ROUND DINING TABLEGALLERY (ROUND) CLOCKCHEVAL MIRRORSPECIAL REPORT:OIL FINISHES

$2.50NOTES FROM THE SHOPNO. 30

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\VOOOS~tlTH2

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that far off 1arJIe!.He was \l1Iing• finishing technique that

4>5t'entially relied on ull lin the case o(mayonnais«, • ""fl',tablc 011), some solidsin the mayonnaise to ¢ve the finish somesubstanee, 1.111> ogarette ashes to add aIlttl" ... Ior.Although I probably wouldn't use

mayonnllillc (\'''Il''table oil will tum ran­cid), I :un "cry fond of oil finishes. Thisreally hit home when I was ready to fmishthe round table shown in this issue.

In the past, Iprobably would bave useda "normal" polyurethane finish on thistable. And there would have been the longwait ror the finish to dry before I could fIXall the usual problems: bubbles, brushmarks. and drips.But instead of i'Aeingthose old problems,Idecided to use Sutherland Welles' tungoil and polyurethane mixture. ~ IappliedIt, there were still bubbles and brushmarks ... but Ididn't have to wait to fixthem. Apply the oil. then wipe it off -along with all the problems. I have a lotmore confidence in the way the finish willturn out now.

NEW FACES. B8A:kin October, on the daywe moved out o( our old offices and into ournew building, Mike Henry happend to stopin to see ifwe had a job opening in the artdepartment.

AL the time, there was much confusion, Iwas tired, and the only job we bad avail­able involved moving box after box o(who­knows-what. We gave Mike a copy ofWood.m!itlt, and asked him to come back.inIIfew days when the dust settled.Mike came beekfour days later, By then

he bad designed and built a trestle table,drew 16 pieces of artwork showing how thetable was built, and managed to layouteverything the way we need it (or an issue.w. hired him, and immediately put him

to work on some of the art for this issue.Mike is already proving to be 8 goodaddition to the staff.

ANOTHER NEW FACE. In the last issue weran a picture of the outside of our newbuilding. The inside is even nicer - thanksin large part to Kay Mulder who designedthe office layout. It's an "open pian"arrangement or • modular offioe system(Herman Mmer).For six months, Kay worked with US on

every detail of the new office. ~ soon asshe was done, we asked her to join US fulltime. Now she's putting her skills to workon the artwork in the issue, photography,and will be in chnrge o( preduetlon (gettingthe issue to the printer on time).

NEXT IOlAILING. II'ood.'Imi(h No. 31 willbe mailed the week of February 20, 1984.

ABOI;T1'IIlS ISSUE.Alllhree projeet..<in thillissue use spline joinery. The splinea arcused to join mitered pieces togelh,'rto form frames, which, for these project.,are then routed into circular shapes.But we also used splines on the ChevalMirror stand to join the legs and stretcherto the uprights.So what's the big deal! You make it

sound like you discovered a new joint.Not. new joint, just a replacement (or

an old joint that I've always had troublewith. In the past 1might have used dowelsto make joint..~ like this. But dowels cancreate more problems than they're worth.Granted, dowel joinery sounds easy -

just drill two holes, stick a dowel in themand the joint is made.But using dowels to join two mitered

pieces is (in my opinion) one of the mostd'Ulicult operations in woodworking. Theproblem is that either the ....ood or the drillbit has to be angled to drill opposing holesin each mitered edge. And these holes haveto be perfectly aligned. Not just in onedirection, but in a full 360-. And that'swhat causes problems.Question: So, if you don't like dowels,

what's your alternative?Answer: I prefer to use splines. This

joinery technique doesn't receive muchattention. But it's an extremely versatilejoint that I find my,;elf using more andmore - particularly to replace dowels.This all started about four years ago

wben 1was building an octagonal frame (or• clock, Iused dowels to join the miteredends of the frame . . . and had a lot ofproblems.Imagine, eight pieces with miters

On both ends. That's 16 miters and eachmiter with two dowel holes - S2 dowelholes that all had to be perfect, Igot thatframe together, but I had to "cheat" morethan once.Now Iuse splines. This requires grooves

which can be cut with relative ease on withthe new jig we're showing on page 22-Once the grooves are cut, the splines are

cut to fit, and glued in place. At this pointthe splines ran be thought of as lIatt.ened­out dowels ... but with more surface area,which provides more gluing surface andmakes the joint much stronger.

OILFlNISIIES. When it comes to finishinga project, there's an old proverb: Onewoodworker's favorite finish is another'smayonnaise.NOLtoo long ago a reader wrote in to say

be'd diseoverd the finest finish of all time:a mixture of mayonnaise and cigaretteashes. We had a good chuckle. Then itdawned on me that the reader wasn't all

•SawdustEditOl

Donald B. PuehkoDesIgn DirectorTed Kntlleek

AsslstaJ11EditorsSteve KrohmerMIc"-1 P.$cott

A$$lstanl All DlrectOlKey Mulde,

Technic41 IlluatrarOf&DavidKreyUngMikeHenry

Subscripllon ManagerSandy J. Boum

Subscription A$$lSUinr.Chr1$1e1MinerVIcky RoblnsenJockle StroudShirley Fellman

Computer OperstlonsKen Miner

Clrculalion MaJ1agerJeff Farri$

AdminlslJalM> AsslsuinlCheryl Scott

BuIlding MalntenenceArchie Kreu.e

WOOOSMITIf (ISSN 0164-4114) Is publishedbimonll1ly (JaJ1uary, March, May, July, Sep­tember, November) by Wood5m1th PublishingCo., 2200Grand Ave••Des MoinB$,towa50312.WOODSMITIf Is • regIStered Iredemart<01111.Woodsmith Publishing Co.'Copyright 1983 by Woodsmith Pubflshing Co.All R/ghlSReseMd.Subscription.: One year (6 Issues) 510. Twoyoars (12 Issues)S18. 54nglocopy price, $2,50(Canada and FOIelgn: add S2 pet year.)Change Of Addresl: Please be sure 10inc:ltJdeboIh your ok! and new addr.ss 101chenge 01eddtess. Mail 10:Woodsmlll1. 2200 Grand Ave..Des Moines,Iowa 50312.Second cl... postage paid at Des Moines.iowa.Pootm_r: Send chango at address notice,FO<m 3579, 10Woodsmith Pubiishing Co.. 2200Grand Ave.. Des Moines, Iowa 50312.

BACK ISSUES

A fist 01!he conlonlS 01 aUback iSsuas appearson !he wrapper of II1Is iSsue. If lI1e wrapper Ismissing. you can send lor • booklet doson'blngthe contonts and prices 01 all back issue$.

SAMPLE COPIES

"you have• friend whowould like 10see. COPY01Woodomlth. JUSt send !henameand addrass.and wo'U send a sample (at no cost).

Number 30

W 'IX smithNoy/Dec, 1983

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3WOODSMlnt

Ifyou'dlikeID share awoodwo,'lingUpwitholhe<readers 01Woodsmllh. send your Idea 10:Woodsmlth,TIps & TecIlniques. 22.00 GrandAve.. Des MoInes.Iowa 50312Wapay a minimumof SIO fortips. andS1Sor

more for speciaJ techniques (that are accepledlorpublication).Please give8completoexplana­tion of your Idea. If a sketch is needed, send italong; we'" draw a new one.

SEND IN YOUR 'DfAS

Elvin Car~ollTopeka, Ka,,$os

To solve this problem, Icut a 3" squarehole (located directly over where therouter recess will be cut) in the Masonitetop before gluing it to the "'I' fir plywood.Then the router table top was constructedin the normal manner.After the top is assembled, J cut out four

y,,' Masonite inserts to fit the 3" squarehole in the top, Preferably, tbe insertsshould be CUI from the same piece ofMasonite as the top,Then a different size collet hole is CUtin

each insert. 1 U$C 1%"', 1~·. 1", and ~"diameter collet holes, but any size willwork. Secure the insert. to the top byccuntersinking' screws in each comer.

¥.....PlYWOOD 8ASi I

top. This shim prevents the base fromtilting as the brackets are tightened.Granted, this setup isn't much competi­

tion fora truejigsaw. But with only aS2 to$3 investment, and the space limitations inmy shop, it works like a charm.

IIfo.,·k B1'1fcnEnid, Oklahoma

ROUTER TABLE INSERTS

I've completed the router table shown inIVood81nith No. 20, and there's one changeI've made to the original design that maybe of interest to some of your readers. I'vefound that there are some projects androuting techniques that require a smalleropening around the router bit than the 1"","collet hole specified in lhe plans.

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Robert DrakeKeysto". 813., Florida

A SABRI SAW TABtE

Due to the limited size of my shop (and thelimited size of my budget), [ need to havemy tools perform multiple functions when­ever possible. So after 1built the routertable in WoodsmUiI No. 20, I decided toadd two metal brackets under the table topfor attaching my sabre saw. Now, with thesabre saw securely anchored to the tabletop, Ican domany of the operations whichpreviously could only be done safely with ajig·saw.

AJthough the setup varies depending onthe model of sabre saw used, the basic ideais the same. First, I nipped the router,..=~),~

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out unstaeking the entire pile above thepiece in question.Mter my most recent episode of un­

stacking these random pieces, it finallyoccurred to me how to eaminate this prob­lem. By ~imply writing down the usablemeasurements on the ends of each piecewith a fell tipped pen, it becomes easy tolocate a piece close to the size needed.And I've fOllnd that by using my own

special codes, Ican even identify burls andother unique pieces.

table top upside down, and positioned thebasse of the sabre saw over the coUethole sothere was enough room to easily changethe blade. Then I used two I" x 10"mend­ing plates (available from any hardwarestore J as brackets to sandwich the base ofthe sabre saw to the bottom of the routertable top. 1-------------1The mending plates (and the sabre saw)

are secured to the top with v... machinebolts countersunk in the surface of thetable. Then the bolts are secured withwingnuts to make lightening the bracketseasy.Since the router table was designed for a

router, there's a V," deep recess for thebase of the router. To mount the sabresaw, I shimmed out the recess so that it'sOush with the bottom surface of the table

chucks wiUopen wide enough to accept thehead of the bolt. yet atiUallow the jaws towrap around and tighten on the shank ofthe bolt itself. If not. simply cut off thehead of the bolt.)To install the insert, thread it and a nut

on the bolt, and tighten the two together.Then align the short unthreaded shaft ofthe insert into the pre-drilled hole in theworkpiece. Apply tight pressure with thecontrol arm of the drill press, and rotatethe chuck in a clockwise direction to threadthe insert into the workpiece.When the insert is completely embed­

ded, look the spindle in place, and back offthe nut from the top of the insert. Thenunloek the spindle, and unthread the boltfrom the insert while slowly releasingpressure on the control arm.

Jim KnowlesAUanta, Goorgia

SIZING IT UP

I just recently completed stacking some ofthe random length pieces of wood thatalways seem to collect around the shop.Unfortunately. more times than not thiseffort is useless. As soon as the pieces areslacked, il's often impossible to detcnninethe actual size of any individual piece with-

1read with interest howyou used threadedinserts on the modular storage units inIVoodsmitk No. 22. Sinee then, I've usedthem for several differeht projects - with\'arylng degrees of SUcee5S.The problem I'm always faced with is

how to prevent the threaded inserts fromveering offCOUl'Seas they're threaded intothe workpiece. By the Limethe inserts arecompletely embedded. they're angled sofar off to one side that they can't even beused.Finallr, I came up with 8 method fOT

installing threaded inserts that worksevery time - using a drill press. Fil'st, 1chuck a a" long machine bolt in the Jacobschuck on the drlU press. (Most Jacobs

I

THREADING THREADED INSERTS

__ T_ips & Techniqu_e_s __

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WOOOSMlTH4

A NEW SLANT ON YOUR IMAGEorCheval

One of the biggest problems with II \\'hen using a trammel attach-full-lengtb mirror is that it's never at ment, the ph·"t puint must be at tbethe right height. No matter where same heIght as the workpiece itself.it's hung on the wall. it', almost SQ I attached • ~mall piece of 514impossible to keep from looking scrap to the plywood to serve as aeither "headless" or "legless," or base, see Fig. 3.both. To remedy this problem. I Then locate the pivot point bybuilt a cheval mirror - a full-length using a !<lraight OOgeto extend themirror that swivels on a stand. joint line. to the base. The pointThis mirror consists of an arched- where these lines meet marks the

top frame that's attached to a two- location for the pivot hole for thepost stand. But the fun part is trammel attachment.building the frame for the mirror. 1~.JOflRADtl'S.Set the trammel

attachment to rout an g" radius onTHE ARCHED rop the inside OOb~of the assembly. Be

The mirror &arne is built with nine sure to measure g" from the pivotseparate pieces: a four-sided arched hole to the ollt$ick edge of the routertop. a three-sided bottom, and two bit. Then I routed the Inside radiusstraight sides. r started with the o( the arch, moving in a clockwisemost difficult section, the arched direction, and tnkingseveral shallowtop. passes..... fig. 3.The arched top coosists of (our O~'TStDERADIISo Next, reset the

pieces of6l4 oak (1 iii, thick) that ore trammel auaehmen; to rout a 10\11'mitered and joined with splines, see radiUS on the outside edge of theFig. I. To assemble these pieces, rip frame. (This time measure 10\11'a board Sv,' "ide, and 37"long. Then from the pivot point to the ;n$w, •cut this board Into rour 9',long edge of the bit.)pieces. Shop Note: In order for it to cut

MITERING. To form the arch, miter through the Ih.·thick stock, I hadboth ends of all four pieces at 22Yc' to pull the I' bit I WAS using out ofso their final length is S¥,' from the collet about I'M.This won't causepoint to point, see Fig. 2. any problems as long as the bit is not

Cl'T GROQVF.;S.Next, eut grooves over-extended,(for splines) in the mitered ends o(aU THf MIRROR BOTTOMfour pieces. To do this, rout al'Y....long by y,'-deep slot in the ml- After the top arch was routed. Itered ends of all four pieces. see Fig. worked on the three-piece bottom2. (I used a Y,' straight router bit assembly.and the routerjigshown on page22.l CUTl'lfleES. First, rip enoughThen hardwood splines are cut to stock to form two 4',"ide corners

fit the slots so the grain of the spline (C), and the 2~'-·",;debottom (1).runs at right angles to the joint. (For Both corner pieces are mitered to 45'more information about this joint, SO they're 10*1' long from point tosee Shop Notes on page 9.) L- -' point.

A..."SF:MBI,\'.After the splines are cut to aligned, the long sides (B) of the mirror Next, determine the final length for thefit, the four pieces are glued up, two sec- frame "ill either be toed in, or toed out. bottom piece. To do this, measure the out-lions ata time. Apply glue to the miters, To correct the alignment of the miters, side diameter of the topareh (which shouldinsert the splines. and hold two pieces tack the assembled arch to a piece of ply. be 2OV,,,>,then subtract 9' «(or the twotogether for two or three minutes. wood and use a table saw III remove only ·I",'·radius pieces used on the corners).(Clamps are not needed; hand pressure enough material to produce a fre,;h cut see Fig. ~. The res ult "ill be the length ofalone will produce a good joint. completely across the miters. (For more the bottom piece (II Va" in my (!....se).

TRIM ENDS.At this point, the arch should information, see Shop NOlA!s, page 9.) ASSEMDLl. Once these three pieces areform a half circle, with mitered ends per- ROUTING THE ARCH c:tIl,join them by c:tItting slots on the bothfectly aUgned in a straight line, refer to ends of the mitered cerner pieces and onFig. 3. UnfortWl3tely, this rarely is the To round out of this mitered assembly, two the ends of the boltom piece. Then cutcase. UsuaUy,when a straight edge isbut- radius cuts are made using a router with a splines to fit the slots and glue the threetoo across the ends of the arch. only the toe trnmmel point attachment. When doinjr pieces together, SCi! Fig. 5. •or the heel ofthe miters touch the straight this, it's best to leave the arch tacked to the TRI)! ~lITERS. Next, true up the miterededge. plywood. and clamp the plywood to a work· ends that will be joined to the frame's longCorrecting any error on the ends of the bench to seeure everything during lhe sides (B). To do this, first use a hand saw to

arch is important. Unless they're perfedly routing operation. remove the extra "ears" extending below

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lhe bottom piece, _ f'ilr' .>. Then use • Itable ..... 10 trim the mitered ends (keep­Ing Ih. bcttcm preee ughl apinsl the(~nce)"" the ~mbly is 41!" wide,TE."pun; Alter the nutered ends are

trimmed, Ih..y·", cut into rounded eom<:'"on a band ........To do thi$, rul OUI a tern­plate ..~th an inside radius o( 2Yo" and anoutside radius o( .j",,'. see Fig. 6.Then hull the bottom assembly against

the top .roh (8A shown In ~'ig.7), andJ)O$ilionthl' template so. 1) the outsideedge of th,' template line. up with theoUI..idr cdj(e o( lb,· tOj) arch, and 2) so thet.emplate i. nUllh with the mitered edgethat'a butted again,1 the top arch.Aft.r Ihe radiu. i.traced on both corner

pieces. rut OUllh., roult<!corners on a bandsaw. Then sand the MItl" .0l00ll! usinn adrum .and<r on a drill pre, •.TIlE~lIlt:' X"XI. the rn.me', long side.,

B)~ ad.l .. l To determine the length o(these sf,"·., butt the bottom assemblyagain.t Ih~ top arch. and measure theeombmed height o( both ....ssemblies. ThenrubtraCl tru. me.. urement from the 5:l"h~il1htof th. frame, ..., Fill'. i.Cut both ~.de. 2'" wide, and to the final

length, Then roUI~IQu.(for splines) on bothends of each pl,'ce, !I('" rig. 8. finally, theentire mirror frame ran be assembled andset aside to dry,

THE MOLDED EDGES

All (OUT edlt(,. on the mirror Irame aremolded wilh a router in (our ""paratc CU!>.

nR"T (IT. The 1i""1 cut 1$ made TIDtheoul.<tde edee of th.· (""" .ide o( the frameU>lTlj{. ".' rounding-O\'er bu "ill!. pilol.Set the depth of eut to produce a oy",. shoul­der (see St~1'I In rig. 9,. and rout thetrame In a clock...1.,,! direction.sscovu ('IT. Then sw itch to • Y,·

rounding-<>\'erhit" ilh a pilot to rout (in aC'oN"'tr·clork«·I~f' direction) the insideedltl' of Ih,' !'rame. leaving a ~. shoulder._ Step 2 in ~·ig. 9.TlIIRII('I'T The out.ide lodgeon Ihe back

side o( the frame i.also routed with. Y,·rounding-ever bit (moving clockll:i$el -but this lime there', no shoulder, see Step3 in Fig. 9,

f'()I'RTIi C('T. The final cut is to rout arabbet for the rmrror itself, This rut i~madeu"ing. 'ISo. rabb<:tbit with a pilol (_SlfP -t), routinJ( c(lf~"'I·r·cl(ICInM·8~\\;th'er;' lighl plI.'''''•• Thi- rabbet "hoold bejU>1 .lightly deeper than the groove (or the• plill(', see Dclail ;; in fi~.9.

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At thi" point. the mirror frame lookedsharp enough by ilbelf that I was temptedt~justhangitonthewoU. But itdidn't t.akelong berore 1ran into lh~"how high to hangit" problem. and dedded (apin) that theswivel stand was really a good idea.

THE UPRIGHTS

The first step in building the mirror standis to laminate two pieees of ·1/4 lumber('v,•• thick) 10 produce the a~'thickstock needed for each upright. Then thelaminated stock i. eut to the final size fotthe uprights. see Fig. 10.si.or ~IIlKTIS.:S.A doubl.,.slot mortise

and spline joint is used 10 join both thecenter stretcher and the legs to theupright.;. This joinl it; similar to a mortiseand wnon. except 5101.< (mortises) are cutin both pi(!CCS being joined. rather than inonly one piece. Then the two halves arejoined with a spline. which aets as a tenon.

Using the router jig shown on page 22. Irouted two mortises (for attaching thelegs) centered on the l%"'wide faces of theuprights, see Fig. 11. Then 1 cut anothermortise (for the streteher) centered on the2"-"ide face.

MOLDISGTUE I.'PRICII'IS. After the mor­tises are cut. all four edges of the uprightsare routed wilh a ""'- rounding-over bit.These molding cUU;stop 3" from the lOpend of the upright. and 6" (rom the bottom(mortised) end. and have a 'I"," shoulder ononly the 2"-wide races. see Fig. 12.

Making the uprights requires two dif­ferent setups on the router table. The firststep is to attach a long Lshaped auxiliaryrenee to the router table. see Fig. 13.Thenslop blocks are clamped at both ends of thefence. One block is 2T' to the left of thecenter of a ~" rounding over bit. and theother is 30" to the right or the bit. seet'ig. 14.With the stop blocks in these positions,

the molding will slop 20/. from the top ofthe uprights, and Wo'- from the bottom.To rout the first edge, position the

upright on the router table with the2",wide edge race down. and the bottomend of the upright against the stop on theright. Keep the top (left) end oflhe uprightseveral inches away Cromthe bit. and ~t.artthe router. Then use a kiss and run move­ment so the router bit doesn't burn thewood. To do this. swing the top end of theupright into the bit, and immediately startsliding the upright toward the left stop.Next. rotate the upright so the opposite2"-wide face is down on the router table,and rout this edge.At this point, only two diagonal edges

have been routed. see Detail, Fig. 14.Routing the remaining two edges requiresreversing the position of the stop blocks.and flipping the upri¢lt end for end, seethe second setup in Fig. 14. Rout the.-emaining two edges in the same manner

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as the first two edges, again, keeping the2"-,,;de (ace down on the router table.ROt7IlNDS. After the edges are routed,

the top and bottom ends ef the uprights arerouted using a ¥eo rounding-over bit. seeFig. 15.To help keep the upright st90· tothe fence, I used a square piece of scrapstock to guide the upright through the bit.

DRILL BOLES. The key to making theframe swivel is a fancy piece of hardwarecalled a ';swivel mirror screw and insert.. "This is just an ornate thumb screw andthreaded Insert, see Sources on page 24.

In order to mount the screw, drill a Yo"hole on through the 2'-wide side of theuprights. see Fig, 16, While 1 was at it, Ialso drilled two ¥e" holes. Yo" deep at thebottom of the uplights for decorative but­tons, refer to Fig, 16.

THE STRoeHER

A single stretcher is used to join the lWOuprights on the mirror stand. To deter­mine the correct length of the stretcher.measure the outside width o( the mirrorframe. and add twice ((or both aides) thethickness o( the flange on the threadedinsert.The center stretcher is cut from 514

stock so it's 4" wide, and to the lengtbfigured above (this should be20V."). Usingthe layout shewn in Fig. 17,make a tem­plate and trace the curve al both ends ofthe stretcher. see Fig. IS, Then band sawthe profile, and sand it smooth.

AgainJ rout. Y.all x 2Yt" Riot mortises inthe ends oCthe stretchers (see Fig. 19),andcut hardwood splines to fit. Then the lopand bottom edges on the stretcher arerouted using a ". rounding over bit. pro­ducing a 0/.. " shoulder. see Fig. 20,

ASSEMBLY. Finally, finish-sand theuprights and the stretcher, Then assemblethese pieces SO the bottom edge of Lhestretcher is "," from the bottom of bothuprights, see Fig. 21.

THE LEGS

To help eliminate waste. and to preventweak spots due to improper grain dlree­tion. the four curved legs o( the min-orstand are cut at an angle on (our 5"-wide by2O'·long pieces of 514stock. Miter bothends on each piece at 45·, so they're IS"long from point to point, sec Fig. 22.Cutting all four legs to exactly the same

shape requires using a template. To makethe template, first copy the profile shownin Figure 22 onto a piece of cardboard.Then cut out the template and trace it onthe leg blanks, see Fig. 22, Once the profileis transferred to the blanks. the legs areband sawn and sanded smooth,Then clamp the legs together to cheek

the consistency of the legs where thecurves will meet the upright. These endsmust be of equal size so the legs can bepositioned correctly later,•

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\VOODS~UTH8

-

A.ftH the legs are cut to size, rout ~" x '23 AGUlI '2"(0 }~. slot mortises on the end of each leg - lout AII:HAHO U~HT

ON ROUTtIt TAau ~ HAJtOWOOO ,that attaches to the uprights. see Fig. 23. I~;~~n."n••ON I ""'HE(Again, I used the router jig 00 page 22 ~o

(£NOlt!,cut the mortises.) '~ !1IOLOINC. Then using a ~ .. rounding.over bit on the router table. rout only the

~

. "'OTtOM SIDEOFltG

top edge on aU four legs, see Fig. 23.LlG i f'OSfTASSt;!II8LY. After the legs are routed, -1''. tONG. UG' ,F;&M

they're finished sanded and glued to the " w,," rii,g:u alf I....•OlfP SlOT A / EN Of ";'*1(;:\ \ ___,uprights. Then cut splines to lit the rnor- FIG\.IItEU flGUl126 "'toN HOUONnATuses, and glue the legs Y'Cramthe bouem ,. Stot Of MlKItORof the upri~hl, see Fig. 24. You can use iFaAM.E.MUk HflGHthand screws and pipe clamps (see Tips and • , FOI: INSI...,

Techniques. Woodsmilh No. 29), or hand ~pressure to clamp the legs in position. -

--L """"'-GTHE FINAL finiNG

At this point, both the mirror frame and.....w,

f- 2QVw' -.;:the stand are basically complete. The only MAlIC lOCATION Ofthing that needs to be done is to position THREADEDINS,.T ....lOt UPliGHtSlOEthe mirror frame on the stand and install -ON ONi SIDE 111 hi)the threaded inserts. t" I

'1":-POSITlO~ THE FRAME. To position the I AGU., 21mirror frame, place a 'Y,- spacer block I Cbetween the bottom of the mirror frame '. OfEP~0lE Foland Lhe top of the stretcher. see Fig. 25. - S'MVlL ntUAOtO\Vlth the frame in this position, mark th. .,' INSBt ~-1'MEASURE OtSTANa '-.location for the threaded insert on Oll~side FItOM '.', ~ '"."of the mirror frame. see Fig. 26. IOnOM STanCHER

To be sure the insert on the other side is I ClHTU lNSUT HOU ON A.At Of MC)lO£O lOGE-located in exactly the same position, mea- 31V.- ,-,...- ...sure the distance from the mark to the SWIm MAlaOI SClEWbottom of the frame. Then use this dis-

k ... SlACE. ItOCIC) AND l ... EADlD INsearranee to lind the location for the insert on ~the other side.

'll ~~;The ~. holes for the threaded in..serts ~are drilled v,,' deep. centered on the flat , .MlRIOI

. ~ jspot on the outside edge of the frame ('Ii. I-- 1CV1.- r .,0£from the back edge). see fig. 27. Note, As t L -, "[ was inslAlling the inserts. [ decided to

0' s E _3..PllGKTcoat the outside threads with epoxy to help J_ , I -' ...prevent them Cram rotating in the hole. _!.

TlUPIIRROR UACK.The IYi .. -deep rabbet ~-"that was routed on the back of the mirror n<lUIe es FlGURf 30frame provides room for. ""'",thick mir- '.....mete: MIRItOIror, a v..'·thick Masonite back. and a nex· K'~nible rubber stop.

tltAC£'.OR~To make the Masonite back. rip a piece Of TOft.ICH AND~ _:. .

8onOM COtNEts,.l • •of Masonite to the same width as the dis, z--, MIRRot....... ~. ntlCl(

~

SID.tance between the rabbetss On the back of ....J. MAS-~Tf-the mirror frame. Then lay the frame over ,the Masonite. and trace the inside profile I;;.., =

fAce iN fIlAC!of the top arch and both bottom corners, cut'. ~MASON." to sn

,IUMn STor ~t{I WITH _os

see f'ig. 29. Using p sabre saw, cut the IlTWEtN 1tA&6ETSIN FlAME '<V

radii on the \i,' Masonite to fit the frame. MATfRIALS LIST CUTTING DIAGItANlAt this point. [ took the unfinished mir-ror frame to a local glass store and had A MirrorAnn P'.," (4) lYt. ~ lv,. •• ~ 1'~.·..~''l'", n'them cut a V.-·lhitkrnirror to fit the frame. a Mtrror Sid, Pjtc•• (2) 1VI. 'It lY ... 3"1. ~~~z~!d,I;Ai['i,~,~,tkA1

PIXISlI. To [mish it off, I stained the e aottomMUeMPi.~ (2) 1VI. x a , 10lJ'. 1\-..... S'h· • 6(1'frame and stand with two coats of Minwax o Min'Ot FrameSMither (1) 1V.. x 2'/.· 11'1, I ::3 3... ,E,:.. !aEarly American stain. Then 1 applied f Upright S",.tm.r (1) 1v.. ... - 2071.three coats of MjDWax Antique Oil finish. F Fo.t (4) l'A•• S-19

1'1,. «S ....a· ... ,

[ f ; • 11~MOUNTINGTIlE MIRROR. Finally, I posi- G Upright Blann (4) ,¥, ... 2 - 33tioned the mirror in the frame, covered the I" • i f ~back with the ~. Masonite, and tacked a ''t%.- 1(sv." • 1?'flexible rubber stop in place to secure the

~. ;l!, .. , ... 1...... fi•• ,,;; ~mirror in the frame, see Fig. 30.

\Vh~n I ", .. building the frame [or thecheval rmrror shown in this i.. ue, [ CUt aMlboot on Ih(' back side of the frame with aruuter lind rnhllCt bit. However. t~ere's aproblem with thi. t)'PI' of routing.One .hould,·r of the rabbet (where the

boltom ofth., Mlbbo'l bit cu"" alway. clul'''out. l'nfnnul\lOlI'I\', lhlt' i, the .;boulderthat "ill b\' ren'-eled III the mirror.To p,..,\'~nl ch'fH'ut on thi.- .houlder, set

the rabbet bIt to the fInal deplh of the rul.Thf'n make' a light 8COrin~pa&.....mo\.ingtberouter in a lOU "t~r·c/(Xk«·i.u rotationaround the U1~ideedge of the CramI'.This isactually the "wronl(" direction, but it pro­dute!< a .mooth, clean shoulder.Then to complete the rabbet. reset the

depth of CUIand make .ucce"l;ively deepercuL.~in the correcl (r/Ol'k,l'i.e) directionuntil the tICOnngcut i~reached.

COUNTII.saNK

IIlll~ MIdi""••f the CIrcle is ~" (a..onthe round tahl~ in IhL<issue), an extensionarm can be added, 'CI' Fil(. 4

SMOOTH ItAIIETS

SlAtS IOUTrlGUIDE

WING NUl ANDWA.SHE.

CUT STIlI' TO'" Gti>OV'

""11100. it must be mounted to a pi~ orplywood fin;I, -ee t'il(, 3b,

ROUTING ROUND fRAMES

The ~eCr\'t behind cutting a round frame i.<simpl,', UKen router with a trammelattachment. I use a Sears router and LheSeal'>' 1\'0. 2S17!1 multi-purpose routerguide a",1 trammel attachment

hal\'es fit together perfectly.Ifyou'", "arking WItha sis-sided frame.

the open end. can be tnmmed on the table<3"', ~. Fil{. :la, If the ~ u, eil(ht·

\VOOOSMITII 9

For gI'\18te.t strengtb, the spline shouldbe CUI110till' groin i. running across thejoint line, see Fig. 2, This requires twocuts, The fin<t cut I,made by setting therip fenCt' th,' "proper distance" from theblade, Thi. di'lance i" equal to the width ofth(· b'l'OO\'" in thl' mitered pieces.for the ",,'CUndcut. set the rip fence

about ~. '" vo.d the bouom of the firstrut, anel Wlldp the workpiece with themiter gauge to make l W'O s.halIo\\: cutsThen siml'I)' anap olr the .pU"", and sand0(( the raw"! ...1.,-.

GLUING UP MITEIIEDFRAMES

If th(' spline fit, well, the mitered pieee­can be glul"(1 logt:'lher 1'''flrtJllt ('lnl"pitl!1.Hand-p.......ure alone will produce a goodtil(ht Joint. Thi. i>< because the strength ofa .plin~ jllint i.between Lhespline and theside. of lh., ~"""\'c~- ,,,,I between thet\\IO Inil<'rl~1t.'(IJ{(!~.If the ."Ii"~ fits tight in the groove, it

will pick up moi.tu", a:< glue is applied,.",eU, ItIl<I produl'!' a very til(hl joint.

Hold th. jUlnt 10llelher for a minute or"", and th(·n &<'1 It down on a flat .urface todry. In 8 f~",nunu!<',. it "ill be alJno.tim""""ihll' 10get th" joint apart - e,'en if)'00 "ant('d to.

MAl(ING ADJUSTMENTS ONMITEIIED.RAMES

If y"u'r~ building a frame with thesemItered 1"('«', don'l lry to glue them aUtogether at onCl'. (They almo.! ",,"fT IIItogt!ther pt·rl"ctly.)In.<t('ad,glue ,'airg togetber to form two

half·frnmes, Then the open ends of theframe hah'c> elm be trimmed so both

IOUAlS WIDTH01 G'OOVI

•

ROUtt 2

To 1«:, around this problem. I used thejiJ,t ..hewn un pag~22 in lhls issue to cutgJ'OO"OS that Ill'\' purtly centered on eachmiter. Th,. ehrrun.tc' the problem cf mak­ing a plunge cut, yet still provide>;perfectalignment fur thl.' ~1)linc~.

CUnlNG SPLINES

or (''OUnt4.'.onCt~thv f(I"OOve~are cut. the>T,line. han' to 1><. CUI to match, The keyh~r,' is to cut the splines so they have agood frirtion fit in the !(rOO\'e.

(IT ~ln'HS ~O\\. to cut the miteredpicees, l use th~ follo,,;nl{procedure: fir-II eut .ach of the 1""""" for the framl:III roul(h ~ngth (u.",aUy liz' to I' lung"rthan 1I('",1,'<lI.Th('n I've found .t'. be.t to sneak up on

the miter by makinK two cu.....The first cuttle3n 8\\Ol' most 1)( the Y..aste, Next. atrim CUt illmndp which Ju>t barely skim>orr the end of the miter, This cut should bel(Iluged so no more than one-half the thick­neft. of th~ ~n"blade actualls make' th~cut. Tlli. way there'. much less chan,.., ofth" blad~ pulling "r pu>hinl(theworkpit""OUI of lin...

tuniNG GROOVES FOR SPLINES

Mer thl' mill'r.I are cut, the pieces .....Joined and alw aIi~'Ilt...t\\;th the .._'" of,plinL'$. To k....p the PI("'." aligned. th"""groo"e. mu~t be .,ther, IJ <entered oneach miter, or 21 they mu>t be the .am..­disWll'(' Crom the C...... <ide of each pi_.Back In lI'ood.o",ith Xu 21, "e <ho....ed

how to cut th.,p !(rOO"e>;on a router table.Thb method clnl" a nice job of keeping thegroIl"._ th,' ....m. dc.tan"" from the face,id,' of the mitered pit'Ce. Howe,'er. onegroove on each pll't'" must be started ,,~tha plung~ cut.

• •

••RGUI. 1

•.\J; .. e "c'Tt1bUlldmg the proj..,ts far thi>issue, IJlltt€'d tlU\\n some note> eoncerninemner and 1'i~llincjuilll'r')',

CUnlNG MITERS

AlthoUJ(h cUllinJ( miter. seems like a.implc ollCrntiulI, thcl"'~ ",ally more to itthan jU"t cutting the workpiece at the cor­rect angle, In (net. even when the angle i.""t correctly, lh., cut can "till be ofT.Theprobl('m i. that Ih., ... " blade often t~I\(!'to .ith~r pull ur push the workpiece. Thiserwping make, II IUll'oNlible to make a<tl'3ll!'htcut.t:Rl.•:I·I't',Tht t.·&i'i~t".,." to prevent

the work",~ ("'lD "",,,PIDJ(is to at"""h aply"ood f"I"'" 10 the miter gauge to sup­port the WOrkpll...e aUth.. way to the blade.TIlen clamp 8 stop block to the fence soeon'tant p........re can be applied to theworkpiece to J)u",hIt ;l~a)'from the blade.see t·ig. I.

___ S_h_o~Notes

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WOODSM1TH10

circular shape. Doing thi~ involves threebasic steps and five different routing cuts.(Note: In aJJ cases, the routing is done bymoving the router in a CO''''J.... ·docklUisedirection.)

OUTSIDE ClIiCU)IPEIiENCE. The firststep is to rout the outside circumference ofthe frame to a radius or6~"(diameter of13").To do thiS, first mark a line 6~" fromthe pieot point and drill. y. pilot hole so itjust touches the outside of the marked line,see Fig.~. Thi. pilot hole makes il easier tolower the router bit when routing thecircumference.Then use a Y' carbide-tipped straight

bit and the trammel attachment to routthrough the frame in several (counter­eloekwise) passes, see Fig. 5.

ROt;T RABBET. The next step is to rout arabbet on the inside or lhe frame. (Thisrabbet is for a y." plyv.'ood insert whichwill hold the quartz clock movement andthe clock face.)Re-set the trammel attachment so the

outside edge of the router bit is 4W' [romROUTING THE fRAMi

At last, the frame can be routed into a

fil'l\l tacked it to a circular piece of W'plywood (cut to a 6" radius), see Fig. 2.(Make sure the brads are placed where therouter bit won't strike them.)Then I nailed a piece of scrap 2x.4 to the

bottom of the plywood so the wholeassembly can be held securely in a benchvise.

PIVOT POINT. In order to use the tram­mel attachment, th.. pivot point bas to beat the same height as the frame. Igluedand nailed a piece of 514 scrap to the ply­wood- approximately in the center of theframe. see Figs. 2. 3.Then to locate the pivot point, place a

straight edge across the three opposingjoints and mark tines on the center block,see Fig. 3. The point where the three linesintersect is the pivot point for the trammelattachment. (The Sears trammel attach­ment Iused requires a v... pivot hole at thispoint.)

()

MAKING THE fRAME

The bezel I purchased (see Sources. page24) has Q diameter of9Y... so 1built a framewith a diameter of 13" to provide 3 Ii's"rimaround the frame. This involves building ahexagonal (six-sided) frame first: thenrouting it (with the aid of a trammelattachment) into a circular shape.

RIP STOCK. To build the hexagonalframe. rip a 6<r-long piece of5l4 stock to awidlh of 3¥.". Then CUI off six sections to arough length of 9".Shop Note: As I was cuiting the rough

lengths, I numbered each piece and indioeated the grain direction so when theframe Will;assembled. the grain would runcontinuously around the frame. A nicetouch.CUT MITERS. To join the six sections

together. Iused miter and spline joinery.The details of making this joint are givenon page 9. But it basically involves cutting30"miters on both ends of all six pieces sotheir linal length is l!' from point to point.see Fig. I.

JOINERY. After the miter>; are cut, thenext step is to cut grooves in each miteredend for the splines that hold the joint.together. These y,"-wide grooves areSlopped so they don't show on the outsideperimeter of the frame, see Fig. 1. (To cutstopped grooves, I used the router jigdescribed on page 22.)

ASSEMBLY. After the grooves are cut,V."-thickhardwood splines are Cut to fit thegrooves. Then the frame can beassembled. I did this by gluing up two"half' sections consisting of three pieceseach. Then I glued these two halvestogether to form the six-sided frame.(Shop Notes on page 9 describes how tojoin these halves to form a perfect frame.)

SETUP fOR TRAMMEL ATTACHMfNT

After the frame is assembled, it's formedinto its final circular shape using a routerand trammel attachment. However. tohold the frame in place while routing. I

How do you make a round frame? This is ~ $: $ S e ~one of the woodworking techniques that $ $ $ $ $ $has always intrigued me. Although there t $ $ $ $ $ $are several ways to go about it, the method (> $ $ $ $[used for this clock produces a sturdy. and V $ $ $quite handsome frame. One thai should $

(>- Oc $ $.stand up to the test of time. v v

However, in order to build the round $ s...frame for this clock. it's best to first orderthe clock face and bezel (the gla;oa domethat fits over the face). because Ihey willaifect the final size of the frame.

ROUTING 'ROUND THECLOCKRound Clock Frame

•

11

--i 1'--,.."......1-':"-'11.. v..•pt.YWOOD tNSot

DRIU CENTQ FOtt WORKSHINGE

OUR

RGUREI

AGU. 7

.CUIEl<assWASTt.._

RGURE.

oaJu. ,,,.. 'U.Ol HOl£­

&lTTOUCHtS OUTSIDt Of" LINE/

fGUllE SRGU~£4

SCRAPb4 DJUu. FOR TltA/tWIl 'OINT

AGUi£ 1

T,.),..j_

3...•

, '/...j .

I'~"~ SIXPtKlS

fIGURE 1 fIGURe 3TAO( ~ TO

PlYWOOD 'ACE SlDE UP

~~

ClNTI.alOCK

WOODSMlTH

•

•

the pivot point. see Fig. 6. Then rout agroove as deep as the actual thickness ofthe plywood you want to use for the insert.(Since the depth of this cut is shallow,there's no need for a pilot hole.)After routing the gl"OOVC, there "ill still

be waste sections left on the inside edges ofthe frame. To remove these areas, use therouter (without the trammel attachment)and a ~- b"traight bit. This will leave 8 wideshoulder (or rsbbet) on the in_.qdeoi theframe for the plywood insert. see Fig. 6.MOLDINCC(,"!'S.The basic round frame is

complete at this point. Now all it need. is acouple of molding cuts to dress it up.1used a W' corner-round bit with a pilot

to form a corner-round profile with an 'V.rsheulder.see Fig. 7. Because a pilotisusedwith the rou~ bit, this operation can bedone ireehand (without the trammelattachment). 1 made two successivelydeeper passes to form this molded edge.

CORE BOX BIT. Then I softened thesquare shoulder by switching back to thetrammel attachment and used a \1," eorebox bit to rout. cove tQ a depth of 'I.- (intwo passes), see f'ig. 7. Wben finished,there should be a Vi· cove with a ¥d'square shoulder remaining below the cove.

INSTALL BUn AND CLOCK FAC(

After the frame is routed, the bezel, clockface, and clock movement can be installed .PLYWOODIl'ISERT.To support the clock

movement, I cut a ""- plywood insert to fitthe rabbet in the frame. (This circularinsert can be made the same way as theframe: mount the plywood to the base usedearlier and rout it with a trammelauachment.)

Next, drill a Y," hole in the center of theplywood for the stem of the clock move­ment. And finally, glue the plywood insertin the frame, using "C" clamps to keep itnush with the race of the frame.BEZELHARDWARE.for stability (and

looks) I wanted to hinge the bezel at thetop of the clock instead of the side. So Idecided which part orthe frame was goingto be "12o'clock high. "Then I centered thebezel all the frame (with the hinge at 12o'clock) and marked lhe location for thetwo hinge screw holes.I also marked the position of the slightly

larger hole for the catch at the 6 o'clockposition, see Fig. 8. Drill these hoIes, andeounterbore the backside of the frame forthe fastening nuts.

FINISH. After the holes were drilled forthe bezel, J finish-sanded the frame andapplied one coal of Sutherland Wellespolymerized tung oil sealer. Then I rubbedin five coats of high gloss polymerized tungoil.INSTALLMO\,EME~'T.\Vhen the finish is

dry, attach the clock face to the plywoodinsert, and install the bezel. And finally,mount the clock movement..

•

WOODSMITH12

PURE Oil FINISHES

o..tennining what an oil finish consists of,what it "iU do. and bow to use it can get atittle <o~ing. &8ically. there are onlytwo deying oils widely available on themarket today: linseed oil and tung oil.

UNSP'F,OO'L. Linseed oil (made from flaxseed) is the granddaddy of oil finishes. Infact. if you lookon the labebofmany paintsand varnish es, yuu·lI.till find linseed oil i~one of the main ingredients.Allhough raw Iinse.-d oil L. available,

usually what's -old ti"ls)' is boiled linseedoil. But the term "boiled" is something of amisnomer. You can't take raw linseed oU,boil it. and expect to have anything usable.It'. really ,..filltd lin,eed oil.No matter what you call it. boiled lin­

seed oil does It good job of penetrating thewood, seaJinll it. and provides some pro­tection against the cl,·mt·nl.,.\Vben I was tAlking to Bill Feist, he

referred to boiled linseed oil as "sort of.lovely finkh even now. 1 think the modernfinishes have gone more to the alkyds.modified linseed oils, tung oil. or mixturesof tung and linseed oils. But. when you talkto some of the purl......boiled linseed oil isstill it."For the record, many woodworkers are

more than willing to give up this old stand­by. As one wood finisher told me. "lin.'Ieedoil stinks to high heaven and it'!] keep onstinking for about six months." Linseed oilalse tends to turn woods 8 very dark,almost undesirable ~0101'. It also tends togive the wood a definite yellow tint.

Tl11<COIL. In recent years, tung oil hasattracted a 101 of active supporters (andpromoters) who prefer it to linseed oil.Pure tung oil, polymerized tung oil, tungoil varnishes, and LUng oi)/urethane fin­ishes have become mighty popular prod­uct.s. But while there's renewed interest init. tung oil ill anything but new.Tung oil has been around for thousands

of years. Marco Polo is said to havebrought tung oil back from his excursionsto China. And the story is told that tung oilwas used to seal the Great Wall of China(certainly a testament to its durability).Tung oil was also used as the baseingredient for the time-honored orientallacquer fmishes.The word tung is Chinese for "heart"­

the dark green leaves of the tung tree areheart-shaped. The tree itself is about thesize of a magnoha tree. and produces a pod

rl

"The term 'drying' means that the oilreacts - usually with air - to form anessentially new material which isno longerdissolvable in the original solvent. ThL, isbasically how a drying oil differs from aproduct like lacquer or shellac."Lacquers or shellacs do not react

chemically - they merely lose their sol­vent and the material is left behind in theform of a discrete film. That film can beredissolved by putting the same solventright back on it."The best example of this is when an

alcoholic drink is placed on a shellac­covered table and it spills and leaves awhite ring. The alcohol in the drink ispartially di>solving the shellac again."Linseed oil. tung oil or the other drying

oils cannot be redissolved, in any way.with their original solvent after they havedried because they have changed theirchemical composition. It's sort of likehaving a bowl of spaghetti dry out. Once ithas done ita curing bit. you just can't doanything with it."

PESETIUTION. There is another diCfer­ence between oil finishes and "surface"finishes. Most oil Ilnishes ate touted asbeing-''penctrating'' finishes. When an oilfinish is applied to wood. Itsoaks in, dries.and becomes part of the wood. instead ofSitting on top of it.To some extent this is true. But the

depth of penetration on the surface of thewood isn't .11 that much - only a fewmicrons (a couple of cell Iayers) deep. Pen­etration on end grain is much greater -anywhere from Ii,' to 2" depending on thetype of wood - but that's not usuallywhere you want or need protection.To get better penetration on the surface,

the oil can be rubbed in by hand. or withfine-grit sandpaper. This creates heat.which lowers the viscosity of the oil andhelps it penetrate a little better. At least,that's tbe "elbow-grease" way to do it.But. there are other ways to increase

penetration. Most oil finishes are thinnedwith mineral spirits or other solvents toallow the oil to penetrate the wood. Then,after the oil finish is applied, the solventevaporates, and the thin layer of oil that'sleft behind begins to react with the air andcures.When an oil finish has cured, it provides

some protection for the wood. But thedegree of protection can be increased byadding varnish or other resins to the oil.And this is when all the confusion begins.The type of oil that's used. the additives inthe oil, and the method of application all

affect the :.mount of p....t<'Ctionthe finishprovirl~~.

Using oil to finish and protect wood isn'tanything new - oil finishes have beenaround since the first woodworker spilledbear grease on the top of his table andwatched the raindrop<>roll off. Even backthen it was obvious that an oil finish wasrelatively easy to apply. provided someprotection against water, and made thewood look better.Over the years, wood finishe"" have cre­

ated thousands of variations in an attemptto improve on the fil't't crude oil finishes.Solvents such as turpentine or mineralspirits are added (0 give the oil betterpenetrating ability; driers are added tomake the oil dry faster; resins and waxesare added for surface protection. and eventhe makeup of the oil has been changed by"cooking" itorcombiningit with other oils.The result of all these changes and

enhancements is a type of finish that hasstruck a responsive chord with modern­dsy woodworkers. Although the good 01'surface finishes (paint. varnishes, lac­quers, polyurethanes) have their place.there's nothmg quite like the feel of a pieceof wood that's been finished with oil.Whieh is eX8cLly the point. \Vith an oilfinish. you can feel the wood. and not alayer of somet hing orer the wood.But. what exactly are oil finishes? The

most common oil finishes in use today arelinseed oil. tung oil, the so-called "Danish"oil finishes, and the relatively new oil andvarnish combinations.Each of these oils and oil combinations

has advantages and disadvantages. Per­haps the biggest advantage (at leMt theone lhat's promoted by all lbe manufac­turers) is lhe ease of application: Put it on.wipe it all, and you're done. But the bestway to achieve the "hand rubbed, oil fin­ish" everyone wants is to spend some timeunderstanding how oil finishes work.

HOW THEY WORK

Not all au. can be used to finish wood. Infact, there are basically two kinds of oils:oils tbat dry, and oils that don't dry. Tungoil and linseed oil will dry or "CUJ'e"to arelatively bard finish. However, othertypes of oil (mineral oil and motor oil, forexample) won't dry at all. It's all a matterof chemistry.Since Idon't know much about chemis­

try, I asked someone who does - Dr. BillFeist, a research chemist with the U.S.Department of Agriculture's Forest Ser­vice Forest Products Laboratory in Mad­ison, Wisconsin. Here's what he had to sayabout drying oils:

FINISHING ISN'T AS BAD AS YOU THOUGHT

•

Oil Finishes

13WOOOSMITH

the "right" eholee, Or. you may "-anI arelatively heavy preteeuve coat - whichprobably lDI'ana choo'!lllg one of the oil\·arnish mixtures.It's really a matler or personal prefer.

enee, and a little gue ...... ork. 'I\'ben I setout to finifoha proj~, the reason Ichooseone product over another depends on thelook I want the wood to have, how familiarI am ,,;th the product, and (to be realhonest aboet it) how the spirit moves me atthe moment. Even then, I may alter lhemethod or appliCAtion and the number of<OlIU to alTt'tl the outcome of a particulartype or brand or fini~h.In (act. I enen apply a flnisb in ways the

manufacture ... pecificaJly recommendapinst. But I like th. results. Even themanufacturen; 1('11 me they're sometimessurpn,.,'" at the results their customers~t v.ith IheIT productJOw.ing preeeduresand te<'hn'qut8 Ihl')· hadn't thought oi.\\ 'bOe there to "" 8i~e answer to the

que.U()n ""'bieh rll1kb should I use~". inthe P""""'" of tl')ing 10"",,WCl' !.hi. que-.lion, I a.k my."lf (and with any luck.answer) a number o( questions about theproject I'm ~lIing ready to finish: Whatdo I want the wood to look Uke when I'mdone? How do I want it to feel? Will theproject be exposed to moisture (spilledwater, coffoe, 8Icoho!)?Will it be 8ubjeetedto rough wear and tear that may needfrequent touehing·up? Do I want the woodto have a "natura]" look. or have a littlesheen'E!<""nllally, lh. 6nilJ1 I seleet is deter­

mined by my IlIIIIwer> to those questionsand palOtexperience. Here's what I thinkabout >'<>"'" of the oil fini-he> I've used and...hat kind of fm;"h I expect from Ihem.Lin.efll Oil. Idon't u..<eboiled linseed oil

as • final fini,.h very often because it never_eem. 10 dry tompletely - it alwaysremains ju,t • bttle ".oil." Ihave used it(in comb,nation with pumice or rotten­stone)lo rub out varnished tabletops. AndBill Feist mentioned that he used it tor"furbi~h the old varnhlh finish on his son's55-year.old otring bass, (He mi.e. ~boiled lin8t'ro oil wilh 'K mineral spirits.and a touch of alcohol to soften the oldfinish a Iitllel.In general, I tend to avoid boiled linseed

oil bcca...., it dries very slowly and it hastoo mueh odor ••. and. I think there arebetter producl$ on the market.Pu~ TIlnKOil. I've ."~tched to tung oil

when I"1II1t to \I.e a pure oil finish. Theonly problem here ISknowing exartly whatyou're buying. Some of the lungoil6nishes""ld today are thinned down. So, in effect,you're getung lell8 oil.ThUlisn't ~rily bad. (In fact. thin­

ning the oil can help the oil penetrate thewood better.) But, It doeo help to know (atleast (rom a price-comparison standpoint)if there's only tung oil in the <an, or if some

DANISHOIL flNtSHESTIlng oil and linseed oil both are used toereate a IIeCOndeRtegory of oil finishes -the so-called "Ollni$h" oils and oil/,'arnishmixlures,

• When you ~t out to choose an oil or oil"lII'IliAhfinish. there's no way to say thatone isbetter than another, There are timeswhen you may want just a light proteetivecoat on the wood. In lhill case. a pure oil orone of the "Danish" oil finishes would be

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about th.· .i'fl of •• hesmut, That pod I The "Danioh" part of the name relates toeontain» • cluster of ..-naller nuts from the natural oil fini>h that was applied to"hieh the tunll oil is equeezed. Danish~lodem(lln"wreduringthe 190&.TIlng trees ""'U;..., 'ery l!))et'ifk grow- Part of the "look" of Dani..h Modern fur·

IDII tondiuons (warm and moist). The trees nitu",,, ao the hand·rubbed oil finish (notanOllJ'Uh in p.uu of China, and (or thou- .urr~finl.h ouch"" varnish or lacquer).l'aDd. of yt&r1l were grown only tbere. AlthouJ.:hOani>h Modem furniture isn'tNow, however, several countries in South a., popular u it 0_ wa.', there is no deny­America are .upportinl( groves of tung ing thatth.> "Dani>h" oil finishes are at thetrees for lhe commercial production of height of their popularity With goodlung oil. For a whilo (from about 1904 to reasontOO!,) therv WIUI limit.d American pro- They're .lIlty to apply. almost foolproof.I duetion cf tung uil, but Hurricane Camille they show off the natura! beauty of thewiped out the tunll lorn"es and American wood, and they add a measure of pro­production \\..... halted. wetion beyond that of a pure oil finish, OneM""t of the tW'1loil we use comes from olher advan18R'l'to the "Danish" oils (and

South America, But before it hits the for lhat matter, all oil finishes) is the abil­.heIVE'S,It'Ocleaned. refined, processed, ity to repair the fuu~h simply by addingand then, If n"thlng L; addl'd, it's labeled more oil to a IlCUlT"darea or minor scratch.I~ pure tun~ oil. Eric 0,nnis. the ~larketing Director for\\'ben pure tung 011 i> poured from the the \\·at«>Oennls Corporation. says his

can, it', th1rk~r than ) au might expect. finn "came out ..·,th 'Vatto Danish Oil batk)lost pt'Ople thm It "'th mill<'l'aispirits to in 1967; it'. baAed on a formula that camehelp ita penetration. eop<eially on the first f'r<>mEn~nd. \\'ecalM!dthe product 'Dan-coat. The e rr,'CI of tunl: oil on wood ;,; a 10'1\ ish' oil, but it' •• trictly a generic term.luster fini,h that', more resistant to water There'. no .tandard for 'Danish' oil"and heat than linsee-d oil. CO\1p(),t,,.,_ The "Danish" oils and oil!POt.'M.;RIZ~lI n 'C OIL. Even better \'ami.,h mixture. have three basic com­

than pure tunll nil (nC<'ordingto its fans) is ponents: lhe oil (obviously), solvents orpolymerized tung oil Here's another thinners, and eesins, They also may eon-ins!.'U1ccwhen u degree in chemistry would tain drying agen"', and sometimes a pig.come in handy. Allhaugh it'. easy to see mem to adel color to the wood.and reel the 011a. It'~ poured out orthe can. In general, the addilion or resins andwhat happeru<to It 8ft,'r it'. applied illquite solven," to the 011is what makes it a "Dan·invisible - on the molecular level. ish" oil fmish. Adding resms te oil is fairlyBill ~'ciHexpI8in'lhat whenan oildries, common practice. And resin. come in

"it ehanR:~ rrom 000 molecular weight to many rorllU!.Bill Fe;"l oay<. "There areanother. Everybudy call, thi, curing. but literally hundred. or po.sible resins 10the eerreet tenn i. ero. .. linking - II'S chooo<.-f'r<>m.and rrom too.o;ehundreds. ofactually a theml<a! cro......Iinking. coo....... there ...., million' of possible rom·"By heaUnt; lh.· oil. !.hi. croo;s·!ioking bmation.. boocau>!(lmany fini,.hes may have

pro<e." i.,IlOlJ'tiallycompleted. The oil goE'" thn:to or (our diff.rent resms in Ihem."from a stat{· "here It'~ a \'eT)' 10""cro...~- RF.~I'S But \\hal are re~iru.? Resint'linked matfriallo one that becomes a little OCCW'e'·.,,),\\ here- e.peciaUy in the plantbit more rt'SlIlCIU',a lillie ea.<ier to apply. world. The oap in a lree, ror example, is aThen alter it'. on. it dl>C<n'tha"e so far to fonn of ft',in. And there are syntheticgo to cure." ",.in. made by chemieal reaction or poly.Polyml'riultion i~another word (or that meriultion. (Urethane and polyurethane

chemical proccSlI. If a complete curing are examples o( $ynthptic re.iM. There'scycle involves, say, 0 dozen or more chemi· really no different(' between urethane andcal cross.linklng change.. polymerizing polyurethane the words can be usedthe tung oil may _peed up fi\'e or six of interchangably.)those change" III advance. "Oani.h" oil fini.he., whate"er theirTo change pure tung oilinto polymerized brand name. are simply one or those

tung oil. it'o heated to about 360 degrees. infimtt> combination. of oil. and resin....and oxygen u. bubbl,od through it. The end 'l'Myare pendrating oil finishes to which"",ult i~ a ",lat('(), but new. product - enough reoina (in mo.t cases. varnish orpolymerized lung oil - ,.hich dl'ie$ faster un>thane) ha\'e been added to gi~e theand with a higher Iu.ter than pure tungoil. Oni.hed piece of "ood some surfaceAs ,,;th pure lung uil. polymerized tung oil protectiun.can be u..-ed "alraight" or mbed with ~ari- WHICHTO CHOOSEOU~\"arnj~htl"o.

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apply the finish spanngly. In fact, it meansjust the OppOSIte.

When applying the first coat of an oilfinish, start by flooding thl' surface. Then,if ['m using one of thc pure oil finishesorthe light "Danish" oil finishes, 1 rub thefinUlhin with a rllg. (On small projects. it'snice to rub it In by hand. [1'$ aJso kind ofmessy, but you get more of a feel [or whatyou're doing.) \\'hen I'm appl);ng one ofthe oil/varnish mixtures Iusually use oneof these polyfoam brushes to spread aslightly heavier coat.

No matter what kind ofoil finish is used,I alway. keep the .urface of the wood wet(or whatever lenl1th of time the manu­faeturer recommends. (This is usuallyfrom to minute.. LO one hour.)All of the. talk about noodingthe surface

and keeping it wet may not sound like I'mappl);ng a thin coat. but the next steptakes care of that.~VipeillJJJ Alkr the finish has had time

to soak into the wood. wipe it off. JohnMoseroIWood Finishing Supply Companysays, "wipe It olT'tight' so tbere's no excesslell at, all. That'" n term used in .Wning. Iapprenticed with a gentlellIan who was •stainer (or 50 years and that's a phrase healways used. 'Wipe it o!ftight' meant wipeit off clean: wipe it off completely."John's advice is J!ood. Initially, you want

to flood the surface of the wood and keep itwet LO give the oil a chance to soak into thewood. Ailer the wood has absorbed asmuch o( the finish lIS it can. tbe excessshould be wiped off "tight." This is whatproduces the "hand-rubbed" look. Iftheoilis not rubbed off, the excess left on thesurface will dry to a sticky mess.Shop Note: AU of this wiping on and

wiping' Q!Irequire. a lot of clean rags. I'velong since exhausted my supply of old T­shirts. SO I finally had to break down andactually buy some rags.

I looked in the Yellow Pages under"Rags" and found a company whose solebusiness is selling clean rags. The ragsthey were selling are really remnants ofthe same material used LOmake T-shirts inthe first place. I was able to get 15 lbs. (aUfe-time supply) of rags for $21.Let il dry. After the excess oil is "oped

off, give the soaked-In oil a chance to dry.The length of time the finish needs to dry,,;II depend on lhe type of oil it is andweather conditions .

1 usually wait 24 hours before applyingthe second coat. But if the humidity ishigh. or the temperature is low, or there'sno air circulating, you might want to wail-IS hours before applying another coat.Woldl for blcedback. During the lime

the finish is drying, keep 3D eye out forexcess oil which may seep to the surface.This irritating process is called bleedback(more aboutlbis later) and it always seemsto happen when I usc an oil/solvent mix-

applying a speciJl "Satin Oil," or "SatinWax" LO restore the finish. There are alsoversions of Watco Danish Oil finishes thathave pigment added to color the wood.Minwax Antique Oil. Another productI like to use is Mlnwax Antique Oil. Thisalso has a linseed oil base and has a higherpercentage of resins than \Vatco. Sincethere are more resins in it, the Minwax oiltends to give a little more sheen to thewood - a sheen that seems to last longerthan when \Vatco is used, but that alsolooks like something iij "on" the wood.Hope's Tung Oil Varnish. This is 8

combination of tung oil and varnish. Theamount of varnish in Hope's product ;,;noticeably higher tban WalCOor Minwax.In fact, I use it more as a thinned-downvarnish than an oil finish- but one that's awhole lot easier to apply.One or two coats of Hope's Tunj( Oil

Varnish gives tbe wood 8 low gloss. Aneven greater sheen can be achieved byapplying additional coats. Then the finishcan be buffed with steel wool to a matteappearance.Danish Oils With Urethane. Ever since

"Danish" oil became popular, there hasbeen a rash of new products. with newcombinations of resins. Deft, SutherlandWelles, Bebiens, and even Homer Form s­by are all producing "oil finishes" (eithertung or linseed) with urethane resins,Myexperience with them is limited. but Ithink they will be good finishes (or anysurface that needs a little more protectionthan normal (such as a table LOp).

fiNISHING TECHNIQUES

Once Ichoose the oUfinish. the only otherproblem is how to apply it. Although thismay sound dumb, I think the bestapprosch 10 using oil finishes is to followthe instructions on the can. Afl.er tryingwhatever technique is suggested, then Istart experimenting.However, there is sort of a universal

approach to applying an oil finish thatworks well for me.Prepare I}t~..xod. The first step is to

smooth the wood. On large flat surfaces. Juse a scraper blade Orplane LO smooth thewood because these tools leave the poresopen to accept the oil. On smaller surfaces.Iuse progressive grits of sandpaper.Without going into a lot of detail about

this neceaaary chore, [ usually start with allJO.grit sandpaper and an orbital sander,and remove all the saw marks, planermarks. and burn marks.Once the obvious marks and scratches

are gone, I switch to 150-grit sandpaperand a hand sanding block and finally goover the surface with 22O-gril.Apply thifl coats. After dusting off the

project with a tack cloth, I apply the oUfinish. All oil finishes are designed to beapplied inthi" coats. Tbisdoes not mean LO

lbinners have been added. Hope's I~Pure Tung Oil (the one we use most often)is pure (not thinned) tung oil.Pure tung oil is easy to apply by rubbing

it on with your hand or with a cloth. Al·though it. can be applied straight from thecan, most of the time. I thin it down "ithmineral spirits (especially tor the lirstcoat) to help it penetrate into the woodbetter.One or two coats otpure tung oil will dry

LOa soft luster that's as close LO" "natural"finish as you can get. By adding morecoats, you can get more of a "hand-rubbed"look, or even develop a sheen that lookslike 8 matte varnish finish.Polymerized Tung Oil. I've only used

polymerized tung oil a couple of times. Butwhen 1did, 1was pleased with the results.It can be applied by brush. cloth or handrubbing. And, the resulting' finish isclassy.If one or two costs of polymerized tung

oil are applied. it's not.much dllfenmt thanpure tungoil. But. as the coats are built up,it begins LO take on more and more of •sheen. In fact, it can begin LO look like asoft tustre varnish or lacquer.The only brand of polymerized tung oU

I've used is Sutherland Welles, which sellsseveral different versions. Each versionhas an increased percentage of tung oil tosolvents.When I talked to Frank Welles about the

difference between these versions. he saidthat it just makes it easier to get theamountoflungoil you want.. Hyou want toapply a sealer coat of thinned-down oil, youcan use his "sealer" version instead ofthinning it down YOur.!eIf. For additionalcoats, you can switch to low lustre,medium lustre or high lustre (the higherthe luster. the greater the the percentageof polymenzed tung oil),One nice thing about the Sutherland

\VeUes products is that the percentage ofoil is listed on the label along with clear,concise, and complete instructions for itsuse and application.

OIL·VARNISH MIXTURES

[f!want more protection than the pure oilfinishes provide, I switeh to one of theoil-varnish mixtures.Wateo Danish Oil. WMCOoil is the fin­

ish [ use a lot when Iwanlthe wood to have• very natural look. This "Danish" oil is amixture ot linseed oil and solvents, towhich a small amount ot resins have beenadded.The amount of resins in \Vatco oil is

apparently less than in some other "Dan­ish" oil finishes. and that aeceunts for its''natural oil" appearance. Which is a niceway of sa);ngthat iL looks "dried out" aftera few months. This is why Wat.co recom­mends maintaining the look otthe finish byreapplying the product periodically, or by

ture or "Danish" oU finish on open-pored Essentially, I take advantage of the fact you can do to prevmt bleedback unless thewoods (like oak and ash), but it can OCCur that this product is really a thinned-down wood is filled with a paste filler. (But that• on closed-grain woods as well (cherry, varnish. First, I apply a coat of Hope's kind of defeats the purpose of using an oUmaple. etc.) Tung-Oil Varnish in the normal way (Oood finish in the rlJ'St place.)If bleedback occurs. keep wiping the the surface, then wipe it tight). For the The best thing to do is keep watching for

excess oil away until itstops_pingtothe second and succeeding coats, [ use a poly- bleed back to happen, and keep wiping thesurface. After one or two applicatioJl.<of foam brush to spread the oil-varnish surface when you see little blobs of finish.finish, the pores in the wood will be sealed evenly over the surface. Then, instead of If you miss any and find yourself with aand bleed back won't occur anymore. wiping it off. I allow each of the coats to dry hardened, pimpled surface. simply let itS,cOI.d CC<1I. After the first coat has without wiping them off. dry and then use fine steel wook to buff it

dried, the second and succeeding coats of The result is a finish that looks like it has out.finish can be applied to achieve the look a coat of varnish on it (and. of course it If bleedback occurs while you're apply-you want. Each additional coat should be does) bULmost of the problema usually ing 3 pigmented oil-based finish, the prob-applied in the same manner as the first- associated with finishing "~th varnish are lerns are different. If there are pigments inflood the surface, lhen wipe it "tight." eliminated. the finish when it bleeds back. they canIt's usually not necessary to sand or use Since the Hope's product has more oil result in a discolored ny-specked appear-

steel wool between coats. but again, check and solvents than "normal" varnish, each ance. In short. disaster,the manufacturer's instructions, coat leaves only a thin coat of varnish. Again, all you can do is keep watchingThe key thing to keep in mind with oil Thus, the drying time is reduced, and the for it to bappen after you've wiped down

finishes is LhaLyou are applying ve.ry thin problem of contamination by dust is re- the first coat. And then keep wiping thecoats. Most of the first coat will soak into duced. Also. drips and runs are easier to surface dry. In other words, don't apply 3the wood. The second coal will start to control (particularly onmolded edges), and pigmented oil finish (or an oil stain for thatleave a noticeable coat on the surface. 'Vith brush marks "Oow out" easier. In short, matter) JUSt Wore you retire for thesucceeding coals. you really start to see it's a whole lot easier to apply three or four night. 1£ bleedback occurs overnight,the effect of an oil finish on the wood. In thin coats of an oil-vamish. than two heavy you're in trouble. Wait until you can applyother words, be patient - don'l stop tOO coats oC regular varnish. the stain during a time when you'll be ablesoon. 8LEE08ACK

to watch it carefully.

SOME !lUlES TO 8lUAK Although the.re are a lot of advantages toWHERE TO GET HELP

Although the procedure described above is using oil finishes. one oC the biggest prob- AU-ofthe people we talked to are nice folks.the one [ usually use. there are some vari- lems is something tbat's called bleed back. NOLonly were they helpful to me, theyations on thL, theme ... the kinds of thing>! This problem always seems to crop up prorni1!edto help any ~Voodt"'itl.readers if

• that usually are not recommended. when I'm finishing with a thinned-down oil you want some advice about how to useOne variation is to apply the oil finish finish or one of the "Danish" oil finish". - their products. Here'. where to write or

with sandpaper instead of rubbing or particularly on oak. call:brushing it on the surface. Any onhe pure When bleedback occurs, it leaves spots The Hope Company, 100 Weldon Park-oils or the "Danisb" oil, can be sanded into of oil or varnish over the surface of the way. Maryland Heights. MO 63043. Tele-the surface on initial application with Wet- wood. But it doesn't always happen right phone: (814) 432-5697.Or-Dry sandpaper. (I usually use 320 or away. In fact, I usually don't discover the Sutherland Welles. Ltd .. 403 Weaver400 grit.) appearance oC those spots until an hour or Street, Carboro. NC 27510. Telephone'This procedure accomplishes two things: two after the first application - when the (919) 967-1972

First. it creates friction which results in finisb has dried. Watco-Dennis Corporation, 1706 22ndbeat. The heal helps the oil penetrate into No matter how weU I wipe the wood, Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404. Tele-the wood better than if it'. simply rubbed these spots keep appearing. I've tried to phone: (21.8)870-4781.in or brushed on. lind an answer, or at least a reason Cor this Deft, Ine., 17451 Bon Karman Avenue.Second. thc sandpaper creates a fine annoying problem. I've probably asked 100 Irvine, CA 9271~. Telephone: (711)

sawdust which mixes with the oil and/or 'people why bleedback occurs, and I've 474-0-100.oil-varnish to produce a sort of goop. Thls received about 200 answers, Some of the Minwax Company, Inc .• 102 Chestnutgoop acts almost like a paste filler and fills possibilities: bleedback only occurs on oak Ridge Plaza, l\Iontvale. NJ 076-15.Telc-the pores of the wood. grown in certain parts of the country; the phone: (1-800) 526-0495.When the first coat of goop isdry, n very tanins in the oak react with the chemicals Wood Finishing Supply Co. (Behlens

light sanding with 400-grit sandpaper will in the finish; moisture in the pores oC the Products). 1267 Mary Drive, Macedon,remove any roughness. The second and wood pushes the finish back out; dirt or NY 14602. Telepbone: (315) 986-4517.

• succeeding coats can be applied in the dust in the pores keeps the finish out; SPECIAL THANKSnormal way (without sanding during trapped air escapes from the pores andapplication.) pushes the fInish out ahead of it. We talked to a lot of people to get theThe final finisb achieved witb this The answer which [ think is the most information for this article. Special thanks

metbod is similar to what you'd expect plausible is that as the solvent in the oil to Dr. Bill Feist of the Forest ServiceCramfilling the wood with a paste filler- finish evaporates and escapes from the Forest Products Laboratory; Hope Pinne-and it's much easier. The result is a very very large poresotthe wood (called vessels gan, The Hope Company; Frank Welles,smooth, yet natural surface. in oak), it "eats" through the surface film Sutherland Welles, Ltd.; Eric Dennis.OlU\'AR~1SH~UJ(ruRES.When I'm fin- (from underneath) which has already Wateo-Dennis Corporation; Robert Flori-

;shing a project that needs a little more started to dry. After the solvent has ani and Herb Croxton, Deft. lnc.: Robert

• protection, or that might lookbetter with a escaped, the surface film has hardened too Aunann. lIIinwax Company; John Ebels.more glossy finish. I like to use Hope's much to now back over the openings and Behlens; and John Moser, Wood Finishing'Tung Oil Varnish and a slightly different thus there are little erupticns that form Supply Company.procedure to build up, a thicker-than- eoncentrated spots of oil or varnish. As they say on television, without theirnormal coal. Unfortunately, there's nothing mucb help this story couldn't have been written.

WOODSMITH 15

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WOOOS~{)TH16

ROUTING THEflAME

The out,ide bonier of table top starts outas a giant otUl!OnaI (eight-sided) frame. (Iused Honduras Mahogan),.) To get thethiclmea Iwanted Cor the bonier. lrough­eut 16 pieces of ,I I stock 6' wide by 21"long. and laminated (glued and clamped)pail'll together to Conn the eight sides forthe Crame,see f'ig. 1.When the glue Us dry, trim the eight

pieces to a final Width of 4't4". Then eut22~· mlLen! 011 both ends of each piece sothe final length Is 19~' from long point tolong poinL.

GROO' es, The eight pieces &rejoined bycutting through grooVe.! on each miteredend and then cutlinlr splines to fit thegreoves.To cut the j!TOO"eo. I

used • rout ..r tabl~ and aV," straight bIt, _ FIg.2, Adju.t the C.neeon therouter table .0 the bitCUll a groove centered onthe thiekn~$.' of the .took.Then mark the fare (top)side of each piece andkeep this .ide against therouter fence. (This willensure that the top sidesof aU plOtes will be flushwhen the hphnee areinserted. )SPLI'F.~ Next. eigbt

.plinetl arc cut to fit thegrooves, I made thesespli.,... long enough (S:;";to .ti.k out of buth ends of the grooves. f'ig. 3, To do thl.. tack each half-frame to a

"'cl:lIBIS.Trying to join all eight p;e.,es piece of ply" ood "" the open (mitered)atone time (wholemakin!t.ureall tbejoint Ienet. ju.,t be.n-IyWit o'er the edge. andline!>meet perfettly) tan be a nighunare. run them through th."." tolrimtheends..Instud, I glu(odpain! together, and then F'inally, glue th~ two bah ... together toglued lh(... assemblies to form two halves Conn the eight·.ided frame. (! used a ...eboCtheframe. Lay thesoas..-.embliesonallat clamp to pull the two halves together.)surface while lhe glue sets up and dries.Then to make sure the two balf·frames

lit together, I trimmed the open (mitered) This frame can no" be routed into its finalends so they Conned • straight line, see (circulkr) ~hape with a trammel attach-

for some unknown reason. I'm auraetedto round table e, They seem in'iting andcomCortable. When Ifinally got around tobuilding this table. I decided to also maleeit practical by incorporating a sliding sys­tern 80 a leaf could be added to provide""ating for slx people.

I have to admil that this Will; not theeasie-t projf<:t I've ever bullt. The roundtop i•••tudy in I.. iienee and care. It ha.. 8IS'-diameter ..,Iid·"ood border with aveneered ;_11 an the center.

THI IORD£. flAME

Round g TableCONTEMPORARY DINING FOR FOUR (OR SIX)

mont and routerPI\'O'T P<)1\T, To provide Cor the ph'ot

point Cor the tramm.1 attaehment. I cut astretch.r twith point.od .neLI) to fit tightbetween two ol'l>"-,inl(joint. of the frame.see Fig. I.Note: The excess length of thesplines (on til(' ",.,d,·orlhe frame) must bepared off w~th a chi•• 1. I went ahead anddid thi. on all ("ght joints.To find th,' pivot pomt, slide the frame

over the enda ofthe.tr.tcher. Thenplace a,tralght edgt' 011 op"""ing joint lines andmark Joneson the stretcher. \\'bere theseIi""" Intersect Is the center or the frameuhe pi\'(,t point).LMt~rin tim JlI"OOCSa. ) oull need to have

pivot poin\$ on boUI W top and bottomsides of the 't~her. So, drill a small hole,tnught do....n through the stretcher tom:.rk both ~id~.

~XTF.'SIO\ARM In order to rout a circlethis ~, Ihad to add an extension arm tothe trammel attachment (see Shop ~otes, •page 9). Alter this arm '" mounted to thetrammel attachment. drill a hole in theother end oC the arm and screw it at the

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pivot point on the stretcher, see Fig. 5.PILOT HOLt:. Before rouLing the outside

edge of the frame, Idrilled a pilot hole $\'the router bit could be lowered to makesuccessively deeper passes. The insideedge of this hole is 23' frqm the center ofthe pivot point, see Fig. 4.OL'TSIOIlCIRct:~n'ERt:S(·E. To rout the

outside circumference, 1 used a ~ ..SLTaighlbit set to a depth of V.· for theinitial pass. Adjust the trammel attach­ment so the bit is in the pilot hole, and routthe perimeter of the frame.Alter the first pass i. made, lower the

bit in the pilot hole and make successivelydeeper passes unlil you're about half-waythrough the thickness of lhe frame. ThenDip over this entire assembly (the frameand the stretcher). and rout the other sideuntil the outside waste breaks free.

rssms RABBET. Next, the inside edge ofthe frame is routed to form a rabbet to holdthe table top's circular insert.To make this rabbet, the tirst step is 10

rouLa groove around the inside edge oftheframe. This groove should be about v..."deeper than the thickness of the insert.Shop Note: The reason for this extra

depth is to keep the surface of the frameabove the surface ofthe insert. Then late r ,the frame can be sanded down withoutsanding lhrough the thin veneer on theinsert. This also means you have to knowthe exact. thickness of the insert beforecutting this rabbet. The insert isdiscussedin the next section, but r want to finish thispart about the rabbet first.When you've determined the depth of

the rabbet. drill a pilot hole to this depth SOthe out<ride edge of this hole is 2111," fromlhe center of the pivot hole for the trammelattachment, see Fig, 5.FirJally, rout the groove in successively

deeper passes. Altel' the groove is routed,there will be waste sections between thegroove and the inside edge of the frame.These areas can be removed using a routerfree-hand (without the trammel attach­ment) and a y, straight bit.

THE CIRCULAR INSERT

There are two choices for the table Lop'scenter insert. The easiest VIla)' to make it it;to use ¥o" hardwood plywood.But since I wanted to use a quarter-saw

white oak for the top (which is not usuallyavailable as plywood), 1 bought a flexibleveneer and mounted it to apiece of particleboard. (I used Pliant Wood Veneer, whiehis "cry easy to work with. One piece ofveneer 30~x 00" is needed for the table lOpand the leaf, see Fig, 6.)

1f you want to make a veneered tabletop. cut two pieces (24" wide by 48" long)out of the sheet of veneer. (The "waste" isused to make the leaf.) Then cut a 4',,4'piece of ¥. particle board. Spread contactcement over the surface of the particle

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WOOOSMITH

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•board and the veneer with a roUer. Thenroll out the veneer, pl't!ssing it down with •veneer roller (or a rolling pin).Cl,. L~SERT.\Vbether you use hardwood

plywood or the veneered particle board,you should have a 4'x4' workpiece for th~table top insert. To rout the insert, drawdiagonal lines on the bock 8id.,of the work-piece LOlocate the center point, see Fig, 7.Then drill a shallow hole for the pivot pointof the trammel attachment.Next, set the trammel attachment to the

radius of the rabbeted area on the frame(2114,,),and make a shallow trial cut on theback (bottom) side of the workpiece.Check this cut by la~~ng the rabbeted

side of the border frame over the scoredplywood to sec if the shoulder ofthe rabbettouches the outside edge of the scoredgroove, see Fig, 7, Make any adjustmentsnecessary so the outside edge of the grooveis just a hair less than the rabbet.\Vben you've got the right diameter for

the groove, drill a V.-pilot hole OD the edgeof the trial groove so the bit can be loweredto make successively deeper passes. Thenrout the circular insert, ('Vben you'redone, save the outer waste piece. IIwill beused later.)

A5SE~IB\.\. AJ\er the insert is routed,glue it to the rabbet in the frame, usingC-clamps I.<> secure it in place, see Fig. 9.Note: Be sure to align the grain of theinsert with two opposing joint lines on theframe, see Fig. S. When the glue is dry,sand the Crameso it's flush with the face ofthe insert.

CUT TABLE TOP IN HALF

Since 1 wanted to add 3 leaf to this table, rhad to divide the top into two halves. To dothis, use the outer waste piece left overfrom routing the circular insert.

Mark lines on this waste piece so thelines divide it in two equal halves, see Fig.10. Then tack the table top LOthis wastepiec-e(tack from the bottom side), makingsure two opposing joint lines of the frameare aligned with the lines marked on thewaste piece.

CUTIN ILIL.' This whole set-up can nowbe ripped in balf on a table saw, Set tberenee so the blade splits the marked lineson the waste piece, see Fig. II.

LEAF CONSTRUCTION

Adding a leaf to this table i. fairly easy,Rip a piece of hardwood plywood to awidthof 181<>"and to length LOmatch the diam­eter of the insert, (If the insert is LObeveneered, cut a piece of particle board tosize and laminate the veneer LOit.)

JlQROF,R.This leaf receives the samelaminated borders as on the table LOp. •Rough-cut four piece>;of 414 stock 18Wlong and 3" "ide, and laminate them toform the two borders, When the glue Isdry, trim tbem to a final "id!h of 20/.".

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NOTE: CUT T.utI TOPIN HALf ALOHG GlAIN LINES

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Then cut a 1',wide rabbet on one edge ofeach piece, see Fig. 12.Glue and clamp the leafinto the rabbets

of these pieces. Then rip the entire leaf tofinal width of 18". (Here it's best to rip anequal amount from both edges to get twoparallel edges.)

ALIGNMENT SPLINES

Since the table top is split in half, somepro,ision must be made to align the twohalves. and also to align the lea! (when it'sused) with the table top. To accomplishthis, 1used splines mounted in slots,Mark the positions of four slots on each

exposed edge of the table top and the lea!,see Fig. 15. (There are 16 slots in all.) Torout the slots, Iused the jig shown on page22. Clamp one of the sliding' winga to theedge of the table, and rout the slots seeFig. 13.Next, cut splines to fit the slots so the

grain runs across (perpendicular) to thejoint lines. Gluefour of these splines on oneedge of the table top (to align the twohalves of the table). and glue the other foursplines to one edge of the leaf (to align itwhen it'. used). Bevel the leading edge ofthese splines so they slide into the oppos­ing slots easily.

ROUND THE EDGES

To complete the table top, I rounded all theedges. Position the lear between the twohalves of the table and draw themtogether. Then lay this assembly facedow" on a work surface.

Now rout the inside edge of the framewith a %' round-over bit and pilot. seeDetail in Fig. 15. Next. switch to a 1'0'reund-ovar bit and pilot to round over theoutside edge of the frame. Then flip thetable top over and rout the top edge of theborder, aIi'O with a V? comer-round bit.

MOUNTING EXTENSION SLIDES

The last step on the table top is to mountthe extension slides. (J used a set ofwooden slides, see Sources, page 24.)To mount the extension slides, place the

two halves of the table top face down on awork surface, and push them together.Then align the slides so they're 24' apartand exactly perpendicular to the joint Jine.see Fig. 16.The slides J bought have pre-drilled

mounting holes. J marked their position onthe bottom of the table top, drilled pilotholes, and then screwed the extensionslides in place. Note: As the slides arescrewed inplace, make sure they're parsl­lei and exactly 90' to thejoint line. rr slidesat>! OULof kilter, they will bind as tbe tablehalves are pulled apart .

As a final check, insert the lea! and closethe table halves. I had to a<\just the slides alittle to get the top halve. to close lightagainst the lea!.•

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lASE UNIT CONSTRUCTION

On<e the table tol' Is eomplete, all it needsi..a ba."t' ttJ rnt on. The problem here is toc:oru.truct a ba$t' that can be separatedwhen the table top ~ puUed apart (for lbeIdO.Th~ ba!« I m,,,I~ eonststs of four C­

shaped I"!runi!.' that an' Joined together inpain; and then euacbed to the two halvesOfth.l~bl( l<>p.refer til rig. 2.3.\Vhenlhetable toJ>i,plI.hl'd together, the legs form8 (our-Iell pt-<l,•• t81. And when the table topis ti('panlt<-dto insert the leaf. the legs also.eparaw to IlUpport the extended versionof the table. ref.r to Fig. 24.

C·FR.\\U:S To build this double-dutybase,T made (ourC-fr8mea. Each C-fram"C:Ol1$6laoflhn. ... 118l't6:an arm. an upright.and a (001._ Fig I •• To !tel the lhicknes.,1wanled II ") (or t~ pani'. 1rough euttwo pieees o( ~ 4 .t«k (or each part, andlaminated tbem logt-Iher.('IT'IITF.I4-. After aU the pieces are

laminated, trim them 10 a fInal width oIaVo·. Theneull.; mite", on only one end oflh. a.rm. and feet. and .traight-eUt theother end solh.lin.ll.n~h of the arms isII" and the (eet IU'\> 17" (m.""uring to thelong point of tho miter).

~'or the Upnghts, out In miters on bothend• so the finol length is 28 from longpoint to lOJlg Ikli.lt.GROO,F,!I \'" S'·LI'~S.Then. to

assemble th~ (;'fnun,.,., juin tbe miteredend. o( Ihe arm' and I"K' w the uprightswith 'rlines. f',,.,.I. (Ill .-wide throughgt'OO' ..... «'nItre<! un the mitered end. ofeach (>ieee. cOne<' agam. 1marked the faee

I.ide or_b pil'<'<' and (Ilt the jmlO\ .es on arout e r t&bIe. k,'tl'tnlo! lht- r""".ide aga;n,.'ttbe (enCl' (or ('\'('1') rut. ",IeI' to Fig. 2.)Then the 'phn,·. are cut to fIt tbe

groove' !l;oll· Cut th~ splines so thegroin run» JIt''1"'nrl,cular to the joint line.)HOLt:.'"AR". B.fore assembling the

C.fralllt'><.I c:ount.rbon.-d holes in the arms(or (III' machine ""n'w, and washers, seeFig. 17. (The machine screws will be usedlater to hold Ih" table top to the base.)

ASSt:'"I1, \ Now the C·(mmes can beassembled. Th. importan; thing here is tomake .ure Ih. arm, and (''<'t are parallel,To do thi •• CUI A 'llIICl>rpi...,. to fit betweenthe ann and leg, see F,It. 11'-After lesttnlt Ihp fit (and the clamping I

preeedure), _"I,ly Irlu~to the miters and j.phnes and use • band damp to hold theL....sembly lOKl:IIM'rwhile the glue dries.<,\.U:G,stHPt: Aner the jZlueis dry on

the (our 1C',Il'uniu, I out them to their ftna1prol\le, Th;' is .imply. mattero!roondingthe inside corners (\\he~ the splines are)to a radius of3~",And I....n tapering thearms and r~1down to a width of 11'.', seeFig. 17.To ensere all four c·rrames wouldbe the

same. I drew lh" rounded comers and

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MATERIALSLIST

VlOODSMITH 21

tapers on a piece of cardboard. cut it out,and then traced the pattern on each G­frame.Then cut the pattern on a band saw and

sand the edges smooth. Finally. roundover the edges on the in$ideofthe G-framewith a 'iii' corner-round bit and pilot.

CONNECTING THE LEGUNITS

Now comes the tricky part. The Jeg unitsare joined together to form twe 90'assemblies. Thi. is accomplished I<ith aconnector piece between the G-frames.

(''O);NECTORS. To make the connectors,laminate two pieces of 3...··wide by29··long stock together. Then rip thislaminated piece into IwO IV,"·squareblanks, see Fig. 19.

JOIN TO C·FR.UIES. Each connector isjoined to two C·framcs with splines. To dothis, cut V.··widegrooves centered on tIVOfaces of each blank. Then lout matchinggrooves centered on the edge of theupright on each C·frame, see fig. 20.

SPWNES. Next, cut Yo" plywood splinesto fit the grooves. Then glue and clamp twoG-frame. to the connector. As the dampsare tightened, make sure the G-frames areat 90" to each other, and the top edges ofthe arms and bottom edges of the feet areflush.

Il&VEI. EDGE. The last step is to bevel ripthe connectors at 45'. This simple oper­ation creates a real headache. Making ~cut requires the use of an au;dJiacy fence toguide the G-frame.On a Rockwell saw (where the blade tilts

to the right) an L-shaped fence is attachedto the rip fence, see Fig. 21. On a Sears saw(where the blade tilts to the left)a~epanlteC-shnped fence is clamped to the left of theblade, see Fig. 22.After the auxiliary fence is attached, the

connector is bevel ripped at ~5'so theblade jusL touches the corners of theuprights, see Fig. 20.ATTAcn LEGS. Now the two leg

assemblies can be joined to the table-top,\\lith the table top upside down and thetwo halves pushed tightly together, centerthe two leg units on each half of the top.Then mark the position of the mountingholes (that were drilled in the arms ear­lier), see Fig. 23. Remove the leg units anddrill holes for y.. threaded insert", see Fig,25. Then mount, the leg unit;, to the Lopwith 11(,'machine screws and w..shers,

FINISHING

I used Sutherland- Welles '!\tng Oil Poly­urethane mixture to finish the table topand base. If t here's a void between thetable top's border frame and the insert, itcan be filled with a mixture of fine sawdustand the tung oillpolyurethane finish. Then1 applied three coats of the finish to theentire table according to the instructionson the can.

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Once the jig is built, make a trial CUtin apiece of scrap to see where the router bit

stops when the router base contacts theback fence. Marl< the end of this stoppedgroove on the base, and position the work­piece using lhis mark. Then clamp lheentire assembly in a vise, see Fig. 4.Filially. position the router on the jig

with the router bit in the groove, justahead of the workpiece. Start the routerand feed it into the workpiece until thebase contacts the end of the jig.

IJOlIlIl.E-Sl'OPPED CRooVES. To use thejig for routing a double-stopped groove.clamp an additional stop to the open end ofthe plywood base. Then make a plunge cutto start the cut, and slide the router backand forth to complete the groove.

1M uwkpiece it.self) that has a perfll"llycentered tongue on one edge. Cut thistongue by placing ahernate sides of theblock agsinst lhe fence of t.he table saw(see Fig. 2). Sneak up on the cuts until thetongue fits the groove in the jig.Then to set the adjustable wings of the

jig, place the setup block between thewings. with the tongue in the ~. widegroove, see Fig. 3. Pinch the w>jngsagainstthe sides oflhe setup block with C·clamps,and tighten the four screws,

USING THE JIG

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ALtEINATt SIDESAGAIN$!FENCl TO CUT TONGUECENTEREO ON STOCK

Before the jig can be used, the wings haveto be adjusted for the thickness of theworkpiece, while at the same time. keep­ing the workpiece perfectly centeredunder the ~" groove in the plywood base.To accurately set up the jig. I used a

setup block (mode from th.esame stock as

All three projects in this issue use miter FIGURE Iand spline joinery. The key 10successfullymaking this joint is to cut the grooves (ort.he splines in the proper leeatien, To dothis accurately. Iused a simple routing jigthat can be adjusted to tit stock from 'f," to3" thick and automatically centers thegroove on the workpiece.

BUILDING THE JIG

The routing jig can be broken down intoIwo rruijorparts: the plywood base, and thetwo aQjustable wings, see Fig. I.The plywood base is constructed with

'h"-thick plywood cui Jy," wider than thediameter of the router base, and 13" long.Then o/."·widefences are attached to threesides of the plywood base. Note; Whenattaching the two side fences. they must beparallel to each other, and the distancebetween them must be equal to the dia­meter of the router's base.Next, rout a double-stopped 'h"·wide

groove in the plywood base. To do this,plunge the router 80 the groove starts 4'from the open end, and continues until therouter base contacts the back fence.WINCS.Next, the two adjustable wings

are added to the bottom of the plywoodbase. These wings are constructed with W'plywood, and solid wood "pinchers," seeFig. I. The plywood pieces are sloued bydrilling end holes, and using a sabre saw toremove the waste. Then they're glued andscrewed to the solid wood pinchers,Finally, screw threaded inserts ill the

base, Fig. 1. and attach the ....ings with I"pan head screws and washers.

THE snup

Router Jjg _A JIG FOR ROUTING CENTEREDGROOVES

23

Stave eonsrrucrion, in ow- opinion, doesn'tpose any excessive danger to a woodturner. as long as a Cewbasic precaution­ary steps are taken. And the first step is toall/Jays wear a (ace shield. This alone canprevent serlous injury if the stave­constructed cylinder happens to separate.The other precautionary step is to be

sure the cylinder is built with good solidjoinl$. For stave construction, that meanswit/Will clamps, The problem is that if theindividual staves are clamped together,the clamping action can actually pul! thejoints apart if the bevels aren't perfectlycut. This can cause a serious problem if itgoes undetected.I feel the best way to produce a solid

joint using stave construction is to usehand pressure to glue the individual stavestogether, because you can feel ifthejointisoff as the glue takes hold.But the bottom line is this; Always be

prepared Cor the worst. I'm comfortablewith stave construction ... but 1 alwagswear a face shield.

rarely the aelltal thickness that's des­ignated. There are two reasons Cor this.First, tbe industry has created a act of

standards that allows a certain amount ofvariation in the actual thickness of hard­wood plywood. This is usually the reasonfor any variation in the thicker (0/."and up)panels.The second reason for variation in thick­

ness is that most of the thinner plywood (inf3C1.,75% of aU plywood) ispurchased fromoriental manufacturers who designate thethickness in millimeters rather thaninches. Although they're close to the inchdesignations. the variation can drive youbatty if it hasn't been taken into account.So to be safe, always measure the thick­

ness of the actual piece of plywood that'sgoing to be used, before it's too late.

FLYING CANISTERS?

After reading Ihe aTticle 0" stave con­.t),'IlctU))I iltWoods",ith No. f5, J feel tlw.tyou should tca1'1t yOltr Te4der8 IIU1t1M" isan eo:t'N!metydOllgerrnl8 method of·gl,Ung"pH "ock for ,,'00<1 (uTlring .The joi>!/$ Iw..., I;) b. well modt «"d

p'l'Operlll c/ampM. not just held together byhand. IU yo" 81l{10eBt.Although sta.., constrt",tio" prod""".

beautiful pieces. and saves materio! and"''''tell. the -risk of injury is very high.

Fred ZlIaldGnnul Rapid$, ,\1/

standard grading system. The highestquality veneers commonly available are"AH grade. The next lower grades arecalled #1. #2. #3. #4. respectively.

Usually. even the highest quality hard­wood plywood has only one side that'.raced with an "A" grade veneer. Then theopposite side is faced with 8 veneer in asligbtly lower grade.

"Good one side" (GIS) is another desig­nation that's commonly used on thin(usually Vo" or less) plywood. This designa­tion is most often used on imported ply.woods that haven't been graded to U.S.standards. In this ease. the quality of the"good" side can vary (rom good to excel­lent. The back face veneer i<usually verv. -low quality, and can even be of a differentspecies than the (ace veneer.Another designation that's worth noting

is "Sbop Grade." which basically meansfactory seconds. (They're priced accord­ingly.) In some eases. a high quality panelis down-graded to "Shop Grade" (or a verysmall defect, In other panels, there may bea major flaw, But in every case, there is adefect that mayor may nOI be visible,Although tbe race veneers an> usually

the biggest concern, the interior core isalso important.THe CORE COSSTRU('''l'IOS. There are

several common methods of core con­struetion; veneer core, lumber core, par­tide. Veneer con>construction consists oflaminating individual layers of veneer Wbuild up the core. And generally. the moreplys (layers) thaI an> used, the more stablethe panel. This method of construction byfar accounts ror the majority of the ply­wood sold.Another common core construction

method is called "lumber core." Thismethod uses narrow strips of solid wood tobuild up the center. This type of core ismore likely to warp, and is more expensivethan veneer core plywood.There's an advantage to using lumber

core plywood when the edges of the panelneed to be shaped. The solid-wood COn>that's exposed is much easier to stain andfinish than the layers of veneer Coundinveneer core plywood.Another, even lower quality core eon­

struction method is called particle boardcore. This method consists of using one orthe many forms of particle board as thecon>.The problem with this method of coreconstruction is that it has very tittle stiff­ness. strength, or screw holding power.

TB1CKNJ>SS. The biggest problem withbuying hardwood plywood is that it's

woons "11TH

David K/Q.ttUplalld. Indiana

There are several different things to lookfor when buying hardwood plywood: therKCeveneer, the core construction, and the""tual thickness. But after all the differentr~rtol'S have been weighed, choosing aI,UU'IofU!n comes down to the quality ofIh. face veneers.• \('.: \'8~'EERS.The veneers used on the

rIO" o( Ihe plywood are graded with a

ncr SHRINKING TIMEMACHINES

llt-' .·rlll readers have written to tell U$ thatthl' ('iu(.'kmovements we recommended forIll<S<hoolh(>useclod< (IVood"mit/, No. 21),,,.11 hr· Mantel clock (lVood8lnith No. 24).". I.,., IJIrge (aeeording to the dimensions1(""Il In the eatategs),MOIIIor Ihe confusion about whether or

""I 111~movements will fit comes from ther.rt 'M' the catalogs don't always providet,h" ""mel minimum "inside dimensions".....,">ro·d. Some of the measurements inIh, ('lIlaJogs are stightly exaggerated to~·""r."le<Jenough room for a proper fit. orth('l"t.verall" dimensions are given, ratheruu.n lh,' minimum inside dimensions.

1'0 ,liminate these problems. I've foundII', ",·.1to purchase the movement first.n" " ilcan be measured to determine theort 1I.lllimensionsneeded for the clock case

h<'(o~ the case is built.Ih,we'·cr. r did go back and double­

ch...-k all of the conflicting dimensions and'4Jur.,t that the movements we recom ..01",.1<<1 do fit the dimensions of the clock01>'" n.• shown in our plans.~or the Schoolhouse clock. we listed two

'bllrc~s: the Klockit catalog. and the)1"'",n and Sullivan catalog. The Kloekitmevernent is a small battery operated'I".ttl movement. #CS-16. with a 1614",••ntfulum (which was ol'iginally listed asI""). priced at $26.95.The Mason and Sullivan movement is a

k,'y wind "Bim Bam" calendar movement.':I:14IX, that comes with a 14\1:" pen­,Iulum. and is currently priced at S67.00.~'or the Mantcl clock, we used Mason

IUId Sullivan's Westminster Chime move-,ment #3600X, (S89.00). Again, accordingUr the dimensions listed in Lhecatalog. thismovement shouldn't fit. But it does ...v.ith room to spare.

PLYWOOD TIPS

Could 11011 tell me wllal til lookfor whe"lmyi1tg Iw.rd,oood Illywood?

Talking Sho~---------------------------- ------------------

AN OPEN FORUM FORCOMMENTS AND QUESTIONS

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•SII. annual mcmbc,..h1p fee.The group ~U the fourth Thursday of

the month 01 tbe Tuw. \' <>-Tech School.For m..re i"formallon evntact Dean Haw­Icy, 1'n'l"I~lIt, 111211 );outh Birmingham,Tuw. 01{ 711116or call ~18-7-13-2024.

"OCIIM.It.~T~'1<I<Th,. club is I_~ inTaml"' t'looi<l... ,.1 u.ually limits the sizeor 118 nlt-rnl ..-r hlJI Now, however. there....., ""11e ol"'lI1n,l(llfor members, The clubm'..u one IUlIhtI",r month at a locaIjWliorIUl(h school .. ,... I.. onong shop,

~or more informallon, contact Presi ..d<'llt (;. nlon I'almtt, :lIro Lawn Avenue,Tampa 1'1 IIXIlTli. "."M.Y.'."I\t::.a. ... t Ll 8 OF HOCSTOS~

IIIDlleW 18 I~nt f this club v.'bich is'- than a y..... old, but has already grownfrom 23 to III()ft\ \han 40 ~mbers. Annual0111< arc $7 00, and th group's monthlym~etlnl:8 f,·#tur~ A cia.. or a demon­IttatlOlI or p ";uod,,orking wcimique.

......r tn"r, Informallun, contact Bill1l<.~I(',7:l<i7 ,\nIOl'" • lIouston. TX 77088.

k.It.""t \\\ c·c., '1 \ "'KlI.\\O,'I\'"ERS AS$().(·I.TII" lI"b S\<Amm,Camden, SC. Is the"'·... ·I.ry1.. '........r "r thi. group of 46"",.1" urk"n! wbo KI'lI..;:,·ther monthly atth,' eou nt) \·,,,,,,t oil'" to'ntl'r (where tbeyalso Il' I to .. III< to ..ll)

IIob 101'" h~'d tikc to h,'lIJ' from otherdub. 81."'t 1:",.11 TOI:rBm 1,leas. And ifyou","nl to JOIn,~taet Bob Stamm, 2109Rach,u'll_ rt~,('amd,n, SC 29020.fURf-ST IIlI "',NIIN II ,nt:RS. Bryan

" orthlDl!\OD ..."t.,. to aay thlll his 'iledg.ling" ol'J:llllW1UOnof .. cod.... rkers in theRockford, IWoo ,area Is In """" of memobera and ututr IMIde,.., plus suggestionsfor 1:<"'" but frft JlTOJn'llllI materialIf you' ... puy o(the th~, c"nlM! Bryan

at 52.11 M~ri"" ,~\t"U', Roc:kford, IL61lo.~or rull ~Ir.·::""'.(,,>;&1

ADDRISSIS

TI,., l\'r,l()(/uv/rk,.,.,' ."'.''''. ~l Indu,s.trial Boul"\'ard, Hog"rs, ~I:-: 05374.612-42.'<-4101.CraflI·".d.d. ('"" I"'R~,Mail Order

Di\;,10n, 221.1 U<Jln ~tn..,t, St (,harl,""IL 60174, :112·5."'·90.."Carrrllll'ad, ('cmtpanll, Int:, 161 An.·

nue of the .\mericn, :-;"... \ ork. XY10013. 1...,,;)f~:!:!1·~42(.\1{ III, and :-;Ycall212·~·lio7).lI·oodF",W. 11/1 'Nppl,lCompanll, 1267

Mary Ilrl\<-, .\lac,don, :-;\ 14502,315-~;'I';ljern/I.ma. 1\'00,1 :>rrt'l<' Co., 1735

\Ve<t{'ortland ('''"Tt, ,\dd,>on, lL 60101,3 12..w.1·:11110.Co".t,,,,t.,,"'., ~~J:'.ob"-'t~ler Road,

Bronx, r-;y 1I~lIll, 1·!<IJ(j·l!23-8087.

\VOOOSMITH24

Garrett "'ade and Th.. Yt'ood .,nishingSupply Company.Ir you're haVlnP:• hard ume Ioc:oting A

speeifie brand, you can c:all the manu·r~urer or wholesaler - tbdr _ andaddre_. an' Ii"~on paj(e 15.

WOODWORKING CLUBS

\\,ORLII O~' II ('011 ASSOCIATIO," CIt·WOOUIIORKIl<GThis group w,," rrnt,.,j bythe Ganahll,umber Company orAnahI'lm,California, for its eustome .....~!embe ...h,p inW.O."'.A. """1.8 $10.00

per year and the benofits of mcmbc>rshil'include dio<ounl8at the lumber 51o,"", f,...,adnU..l1onto a monthl) lecture kries, anda tiubkription to 8 monthly no" 8Iet~,TMn'orldof Il'ood s~ BrK/.For information about joinill£, contact

Jim :oIL.h.Ganahl Lumbo-rC>mpany, 1:!20Ea.t Ball Road. P.O. Box 31, Anahe,m,CA 9'biOS or call 7H ..772-Ml-t.

YETTO lit; ',,-"EDWOODWORKI:>OCCI.l'II:'.We"'e heard from three woodworkinp:clubs 60 newlyfonned they hadn't bad tinll'to pick 8 name ~'ct.811r/illglo .., IA. Dwight Mulch. Presl­

dent or the club in Burlington, Iowa,in\'ite~ woodworkers in Southeast low.and \Vc.t Central llIinol$ to the group'.meetin~ every third Thursday at the Bur­Iinp:lon Public Library.D,.ight would alllO like to hear from

other clubs 800Ut any ..<peel of fonning •"'ood"orking club. Con~ him at 263GSouth Main, Burhngton, IA 52601.\'411,OU',", II'A Don Scbie b one of

eleven m"mbers of a ne" woodworkingdub in Vancouver, \\'ashington. He say.they've had lIe'era! meetings to disc"",,,tbeir goal•. He'd like to hear from otherdubs about bow to get started.They'd like help w,th their by·laws,

applications, and some advice aboutwhether or nol to incorporate. Don'sadd .... iA1·109NE 127Street. Vancouver.WA 98665.St. l..o"i_, ,4'0. Finally, Bruce R. Den·

slow, the l'ffioidenlofThe Wood & Shop, aSt. IAUi. retail !ItOre ",,1Iinp:hardwoodlumbc>r,tooLl, and olher re1ated items istrying to find cnouflb members to form a"'oodworking club. Bruce ... ~.. if wood·workersln tbe Il't'8 arc intHes~, bell beglad to h~lp ~t the dub .tarted.

For morc Information, contact Bruce atThe Wood& Shop, 5605North Lindbc>rgh,St. Louis. MO63042 or call 31.1-731·2761.

CREEl< COL":'oTIlY WOOI)WORKetI$ CLL'll.'rbb Tuba, OK, club 11118about 90 memobers, many of whom are Shopsmitbownen. There are eleven meetings andnewsletters each year -all included in the

Wllh tNsissue, forthe.akeofconveni~and spat'<, we've sl.arted printing the com·plere addre~.es for mail order supplyhou.<a only un"" - at the end of the pageinstead of with the ordenng informationfot e~h 8pecille project, Here goes:

ROUND TAllE

I ordered all of the hardware for theround table from the Woodworker's Store.The 2O"L x 2"H (26' maximum opening).wooden extension slides arc tatalog num­ber 0-1500 (wood), $12.75 per set,The nylon glides for the feet arc catalog

number C-1404·"·, 3b<! oet of 4 (two !\CI.'arc~edl.Ipurtlwed the 36" x 96" flexible white

oak \ eneer at • loea! hardwood store, butsimilar prod~u arc a\'ailable from TheWoodworker's Store. Craft$man, andConstantine's.

C"!VAL MIRROR

The hardware for the cheval mirror isfrom the Woodworker's Store. The ordernumber for the :W. long Swivel MirrorscreW8 i. 0·7480, $5.95/pair.I also used a flexible plastic panel

retainer strip (the staple type) to mountthe mirror. The order number isD·27().1forFruit wood. The panel retainer costs251! foot and you'll need about 12 feel.The rmrror it",,1( eest $32.00 at a loea!

glAg.,",orc; \\e thoUght it was worth $l2.00labor c~ to have them cut the mirTOrto final .hape. Total COSt:S41.00.

ROUND CLOCK

Iordered the quarU movement and theface and bezel for the round clock fromCraft Product. Company.The 9"- braso betel/dial set I used is

catalop: number 2831·K50 (Roman numer·alR) and eoots SI9.90.The Craft Ultra· Thin Quartz Movement

is talalog number 2325-XOI (this move·ment fltll the v. plywood insert in theproject), S5.9S. The bands are included!Teewith the quartz clock movements, butyou hav~ to Indicate which style you want.We u..-ed catalog number 2t31·K44.

OIL flNISHlS

Oil finW.~ arc easy to find - the~......""'d in hard",ood. lumber. and unfinishedfurniture .tore~, a;; weD as national andregional di""""nt centers. But, in a coupleof cue_, the oil finishing products wetalked about are not generally avallable atretail outlel.ll.Sutherland Welles tung oil products are

available from the Garrett Wade Com·pany. Bchlcns products arc available from

Sources