Fine Woodworking №214 - October 2010

8/3/2019 Fine Woodworking 214 - October 2010

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TAU TO'S


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Plug InAnvwhere,SawStop's Professional Cabinet SawNow in 12Ov, 1.75HP

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14OI/ERTHE.fENCEP US H S TIC K

u p fro t6 On the Web

8 Contributors

10 Letters

14 Methods of WorkPush stick stands at the readySet a plunge router to co hingemortisesJig holds burnisher at proper angle

18 Tools & MaterialsVise hardware is a home runNew blades for track~uided saws

24 FundamentalsAvoid shortcuts and do your finest work

21 GREAT BRUSHES FORWAT E R - B A S E DANISHES

SE PTEMBER /O CTOBER 2 010 ISSU E 214

f e a t u r e s28 The Versatile Trestle Table

Learn wedged-tenon i mery and design :I table m a tuitneedsBY GARY ROGOWSKI

Heavy-Duty Plunge Routers3-hp routers make deeper cut s than rrud-sized mood ,and feel more '\olid in yuur handsBY GREGORY PAOLINI

40 Tabletop Finish With a Hand-Rubbed FeelBrush on polvureth: ne or prole i n, men wipe on th Hcoa for a ..m .."surfaceBY MARK SCHOFIELD

46 Sleek Console Built for Today's TVs1..0" en ugh 10 fi t under J flat .. ret;n 1 :Ig enough 10 ..WI" pile'; of c mlponenr" and mediBY ANATOLE BURKtN

54 Mitered Edging Made EasyM M am I kip over th , tnt.k) process=unnl n wBY PErER SCHLEBECKER

60 A Visit to the Design DoctorHank Gilpin has the answers for 3 frustrated furniture makerBY MATT KENNEY

65 Make Short Work of Small Parts\'("1 1 bench hoc ks an band tools, Ii "ing fine piecesis as ea5)' as 1, 2, ')

BY MATT KENNEY

70 Secret to a Sheraton Leg?Divide and ConquerBY MARIO RODRIGUEZ


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i the back76 Readers Gallery

80 Q AUse a rong push sUck when nppingnarrow boardsUse a bench chisel to squaremortise comers

Adding quarter columnsto case clocks

84 as er ClassApplied fretwork adds color and texture

88 Rr:sh Line6 finlshmg fixes

97 How The D'd ItThe back cover explained

Sa k Co erSong of the Chalnsaw

65ATTINGSMALl PARTS


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THIS MONTH ONFineWoodworking.comjextrasYlslt our Web sIte 1.0 JCQ!SS free Web 1le1ns, avattable July 31.WI'1ile you'rethere, don't miss ourcollecUonoffree content-includIng tool I'evie"NS, an extenstYe proled gallery, and must-read blogs.

What NOTto DoSpolwoodworXing

blunders and boostyour shop know-howwith our new game.

,t:iJj ~ ,. tGtd f ..... p_ and more

~ s Jt I' Il tI lIuP lor 00If ~~ .."'A~~oom.~~

Small Parts: Fast and Safewatch the sa"",hook and shooting board In action (MakeSfwrt Work of Small Pam. p. 65, In an .excerpt from owvl lfe. ;! se ries on bolf rna king.

Got Jig s?Enter yours In a new contest fo r a chance 10 win a seto f Roek ie r 'BertehCOOkies .

B ec om e a non line member~. more than soo NCIus1veproject and t.eehnlqllJl Videos by s.ubsetTblng toFlneWoodworklng.com. You" alSo get Irnlre !:han 30 ~ears o f arcl'llves al YOllrfingertips,lodlll1lng 1.4()()oplus artft;!es and project plans.

Make an Entertainment CenterWat~h every step o f tills pro,leCt fSJeeh COnsole8ullt for foday:STV s ;p, 46) In a new vide. ;! se ries. .It lea lures:

Jolnt-maklng With Fe.stool's Domino system

Plywood hant1l1ng lips

AUgust .18: Build a Trestle Table'Catch everrbll ,of the iH:tion as ,Gary RogowskI

e r.msthis piece (The Vel'sal.l/e r-restle Table;"p .. 28) In front of our eameras. Lessonslnelude:

Stl!rdj' 'W'ei:Igedjoinery

Smart 'rouler-cut mortises

A handy jIg fo rallgJed drilling

6 fl~t: U;OOIl\'tORKIN ....

ineWood,~T .rkl, I II, vvOf .g

Associate Ed

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c on t r i b u t o r s. 1111

T Im Co leman(Master Class: "Appliedfretwork a dd s c olo r a ndtexture") tailed woodshop In high schooL "'loved woodworking,but theyYRfen't do ing anyth in g In te re stin g ," th eMassachusettsresident says, "so Iskipped Cla ss a l ot.: "He c ameback to th e c ra ftafter colleg e. w hen he heard a talkby Jam es K ren ov In 19 86. wHecomplet ely changedmy view o f wha twoodworking was a ll abou t.I was hooked to . r life: Tosee his, WOrk, go to Umothycoleman.com.

Not lon g ag o. a film crew visited the P hilad elphia F urn itu reWorkshop to scout loca.tlons for a comme.rc\al' with a woodworkingtheme. A crew member spied Instructor Mario Rodriguez("Secret to a Sheraton Leg? Div ide and COnquer1lnhis usual shopattire (right), "Thatlooks perfed!"'th.e rnanentnused, "I s that a

costume'?~ RocIJig:uezlaughs te llin g th estory. B ut w hen It: com es tofumlture makIng. he does more than Just look the part.

Michael Miner (FIn ish Una:"6 finfshlng.tiXes")has been ap ro fe s slonaJ wood f in isherfor 22 years, working Initially fo r customcab inet shops ,and traveling aJIaver the country to touC.hup andrefinish pieces.. ReoenUy he s ta rte d h iso w n:repalrand t.ouch-upbusiness. His other Interests Include music Sl ld sInging. His fivee lde s t daugh te rsrecently mad e th eirflrstcommerclal recordings(living near Nashville, mus ic Is In the air).

Part o f wha tmakes FIne Woodwor ldnggreat 1$ that exper t furnI ture

m a ke rs w rite th e a rtic le s. 'B u t t ha t d o es n't m e an th .e e d ItO r s d o n't'have a good Idea,from time to t ime . Assoc Ia teeditor M att Kenney(OMa.keShort Work of Small Parts"), a hand-tool devotee, Hkestomake c ab in e tswith a lot of sm all d raw ersand boxes wt th f it tedtrays.A de sireto keep his fingers led him to make a'od fit those nttle partswith h an d to ols a nd c le ve .r b e n ch ,J I g s .

[

We are a reader-written rnazezine. ToFor more Information on our contributors"

Fllearn how 10 propose an article. go to

go to neWoodworklng.com/au!llors.. _fJneWoodworklng.f;:Om/5ubmls5ions.

- -

8 FI'>E WOODWORK':->C

FineWqqQWorkAdwrtislng o . r e dD r Peter Badeau

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Sales Assistant tluthe r SIms

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l SSUENO. 213July/ gust 2010p.19

READERS DIVDED Y TAB ESA VERDICT

The huge Judgment entered agalnst Ryobl by a Massachusetts Jury is ridiculous. Tbe

user (Carlos Osorio) was operating the saw with no blade guard, spUtter, or rip fence.

Although Mr. Osorio may not have been aware of the dangers of these missing

safety devices due to his Inexperience, tflat Is not the fault of Ryobl (manufacturer

of the portable tablesaw being used) or One World Technologies (Ryobis parent

company), It is excessive to ask that all saws be equipped with flesf1..senslng

teohnology. Wen-made woodworking tools are costly enough, without addlng a sensor

and brake mechanism that win increase the cost of the tool by hundreds of dollars.-CHERl HERSCkEll. ZELIE OPLE, P

The validity and ethics of the major tool manufacturers not incorporating flesh-

sensing technology can, and should, be debated. But What's amazing to me is

that One World's lawyers were unable to sufficiently educate the jury on sate saw

operatJon to be able to demonstrate the ridiculousness of Mr...Osorio's beha or.- ICI1AEl SI GER. F e ton, calif.

As a retired hand surgeon and an active woodworker, I am Interested In

woodworking injunes from both a professional and a personal vlewpoln My article

on woodworking injuries In FWW f36contirmed in a small study that the tab esaw

Is the most dangerous tool In our shops. The stmty also confirmed that the majority.

If not all, of the injuries sustained on the tablesaw occurred when there was noguard In place.It would seem that the solution would be to arways use a guard_ However, most of

us who are serious woodworkers will admit hat we do not always use a standard

guard because, In many tablesaw eperatlons, there ts no perfect guard. That Is,

there wasn t until SawStop founder Stephen Gass's groundbreaklng echnotogy.

In my opinion, every manufactwer of saws should Incorporate thts t .echnoJogy.Prevention Is a better solution than the best surgery.

-JEFF JUSTIS. ChfD II ISS.

The bar has been raised! Instead of complaining about the legal system. we should

be rejoldng that it has done ... ..at neither the legislators public safety regulators.

industry trade groups, nor tablesaw manufacturers have done; Enforced the new

safety standard. created by Mr. Gass's inued ble InveTltion. Judging from the

responses onFineWoodworklng.com, the woodworking community Is incensed by

10 r t x s 000 R KI '"C;

Af, fltters not as effecd e as claimedIi received issue =213 and washorrified bv the article on air fi lrers .111(~second paragraph condud withthe f II iWing: Parti les smaller than

1 nu n are exhaled a ~ I reathand are [I considered a heahh hazaThi -tateIDl!nt sh uld han: fmxlwarning bell A irnple Google search"ill be rewarded hy thousands 0 real l of which contradict thar semen tom e article, rnrary t th statem ntsuch patti are harmless. 1 1seem"sub-micron parncles elm 10 surfacm lecular adh . n. These tin) paniccan be drawn Iar deeper into the lunbecause t h e " )escape the gross filtratio

ems provided h) [he human body

rm even be absorbed directly IDlblood stream and orga .

-MICHAEl J. VENABLES.S an ta R o

bur artid 3 U1 air f I l t:t" was flO( deahout the tolerable and s a f e -le"Iel u~"\.I.I\: 1 \\ d . Sl. Afi:et'th e t stesawed, routed and sanded wood fminut s, tht- best filters took eighr addirmnures10 dear th e air dust. lea,inlO o f mg. m3


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Th e T ilUI\lO!l Press63 South Main S tr ee t, .POBox 5506, NewIDwrI,CT 004 70. 5506Tel: 203-42&8171

Sen.!!an e-mail:[email protected]

VIsit:_.~~ng.com

To submft an artIde proposal:WIlle ttl F"me \\'oodl\'orlIing at the addressa t J o o . o eO f

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l e t t e r scontinuedthe decision. Responses Invoke the right of all citizens to choose whatever type

of saw they desire. What is happening here ls that a much gre.ater level ot safety

protection has become available. Saws can now be manufactured that won't cut off

fingers. In the 19705, seat belts became the new standard of safety for automobile

manufacturers. Now they must Include antllock brakes and antiskid technologies to

meet the 21st-century standard.

Some woodworkers will say that if they cut off a finger, so be it; i Is their rightto equip their shops as they will.This argument Is specious, because serious

Injuries are costly not just to the Injured. but to all of us. Much of the medical

and rehabilitation care administered to an Injured woodworker comes from public

funding and insurance company payments. These costly payments get shifted to the

rest of us. The disabled woodworker may have 0 go on welfare to collect enough to

pay his/her bills. Again this adds to the public debt.-HERS HEDEE Chicago

Editor replies: This is a complex Issue. and these responses leave out a few key

facts . There are two maIn types oftab/esaw Injurles: kickback and hand-to-bfadecontact. Recently, Underwriters laboratory (UL) addressed the first hazard directly.

and the other IndirectJy, by requiring that all new tablesaws Include a Enropean-

styfe riving knife that moves up and

down and angles with the blade. andO n lin e . a . H ow T h e y W o nNewlyre eased court documents show howCarlos 05Ol' \O 'Siep re am m an ag ed to con vin cethe JUry ana wfrl tms case Rlf detal go toFlneWoodwOl'klng-,com/ElItbas and click onPa 's o g

therefore can stay on the saw for

almost all operations. Most of these

new riving knives are easy to rem o ve

when necessary, as are the blade

covers attached to them. Therefore, they are much more likely to be used than

the older splitters and covers. preventing kickback and reducIng the Incidences ofhanrJ..trrblade contact Every saw manufacturer has complied with the UL mandate.including SawStop.

Last. aside from paying a higher Il1fUai price, a SawStop owner must also replace

the brake cartridge ($80) and the blade each time the device Is triggered, which

can happen accidentally. Also, it Is yet to be seen If the SawStop technology wifl be

feasIble in a portable. job-5f te saw-- the most popular type of tablesaw and the type

that Mr. Osorio was using

All new SIt... have riving knJves. In our recent review of portable rablesaws (fWW '209),t # J etype Carlos Osorio was injured on, we found stat e-of -the-art riving knives and blade coversdesigned to stay all the saw (or most types ofcuts, and come of( In a snap whell necessary;

U FINE WOOOWORKI~G

dust levels deemed unsafe y th'Ole union' proposed standard rdusr set exposure l imitsat 1 III mh a r d t l . ' OO< . l !and ~ mglm3 for sohwoThe Forest Industry coruended thatuni n' request w ukl c v .

manufacturers up I 1.) billi n pnd would ult imately redu :e O le nof manufacturers in the " induAfid' reviewmg the health evidencepresenred.HA'. findin~ \\ 3.." thapersonal exposure l lmil t 1 mg Ihardwoods was n warranted, Hothe '\'auonal In' it ilU(o; ;: ~ r Occupatioafery and Health l~l SHIhas es

.1 recommended :\."JlO:>lJIt..limit fdU51, :.tilsoft and hardw excepv. ' CS I ' C t 1 lred cedar. of 1 mA-m3.~I n lud that even \\ ith these

"cleaners a woodworker's expo udang tolL... dust v . ill be over the li

-MICHAEL MElKONI.AN, Ch

Edl~o' replies: Bolb readers makepomts. e sbould not "II statedparticle smaller tban 1 nil ronconsidered dan erous, 1 e ba.'\et./em HA cJUCWIU!1lI. but our suhsI'f!StY.frc:hugl\:'eS u'I/b Hr. Ituwhle

tra s utnd, boa '1'r!1; as the {dust meier cielec/{!(J ptlrticlf!5 doanO. 1 m tcro ns ..12fu r 1 /1 dus: bmlRi

tbe air. 1Ir. .\felkollll1ll is rlRbt tbaln e best unns ltift liP to 3 mg 111air fi r 10 or more minutes total, a11!(.ll most bealtb aUlbonl/('s consito be unsafe. Houerer: il is ,"'porUnote Ibm III order I Ibroll a l ramount oj dust into the air; IIIf!our maditnes It ub 110 dust ccJlecm pill e filtb proper dust collectiexpect tbat the ambient dust kn.~lsbat > /x'!!71 . n!fiCtllllb'IUIIY?r:.Allbaugh tbe artide did say upf

tba: dus: collection 'Ihejirst line ojdtfew u't' should btllY!POilllf!dou1101 an i du: I collector It'iII do It _hsIIllielt'lllly POU'f!ifllJ, lI.Ie/J-d 19lUeffectJtl?{r connected 10 etlch mach(JIbeI' source of dust u1tb ])llr"llo1lto 0 - m ic ro ns o r! >ssIre recommtl alii JOdll'orilersspend then mo~'first OIl pmper til ., collection at tb.ource. befi re COil. idering lin airm 'PPillgliP any du. ... I4I m the a


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Big News From Forrest

4For Discerning Woodworkers

F om l s tsetstne standardlo re~'" mtl'lese n ewlop.quaJityblades: Wood worb r U48- Tooth B ladeIO f~appIica1ms. F e a 1De : sa20 " fare h o o k .a 25" beVe l ,an d s h a r pI IOI 'dsfo rclean aoss-gr


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m e ho d s o f w o rk.. 11 1

EDITED AND DRAWN BY JIM RICHEY

Best Tip Push stick stands a t th e ready

OriglnaIy tr aJned asan engineer PaulMorris on s pe nt 2 0

years behind a deskbefore p U J SU i n ghis woodwortdngpasslob fun~time.Forh 5 uniquewoodwoJ1dngbus n es s(thewoodcycIe.com),he an dhis co-wortrers seekout the ugJ iest logsthey can find an dp ro ce ss th emIntobeauUfuJfumJturean d art

Ai my smal l commerciaJ hop. wremoved the factory tablesaw guardand instaUed an over-arm blade guardfor safety reasons. Even so, the batt lebere ..een the blade guard and ripfence becom problematic m ecloserme (WO er. For narro 'rips, wefound ourselves either removin theguard. or fi hting with it.To solve this probl rn, we

d 'eloped a pusb tick based ona led that fi over me rip fence.

The unir ha s 3 -in.-thick sacrificialplywood ides, with a IA-m..-Iongfinger on the back edge to pr vldeme push-through even on ery thinrips. When resting fully on the fi nee.the finger just touches the table. Inu e, the unit pushe m estock bothdo rn and forward.The oilier ide of the led is the

same but reversed, so the sled isready (0 go regan:IJ o rwhlcu W3it' grabbed. A large d r handle onm etop keep. your hand well clearof the blad . The Jed work for anyripcut. but it' especially useful forripping narrow stock. For those jobs.the ide of the sled lides under theguard, which rid up and over ir,The handle and y UT hand) stay'clear 10 the right. If the ides getchewed up by me blade. we - lmplyreplace th Ill.To keep the led handy but out of

the "-'3.}' for o/-l-in. and thinner nock,we hot-glued 3 ... ed e to [he topfront of the rip fence. and we curvedthe leading edge of the led [0provide 1 in. of clearance above metable when the led i. re ling on thewedge. \\1hen pushing -rock throughth saw, the led res n m ewedgeuntil lt i n eded to push the tail endthrough. For thicker stock. we simplyset the led nearby until needed.

-PAUL MORRISON. Oregon, Wis.

1 FINE 000 ORKI'iG

Sled rests onuntIl end of s

,.

A Heward for the B t TipSend)OOf ongina!tips to Methods of \ I o r k .Fine '{oodwork ing .PO Box 5506. NewtDwnCT06470 o r [email protected] pa y fo r ever tip ~1lpublish. the best p also, ins a 12Vdriver kit from B os ch {m od elo . CLPK2:1.-12Ot
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected].


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Qu . l c kway to se t a p lunge routerto cut h inge mortise sWhile reading m eApril 2010 issue (FW\f" ~21l). II'IOticedhow Doug towe set his router bit to thecorrect depth to cuta hinge mortise. Here's anotherv,"3y that's quick and accurate, It works on a pLungerouter equipped with a depth gauge,Firsr, chuck the bir in the router. Place (he router

on me workpiece and plunge the bit until ir iusttouches m esurface. Engage the plunge lock. Next,place a earner of the binge OD top of the depth-gauge top and lower the depth-gauge rod on ropof ir. \V'hile f1n:nly holding rhe rod down with fingerpressure, lock the rod securely with the thumbscrew~ow you canrelease the plunge lock and ser thehinge aside, The router is now set to rut a mortiseto Lheexact thickness of the hinge.

This same basic technique. combined with a feelergauge. can be used to add or subtract a bir of depth.To sa the hinge proud of m esurface, place a feelergauge on [he workpiece before lowering [he bit(0 the surface. To set the binge slightly below thesurface, place the feeler gauge on lap of m ehingebefore setting the routers depth-gauge rod.

-MICHAELE . TAY lO ,R , Sl T h om a s.F'a.

Quick Tip[ don't have runningwater In my basementshop, but I often have aneed for the wet stuff.se, for about $3, I bou~tan empty 32~z. plasticspray bottle at my localhardware store and filled

It with water. With thespray bottle within easyreaoh of my workbench,a.longwith a roll of papertowels, I can easUygive my hands a quickwash. 'Plus it's handy forWiping up excess glueandke-eplngmy safetyglasses clean anddust-free.

-TOM BEGN.AL , . Ke .n t.Conn .

SiEP1lower the oJ(10 uches the su(hen engage tp lu rrte to es:

Depth-gaugeSlOp

SlEP2Place [fie comhinge on 'fie dgauge SlOP, lodepl11gaug rJock it down.

My bench vise iJ ; ;a substantial casiron model \\ irh 1 1 beef)

handle. \\:ben m ehanddrops \ erticill). it Is nnni


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-S ERG E DliC lO S,DelsoD.Que Canada

Remove lTiangle [0 setoutside measurements.

m e th o d s o f w o r kcontinuedNo fu ss jlg d ia ls In ca lip e r se t tingswhile turningAn)' turner will rell you thaI turning a spindle requireslots of caliper settings. To ease this process, [ carneup with this double-duty v-gauge,To make the gauge. cut an isosceles triangle

(1O in. tall with a 5-in base) f:rom IA-in..-thicl>hardboard, Rest the uiangh::: on another pieceof I -In-thlck hardboard. and glut! and nail rwo"Ain.-thick scrap strips of .\'IDF or plywood,one on each side of the mangle. Afterthe glue dries, cut the gauge 10 therectangular shape, as shown.Next, draw lines across the mangle

to designate different widths in steps ofI in. If you've done everything righl.lhese

lines '" ill be 1 . .4in. apart.\'Vhen rhe triangle is in its nest. I use the jig to calibrate

for inside measurements against rhe 3 ,( -in, edges. Whenthe triangle is out of m enest, I use it to calibrate out ....derneasuremene s, You can use the lines for even IliI-in. settingsor eyeball between the line::;for 1/1b-in. or even %z-in.accuracy.

Hanging hore

Finger access toremove triangle

'!..-in,Ilardboard

measure

J ig ho lds burn ishe r at.p rope r angleI recently purchased a scraper plane "'ith instructions that mil for sharpening [he blade with [he burnisher15 fmm horizontal. Tquickly discovered this is easier to wrue than (0 do So I carne up with a jig that allme to burnish the bladeaccurately and quickly. The jig consi ts of fWO blocks of wood glued to a basea slot between them (0 house the scraper blade. \xben resting on the registrarion block and the blade. theburnisher is :1utomancally tilted to the correct angle-in this ease 1 = ;0 .

Tile" iillh of the registrailon block depenhow much the blade proieets abov e {blocks. ,\Iy blade proiec~ s 'in.. swidth of the registratlon block is a2J/4 in l'se a protractor ~U1d a full-drawing (0 derermine your jig's lenyour blade! gets shorter mer timerepeated sharpenmgs, you L'3n trimwidth of the block


17/100www.ftncwoodwor k tng.ecrn

_111o comWest: ie ' 8C()-572-0061 welreieider,. ;! .C comwww.felderuso.coms.CA: iel 866-714-6005 s co@felderu50 comwww fine rocdwor ktn g.com . PTE III ROT H R 1010
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24/100

fu n d a m en t a l sJ , . III 1

Avoid shortcutsand do yourfi estworkBY ASA CHRISTIANA

e're all busier ti lfeeling the pre uri! forquick resuln in e\ eryarea of Uf;:.e\ en inthe last plae 1O \ 'Cwoodworke hould

tolerate it-rhe shop,o take :bOITCUIS--31 least, I do,

lit "low

III d wn.J ign re the qutet voic in m}head that tells me I am gamblin .Temptanon arises at every .:..13~e of 1I

project. from choosing 10\ hal ro buildto burin lumber and milling it fromenning j in lO assembly and ini hing.And a mistake at any ,,{3 e n ho,'\ inthe mal product,

n the [her hand if rug th aram il ,y u'U appreciate the g r eoussurface . ri ht ioirns, and flawl fJJl1Shfor years 10 come. ve never regrettedtaking my Lime on -a piece

The payoffIf) u are a hohbyist like me don '( putY urself on a deadline. Leave those ~ ry ur cia) b. Take ;I breath, clear yourmind and let that quiet \ ice guide ~ u.It will warn you about e\ Ty honcut,and you'll be surprised at what you can:J J mplish,

-Asa Christiana is theedimr ,

2 FI:-': E \ '1; '00 DWO R KI \ G

No shortcuts here. Sy carefully selecting mater ials and payirrg close attention tojoinery, Christiana built very s qu a re c as es and doors for his I lrJITt- lnhome offICe.feaFWW 1'166. That made It much easier for contr ibutor Tony O'Malley to Install the enattach the face frame and moldings, and hang the doors.

When was starting out., couldn't walt to begin cutting and build ng. so Idesl ned pieces without much orethought, As a result, my work oUlld upwltb proportfo , 0 dlngs and ather el me that I dIdn't lTke. I keep myboo C8$8 II hidden In a base nt p oom.

If you're creating a design fro cratch 0 even rom a photogtap ,you I

to Iron out the deta 15before you buy lumber. Tbe best approach 5 to rna e

models and mock-ups-a tall order for a begmne

So ulld your rst projects from trusted

sources. such as books or maga--ztnes like this one. After the book

case I built a cra-

dle from a plan In

a boo . That one

came out great,and sits proudly

In my daughter'sbedroom,


25/100

D on ' s k P OWe all get stIcker shock at the lumberyard, but It's not

worth the savings to buy subpar wood, or Just enough toeever your cutllst. The uglytl'ade-off comes when you areforced to accept defects In the finished piece, or make

the tong drive to get more wood later.Youwon't regret buying 10% or 20% extra. You can

cut 8IOund defects. reject a board that warps everely orlooks worse than you thought tt would, or rep ace one Ifyoumake m istakes I youw I! ).

Before you open your wanet, though, take care at thelumberyard to flnd the right board fo each part. look

for matching

color and great grainwhere It counts most.Thtln use a lumber crayon tomark each board for the parts it wIT!yield.

Also, If you buy your wood already .surfaced. take extl'acafe to make sure that each board Is straJgJrt. flat, and

smooth before putting tt In the take-home pile.

YounHd patience and attention to det.al! when cutting p eces to rough length

and wIdth, then Jointing and planing them to ach e e flat, parallel faces andsquare comers. These tasks are crucial, but dull, and tts too easy to treatthem like a speed bump on the road to building your project.

You mJgbt decIde., for Instance, to sklp the step of mllJlng

your stock snghtly oversize and letting It aceUmate (and move)

tor a few days before bringing It to linal dlmens on,YIHIm gbt choose not to bother marking wh ch faces you've already

milled, and end up with lumber tbat Is not straight or square.Attention to these details will make you much happier when the

wOlk s done. It's also worth remembering to mill extra pieces as

replacements or test parts.

P a u fo rs h a r p e n ig

S 0

If I don't sharpen my hand tools at the beginning of a proJect, I tend to avo dit when I'm In the thlck of things la er. So f try to make do with dull toolS,sweaJ'lng when they dive toe deep or tear at the wood. I end up with tom-upsurfaces and 1 0nts that don't fit well.

I've learned to commit to a sharpening on ear yon. At a minI-

mum, I htt my block plane, s.moothlng plane, nil scraper. I f there are anymortises a d tenons. I also sharpen my sho der p e and eh .sel.

If you don't kno how to sharpen blades well, stop now read a faarticles, buy the gear you need. and learn to use it. I recommend ahlgl1-quallty honing guIde and waterstones, getttng th final poltsh on

an 8,OQO.grit stone. 0 ee you e a truly sharp tool. you" know what all

tbose hand-tool nuts have been crowing about.Check the bi ts anti blades 0 your power too s, too. They

shouJd be free of gunk and harp to the touch.

SEPTr. IBER/OCTOBER 2 10


26/100

J r pep,

fundamentalscontinued

Cutting Joinery Is another place where I sometimes bave tempted tate. Ina rush and overconfident, I sometimes try to make the first cut on my

actual workp eces. And about 50% of the time, I am sorry I dld.

That's where ntra lumber can come In handy. Mill an extrapart here and there to dlal In your setups for perfect results.AnD er trap I sometimes falllrrto Is trying to work around

the fact that I don't have the right tool or Jig for the job. For ex-

ample, I used to struggle to cut tenons with my sloppy S opmadetablesaw Jig until I ftnaUy made a second one---(:ar:eful y.

Sometimes you need a certaIn tool for best re-sults. I use spiral upc:uttlng bits for mortising. URtIlI got

serious and bought: a few of these pricey bits In different sizes,I struggfed wfttI straIght bits that wouldn't c ear chlps, stapp ng

every five seconds to blow them out.

a s e b e o reg luin g u p , o r e ls e

o n ru n o t o f g a sa t h e n sh

Once all the joinery Is cut. I can't watt to get the wholething glued up $0 I can show my wife what I've been

doIng In the shop for weeks.

At ttlat point, two huge temptatjons arise: avo ding 8bunch of sarufJng and scraping, and not do ng a dlY.fit totest the clamping setup. Sk1p either, and yoo'l l be SOI'l)'.

Some beginners try to skip surface prep--eitJ1er Inpart or entirely-leav1n.g behind jointer, pianer, and table-

saw marks that become painful ly obvious once a finish Isapp edt

Once the surfaces a e prepped. dont rush into a glue-up. Stop to do a real dry-fit, and you on't have any sur-

prises once the glue Is spread and the clock Is ticking.

You don't want to be caught scrambllng aJo1ll1d the shop

for a miSSing clamp or calli, or be forced to pull apart a

whole assembly that doesn't fit right,

By now the surface should be mostly prepped, with

a bit of touch- P to do after the clamps come off andsqueeze-out Is scraped away. but you stm need to appnice fin sh. Once agal you'l be tempted to dive ri

slapping fin sh on the real p ece, Don't.Stop, take a breath and make a test panel. A

panel 5 Imply a p ece or two of extra projectwood, used to test the Rnlsh. Even If you are usinga fin sh you've alread~ mastered, you shouldn't

skip HIls step, because each board can

respond differently to a nlsh.. You

should tryout most or a of any

scrap. If you are un ure

of your surface-prep

method. tJy that

out too.

26 FJ:'>


27/100

G oto u r m a g a z in es ?

Imagine the PossibilfrieL visit leighjigs.tom ' - 1= - .- R..... ~ 101,..,., . 1 '9>Now YOIJcan rout all of thes joints-right out of tne box!

ww.finewoodworking.com

p..r.ommtndsci:

PWessU,.O-S"'.JffR D:

- A C C U R A C Y-QUWTY-DURHIUTY-2- Y EA R WA R RA NT Y

"EI'TE\IIU::1t OCTOBER !OlO
http://www.finewoodworking.com/http://www.finewoodworking.com/


28/100


29/100

MODERN TRESTlE TABLE

he'trestle design. 15c.enturies old:, yet tts rock-solld eonstruenonnd easy aeeess for sItting remaIn unequalled. It can be made In,

ny siZe--from breakfast to banquet table-.and Its wedged through-nens let you break do,wn the base lo r easy transport. Wh


30/100

C u t a flaw le s s w ed g ed -te n o n jo in t1. ROUT TH E THROUGH- ORTISES

1 I.-1 n. MDF, 5In. wideby 10 In. long

A TEMPLATE : TA MES THE TA SKA simple template, used with a guidebushIng, makes It easy to cut tJUllUgh-mortises to the rtght size, In he right pace.

Offset the layout. The t"mplate slotIs bigger than the mortise, so make aseparate regIstrat ion mark to locatethe template aocuf


31/100

2. SAW THE THROUGH-TENONS

ut the shouldel'$ on the tablesaw. Use a miterauge with a long fence o r a eresseet sled tomanagehe longstock.

Maye to lbe bandsaw. Use a test cut toadjust the fence for dri ft Leave tile cheekssTlghtly fat for trimming and c:feamJp.

Olean up the ell_A Plane away thesawmarks and adjust the fit U se a shoulder plane to geetInt.o the corners.

ut the tenon fo width. AgaIn, lea e the tenon slIghtly oversize. MakeIe aoJoinlng cut with a handsaw to remove the waste.

Oin . . : ! } 'U' . fuUy relie on careful fillin f the through-ten nsnd the wed e [0 their respe ' 0 11e mane '

Howto cu t large , clea n mo rtise surnimreconstrucuon L


32/100

W ed g e d -te no nc o n t in u e d _3. DRILL THE WEDGE MORTISES

~ Upnghts. :v..ln. plywood,L 6 In. de by 18 In. long

Dadoes.Va in. deep

D RILL IN G JIGRogowski built thlsslmpJe Jig to secure the stretcher at an 8 anglefor drflling out the wedge mortises. The Jig clamps to the drill-press

table and the work is clamped to the jIg.

Sl,Tpport tile cut. Place a blockunderneath the tenon to preventblowout where the drill bit eXitsthe cut.

Start a1the _ds. Where holesoverlap, make sure the bit'scentering point htts wood so Itlocates properly.

PositJon

JIg. Thstaysthe drfable. Sthe woIn fhejrepositand clIn placeach n

the tabl w, using a miter gauge \\ uh a Ion ence or asled wuh a lon~ . t p-hlock anachmenr to hold the work andthe cut. To cui the tenon cheeks, r use the bandsaw withstand for mfeed suppon and a 6-1pi bl de for : :J .smoothBe ore curtin the tenon 10 width (helgtn I I lean up th

CUt. [rimming [he len n to the proper thickne 5. To kcheeks flat near the should r, I use a shoulder plane, hut Ito a hlock plane for qui ker st k removal near the ten nRemember that the last 2 in. or the tenon WI n't be hthe a! sembled JOInt. that section em ha\ e n slightl~ I

I abo cut me tenon [0 \\ idth on the bandsaw, a llllL-a\'moversiz and deming up 'lID hand (OOL unlil it sli 'sm emortise wuh no gap' h "in on the ou ide face.

The wedge mo rtis esTh last step in making, the tenon i to creare the m rtiwI,:og z : In addition to l."Ullingthe mortise Slrai~htthrough th

Layout One Is risual reference.. Mark the angle 011 Itre tenonsand sight down the "ne while chopping away the waste.


33/100

. ndsaw Is safer Ulan tablesilW. Rogowski uses a simple jig made of~n. MDFwith an SO notch cut into It

Tap the wedges bome.. When the wedges are tightly drtven, they pull thetenon shoulders firmly against the post foF an assembly (hat won't blJdge.

width0 the ten n, th tri - herei . in CUllin the urer end ofhe m ortise a t anfl O angle. TIll! secret ishar the inside "all of the m rtise ls buried in the postJl(] doesn't need to he chopped ursquare, y U can rut theentire mortise at on the drill press. lour drill pre5S doesn'thave a tilting table. us e a jig like the ne on the facmg page\mk Ul th 'd mortise rlth 3 mer line in the ten n1u kn . lark til m ruseend at ~ in. pa { th e POSt,bur hal 5Wl in. inside the post. In ~ '\\ y, lh wedge w n't hot-10m(Jutagainst the back ide f the m r u s e sing a rad-pointhit.drill the hal at each end f the m ruse firs \\" rk ~lo\\ Irand dear out the waste often, Then drill out the middle sec-ion.To chop out the remaining waste. damp the stretcher onhe bench and use layout line on the tenon at the go angle ora liding bevel placed on th ben h to h i agal it for chop-ping, Ch p In Low rei ih center of th rna r., rom borh thP anti u m. flipping the w rkpie e as needed. Chamferm e 'edg m ruse n both t p ad I nom e wedge.11 r. h J ; ugh m n easilyI cut the wedges on the handsa ' usmg aillllplt: holding jig. er a sliding bevel LO {he

angl rthe

mortiseand

mark out thehape

or rh ewedge on a piee o rI -ln, : . r o F.CarefullyCUI(lUI {hal shape and m ethe edg traight. Glue another P1C,- ~of \IDF 10 the bott m f this template [0 hold th workpie inplace. \lak . up w edg e t at the proper thickness and lengthand a r ughJy the rreet width. Then er th handsaw Ienceo CUI ut he wedge. Clean up the wedges with a bench plan holding (hem in a vise or in the ji on a hooting board 0

Ga r yRDgowsi Uns th e Northwest Woodworking Studionorthwestwoodworlcing.com) inPortland. Ore.

HPTEMIJER/Oc.:TOBER lOIO


34/100

3 n1\E WOOPWORK[NG


35/100

Wenever pm ti 1. I rm mortise .. and there

bener router for theman a plunge router with

big m lor. TIle (3" power Ie ~'U remomort: " .. te in a single pass, and thecreased rna ssmeans Th e router i. easiercontrol and curs more smoothly But Itplunge router is great f r m re than im ruse . I use mme f r template routiprofiling edg ,and cutting dad ~ anrabbers. That' \\ hv I.... s glad [0 }'when Fine WOodll'Orkill8 asked me tall the heavy-duty plunge routers on thmarket.It takes a lor 01 power to breeze throug

deep rnortl I looked only at route....ith ,-hp motors. That's a lot ot torqueand power 10 have between your hand., the f( uters ne xled . fi uan 10 la

I rque :11 s~ rtup and variable p cdthat the motor can be lowed downlarge-diameter bits.Also, 1wanted U f m eroute to w

wuh gukl hu, hings, maklng th zm moretlcxlble fllr template rouLing Ih!U1 if yhad 10 rely n beariug-guided bits Fixetbese routers \\ eren't considered becausethe) ren't suited for routing m rt .the end, 1 t ested eight plunge routers: thBosch 1 19EV DeWalt D\V62-;. F sto

O f:!:? F reud fT 3OOQ \'C E,HiClChl.1l2\"1\.takila RP2 30 1 F e,Porter -Cabl -


36/100

S m a rt d e s ig n m ak e s th e d iffe re n c e.

THE'THINGS YOU DO MOST SHOULD BE EASY TO DO

Bitchanges.1e easIest anth.fitton. The spindle locks auto-matically. That frees up one handto ho.lo !:he rouler body for morestabffity.

fritter swltehes iue eonvt!.nlen1andufe. Both hands grasp thero.uter when It starts:17Ie Freud(shown hero), Festool. Bosch,andPorter-Cable routers aUhave OIIe.

- lWo smart !Ways to adjl1st5.peed. With Hitachi's thumbwtreel ('eft), bothhands stay on the .handles dunng speed changes. The Porter-Cable marksspeed wtftI RPM (right), S1) It ca n be setexactJy to a bits required speed.

burning on [he edge proliles, which I abocut in a single pass.

lte eme s down to e ase of u se , com f'o rtThe increased power o rbig plunge routerscomes ar a price. They a lso are heavier,and if that mass Isn't e:lSf to control. therower won't be easy to use, I ook note of

how comfortable the handle. were, ho'"easj it was re reach and use thl! power5\\. i tch and plunge lock, and how smoothlythe router phmged and came back up inall siruarions.I also spent time doio basic router tasks

lik changing bits, adiu~ting bit height, andadjw.-ring m eheight of the wad stops, Ifan~ of these [asks ac e a pain, you willquickly tire of using the router.The routers' edge guide and guide-

36 FINE 'I 000\\ O)(Kl: -lG

Fufool puts JOur hands at a comfortable angle. That meanwrists are straight Not only Is thIs more comfortable, 1M It alyou more control.

bu... hing "} sterns abo gut :l dose look ,\problem \\ lth either one causes frustratlenand (,O!>l:> time. money , and material. I abuevaluated each router's d~l coilecuon, be-cause wirhour effective dust rulkxtton, arouter is :I messy tool, s h turned om,

dust collection b < ;3 problem for all of therouters except th Festool

Considering all of these factor on",COUleT..rood (lUI; the P'\!S!.{)(II0F2200. lt'smy choice for best overall, Ergonomically,il "'.IS the most comfortable router 10 U5t:.Dust ccllectjon is excellent. TIll: guide

f


37/100

Levers control p/un. on mosfroutel"5.l?Iebest ones.llkB on the Hftachl. can bereached without lettIng go of the handle, andrequ re l it tl e force.

AcfjrllRa.lJle plunge stop re more we...

_tire th.an preset ones. They give precisecontrol OYer how much material Is removedon each pass. All but the Bosch have them.

Herlllrt adJustment. a . .. easy onBoKIL loosen the Iocland twist the knob.The depth rod raIses and lowers on a rackand-plnlon gear.

Triton oers a second wayto plunge. PUllIII the orange lock collar and twist the handleto /awer the body on a rack-and-pfn;on gear.Its a n lo eway to get precise plunge control.

B05dI's turret bas prasel slops. There Ise-ln. difference between the six stops. Thjssaves se:fuptime. but can be a bather If yourplunge depth isn't a multiple of JA Iin.

f'esfool offe". nil')' tine mlc~adjustments. 11Ie numbered and audibledetents on the knob are separated byO.1mm.

EDGE GUIDE SSHOU I :D,HAVE FINE

ADJUSTMENT. .

Ue The fence Is capwred on th- "'""'"'. ~screw so that If moves both In andou t wfth adjustments. and the knob}sgraduated.

Better an a bumpwltb your hand. A11butthe Tritonoffer mIcro-adjusters. Alter rough set-ting the guide and taking

a test cu t. y ou c andial ;nthe perfect distance.

'" ww.Ilnew odworking.comrPTEMRER OCTOB R :!OI(I


38/100

Festool0F2200

festoolusa.com

Street price: SSOO

Welgftt 17 lb. 4 OL

The excellent angled grips onthis router ensure that your

wrists remain straight, whichleads to greater control, Thedust collection Is hlr and a:wa.)'the best of the bunch. It lettjust a f&w chips In the mortisesI routed, and It was flawlesswhen routing edge profiles. TheFestool also has the smoothestplunge, the best plunge lock, andeasy micro and macro heightadjustments. The edge guideIs superb and the ratcheUngspindle lock works very well.Finally, It was one or only tworouters that have an automaticspindle brake, a nice enra whenyou have a lot of stopping andstarting to do. On the down

s .de, the drop-down dust shroudcan ma'ke It hard to see the bJton deeper plunges. Also, theaccessory klt that contains theedge guide and guide bushingsystem adds $300 to an alreadylofty price.

HitachlM12V2

httachlpowertools.com

Street price: $225

Weight: 15 lb. 4 OL

This router plunges smoothlyand handles very well. A goodedge guIde, a proprietary guidebushIng, and an adapter 'or PCbushings are standard, whJch Isgreat given Its cost. Adjustmentsto p unge depth settings areeasy, and switchIng betweenmacro and micro adjustments Issimple. You n91!d only Hlp a well-placed lever. The plunge seale

Is easy to read. A dial to adjustthe motor's speed Is embeddedI n the rtght handle, right whereyour thumb can make quickadjustments. On the dawn side,the touter 's dust collection IsIneffectjve (as It s on most ofthe other router s). The spindlelock worked fine, but the wrenchIs stamped from thin steel anduncomfortable to use.

38 FJ~E OODWORKI:>iG

Bosch1619EVS

boschtoets.eom

Sbeet pree: S3iO

Weight; 1.3 lb. 4 oz.

At first, Ihls router wasuncomfortable, as theplunge40ckJng lever dugInto my wrist. But afterreposit ioning the lever,which required removing ItIlrst. I found it comfortable.AJI of the control buttons andknobs are ell-placed and Intuitive to use. The router hvery well and plunges smoothly. and the plunge lock workgreat, holding heights without budging. The $40 accesedge guide Is seeend only to the Festoot's, Bosch's proprbushings work flne. A baseplate acfapter Is supplied withrouter. but the bushings are not. The sp ndle lock workedwell and b t changes ere easy. A n ce drop- forged wrensupplied with the router. The dust-colleetlon attachment wwell. but makes hit changes diff]cull.

aldtaRP2301FC

maklta.com

Street price: $350

Weight 13 lb. 12 OL

WIth Ilghts In Its base,this router had greatoverall v slbillty and sight

lines. I lso appreclatedthe very aggressive sp ndlebrake, as It minimIzed

the tlmewasted betweenmortises. The plunge lockworked well, and the depth rod and

turret system were easy to adjust. However. the plungemachan m was weak, and I occasionally had to help [herouter back up. The power swItch was a nuisance. too. To tthe rouler on, you must first depress a loc1l.0ut switch meto prevent accidental starts. II you don'! ImmedIately rthe safety switch. the router Is locked on and turnIng It offbe a nuisance.


39/100

dewalt.com

StJeet prlce:$303

Welgbt: 13 lb. 6 OL

DeWalt DW625

WIth good balanceand ergonomics, thisrouter handJed well. Iespeclally l iked Its slickphenolJe baseplate, whichmade II easy to steer therouler for edge profil ing, Itplunges smoothly, and theock ing lever works easilyand holds the heght tIghtly.

The stops on the turret are simple toadJu.stto allow for variable plunge steps. Adjustments to the plungedepth. both macro and mIcro, are easy. Bit changes presented noproblems, as the spIndle lock worked and the wrench was beefy

and drop-forged. The dust collection worked very well wllen I wasmortising, but not so well while' I was edge profiling. Unfortunately.he edg& guIde was d lsappolntJng,a .s Its fence casHng wasn'ttraight. And visibility became an Issue on deep plunge cuts,

Porter-Cable7539deltaportereable.com

Street price: $377

Weight: 17 lb. 4 oz.

All of the adjustmentsare easy to maxe on thismuter,Motor speed Is changedwith a slider on top of themola r. It has a tt1gger switchon the handle, and the turretystem Is easy to zero andadjusl.The baseplate opening

s s ized for Porler-Cable guidebushings, which Is n ee, However, It also means that you have toeplace the baseplate to use profile bits with a diameter larger thanhe opening. The optionaJ edge guide Is sturdy, but the weight of thelIng aluminum ex:truslon sometimes pulled the router off plumb.The optional dust-colleetlon baseplate works well, but we had troublelndlng one to buy. There Is no spindle lock.

wwv..fjnewoodwor kin g.

1;0m

FreudFT3000VCEfreudtools.com

Street price:5350Weight: 13 lb. 6 oz..

Plunges on this router aresmoot.h and the plunge-lock mechanism wortGvery well. A large powertrigger mounted on theright !landle Is easy to workWith two fingers. I had notrouble seeIng the bit duringuse. On the negatIve side, e en though macro and mlero plunge depthadjustments were easy, the depth Indicator could not be zeroed. Thatmeans you must pick a random measurement to use Instead anddo the math to ngure out how much you've plunged. The openIngon the dust Shroud Is small and Interferes w1th any profiling bit thathas a moderate dlameter. I could not ra S8 most bits high enough tostand the router on Its base. Also, the edge guide Interferes With the

ba eplate. making It dJfficult to adjust .

Triton AOOl

tritonlools.com

Street price: $270

Weight: 1.3 lb. 14 OL

Although this router has astandard plunge lever. youcan also rotate one of thehandles to raise and lower the

OOdy with a rack and pinion.The more I used It, the moreI liked that option. The roundhandles are very comfortable.And bit ch an g es w ere the easiestby far on this router, because the spindleIs self-locklng. The dusH;ollection setup looks Impressive, but It Isoverpowered by the motor cooling fan, which sends dust and chipsall 0 er. The edge guide is actually an alternate baseplate. which Isunique, but It did not glide eas Iy over wood.Also, this Is a top-heavyrouter, which made mortising tricky.

EPTE IIiER CT()BER 1010


40/100


41/100

Ater DlY articl ~ ne Editor's 001-p r Fini h" appear d in=196. sc..~ ra t reade asked wheth-

er tbe wipe-on finish I de ibed wouldbe suitable for kitchen c binets or diningtable -.1 replied I.h.1Iwhile y U C uld buildup [he extra protection these surfaces needby wiping 011 many more COOL s of the gelpolyurethane, 11 "would be far quicker [0brush n sev ('",)1001.' f liquid lyure-thane and then switch to the "lpe- n gelI r the final re\\ at s. in thi: \\ .t~. ~. Ugc:t the rapid build a brushed finish.without any brush mark. or dust nih~ inthe final surface.

TIllS approach to a durable yet smoothInlsh L"


42/100

A flglrt touc::h. La yon a coafof polyure-thane starting a fewinches from one edgeand brushing off theopposite edge. Use alight touch. bolding thebrush at about 45 tothe surface. After thefirst pass. land thebrush Ju s t .(nslde fhe fa,end and return, smooth-Ing the strip of wet fin-Ish u ntil y ou co vertilesmall dry area and golightly off the end. Bybrushing off tile endsand no t onto them, youavo d haVIng finish rundown the edges.

surfac , we're still dealing "" ith < n eye-au lung larg . llar surfa 1::,. good prepa-raii n is essential.To learn how to flarten and mooth a

tabletop using handplanes and ;J scraper.e Bob Van Dyke' Fund:lm nta : "Crear-

ing an nra '\, tablet p" in An ::no Ifyou are m re omfortable wlth a ran rn-orbit sand r. stan. at PlOO grit and w rkyour wa ' up t P220 grit, then band-sandwith the grain using the fm."tIgrit Remmerhe dw t using a vacuum or compressed air10 dean out the pores.The next "rep is (0 apply a thin coathella t the whole piece, s w II a'

greatly reducing the likelihood 0 bloich-mg. tll shellac: gives the wood a . U hlly\\ rmer [ ne and lets you h uild a heenfa ter with the gel fini h. You may haveheard that polyurethane will no! adhere

2 FI~ E w o o I)\\ 0 IIKI"G

[0 shellac, This I tru If vou use shellaccomaining wax, such a Zin'i.'if'r '1nirn..d


43/100

closer La be'.J:\"ycream, then thin n withmeral pirits.Yuuneed to apply a roughly equal thick-

of Ilni."h to both .. ides of ihe top (0reveru uneven moisture changes .... .. hichUc


44/100

SANDPAPER AND STEEL WOOL

SMOOTH THE TRANSITION

F J u I . _ c ,Use P4OO-grtt .sandpapet' tosmooth the tinalcoat of blushed-on poly. 00II1 tryto sand down toa perfectly lIatsurface. To du nthe small. shInydepresslonsano/eave the surfacewith an e\'etI sheen.

rub the surfacewith good-quallty0000 steel wool.

wood. Even stearated paper clogs fairlyquickly, so follow Inishing expert Jeffjev.iu', advi e and wipe th paper fre-quentl on a carpet remnant,Don't ov ruse the sandpaper. It is meant

[0 be disposable, and you'll gel mu h bet-ter results if u switch [0 new piece as5000 as the p per 110 Longer feels rough orbecomes dogged almo r instantly,

\\"hen the whole surface feels smooth [0the touch, including the edges, remove thedu I wirh a vacuum. Y i u sh uld apply aminimum f three coot! . Sand iruermediarecoa with P320-gri! paper, hut sand the1 t ne with NOO-grit.

nlike a high-gl , rubbed-out finio,h,ydon't need to make the uirface dead-flatbefore applying the satin gel pol . so don'tIT}' [0 sand 311\'3)' all the small, hmv de-pr ions, However, the shlnln wfll , - I , w

44FIX~ WQOOW'ORKING

through, so after sanding ruh the surface" \'\11hth e g ram u sin g L ib ero nQO(]() steel w oo lto dull these ;po s and [0 F: ln: the wholeurface an evenscratch pattern. t.'se rakinglight t che your pmgt' ss. Il is ronhrdering th liht:ron steel \\ I (highland-

hardware.corn) becaus il I " onger, pro-duces better resul and sheds I m antheproduct found in hardwt re MOres.

Gel poly rem.oves topcoa tlerrorAfter you carefullv \ acuum :1W'3y all [heremnanu f Sled wool, the surface sh uld1 k pretty goo


45/100

owever; you are applrin~ an exrremetyhmcoot f m~ h. b e -prepared [ aprl.\ least three COJ The direcnoru .. on thean will probably sa) 10 wait vernigb; be-ween 03 " hut in warm, cit) condill ns,ghl hours i plenty.FOrthe area f the table that don'( neede extra protection of the bru hed-onolyurethane, just wipe on the gel finish a:

escribed abov . Fou r or rheCOOL

'boulde '>Uffidenl [0 get a sheen mar matche bru bed areasAdding a coal of wax is optional. 00'. likely 10 be handled regularly, I useas much for the fed if :my extra pro-en n, But on a dining table likely to heiped frequently ;rh a damp cl rhowax\\, te of t ime. 0

Ma r i eSchofield is the managing editor.

ww.Ilnewcod orking.com

nps tor gel polY. Use astirring stick to place someof the thIck finish on a smallp eee of cotton cloth (aboveleH). Dipping the doth Is toomessy. Apply the gel in acIrcular motion until you' ecovered a few square .feetIn an even layer (below left).Buff off the ~rpJus finishright away using quick, f irmstroJres and turning frequentlyto a fresh sect. on of cottoncloth. Repeat until the whDletabletop Is done. Look athow happy you 71bewfth yourflawless finish rbottom).

'EI'TE litER o TOBFR .WIO


46/100


47/100

ID r . CO RN ER JO IN T FO R PL YW O ODDETA IL O FCASECORNERS

I'Immed toVu in, long

Glue block.% In. thickby2 in. wide

I\\~he I 1 man on my block. maybe

in the entire C untry, t bu) a wide-creen dl ltal television Like many

people. I u ed to hide m r television 10an entertainrn nt ann ire. but the I It: {fln-screen tel il i ru have a modem look

UulJmd arrractiv e Also .

ittakes a prettyhug cahinet [ c main them. ') instead

of hidin th n ' (hung ir on m e ' \\alland d 'ded [0 build a 'leek entertainmentcredenza to go under il.\l:lde of :5A-in.-iliick apele ply" ood

and solid sapele and wenge, m e piecefi into the m dernlst ryle=-whh iclean. cri. p line. no expo ed [ornery,n frame- ad-pan I doors. iu [ I ngexpans f beautiful sapele grain framedb ) darker wenge,

lyle. ho 'eveT, docs not trump func-

UOl~ 11' credenza offers plen~ of sror-age.Inside are three companments hiddenh) three lldtng doors. The center seeuonhoi .the elL'CIJ 'O ru ; YOpia 'e r, r ece ive r.able box. and a laptop. The outer sec-tl 11.' h a v e hanks o f d rawers (0 "to n: C Oso ,D\ . and ther ac essories. like head-phon and cables. If you d n't own a101 0 CD: and D\1) you could easilyeliminate m edrawers and use that space[0 hold game coru les or other electronic

Glue brocks beef up the CtI"'"oers. The glue blocks, attached tothe top G .o d bo tto m o feach sIde.Increase strength against racking.

More tenons, more strength. Festoo/!;OOmlnocreates rows o fslipotenon J oin ts Inminutes. In thesides, Burkln maved the morUses partway Into theglue blocks to accommodate the rabbet that follows.

Use a dado set to " bet the sides. Bury the blade in a sacrificial fence to dial In thewidth. Place an offcut from the g/ue-block stock under the workpiece to stabflize if.

Ti'im the top.After cutting emortises In the top

and bottom. trimthose parts to litInsIde the /GbbefsIn tire sides.


48/100

Tenons, 'I. n. thickby 'V. in. wide by1.. .. .. n. long (&40Dominos, tnmmee)

Domino tenens, 8 40('4 In. y:V. Ill. by lih 111.)

Plywood panels. If. In. thick by17'D In. Ide by 18 In. tall

~Rails. ~ n. thick by 3 in.Ide by 65* in. long

Partition s, 'I. n.thick by 1.7:V. 10.wide by 22.. in. tall(Including V.-lnAhlcsapele edging)

Sides, Y. In. thickby 21 In. ideby 24 in. tan

(InCluding Inlay)

Four slip tenonsper leg (8)(40Dominos)

Inner cross stretchers.'V. In. lhick by 2'1.. inwide by ~3 In. ong

SlIp tenons Inare all &40 D

Topurchase digital plans and.... a complete cutltst for thiscredenza and Other projects . go toFine Oodworking.com/PlanStore.

Shel es (not shown).'I. n truck by 17'h In.Ide by 21:V. In, long

Fell pad

Outer crossstretchers,2m. Ide

fl'\E '0 DWOR.I\I:'\GI lr.rwln .


49/100

Door pulls, BauerwareL08-31.-8RZ 1.02 x 5.1 mm .

_--- bronze plated(center door has two)

Drawer side.'h In. thick by16 in . long

H O P

WatchSUrKln bUildlJ1isablne tromstart

tof i n i s h n a

member5-


50/100

E ADD TH E CO RN ER TR IMCut tile partitionJo/tJery. To a li gn!be mortises tnthe top and bo1

tom, use a spacerboanl to guide theDomino Joiner. Ref-erence the spacerboanl off the side,which should bedry-fitted .in place.

Get tile glue on. Begfn by gluing the slip t.enons to the vertical members. Then apply glue to themortises of the top and .oottom. Clamp along the edges and use cauls 10bring home tile partitions.

~o fINE WOODWORKING

It:no(] set [0 CUI as deeply . ptY.'

rhe ide'. but iU"l!>h of blowingtill! top and haltom panels," matter" hat (001 rou use,

the join' .' u...ing a .,'01") stick Onced ne, ~ ahead and )f the area

ponen 'i :IS reference point for t} ur ramer or Dorruno.

I put 1 -In, wenge tolay in eachof h IS p lY "ood ... a.~, t hich nOI ca nice contrast hut .11'-;00 er- arahle l . . "


51/100

GfrletJ.ln panels cream a rigId an.embly. A sturdy back helps strengthen the case against racking. The two outer panels are glued Into their groovthe two center panels (not shown) are removable. The frame Is connected with slfp tenons and screwed Into the cabfne

T RE 'ENGE FRA E FOR THE FRONTDETAILOf FRA E

in.

Roundover 011 tlIe roun:r bible.. Routthe profile on tire stock before cutting

the miters. fair the shape with hand-planes, scrapers, and sandpaper,

partitions and the I p and bcnom r . r the,lip tenons,

Dry - f i tand glue up the case\\'hl::n it rnes to sduing up rh ca c. adrv run i, critical. II gives you a chance torehearse the steps. check the lUims, and hesure you have enough clamps ar the ready.BeC'.IU:;e the rabbets effectively redu e [hedepth of the moruses on the sid .' lockDomino lenore have to be : trimmed.Glut' {be 11 : "11 ns into the sid and patti-

11 11', then HI them t the [ p and boa m,semble the case, making s-ure to check

lor square. Foe the inlay along the topboaom, and back. mill up stnp 0 wengeju.", 1air ver I;..in. square and glue th mIll' J used :1 pm nailer instead of clamps 10

W","". fi newood WOI' kin g. com

Sled m es better mit After rabbeting the back of the stoc cuthe miters using a sled. Place a scrap p ece in the rabbet to support two'*piece (above). Glue the frame to the front Rather than fussing wclamps , Burkln used pins to hold the pieces In place (beloW). Pieces acut. fit. and nailed one at a time.


52/100

D OOR A ND TRA CK D ETA IL

Upper track, Y.l ln. thickby1.. In. de

SplinesproJed ~.. in.

Sapeleedgmg.V. in. thick, --. ...... . . . . . ,~r. .protects plywoodand Improvessheling action.

Lower track, 0/. Inthick by H'. in. wide

Make fr.Icb. The top track is thinner than thelower track. After cut ting the grooves on thetablesaw, screw the tracks Inside the case.

'n!rla" tberwrnen. Roul stopped groovesInthe top and bottom of the doors. Dry-fir the ron-ners, then check the f"rtand eetion of the t lO


53/100

d rear d ,a well 35 the ace frame.n' Y u have the doo fiued (0 vour lik-g. glue the guides into the doors,IlC>I.."'Clronze-Im tshedmetal pu ll;, b ec au sekC::1 bito f m etal on a m o dern pie'I.:, After'CI\'"J.tingth e m ruses fo rtho: pulls, I us eda : \ . ' "10 bond th e metal [0 the v.To continue the can look inside, theawers have no pulls Instead I chosell-e; ni n I uch-releas lide m arop OUI the drawer when r u push ne' at. TIle slides p \ ide smooth a t ionnd full C~ t the drawer, The draw11 :lJl-in. sapele plywood edged with lidpele, with lkl sapele falseonrs Shelves an: 'Y.j.lIl,-thickpele pl. '0Dd edged withlid wenge 0 1 1 front,

o lid -wood basean han d le the loade ~. it . n tid wenge

!> Joined with 'U-


54/100


55/100

Wen 1 leach veneering at theCenter for Furniture rafts-manshlp, < mdeats fren need

appl. 3 solid dze with miter t theautifully veneered panel that they han!w rked hard [0 make. metime me

nel i n l perfe tl y uarev so gettingosemiters 10 d up perfectly on all ofcomers requires some auentkm, Herea step-by-step procedure m a rw ill workery lime. This method also can be wededge plywood, make fram ,and applya/din .. And it works fur angles iheran9(}0, 3!> in hexagons andoctagons,TIl . net lie- in perfecting one joint atime you w rk your way around [heece. The quick "tacking" nature of y eUO ' \' Oue and its ability (0 temporarily - "im~hiIt helps in thl process. 1prefer Tire-nd Original or Elmer' Wood Glu . Youn Jighrlydamp a piece. fm -tune il! 10-lion, :md then I d wn me damps. By

lime [he next pie e h:u; been cut 10 fir. .e damp can be temporarily removed 0cmrnodare the next glue-up.'ll walk you throu h the proc . or auare r rectangle. where the angles areI Y u are working on a hexagon or

agon you'll have to adjLL"t the mitergle (60" lor a hexagon and 6-.- 0 for

La n) AlW:I)'S use edge tock that~'Jb in. thicker than the panel. Thi way_ou don't have to worry about anachin

before you move the workpiece, pullback the miter gauge and use the

end of the piece to miuk a line onthe lnroal p ate. Use this mark to

align workpleces perfectlr 'orsubsequent cuts.

PO$itJon ami markfw the secondcut. Hold the edgingin place, eyeballingand feeling thaithe mitered comertines up perfectly(left). Strike a pencIlrine on the edging(below) whe re th esecond oomS f e ndThen trim away theother end at 45ulftll both endSline up.

.. PTEMB /{ 0 'TOBEk _010 5


56/100

TW oUps for blscuit1ng. A .I2-ln. shim taped to the base of the biscuit Joiner compensates forthe edging being thicker than the tabletop {left}. Schlebecker made a qulcJI Jig to hold the narrowedging in place while he cut biscuit s lots (right) .

Glue allows timefor ad}lI5tment.Wfth the biscuits

In place, you onlyhave fa worryabout aligning theedging horizontallyand not vert/cally.Before the glue setscompletely, you canslide the edgingback and forthuntil the mitersline up exactly withthe comers of thepanel.

the edgin flush on the rop andApply il lighrl} proud f both thand low r urtaces and trim it fluII look be [ if the grain ru

around the corners, so U5(: one loo rwood and waste as little materiasible betw een pieces. Once youfirst piece to size. [he remaining piecealready h. . ye the correct angle. andhe tempting (0 lusr nip the pieceil for the next ide. Don t o - iVe ! 'urge. bcC'3U5C you w ill flip the gthe come won't match. Fittingitrlp of edging around the piece wyou three matched comers. hutcorner won't match. Put that comer at the

back of the piece if you can

First edge firstI CU I the sto.k for ihe first edg....ner (0 c mer pred-:'dy. "ilh -'1' ') 'hoth sid I ~ hoto . p. -') T

miters, I use a qualiry filter gauge ontablesaw with a zero-clearance feyou could use a tablesaw sled a slidingtable-sa '. or even a well-run d cho\'('hen the . rners 0 the miter;

perrectly with [he corners ni theglue the edging into place, usingor splines [0 help with alignment,pressure : h uld be moderately strgin wtth light pressure. which aledging (0 "swun" betore It tacks.adjust the posinoning before the fusure ts pur on and rhe glue goe ...mro full

Get rid of squ_iEe-ouf rlglrt away.sllghUy damp rag to femove glue so itIn the way of fitting the nextmiter. Thyou see that the comer of the panel iswith the miterect angle.


57/100

MITER STILL WON'T CLOSE?"SW IM" IT INTO PLACE

After applying glue, posit ion the new

half of the miter joint 100 far along Ihemiter you are matching, then push Itdown with clamp pressure.

end temporarily a IIt fJe short and applYlight clamping pressure to hold it there.

tack, bin you have only about a rninute,

:\pph' pre:MU! ~

dose[0

[he center of m eedge thickness as possible, (0 avoid gapsat the top or botrorn edges.

F itthe next pteces one miter at a t imeCut the next adjacenr side piece with a 'i- o

angle. and them hold it up [0 m eexistingmiter; Ke p thi piece slightl} long If themiter appear, ()r~ in an~ \\":1)' take m epiece hack to the saw, change the anglesli~hl1} on the sa" fence. andrepeal m e

Tweak HIe Ifrst end to rr tperfedly. Cutthe nex t piece at 45 and hold it up to theexisting miter. If the miter appears open inany way (Iaft) , change the angle sJightly on themiter gauge (above), and recut the miter untilthe fit is perfect Now mark and ctd the otherend to lenglll.

proce s until the miter c perfect. Holding

thts piece in place, mark the location ofthe: miter on the opposlre end and CUI ir attrue 6.Again, m ake sun: allthe cornersarc precise, sneaking up on II and eyeball-jog the final fu. ThtS plt:'ce can now bebiscuned, glued. and clamped m place.Repeat the process on the third .;ide.

You'll have to temporarily remove thedamps thal were used for the fiN pieceI im.IXcCI and glue the third piece in place,1110 ; :glue tacks so quickly dUll tlus is nut an

7J'IeHCO.nd clamp p~hes l tIe pieceIlIto p'ace. Put clamp pressure clos.e tothe miter to force It tIl close evenly. Thensock down the first clamp-

issue, \'\ hen the third piece fib well

can glut' it emwith

the clamps holding topposire edge in place, 100.Even \\ irh the ioint CUI properly; II is

ficulr to force the two :>Ido;::;of the mtogether, Here's a trick- . ., tld e Th eedgover [0 -ard the mner 10101 lust :J littlefar during the glut'\; US" im" period, wlight clamping pressure at the opposite:end of the edging and none at the mend 111ernuer \\ ill ramo up the oppc . isurface a little bit anti 1.::llL"C a gap berw

'EPTEMBER OCTOIlER ~010


58/100

FIne-tune the first angle. Cut a45 angle on a test piece that isshorter than the side. Match theangIe to the exist ing miter. lbencut one end of the edging.

Mark the length, perfect the nlPe, and cut UJe final miter. Hold-Ing the edging against the panel with the first miter bumped agaln51. itsmate, mark the second side for length (above). Moving back to the testpiece. find the precise angle for the last mitered comer (right) and thencut that angle on the final piece, leaving it slightly long..

the edging and the panel Tighten the fardamp a bit, apply a damp dose (0 he rni-ter, and watch the pressure force: the miterurface to lide d wn the opposing miteruntil the gap d es, Ti hren the far clampand th rest f m edamps n [bi: piece,t This should give rou tight miter; with

ev n pre ure ins id m ei mts,

The last side is differentTh fourth ide requires an extra lor pieceof tile same dimensions hUI cut a littleshorter Cut -J- miters on the test piece

and lide 1 1up ro one of the miters n ther .urth ide. If needed. adjust the angl onth 53W unIil the iOint lIS perfectly, \\.lm-out hangingmesetupof the saw, ut thatn It: n m eend of (he actual pi e of

edging that will g in thi spot.'ow take the rest piece [0 the opposite

and final corner [0 see if it us, and adiu t

n essary, leaving rhe saw an le at thatsemng,Put the actual pi e of edging inpla e on rh panel with the lr>1 miter inthe comer. and get a mark f r the last mi-rer, No'" take thl piece to me '" and cutth miter, but leave me pie e 3 Intlelong. 1i (me fit. Go back to the saw andtake 0 .1 ery small amount fr m the 1 1miter. J[ mav rake a tew rri to neak upon th perfect fit, which h uld be jill t :Iliule light that m edamp will pull {he

Fl. ' WOOOWORKI~G

Sneak upffl.. lbe mishould matperfecUy, bwill be a gathe length oedging whermeets the paGo back totablesaw an

off a little aImtJ Iyou glength j is t


59/100

pit: to :snug against the p-anel. Biscuit, glue.and clamp thls piece in place.

How to trim It Husb to th e p ane lAfter the hie has hardened. take off thedamp. and begin planing m eedge flush tothe panel. ThIS is scary because you couldrip or sand through the veneer, I hold theleading surface of the plane sole on thepanel wuh the foU v ..ing urfa e hanging

er rh edge and I kew the plane seephoto, above I use a handplane set for amedium cut until I get close, and men Lake

Ivvo...v.fI newoodwork i n g .co m

light pa....s \\ ith a ..harp blade, full \\.'00by a card craper wand ith a rand rn-

orbit sander in a tigln circular motion.Don't use < I bdr sander, FmalJr.smooth the-outside of [he ed zed panel (up tin: miteredcorners if necessary). u in> handplanes orsandpaper blocks. Alw3~ work From thee m rs [0 h middle to avoid catching theend graln and breaking oft a c mer. Nyou can add a profile, 0

Pe te r Sch tebecker t eaches woodwotking a tT h eCenrer for FumitJJre Craf tsmanship in Maine

:-.EP1 EMBER OCTOIiER 1010


60/100

A Visit to the Design DoctorHank Gilpin has the answers for 3 frustrated furniture makers

BY MATT KENNEY

Constructive advIce. Stephen Hardi/lg (left) drove up from Delaware to spend a day wIth Hank GJlpln, Who heJped trImimprove the design of hIs bookshelf,

Tereare two big challeng in furnitur making mastering

the craft' lOOI! and techniqu , and devel ping one' seof de ign. ~Janr of us pend most, if n I all, of our lime

[adding me Ilrst, That' a harne, use al l the technical skill inthe \'\' rid cann I save an unanracnve piece of furniture.That' what led me 10 ask Hank Gllpin, an accompli hed furm-

rure designer and maker, 10 help some of our readers by critiquingfurrurure thai (hey had built and drawing an improved \ ...rsion feach piece. H gladly agreed. and I posted a call for ubmissi nson FineWoodwodting.c m looking for a few hrave :ouls with in-[cresting furniture and thick skins. In the end. Gilpin picked threpiee . nude b ' Mike Flaim of \tilford. hi; rephen Harding

60 Fr~E OODWORKI~G

of 'c '3I'k. D~I. and Brian Havens u an )0 e. Cali.

wa close en ugh 10 drive up to Gilpm s Rhode Island hopa face-to-face session.You might nor envy these three. ter all, many 01 u

parr of ourselv s in every pie \\ build. and cnusomething we hav... such a personal connect] n r can sung.rhars nOl the wav they :CI;! il Hartling "'\"3~ particularly pwith m e UI orne f hi, d ~.with Gilpin he listenedadv ice, he began to und r:-t;md h \\ 10 free: his sense uand sa)'5 that h left energized. ready tor his next projec

Matt Ken ney is an aSSDclat eed/lOr.


61/100

According to Gilpin. Stephen Hardlng's bookshe

with drawers Is a case of unreallze


62/100

Steer clear of the standards

For thts audIo equipment cab net, MIke Aalm took design cuefrom a sjmilar piece his wffe had seen In a catalog of mass-produce(! fumJture. As a result, the cabinet lacks personaUty.

o f the p eees visible from the front are the same width. Even th

negative space at the bottom Is rougl'l ly that same width. GlSimple solutl.on was to vary the widths. He would also taperegsand give some sbape to the lower rail to further enhan

the custom feel o f the pIece. The varied color of the parts, m

Tfle doors shclose over trail.

Lacking variety inthe dimensions ofits parts. the cabine

looks mass-produced. Topand shelf appear to bethe same thickness.

These parts are eroseto the same width asthe space beneath thecabinet.

T per the leg'!.leaving themshgJTtlywider at thebottom.

Ugl1ten the piece byadding 11 s light curve tothe bottom edge of there....er caresse rail andterminating the perIna 5 ep hat ttansi ions toa narro ....er secuon in themiddle.

6 2 Fr.'\E WOODWORKI:O;C


63/100

Umitatlons are good. It's fareasier to design a cab net to

hold three 5peclflC pieces of

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~tte~~~~II~h~gln~e kItchen and ml1de from ~atspec fic stack of cherry

in the shed ~an HIs to

design "a wall cabinet. ..

from multlp e boards, adds to the factory feel and drowns out the

beautiful cathedral grain of the door panel . Gilpin recommended!lndlng a th ck board large enough for all of the most vis ble parts

so that the color would be cons stent. TlLat would also anow Ralm

tQcontro1 ~e grain on the door frames aspect l1y. Using rlftsawn

lumber,wlth Its straight grain, would cause ~e frames to stepback from ~e door panels, rather than compete with them.

The rail at the lop of the openingshould be the same w dtlL as hetop rail on the door frame. Use rifts lumber for the door

frames. legs. aod carcass rails.

Give the piece a -----+=...-t--more soUd stanceby makIng theselower raJls wide,.

For the better part of a day Gilpin

discussed design and technique

with Hardlng. offering him somegreat general advce on both

counts. Here's a distilled version:

Design to please yourself,

regardless of who the client is.

Be clellberate about every partNothing should be ace dentalor done after the fact. Ad-hocdesign choices look sloppy andout of pJace.

Engineer as you des gn. Opena book about joinery andconsider how parts ~fI behe d together. Every detail of

construction should be workedout by the time you're done

designing.

Creativity begins wHh aquestJon. Ask youfSBlf. "What

can I do to make this more

Interesting. more fun, 01diffe ent1~

Keep complete control a er

grain and color. This starts atthe lumberyard, so know how

to read end graIn and what Ittells ) 'o.u about ho the faceand edge gra n will look.

SEI'TE\IB'R OCTOBER 2010


64/100

~ Less is more

Thicken he ebonized trim m keepingwith the 0 erall proportions of the piece.

Clean upthe kont byremo~l"g one01 the thnledetalls. One

option is [0remove theJapanesecnaraeters. ---+l L

Widen theba e so thatthe piece is

not top heavy. lea\le thethickness ofthe eablnst.bo 10m as is. These pieces tie

into the thicknessof he otherebon zed elements.

iI e the legs thinner Y,ltha more graceful cun.e. - __

As Gilpinpointed outto Hard]ng,

the differencebetween goodand greatfurniture ls

often In the details. However,

It Is possible to overdo them.That's the case with the

Jewelry cablnet that Brian

Havens made for hJs wife.There are three dramatJcbut competJng elements on

the front~the venes" thedoor pulls, and the InlaidJapanese characters. Gllp n

advises designers to resistthe temptation to overload

8 plet:e with dramatic focalpoints. He said Haven wouldhave been better served by

choosIng two of the three.

Or better yet. tum the InlaysInto door Pl lllsi Gilpin alsonoted that the base andcabinet seem out of synch,as If the cabinet was placedon a low table that wasn't

part of the design and justhappened to be there.

64 FINE WOOOU'ORKI. G


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With bench hooks

.and hand tools,fitting fine piecesis as easy as 1-2-3

fter years of makingsmall boxes with delicate trays andc binets w nh .,lMI drawers, J\ found Ihat m esafest. Ias

and m oM precise "a~ to make nd fi t small p. if '"ilu hacksaw, a handplane, and three bench jig....TIlt!' pg 3 planingstop. a :->a\\ hook, and .1 ::;ho(Jllng bo o rd-:ue easy [0 nuke. l:Nlong time, and come in handy ~ r a \\ ide range o joh.,.Each of these jig.5 j" useful b} ilscif. bur thev reall hint: '" he

used together. I line them lip on mv bench and go quickly romone to Wenext, IImake .. lur .. quiet. ~:t e, and efficient workstation.An rhe U and finL.,hof my mall p rrs L '>better than ever,I'll h . u how to make the iigs-and th n how to u

rhern=-a-, I make and n tl e pan. .. for a I dl'} box,Y MATT KENNEY

MattKenney is an associa te editor.

:o.I'TE.\[BER (H.T08EM ~OIO 6


66/100

Hook for bench,

~ in. thick by l'A In.wide by 8ln.long

Thin stop ta11book. Screw on the twocleats and youre ready to go (rigI1t). 1I'Iescrews !hat secure the stop are coun-tersunk so they won't hit the plane Ironshould It pass over them.

ThIs planIng JIg pTovld&srock-solld support for hand-

planIng small parts, from

miter keys to box lids. Thebase hooks 0 er the edge

of the workbench whlletbe

.!kIn.thlck stop prevents

the workp ace from slid ng.Its low profi le won't Inter-

fere with thin stock, and It's

secured with brass screwswh ch will do less damagef tltey contact the plane

Iro n. Astrip o f P22Q . .g r1 tpaper on the hardwood hook

keeps the JIg from srldlngsIdeways. I use hlgh-q-uallty

veneer-core plywood for allthree jigs because H staysflat 0 ef the long haUl.

Plywood base,:V.. in. thick by -~--8 in. wide by14 In. long

~ On lin eExtraTo walch a video of Kenney using hisJigs In our series on box-mak.ing. go toF1neWoodworking.com/extras.

SURFACE SMALL PARTS EASILYAfter bandsawlng or tablesawlng small stock to size, the first

step Is to remove lhe saw marks and plane them to tit ckness

Pla"e to thrdoJess. A great Job forthe planing stop is bringing comerkeys to thickness (above). Handplan-ing is the ideal way to sneak up on aperfect fit (right).

66 fl:'E \\-OODWQRKIXG

Attwit..

I:!t

Adhere sandpaper 10 hookface 10 keep jig from movmgat lt 1e bench.

Smooth Utlnand refi JoiBox Ilds and otthin panels aresurfaced at theIng stop (abovethe edge of !heoverhanging thefine-tuning a rasimple and acc(left).


67/100

tike the planing Jig,. the saw hooks des gned to sit on a workbencb,providing a stable platform for rough-

cutting small parts to length--more

quickly and safely than a power tool.Instead of a sba1l0w stop, It has a

talTerfence that holds the workpiece

steady. The fence has 90 and 45kerfs ttlat guide the sawblade. Whenmaking the jig, don't worty too much

about getting the sawkem perfect.Tbls J igIs only meant to get partsclose to the right length and angle,

For 8 perfect fit, use a low-ang1eplane and a shooting board (seenext page).

P l )" it IOOd ba s e.v. in. thick by12 in. wide by12 In. long

Attach loole withglueand..._A-drywallscrews.

Hook. lin. !hIckby 111 . :I n . w ie leby 12 In.long

Fe_geg three cllts. AfWr attaching the fence and hook, layout the 90and 4~ culs In the fence with a marking knffe and square (Iaft}. 17Ien makea shallow groove with a chisel (center) to guide the backsaW. Cut the kerfs

with the same saw you 11us e to cut stock (right).

THEN CUT THEM TO LENGTHWith the parts smooth and straight . rough them quickly 10 length on the s.aw hook.

'" and cut. For the stdes ofttlISjewelry!ray. Kenney measured dIrectly from the workpIece(left). then cut the parts at the saw hook (right). Generally. it's best to leave the pieces a littlelong and then square the ends and fine-tune the fit at the shooHng board (see next page)_

Attach fencewllh glue anddrY"'"all screws.

4S too. The same goes for miters. Here. /(enrreytrims the waste off the comer keys he planed othe previous page.

SE ? 1 E \UH ROC T0 B R ! 0 10


68/100

Of all these jigs. the shooting board

Is the most versatile, You can useIt to square up ends. plane miters,and trim parts for a perfect fit. Thebase Is made from a two.-plece stack

of ~-In ...hlck plywood with the bottom piece about 3 In. wider than

the top piece.With the left sides aligned tbe

resulting rabbet becomes the run-

way for the plane. A 3-I.n. rabbetworks for the Verttas low-angle Jack plane shown

here, but It should be ad-Justed so It 's about 1m.wider than the height ofthe planeYDull be osIng.

A strip of ~n.thJck

hardwood glued to the left sideof the rabbet keeps the plane

blade kom cutting Into the ply-wood (Which would dull It). And

since the plane blade Is not aswide as the plane body, It leaves anarrow ridge of ha.rdwood at the bet-tom of the runway. The ridge works

as a depth stop to keep the blade

from reaching and endJessly shavingaway the hardwood strip.

Whenever you sharpen your jack

plane, you'n need to trim away ther dge with a shoulder plane and then

re-estabil.sh a new ridge with thenewly sharpenEHIJack plane.

Star knob locks down Ience.

Fence.1V. in. thickby 2'f>. in. wide by12 in. long

Plywooo ton,VA 10. thick by10v.. In. wide by20 in. long

'to. by SAbronze b

Anach hook withglue and drywallscrews..

Hook.1 In. thick by 1 'Y . In.wide tly 14m. long

dhere sandpaperto hook face.

FI!'.:E WOODWORKLNG

Adjustable fenee wIU always be true. A ...tn. (1.0.) bronze bushing(left) and a ughMtting steel pin serve as the pivot point for the fixed end ofthe fence. TIle adjustable end has an oversize hole that fits over acarriage bolt (center). Once squared, the fence is locked down with athreaded knob (right).


69/100

NOW FINE-TUNE THEF ITAfter you e planed your pieces smooth and .sawn them to rough length,the shootlng board does the really Important work.

ANE ENDS AND EDGES SQUARE MAKE

PERFECT

MITERS

By addinga 45"auxiliaryfence tothe shootingbeard, you canmake tight miters

rtt edges safely. You can joint the long sides of small parts at theooting boanl. too. And Its safer than a jofn!er_

7be perfitct m :With the wori(-pfece slightly

oversize. planeone end squareand then !:ake apass o r tw oonthe opposite end.Continue planingand test.flttinguntil you g e r -8snug fit (Ie ft.).

Plane Ure miter. A f irm griP and P22O-g,ft sandpaper glued to the jigprevent the stock from moving as the miter Is planed perfectly true.

It'>"'".finewoodwork i D g.com .. tot' I E \t B E ROC TaB E R a I u 69


70/100

Secret to a Sheraton Leg?Divide and CoBY MAR I 0 RODRIGUEZ

Imlway n the lookout for small but challenging projects,

so m i heraton table caught m y eye. It's a rylish piece,compact and delicate. Bur it the turned

legs m a lreally grabbed me.The tOP portion is turned to :J .lighl . tack of perfecLly formedrings Below the rings an: 12carved, tapered reeds that endnearly in a mall ring and red

at ankle height. 'nder the ringand reel. the leg swell to asmooth bulb. and f IOO l l yendsin :1 narrow tip.All [hal turning made me

he uare, I've never consideredmy-self a turner. more Like afurniture maker '.... ho turns alime. h01\' did I create [befour ornate legs ou ee inthe photo' I did it by divldingeach one into rhree separatesecuons=upper rings. enter

reed'. and fccr=-connectedby simple mortise-and-ten njoinery Doing It'i.m makemultiple roples of each secnon,discarding any single part thatwasn t up to nuff without los-ing the t I f m y '\ rk,1lus....ret) net also make. the

proiect .3 great opportunity togrow as :1 turner. TIle work embe d ne on a 'mall lath .:mdeach cnon features differentdetails and tre.atrnen s, requir-ing:a range of skills and techniques,

Straight [olnts make a straight legF r [I' approach to su eed, all the: p'.JIt5 must line up c rrectlyny misalignmeru will draw attenti n to the joint ....TIl' mean.

the mortises and tenons must be drilled and turned so lht"y areperfectly stralght and concentr ic with the turned profileFor the lap and fool. I driU [he mortise rust and then U it [0

mount the workpiece on the lame. In thi way. the workpiecetares around the center the mortise as the piece i

Documents

Fine Woodworking №214 - October 2010