frame, ‘When measuring for ‘cutting, it is alot easier to ‘measure the outside dimen- sions of the frame. There was a reason to not sleep in high school geometry or trigo- nometry, but unfortunately it took far too many years for ‘me to figure that out. Rich Fyan ‘Huntington Beach, California Continues on page February 2017 Woodworker's Journalsaa Ages UNLINITED PERFORMANCE — = CT © Full-Size CNC Functionality at a Fraction of the Cost! See ae emul Bae eng eer a ata ea ee ret + Exclusive Auto Edge and Center Detection System aero Se ee ou oy Re ot) * Perfect for projects lke carvings, plaques, omiamental Cee ea oun! Ered ey www.NextWaveAutomation.com UD Rat a12 Letters continued binder ctp wil help you orient an ‘architectural scale corecty fr the edge you are measuring with. (ops! We added an inch when we ‘should have subtracted. Mr. Nagyszalanczy’s tip re: adding tape to an edge of scale is close to what the pro drafters do, They lay the scale down with the desired scale against the paper on which they are working, ‘midpoint of the scale rib that is point up. As long as you always keep the clip facing up, you are good to go. The binder clips are cheap and will last forever, Ronald E. Cunzeneim Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Correction ‘The Techniques article on “Measurement and Layout Advice” has an error in the second photo on page To quote the article: “The “classic” method to avoid is to measure by aligning the 1" mark with one edge of the workpiece, then add ‘one inch to the resulting measurement.” WRONG! You should subtraet one inch from the resulting measurement. enjoy every issue and this is the first error I have found. Donald E. Gates Fulton, New York WI Responds: Whoops! Donald was not the only one ‘who noticed this error, and vwe at Woodworker’ Journal apologize for messing up the math, Joanna Werch Takes, Table Times Four Lreally enjoy your projects. ‘They challenge me without making me fee! completely inadequate as a woodworker: ‘My wife loved your ‘Stickley Inspired Ptant Stand” project in your December 2015 issue, but she didn't need a plant stand. What she real - LE ly needed was a mini table (or four) forherandher or tupelo) notched or dadoed card-playing friends. She also into the front facing. It was needed them to match her amazing how lightweight and Stickley furniture. strong these cabinets were, Since Thad to make four learned this method from tables rather than only an old German cabinetmaker ‘one, simplified them abit from Aurora, Minois, who and used a piece of marble said he grew tired of buil flooring for the top.She is heavy lumbered cabinets. really enjoying them and Hundreds of kitchens were now wants aStickley inspired made in this manner during. kitchen table. this period. Many are proba: Keep writing about inter- bly still in use today. esting projects. Willan 8. its, Graty lyon o __—_—_—_— Crd Corda A Florence, Alama Back to the ‘50s Upon reading your article on the “Mid-Century Modern Nightstand” with rounded corners [October 2016], it reminded me of the cabinets built back in the 1940s and '50s with round corners. I used 1/8" birch bending plywood with a minimum radius of about 4". Other hallmarks of cabinets of that period were: chrome trim, lipped doors and drawer fronts, interiors lacquered in ‘contrasting colors and, some- times, hardware with colored enamel accent. Pieces like the tall “wardrobe” cabinet ‘were in high demand at that time since older homes had little or no closet space. ‘The really revolutionary thing about these cabinets was the method of construe tion, Most components were ‘of 1/4" thick plywood (gum February 2017 Woodworker's Journal16” Variable Speed Scroll Saw A Quality Tool for Every Shop! Adjustable Flex Shaft Table Connection Table tits 0° 45° ‘Ability to connect for making flexible shaft angle cuts accessory for rotary work Accepts 2 Variable Blade Styles Speeds ‘Accepts plain and Front dial easly pin end blades ‘adjusts cutting speed from 550-1650 SPM ULTI-ROUTER Joinery Machine * ‘A quick and easy way to fl nal hoes and repair miner nicks and abrasions. eae Rime eee + Available in 7 popular colors * Anglesand Compound Anges! + May be used before or after Restor-A-Finish BA, * Create Box Joins, Dovetails ‘when used on a wood frish + Great for fixing Furniture, Antiques, Paneling Veneer, Vinyl, Hard Leather, et. + Simply rub in, scrape excess and butt smooth M = 3 and Much More + No heal or special tos required ah 00 + Fade resistant, non-bleeding permanent colors = =a Before —— ie = = J 7 a After: : = Poe une Agra ee uy Ste 3 rere a aa 7 (ear ee ae www.jdstools.com Woodworker's Journal February 20174 Tricks of the Trade Foamboard Pencil Corral Tused to lose my pencils around the shop constantly, and I could never seem tofind a sharp one. That all changed when I glued together a couple of small pieces of rigid foam insu- lation board left aver from another project and stabbed my pencils into it. 've got this “corral” stuck to my workbench with carpet tape, Now, I always know where my pencils are, because 'm putting them back in just one place. And the foam protects the sharp tips. Father Cnysamtos Ena, Calfomia Grocery Bag Helps Keep Finish Fresh Thate it when finish dries out in the can, so here’s a way you can keep it from happening. First, clean wet or dried finish out of the rim ofthe can, then take a disposable plastic grocery bast and hold it over the open can. Press a dimple down into the center of the bag about 1/2" to provide alittle “give.” Now replace the lid and tap it down, The bag makes an airtight seal between the rim and the lid and helps preserve the finish. ich Fyn Huntington Beach, Califia Sponsored By Second Clamp for Pocket Screw Joints T've found that the round-pad quick clamps for holding pocket screw joints together don't always keep the work: pieces flush during assembly — and that can mean a lot of sanding to flatten them after you draw them tight, Here's a simple fix: Install a second bar clamp laterally across the joint. With both a quick clamp and bar clamp in place, the parts won't shift when you drive the pocket screws, ‘Dan Martin Galena, Ohio Scroll Saw Blade Square You don't need an expensive minia- ture try square to ensure that your scroll saw blade is aligned perpen dicular to the saw table. A plasti sift card or credit card will do that job well, because their edges are cut at exactly 90°, The cards are sinall enough to fit nicely between the blade guard and the table, and they’re as close as your wallet. Dennis Chenoweth Ventura, Calta February 2017 Woodworker's JournalWho Needs a Veneer Saw? Sewing Tool Cuts Veneer Just as Well Safety First Leaming how to operate power and hand tol is essential for developing safe woodworking bean removed from equipment shown in our magazine. We in no way recommend sing this equipment without safety guards and urge readers to stitly follow man instructions and safety precautions ve discovered that you don't need a special veneer saw to cut thin veneer cleanly. Instead, I use a rotary cutter you can find inexpensively at a fabric or eraft store. The circular blade is razor-sharp, and it cuts wood veneer by just rolling the cutter against asteel straightedge. It will cut through singleply veneer in one firm pass — and, when needed, it can even make curved cuts. TRICKS OF THE TRADE SPONSORED BY GENERAL TOOLS GET PROFESSIONAL RESULTS WITH PRECISION TOOLS AND JIGS General Tools is the recognized leader in the design and development of precision specialty tools, committed to innovation and dedicated to delivering exceptional customer service. We're proud to provide Professional Tradesmen, Craftsmen and Divers a broad range of affordable, specific-purpose mechani- cal hand tools and precision measuring and inspection tools. Use Deluxe Doweling ig Kit by Genero! Tools for Professional Results Woodworker's Journal February 2017 Inaddton to ut standard payment fol, Erwin Nstler of Maple Plan, Minnesota, wil als receive 2 Genera Tools ToolSmart Moisture Meter Digital Angle Findor nd ase Distance Measrr for boing selected asthe Pk f the Tc" winner We py ram $100 S700 fr al vices used To joinin ‘he fn, send us your aig. npubished ik Pease ince photo dawing if ncestary. For your chance to win, submit your Tks to Wocdveers Jounal, Dept 1/0. Box 26 Medina, MI 55240, Or send us an emai ticks @uondworerjoumal con 15Questions & Answers Left Loose? Saw Handles’ History with wooden handles, mie Conoveris the Woodworkers | _they were sold in the store Journal woudtaring columnist. with the handles able to He isthe author of The Lathe | nove in relation to the ‘Book and The F pane saw blade, even when the fasteners were tight. Lalways dim Frey is thought this was to help re- pase wees lieve or lessen wrist fatigue. But now, having seen quite Hardware afew handles split along, Stoel the grain, believe the older ingrexpert and ee imuneaiaioe author of The New Wood models were loose in relation Finishing Book to the blade in order to help prevent splitting due to sea- sonal wood movement. Of course, alot of newer saws, Contacts have handles of manmade ibysnting to “OR: materials and come from WoadwattersJoural, the store with the handle 4965 Willow Die, secure tothe blade: no Movina, MN 55340, movement. What is/was the reason the old handles were by faxing ws a (769 478-8295, " Toxo ws ai UBSIS75-85%5 abe to shift slighty? ary emailing us at ‘thu Moris workrsiouma com Spin, Oregon Alease include your home Punched in it. The saw nuts, In the heyday of saw adress, phone number and Thave collected and which held the handle to the manufacture, all wood was sav hives if thor oe) used handsaws since 1 blade, had amale and female air-dried. The muts were with yourquoston, ‘aS Ateenager. Saws made halfand were secured with a probably loose atthe hard- upunti WWII were well par of straight blade screw- ware store because the wood gem, ae, sporting drivers, one on each side. handle dried further during Rood steel and ‘The holes in the blade were transportation and its time ergonomic wood oversize to allow a good deal in inventory. The user would handles, Good of production variation and tighten the nuts before using sawshad handles of for seasonable change of the the saw. applewood, which wood handle. Te blade slid Eiie Conver isvery difficult intoa groove in the handle, tossplit. The and the saw nuts pinched the Q Tjust bought new saw blade two sides ofthe handle tight carbide euting tools, hadholes on the blade. Ifthe saw was Can these be sharpened with not to move in the handle a diamond hone? during sawing, the nuts J. Tuner ‘were brought up tight. Even Edina, Minesota with the nuts very tight, the oversize holes sill allowed Although one of the for seasonal changes in the advantages of tools like ‘wood handle. the Rockler Carbide Mini February 2017 Woodworker's JournalTurning Tool piece Set is the ability to keep rotating the cutting edge to geta For simply sending in his auestion about glue size, Dick fresh one, eventually you Over the years, Iread and letting it sit until tacky will have slightly dulled all veral articles in a (it doesn’t take long). Then Clevenger of Lets ow those edges. After alotof trade publication by the late I'spread more glue on and wins a General Inter use, [take my cutters toa Jerry Metz, furniture manu- join and clamp until dry. (1 2 Deli 600/1200 diamond stone for facturer and author. He often really couldn't tell fit helped il honing. Using the diamond mentioned “glue size" but or not) ee stone, Tam able to rejuvenate never explained what itis, Dick Clevenger Set ees my carbide cutter toarela- nor have I ever heard or read Letts, lowe Gain haart tively sharp edge. This allows anything else about it draw a winnes me to extend the life of my My take on itis that itis You are correet in cutters considerably. Doesn't a “glue primer.” I've exper: assuming glue size quite get them back to “like imented by thinning yellow acts like a primer, but not as, new" —butclose enough. wood glue 50/50 with water a preamble to gluing. It's a simFey and coating both surfaces technique to make fini THE FUSION M2 40 ENGRAVE IT CUT IT MARK IT. ing ed CO Ey Pe SR enc) Pee cl Tn Pn Ae OM TORRES DIEM OCR PCE tc RU) set MORE INFO o SCHEDULE A DEMO! {888.437.4564 | sales@epiloglaser.com pllogtaser.com/ww} Woodworker's Journal February 2017 7Stumpers | Curled Up This mystety solution will curl your hair. Really What's This? ‘Doug Clyde of Colorado Springs, Colorado, hasan anal wad of ‘iting nique its fr is bate “This ones so unigue, he cant figure out what itis. Do you know? Send your answer stunpers@ueodverersjumalcom cmt ta “Stumpers, Woedhortr’s Journal, 4365 Willow Drive, Mdina, MN 55340 fora chance to win prize! & ¢ Weoderer Josmatedter Joana Wer Tales compos achssus Stumpers espnses andreas vey one 18 In our October 2016 issue, Travis Glassner of Berlin, Pennsyl vania, wondered iffanyone could identify an ob- ject he found in ‘adrawer of his parents’ home. Phil Bri Key of Clark, Colorado, noted that, “This device appears to be used to wrap something very tightly.” Well... sort of, And ‘most likely not what you think, Unless you are someone like Mary-Jane Walker of Bay Point, California, who noted that, “Many years ago, [UJ had one almost like this. Twas to curl your hair.” Inventor Samuel Freeman, who filed for a patent on the Hair Curling Device in 1935, vwrote that, “the object of the invention is to combine a holder of an improved type with a hair pin.” Joe Holdner of Brooklyn, New York, who remembered “seeing one in my aunt's jewelry box some 65 years ago,” said, “There isa large aluminum knurled knob at, fone end that you turned, and Winner! Jo Holder of Brook New York win IDGID 18 Stealth orc Puls Driver Kit /R5096K} We tos altho Sumpars eters et hat 0 ‘MINECrONS eH using This mystory tool ned out obo a hhome beauty aid, rather than some- ‘thing you'd find in the woodshop. acurved guide that kept the hair on the roller. Itwas a technically intriguing object to me as a child, and even to- day as T remember i, it was a well designed "Machine Age’ piece of industrial design.” What was the result of all this? According to a bro- ‘chure for the product, the Pro-Curler was “the perfect ccurler for perfect curls” that ‘would “give you a complete coiffure, back curls, side ‘curls, top curls and all.” Questions & Answers easier by sealing end grain, swirly grain and any area of wood likely to absorb more finish than its surroundings. Asaresul, it makes whatev- er comes next, whether that’s stain or fini uniformly. ‘Giue size as shown onthe left side ofthis pane, prevents end grain ‘tom absorbing too much stain done with hot hide glue, and there are several ood reasons for that. Hide glue can be cut to any viscosity and contains only water and protein, so there are no issues with solvents cauising wood sap to bleed. It seals wonderfully, sands easily without gum. ‘ming up the paper, and even takes water-and alcohol based dyes, something other _glues resist. Once dry, it won't shrink under subse- quent finish coats, and itis compatible under all finishes. Try putting glue size on cone half of the end grai of an oak board, Sand it smooth, then stain both the flat and end grain areas with pigment stain. You'l see right away why this was such a highly prized technique. February 2017 Woodworker's JournalMoisture Meters pin and pinless rom Lignomat ¥ better quality better accuracy Vetter warranty Vbetter customer service Don't waste time and money on wet wood, use a moisture meter itt Paetny Rieter re ccuMASTER Precision Woodworking Tools + Resolution: 1/64", 0.0005". 0.01 mm + Fractions, decimal inches or millimeters 2.in-1 Digital Angle Gauge + Accuracy: +/-0.2° + Magnetically attaches to blades, tables and more + "Always on” backlight 4, ‘ SH CALCULATED INDUSTRIES For a dealer near you call 1-800-854-8075 or go to www.calculated.com F S ROCKLER" Woodworker’ Journal February 2017 PIHER eS EXCLUSIVE DESIGN & HIGH QUALITY for more information: www pihercomur author exar- ines why an exhibit of hand 18th century Rhode Isand uritre is relevant to you today — and shares resources like the furniture library pictured below. Rhode Island Furniture and Its Impact his past fall, Tattend- Rhode Island History Almost al ofthe towns edasymposium that To further understand the Rhode Island were destroyed kicked offan exciting impact of 17th century Rhode between 1675-76 in King. exhibit at Yale University’s Art Island furniture, we need —_Phillip’s War, a conflict with Gallery: Art and Industry into learn some history. The the local Native Americans. Early America, Rhode Island modern state of Rhode Island Newport, however, was, Furniture 1650 to 1830. isthe amalgamation of two spared due to its remote ‘The question that Iam British colonies founded in the location on the south end of, sure you're asking is: Why is 1600s: Rhode Island and Prov. Aquidneck Island, Because Rhode Island furniture from idence Plantations (the state's ofthis war, Rhode Island the 1600s relevant today? _offcial name). Founders grav- furniture from before 1676 One reason is economic: In itated there to find religious _is extremely rare. Newport's 1989, a Chippendale desk and and ideological freedom, woodworkers prospered bookcase with an attribution ‘The geographic area replacing all the houses and indicating it was built by called “the point” in the furniture destroyed in King Daniel Spencer of Providence northern partof Newport Philip's War. sold at Christie's Auction became the equivalent of House for $12.1 million. This an 18th century sect of ship Goddards and Townsends hhad further repercussions: carpenters, joiners and, most Woodworkers on the point the Kindel Furniture Compa- importantly to this narrative, were predominately Quak- ny of Grand Rapids, Michi-_cabinetmakers. Newport had ers, giving a heavy Englis gan, makesaline of repro- fine deepwater harbor that influence to their style, but An almostidenical piece to this duction furniture, including _attracted a newly emerging _ there was also influence from Chippendale desk and bookcase sold a similar desk and bookcase. merchant class, for over $12 milion at auction. Both hey needed Dutch and French craftsmen, wccmisuedte ene! Sencera’ Following that auction, they ships, homes and furniture Two Quaker families im- Providence. RIF36O1 received 87 orders for their forthese homes, which re-_ portant to Rhode Island cabi- reproduction, thus employing quired a prodigious number _netmaking purchased lots on agreat many woodworkers. of woodworkers. the point in 1724-25. Cabi 20 February 2017 Woodworker's JournalNw = ve! og yest Oe ne This map of woodworkers properties on Easton's Point, Newport. between 1715-1740, shows there was no lock of woodworkers inthe area. netmaker brothers Job and Christopher Townsend came from Oyster Bay, New York, and set up separate shops. Daniel Goddard was a house carpenter. Daniel's sons John and James Goddard appren- ticed under Job Townsend and each married one of his daughters. Christopher’s son John Townsend also set up shop in Newport. For over century, 20 descendants of these two families plied the woodworking trade from Newport, selling their furniture in the coastal trade as far as the West Indies. John Goddard and the three Townsends worked in the Queen Anne and Chippendale styles and made furniture with a design de ‘veloped in Rhode Isiand, the block front with the blocking capped with carved shells. ‘The shells were alternately ccarved convex and con- cave, to eye-catching effect. Further styling the claw and ball foot of cabriole legs by undercutting the talons was known in England and Ireland, but Rhode Island was the only place in the Cok nies that incorporated this innovation. John Townsend did this to dramatic effect on the high chest shown in the photo at right. All ofthese cabinetmakers except Job Townsend, who died in 1765, worked through the golden age of Rhode Istand furniture: 1740 to 1790. Newport, and Rhode Island in general, developed an iconic furniture style, the vestiges ‘of which can still be seen in high-end commercial furni- ‘ure. That is another reason why studying this furniture is vwell worth our time. te a inet oe. sO By This Chippendale high chest made ‘by John Townsend, exemplifies the Newport style: the ron catriole logs are carvod with canthus and ‘shell patterns, andthe bal feet ‘nave undercut talons. RIF3606 Woodworker's Journal February 2017 Provenance Aproblem with studying Colonial era furniture is attribution: Where, and by whom, was a piece ‘made? This is called provenance. Cabinet- makers ofthat era often did not sign their work, so style and methods of work. play an important part in establishing provenance. If you belong toa woodworking ‘club, you know that you can often look at a piece on the show-and+ell table and cor rectly say, “Joe made that.” In the 20th century, style ‘was a prime factor in attribut- ing pieces. In an example of this method’s shortcomings, many pieces attributed to John Goddard have now been unattributed. ‘The type of wood used, especially secondary woods, ‘can help historians to say a piece was made in, say, Boston rather than Newport, but it can be very hard to identify one piece of newly cut, let alone centuries-old, wood from another. Eastern cotton- ‘wood (Populus deltoides) and yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) are poster children for this phenomenon, Both are tightgrained with great ‘working properties. Both can be stained to look like much more expensive species. Left unfinished for S0-plus years (finishing the insides of eab- inets and drawers isa post- World War Il happening), these two woods are difficult to tell apart by naked eye. A much more accurate method is to look at end ‘grain under 10x magnifi- cation and compare it to A splendid example of n icon Rhode sland block fran The ‘bureau table is signed on the underside: "Made/By Edmund Townsend /In Newport Rhode Isfand 1764" RUF6BS Secondary woods used fr drawer Sides and backs, as well as case shacks and bottoms, can sometines ‘be hei in identiyng location for provenance, 21Shop Talk continued macrophotographs. Use of microscopic examine. tion, as wel valuable aid in further- has become ing provenance. Histo- now using \drochronology, which microscopically analyzes individual growth rings down to the year they vwere laid down, Each growth ring has a fingerprint. It ‘was used recently to rescue apiece of furniture at the Getty Museum from being labeled a fake to a 1580 original Finish is also an indicator. ‘Owners often had pieces modified, An example in Provenance: Celeb Gardner, st ‘made this easy chair in Nowport in 1758 or the Keech family. The ‘rame has pinned mortise and tenon construction. BIF76B IMORe ON THE WEB he keynote ade stand Furniture Archive and ee ae Philip Zimmerman’s opening ale Furniture Study, please V8it—eynote address at the Yale woodwortersjounaleom andclick symposium was a Rhode n"Move on the Web" under Island piece that an auction b house had described as an 18th century fall front desk with a bookcase that was added in the 20th century. Analysis of the finish, however, indicat ced that the finish on both halves of the piece was identical and original, greatly increasing the piece’s provenance Another method to establish provenance is ownership. Ifwe kknow from an account book who purchased a piece of furniture from agiven maker and we can trace this ownership through senerations of the buyer's, family, attribution is much more assured. In the past, hhad to travel to nd the owner's ‘A book, available fom the Yale ‘Art Gallery, has entries and photos ‘on all the pieces inthe exhibit. ‘Art and Industry in Early America: Rhode Island Furniture, 150 to 1830, ISBN 978-0-300-2786-1, ahistori the maker 22 The author took this photo of classe 180 century style dovetails on 2 oka Towncond chest atthe Yale Furniture Study. towns to research probate and church records, but these records are increasing: ly online. Genealogical sites are also much more sophis- ticated today. This makes research in general easier and finding the authentic ity of less valuable works possible. All of these tools are changing thoughts about who built given pieces of furniture, as is the case with John Goddard are included in the captions for the furniture featured in this article). A parallel research tool isthe Yale Furniture Study (htp://artgalleryyale.edw/ urniturestuds). This is a ‘warehouse filled with more than 1,100 pieces of Ame: can furniture. tis a working library where furniture can be studied in three dimen sions. I spent two days, there in 2008 photographing dovetail joints forthe history Resources for You section for my book, Wood- Areally exciting outgrowth workers Guide to Dovetail. of the 15 years of research Furniture study is open to that Yale University ArtGak anyone by prior arrangement lery decorative arts curator and there isa public tour Patricia A. Kane and her col every Friday at 12:30 p.m. leagues put into the exhibit is You might want to take the Rhode Island Furniture advantage ofthese resources, Archive, RIFA for short. This along with the book that ‘online database lists all of accompanies the exhibit, the known information on a because building repro hhuge body of Rhode Island ductionsis relevant! Just furniture and in most cases like people rave every time has a photograph. To see the Christoph Von Dohnanyi goldmine of information that leads the Cleveland Orches has been compiled, goto the tra in another interpretation database at htip://rfa.art, of Beethoven, furniture is salecedu/index.him and type performance art! in RIF plus the number (no Eine Conover 2 spaces; RIF numbers February 2017 Woodworker's Journalne error a4 BLOCK DOG TABLES Combine with Armor’s Tools best in class Auto-Adjust hearted chert Dera A RCTS] Bete 36" $339 complete Seeger ee ee) PU a ear er gard aur nr| ee ory aoe Eau Te tet cue een erm Coen) Detailed with full size L ex drawings 8 text +23-year proven . program > A+ rank with Plan #82 $18.50 ei; 4 the BBB Exc) aca eo, ee " Visit our website advanced woodcrators rian aga Siealtaarh "Mra vet 16 Pg catalog of plansiparts $1 or free with order More plans @ larmorplans.com gum, Plan #24 $14.95, Pony Rocker is, [36° Lx 24° H Ea aE Woodworker's Journal February 2017 the Classic Look Meet eels Dovetails. LEIGH 24" D4R PRO Exceptional Versatility Superb Dust Control 23Woodturning Turning “Ivory” Nuts By Ernie Conove Cea CU eC (ge Ie ORR RO RRC nana in option is a lot frienc TJ) #ckin the 18th and > 19th centuries when fone. to 10:man turn: workers were really the first plastic fabricators, using heat to reshape the horns from oval to round before turning, 5 BI 2 0 ers’ shops produced a host ‘of useful household items, ‘our forefathers did not just turn wood. Bone, antler, horn Ivory was turned extensive ly to make billiard balls, bagpipes, inlays, buttons and sewing paraphernalia, Even in the 18th century, and ivory were materials they purchased in quantity y Many useful ites were turned from cow bone and though, ivory was expensive itwas only within the reach deer antler—the bearings of the most well-heeled customers, Around 1820, an alternative was found in the form of tagua, the nut ofthe ivory palm tree (macrocarpa in spinning wheels being an example. Up until about 1820, some shops specialized in working with cow horn, making powderhorns and produce tagua buttons. The worldwide demand became so great that ivory palm plantations ‘were established in South America. Most of their output went to buttons, which are ‘turned, albeit by sophisticat- ced machines. In 1887, it was estimated that three million nuts were required to supply the factories of London and Birmingham, England, alone. One of the biggest button producers, the German American Button Company, ‘was established in Rochester, New York, in 1893, It sur- vived long after most of the ‘other taggua button compa nies had switched to plastic ‘or gone out of business. In the 20th century, plastic began to displace tagua, but carly plastic was brittle and did not take to hot irons well, Sail, improvements in plastic came fast, such that by the 1930s the tagua plantations {ell into neglect and the jungle took over. Tagua Today Today, turners and the art world are again revering tagua. Available from Craft Supplies USA and Amazon for abouta buck apiece, ivory nut is great fun to turn, carve and scrimshaw — just like ivory. Itleaves the elephant, however, alive and well. ‘The only drawback to veg- table ivory is that about 95% Woodworker's Journal February 2017 of tagua nuts have a fissure at the center, ranging from mild to severe. Learning to ‘work around (literally) this problem is problematic at first, but you soon get handy at maximizing the yield. ‘To make the nut into a small vessel, itis useful to think oft as an egg. Ifyou examine the nut, you will perceive that there is a bump ‘where it was attached to the tree, which marks one end of the long axis of our egg. You ‘want to make this the mouth of your miniature bowl At the other end of this axis you need to sand a small flat spot —about the size of a dime is good. This can be done with a dise sander, a piece of sandpaper on the bench or coarse file, You now gue the nut toa level glue block. ‘on a faceplate with medium cyanoacrylate glue, centering, as best you can, You can also grab the long axis between centers and scrape a short tenon to grab ina fourjaw chuck. I show the technique in this article's More on the Web video. ‘You can now use normal spindle turning techniques to hollow out and shape your This isa fairly typical batch of agua nuts, although these stil have the shell — whichis ‘mostly removed on nuts you buy today. The author made the fat spot for ‘chucking this nutat adie sander Tagua turns easily with sharp spindle tools, and it loves scraping ‘Alter sanding to 400-gri, you con ‘ving tagua toa bright fish with any polish. The author used @ metal polish bere automotive buffing ‘compound also works well 25,Woodturning continued ae = ae ~ The handle on this Damascus screwdriver is racewood with a German silver erate and a tagua nut escutcheon. ‘When the logo circle fell out ofthe authors Boker Tree Brand kai, he ‘turned a vow one from tagua and serimshawed a tree of sorts) on it He press ft tino the recess and socured with a drop of cyanoacrylate glue. ‘miniature vessel. A spindle gouge will work fine, but it needs to be very sharp and will dull more quickly than with wood. Tagua loves scraping, and small, sharp scrapers with a good burr will shape and smooth beau tifull. You wil hit the fissure; the objective is to turn this away. You now shape the The author contrasted this tagua knob Ebony and ivory redux: inthis case, the author ‘made an ebony knob with a tagua (ivory nut dot with an ebony dot 26 ‘outside to the shape of the in ‘de, leaving a thin wall. Sand to about 400grit, then polish with a very small bit of cloth and fine automotive polishing ‘compound. The result will be spectacular! You can also drill a hole through the long axis of the ‘egg, forming a tube. You can ‘now join that to other such tubes by gluing or chasing threads between them. A ‘modification of this idea is to turn a vessel, then make a tightfitting cap out of anoth- cer nut to form a small box. Try Miniature Slabs Another approach is to cut the nut into slabs using a backsaw, scroll saw or band saw. If using the band sav, it is best to make the aforemen- tioned flat spot, glue the nut toa length of wood, and use this strip as a handle to do the band sawing safely. Once ‘you make the first cut, you ‘can work around the fissure and get nice slabs. The slabs can be glued to a flattened ‘ue block to make buttons, inlays and escutcheons. ‘You can cut very nice patterns in vegetable ivory. with chatter tools With ‘wood, chatter work can ony be done in end grain, but it canbe done anywhere on the surface ofa tagua turning Ivory nut can also be scrim- shawed, the same as real ivory. Turn what you want toscrimshaw —a button, eseutcheon, ete. Bring ittoa good polish, then draw your idea lightly in pencil. Next ap- ply any wax onto the surface and buff well, With a sharp, pointed seriber, scratch your pattern into the vegetable ivory. A sharpened awl works fine. Now rub some Ini inkeinto your drawing. The ‘wax will prevent the ink from adhering except where you have scratched, Turning tagua is a nice ‘change from wood and can be done in any lathe, no mat. terhow small. Ahardo-ind, but fun, read that can serve 4s an additional resource is the outofprint book AU! fn ‘A Nutshell: The Story Of The Vegetable Ivory Nut by Shirt Schabillon, Above all, [heartily urge you to buy some vegetable ivory and go nuts with your lathe —pun intended! Ernie Conover isthe proprietor ‘of Conover Workshops. Hes the author of The Lathe Book and The Frugal Woodturer. February 2017 Woodworker's JournalRe] Pea ete TRE} Dae eee eRe ee Aaa ebecl lea pid ad H Fy a n ‘space or need an extension to an existing workbench because you have Parra la sikh epee D D B ee ee ce (a Me ale nna tears SO ea ee ue Se esa) Baltic birch plywood and features an array of" diameter dog holes, plus Vertas® Wonder Pup*, each 05G10.02 See Mee en ee De i sce CRC CE er ec ee Latha ace ap cho ec cn Rae Se Ln NU es ta ene cecal eialitrbel Hadi eed ice i gear Ui al hack tlic Pee ec ec ad clamping accessories, view our TC Re agree i Lee Valley & veritas’ Cee eee SERS MIL) on £ in) 7 i] LLCS ATSPADE BOOKCASE By Willie Sandry With locking miter joints, a concealed dovetailed drawer ai delicate spa ; bookcase is chock-full of woodworking cl his Arts & Crafts style book I ‘case is modest in size, yet large ‘enough for functional storage. Unlike typical purchased bookcases, it’s made with more hardwood than ply ‘wood. I built this case from quartersawn white oak; however, cherry would look ‘great as well. It features two inset doors, ‘graced with a series of delicate inlays, plus a top with a slight overhang (1" on the top and sides; 1" on the back). The hardware includes hammered bail pulls, classic to the Arts & Crafts style, and fully adjustable spring-closing hinges. Locking Miter Joints ‘The side assemblies are a good place to get started, and I began by milling ‘enough stock for the entire project. Pay particular attention to the long boards that will form the front legs. Make sure this stock is straight, and rip two con: secutive 2/4"-wide strips from the same board. This way, you will be rewarded with grain that wraps seamlessly around the front legs when you're through. Starting with these strips slightly wider than needed is a ood idea, so they can later be edge jointed and ripped to the finished width of 2" Also add three to four inches of extra length so you can trim off any router snipe that may occur while routing the locking miters. Treat them as ifthey were a tabletop glue-up; their edges should align without forcing them together. Mark the pairs of work- pieces with the edge to be milled for a locking miter joint. ‘Take the leg strips to the router table and set up a locking miter bit. I used a shop-made setup block, but if one is unavailable you will need to make a few test cuts. Start by raising the locking miter bit 1/16" above the workpiece thickness. Make small adjustments to 28 February 2017 Woodworker's JournalLM Fe Met With spacer strips adhered to the router table fence, make the first pass of the locking miter joint on both work pieces of each leg. Then remove the spacer srps and cut the second pass to complete these joins. the fence or bit height until you are sat- isfied with the fit. Set the router fence and bit depth and lock them in. These settings will not change again Itis often said that locking miter joints need to be cut in one pass, Whi infact is not true. In my experience, routing locking miters in two passes will reduce chipout and yield a cleaner finished cut, and here's how it's done: Use double-sided carpet tape to adhere spacers to the router fence. The spacers. are nothing more than 1/4"thick MDF or hardboard, Naw make the first pass ‘on each leg component. Remember that ‘one piece is milled flat on the router table, while the adjoining piece is held vertically against the router fence. ‘Then simply remove the spacers from the fence, and make a second pass to remove the remaining waste material. This is a good time to glue up the front legs, and it’s during this stage that we see the real benefit of locking, miters. Use thick cauls and clamp the joint together. Since the locking miter is selfaligning, clamping pressure only needs to be applied in one direction, ‘While the legs are drying, turn your attention to the side panels. Imade the side panels from 3/4" oak, and planed them down to 1/2" thickness after the ‘glue dried. These small panels will fi through most planers, and it saves considerable sanding that way. While the panel clamps are out, go ahead and Woodworker's Journal February 2017 make up the door panels and top panel as well. Cut a fulHlength groove in the legs to receive the side panels. Trim the legs to final length and mark the location of three mortises on each leg. Now chop those mortises 1"deep using a hol- low-chisel mortiser. The grooves guide the chisel for perfectly centered morts- es, With the same setup at the mortiser, rake one adltional mortise on each of the front legs to receive the long top rail (Gee the Draseings). “The side assemblies are staightfor ‘ward with mortiseandenon constrc- tion. The tenons ofthe top and bottom rail are haunched to fill the long groove in the legs. The only hiccup is that the top rail is curved. ‘This means you must first shape the top railto the desired curve, before cutting the groove in its edge. I chose a curve with a 7/8! deflection atthe ape. After the top nil curve vas faired, Trouted the slot with a threesving cuter atthe router table. Use a slot cuter with a euting width ‘passes until it slides easily into the grooved legs. less than 1/4". This way, the groove can >be made in multiple passes, flipping it each time to create a centered cut. Assembling the Side Panels Once all the parts of the side assemblies are ready, you can size the side panels to fit. Trace the curve from the top rail ‘onto the side panel. Use a 1/2" spacer block to extend the arc to establish a cut Tine, Now trim and fair the panel curve, before rabbeting the panel to fit. Since the top of the panel is curved, the rabbet, isbest cut on the router table with a bearing guided rabbeting bit One quick step needs to be taken care of before the side panels can be 29‘any upleasant suprises. Small ‘clamping cau inset proect the ‘rabbet onthe back othe side assem- ‘lies during clmping so that direct pressure can be applied in with ‘the mortise-and-fenon joints Hold the rabboted clamping cauls in place with smal sprig clamps 50 you'll have an easier time installing largar ‘lamps to draw the joints tight assembled: cut a5/8"-deep x 1/2"-wide rabbet on the back legs to receive the back panel. (After inserting the back panel into the rabbets, you'll attach it with 18 gauge brad nails.) This rabbet needs to be milled before the sides are assembled; otherwise the “L""shaped front legs will interfere with the cut after, assembly. Now testfit the panels to ensure the ‘curved panel is a good match to the curved top ral. Ifyou choose to cross- peg the joint with square pegs, cut those atthe pegs witha Msh-trinming saw. A thin piece ofnon-corrgated cardboard protects the wood yet allows a very close ti. Finish the ob with a random-orbit sander ‘Burnih the locking miter joints’ outside corners with a screwdriver shat or burnishing too 30 mortises now. (Alternately, round peg holes can be drilled after assembly.) ‘Now, glue and clamp the side assem- bilies. I sized the panels to allow for at least 1/3" of seasonal movement. With floating panels such as these, its help- ful to use spacers to center the panel, ‘There are commercially available panel spacers, but Ijust use self-adhesive foam weatherstripping. Make up a quick batch of clamping cauls to ride the rab- bet on the back legs. Rabbet the caul to mirror the profile of the rear legs, then cut it into three pieces — one for each rail. They will prevent damage to the thin lip on the back legs: they also direct nping pressure to properly ‘The mortise-and-tenon joints can now be cross-pegged, trimmed flush and sanded. Then burnish the lock miter joints with a smooth-shaft screwdriver. This helps to meld the corner fibers of the joint together, and i's a step I rec- ‘ommend even ifthe joints are flawless. Finish-sand the parts with a random orbit sander, and ease the long edges with a sanding block, Cutting Dadoes (with a Trick) Because the locking miter joints were glued together before the side panels, were assembled, you'll face an interest ng challenge at this point in terms of cutting the dadoes, Normally, one could ‘ly mill dadoes inthe side assemblies with a router. However, most jigs and straightedge guides won't work in this application, because the “L" shaped front legs get in the way. I borrowed an old trick to make an exact-width dado jig that could reliably locate and mill both dadoes on the side assemblies. You simply use two boards with spacer strips underneath as straightedges to cut the dadoes — they also raise the router so it avoids the front leg protrusions. Slide the boards together to gauge the thick- ness of your shelf stock, Use a scrap Of the actual material you will use for the shelf, and butt the straightedges against it so the opening is the same width as the shelf is thick. Clamp the guides in place, and rout the dadoes with a bearing-guided template bit. ‘The bearing follows the guide boards, creating a dado that exactly matches the thickness of the shelf. ‘A second advantage here to this jig- and-bit setup is that the bearing stops the bit when it contacts the front leg. ‘This prevents you from inadvertently The autor used two pieces of plywood with ‘spacer strips attached to set the width ofthe shelf dadoes A piece of shelving served asa ‘spacer for clamping them correctly These boards ‘also raised the rower and enabled itt avoid the "shaped eg obstructions. February 2017 Woodworker's Journal‘outing the upper dadoes: Clamp the large guide board tothe botiom ofthe side assembly ond ‘the small guide hoard beside itt form the dado opening. Rout the 38°-doop dado witha hoar- ‘ng-guided template bit that's narrower than the dado opening. Follow both board edges. routing too far. To build the full-size jig, ‘cut one piece of 3/4" plywood to 29%" x 13" and another piece to 4" x 13", Brad- nail strips of 1/2" plywood to the guide boards to raise them flush with the front legs. Mark the reference edge of the large and the small guide boards, and use the same reference edge on both sides of the bookcase. The lower plywood shell receives a hardwood strip to ‘ide its edge. This hardwvoed strip must be the same thicknees asthe shell. tachi wth biscuits ond glue. To plow the first dado, position the large guide board flush with the bottom of the side assembly. Then sandwich a scrap of shelf stock between the large and small guide boards. Once the jigs are securely clamped in place, go ahead and rout the upper dado. For the second dado operation, position the small guide board against the bottom of the side assembly. Repeat the shelf sandwiching procedure, and rout the lower dado. Make the long top ral forthe book- case next, starting with cutting tenons. to fit the mortises in the side assem- bilies. Then cut and fair the long gentle curve on the top rail, and ease the lower edges with a small roundover bit. ‘Adding Shelving At this point, a dry as -mbly will, help you determine accurate dimensions for the two fixed rough size. The lower fixed shelf receives a 2"-wide edging strip, which I attached with biscuits and glue. Plane the hardwood strip to the exact thickness of the lower shelf first, before attaching it Now that you have the final dimen- sions of the two fixed shelves, go ahead and trim them to size. Next, notch the lower fixed shelf to fit around the front legs. I started these notches with a tall auxiliary fence attached toa miter gauge atthe table saw, and finished Cut notches onthe front ends ofthe lower fixed shell wsing a al fence attached to your miter gouge. ‘Use the rp fence asa stop and sneak up on a perfect ft. Finish these notches at the band saw. Woodworker's Journal February 2017 ‘outing the lower dadoes: Clamp the small guide board ‘o tho bottom oth side assembly this i the large guide board beside it Rout the lower dado, ‘and clamp Bring the sides, fixed shelves and top ral t- ‘gether with gle and clamps. f you're judicious with the glue 2 this stage, youl have less cleanup ttend to late. | ‘Dont instal the edging onthe upper shell until «ater you've completed the main case assembly. them atthe band saw. Apply glue to the mortises and dadoes, and bring the case sides, two fixed shelves and top rail together, ‘Take note thatthe upper fixed shelf is not yet edged with hardwood at this stage — its our next step. Cut the hard ‘wood edging for the upper fixed shelf to length, and install it wth biscuits and tlue. The clamps from the main case assembly can actually lex the shelves 31workpieces for Milling Spade-shaped Inlays flat doors. Before permanently assembling the Rip the rails doors, it’s time to make spade-shaped and stiles to panel inlays. Start by making two: 1" wide, and templates from 3"-wide x 5/8"-thick ‘crosscut them hardwood scraps. Use a 1/2" Forstner toleagth. Now, — bit to dil two holes to establish the with afull-kerf curved lobes of the spade shape. I cut combination the Jong sem ofthe template opening blade, mill 1/4". with a spiral router bit and edge guide. Wide, 1/2"deep you're not comfortable with that tech ‘grooves in all nique, a jigsaw and sanding block may the rails and work as well. ‘Haunch the tenons (see inset) and rab- stiles for the Use a plunge router fitted with an ‘bet the door panels. When you bring the door panels. inlay guide bushing kit to excavate ‘parts together to test the fit a suff putty Be sure these each panel recess to 1/8" deep. With fate ca bl cnet poe who froovesarecen- the small brass colar or“weding tng” tered. Take the __ installed on the guide bushing, you are. slightly and cause measurement inaccu- stiles over to the mortiser and deepen ready for the first step in the inlay pro- racies. For this reason, remove the long __ the mortises to 1". cess. Position the template on the door clamps before taking measurements for Install a dado blade and sacrificial panel, and clamp it in place. (Bits of the hardwood edging. fence on the table saw next, and cut carpet tape can further prevent shifting tenons to fit the mortises. Haunch the here.) Follow the template around the Building Doors tenons to fil the groove, and drysitthe perimeter in a clockwise direction, and ‘Thisis the point in case construction _doors to check your progress. Ifthe cor- finish by removing the rest ofthe waste that [like best. You have a carcass that ner joints on both doors look good, go inside the template area, is glued together, and you can now ahead and rabbet the back of the panels. To create the inlays themselves, I ‘move on to more interesting details to fit the door frames. While the corner chose some nice Peruvian walnut that such as the two doors that grace the _joints should have a snug fit, [like the _ offers good contrast with the white oak. lower compartment of the bookcase. solid panels to easil Remove the “wedding ring” from the rough:milled the parts for the door frames and stacked and stickered them overnight. I jointed them again the next morning and planed them to final thickness. ‘This two-stage milling sequence 7 i takes more time, *: oy Dut [believe it Bah “td — = yields straighter With the “wedding ring” coller onthe inlay kt guide bushing. Remove the “wedding ving,” clamp th same tomplate othe ‘ill a spade recess in each door panel using your template. inlay stock, and “race” the inlays to shape. = ‘Cut the infays free atthe band saw by resawing them. Painters tape will catch them as they fll ree (et photo. Chanter their back edges slighty, ‘ppiy glue and tap them in place (center photo). A thick clamping aul (right photo) distributes pressure over the inlay until the glue des. 32 February 2017 Woodworker's JournalSide Assembly Use View) Front Rail, Top fF View) AT {|i be 19 Door Assembly ‘ont View) 1" z MATERIAL LIST TxWxl 1 Lops (6) 3/8" 2°60" 2 Side Rails, Upper (2) 3 Side Rails, Middle (2) 4 Side Rails, Lower (2) 5 Side Panels, Upper (2), x10 x28" 6 Side Panels, Lower (2) UE x x2 7 Top Panel) 3/4" x 15/ x38 8 Corbals (6) asrees 9 Front Rail, Top (1) 3/8" x3" x33 10 Roar Rail Top(1) 1/8 1 33 1 Shel Edging, Adjustable (2) 3/4" x2" x33 12 Shel Edging, Upper Fined (1) _3/4°x2" x31" 18 Sho Edging Lower Fixed (1|_ 29/82" x2" x40" 14 Door Stiles (4) 9/8" x1 x23" 15 Door Rails (4) 3/8 xT XT Woodworker's Journal February 2017 16 Door Panels (2) 17 Drawer Fron (1) 18 Drawer Sides (2) 19 Drawer Back{1) 20 Drawer Bottom (i) 21 Thin Drawer Slide Blocking (2) 1/2" "x 11 22 Thick Drawer Slide Blocking (2)3/4" 4" x 1176 23 Drawer Slides (2) 3/8 1/2 24 Door Hinge Blocking (@) 1x33 25 Spade inlay Blank (1), 26 Shel, Adjustable (2) 21 Shel Upper Fixed (1) 28 Shel, Lower Fixed (t) 129 Back Pon 1), M2 x13" x 20% 3/4 x10 x30 WE x34 x60" 33uide bushing now, and set the router for a slightly deeper cut than the inlay recesses you've made, Using the same patterns, carefully mill around the eter ina clockwise direction, Keep the guide bushing in contact with the template throughout the cut. [find it helpful to trace the radius of the router sub-base on the template. This helps me anticipate when the router will enter the detailed spade shape. Apply some paint: er’s tape over the inlay areas to catch them when they are released, Plow 12"-wide x1/16-deep grooves into the plywood ‘spacer strips Using the same setup, cut a slghly deeper ‘r00ve into the drawer sides. Hardwood drawer nnners will it between these grooves. 34 — The author needed to shorten the center dovetail pn atthe band ‘Saw to Keep it rm intersecting the drawer groove (see inset). and “resaw” the inlays free at the band saw — make them slightly thicker than the depth of the recess, Now lightly chamfer the back edge of the spade inlay with sandpaper to ease the fit, Place the inlay over its recess to check for any gaps. If you are satisfied, go ahead and glue and tap the inlay home, Drawer Time At this point, you ‘can measure and construct the hidden drawer. chose a traditional drawer with half- blind dovetails at the front and through dovetails at the back. ‘The drawer is side-hung on ‘wooden runners, which require blocking in the lower section of the case. One strip of 3/4" plywood, stacked with one strip of 1/2" plywood, will ring the blocking flush with the inside of the drawer ‘opening. Make these but don't install them yet; they'll receive a shallow groove to locate the ‘wooden runners. Only a couple of details remain to fit the drawer to its opening. On my rear dovetail layout, I needed to shorten the ‘rear middle pins at the band ‘saw to prevent them from interfering with the wooden runners. Finally, since this is a hidden drawer, the visible gap between the drawer front and the case should be minimal. But, these tight tolerances can cause friction and prevent the drawer ‘Make a stopped cut atthe jimerto rin the width ofthe drawer sides for ‘etter sliding clearance. Stop the cut just short ofthe half bind ‘dovetail joints at the fron ofthe drawer from operating smoothly. To solve this issue, [jointed the drawer sides and back slightly narrower than the drawer front to provide some extra clearance. Once that’s done, you are ready to hang the drawer in the case. Using the same router table setup and a 1/2"-lia, straight bit, plow a 1/16"-deep, centered groove into both plywood spacer strips and the drawer sides. The grooves in the drawer sides should stop 1%" from the front edges. Mill hardwood stock for the drawer run- ners, sized to slide easily in the grooves, Drawer Assembly ‘Side View! ial February 2017 Woodworker's JournalThe author constructed a template routing jig with hold-down clamps (eft phote) o shape the corbels. He lef the corb blank extra-long for more ‘secure clamping, then routed both ends bofore trimming each blank into a pair of same-longth corbols. and trim their front ends round. Install the plywood spacer inside the case with glue and brads, and mount the drawer ‘runners in the spacer slots. ‘Insal the corbels witha single #20 biscuit and glue. For ‘the best possible ft install the top panel before attaching the corbels. Corbels and Other Final Details ‘There are six duplicate corbels to make. [used a long router template and bearing-guided pattern bit to shape these, two ata time, on the same piece ‘of stack (see two top photos). Start with 9! ong corbel stock, and once you've fashioned the curve on your router jig, use that to trace the corbel shapes. Cut the corbel workpieces slightly outside their layout Fines at the band saw. Then camp them inthe hs routing jg. and rout F the corbel stock about 1 halfway tf along its -! length. Flip the blank over, reclamp and rout its other end tomatch, Finally, trim the corbels tofinished Jength, and cut a small cham- fer on the bottom edge. ‘The corbels are attached with biscuits, so #20 bi cuit slots need to be cut in the bookshelf and corbels. Use the fence on your biscuit joiner to center these slots. Before installing them, finish-sand the top panel, and ease its edges with a small roundover bit Temporarily install the top with “figure 8° fasteners and #6 wood screws. Now slue the corbels in place with biscui ‘making sure they seat tightly against the top panel 1 eS Bookcase Hard-to-Find Hardware 105° Clip Top Statuary Bronze Inset Hinges (2) #37793. eee Lei) Woodworker's Journal February 2017 ‘You still need to make four mounting blocks and glue them inside the lower cabinet for the self-closing hinges. Make sure the blocks are glued to the front legs only, and not to the floating panels. Cut the 1/2"thick plywood back to size and test the fit, then attach a narrow strip of hardwood to its top inside edge for installing figure 8 fasteners here, ‘Take a final look over the case with worktight and complete any final sanding as needed. Then apply the finish of your choice. [used Rodda #19 fruitwood oil based stain (deep base) and two coats of sprayed lacquer in a satin sheen. 1 ‘wet sanded the final coat of lacquer with a 1,500grit sanding sponge. Working with the grain and using a light hand produced asmooth finish with a subtle glow. Willie Sandy is fumiture maker and a lumber in operator in Camas, Washington. ‘Staining the drawer fronts prior 1 assembly pro vides good contrast othe maple drawer sides.36 By Sandor Nagyszalanezy There's a time in every woodworker’ life when folding stands and rickety tables just won't do. When you're ready for a real workbench with a solid top and sturdy legs, consider building it yourself : aS 4 wrokbeach it A Sorbassatauaners ket plane, and a well-made bench pai ceatusien cuit edge, sanding a panel, sawing a part to, length) easier and more comfortable. Seton nieae ee omy” workbench in my shop for year decided that it was high time to buil a well-designed, seriously heavy-duty cues 2a eel ng eet I designed combines some elements en are Ronen caen Peano Sladen ee ramen e paleo ans Deere ee top laminated together from strips of En yee mre War camtonnats can solace for clamp-ups and assembly work, while ‘still being compact enough to fit even in Sea reas A tasion, iy bench fea tures both a front vise and an end vise. Both of these heavy-duty vises have a large clamping capacity and a uick-release feature for rapid adjust ‘ments. The end vise, which is the full width of the bench top, has holes for bench dogs and is used in conjunction with a series of dog holes. Bench dogs and other holddown accessories help clamp parts to the bench surface, The heavy bench top is supported by a sturdy base rade up of 3" square legs Jamminated together from thinner stock joined with wide stretchers. The longer stretchers attach tothe leg assemblies with strong bolts serewed into eross dowels. ‘Ate sipping al stip forthe workbench op. the author puts them in onde caling any that shave warped. ‘The bolts allow the base to be taken apart, which makes it much easier to transport or store. Casters allow the bench to be rolled around the shop; when retracted, the legs remain firmly planted on the floor. February 2017 Woodworker's Journaldownloaded from www.cro-wood.com, LoneWolf‘Aner applying a bead of glue along the length of each top ‘sti, a rubber roller is used to spread the glue ito a thin, ‘ven layer. ‘To provide storage, my bench fea. tures two deep drawers which ride on over travel fullex A.wider drawer stores clamps, portable power tools, ete., and a narrower drawer is for smaller stuff. The housing cont ing the drawers is nestled into grooves in the base's long stretchers and is positioned far enough below the bench top so as not to get in the way when, clamping parts to the top. The housing’s upper surface provides a handy shelf, sgreat for keeping clamps or bench dogs, close at hand, as well as for catching screws or sinall parts that accidentally drop through the dog hole n drawer slides, Making the Bench Top One of the hallmarks of a great work bench is hardwood top that’s thick enough to hold bench dogs steady and take all manner of pounding and heavy ‘work operations without buckling or flexing. I made the top of my bench ‘out of some locally sourced maple, but any good grade (the less knots, the better), close-grained hardwood will do. I started by planing 8/4 stock down to V4" thick, then ripping 12 strips, plus a few extra, that are 2 58" long. Unless you have a 24” plane easiest to do the glue-up in stages: glue together two subassemblies of six strips cach, then run these through a thick ness planer and glue them together to form the final top. After discarding any strips that are warped or have other fatal The ends ofthe top ae trimmed square using ‘circular sav fted with a good Blade and ‘uided bya clomped-on straightedge. Woodworker's Journal February 2017 Two halves of the top are clamped up first thenplued together using heavy pipe clamps. The author checks the subassembly for Nataess with a straightedge. arrange them in two groups of six strips each. I mark a cabinetmaker’s triangle atop each group with a pe to help keep the strips in the right order and orientation, When you're ready to glue the subassemblies together, set your strips on a truly flat surface, such as a table saw table covered with paper. It's important to spread the glue quickly and evenly on each strip, so use a glue roller. First, run a thick bead of glue along the length ofthe strip, then use the roll er to spread a thin layer over the entire joint surface. To prevent a dry joint, apply glue to all matin It takes a lot of clamping pressure to squeeze the strips together so that all the joints close tight, so i's necessary to.use heavy-duty pipe or bar clamps for the ghie-up. Once strips are clamped, use a rule to check that the subassem: bly is flat before setting it aside to dry. After the glue has set, remove all the joint surfaces, rubbery glue squeeze-out with a scrap- cr, then leave the subassemblies to dry overnight — if you wait until the glue is rock:hard, it's alot more work to serape the beads off Next day, run each half top through the planer until its exactly 21 thick and dead flat. Before gluing the halves together, square up the two edges that will be mated, then cut slots fora halt dozen #20 plate joinery biscuits, spacing them evenly along the length of the two mating edges; the biscuits help align the top halves. After gluing and clamping, make sure that the top halves are perfectly aligned and dead flat before setting the assembly aside to dry. ‘To cut the short ends of the bench top square and even, [used a straightedge clamped across the width of the top (underside up) to guide a portable circu: Jar saw (this task is much easier to do with a big radialarm saw, if you happen to have one). To avoid splintering and38 tearout, set the saw’s depth of cut just shy of the top’s full thickness, then use a fine-toothed Japanese pull saw to finish the cut and a lowangle block plane to clean up the end surface. After trim- ‘ming one end, measure and mark the ‘other cut so the top ends up 57" long. iter cutting out the top's two end caps (see the Material Lis), use a kerf cutting bit in a router to plow a 3/8". wide, 1/2" deep groove (centered, A groove is cut imo the ends ofthe top ‘and sides ofthe ‘end caps using @ kert-cuting bitin ‘router A spline setint the groove between the parts. thickness-wise) into the ends of the bench top and mating faces of the end caps. Stop the kerf cuts about 1/2" shy of the ends of each member. Cut two 3/8" x 1" x 20" splines from 1/2" Baltic birch plywood, then attach the narrow end cap to the end nearest the side vise, only applying glue to about 8" of the middle seetion of the spline and groove, to allovi for expansion and contraction of the top, Next, it's time to drill the three rows of bench dog holes through the top (spaced as shown in the Drawing at right) using a portable drill fitted with an alignment device, as shown in the photo at left. After marking the location of each hole, first drill a series of 1/8" pilot holes, then enlarge each with 23/4" Forsner bit. Only bore deep enough for the Forsner bits tip to come through, then flip the top over and com- plete each hole from the reverse side. AAiso bore dog holes into the top edges of the end vise face and its mating end cap, spaced to match the dog hole rows in the top, Bench dog holes are bored through the bench op using aForsno bit chucked ‘nto a portable electric dri kept square to the op via portable guide. {ora a strong joint Workbench Top (op iow) @) | / PH t slg bes i 4 1 StF Notetaled aut bt rE 4U i 3 a9 Drawer Housing and Rail Assembly (fad View) ny. ol ©. ienide, "deep rabbet forthe Ses Bench Height The exact height ofa bench op isa matter of personal preference, and sail height ferences can make a big cference in your comfort lovel when working at your bench. Most workbenches are between 43" and 36” high good for woodworkers between 8" and 60 all. But ifyov're building a bench ust for youre its best to match your thet and the kind of work yout doing. good rule of thumb fora bench use for general woodworking is to make the top even with heen of longsleeve shit ut with your arm hanging by height feels just right Your side. For sawing, sanding, et, lower bench height—up toa fw inches below your shir cutt—allows you to into such strenuous operations. Conversely for fine work lik caving doing repairs, raising bench height a few inches above your cuff ‘Keeps you from having to bend ove foo much, which can cause lower back pain. f you're in doubt, another approach is to build your bench withthe lags. itl longer, then cut them shorter until the tops our body weight February 2017 Woodworker's JournalSpline Joint {Sti ow) (Sie View Handle Assombly(;>) 'sontica fr lage ad smal drawers Leg and Rail Assembly Drawer Housing {Top and ad Views ‘Fon Vow) Long Stretcher ts ann Vg) oe + Dia MATERIAL LIST Top op (121 tue wih 13 Bulk (1) 2 Narrow End Cap (1) Te ‘4 Back (1) WA KAZ x35) ‘3Wide End Cap (1) Drawers 4 Splines (2) Beata" 15 Sides (4) VO KTM Sell Vise Face (1) A REM x22 Large Fromis and Backs (2) 1/2" «7 x20 6 Side Vise Face (2) WS RIA -17'Small Fronts and Backs (2) 1/2" x76 x 11% Base ‘Outer Legs (8) 1x33 19 Small Drawer Bottom (1) Blnner Legs (4) Tx2K x31 Wlarge Drawer Face (1) SIA" KTS nZPHe 9 Long Streichers 4) 1x8 x36 2 Sali DrawerFace (1) 3/4" x76" x13 10 Short Stretchers (4) xa x 13K 22.Long Drawor Pll} 7/8" Dia. x20" Drawer Housing 23 Short Darwer Pull (1) 7/8" Dia. 12h 11 Top and Bottom (2) 4/2 KABA x36" 24Suppors(5) 1/2" Dia. x1" 12 Sides 2) UE XIE X15 Woodworker's Journal February 2017 39Holes bored nearthe ond of each ofthe honch’s Jong stretchers are for crass dowels that allow the base tobe bolted together Assembling the Legs ‘The sturdy base that supports the bench top consists of two leg assemblies joined with 1”-thick, 4"-wide stretchers, ‘The end pairs of legs are permanent- Iy joined with loose tenon joints and connect to each other via long stretch: ers secured with heavy bolts and cross dowels Begin building the base by the four 31/s"Jong legs (see ‘on Bench Height, page 38). Each is laminated together from three pieces of thick stock: a middle 24"-wide layer sandwiched between two 3" wide outer Pairs of logs at each ond ofthe workbench ‘mortises inthe legs and shor stretchers. 40 permanently joined using 0020 tenon joinery. Hore, Festool Domino joiner i used to plunge cut the ‘A dowel driling ig aligns abit that drills bolt ‘holes int the ends ofthe long stretchers. These holes intersect the cross dowel holes. layers. The 1/4".deep valley created along the inside surface of each leg helps anchor the long stretchers. ‘When gluing up the legs, make sure to keep one edge on all three strips flush. Once dry, sand the non-valley side of each leg smooth, then use a drill press fitted with a 1/2"ia, bitto bore the two holes in each at the locations shown in the Drawing on page 39 for the cross dowel bolts. On the leg that's located at the front-vise side of the bench near the end vise, drill a series of 3/4" holes, 24" deep, as shown. (These we used with a bench dog to support 4 bs 2 ‘Aher gue is appli to al the mortises and loose tenons, the legs are ‘assombled with the short stretchers and clamped together. the ends of long workpieces clamped vertically in the front vise.) Alter cutting the four long stretchers to size and length, bore the 7/8" holes for the cross dowels, centering them widthwise and spacing them 2" in from both ends of each stretcher. To bore the holes that intersect the dowel holes, use a dowel jig to guide a 1/2"lia, chucked in a portable drill, as seen in the photo at left. Now, on the table saw, use a dado blade stack set to 1/2" to plow a 1/2"-leep groove along the in- side face of each long stretcher, spaced 3/4 down from its top edge. These grooves serve to support the bench’s drawer housing. ch pair of legs at the ends of the bench connect to the short stretch- cers with loose tenon joints. Cut these stretchers to size and length and chop ‘two mortises into both ends of each (I used the Domino system to make mor- tises for 10 mm x 50 mm tenons, but you could use whatever joinery method you choose, so long as the resulting joints are solid). Center the mortises, ‘on the thickness of the stock and space the outer edge of each mortise about i ~ February 2017 Woodworker's Journal‘dowels sot into tho long stretchers, forming very strong joints. 1/2" in from the edge of the stretcher. Next, chop matching mortises into the inside-facing sides of the legs, spacing them as shown in the Drawing on page 89, Glue each pair of legs together with a pair of short stretchers, making. sure that the assemblies are nice and square. Once the glue is dry, press the cross dowels into their holes in the Jong stretchers and bolt them to the leg sssemblies. Don't tighten the bolts too much, as you'll need to remove one of the leg assemblies when gluing up the drawer housing later, Mounting the Vises ‘To prepare for mounting the bench’s, twin vises, set the bench top upside down on a sturdy work table, using an ‘ld towel or blanket to protect the top from scratches and dings. Press a spline to the groove in the wide end cap and set it nto the end of the top — don't slue itn yet. Remove the end vise’s The baze ofthe ond vee is attached the underside ofthe bench top with large screws driven bya cordless impact drive. Woodworker's Journal February 2017 ‘guide rods and serew/ end plate assembly. from the base, then set the base against the end cap and cen terit, widthwise, on the underside of the top. Mark the exact position of the base's three 1" holes (two for the guide rods, one for the vise screw) on the end cap, Remove the cap, clamp it and the end vise face together, and drill three 1'4"-dia, holes through both at the ssame time using a drill press, as shown at right. Now glue the wide end cap in place as you did with the narrow cap earl- er, then position the vise base. Use a sel centering drill bit to bore pilot holes at each mounting hole location. After enlarging each pilot hole with a 7/32" The bench rp’s wide end cap ‘andthe end vses outer jaw are ‘clamped together and drilled in preparation for mounting. wc ke tt oa vane se visit our website en and click jore onthe Web" under the Magazine ta, bit, drive six #14 x 2" flat head screws to attach the base. Next, reinstall the guide rods, set the vise face onto the rods, and replace the vise screw assembly. Now drill 5/32" pilot holes for the four #12 x 14" screws that secure the wood face to the vise's metal end plate. Repeat the same process to attach the front vise at the opposite end of the bench top, positioning the centerline of ts base 6." from the end ofthe top. Instead of an end cap, the front vise’s inner jaw is a 12%" x 5" x 1%" piece of ‘maple screwed onto the front edge of the top with five #10 x 2" countersunk screws. Both the inner and outer vise jaws receive three 7/8"-lia. holes for the screw and guide rods. complete vise mounting instructions, ‘see my More on the Web video for thisThe Drawers and Drawer Housing After cutting out all the parts for the workbench drawer housing from Baltie birch plywood, as per the Material List ‘on page 39, use a dado blade and table ‘saw to cut 1/2"-wide, 1/4"deep rabbets into both short ends of the top and bottom. Also plow a 3/4"-wide, 1/4": deep groove in the top and bottom for the bulk head, as well asa 1/4"-wide, 1/4"deep groove in the top, bottom and sides. These are for the housing’s 1/4" plywood back panel. (See the Drawing ‘Sliding the drawer ‘housing into the ‘grooves in the long stretchers helps to keep the parts aligned as thoy ‘are glued up and ‘assombed. ‘on\page 39 for the position of these grooves and, if the plywood you're using isundersized, adjust the width of the groove as necessary.) After sanding the housing parts smooth, sue the bulkhead to the top and bottom, with all their front-facing edges flush. After clamping, ‘measure to make sure the top and bottom remain parallel and square to the bulkhead. To keep all housing parts aligned properly when gluing up the rest of the assem- bly, remove one of the leg assemblies from the base, then set it vertically onto a work table. Now set one of the housing sides into place, spread glue onto the rabbets in the top and bottom, and slide them into the grooves in the long stretchers (do NOT glue the top and bottom into the grooves!) After clamping this joint, drive afew brads to strengthen the joint. Now slip the housing’s 1/4" back into its groove and glue and clamp on the other side of the housing. When the glue is rubbery hard, scrape off any excess, then bolt the leg assembly back on. ‘The drawers for the workbench are simple, but strong, built entirely from 41/2" Baltic birch plywood, including the bottoms. After cutting all parts to siz use a dado blade to cut the 1/2"-wide, 1/4".deep rabbets in the ends ofall the drawer sides. Use the same 1/2" dado stack to plow into all drawer sides, fronts and backs the 1/4"-deep grooves that eapture the drawer bottoms. Space these grooves 3/8" up from the bottom edge of each part. After sanding the parts smooth, apply glue to the rabbets and clamp each drawer together. Drive ‘some small brads through each rabbet, to add a little extra strength to these joints. Before leaving them to dry, mea sure each drawer's diagonals; if they're not equal, it means the drawer is ‘square and needs a bit of tweaking To lend easier access to the drawer contents, I mounted the drawers on 14" side-mounted overtravel drawer slides, which extend further than regular fulkextension slides. After screwing slides to the housing’s sides and bulk- head 1" up from the housing bottom, set the drawers in place and check that each glides smoothly. When closed, the drawer box fronts should be flush with the front edges of the housing sides and bulkhead. Now mount the actual drawer faces, both of which are cut from the same hardwood as the rest of the bench. Drive a pair of serews into the back of each face from insie the drawer, then check to make sure that the gap around ‘each face is even before driving the screws home, Alter each ofthe workbench’ drawers is glued together the author ehecks thet diagonals to ‘make sure the drawers are exactly square, February 2017 Woodworker's JournalInstead of using store-bought drawer pills, I decided to make my own pulls from dowels. These long pulls are easy to grab and, because they're mounted just below knee level, alli takes is a Title leg shove to close the drawers. Cut two pieces of 7/8" birch dowel for the pulls themselves. These are supported by 1" lengths of 1/2" dowel: three for the wider drawer, two for the narrower one. To create sockets for the support dowels, counterbore a seri of 1/2" dia, 1/4"dleep holes evenly spaced along the pulls (as shown in the Drawings) into the back of the pull dowels on the drill press. Next, drill 3/16" holes concentrically through the inport dowels, for the #8 x 2/ that secure the pulls to the drawer faces. Drill holes for these screws through the drawer faces and boxes, then serew the pulls and support dowels in place. ply and Finishing Alter tightening the cross dowel bolts cn the base until they're good and snug, remove the drawers and set the base upside down onto the bench top laid upside down on a work table. Position the legs so that the top overlaps them by 1’4" on the long sides, then adjust the base lengthwise until the legs closest to the end vise are 5" away from the inside of the wide end cap. After tracing around each leg, lift the base off and set it upright. Loose tenons are used to join the top to the base. Iuse the Domino With the workbench’ base and drawer housing fly assembled the author screws ona set of ‘over‘ravel guides for each drawer. The extra travel o these guides allows them to pull ox futher ‘thus providing ful access othe drawer’ content ‘machine to chop a single, centered mor- tise into the upper end of each leg, for 14 mm x 100 mm loose tenon. I the carefully position the Domino to plunge cut four matching mortises in the under side of the bench top. There's no need to glue the tenons in; the weight of the top is enough to hold it securely on the base. Plus, you can easily remove the top if you need to transport or store the bench in the future, Before applying a couple of coats of finish to the completed bench (used wipe-on polyurethane), sand the entire assembly smooth, It's best to hand sand the top using only a large sanding block, so as not to ruin its flatness. Chamtfer or round any sharp edges with a small block plane. After finishing, screw the heavy-duty casters onto the lower en of the legs. Alt takes isa flick of the toe to lower the casters and make the heavy bench super easy to move around, the shop. PP Sandor Nagyszalancy isa furiture designer craftsman, writer/photographer and contrib ing editor to Woodworker's Joural Mortses plunge cut into the underside of to top and ends of the legs are for loose tenons that create a strong joint between the top CTA eg Ee Rockler 12” Quick Release End Vise (1) #37180 Rockler Heavy Duty Quick Release Front Vise (1) #27838. Rockler Workbench Caster Kit 4 Pack (1) #43501 CEERI) er Cr Ore Cee ry eT Heavy-Duty Cro: 75-1b. Over-Travel Slides, Centerline® 757CC (2) # 45873 Round Bench Dogs (2) #21868 Retractable castors screwed tothe logs leave the bench firmly planted during work, yet make ‘easy to move it whenever necessary. Woodworker's Journal February 2017 43ei eos) ora video of the authors tps on gluing, clamping, sanding and sizing holes for dowels, please visit woodworkesjournl com and click on “More on the Web under the Megazine tab By Carole Rothman An overlay drawer front and leather-lined top tum a simple box into something special. ‘small blade entry ‘fyou've ever wished for a convenient Building the Drawer hole provides access Jerriesre rat pc, Srolersesy nde emia tnd ober smal neces, stellen rte Poredorge Garumaujiysiaedyar” cramranma _ aeaietame nee ts hentsasinglcower band aro Tope theta tet one Srotcbox wafers’ titknssToceel forthe commen tert overly draver rol oversized base and bon Tasers pcos ot Se mts fom iaherned wprecess-cinrease shiek epee rhe bx val and apa mens boty ame chet 44 February 2017 Woodworker's Journal‘When clamping the tree drawer pieces, pply pressure fo both top and ‘bottom areas to ensure a good bond, Make sure the parts dont shit. sq individually, then glued together. Attach a pattern to the front of each workpiece with repositionable adhesive. Label the box and drawer sections of each pattern “Front,” “Middle,” or “Rear.” Transfer these markings to the wood when you remove the pattern. Now drilla blade entry hole where indicated, with a 1/16" cor smaller drill bit, Insert a #5 or #7 blade and carefully cut along the cutting Tine of the drawer. Leave the drawer patterns attached, Next, mark and cut a 1/4"4hi from the back of the rear drawer piece to create the drawer back. You can also cut this piece with a band saw: Sand the cut surface of the slice smooth, Then cutalong the inside line ofthe three drawer pieces to create the drawer ‘opening, and glue and clamp the outer pieces together, keeping them in order. When gluing the drawer pieces, apply sue evenly to one face of the first piece, Woodworker's Journal February 2017 stationary belt sand- er with support table fs the easiest way to sand the drawers exterior consistonty sure to clamp the bottom when gluing onthe drawer back. Clean up ‘ut inside the drawer when tho glue bocomes rubbery rub the adjacent face of the second piece against it until it drags, then line the two pieces up. Glue on the third piece the same way. This helps prevent slippage when clamping, When the ‘Spread an even coating of ‘alae between the box lamina tions to ensure a good bond. The author used a shop-made press (right) to provide even ‘’lamping pressure and help ‘correct or part misalign- ‘ments before the glue so A detail sander is perfect forthe tight, Nat areas of the drawer interior. Careful sanding will give a finshed look tthe drawer. drawer pieces dried, used spindle and detail sanders to smooth the inside, T sanded the rear face of the drawer by rubbing it lightly against a piece of 150-grit sandpaper that was attached to a granite tile. Glue and clamp the back into place, and clean up any squeeze- out. After the glue dries, sand the outside of the drawer just until smooth with a belt sander — too much sanding will ereate a sloppy fit in the caddy. ‘Assembling the Caddy's Body Next, glue and stack the three box body pieces together in order, matching the ‘outer edges precisely. Use clamps or a press for a good bond, and correct any slippage before the tunelamped, sand as needed so that the top, bottom and sides are flush and the box is square. Sand the interior drawer ‘opening smooth with a spindle sander, keeping the bottom of the cutout paral- Jel with the bottom of the box. lue sets. Once it’s‘Use amiter gauge forcon- Use a larg spindle to sand the box interior and remove hard- trolled feeding as you snd oned glue. A smooth surface here makes it asior to position the the box exterion Check fre- drawer correctly and helps it move freely, ‘quently tbe sure te sides re square 10 each other moves freely. Then remove the drawer and mark both edges of the wide guide wider guide piece on the bottom of on the drawer's underside, Remove ) the drawer opening, aligned with the guide and tape loop. Attach the the center points, and tape it into guide with dots of quick grab PVA glue, place, front and back. Check to be clamping the front and rear corners to ure it’s square to the front and back prevent the thin wood from cupping, faces. [used a quick-grab PVA glue due to contact with the wet glue, Adding Drawer Guides and Back to adhere the two 1/4" strips into place With the drawer hung, you can glue To eliminate the side-toside play typical on each side of the wide drawer guide, on the back of the box. Its edges should ‘of band saw box drawers, [fabricated and pressed the strips down firmly for _ protrude slightly on al sides. When a simple three-piece guide systemof a good bond. Once yours are installed, the ghue dries, sand the back flush with 1/16'hick serap, with two narrow remove the center guide carefully. the box, soften the edge of the drawer strips and one wider piece on which Measure the width ofthe drawer and opening, and sand the box to 220-erit Térewa line down the center (see ‘mark the center point on its underside. ‘Drawings on page 48 and photos below). Use a loop of masking tape, sticky side _ Installing the Drawer Face To install them, measure the width of out, to center the wide drawer guide on Start by cutting a drawer face to width the box and draw line onthe front and the underside ofthe drawer, square to and length. Sand a small 45° bevel back faces atthe center point, directly the front and back faces. Now slide the around its front edges, then soften below the drawer opening. Place the drawer into place and check to be sure it all edges. With the box on its back, y Comer the drawer Sue the side Usea pe ‘ide precisely ‘strips int place, a oop to ‘and tape it into allowing enough position the Wemast be Clearance for center guide er ‘square tthe front ‘ay removal : accurately ‘and back faces of ofthe comer before gluing ition place. The drawer should the box. ‘rawer guide ide trely betwen te sie strips. 46 February 2017 Woodworker's JournalUse plenty of clamps to be sure thatthe box back makes {900d contact with he body when you glue it inplace. center the drawer face on the box and position, Remove the face and insert the drawer fully into its opening. Ifit’s recessed, slip a temporary spacer behind the drawer to make it flush with the front of the box. I used loops of ‘masking tape to adhere the drawer face onto the front of the box and pressed itinto place. Be sure the face lines up with the registration marks you've made Botore gluing the drawer front tothe drawer, determine and ‘mark its position on the box. The author used a white pencil {or greater visibility onthe dark wood. a Elevate the box for greater visibility and ‘seat the drawer in its tack. Use tape oops to hold the drawer fromt in place {or positioning and marking. Woodworker's Journal February 2017 fon the box front. Now remove the drawer, with the face still attached, and place it face- down. Make positioning marks fon the back of the drawer face, then remove the face and tape loops. Glue the face into position on the drawer. Ityou are using regular wood glue, clamp the pieces carefully. [used quick-grab PVA alue instead; just press down on the drawer immediately after applying glue and hold the face in place. As soon as the slue begins to set, insert the drawer into the box and make any final adjust- ‘ments, Remove the drawer, clean up any squeeze-out, and let the glue dry with the drawer face down, Detailing the Box Top Prepare a blank for your box's top, and attach a copy of the cutout pattern to it. Drill a blade entry hole, where indicated, at 15°, using a shop made angle guide. Ifyour scroll saw has a iting arm, tilt it 15° to the right. IFithas ailing table it it 15°, left side down, Insert a #3 blade through the starter hole and cet clockwise around the cen ter opening. Then with a small ‘pneumatic drum, smooth the cutout area, contour the upper cedige and soften the outer edg- es. Finish up by sanding the whole piece to 220 grit. ‘The leather insert that will fit inside this opening in the top lends a touch of class, while hiding the ‘clue joints. With the box top still ‘unattached, place iton apiece of leather, trace the ‘opening, and mark Tocreate the center recess inthe box tp, dill ‘a lade entry hole ata 15° angle, then cut out tho Center with 943 saw blade atthe same angle, Use small pneumatic drum to sand and shape the cutout rea Til the wood to soften the upper goof tho opening. Place the sanded top on the leather to trace the ‘opening. Use a mechanical pencil with thin load for groatest accuracy. its orientation. I'd also make a backup pattern of the opening on paper in case you need to re-cut the leather later. Now you can install the top on the bbox permanently. Invert the top on a flat surface and apply quick-settingg PVA glue to the underside, avoiding areas ‘that will overhang the box. Invert the box body on the top piece. Press the 47® 5) @ . MATERIAL LIST TxWxt 41 Box Body Laminations (3) AiexS xT Ey 2 Box Back) WATT ‘3 Drawer Face (HD 8 xD OH 7 ‘4805 Top (1 5/16" Sielt] Tort parts together until the el Awa flue sets, and clean off any ‘brewer Canter Guide] its ks gaan $8 Drawer Side Guides (2) 176x130 | Adding a Base $8 Hardwood Dowels (2) x78 and Ead Piece: $0Drawer Pull, Upper Porion(t) V/A" Cut blanks for your box 41 Drawor Pl, Lower Portion (1) 1/2" 1/2" x3" ‘base and end piece. Lused 12°lug for Pll Eye (1), ye 1/4" dowels to strengthen 13 eather Insert) ae KO the glue joint between these parts. Use a drill press and supports, keeping the base square to the table when you drill into its end, Bore two evenly spaced holes, 1/2" deep. [used a 6.5 mm drill bit instead of 1/4", because the .15 mm difference in diameter between the ‘wo bits makes dowel insertion easier, without excessive play. Now place 1/4" dowel centers into the holes, position firmly to transfer the drilling marks, 3/8" at your dowel point marks. lamps to stabilize the ‘thin ase for driting ino its ond. Use metal locate diling contor- 48 the end piece carefully, and press down Drill holes in the end piece to a depth of Use support pieces and dowel centers (inset to ‘points onthe end piece. ach square = 1/8" ‘With the dowel joint now in good stead, mark the tap face of the base. ‘Then, cut or cout a 1/8" bevel at 45° around its top edge, leaving the end with the dowel holes square. Smooth the cut edge with a belt sander or sand: jing block, keeping the bevel's measure {0 3/16" of less, ‘The end piece still needs some top curves and four decorative cutouts. At tach a eopy ofits pattern to your work piece, and cut the end piece to shape with a #3 blade. Smooth the inside of the ovals with a spindle sander and the out- er edges with a belt sander. I also used 4 180-grit spindle mounted Mac Mop to soften all edges. Then final-sand the Cutting 2 elt inthe dowel ond makes incertion ‘easier. You can improvise a zero clearence ‘insert fom a playing card if desired. February 2017 Woodworker's Journalnce the ching re pal bank is glued toget- ‘rand itzey oldie, cattle with 11 blde thn gle the eye pliant place. Fora. ‘preumatic drum. Use a coarse sleeve fr wood ‘removal and afner one for neh sending {Glue the pull into place alter the drawer is shel- lacked. Ifyou use uick-eeting PVA, just hold it in position util he glue sete. base and end piece to 220.git. Now go ahead and glue the base and end piece together with dowels —Ieut short slits into the ends of my dowels at the scroll saw to make them easier to insert their holes. Check for square as you tighten the clamps on this glueup. Check for square as you glue the end piece to ‘the base. Elevating the workpieces makes it ‘easier to contr the clamps on the thin wood. Now that all parts but the pull are completed, it’s time for the sealer coat First, locate the gluing areas on the drawer front and base and mask them with blue painter's tape. [applied de- waxed shellac to all surfaces of the box, drawer and base, except for the box bottom. Then remove the tape from the drawer front. Smooth all surfaces with '820-grit sandpaper. Mask the top oval, and leave the tape on the gluing area of the base. Shaping the Drawer Pull For an offbeat drawer pul, [used colorful wood to simulate a fishing Ture (without hooks, of course!). To make it, I glued together pieces of yellowheart and padauk and attached the pattern so that the glue joint ran through the eye and mid-section. I drilled a 65 mm hole about 3/16" deep for the eye, where indicated, then cut the outline with a blade. I glued a 1/4” ebony plug into the Woodworker's Journal February 2017 hole, but a slice of 1/4" walnut dowel would also work nicely. Then, contour the front ofthe pull with a pneumatic ‘drum until its shaped to your liking. To ‘make the pull easier to grip, contour the rear edge as well, but be sure to leave sufficient gluing area. When your pull is ready, use quick-grab PVA glue and firm hhand pressure to atach it to the drawer face, centering it carefully. Final Finishing applied several light coats of spray lacquer to the drawer front, base unit and outside surfaces of the box body, butfing between coats as needed with (0000 steel wool. When the lacquer was thoroughly dry, I removed the tape from the base andl ghied the box into place, eeping the reveal even on the front, back and let side, I secured the bond with a heavy weight, checking for page and removing any squeeze-out. Installing the Leather Insert All that’s left to do on this project to use a sharp scissors and cut out the leather insert for the box. top. Check its fitin the opening and trim as needed. Glue the leather into the center, using firm hand pressure or a small roller to press it down evenly all around. ‘With the leather installed, your caddy is ready to place beside a favorite chair. Youll wonder how you ever managed without it! ——— (Cut ou the leather Carole Rothman isa former cake insert with sharp eewatr and te autor of Wooden sisson | Bowls from the Scrall Saw and Creative Coceaneaites Wooden Boxes rom the Saoll Saw, fhe tener corfuly a8 ‘oth published by Fox Chapel. She blogs yew preset int place at sralsawbows blogspot.com. inthe wot glue. we ‘Mask off the box’ location onthe base fst, then apply finish tothe base. When it cues, ‘peo of the tape to expose the bare wood. Apply glue tthe uninished area ofthe base. Hold the glue back trom the edges to minimize ‘squeeze-out when pressure i applied. 49Techniques Circle-Cutting Techniques: The Obvious and the Not-So-Obvious By Charles Mak Sawoodworker and lovers), but I do know, and ‘mechanical sculpture use, more than half a dozen maker, Toften make different ways to cut ciel circles and discs. Whether In this article, Ihave selected they are for a shop clock, ‘methods from my bag of lazy Susan finishing turnta- tricks. Il show you both how ble, cams, round tabletops __ they work and how to get the orused as toy wheels, my _best results from each tech- goal isthe same: Iwant them — nique. I'l also share tricks ‘made true, and precisely the for cutting circles without size I want them to be — leaving any pivot holes on the asafe and efficient manner. _ finished piece. So ifyou've Tdon't know how many ever been challenged by ways there are to skin a circle cutting, here are some cat (my apologies to all cat tool options to try. Hole Saws, ‘What has to be the world’s simplest way to make small, circles (from 3/4" up to 7” diameter) is to use a hole saw and a backer board (to prevent blowout). Apart from the backer board, Ihave two other driling tips to share. First, did you know that you can double the cutting depth of a hole saw? Here's how: Start drilling with the hole saw on one side of the workpiece and, once the pilot 50 February 2017 Woodworker's Journalbit has poked through, flip the wood over and continue cutting using the same pilot hole, Second, the key to cutting a burn-free dise is to start with a sharp hole saw and don't force the saw into the wood. Let the teeth eut slowly. Retract the hole saw often to reduce friction and help clear the sawdust. Belt/Disc Sander With the aid of ajig, your disc sander can be turned into a circle making tool. The sanding circle jig I have is relatively simple. Start with a piece of 1/2" or 3/4" plywood that’s alittle bigger than the table of the dise sander. Po sition and glue a cleat to the bottom face of the plywood ‘base such that when the cleat is in the miter slot, it positions the base about 1/16" from the sanding disc, Cuta dado ‘on the top surface Perpendicular to the underside cleat, and fita runner into the dado, To com- plete the jig, insert a finish nail near one ‘end of the runner, You can see my ‘completed jg in the top right photo. To cuta circle, clamp the jig to the When creating circles with ahole saw, make table ofthe disc ‘sure to drill with ight pressure and revactit sander with the cleat ‘often to clear rapped sawdust. When I don't have a hole ‘saw that matches the diame- ter Ineed, [Muse a fly cutter, instead and adjust itto a pre- cise radius. But use caution: fly cutters can be dangerous tools, because their spinning arms and enc: mounted cut ters are hard to see. Here's a safety tip: Paint the ends with abright color or wrap them with colored tape to make them more visible. Don't take chances on getting injured by an invisible enemy. in the miter slot. Drill a small hole in the cen: ter of the bottom face of the workpiece and fit the work: piece over the finish nail Push the runner forward until the workpiece contacts the spinning sanding disk, then clamp the runner in place. Sand the workpiece by slowly rotating it clockwise until a circle is formed. Reset the runner forward and sand the edges of the circle in the ‘same manner until you reach the desired circle diameter. Woodworker's Journal February 2017 Thejia fora dise sander bas on siesta renner Sear Use the jig eu citeles on your sander by rotating the workpiece clock- wise. The clamped runner and a finish nail establish the circles radius. To avoid excessive burns on the edges, rotate the workpiece steadily and uuse a clean sanding dise. 1 clean mine periodically with crepe block. Ihave also found that positioning the workpiece and jig closer to the center of the sanding, dise, where it spins more slowly, helps reduce end: grain burning, Band Saw = Sieretcon se | same principle as the dise sand- er method. The workpiece tur on apivot pin, and rotatingitinto the saw blade cuts (AS circle. Ifyou need a r quick, simple circle J i WA r jig, start with a (nthe band saw jg. draw a line perpendicular 3/4" plywood base tothe blade. Mark cree radi on ths fine. 51Techniques coniniea unit tos, and clamp it trace, Now rte ts eokderndindbrlatits croin ga frat oot bade doce pl into lon ain) toeut outa cree, Use a side ible needed to he sup at age worsen avin ct soy cen on my band sm, have some proven pistes tb enmenienleniarrntatatcedexomnmetee See racer tien Yourworigec nate ace coco. and property tensioned Fey sabotage 7 peviil'etine wir dak {fabri a ejon Gleat ged tothe votiom, ster through slr crs Place the elestin the miter with gtr eurves Second, slotacd posh the iainto potion the Blade guides the spinning blade until the and thrust bearings close to mb tgs wth fe bade to ny the Bode the table edge. Then attach a —_from twisting during cutting. black underneath to stop the Then, male sue the cutting jighere, Draw a line across edge of the teeth aligns per- the jig that’s perpendicular fectly with the centerline of to the blade and even with the pivot point on the jig, or the tips of the teeth —here’s the circle will not be true. Fi: ‘where you'll insert afinish nally, orient the workpiece so 7 nate (Apotoctyfe inate n aod are dear ot MD verteceitsiced ete neon To wee ji sal hole on the bottom of the Router and Trammel wrigbtiscaierand Tnancyarsieny gw BE ctorrtiefisieal tow wav acick win Intaledin thle ash the «sing and pene The jig forward on the saw table principle behind the use of a router and a trammel to make circles is the same. Just look atthe trammel as the string, and the router bit as the pen- cil. You can buy an aftermar ket trammel, but if you have 11 minutes to spare — and who doesn't — why not make your own for free? Cuta4"x 24" arm from 1/4" plywood scrap (6 minutes), drill a 1/2" center hole 4" from one end for the guide bushing (5 min- utes), and draw a center line from the hole to the other end (1 minute). You're done! Next, install 1/2" 0.D. ‘guide bushing and a straight bit or up-cut spiral bitin a router and place the router in the jig. Measure the desired radius from the cutting edge of the bit and insert finish nail through the jig’s arm. To use the trammel, insert a finish nail through the arm to mark the circle radius you need, and drill a small hole into the center of the workpiece. Install the trammel pivot in the work piece. Lalso usually place a sacrificial board underneath Continues on page 54. Use machine ‘serows to attach @ plywood arm tothe base of your jigsaw fora circle-cuting ‘method especially ‘appropriate for ‘shop projects. The ji’ large hole (inset photo) is a 1/2" guide bushing. When using a router and tammel method to cut ctces, fed the ‘Measure the desired radius from the ed ofthe bit ‘router counterclockwise ina series of progressively deeper passes. 52 February 2017 Woodworker's JournalMAU 9 foo LEAP FOR ) is CYCLONES /*\y, | re | n 1 \ A ADVANCED CLEAN AIR SHOP SOLUTIONS BN ° EZ LIFT DRUM ® SMART SENSORS SS alate ee zey U1) ——| PRODUCT SHOWN: _ PIU A= a a a 4 epee ( 4Techniques conina the workpiece. Rout down into the workpiece in a coun- terclockwise direction. Ifthe workpiece is thicker than 1/4", make multiple passes tocut out the circle Inplace ofa router, you can also accomplish the tram- mel technique with a jigsaw ‘mounted to along plywood or MDF arm. [favor this setup for shop projects when the quality ofthe circe’s edge is not that erica ‘ Table Saw Believe itor not, a table saw can produce very smooth and clean circles safely, and ithandles thick stock very ‘wel too. In this technique, you use a sliding jig and, rather than ereating a circle “cat ‘away the overhang of your shop-mate fig ar placig tin Yor abe saw’ miter lot. Touse the table sow jig, rotate and expose one workpiece commer ata time (inset photo. Teo the comers ofthe square to form an octagon. Continue cuting corners uni your workpiece i roughly round, thon slide the ig forward, beyond the blades rontteth and rotate you piece clock: wise toform a pertect circle. Router Table ‘The last method, one that I have developed and pub- lished as a shop tip, can han- dle small and large circles, alike on the router table. It involves using a sliding jig on the router table and a 1/2"- dia. spiral or straight bit. My method offers two unique in one step, you progres- ly change the shape of a ‘workpiece into a circle, ‘The sliding jg is just a panel-cutting jig, but without the fence. Cut a piece of 1/2" or 3/4" plywood or MDF to about 20” by 20" and attach ‘hardwood runner to the bottom face that fits into your table saw’s miter slot. Place the jig in the rightside miter slot and cut away the overhang. Now draw aline across the jig, perpendicu- lar to the blade, for setting radii with a pivot pin. ‘To use the jig, start with a rough: ly square work: piece and drill a small hole at its center, underneath. Next, measure and mark the de- 1d radius from the blade ‘on the Tine and insert a finish nail at the mark. Place and rotate the workpiece on the jig so one corner overhangs the jie’s edge, as seen in the inset photo at left, Hold down the workpiece with ‘your hand or a toggle clamp and slide the jig forward to trim the corner. Then ‘Build this sliding ig ovine is made of MF and ‘shown upside-down) to suit the size of your rout ‘ertable, You can use it for small or large circles. features compared to the tramme! method: 1) You can make the cut in increments ‘without the need to adjust the bit height; and 2) You can ccut circles of different diame- ters without moving the pivot pin mounted in the jig To make the sliding jig, cut a 1/4" or 1/2" plywood ‘or MDF board several inch- ces longer than your router, table's top and about half as wide slide the jig back, rotate the Attach a pair of side cleats workpiece fo expose anew and a stop cleat underneath ‘corner, and cutthe second the board, Position the stop corner. Keep sawing off cleat such that the b's more corners ofthe piece _cutting edge just touches the to form an octagon (see jig’s front edge. Insert a pivot, middle photo at left), then finish nail into the jg’s top a 16sided piece, and so on until it is roughly round. In the final step, set the sliding jig with the perpendicular line beyond the front teeth ofthe blade. Now rotate the piece clockwise to true the piece into a perfect circle. face 1" from the front edge. ‘To make the circle, place the jig on the router table so the center ofthe finish nail and the router bit’s closest ‘eige to it are separated by the desired radius. Install a Continues on page 56... How slick is that?! February 2017 Woodworker's Journali = 2016 Annual Collection CD Le ODWORKERS Ee ow avaiable! Al six 2016 issues of Woodworker's Journal an ane disk! You'l find al of the project plan from the year on the Woodworker's Journal Annual Collection 2016 CD, trom the stunning Greene & Greene Dresserto the 19th Century portable “field desk” that draws on features from the Civil War era, The complete contents of every issue from 2016 are an this CD: every project plan, too review, shop tp and more Make it prt of your digital brary today! tem 59122... s199 Order now! 1-800-610-0883 (mention code W171) Order online at wow. woodworkersjournal.com/wit711 cy) Pa Ed fom 1 ity. Afford 19-38 ‘DRUM SANDER i tag Spf nea” STEVE WALL LUMBER CO. aly Hrtoacs ad Pyoad For Te ‘tomer an Ecsta PRDEEEEEN REE SeCbdGECiGEt.t.Gt BaSGREEGGSE Ce cae DE cusses Rs es wen cag TaNCRATAGOD OMGUNBER Saas LUMBER CO. er] Woodworker's Journal February 2017 55Techniques coniniea No Centerpoint Circles Sometines, your Drojects may requ yy ccies witha cear holes when esing circles without a hole saw? Just retract the pilot bit and use centerpoint holes ail preas with te workice camped inthem. Iyouuse secur Theil wont ch te woo, att ato exv,youcan wilclteete pee obleor cowry aor a pivel aad otal cotaeroleakwehe: drill press for cutting the So, there you are: a full nee circle instead of attempting arsenal of proven circle-cut- bottom face of the workpiece the pilot bit retracted. Be piled a summary table (see _ sasha " ‘stop block. Just rotate the spinning saw will probably cuts, and soon you'll find enyaennenn aieag workpiece counterclockwise grab and spin the workpiece —_ yourself making a lot of cir- a eee - the stop block to change the —_T've shared here, you can by the woodworking bug about 15 desired radius between the avoid centerpoint holes in years ago and has since become ‘rout as previously described. __ taping a scrap board to the teacher and writer Need a Circle? Pick the Best Cutting Option for Your Project Edge tr eer Small "4 Medium Y v Large Vv ¥ nee et © | Router Jigsaw _| Table Saw | Table ‘Small VL Y Medium ¥ Y ¥ Vv Large YI ¥ v 56 February 2017 Woodworker's JournalSATAjet® 1500 B SoLV eiZ) German Engineering For High-End Wood Coatings The SATAjet 1500 B provides fine finishes with cost saving transfer efficiencies. This spray gun is ideal for high solids urethane topcoats, as well as ultra-high end metallic or pearl finishes, allowing you to achieve a smooth, automotive type finish with ease. Designed for ease of use, uniform material distribution and fine atomization; the SATAjet 1500 B SoLV can easily handle your finest finishes. Available in both HVLP & RP (reduced pressure) & Nozzle size rey rw) 13 rey The exelusive independent aoe FU SUMUCy inthe USond Puerd Rico cups one: 031,0.61,0.9|, 1 ¢a. PUSS Eg Diet eoneieena a www.satausa.com SATAJet 1500 B SoLV RP approvals pendingJigs & Fixtures Finishing Turntable , By J. Norman Reid € This knockdown fixture gives you rotating 360° access to your workpiece for spraying — even if you only need — J to use it occasionally. Z ‘The projectis made jigsaw, then I clamped the from two pieces of thick piece on top and used a. thick plywood cut in 2" pattern bit to rout an iden- circles, separated by tical shape on the thinner ply- captured bearings wood sheet. Finally, I eased and rotatingona the top and bottom edges of. simple metal shaft both plywood circles with a —justa 1/2" pipe 3/16" roundover bit. nipple nested inside of a3/4" flange. Creating Handholds ‘The turntable Because this turntable is disassembles easily built to be dismantled, 1 for storage when added handhold slots to each, notin use and could plywood circle for easier even be mounted on carrying. To make a pattern locking wheels, for the handhold, I drew its shape on a piece of 1/2" Start from Scrap MDF, then used a Forstner Thegan with a piece bit to cut the two rounded of 14" plywood ends and removed the waste laminated from two in between with the jigsaw. A sheets of 3/4" home litte smoothing on my spin- center plywood dle sander finished it up. left over froma benchtop long iE finish my furniture since replaced. I drew projects by spraying muk a 15"-radius circle, the tiple coats of water-based largest I could get from. polyurethane. While this lets _ this piece, and rough-cut me work inside, my base- the circle with my jigsaw. ment workshop has limited Then, using a plunge space and no room foraded- router and a circle-cutting icated spray booth. I'm able jig, Irefined the edges to open a set of double doors with a straight bit. This leading outside and use a became the base for the large box fan to exhaust the turntable. ‘overspray. But I needed a Next, [traced the way to rotate large pieces pattern from the first The author traced the shape ofthe circle during the spraying process, piece onto a 30"-wide lonts Wes haoe, teow eat ous vets 8 Tosolve the problem, Ibuilt piece of 3/4" Batic birch faye carina sows i nee eet the simple finishing turntable plywood for the top. This, guitar attachment set at 15° he routed you see here. too, rough-cut with my the curved odge smooth and even, 58 February 2017 Woodworker's JournalFrom there, I clamped the pattern about 1" from the edge of each plywood circle and drilled out the rough shape. Double face tape held the pattern in place while I plunge-routed the handhold holes with a pattern bit. rounded the sides of each handhold with a 3/8" round- lover router bit to make them ‘more comfortable in hand. Making a Simple Pivot Here's how the circles rotate: Lrilled a 3/4"dia. hole in the center ofthe base and fastened 23/4" galvanized pipe flange over it with screws. There's also a 1/2" pipe flange fastened to the underside of the top circle, with a2" nipple threaded into it. The nipple slip-its inside of the larger flange’s thread: ced hole on the base to create the pivoting action, ‘Tomake that action silky smooth, I purchased six captured 1" ball bearings (tem 20822 from rocklercom:; bit he route $31.99 for a six-pack). These are positioned and mounted evenly around the base, about 4" in from the outer edge and not in Tine with the ‘upper handhold. Iattached them with 14" screws, At this p is done; no need to fi — itll get plenty of topcoats on its own! Using the Turntable Thave a number of options for using the turntable, depending on the type and size ofthe piece Lam spraying. For larger pieces, Tan set the turntable on 2eds to raise it off the floor, then use another pair of 2x4s ‘or other spacers to raise the piece above the platform top. If need to raise my spray project even higher, Lean rest the turntable on a box for small applications or set iton a table, bench or a pair of sawhorses. In addition to using a box fan to exhaust the overspray Woodworker's Journal February 2017 ‘As shown in this photo series the author made a pattern fra handhold {rom 12° MOF and clamped it securely to both the base board and the {op board (top left set in ata distance that would it his hand, He started with a Forster bit diling the handbold openings to rough shape center ‘and bottom let. Then, using a plunge router with a top-bearing pattern ay the remaining waste ve) out the basement doors, I ‘can create a temporary spray booth by hanging shower ‘curtains from the rafters on each side of the turntable, Anything you can do to make spraying easier and more effective is worth the effort. This handy turntable will definitely help! 4 Norman Reid is cofounder of ‘Shenandoah Tookwarks and author (of Choosing and Using Handplanes ‘Six captured 1” bearings fastoned ‘around the edge ofthe hase provide ‘smooth rotation. You can soe all si bearings 5 well as the lower Mange, ‘eady for us in tho photo below. AM" pipe Mange, centered over 8 ‘ole drllod inthe base, registors ‘the swiveling top circle. AZ“ nipple threaded into a 1/2" ‘pipe flange and screwed tthe underside of the top circle wil stip ‘into the base's arger threaded hole toact asa pivot point \ - 59Cat Re se Lars) Eudes We have invested millions of doltars in our own state-of-the-art quality test labs and millions more in ‘ur factories, so our tools will go toe-to-toe withthe top professional brands. ‘And we can sell them for a fraction of the price because we cut out the middle man and pass the savings on to you. It's just that simple! Come visit one of our 700+ Stores Nationwide. [MOVING BLANKET : TENSES) o— ‘iene 1 see! ~ ct ap OT OE ' q q ustme Rtg q EXESESES ny 31.47 § i q 00,0). ee @ i onde Sg om (0). 0aCUO ee = eee | cng oeneunTOn i ww ANY renouse 3-1/2" SUPER BRIGHT § NINE LED ALUMINUM § SBF iis 3 Eg 0 HARDWOOD WORKBENCH eas ae PNEUMATIC ADJUSTABLE, ‘ROLLER SE PrrTSBURGE Bae $4 iny5 NE 0 + Ov 30 Mile Satisfied Cstomers «Lifetime Warranty “No Hassle Retr Ploy ‘stronToday’s Shop What (Was) New in Tools: A Year in Review By Woodworker's Journal Staff ols from 2016 that changed our options for the: n skin sensing table saw technology. Grinding whe« alleviate concerns of overh saw technology. A battery charger that J tools. A computerized drill press ‘motor that makes the mechanical drive system obsolete is SS << rp Cubic boron nitride grinding wiee! (this ‘one is from Wood Turners Wonders) Bosch GTS1041A REAXX™ Ry Portable Jobsite Table Saw, with skin-sensing technology Festool’s HK 85 and HKC 55 Portable Circular Saws, with integrated tracks NOVA 18" Voyager VR Dil Press DeWALT DCB1800 1800 Watt Portable Power Station™ February 2017 Woodworker's JournalBattery Technology Breakthroughs ‘Thought the introduction of lithium ion a few years ago was the last big thing in battery news? Think again. Just this past year, we've seen the introduction of batteries that beef up the categories to include GO-volts, plus are flexible enough to change voltage depending on the tool they're attached to. Think that’s smart? More and more batteries these days are coming linked to apps that can perform tasks like switching on tool-presets, locking your tools from a distance, running diagnostics and keeping track of battery charges, and locating your tools. ‘Milwaukee ONE-KEY™ tool app: Milwaukee M18 FUEL™ 1/2' Hammer Dril/Drver with ONE-KEY (bottam photo) 4 DeWALT OCB606 FLEXVOLT™ battory Woodworker's Journal February 2017 App-Happy It’s not just power tool batter ies taking advantage of today’s “smart” technology. You'l also find itin categories like measur ing and inspecting tools — and, we're sure, General Tools’ TootSmart™ Laser Distance Measurer DeWALT Too! Connect™ 63Today’ S Shop continued Cordless Options Increase What can't go cordless these days? 2016 saw the introduction of cordless miter saws, including one that runs two 18volt batteries together to achieve 36volts of power. Speaking of battery power, one brand has introduced a whole new family of GOV ‘MAX power tools to accompany its new flexible power batteries, plus — and here's a miter saw again — 120-volt MAX* slider and non-stider miter saws that double up the 60V MAX® batteries to achieve that level of voltage. Other cordless entries? Finish nailers. Lighting accessories. A trim router. The list goes on, FIDGIO GENSK Brushless 18V Compact Router (2860448) ‘Milwaukee M18 FUEL™ 10° Dual Bevel Sliding Makita 18V.X2 LXT® Lithium-fon (36V) Brushless Compound Miter Saw Cordless 7%6° Dual Slide Compound Miter Saw a Milwaukee M418 FUEL ™ Festool Syste i . 18 GA Brad Nail Finish High-Intensity LED \ Nailer (2740-21CT) Work Lamp ) 4 . % GREX GC1860 Cordless Brad Nailer RIDGID 18V 7" Dual Bevel Sliding Miter Saw, Mode! RAB6O7K From DeWALT's new family of ‘cordless tools for FLEXVOLT battery system: 6OV MAX* 74" Ciroular Saw (OCS575); OV MAX* 4" Table Saw we (0CS7485) 64 February 2017 Woodworker's JournalDeWALT 120V MAX" 12” Sliding Compound ‘Miter Save (OHS790) DeWALT 2ov MAX* Handheld LED Light (ocioss) ‘Milwaukee M18 RADIUS™ LED Compact Site Light with ONE-KEY™ Hitachi NT18SQDE Cordless 18.Gauge Brad Nailer WOODWORKER’ THE COMPLETE COLLECTION his CD includes every project, technique, trick and finishing article that appeared in Today's Weodwork- ‘ermagazine — the predecessor to Wood- worker's Journal The Today's Woodworker Complet Collectian features over 200 project plans with complete step-by-step directions and photos. Order your copy today! Item #48689 .... $3329 $24.99 Call 800-610-0883 and mention code WS1713 or order online at woodworkersjournal.com/wj1713 Woodworker's Journal February 2017 Mortise &Tenon Joints Huge Range of Joint Sizes Leigh FMT Jigs 65,Today’s Shop continue Gluing and Clamping Frebond ik & Thick Glue Innovations continue apace in the world of holding your workpieces together. New F-clamps use a “piston” to clamp with greater force — but no spinning that ‘would cause misalignment. A suction clamping system uses vacuum power to hold a variety of shapes. Bandy Clamps keep their one handed operation and omar surface, while adding sizes to increase the clamping opportunities. And, in adhesives, new formulas bond wood, plus a variety of other materials. (Psst: the technology formerly branded as Nex bond changed hands in 2016, too.) —N eeu TE Te Festool VAC SYS vacuum-based Fre suction clamping a Rockler F-Style Piston Clamp by Piner — yy sy DAP® RapidFuse™ Wood Adhesive Fockler Bandy Clamps, ‘Medium and Small 66 February 2017 Woodworker's JournalShop Accessories Sometimes, when you're in the shop, you just need to get something done without a lot of fuss and bother. New en: tries to the market that want to make your life easier? A line of oscillating power tool accessories that includes patented sanding options but fits on the mounts of most multitool brands. Brushlessmotor sanders that achieve the power of air tools, without the pump. And a space-saving modular workstation, available to Americans for the first time FEIN Starlock tool-mount accessories Triton TWA7 Workcentre ol ETS £C125/3 5° fom Orbit Sander CL ESSA) www.quickscrews.com Woodworker's Journal February 2017 Forrest Blades Satous woodworkers count on ‘Ameican-made Forest sa blades . for smooth uit cus, eventime. whut spntrng scratching or tears No matte what your application, Forest Dados ae ‘Simpl the bost money can buy ‘hate why discriminating craftsmen preter thom! Your blades cut tre, with no baton. can say with conden that Fores blagas ae tha best Cat Suds ~ Burbank, CA Our Most Popular Saw Blades: Woodworker This anaréining alrpurpse Blade is the fiat of is ‘ype ‘Chop Master - Produces peract miter wth smooth edges... no bottom splinters. ‘Ask or Forest blades at fhe deter 473-5236) Wooduorcrl! _ChopMaster_ Duane HAT Dado King ne es nee ete eam oo 67D continued 7 r High-Tech Tools ‘Today's woodworking definitely has a high-tech coming into the CNC router fel including fom ‘aide it ebog Ca wh Wl be sexta a igeeve tak peace. A oc, printers acces to the another option to your hight umer are adding Dremel 30 Idea Builder ‘ShopBot Tools ‘Desktop MAX CNC router Powermatic PM-2X2AK CNC with Router Mount (ONC Shark Ha CarveWright CX-3D ONC System Axiom ARI6 lite ONC 68 February 2017 Woodworker's JournalFinally, F-style clamps with A+ features! When you're in the middle of a crucial project, there’s no time for clamps that can't hold their own. The ingenious double-threaded piston system and flip-up handle of the new Rockler F-Style Clamp provides quick adjustment and excellent clamping power. You get dependability and peace of mind every time, so you can create with confidence 16" Rockler F-Style Clamp by Piher (51552) $39.99 For details go to rcklr.co/212 or call 1-800-279-4441 and mention code 212 at checkout. @ ROCKLER utactetah Sans tah Seal Tl t eceaatel BOG ee tec een BTC Xe a LULL thyWeekend Projects Ore ee Tce ege POO Re ee Sa ‘ ccabinets are just too high for them to use ‘comfortably. Fortunately, you can remedy the prob- OED ene a eo OS aoe cs reach ofthe little ones. Its even sturdy enough EU et es eS Doce subscriber to Woodworker's Journal, you may recall Somer oe itd COS recs So oo cence 5 Pn se eg ena Pree ee esd ><. Cea eee ae Socineanetiniaemameatinameman One Board is All You Need ning and cutting around You can build this stool froma single knots. Ifitturns out your 1x0, butif you're using #2 pine from board is nice enough, you the home center, ike I did, Fllsuggest can make two step stools: spending the extra three dollars for an one for the house, and on Stony 1x12 instead. Even when you for the shop! ‘Alter cttng tho 8° angles atthe top and botiom of each lo, pick the best one ofthe pile, you'l still ta ‘make the shoulder cuts fr the stretcher notchos. These also need to do a litle squaring, straight: c s ‘are angled at to match the top and bottom edges ofthe legs February 2017 Woodworker's Journal‘Make the stretcher notch cheek cuts onthe table saw by clamp ing a stop block tothe fence, so you don't cut oo far and into tho angled shoulders. Finish these cuts witha hand sav. three pieces to rough length: one at 16", ‘one at 18" and one at 20". These will be the stretchers, top, and legs, respective- y. Joint and square up the long edges before cutting these parts to their final dimensions. When you rip them to width, leave them about 1/32" oversize, soyyou can sand or plane off any saw ‘marks. Cut the top to final length at this time, and crosscut the legs to 10". With the table saw blade tilted to 8° crosscut the top and bottom of the legs parallel and to a finished length of 9". In addi- tion to adding some style, angling the legs gives the stool extra stability. Mark a vertical centerline on the legs. On the top of each leg, measure 3" out from either side of the centerline, giving you 6" between the stretcher notches. To make the shoulder cut for these notches, Iused my table saw with two miter gauges connected by a sturdy fence, angled 8° to match the angle at the top and bottom of the legs (bottom photo, previous page). Now, to make the cheek cut for the stretcher notch: es, you'll need to.use two rip fence settings, 0 you can make acut along both faces of each notch. You'll make two cuts for each notch, eight total cuts. Once you've set the fence for the rst cut, rip just alittle ways at a time, checking the underside of the board after each cut, When you reach the shoulder cut, turn off the saw and clamp a stop block to your rip fence at that stopping point (op left photo). Make the four cuts possible with this fence setting. Change the fence setting, fip each notch over to cut its other face, and you'll come close to cutting the entire joint. Finish cutting the notches by hand to remove the remaining waste. Next, you'll give each leg a pair of feet, Start by drilling a 1/2"-diameter Dril a 1/2"-diameter hole onthe centerline ofeach og 2's" up trom the ‘bottom edge, to create the rounded top corner of hi evtout Bandsawing Legs Bix Woodworker's Journal February 2017 Cutting the legs to shape requires making several angled ip cuts. The simplest machin fo this ob is the band saw. Make the cuts by eye, following Your layout fines. you don’t have aecess toa band saw, a hancheld jigsaw will work fine, too,Weekend Projects conia _ sup St tebe Stretcher (front and Tp Vows) foe! ws \ Exploded View a MATERIAL LIST e Twat 1 Top (1) 9x16" x3)" 2 Legs (2) Fx 1 3/e" 3 Stretchers (2) x1 x3/a" 4 Screws (12) 8x '§ Mushroom Buttons (6) 3/8" Pine IAMORE ON THE WeB For videos on bandsawing the legs and MED cuting angled dadoes, please visit \woodworkersiournal.com and click on “More on the Web” under the Magazine tab 72 February 2016 Woodworker's Journalal =, q ‘DOVETAIL 2 DO Al TE aED Custom MADE DoveTAIL DRAWERS DRAWER.COM ORDER CUSTOM DRAWERS ONLINE! ee OO 1*800«800*DOVE (3683) TEL: (707) 556-3683 + FAX: (707) 556-1920 Email: orders@drawer.com ACCURATE, FLAT, SQUARE, © ALWAYS ON-TIME “The Fastest Drawer In The West” ————————_= > @ ae (|eWeekend Project coninuei ‘nce the legs are cut tfinal shape, use a lock plane or sanding block to clean off any saw ‘marks that remain hole on the centerline 234" up from the bottom (middle photo, page 71). Make a mark along the bottom edge of each leg 206" away from either side of the centerline, and connect these marks to the 1/2" hole. Cut along the layout lines using a band saw or jigsaw (see sidebar, ppage 71). To finish off the leg shapes, cut their angled sides and use a block plane or sanding block as needed, to remove any saw marks (top left photo). Making the Stretchers ip the two stretchers from the remain: ing board that you cut earlier. Cut the stretchers’ angled ends at 224°. Now rill the 8° dadoes using a dado blade in your table saw (see sidebar, below). Be careful that these dadoes are angled correctly, rela- tive to the angled ends of the stretchers, The correct, direction is to have them angled opposite to, not par- allel with, the angled ends of these parts. ‘Assembling the Stool With all the cutting done, go ahead and apply any edge treatment you like. I routed a chamfer around the top board and a 1/8" roundover on everything else, ‘You can assemble this stool using just glue or glue and finish nails. However, for maximum strength, recommend going with sue and wood serews. If you plan to paint your stool in several colors lke I've done here, do that now om all surfaces that won't need glue, Cutting Angled Dadoes avs The stretchers receive two dadoes cach to fit the legs. They're angled across the width ofthe stretchers at 8°. When you mil them, two miter gauges attached toa sturdy fence rake a safe and stable backup sup port for cutting dadoes across long workpieces Be picky about sing these dadoes tothe right width — too narrow and the logs wont fit them; too wide and theft wll be sloppy, which defeats the purpose ofthe dadoes in the fist place. Aim for a good, snug jint connection. 74 ‘heads under mushroom plugs inset or wood plugs cut usb ‘you've going for a two-color schome ike the author dd, paint the parts, then attach the stretchers tothe legs using glue and citer nails or counterbored wood screws. while the parts are still fully acces ble. (Ifyou decide on a clear coat like varnish instead, that can wait until the very end.) Proceed with the assembly by attaching the stretchers to the legs (op right photo). I counterbored all of the screw holes to set their heads below the surface. Now place the leg assembly upside down on the bottom face of the {op board, center it, and drive screws through the stretchers to attach them to the top (bottom photo, above). Teovered the screw heads with dee orative mushroom buttons. While they usually fit tightly in counterbored holes 0 as not to require glue, it'sa good safety precaution anyway: loose buttons could end up in inquisitive little ones’ ‘mouths, ears or noses by mistake. With the screws capped, your stool project is ready to make step-up tasks easier for just about everyone. = = February 2017 Woodworker's JournalENGRAVE IT. CUT IT. MARK IT. HARDWOOD LUMBER Delivered to You TMA www.101Woods.com visa I BB Zeya) 800-423-2450 Earlex, SPRAYPORT 866.963.5601 4 WT sl eso 4 Woodworker's Journal February 2017 SIZE MATTERS ALL NEW GREX.GC1850 bi eee rao te SO a Lear more at www.grexcordless.com Designed, Engnoorad and QC'ed in he USA HE JOODWORKER'S JOURNAL Learn how to take good care of your power tools with the detailed written and video instructions on this DVD-ROM. We cover everything you need to know! Item #56228 .. $9.99 Cal (mention code W31712) or Order Online:What’s In Store New and Improved Contact Information BLACK + DECKER 200-544-6985 DAP 00543-9840 DAP® RapidFuse™ Wood Adhesive cures in js minutes, when it is ready to plane, sand and stain without causing any damage to the ccured bond. RapidFuse uses the adhesive technology for: merly branded as Nexabond, which DAP purchased from the original chemical devel ‘opment company with the ‘goal to expand distribution of the adhesive, RapidFuse ‘works on all wood types and causes no water or swelling damage to joints. The glue is repositionable up to three minutes to allow for perfect, alignment without a sacrifice in strength of the bond once cured. It does not require an activator. In addition to ‘wood, it works on other , surfaces such as metal, ABS, melamine, particleboard, PVC, glass and stone. “DAP RapidFuse Wood Adhesive provides woodworkers with afast cure while delivering ‘on the performance they demand,” said Kate Piche, is group product director at DAR. DAP RapidFuse Wood Adhesive is available in 85 ‘ounce and 4 ounce sizes, with prices at around $6 for the smaller size bottle and around $11 for the larger size, Infinity Cuting Tools 877-872-2487 Nils 00845-9475 PORTER-CABLE BB. 848-5175 Rockler 00279-4481 Work Sharp 00597-6170 Work Shar Combo Knite Starpner rv TI Ae LeU eMart ce Woot Adhosie Wagner SprayTech says their four new heat gun nodels (the FURNO™ 300, FURNO 500, FURNO 700 ‘and FURNO 750) offer the broadest temperature range available among heat guns, including the hottest (1,300° Fahrenheit) offered in the 700 and 750 models, The new heat guns also have side supports to prevent the hot nozzle from touching. surfaces when set down and integrated stands for safe, up- right, hands-free operatio == ‘The new Work Sharp Combo Knife Sharpener will sharpen every knife you own. Built-in 25° sharpening and honing guides create a ‘consistent edge angle. A flex ible abrasive belt repairs and sharpens dull and damaged knives. The 1/2" x 10" belt is made from engineered abra sive, and it can be changed quickly and easily without tools or calibration. You can sharpen up to 100 Knives per belt. A Tapered Ceramic Hone, which ean accommo- date any size of serration, refines your knife edge. Design engineer Steve Baker said, "I developed the Combo to allow anyone to be successful at sharpen- ing knives — the skill is in the tool.” The Combo Knife Sharpen er sells for $49.95, Wagner Fun heat guns February 2017 Woodworker's JournalAnny Cuting Tals 3. Gass Door aking Fotr Bt Set ‘The $e. Glass Door Making Router Bit Sets from Infinity Cutting Tools make all of the joinery cuts for the door frame, create the rabbeted back to hold the glass, and create a matching wood lass stop to hold the glass in place. Each set consists of three router bits: a rail cutter for making the coping cats on the ends of the frame aslile cutter for routing the profile and cutting one side of the rabbet for the glass, and a slot cutter to remove the glazing strip and create the rabbet that holds the glass. The sets are avail able in six different profiles: standard, ogee, bevel and radius, chamfer, Shaker and Art Deco. They have 1/2" shanks. Each setis priced at $149.90, ‘The FURNO 300 is designed for small projects ra and occasional use with two temperature settings of 750'F and 1,000’ It retails for $24.99. The FURNO 500 can be adjusted to 12 heat settings ranging from 150°F to 1,200°F and has two fan settings for optimum heat control. Its cool-down mode safely reduces tempera- ture and prolongs the heat element's life. The FURNO 500 comes with flare and glass protection nozzles and sells for $34.99, The FURNO 700 offers exact temperature control between 125°F to 1,300°F, with 117 tempera ture settings and five fan speeds. A memory function allows you to save the last temperature and fan setting used. It comes with flare and glass prote and is priced at $59.99. The FURNO 750 adds a curved deflector nozzle and a concentrator nozzle, painter's tool and a case. It sells for $69.99, ‘The Shop Block Tool and Parts Tray from Rockler Woodworking and Hard- ware isa halthexagon shaped storage option for tools, bits and blades. The tray can be used individ ually or snapped together with another to create a larger, full hexagon. The ‘wo taller compartments in ‘each half-hexagon are filled with flexcrod plastic bristles, which will not seratch or damage tools as you drop in chisels, screwdrivers, pencils and more. The bristles can n nozzles Woodworker's Journal February 2017 Fock Sop Block Tooland Pats Tay be removed for cleaning. In the front row of the Shop Block are three open trays for small fasteners like screws, nuts and bolts. You can attach a rare-earth mag: net to a recess undern each tray; two keyhole slots in the Shop Block also allow for mounting to the wall. An individual Shop Bloc! and Parts Tra is priced at $14, available in a two-pack (Item 51619) for PORTER-CABLE’s new 20 MAX" Lithium Ton Brushless Drill/Driver (PCCK6071B) and 20V MAX* Lithium low Brushless Impact Driver (PCCK647LB), which oper- ate on brushless motor tech: nology, are part ofits new Brushless EDGE™ family of tools. Both tools will operate on any PORTERCABLE 20V MAX? lithium-ion battery, ‘The PCCK6O7LB Brush: less Drill/Driver delivers up to 370 Max Watts Out (MWO) to maximize drilling and fastening speeds. A two- speed transmission delivers 0 rpm for high-torque ap- plications and 0-1,800 rpm for ‘maximum fastening speed. ‘The 1/2" ratcheting chuck PORTER-CAmLE POCKEATLE Impact Der 7What’s In Store continued improves bit retention. The PCCKG07LB measures 74" long and weighs 3.3 pounds with battery. ‘The PCCK647LB Brush: less Impact Driver gener: ates 1,400 inch-pounds of maximum torque for lange fasteners, and the variable speed trigger delivers 02,700 rpm. 1/4" chuck allows for fast, one-handed bit changes. ‘The PCCK647LB is 5.8" long and weighs 2.9 pounds with battery. Suggested price for each tool is $139. tisk ATTX39 Nilfisk Industrial Vac- uuums has new wet/dry vacuums, the ATTIX 33 and 44 InfiniClean models. The new InfiniClean™ automatic filtration technology features areversed air pulse, activated every 15 seconds to keep air- flow ata high level. The fiter is constantly cleaning itself during use. ATTIX 33 models have an eight gallon ca: pacity and weigh 31.9 pounds, while the ATTIX 44 has an Lgallon capacity and weighs 35:3 pounds. Both run off 15-amp motors and have a 148 fim capacity. Ad- ditional features ude a power socket with auto- ‘matic on-off for when drilling, sanding or cut ting; flat top for Cues LACK DECKER DECSSONC cular saw storage and universal toolbox ‘mount; a multi-fit hose inlet and an optional trolley handle for inereased portability. List prices for these models start at $640. BLACK+DECKER™ has released a new circular sa, Model BDECS300C. The 13-amp, 71" saw has a laser cut line guide for accuracy in cutting and a spindle lock for easy blade changes. The circular saw has a 45° bevel capacity and a 2%" depth of cut at 90". It operates at 5,300 rpm and weighs in at only eight pounds, with a low price point of $39.99, to illuminate either bank, or both together, for half or full ight output. The P727 includes integrated mounting hooks for hanging, as well mn extendable angi hook; it ean also be used in a standalone position. The P727 LED Workbench Light is priced at $50, New lighting options from RYOBI in their 18V ONE+™ line are the P781 LED Area Light and the P727 LED Workbench Light. The por- table Area Light emits 330 Jumens of fight output and weighs only one pound. It has up to 48 hours of runtime and a Lamp USB charging , port that lets you charge your smart device on the go. It’s priced at $30. The P727 Workbench Light has a rotating arm with a 270" range, allowing you to adjust for detail work, Its light output is 950 lumens, with up to nine hours of run time, ‘Two separate banks of LED lights allow you ayo p7a1 te ‘rea light ard 727 LED Werk: bench ight 1 February 2017 Woodworker's JournalThe TTS1400 Plunge Track Saw isa highly versatil, feature: packed tool with easy mode selection, fast set-up and advanced safety feature. When fitted toa track, the TTS1400 delivers long, straight cots, and the flat design of the blade housing means the saw will work right up to the edge of the workpiece - ideal for trimming doors and cutting hardwood flooring, For straight, clean and accurate cuts through any type of wood, Titon's TTS1400 Plunge Track Saw delivers a professional result every time 1400 / (NS vad THE WORLDS FINEST SELECTION ABS * TURNING WOOD + LUMBER ss OE VET AL Re Engineered and tested to develop 3-4 times more tension than traditional coping saws. Blades pulled tighter cut straighter, with less effort, and no fighting ‘banana blade’. Woodworker's Journal February 2017 79Woodworking Tools & Supplies Index Sy) . i February 2017 C4 For product information in the blink of an eye, visit www.woodworkersjaurnal.com and click on “Woodworker's Marketplace” under the Tools & Supplies tab. ADVERTISER Page No. Wob Ai ADVERTISER Web Adivoss 1-800-BunkBad Zi www 1800bunkbad com Laguna Tools vwwewelaguracleanaircom ‘American Fabri Fite Co. 3 wawamericanfatrcfitorcom Lee Valley Tools 21 wewaleovaley.com ‘Armor Crafts 23 wawamorpiens.com Leigh Industries, Lid 9123165185 wwwlighigs.com ‘Amar Tol 23 wawamoroolcom Lignomat 49 wnnwlignomatusa.com Badger Hardwoods Next Wave Automation 41 wanunextwaveautomation.com of Wisconsin, Lid, 81 wwbadgerwoodcom Osborne Wood Products, Inc. $)78 wwwwoodoncomponents.com Beall Tool Company 81 wuwbeattoo!.com PanelPro 41 wewpanero.com Calculated Industries 49 wunwcalcultorcom Piner Noth America 49 wnnwpiercom (CMT USA inc, 81 wa wemtusa.com Quickstrews international Cop. 67 wwwwzquickscrews.com Cook Woods 78 wawco0kwoods.com Akon PowerTools 13/81/83 wunritontoois com DAP Products Inc 2 © RepidFuseWood DAPcam Rockler Woodworking Delta Power Equipment Crp. 5 wadetamachinerycom and Hardware 9/69 wwwwrocklercom OR Power Grader 81 wwerpowergradeccom SATA Spray Equipment 57 wewwsata.com/satajet1S00 Earlex 75,81 wwwecrlex.com Sewtlade.com 3 wnewsawblede.com Epilog Laser 417,78 wwwopiloglasercom/wyj Steve Wall Lumter Co. 58 wmwalllunbercom Forrest Manufacturing Company 67 wau-foresthlades com SuperMax Tools 58 wnewsupermaxtoolscom Freud 88 ww reuttoo’.com Titon Precision PowerTools §— 9 wunetritntools.com General Tools & Instruments 18 wavw-generatools com Wagner Meters 41 wanewagnermeters com Grex Power Tools 75 wawgrexcorless.com ‘West Penn Hardwoods 81 wwwwzwestpennhardwoods.com Harbor Freight Tools, 60,61 wwharborfeight com Western Dovetail nc. 73 wwwedrawercom Howard Products, nc 13 warhowardproducts.com —Woodline USA 88 www wooddine.com {IDS Company 43 wunnstools com Woodworkers Source 75 www S0twoods com Knew Concepts 78 —_wwwkneweoncepts com ‘WORKSHOP: 7 wnmeworkshopvacs.com 80 February 2017 Woodworker's JournalWEST)(PENN HARDWOODS, INC. eee ers TOOLS FOR MULTI-CUTTERS STMLSS TEL ARBOR pes ures sins msn ad st x ue pee Wt a pau poets ENG COATING pretest aps camer ands 2 wa iy tg pri ENFORCED ToOL MOUNT es rts, are ae cat and pei as G?63696a 3 — Sized to fit the a a (Be) 1-4/4 stock diamevers Equipped with thrust bearings ‘that make them practically effortless ta tighten a release. For all the latest information and releases from Please visit Our Website Today! Woodworker’ Journal February 2017 fits directly on ORANGE bly DR® POWER GRADER your ATV oF Riding Mower to remove rus, potholes, and washboard, i r from your towing vehicle. Models with wireless remote control avalable. ey eens, BALL FIELDS, AND PARKING AREAS! and redistributing existing driveway materi Call for FREE DVD and Catalog! De ee: 877-201-5798 SMEATON er DRpowergrader.com 81Finishing Thoughts Nearly Natural By Michael Dresdner Upgrading wood with subtle color. more or less amber, However, for a more dramatic way to pop the grain, go with color works just like one. Flood the wood with oil and keep it fully wet for 15, minutes, adding oil when and where it gets absorbed. Wipe all the oi off and let the wood dry two days before continu- ing with your chosen finish, To Dye For For even more pro nounced contrast, or Michael Dresdner is 2 nationally own fishing expert. He shares his expertise on the DVD The Way to Woodwork ‘Step-by-Step toa Perfect Fish, avcilabl through the store at woodworkersjoumal.com. 82 lever chefs have tricks to “upgrade” cheap or less desir- able cuts of meat. Similarly, adept finishers have tricks to upgrade cheap, or less altractive, cuts of wood. With subtle coloring you can en- hance the figure in curly or quilted maple; add richness, to gray, steamed walnut; introduce mahogany’s subtle dark bands to lauan or mer- anti; and pass red alder off as aged cherry. This is not about simply staining wood from light to dark or beige to cordovan, Dut rather giving ita gentle nudge toward something a bitclassier, Want to give ita try? Grab some scrap wood and experiment with some of these restrained but effective coloring techniques. when you want a col Oil of Olé! or other than amber, try this Figured maple is beaut trick, which also works great inits own right, but you can with burls. Mix a water-sol really make itstand up and _uble brown or black dye cheer with abit ofcolorin and flood it onto the figured the curls. You might al ‘wood, wiping it off immedi ready be doing this without ately and thoroughly. realizing it, since shellac, oil Let it dry overnight, then varnish and polyurethane, sand the surface aggressive- lacquer and Danish oil are all ly with 220-grit paper until all ‘Soaking the wood in boiled linseed oi alone can make curly maple realy ‘pop. While nota stain or dye, it does enhance the color February 2017 Woodworker's JournalFor vary distinct figure enkancement, add dark dye to maple, then For gray walnut, use a weak yellow-orange dye fst, then ‘sand. Ater sanding, you can adda second amber dye foran aged look. sea! the wood before wiping on a darker. pigmented stain. the dyes outof the lighter der to utilize both heartwood patches. ILwill, ofcourse, re- and sapwood, walnut is some- ‘main in the end grain are times steamed to dispe giving you welldefined con- the color throughout. Sadly, trast. Add a second, lighter, itoften all ends up a fairly contrasting color dye, su uniform, dull, purple gray asalight amber, to make it color. You can fix that look aged by the sun. Flood the surface with a moderately weak yellow- ‘orange or red-orange dye, “Hate that gray? Wash it which will add a lovely gold: away" went an old ad for en glow to the wood while hair color, but itapplies to killing the gray, It should steamed walnut as well. In or- end up justa bit too bright, atleast for realisticlooking walnut. Let the dye dry and seal the wood with a thin eo dewaxed shellac. When that’s dry, stain the wood with a 100% pigment stain in choco late brown, or whatever color you prefer. As you wipe off the excess pigment stain, you will notice two things: that the dye shines through with Continues on page 84 with your fishing questions iting to Woodworker's Jour £365 Willow Driv Please include your ade phone number and emai adress {if you have one with your thoughts or questions 8” Low Speed 1/2 HP Bench Grinder A Quality Machine for Every Shop! Left Wheel Coarse 60 grit wheel with durable tool rest Dual Eye Shields Keeps user safe from sparks and debris Right Wheel Fine 120 grit wheel wath durable tool rest ON/OFF switch Safety on/off switch ‘comes with locking, key to prevent unauthorized use For distributors near you visit www.rikontools.com today! Woodworker's Journal February 2017 8384 Finishing Thoughts cosine With a fir touchup brush, add ‘matching dyes to blend sapwood to heartwood. by collectin golden glow; and that the pigment both blends it and, in the pores of the walnut, intensifies the ‘wood!’ grain pattern. ‘Want to take the original dye on walnut a step further? ‘Try adding random alternat- ing bands of weak reddish and purplish dyes to mimic varying growth ring colors. Oradd pigment with a dry brush, as in the mahogany tech ue below. The key. to be understated enough to look natural, 0 no one can tell you added color. Got sapwood streaks? You can use dye, in more robust colors and concentrations, to blend sapwood to match the adjacent heartwood. Great Impostors A similar twostep color scheme helps red alder look: like more expensive cherry. Again, start with a very weak ‘Use dye or 2 dya/pigmontsoquenco to make alder ook like aged cherry amber dye for the background, Dut this time we won't seal the ‘wood before the second color. Instead, wash the dyed alder with either a weak red-brown dye, ora weak pig- mented wiping stain to impart overtones of =— c reddish brown. Mix thinner and Jopan color, puta dab on cardboard, Perhaps then sorb just the tps ofa China brite brash init my favorite endl he spots chenect Gy. cordovan for the second or third color application. Use the alternate colors to go between your first bands, or partially overlap to impart a ‘gradual blending of color. Each bristle of the stain loaded but almost dry brush will impart color only on the pore it hits, leaving a broken band of color similar to the dots in old style roto- gravure printing. I as if you ‘went in and carefully added an arc of color to the edge of each pore. Make sure the brush is not too wet, though, or you'll get dark streaks instead of easy: coloring technique is dry brushing, which lets you highlight the pores of wood selectively to make meranti or lauan look more like expensive mahogany. Use a water-soluble dye if you need ito add background color. If not, soak the surface with wa- ter in order to raise the grain, Open pores and the slightly rough surface that results are more conducive to picking up color from the brush. Choose a Japan color that matches mahogany’s darker ccolor bands, and thin it just a tiny bit with mineral spirits. You'll want it the consistency of very heavy ‘cream. Daub a blob of color onto scrap cardboard and serub just the very tips of a springy China bristle brush through it. Scrub until the spot is just shy of com- pletely dry and the tips of the brush’s bristles are dirty with color. With a light, glancing stroke, brush the color onto the wood in patterns that ‘When the bristle tps are loaded with almost dry colo light glancing strokes wil transfer color to the wood pores. tohide dots, Initially, the col or will look very dramatic as itis applied, but you'll notice that it blends and lightens once you add a coat of clear copy the darker areas of finish over it mahogany. Add grain sweeps ‘There you have ita tidy or bands, or simply intensify bag of tricks to give nature a srain where you fee its boost, for when the wood in needed. [often start with your hands doesnt quite live Yeu Dok brown et swish opto hc iomer yor mil toareddish brown oreven = —___ February 2017 Woodworker's JournalRouter Table Dovetail Jig by Leigh GETTING STARTED INWOODTURNING This full-lengeh Rout Both Boards at the Same Time * Half-Blind Dovetails * Through Dovetails * Box Joints CALL 800-610-0883 (mention code WJ1714 or order online at: woodworkersjournal.com/wj1714 SEE VIDEO leighjigs.com Eee em OD Soler a8 a 7 aoe INE USA WOODLINE. Amana Tool” aor jose. Pee ea What can we et you make ate se oe atl a i Woodworker’ Journal February 2017 85,Did You Know? Woodworking trivia: thirst for knowledge Thirsty: A Large, Leafy tree cam absorb as much as 2,000 pounds (about 240 gallons) of water from the soil tn a day, The straight, solid and plain | Arts and Crafts furniture style could not be more different than the ornate, slender, curvilinear Art Nouveau style, yet both occupy the same segment of the furniture timeline, from about 1895 to 1915. What Does It All Mean? Aquic guide to terms from the World of woodworking Bird’s-oye: typeof wood figuring that resembles dats or small yes, most commonly found inmaple Seu sand:\ight soning given ‘o\woud fristesbetween mule Three Eimes faster, yet half as fast: A router ere. eeteaieA (2,000 rpm) spins three times faster than a. eo Large shaper (7,000 rpm), yek the tip speed. Dial indicator: An insiunentor (Gubking speed) of a 2/2” router bit is only ‘measuring stor cistances to very haf Bhat of a +” diameter shaper cutter, precise tolerances; sometimes i 4 called a dial gauge Mipiopeccion 4” diameter shaper cutter ak 7,000 rpra (7,327 fpm) 1/2" diameter router bik at 22,000 rpm (2,878 fpm) 10” table saw blade at 1,300 rpm (3,401 fpm) 1 VI; be ‘Timm Yackels Submit your Your Trivia Test: Een ree lca own trivia ... QWhat are the common ats nen poatan ieee angles of the countersink a issevk woodworking. If itis selected for flathead fasteners —' f ee aa ees ote cll Com pcb rized both metric and Imperial versions? for having Sie yr i Wenders za jh sco Jounal Det, Wit Dee, ave sussewunoa ead 06 Lge | set forte Medina, MN $5240, O sndus an ona Ayensn axe syussanunoo aay ave Tivia pogo theOvecdrreaelens smsuy 86 February 2017 Woodworker's JournalEarlex SPRAYPORT Introducing the SprayPort® 6000 Series for a Flawless Finish * Compact and robust 2 or 3-stage base turbine * Pro-8” non-bleed gun in gravity or pressure-fed options for superior atomization * 25' Lightweight and flexible HyperFlex™ hoseLOOKING FOR ' , AND WITHOUT THE HASSLE OF USING SHIMS? Whether you are a skilled professional or a weekend hobbiest, Freud has a dado for you. The SD608, Freud's Dial-A-Width Dado, has a easy to use patented dial system for easy precise adjustments while offering extremely accurate cuts. 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