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4Popular WoodworkingEditor Robert C. Cook

Senior Editor Benjamin GreenAssociate Editor Tom Larson

Assistant Editors Michael CainMatthew Bear

Contributing Editors Graham BlackburnDick DornDick FitchHugh FosterDon KinnamanKen SadlerKen TextorSanford WilkTom Wissack

Photographer Allen ShainPhoto Assistant Kim Gentzler

Production Phillip WinDesigners Keri Luiz

Glenda GilIllustrator Ginny Pruitt

Draftsman Robert ChaplaCirculation Diana Sharp

Neil ValleChris Slaughter

Customer Service May FayneElizabeth Skarlanic

Advertising John DixonKen Smith

Classified Suzanne EriksenAdvertising Harold Radin

(510)6719852 Fax (510) 6710692Attention Retailers

To carry Popular Woodw ork ing in your s to re , callNe il Va lle at (5 10) 671 -9852 x 207 , or write StoreSales, 1041 S hary Ci rcle, Co ncord, CA 94518.

Popular w oodworking ( ISSN 0884-8823) is pub lishedbimon thly by EGW Publ ishin g Co . 1041 Shary Ci rcle.Co ncord . CA 945 18. Sec on d- cl a ss po s ta ge pai d utCo ncord , Ca lifornia a nd add itio na l m a ili ng offi ces .POS TM AST ER: se nd add re ss c ha nges to 1'01'" 1,,1'woodworking, Box 58279 . Bould er . CO 80322 -8279.SU BSC RIPT IONS: A year' s subsc ription (6 issu es) is$27; two years ' worth ( 12 issues) is $54 : outside of U.S.A.add $6 .00/ year. Send to : Popular Wood working . Box58279. Bould er . CO 80 322 -82 79 . Ple ase allo w 6 10 8weeks for delivery.All rights reserved. Reprodu ction without prior permissionis prohib ited. Copyright 1994 by EG W Publishing Co .Unsolici ted manuscripts, photographs. artwork and othermaterials are accepted. but Popular Wood working cannotassume responsibility for these materials. Writers who sub-mit articles do so with the understanding that the work isoriginal and done by them. Th e author warrants that sub-miss ion s and subseq ue nt prin ting o f any materi a ls inPopular Woodworking magazine do not infringe upon therights of any third party and agrees to be totally liable forsuch claim s. Submi ssions mu st he' acco mpan ied by a self-addressed. stamped envelope for return. Address all ed itor-ial correspondence to: Th e Editor . Popular Woodworking.104 1 Shary Circle . Co ncord. CA 9451 KThe opinions expressed by the authors do not necessari lyreflect the policy of Popular Wood"";Jrking. Ed itorial corre-spondence is encouraged. and may beedited for publication.Adve rtisers and agencies assume complete liabilit y for thecopy in their adverti sements and warrant that it docs notinfr in ge on th e c opyr ig hts o r trad em ark s of o the rs ,Advert isers and agencies agree to hold publisher harmlessfrom any liabiliti es arising out of such infringement and toreimburse publishe r for any and a ll expe nses and cos tsincurred by publi sher hy reason of such infringement.Corporate Officers: Wayne Lin. PresidentCanadian GST Reg. #R127573087

Produced and printed in the U.S.A.

Contents

The Cover BarGa rth Graves is a frequent contributor toPopular Woodworking . In this issue, Garthoffers several blanket chest variations usingsimple and easy methods of frame and panelconstruct ion. He is the author of The YachtCraftsman 's Handbook 1992, McGraw Hill ,Blueridge Summit, PA. He and his wife live inSan Diego , California.

Popular Woodworking

Issue #78, May 1994 Volume 13, Number 6~~:::::::..:::-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~

Project For The Shop-PuIlOuFM PlansWoodworker's V-Block by Dick Dorn 42

A Popular Woodworking Project-PulIOuFM PlansTambour Wall Desk by Bob Colpetzer 36

A Popular Woodworking Project-PullOuFM PlansNautical Flower Box by Ken Textor 70

DepartmentsColumns

A Popular Woodworking Project-PullOuFM PlansTurned Spice Canister by William Scherer 26

A Popular Woodworking ProjectCedar Blanket Chest by Garth Graves 30

Project For The ShopNail Storage Cabinet by Jim Raevis 67

A Master Craftsman Project-PulIOuFM PlansContemporary Desk by Ken Sadler 60

The Maliet-PullOuFM PlansCarving A Little Chickadee by Jack Ekstrom 72

Tool TalkFinish Nailers by Sanford Wilk 82Wood TypesHonduras Rosewood by Ken Textor 92

indicates that the produ ct of this design has been copyright protected by the author.You are free to copy the design for your own use, but may not mass produce it tor sale.

Turnings/LettersBook ReviewsFinishing ForumTried and TrueThe Business EndThe Tool Wright's CornerOut of the Woodwork

6121318227698

Tricks of the TradeBack IssuesNews and NotesClassifiedIndex to AdvertisersCalendarCaption the Cartoon Contest

8148094959697

May 1994 5

Turnings

In this issue, we begin a new levelof woodworking project-The PopularWoodwork ing Master CraftsmanProject. As the name impli es, thesepro jects require a higher deg ree ofskill. But that doesn't mean beginningwoodworkers can 't attempt and suc-cessfully complete them. Skill doesn 'tmean you can cut a mortise and tenonwith a carving knife and one hand tiedbehind your back . Skill is a state ofmind and a willingness to try and suc-ceed.

If you are new to woodwork ing andwant to attempt one of these clas sicpieces, do it. Even if you're an accom-plished woodworker, YOU 'll find theseprojec ts challenging in the processand rewarding in the final outcome. Wethink you'll find the new projects men-tally challeng ing as we ll. Whateveryour level of skill , these projects aredifferent from the others we've present-ed in these pages over the years.

The most obvious thing our regularreade rs will not ice is th e miss ingCutt ing List. The crit ical dimensionsare given in the text and on a few nec-essary drawings . All the other mea-surements will be determi ned by youas you progress through the piece.

You don't need to own the latest inmachinery to make these pieces either.A few basic hand too ls, a table sawand a drill press are all that are need-ed. There's a lot of pleasure to be hadin fashioning beaut iful doveta ils on acurved surfaces by hand.

The projects are by Contribut ingEditor Ken Sadler . Ken designed andbuilt them for his customers during hislong and prof it ab le woodwork ingcareer. In the past, we have presentedother projects by Ken in our regular for-mat and they 've been very popular.We're looki ng forw ard to presen tingthese new challenges in each issueand await your comments.

Speaking of SkillA lot of the tools we use in our pur-

suit of hobby and pro fess ion havebeen around for as long as most of uscan remember. The basic hand too lshave evolved . The tools that havereplaced a lot of them still perform thesame funct ions of cutt ing , bor ing ,shap ing and smooth ing . Only nowthey're electr ified , computer chip con-trolled and made from materials thatwere unknown as little as 25 yearsago. So how did they evolve?

The fi rst power tool I remembersee ing was a circu lar saw. I neverthought about its or ig ins , only howmuch eas ier it was for Dad to cut apiece of plywood in half when he builtmy tree house.

Bel ieve it or not, the circu lar sawbegan life as a machete in the canefields of Louisiana in the early 1920's.The whole story is presented in "TheToo l Wright's Corner" beg inn ing onpage 76.

TurningWe get letters asking for turn ing

articles and frankly , I wish we cou ldpresent more than we do. I certainlywant to encourage any of you outthere who spend a lot of time standingin front of the lathe to send in photosof what you 're making . We'd like toconsider your projects for publication.Hopefully, I'll get a little more time inthe shop to produce a project now andthen. In the mean time, there's a beau-ti ful lam inated early American sp iceand tea can ister by William Schere rfrom Hutch inson , Minnesota, beg in-ning on page 26.

6

Safety NoteSafety is your responsibility. The manufacturers place safety devices on their equipment for a reason. In most of thephotos you see in PW, these have been removed to provide clarity. In some cases we'll use an awkward body positionso you can better see what's being demonstrated. Please don't copy us. Think about each procedure you're going toperform beforehand. Think ahead.

Popular Woodworking

Letters

Too Late For Our CalendarRichmond Carvers Society5th Annual Woodcarving ShowJune 3, 4 and 5thSteveston Community Centre4111 Muncton StreetSteveston, B.C.Contact: Graham Townsend , 4849

Central Ave., Delta, B.C. Canada V4K2G5. Tel. 604946-8298.

Laundry Hamper CorrectionFor my Laundry Hamper , featured in

PW 77 (March , 1994), please correctPart K, the back rails width to read 3W '.

Bob ColpetzerClinton, TN

"Jefferson Ladder" because the designis attributed to Mr. Jefferson .

The other comes from Eric Sloane 'sDiary of an Early Amer ican Boy, 1965. One caller informed me that hislocal library contained a copy of thebook. Mr. Sloane expla ins that theearly settlers left the door to their win-dowless cabins open at night to venti-late the fireplace. They slept in the loftbecause it was warmer and pulled theladder up after them for protection from"Indians and wild animals ."

- The Editors

James MartinPlymouth, California

The Log LadderWe received several responses to

Eugene Studer's letter (pW 77) aboutthe log la dder he sa w at ThomasEdison 's home . Two sources weregiven.

Plans and instructions can be foundin The Woodwright's Eclectic Workshopby Ro y Underh ill . He calls it a

Band Saw Help!I need some help in finding some

parts for my band saw. It's a CentralMachinery, 14" wood cutting band saw,Model 725. The company that made itis no longer in business and parts areno longer ava ilab le. I need severalparts including 3, Part No. B12 wheeltyre and several blade guide parts-B33, B34, B40 and B41. I would appre-ciate any help you can give in finding asource for these parts.

Happy Little MenHe rman Hoffman, form Michiga n

Ce nter, MI made Ho ward Fren ch 'sMighty Mite Excavator from cherry forhis grandson, Joe Kurzynowski (above).Joe spent Christmas Day digg ing upGrandma's living room.

Jim Raevis, a frequent contributor (see page 67), built the Mighty Mite for hischildren. One of the pictures Jim sent was too dark to publish, but it shows one ofhis sons using the Mighty Mite to excavate snow on the patio. Smart move, Jim.

I also own several chain saws, butthere are times in cutt ing and limbingtrees that an axe is indispensible, andfar safer than a chain saw if used andkept properly sharpened.

John RemmersBalsam Lake, Wisconsin

We welcome your comments ,pro or con , about articles wepublish. Send your letters to: Editor,Popular Woodworking, 1041 SharyCircle, Concord , CA 94518. Lettersmaybe edited for publication.

An Axe to GrindIn response to your letter from Mr.

Will iam Nichols in the March 1994issue, I have to make strong exceptionto his comments on the use of an axe.

Myth Debunked?Mr. McAleer could have saved him-

self a lot of frustration in his search forconfirmation of his wood movementtheory relating to the bark side of deckboards (PW 77). I would think the bookUnders tandin g Wo od by R. BruceHoadly is assumed prerequisite readingfor any seri ous woodworker, pro orhobbist. The chapter "Coping withWood Movement," very clearly demon-strates the cupp ing of flat-sawn woodtowards the bark side as the water con-tent is reduced . However, the chapter"Water and Wood" also shows that acupped board that is allowed to reab-sorb moisture moves back beyond itsoriginal shape and cups in the oppositedirect ion . No w , given a board leftuntreated , what is the proper grainpolarity for decking?

The new book , UnderstandingWood Finishing by Bob Flexner alsoad dresses this issue . He states ,"...cupping is always on the top side ofboards, even though the direction of therings would often indicate the oppositeshould happen..."

Whatever the grain direction ofdecking, if treated on the top surfaceonly and not on the unders ide , allboards will cup up.

I think that gra in polar ity is not theonly issue to be addressed wheninsta lli ng flat-sawn decking . Whatmateria ls wil l be used and how theboards will be moisture protected isprobably the primary concern.

Ron R. RodewaldCary, Illinois

May 1994 7

Tricks of the Trade

Tricks of the Trade shares readers tips for makingwoodworking tasks easier and safer. Send your orig-inal, unpublished ideas to Tricks of the Trade, % PopularWoodworking, 1041 Shary Circle, Concord, CA 94518.We pay $25 for each TOT we publish.

Miter Saw FenceIf you have an extension fence on the power miter saw in

your shop, then this trick will appeal to you. I've seen somefence stops that are pretty elaborate and time consuming tomake. I came up with my own simplified fence stop and mea-suring system that works quite well.

I bought a length of self-stick mylar tape measure thatreads right to left and installed it on the top of the miter sawfence. The tape measure does not start at zero because ofthe length between the beginning of the extension fence andthe saw blade. You will need to get an accurate measure ofthis length and install the measuring tape accordingly.

Next, make a simple stop to slide along the top of thefence. The height and width of the fence stop will depend onthe size and thickness of your fence . Use a 114" threadedknob and tee nut, or larger combination. Cut three pieces tosize and counter bore the back side of the front piece.Counter bore deep enough to seat the tee nut flush on theback side, a Forstner bit works well for this. From the frontdrill a through hole in the center of the counterbored hole thesame diameter as the sleeve on the tee nut. To operate thisadjustable stop block just slide it along the top of the fence tothe desired dimension on the tape and turn the knob to tight-en the screw on the fence. The end of the threaded knobputs pressure against the fence to hold it in place. Only lightpressure is needed. I made the fence stop out of maple fordurability and stability.

Robert DiTucciWayne, New Jersey

8

Notched Magnet Holds NailsHere's a trick that a neighborly do-it-yourselfer showed

me: Using a triangle file, put a notch in a piece of magneticstrip. Nails or brads pressed into the notch remain straightand on target until started into the wood. The strip also actsas a protective pad that will prevent marring if your hammerstrays from its intended mark. When finished, pop the mag-net nail holder against the inside top of your toolbox, or onthe head of your hammer. It will stay there until you need itagain.

Lane OlinghouseEverett, Washington

Filling Small GapsI've heard many times that it's a good idea to keep a little

sawdust from each project you make. If the project is dam-aged in the future and needs wood filler, there is nothing bet-ter than making your own from the original sawdust. Mixingsawdust with glue works well for filling small imperfectionsand gaps. Recently I mixed sawdust with varnish and theresults were even better. First, finish the piece with one coatof varnish or polyurethane and then, before sanding betweencoats, mix up a little paste with the sawdust and finish. Use itto fill any gaps then fine sand or steel wool before addingyour second coat of finish.

Bill BuckwelderHorseheads, NY

Wooden Base Holds TorchCut a 9" diameter disk from

scrap 2 x 10; then, cut out a 3"diameter hole in the center of thedisk to hold the torch. This base isgreat for holding the torch safelyfor assorted jobs.

Howard MoodyUpper Jay, New York

Keep Knobs from TurningIf you are building a chest of drawers and using round

wooden drawer pulls , here's how to keep the knobs fromturning off the retaining screw. First, turn the screws into theknobs as usual , then drive a tiny nail through the drawerpanel from the inside, so it enters the knob about 114" . Theknob won't turn off the screw. If the drawer front is hardwood, drill a pilot hole for the nail. You can also use smallwood screws so they may be removed at a later date.

Lane OlinghouseEverett, Washington

Popular Woodworking

PANEL

PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF PANEL DOOR(WITH ONE RAil REMOVED'

cS' 'Z"l a rge DIameter't..- CARBIDE TIPPE~D.

l i4Shank_~

~==================~~. /0"

Tricks of the TradeGet a Grip on your Scroll Saw

When tilting my scroll saw table I find that the knob is toosmall for me to get a good grip. Sometimes I can't turn it at alland need a wrench to loosen it. I solvedth is problem with a 2" square X1112" hardwood block . Two ormore pieces of wood canbe glued together tomake this thickness.Locate the center of theblock and trace theknob profile on the cen-ter of the wood. Using aForstner bit, dr ill threeholes W' deep at the pointsof the profile. Use a wood chiselto relieve the rest of the area markedfor the profile. Test fit the knob in the blockof wood, you want a loose fit, but not so loose that the blockslips off when tightening the knob. When you need to tilt thescroll saw table, just place the wooden handle over the knoband turn. For a custom fit, carve the block to fit your hand.

John R. Todd Sr.Holly Springs, North Carolina

continued

FlattenedPower Plane

When using ahand held power planeon the edge of a 3/4" board itis very difficult to hold it steadywithout rocking the plane from sideto side. To help in this matter , I clampa piece of 2 X 4 or 2 X 6 so that its edge isflush with the edge of the board I want toplane . Th is makes it much easier to hold theplaner flat.

David F. BlackBarnwell, South Carolina

THE RIGHTTOOLFORTHEJOBRE-VERBER-HAY radiant heating systemisthe most efficient method for heating yourwoodworking or workshop area, on those cold days. Radiant energy isconverted into heat whenabsorbed byfloors, object" and people. Then "re-radiating" the absorbed heat to warm the areathrough convection. HE-VERBER-HAY heaters, the light tool for helping you keep the warmth in

your next project, CALL 1.800.222.1100/11 Micbigall, callcollect: (8/0) 756-0950. For more informationor a dealer locatedIleal' 10you.

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10 Popular Woodworking

Here's How to Turn YourWoodworking Skills into Cash!

"My woodshop makes me $300 a week, part time. Your's can, too!"

You've heard of "the woodworkerwho was a real butcher:' It's true, formany years I was a meat cutte r in abutcher shop in Erie, Pennsylvania.But several years ago the poor econ-omy in the Erie area forced me to lookfor a new job .

After four months, I found a newjob, but it paid less and had fewe rbenefits . I desperately needed asecond income.

Iwas sitting at the kitchen tableverylate one snowy night in Decembe r. Icou ldn 't sleep, my checkbook wasoverdrawn, bills were piling up andthe bank was threatening to forec loseon our home. Then it came to me.

For many yea rs I had been makingwoodcrafts . I had made many uniqueitems for our home. Everybody ravedabout them, so I started making themfor gifts. Mywife,Amy,said, " Rick,youshould start selling your woodc rafts :'But I just laughed. Well, I wasn'tlaughing that night. Maybe Amy wasright. Maybe I could sell them !

I took what littl e money we had ,borrowed some from my Mom, andturned to my hobby with seriousdetermination.

When I first started , my income wassmall. But time and experience helpedme develop a successful sell ingmethod . Plus, I designed many easy-to-make, fast-sell ing woodcrafts. Myincome grew beyond my greatestdreams .

Today,Amy and I live in a nice coun-try home on ten ac res of land and it' spaid for ! That' s a great feeling, but thebest feeling of all is the self satisfac-tion I have of being able to make theextra money I need whenever I need it.

You, too can make the extra moneyyou need while enjoying your hobby.Using your basic woodwork ing andpainting skills, you can create greatgifts and turn your woodshop into apart-time money maker. I know it canbe done because I did it, and I'vehelped many other woodworkersmakemoney part time , too !

by Rick GundakerThe following are excerpts from

letters I've received from wocx:JcraftersI've helped.

" You sure know what sells ! The itemsI made from your plans have been ondisplay at the local bank in St. Joseph.In less than 30 days I have sold$1,700 of my woodcrafts ! ! I'menclosing a news story our localpaper did on my work ."

WF.H . of St. Joseph, MN

" My wife is a school teacher. I madeher one ofyour cute designs to set onher desk . Other teachers saw it andand she sold eleven of them beforethe day was over. Keep up the goodwork . " G.M. of Baltimore, MD

" You' re doing good. I've madeseveral of your plans and the responseto buy has been grea t. Every year Isell my crafts at our church fair anddonate all the proceeds to the church.In 3 days I made over $600 ! "

C.R. of Chalmelle, LA

" Your patterns are simple and veryeasy to follow. I'm fairly new towoodworking and it's great to seefull-size patterns with enough infor-mation so that even a beginner withlimited woodworking knowledge cancomplete a project on their own . I'mreally having fun with woodworking.Thanks for sharing your knowledgeand experience , it's invaluable tothe novice ." G.L of Houston, TX

If these woodworkers can do it,you can , too !

This isn't some kind of " Get RichQuick " deal. No way . There 's plentyof room for everyone in craft ing. Iwon 't be competing with you and youwon 't be competing with me. That'swhy Amy and I would enjoy showingyou how you can start your own craftbusiness using your basic woodwork-ing and painting skills. You can go asfar as you want... profits are virtuallyunlimited !

HERE IS WHAT I'LL SEND YOUI've put all my successful methods,

plus 35 of my fastest selling designs,with step-by-stepinstructions into onefact -filled guide.

I'll show you... How to begin with a small amount

of money. What tools you will need. I'll give

you an exact list. What designs are the best sellers. What type of lumber and hardware

to use and where to buy it. How to give your crafts that

personal touch that will increasesales by 80%.

How to find and choose the rightshows.

How to set up books and records. How to avoid the mistakes that I

made... and save hundreds ofdollars.

PLUS... I'll send you THIRTY-FIVEof my show-tested, fast sellingwoodcrafts in easy-to-copy full sizeplans, with actual photographs ofeach finished item.

and much, much more...Start turning your woodworking

shop into a money maker today ! I'llsend you my complete guide to ex-amine for 31 days.A full month ! Thereis absolute ly no risk to you. NONE.

I'm so sure it will help you , I' ll giveyou my personal guarantee: I'll sendyou my guide, Woodcrafting for Profit ,to read for 31 days .

There is no obligat ion; in fac t youcan postdate your check 31 days inadvance . If you 're not absolutelysatisfied, return the guide in 31 days.I' ll promptly return your or iginal un-cashed check. No excuses, no delays.This is the fairest way I know to helpyou get started .

Toorder, send your name, address,and postdated check for $12.95 (plus$2.00 shipping and handling) to RickGundaker, 8042-08 Old Oliver Road,Erie, PA 16509-4698. 1993 Rick Gundakar

Advertise inPopular Woodworking-It Pays! Book Reviews by Hugh Foster

Hugh Foster is an English-teaching wood-worker and author from Manitowo c,Wisconsin.

This impres-sive full-col orbook covers thebasics of how touse most com-mon, and manyunc omm on ,woodwork ing

tools. The instructions are clear, if not abit elementary. I found many of them tobe familiar, yet there were some that cor-rected years of misuse and misunder-standing in my own shop. I recommendreading this book by beginning with theproject section on page 128. With almostevery tu rn of the page the reader isgreeted w ith a beautiful piece thatevokes a gasp of awe and appreciation.

While the book does not present pro-ject plans, it does inspire the use of lessconventional designs and methods forusing tools and making them work forus. While the tool instructions are decid-edly British in flavor , the projects areintern ati ona l- a ll 70 pro jects arebreath- taking. This book is a handsomeand helpful addition to any bookshelf.

The Encyclopedia of Woodwork-ing Techniques by Jeremy Bro un;Runn ing Pres s Boo k Publ ishers ,12 5 South Tw enty -s eco nd St reet ,Philadelphia, PA 19103 ; 176 pages,hard cover, $24.95.

ab le to wha tever style you and yourchi ld p refe r. The pro jects are we lldrawn and photog raphy is good. Thejoinery used in the projects is alldoable, even in a novice woodworker'sshop . The on ly questionab le th ingabout the book is the word "Children's"in the title-I know many adults whowould be thr illed to have furnitu re ofthis style , function and quality. One ofthe most noteworthy projects in thebook is the high cha ir. It's meant foryoungst ers who have graduated fromthe high chair's tray to eating at thetab le . It 's an appeal ing design, farsuperior to propp ing your kids up on aSears catalog.

1V

Finishing Forum by Tom Wisshack

Tom Wisshack makes and restores fine fur-niture in Galesburg, Illinois.

I'm sure that a lot of woodworkers arebewildered by the number of fin ishesand finishing techniques available today.I recommend a book called Finishing-Techniques for Bette r Woodworking(Rodale Press). The information is laidout in a logical way and structured for thebeginner. If you wish to delve further intothe subject, the books and videos byMichael Dresdner are quite informative(The Taunton Press).

Here 's some insight into the field ofwoodfinishing. Commercialproducts reflectcurrent trends-once a particular productbecomespopular, most companies markettheirown version. This can be vel}' confus-ing. Remember that the best finishingproducts-shellac, tung oil, vamish, etc.-have been around for hundreds of years.They'vebeenproven over time and contin-ue to give good results. The secret to goodfinishing lies in theskill of the person apply-ing the finish. This takespatience, an openmind and creativity.

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Cabinet paper NO RESIN CLOTH , ANY GRIT50lpk 100/pk lX30 $ .73 ea 3X24 $ .84 ea

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Getting StartedThere seem to be an infinite number

of ways to finish a project. For a novicelike myself this is very frustrating. Canyou recommend a book that offers sev-eral good fin ishing methods for thebeginning woodworker?

Cathi BlockPortland, Oregon

You'll probably need a more con-centrated stain to match the walnutsapwood and heartwood. Try one ofthe gel stains manufactured by theBartley Collection (BOO-BARTLEY). Ifthis doesn 't, work I suggest makingyour own stain. Mix artists' oil colorswith turpentine and a fe w drops ofJapan drier. The ad vantage with thismethod is you can come up with theperfect shade by intermixing the oil col-ors . Start with burnt umber and addsmall amounts of black, burnt sienna orred to match the wood tone.

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The Finishing Forum is an ongoingdiscussion about the art of woodfinishing. If you have a question or aproblem to solve, we'd like to help. Ifyou have a tip or secret to share, oryou recently tried a new product,write to: The Finishing Forum c/o PW,1041 Shary Circle , Concord , CA94518.Lettersmay be edited.

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sapwood of a piece of walnut to matchthe darker heartwood. The light wooddoesn 't absorb stain or oil. Can yousuggest a process that might help?

RW JohnsonLeroy, Michigan

May 1994 13

Issue # 52

Proeet

rder Your Back Issuesspular Woodworking

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Fun-to-buiki projectsand practicaltechntques from pastissues!The following are stillavailable-butsupplies are limited!

m March 1994 $4.50Sewing and Knitting Box,Planer Stand, Carving theBlue Whale, Walking Canes,Table Saw Power Feed,Walnut Quilt Rack, GiraffeNight Table, Laundry Hamper

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Readers ' ChoiceAwards-Part II, Beech

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#63 November 1991 83.95Nativity Wreath, BookCaddy, Tabletop Hockey ,Disc Sander/Grinder,Victorian Wall Box, SmokyMountain Coon Dog, HomeComputer Desk, Old TimeToboggan ,WoodenWhistles, Sandpaper Press ,Sunburst Plates, Off RoadToys, Router Work Center,Portable Electric Planes,Philippine Mahogany

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#7 July 1982 81.50InterviewWith Sam Maloof,Make A Maloof Table Pedestal,Create A Maloof Finish

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#37 July 1987 82.95An Interview With JamesKrenov, Bed, Crotch WoodCandy Dish, Dinner Table ,Carving An Arabian Stall ionPart II, Metal Inlay, OsageOrange Woodcarver's Mallet

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1

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I Check the issues you want , cut : : f ~: order form, and mail it with your check or mon:Y-:rde~I Popular Woodworking rJ=:~1:= 0 #54 May 1990 $3.95II Back Issues #WI 0 #76 Jan 1994 $4.50 #52 Jan 1990 $3.95I 1041 Shary Circle 0 #75 Nov 1993 $4.50 0 #49 July 1989 $3.75I Concord , CA 94518 0 #74 Sep 1993 $4.50 0 #45 Nov 1988 $2.95I 0 #73 July 1993 $4.50 #44 Sep 1988 $2.95I Name 0 #72 May 1993 $4.50 #40 Jan 1988 $2.95

0 #71 Mar 1993 $4.50 0 #39 Nov 1987 $2.95#70 Jan 1993 $4.50 0 #37 July 1987 $2.95#68 Sep 1992 $4.50 0 #36 May 1987 $2.95

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#49 July 1989 83.75Coloring Woo d, Toys ForGrownups, ColonialFootstool, Lathe Tool Rack,CAD Furniture Design, WallCabinet, Wine Rack EndTable, Push Carts, Yo-Yo,AudioNideo Cabinet

March 1994 15

athematicsFor The Woodworker

Part 1

by Robert CalvertLet me start off by saying I'm no

wh iz at mathematics-I learned thehard way. Over some 40 years of tooldesign work, when I didn't know how tosolv e a problem I dug out a textbookand plowed ahead. In the very begin-ning , bas ic t rigonometric funct io nswe re a necess ity . In those days wedidn't have handy shirt pocket calcula -tor s and did it by simple ar ithmet icfunct ions (+, - , x, and 7) . These simplefunctions in conjunct ion with the natur-al trigonometric functions tables wereindeed a powerful tool. We will discussthe trig functions tables in a later partof th is series . This will be to bette runderstand how the simple formulaswork ; not because they 're necessarywith the advent of the scient ific calcu la-tor. It will also help you use your calcu-lator and double as a checking devicefor possible entry errors .Bob Calvert is a retired tool designer and fre-quent contributor to Popular Woodwo rking.

16

This five part series will, by necessi-ty, be condensed , but I'll strive to pre-sent it in a logical, easy-to-understandmanner. Most importantly , it wi ll befocused on common woodworkingproblems. Many topics will be touchedon , such as measuring dev ices , thebes t beam compass , convers ion ofdegrees to dec imal , properties of thecircle (a wealth of information), learningsimple trig and other handy formulas .Additionally the decimal system is cov-ered because it's the method a calcula-tor unde rstands . We 'll sta rt with thedecimal measuring system and an inex-pensive scientific calculator.

We all know fractions are used withmany different uni ts of measu re, butthey're cumbersome to use with a cal-culato r. There are special calcu latorsth at work fract ions but they 're a bitpricey at around $45. My $10 calcula-tor has a special key (ab/e) which worksfractions, so I haven't found a need forthe higher priced unit. In my shop , I

use a steel tape to measure for a pro-ject. But when it comes time to calcu-late some dimens ion, I see that fract ionin my mind as a decimal. This stemsfrom us ing this system for so manyyears in the eng ineering field. I havememorized all the 114, 118, 1116, and 1/ 32'S .Sometimes I forget some of the '/ 64' Sbut since '/64 = .015, it's easy to justadd or subtract it mentally.

Let me say right now for all the met-ric fans out there that no one system isany better than another, they're just dif-feren t. For the purpose of this articlewe'll use the decimal system becauseit' s the American industry standard .The decimal system is simply any givenunit divided by 10. It is a system basedon the number 10. You can have tenthsof an inch, foot, yard, mile and so forth.The most common use is your car'sodometer-each cylinder to the left is10 times the preceding one . For thisarticle we will deal strictly with the inchunit of measure.

Popular Woodworking

The first number to the right of thedecimal point is tenths of an inch. If twonumbers are present, it's expressed ashundreds of an inch and three numbersis thousandths of an inch. The numbersgo on, but for woodworking purposesth is divis ion is more than adequate.The most common place you hear thisis the weather repo rt for rain fa lltotals-three tenths (.3) or a little moreexpressed as 32 hundreds (.32).

So you need to know the decimalequivalent of a given fraction. The mostuseful method is a decimal equivalentchart. This one is a small chart showingonly the fraction I decimal conversionbut ot her large charts are ava ilablefrom tool supply houses. They are oftenfree with advertisement on them. Often,they 're la rge enou gh to read fromacross the room and many have metricconversions as well.

To convert any given measurementin fractions you simply write it down indecimals. Let's say you are measuringan object that's 5" and a bit more than9/16" . A close look shows it half waybetween 9/16 " and 5/a ". The chart showsthat 19/3 2" is your true measurement.That number according to the chart is.59375 so your total conversion is writ-ten 5.59375 which can be rounded offto 5.594. If you 're doing a rather longcalcu lat ion , it' s bes t to use the com-

plete number and only round off thefinal answer. This lessens the accumu-lative error effect.

You may be saying to yourself ,"why use such close measurementsfor woodworking?" The answer has todo with the mach ines themse lves .They generally have poor setting toler-ances and if you know exactly whatthe dimens ion needs to be , you 'llspend about half the tr ial and errortime. Besides , the calculator does allthe work.

A word about scientific calculators :If you don't have one, please do your-self a favor and get one. When theyfirst were introduced the price was pro-hibitive at $600 each. Now with massproduct ion , this type of unit can bepurchased for under $20. I bought aSharp Model EL-5310 on sale forunder $10 about 2 years ago. This is asuper calculator that fits in a shi rtpocket and has many features . Theabfc key enters fractions, allowing youto add , subtract and so forth . The2ndF key converts the ab/c to the d/cmode which converts fractions to deci-mals, thus eliminating the need for adecimal equivalent cha rt. The OMSkey makes conversion of degrees todec imals a snap. It of course has allthe necessary buttons to enter thehigher math functions and it's easy to

punch in values with a large key pad.At the ti me of th is writin g , I

checked the stores for my model cal-culator as shown in the pho to . Itwasn't there, but three newer modelswere . The EL-531GB at $12 .97 , theEL -521GB at $ 14. 97 and th eEL506GB at $17.97 all were slightl ylarger than my 0 model. The 531GBlooked most like mine-the 521 GBhas sola r power. For my money , the506GB was too confusing to read andhad too many featu res. It d id haveone saving grace in a larger disp laytha t's eas ier to read . All three havethe same keys, but in slightl y differentlocati ons. I priced these at a localdrug store and none were on sale.

In future parts I'll refer to my calcula-tor for many of the formula calculations.It uses the algebra ic ent ry sy stemwhere the values are entered just asyou would say it or as it's written in aformula. I.E.: 3 X 5 = 15. If you can 'tfind one of th e abov e mode ls , trypunching in a sample problem like theone shown. I find this entry system eas-iest to use. All of the above calculatorsmentioned use this system.

In the next segment I'll talk abou tmeasu ring instruments-good, betterand best. Also, where to buy the bestbeam compass at a very economicalprice and I'll give several drafting tips. ~

Inch/Millimeter Conversion Table (Multi ply lnches x 25.4= M ill imeters)Inches Millimeters Inches Mill imeters Inches Mill imeters

Fractions Decimals Decimals Fractions Decimals Decimals Fractions Decimals DecimalsY.. . . .016 .397 25.40 . . .391 9.922 .."" . . .766 19 .447

'k . . .. . . .. .031 .794 '%. . . .... . . .406 10 .319 .%:,....... . .781 19 .8440/.. . . .047 1.191 'Y.. . . .422 10 .716 8""' .. .797 20.241

'A. . . . . . . . .063 1.588 'lI . . . . . . . . .438 11.113 '0/, . . . . . . . . .813 20 .6380/.. . . .078 1.984 2910 . . .453 11.509 83/ .. . . .828 21.034

%. .. .. . ... .094 2.381 '%:'. . . . . . . . .469 11 .906 "An . . . . . . . . .844 21.431Y... . .109 2.778 3""' .. .484 12 .303 .."" . . .859 21 .828

%. . . . . . . . .. . . .. . .125 3.175 Y.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .500 12 .700 ~ ...... .. .. .. .. .875 22 .225%. .. .141 3.572 ""/.... .516 13 .097 .7"" .. .891 22 .622

%> ... . .... .156 3.969 ,~ . . ... . .. .531 13 .494 % .. . . . . . . .906 23.019'Y.. . . .172 4 .366 38.40 .. .547 13 .891 .."" . . .922 23.41 6

0/, . . . . . . . . .188 4.763 0/, . . . . . .563 14 .288 ' 0/, . . . . . . . . .938 23 .813'0/.. . . .203 5.159 37"" . . .578 14 .684 ox.. . . .953 24.209~ . . ... .. . .219 5.556 '%. . .. . .. .. .594 15 .081 3y"> . . . . . .969 24.606

'8/.. . . .234 5.953 39/ .. . . .609 15 .478 % .. .984 25 .003%.. . .. . ... . . ... . .250 6.350 %......... .. ... .625 15.875 1 .. . . .. . .. .. .. . 1.000 25 .400

"1.. . . .266 6.747 Y.. . . .641 16 .272%> . .. .. .. . .281 7.144 ' 'k . . . . . . . . .656 16 .669

'%. . . .297 7.541 u;.. . . .672 17 .0660/, . . . .313 7.938 ''Ao. . . . . . . . .688 17.463

.""' . . .328 8.334 '8;" .. .703 17 .859' y..> . . . . . . . .344 8.731 231..2 . .... ... .719 18 .256

23.40 . . .359 9.128 .%. .. .734 18.653%. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .375 9.525 %. .. . . . .. . .. .. . ' .750 19 .050

May 1994 17

Tried and True

Gauges GaloreFor marking, cutting and splitting

'Gauge' is a curious word , whoseorigins are thought to have somethingto do with a medieval French wine con-tainer used as a standard for quantity.Although the spelling 'gage' is for mostuses now more common , when refer-

rule and pencil gauge

ring to the various woodworking toolsthat are used for measuring and layoutthe word is usually spelled 'gauge'.

Gauges constitute a surpris inglyextens ive family of tools . The ir sizemay range from small to large, andthei r manufacture from simple ,shop-made devices to sophisticated ,factory- made models . Almost everywoodworker is familiar with-and prob-ably owns-the common markinggauge , but how many are on workingterms with (amongst many others) thepanel gauge, the slitting gauge, or thebutt-and-mortise gauge?

The Simplest Marking ToolAlthough 'gauge' means simply to

measure, the woodworking gauge usu-ally does something more: it marks. Itmay do this lightly or in a more perma-nent fashion. The simplest gauge is thehand itself. Hold ing a pencil betweenGraham Blackburn makes furniture and writesabout woodworking in Inverness, California .

18

thumb and forefinger , and running thehand down the edge of a board with thelittle finger hooked over the edge, a sur-prisingly straight and accurate line canbe drawn up to as much as five or sixinches from the edge. By using a gradu-ated rule with the hand that holds it as afence pressed against the edge of aworkpiece, an even straighter and moreprecise line can be drawn with the aid ofa pencil held against the end of the rule.Substitute a wooden stock for the handthat holds the rule, make it adjustableand securable by means of a thumb -screw, and fix the pencil in the end ofthe rule or stem with a screw, and youwill have made a simple pencil markinggauge . The common , factory-mademarking gauge-fitted with a steel pointinstead of a pencil-is essentially thesame tool. Even a metal tape measurecan be used as a marking gauge: thehook at the end of the tape , usuallyused to hook over the end of a work-piece , is often made with a hole ornotch in it that will securely locate apencil point. Use a pencil with the tapemeasure as you would to the rule andpencil ; the locking device found onmany tapes further increases the accu-racy of any line drawn this way.

pencil marking gauge

The Basic Marking GaugeThe standard factory-mad e marking

gauge looks deceptively slrnpie , butcan be surprisingly sophisticated. Apartfrom often being made from exot icmaterials , such as ebony and rose-wood, it may have a brass-faced stock(to withstand wear better); it may havea reversible stock, one side of whichmay be flat and the other fitted with ashaped fence (or two simple protru -sions) that allows the fence to be runaround curved surfaces; the stem maybe variously graduated and itself bereversible , one end holding a penci land the other a pin.

There is more to the pin than may atfirst meet the eye. For a truly precisegauge, especially one with a graduatedstem , the point of the pin should beexactly aligned at 'zero'. It must also besharp, for a blunt pin will not be able tomeasure any better than a sixteenth, oreven an eighth, of an inch. Whensharpening the pin, therefore, file onlyon the outside of the pin, leaving theinside flat. As commonly sold the pinsinvariably project too far. If it cannot beadjusted (usually by loosening thescrew that secures it in the stem in bet-ter models or simply by tapping it back

planemarkinggauge andmarKing gaugewith a fenceadapted forfollowing curved work .

Popular Woodworking

in cheaper models) file it to within aquarter of an inch. A long pin makes itharder to maintain the correct anglewhen running the gauge; a short pinall ows the gauge to be held moreclosely and squarely to the work.

correct profile of marking gaugepin, note bevel and depth.

The superi or control afforded by ash orter pin is one reason why around-stemmed gauge is better than asquare-stemmed gauge. To preventthe pin jumping out of its prescribedcourse the pin must be tilted in use(whether being pushed or pulled alongthe work). This requ ires a longer pinwith a square stem-in order to accom-

premiumbrass-facedebony markinggauge, note flush adjustingscrew and stem keyway.

May 1994

threaded stem

cam stem

modate the corner of the square stem.Round-stemmed gauges, however, areusually more expensive . This is notbecause it's cheaper to make a squarehole in the stock than a round hole, butbecause a round stem requires a key-way to keep it aligned in the stock.

Nineteenth-century cabinetmakersenjoyed the luxury of premium markinggauges made entirely of ebony andbrass and fitted with flush adjustmentscrews. These offered the advantagethat, once having been set to a requiredmeasurement , it was then almostimpossible to alter the setting inadver-tently-as might happen with a gaugeadjusted by thumbscrews that were notonly liable to being knocked loose butalso of being inconveniently placed andrequiring that the gauge be used only incertain directions.

The are other ways of securing thestock on the stem. If you owna thread-cutt ing device-either a router-operated typeor the trad it ional screwboxand tap-the stem may bethreaded and the stock madeof two tapped parts, the larg-er holding the pin and thesmaller working as a lockingring . The cam-set gauge isparticularly ingenious in that itrequires no screw at all. Thewedged stock is also simplebut can work loose withannoying frequency . Theusual thumbscrewed version

by Graham Blackburn

wedged stem

can be improved by mortising the insideface of the stock at the point where thethumbscrew emerges to bear againstthe stem-with ultimately deleteriousresults to the stem-and fitting a smallbrass plate that protects the stem andaffords a greater bearing surface.

Cutting and Slitting GaugesBy replacing the pin or pencil with a

knife a whole new class of gauge iscreated-one that is capable not only ofmarking and layout but of actually scor-ing or cutting the work. A cutting gaugeis typically somewhat larger than amarking gauge, and is used where themarks required for layout coincide withfuture cuts-made by chisel or saw. Itcan therefore be an ideal marking tool.When laying out dovetails , for example,the groove left by the knife edge formsa failsafe starting location for the chiselfor cleaning out the final joint. Whenmarking rabbets, grooves , or dadoes tobe planed, the cutting gauge will severthe fibers cleanly, especially across thegrain , allowing a clean edge to beworked. Like the pin on a ma rk inggauge, however, it is important that theknife edge be properly sharpened . Itshould have a single bevel , the insideof the knife being perfectly fla t. Thismakes poss ible accurate gaug ing asmeasured from the inside of the stock,and takes advantage of the beve l tokeep the stock close to the edge of theworkpiece ; when the bevel is on theinside there is a tendency for the cut-

19

Tried andTrue

Stanley butt and mortise gauge

_. , ';;\

Large and Odd-Shaped GaugesPanel gauges, part icularly elegant

but very simple tools, are a good exam-ple of how the common marking gaugemay be eas ily adapted to unusua lrequirements . Used a lot by coach-builde rs and wa inw rights (wa g-gonbuilders) in the last century and the

common mortise gauge

that needs a certa in amount of pres-sure to be applied over the blade . Tofacilitate forward movement while thispressure is being applied, better mod-els are fitted with a small wheel or rollerdirectly under the handle. Whether theroller bears on the work or the benchwill depend on how wide the workpieceis, but if the waste is to be reused it isgood practice to place a thin piece ofscrap under the roller.

Slitting gauges are useful for cuttingout thin boards , such as drawer bot -toms and veneer , and may also beused to cut thin str ips suc h as thestringing used in inlay and bandingwork. If the stock is first reduced to theproper thickness , and the stock or headof the sl itting gauge adjusted to thewidth of one piece of stringing, repeat-ed cuts can be made working from thesame edge of the stock to produce asmuch length as is needed.

slitting gauge

"''1 - '

fitted with a handle similar to the toat ofa jack plane. This is not merely a con-venience fo r a la rge and othe rw iseunwieldy gauge-type tool, but is a nec-essary requirement for a cutting edge

cutting gauge

ting edge, especially when it encoun -ters pronounced grain , to be forcedcloser to the edge, in turn forc ing thestock away from the edge of the work-piece and so producing an inaccurateline. But note that when using the cut-ting gauge for laying out dovetai ls, asmentioned above, the knife should bereversed so that the beveled sideenters the work on the waste side ofthe line.

In addition to reversing the knife theshape of the actual cutting edge maybe formed so that the gauge may bepushed or pulled (and worked in eitherdirection when the blade is reversed).As with the pin on a marking gauge, setthe knife so that the smallest amount ofblade that is practical protrudes throughthe stem ; this will increase accu racyand give you greater control.

The big cousins of the cuttinggauges are called slitting gauges .These often have a stem as long aseighteen inches or more, fitted with acommensurately beefy stock. The endof the stem housing the blade is usually

20 Popular Woodworking

the requisite distance apart , will saveeven more time. Many user-made mor-tise gauges are precisely of this sort.They possess the great virtue of beinginstantly ready and always correct.

A mortise gauge whose second pinis adjustable is a refinement useful onlyif you commonly need to layout differ-ent size mortises. If you do, the choiceof adjustment systems is staggering.The simplest is a user-made type com-mon in shops around the turn of the lastcentury, consisting of two stems, eachwith its own pin, tightly fitted in a com-mon stock but at right angles to eachother. There are no wedges , screws ,threads or fancy brass parts; just threepieces of wood and two small nails .The stems are simply pushed in or outto the needed measurement and staythere as a result of the tightness of thefit. At the other end of the scale arerosewood, ebony , and brass delightswith hidden threaded rods andflush-mounted adjusting screws , pol-ished , lacquered , graduated andgleam ing . The y are a tool fancier 's

delight and work j ust as well! Inbetween are innumerable varieties withdouble arms , slid ing inserts , doubleended pins , screws and wedges toocunning to detail.

In common with most other gauges,the shorter the pin the better, but in thecase of mortise gauges it is also impor-tant that both pins be of the sa meheight. Better quality mortise gauge smake provision for pin adjustment andreplacement , but cheaper ones workjust as well if you take care to file thepins properly , remembering to file thebevel on the inside edges.

The butt-and-mortise gauge men-tioned earl ier? This is a do-it-all toolonce sold by StanleyTM des igned toallow the user to set three differentdepths at once in order to speed up thelayout of mortises for butt hinges. Thethree-edged butt template that is sim-ply banged onto the door jamb, leavingan inscribed outline is an eminentlysimpler tool, but lacks the undeniablecharm and mystery of the wood andbrass masterpiece that preceded it. ~

i "

\ :t

panel gauge

bridging gauge

Double Gauges and MortiseGauges

A much collected variety of markinggauge , owing to the many ingeniousand often pleasing varieties made overthe years, is the mortise gauge. A mor-tise gauge merely scri bes two lines,parallel to each other, rather than one.It is used typically to layout the sides ofa mortise to be cut in a workpiece . Asimple mark ing gauge will do the jobjust as well, but will, of course, need tobe reset to scr ibe the second line .However, if there are many mortises tobe laid out, all of the same size, or ifone particular size mortise is most com-monly used in your work, two markinggauges , each perman ently set to oneside or the other of the mortise aremore convenient. Similarly, a markinggauge with two pins set in the stem, at

early years of the present century,panel gauges are nothing more than along square stem wedged (or thumb-screwed) into a wide and often grace-fully formed stock. The only refinementis a small rabbet sometimes formed onthe lower inside edge of the stock thatguides it more securely along the work-piece being gauged.

While panel gauges are ideal formarking large workpieces, or gauginglines far from an edge, there are manyother situations where the work is notnecessarily oversize but so constructedthat a normal gauge is unusable. Thebridging gauge is a typical example ofthis sort of tool. Its stock is extra deep,enabling it to be held against the work-piece at a point lower than the level atwh ich the marking is to be effected,thereby making it possible to run thegauge over obstructions or mark a lineon a surface that is not contiguous withthe referenced face-such as a deeplymoulded edge that effectively removesthe corner. Wheelwrights, coopers, andcarriagebuilders commonly furnishedthemselves with a variety ofshop-made gauges for unusual situa-tions, and the modern woodworker mayprofitably do the same once the princi-ple is understood.

May 1994 21

The Business EndYoung Man In A Hurry

"' .-" :

"...

Scott Phillips is a young man and an oldwoodworker. How can that be? He 's thirty 'eight years old and he built his first project, afootstool, in his grandfathers ' cabinet shopwhen he was six. He 's been a woodworkerfor thirty two years, which makes him an oldwoodworker in anybody's book. His involve-ment with wood has been continuous overthose years . His grandfathers taught himwoodworking and his father taught him to bea forester, of this he says, "Dad and I have

If you have any questions on the subjec t discussed in thisarticle you may direct them to Ken Sadler, 75 NW 90th Ave.,Port land, OR 9 722 9. Mr. Sadler would also be happy toadvise you on any other bus iness related problems.

22

always spent a great deal of time together, inthe woods, fishing, exploring, and woodwork-ing. He earned the first graduate degree inforestry given by Purdue University. He is ahard working role-model for me. " With abackground like this it was inevitable thatScott would follow his heritage. He went toMichigan State University and earned adegree in forestry and marketing. On leavingthe university, he took a job as a veneer tim-ber buyer and exporter. He also started awoodworking store called AmericanWoodcrafters. Being a roving timber buyerand running a retail store don't seem to becompatible, so I asked Scott about this.

Popular Woodworking

You didn 't stay in forestry. What led you to leave andwhat kind of bus iness did you go into?

I believed I was contributing to the unsound forestry prac-tice of "high grading" the timber I was buying. High Gradingmeans a buyer buys only the highest grade trees in thewoods . Ecologically this is disastrous because it eventuallyleaves only the less desirable genotypes in the woods toregenerate the forest. Over time the quality of the timber inthe forests is degraded. I thought that this was wrong, so Ileft. I got involved in selling and marketing woodworking edu-cational services.

How did you happen to become involved with Shopsmith?They liked the American Woodcrafters store that I ran and

offered me an excellent opportunity to help them developtheir tool line and stores.

Was it their idea or yours to produce videos for trainingpeople in the use of the Shopsmith?

It was my idea to produce training tapes for the completeline of tools.

Were you involved in these videos in any way other thanbeing the producer?

I was also the host. It was great work and I got a lot ofvery good experience from it. I did it for three years.

What gave yo u the idea of starting a woodworking toolbusiness of your own and when did you do it?

I started the tool business to enjoy life more. My upbring-ing, edu cation, and love of the woods and woodworkingpushed me to get more involved in woodworking. A desk jobwas not for me.

What was it that made you believe thst there was a mar-ket for the kind of tools you planned on selling?

Common sense , experience, and market research.How did you do the market research?I had done yearly su rveys of customers at American

Woodcrafters and at Shopsmith. These showed me that thewoodworking market was growing at approximately 7%annually. More people were learning how to work with wood.This created a market for special tools to help them learn.

Did you quit your job and start the business or start thebusiness as a part time effort?

I quit my job and spent all my time and energy on my newcompany, Sylvan Too l Works, Inc.

How much money did you invest to start the business andwhere did you ge t it.

I invested $20,000 of personal savings to start it up. Thatmoney has been paid back and I'm now making a comfort-able profit every year.

Are you the only employee of your company ?Yes. It's just me.You designed the tools and contracted to have them

made for you. Please explain this.I have all the tools made in Dayton, a manufacturing town,

which is about thirty miles down the freeway from Piqua. Imake a drawing of the parts, take it to a tool making compa-ny, and they produce the tooling so that I can produce the

May 1994

by Ken Sadler

parts in quantities that will keep the price down. I pay for thetooling and then find a good company that can use my tool-ing to produce my parts. Then I assemble the parts. When Iwas with Shopsmith I did this sort of work for them and that'swhere I got the experience in subcontracting manufacturingto other companies . I also learned, through the competitivebid process, about many other companies that do cost effec-tive qual ity work . That's how I learn ed the manufactu ringprocess.

What kind of tools are they, ordinary or special, hand orpower, large or small? Tell me about them.

I focus on qual ity, long-lasting, small hand tools. Everytool revolves around the idea of making woodwork ing easierand more accurate .

How many different tools do you offer?One with three variations . The ma in product is the

Tri-Gauge. I sell two , precise layout squares and oneextremely powerful magnet. I have some other ideas fortools, but I haven't had the time or money to develop themmyself , the way I have in the past. I've taken some clampideas to the two major clamp companies. We're just in theearly phases of discussions on those designs.

In what price range are your present tools?The present products retail from $9.95 to $24 .95What was your market and how did you reach it? Is the

market the sam e and do you use the same me thods no w.The market is anyone who works with wood and I reach it

through woodwork ing ca talog ues and Wood work ingUnlimited stores across the United States. These companiesdo the advert is ing and I wholesa le my tools to th em .However, the market is growing and in the future I'll advert isein the woodworking magaz ines and trade pub lications. I'llalso continue to market the tools just as I do now.

Does that mean that you are going to do some advertisingon your own that you will pay for?

Yes.What kind of advertising, if any, did you do at the start

and what kind do you do now.I let the companies I wholesale my tools to handle their

own approach to market ing them. Con sequently, I passalong a considerab le prices savings to the retailers, so theymaintain better profit margins.

The reason you can do that is because you don 't spendany money on advertising?

That's right.But no w you 're go ing to spend money on advertising,

therefore you're going to have to raise your prices and cutdown on your dealers ' profits ? If you don 't raise prices,you 're going to cut down on your profits.

No, your theory is correct as far as my existing tools areconcerned. What I'm talking about are some of my future toolideas. For example, one specific tool is a new type of handplane that cuts on the push and pull stroke. That's my bigone that's coming out down the road. I can't give you anymore details other than it's a new type of hand plane that

23

The Business Endhasn't been marketed before. That's a tool that I plan onadvertising myself and I'll have to price it a little bit differentlyto the retailers and the catalogue companies. For my existingproducts, I'll just put them in a corner of the ad for the plane.I intend to buy half page ads, I think those are the most effec-tive type in magazines. If you go any smaller than that, I thinkit gets passed over very quickly . So I'll be listing my existingproducts with a small photo along with the plane when it'sready to go to market. I'll just piggy-back on the ad space fora new tool.

What are your gross sales so far this year?As far as the Tri-Gauge is concerned, I've sold approxi-

mately 5100 units in one year's time. They retail for $24.95,but I give a 50% discount. That works out to gross sales onthat product of about $64,000.

What gave you the idea of producing a TV program?Again the answer comes from common sense and market

research. Woodworkers are spending over $3.5 billion eachyear on woodworking tools , lumber , and equipment. Theyneed educational services to acquaint them with and helpthem develop new skills. There is a shortage of hands-oninstruction. It's only natural to teach woodworking on educa-tional public television.

Where did you find the facilities for such work?As I was learning the various aspects of the video produc-

tion business I started to hire different production companies,these were large companies. They always did good work, butwhen it came down to it, they weren 't woodworkers . Theydidn't understand woodworking and they weren't willing to trynew techniques with the camera without hiring very expen-sive equipment. They were old school video production hous-es that thought you had to use existing techniques to pro-duce shows and that makes the production costs very high.That's why some other shows are so costly to produce ,they're using traditional techniques.

I started to look around when I got into a bind on one ofmy productions. I needed to have it done sooner than thecompany I was working with could produce it. I heard aboutMainSail, which was basically seven people who had left ahospital multimedia job and started their own company. Whatimpressed me about them was that they were lean and meanand they were good and very creative. I built a modest studioin my 32' X 32' garage and we started to do some video workthat was outside the normal techniques because we had to.Instead of using a twenty-thousand dollar lens, we'd use afive-thousand dollar wide angle lens to get the effect wewanted. Instead of using dolphin arms and very expensivedollies , we used a hand held camera. Our camera man isrock solid and stands about six-feet-four. He and I do adance together when we film the show. He's right over myshoulder because the perspective we try to give the viewer isthat they're actually building the project. It's a subtle tech-nique-the idea is to have the viewers feel that it's their ownhands that are doing the work. If we used traditional tech-niques we couldn't get that effect because it would take too

24

much time to get a dolly and the equipment in place. We'rejust a well-oiled machine working together creatively to comeup with new ways of doing video for TV. It's a big learningcurve and we make some mistakes along the way, but theycan be cut out. It's a good group of guys, very creative andwilling to try new things. ,

How was your show going to be different from the manythat are already on the air, and what made you think that itwould attract viewers?

"The American Woodshop" features very practical projectsthat are easy to make. I do not magically skip steps. I alwaysuse guards, focus on safety, and every show features a visitthat explores the woodworking tradit ion . We cover everyaspect of woodworking from the woodworker's prospective. Iuse both hand and power tools, and I approach the selectionof wood, tools, and techniques in an uncomplicated way. Ifyou watch my show, you'll see the difference.

What is the philosophy behind the show?"The American Woodshop " is devoted to provid ing the

highest quality woodworking educational programs possiblewhich will safely and enjoyably increase the skill level of allwoodworkers. We blend the best of woodwork ing traditionswith modern tool innovations. The results are increasedwoodworker enjoyment.

How has the TV show fit into your tool bus iness andwhere did the money come from to produce it?

The tool business is separate from the public TV series. Itstands on its own. Delta International Machinery Corp. andPorter-Cable Corp. co-fund the production of "The AmericanWoodshop."

What made you think you could get your show on the airand what did you do to accomplish this?

I first studied the woodworking programming that wasalready on the air. I saw that "This Old House" and "NewYankee Workshop" were consistently two of the most popularshows on television, not just public TV but all TV. I decidedthat what they were doing wasn't all that difficult. They wereusing a formula, and I watched what they did and saw thatthey were successful. I watched the market grow and Ithought the market was ripe for another woodworking show.

You decided that there was a place for it, but how did youconvince someone in the business that this was so?

I was at the Chicago National Hardware Show workingwith the Delta International Machinery Company to produce atraining tape and a marketing tape for a new product, their 12"variable speed wood lathe. As J did th is I thought that sinceit's expensive to produce a pilot, let's see if we can use thetraining tape, modify it, take it to the Dallas American ProgramService Public TV Conference, and offer it as the pilot for anew series. Delta said yes, that sounded good, let's do it. Inthis way Delta funded the production of the pilot for the series.This is a big hurdle for most TV productions because it's quiteexpensive to produce a pilot. However , in our case, usingMainSail's creativity and an efficient shooting format we wereable to produce that pilot for about one fifth of the normal cost.

Popular Woodworking

Yes , Scott is a young man in a hurry . At 38 he hasturned his love for wood into a successful career which hebuilt out of his imagination and optimism. He's done it withdetermination, discipline, and the confidence that he couldsucceed at whatever he tried to do. The story behind thisstory is that this sort of achievement is not limited to theyoung. These qualities are not unique to Scott Ph illips ,they 're there for anyone to acquire. With them you canbuild your career to whatever heights you may asp ire, nomatter what age you may be. ~

and that's the people who are watch ing the show. In theNielsen ratings we are now consistently averaging a 2 rating.As our ratings go up, and they're going up this year, we getmore stations to sign up, we have 74 more stations this yearthan we did last year. Our ratings are better than most showson public TV and as a consequence, we're getting much bet-ter programming time. I just got some information yesterdayfrom Houston Public Television on our first show of season,two which drew a 4 rating and a 10 share which made it the

most popular show that day. They'reputting us into their prime time nowand we are competing very well there.This was a surpr ise. We thoug ht itwould be a Saturday-Sunday block,but it turns out that it airs very suc-cessfully in prime time- in fact, ouraverage rating in prime time is 2.7.

Does that mean that you 're onduring weekday evenings ?

Exactly, weekday evenings in thetime slot from 6 pm to 11 pm.

Has do ing the show in terferedwith you running of you r tool compa -ny in any way?

Yes, it has delayed the introduc-tion of several new tools.

Do your tools get any pUblicity onthe show ?

No. I occasionally use a scale orone of my squares , but I purposelydo not promote my tools on my show.The show is about woodwork ing, notpromoting tools.

How have you and/or your com-pany benefited financially from theTV show?

Public television is, by its natu re , non -comm erc ia l.Consequently there isn't a great deal of compensat ion in pro-ducing the show. However, I make many guest appearancesacross the United Sates and Canada and I make money fromthis. I also write, produce and market books on the projectsdone on the show.

Do you plan to continue making these TV shows?God willing, you bet.

Delta International Machinery Corp. andPorter-Cable nationally co-fund The AmericanWoodshop for PBS.

When we offered it, it was one of seventeen new programsthat were accepted that season. All the Public TV programdirectors were there. They watched seven minutes of theshow and 89 stations said they wanted it. This was great forus because our target had been 45. The demand was there.

Has it been a continuously running series or has it beenbroken into two or three groups of program ?

We've completed two seasons , twenty six shows . Thesecond season started three weeks ago and it's running now.It picked up at the end of the rerunsof the first thirteen.

Is that how it's handled, run it forthirteen weeks and then rerun it forthirteen more?

Exac tly, unt il you have enoug hshows to keep them all or ig ina l.Every season you produce thirteenshows, that's the magic number forTV programming because that's onequarter of the year and that's howthey schedule all their programming.This is true of both public and com-mercial TV . Once you run thirteenprograms, then you bring in thirteennew ones, the n you rerun the firstthi rteen . That 's how you bloc k intime. Since we're a new series, weonly have twenty six shows so wehave to altern ate back and fo rthbetween the first thirteen to hold ourtime slot. That creates some pro -gramming challenges becaus e if astation planned not to do reruns, thento hold on to the slot I have to alter-nate with other woodworking showsto f i ll the slot so the audiencebecomes accustomed to tuning in at that time. The goaldown the road is to have new programming every year. I willproduce thirteen new shows each year.

How much time does it take to produce a series?It takes a good, solid three weeks to produce one show

because I don't have any helpers. I always built the projects.I have to build three projects complete for everyone you seeon the show. I have to have one done to show the viewers,one that I build on the show, and a third one that I build afterthe show is done to take photographs of for the book. Wehave a visit with a special woodworker on each show. Theseare filmed at the visitor's home shop and the visitors live allacross the country, so quite a bit of time is taken up in travel.

How successful has it been ?Season one averaged a 1.79 Nielsen rating. That means

we are viewed by 1.5 to 2 million viewers each week. We'revery happy with these results. We currently reach 90% of themarkets throughout the United Sates, and air on 186 stations.Basically, the level of success can be monitored in one way

May 1994 25

Rip the alternating strips then glue them to form a flat panel

by William SchererA box of old magazines purchased

at a garage sale turned out to be aproject bonan za . The box was full ofcraft magazines, most of whic h are nolonger in publ ication , dat ing from the30's, 40's and 50's. One of the inter-esting lathe projects I discov ered wasthis reproduction of an early Americanwood en tea or spice can ister. It wasor iginally turned by a co lon ia lcraft spe rson using a block bu ilt fromsmall strips of light and dark wood toproduce a checkerboard and inl aidpattern . This canister was orig inallymeasured and plans were drawn byLester Margon , a des igner and writerin the 1950's who spec ialized in draw-ings of museum pieces for craft maga-zines. Its un ique design and patternmake it a nice lathe project for today'sturner as wel l.

Preparing The Turning PieceSelect two hardwoods that have

William Scherer is the author of BuildingFine Furniture, A Simple Uncompl icatedMethod (Sterling Publishers, Ne w York).

good color contrast such as black wal-nut and birch, beech, or even maple ifit's white and not tan. The dimensionsof the bloc k and its components aregiven in Figure 1. One piece 3/4" X 5" X24Vi' of each wood is needed for thealternating strips. Cut 5 strips 3/4" X 7/16"X 24" from each board. Alternate thecolors and glue up the blank. After theglue is dry, plane the board to 11/16" andcut it into four 6" long pieces. The threesandwich assemblies require one pieceof dark wood and one piece of lightwood each 3/4" X 5" X 13". Resaw and

sur face th es e so you have fou r thinplates of dark wood and two thin platesof light wood each 1fs" X 5" X 6" long,and one dark plate and two light plateseach 3/16" X 5" X 6" long. Some surfac-ing with a nice sharp hand plane maybe required after re- sawing so theplates fit together nicely. Glue an dclam p the sandwiches together. Notethat one sandwich contains two birchplates and one of walnut and the othertwo sandwi ches contain tw o walnutplates and one of birch. Check the fit ofthe va rio us layers and do whatev er

26 Popular Woodworking

Figure 1

Colonial Spice Canisterplaning is necessary to make a good face plate. Square up the ends of the Cutting Listclose lamination of the block. I found it block and mark the centers with diago- Finished Sizeeas ier to make two sub-assemblies nal lines on each end. Prepare a Oty Prt T W lrather than attempt to glue all the layers mounting surface for the face plate that Piecetogethe r at one time. Pay part icular is about the size of the finished diame- 20 A 11;1 6" 7/16" 6" dark stripsattention to the alternating pattern as ter of the canister. Drill a centered 20 B 11;1 6" 7/16" 6" lightstripsthe assemblies are glued together. The shank hole in the mounting piece and afinal assembly is pictured below right. centered pilot hole in the canister end. 4 C Va" 5" 6" thin dark plates

Preparing For TurningFasten the mounting surface to the 2 0 Va" 5" 6" thin lightplatescanister block with a #12 X 1112" FH

Because this project begins as a wood screw. Use two #8 X i " FH wood E 3/16" 5" 6" dark platespindle turn ing mounted between the screws to securely fasten the mounting 2 F 3116" 5" 6" light plateslathe centers , but ends up as a face piece to the base of the canister as pic- G 2 8 6" chuckplate turning , mount the block on the tured on the following page.

Glue up the laminated sandwich assemblies in the order shown above. Be sure to apply even pressure when clamping.

May 1994 27

\\\\IIIIII

//

/'--J

ChuckMake sure the screws which secure the backing plate to the block don 't interfere withthe face plate holes.

Exercise care as you part the lid from the base.

Turning The Canister AndCover

When you begin the rough turning,it's a good pract ice to move th e tailstock and center to securely hold theopposite end of the block. Turn theblock until it' s round-the diam etershould be about 43/8". Use the partingtool to layout the length of the canisterand to separate the cover from the can-ister as shown at right. Follow the pro-file provided in the PultDut'" Plans toturn both the canister and the cover toshape. It is necessary to move the tailstock out of the way to complete the lid.Sand the exterior at this po int startingwith 80-grit sandpaper , then 120-, andfinally 220-grit. Be certain to mark theexact center point of the lid with theparting tool at this time . After sandingthe exterior , use the parting tool to cutthe cover away from the caniste r. Ifyou're uncertain about part ing the topall the way off , part to a point you 'recomfortable with and complete the cut-ting with a fine toothed hand saw.

Turning The InteriorsThis is straightforward interio r bowl

turning and should present no problems.

Experienced bowl turners will probablyown a bowl turning gouge which does anexcelle nt job . How ever, lacki ng thisgouge, a well-sharpened bull nose chis-el does an adequate job. Bear in mindthat you're cutting end grain, so progresswill be slow at best. Take light cuts andkeep the chisel sharp with frequent hon-ing. Sand the interior when completed.

The canister can be finished at this timeusing a French polish or several coats ofDeft or shellac. Use fine (0000) stee lwool between coats as the piece is spin-ning in the lathe. Finally, apply and buffa coat of good paste wax to completethe finish.

A three-jawed chuck might work toturn the inside of the cove r if it will

28 Popular Woodworking

Periodically remove the lid from the chuck to gauge its thickness.

A well turned lid settles on the base on a cushion of air.

handle a piece 1112" thick . However , ifyou don 't own such a chuck , ashop-made chuck will do. Use a pieceof standard 2 X 8 and layout a 6" circlew ith a compass. Cut it out on thebandsaw. Fasten the chuck to a 3/4"face plate mounting piece with screwsor by gluing and clamp ing the twopieces together. Mount the assembly

May 1994

on the lathe and true up the oute redge of the chu ck . Carefully layoutthe diameter of the hollow you'll turn toaccept the cove r. The cov er shouldrest solidly and snugly in the chuck ina groove made to accept the shouldercut on the lid as pictured above .Proceed to remove the interior materi-al of the chuck unt il the lid rests in

place as indi cated . Ne xt , mark theexact center of the chuck , then removethe face plate and chuck f ro m thelathe. Use the dr il l press to dr ill ashank hole for a #12 X 1112" FH woodscrew through both the chuck and themounting piece to hold the lid in thechuck. Drill a pilot hole in the top of thelid and fasten the cover firmly in placeto the chuck. If it' s necessary toremove the chuck from the face plate ,be sure to mark its position on the faceplate . Carefully turn the mating edge ofthe cover to match that of the canister .Sand and finish the interior at this timeas well. The exterior of the lid is fin-ished after the lid is removed from thelathe.

Turn the finial from a piece 1112" X1112" X 6" long. Follow the outline givenin the PuIlOut'MPlans and pay particu-lar attention to the V4" mounting pin onthe bottom of the finial. Sand and finishthe f inial while it 's still mountedbetween centers. Some touch up willhave to be done after the p iece isremoved from the lathe , and the tipcarved to a point. Finally , drill a V4" holein the top of the lid for the pin of thefinial and glue it in place. ~

29