w00D March 2OO4,l ssue 154

12 dowel chamferingiig
20 workshop drawer organizer
56 one bookcase,three classic styles
64 shelf-topweather station
70 turned trivets
80 traditionaloak diningchair
Learnmortise-and-tenon joinerywhilemaking
chairsthat matchthe diningtable in issue152.

90 stackable GD boxes
Teacha youth woodworkingwith a projectthai
suits his or her interestand skill level.

96 cat's meow scrollsawnplaque

Cut out a prideof kittiesand framethem, all
from just one piece of wood.

50 the shelf'maker's complete guide

Discoverthe secrets,materials,and hardware
you needfor good-looking,no-bow shelving.

66 wood toning 101

Tweakwood stains,blend mismatchedboards,
and shadeprojectswith thesefinishingtricks.
84 seat cushionsmade easy
Make comfy upholsteredseats in just six steps.

14 wise buys: low-cost laser levels

74 review:10" slidingmitersaws
87 rust busters
Find out what productsbest removerust from
cast-ironsurfacesand keep it from returning.
70
110 7 shop-provenproducts
qtrt
t
.#.
:t*k
24 chairdesignstandards
42 how to find pearlsin burls
46 a toy maker'ssecretsfor movingparts
For ah educationon articulation.check-out
c r a f t s m a nM i k e J a g i e l o ' sw i n n i n gd e s i g n s .
104 one Duzzlinq woodworker
a master puzzlemaker.
Learn'precision-from
'"---,..,
F -
,,
..\-",, *#
6 editor'sangle
This isyour
seal
thatwebuild
assurance I masthead
project,
every verify
every 10 soundingboard
fact,
andtestevery
toolinour
reviewed 26 shoptips
toguarantee g
workshop askWOOD
y0ur
success an0
satisfaction. 100
complete shortcuts
124 what'sahead
Visit our Web site at rnzrnnnz.rnzoodrnagazine.corn for free vvoodrnrorking plans, tips, shop tours, and more.
C)ditortSangle

A"Way-coolttuny to
enJoyyolx
shoptime
lf you readthiscolumnregularly,
you knowthat I believewe all
shouldpassalongourwood-
workingskillsto the next
generation. That'sonereason
you'llfinda first-of-its-kind
"Way-cool" woodworkingproject
in thisissue.Wedesigned,
wrote,and producedthis
project-a modularCD storage
system-soyou anda childcan These GD racks designed by my daughter Rachel
(left) and her friend Abby Williams serued as the
buildit workingside,by side. inspiration for the CD storage system in this issue.

tf few monthsagQ,mY 13-Year-old To do that, Senior Design Editor Kevin

A daughterRachel and her friend
a l Abbv cameto me with a stack of
2x4 scraps*O u rough plan for turning
them into CD holders.Initially, the wood-
worker in me recoiled at the thought of
building anything but houseframing from
2x4s. Then I reasonedthat the girls would
take a lot more pride in the project if we
stayedtrue to their original vision. So we
built thoseCD racks from 2x4s, just as they
drew them up. (Seephoto.)
Now, I must tell you that this was the
first time that Rachel had ever approached
me about making a woodworking project.
And as I ponderedthat, a simple fact
suddenly dawned on me: Kids are much
more interestedin woodworking when they
build somethingthey actually want. (As
opposedto the wall shelf, dust pan, end
table, and pop-canlamp that I was forced
to build in high schoolshopclasses.)
And that's how the idea for "Way-cool"
woodworking projectswas hatched.Our
goal with this new seriesis to bring you
simply designedprojects that kids really
want to build, and to facilitate the process
of you and a child working together in a
safeand enjoyableway.
Boyle kept the CD storagesystemon
page 9?basic enoughfor a child to build
successfullywith a liule help. He also made
it sufficiently stylish so that you'll want to
build one (or more) even if you don't have
a young apprentice.
ProjectsEditor Owen Duvall then teamed
with his 8-year-oldson,David, to produce
the "Way-cool" article in a unique fashion.
The story is in two sections:In the first one,
you cut the parts to size as your apprentice
observes;in the next section,you and the
child sharemarking, machining, assem-
bling, and finishing tasks.
Wetre bigger, and youtre the winner'
You may havenoticed (startingwith issue
153) ttrat our pagesare3/8"wider and
3/s"taller. That may not seemlike a lot, but
it takes every page from 84 squareinches to
91 squareinches!That's an increaseof
more than 8 percentin the amount of
editorial material we can pack-ontoevery
page.I'm thrilled that we can bring you this
extra content.
E I?#,b^-
WOOD magazine March 2004
 I

wooD.
Better llomes and Gardenso

Nottor@
DUSTE March2004 Vol.2N
1 .o . 1 No.154
lssue
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
BILLKRIER

-iiti-HihnoLn Editor
Editor Managing
Executive
urnlrnxrruurr
Editor
Desiqn
Senior Editor
Producis
xrVIilAOYIT DAVECAMPBELL
Editor
Editor Features
Technioues
JIMP()LTOCK DAVID STONE
Editor
.JANEditor Projects
Proiects
Kevin recentlycompletedthis SVEC ()WEN DUVALL
walnutdeskfor his home.
Editor
Desion Craftsman
Master
HEDLUNo
lrrFmrnrz cHUcK
ArtDirector ArtDirector
Associate ArtDirector
Assistant
KARLEHLERS GBEGSELLERS CHEBYT A, CIBULA
Manaqer AdministrativeAssistant
Production/Otfice
MARGARET CLOSNTR SHERYL MUNY()N
Photooraohers
BALDWIH,
MARTY JAYwILDE
scbn LITTLE,
lllustrators
J0HNS0N,R0XANNE
TIMCAHILL.LORNA LeMOlNE,MIKEMITTERMEIER

Consultants
Technical
JEFFHALL,GARRY
J()HNCEBUHAR, SMITH

Craftsman
Contributing
JIMHEAVEY
Proofreaders
BARBARA KLEIN,JIMSANDERS
PublisherMARKHAGEN
N.Michigan
0FF;CE:333
ADVERT;S;N6 Ave., 1500,
Surte Chicago, Phone:312853-2890
1160601 Fu:312580-7906
Sales Assistant
andMarketing NEILLEM0RRIS
Executive
Account RONG0LMINAS
Response
Direct Manager CAR0LYN DAKIS
Sales
JirectResponse SANDY
Representative B0BINS0N
"Hands down, this machine tested J()HN
Executive
Account THORNBURGH Phone:
Detroit, 149 Fax:248/356-8930
248/356-1
best,so u)enamed it our ToP TooI." PATT0MLINS0N
Executive
Account Phone:
Northeast, Fax:2121551'7192
2121551-7043
Dempsey
Lagomarsino,
Sgutheast: Piedmont
& Dennis,lnc.2951 Rd.,NE,Suite GA30305
100,Atlanta,
WOOD Magazine, N0.7,lssue153'Pg'98
Vol.20, -5400Fax:4041261-5404
Phone:404/261
DaveCampbell
Morris,
TestbyMichael
Twister &
GroupMarketing DirectorCATHY E. SMITH
JeffHall SARAHMASSIMO
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>Ducl0esign
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>tBttSy$emund Cohlog
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>100% inUSI
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Sr.Production MICHAELALESTEB

0rder urlttlttil.oneidu-uit.com
0nline! V i c eP r e s i d e n V P u b l D
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r I L L I AB
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ln Memoriam- E.T.Meredith
lll (1933'2003)

Hff::,0'$'
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times a year in March' May. June/July.
Better Honresand cardens@wooD@ magazine(lssN-0743-894X) is publishedseven
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CollUsTodag! 6 tPr
1.800.132.4065 WOOD magazine March 2004
s andtimelyupdates
comments,
boardforletters,
Ourbulletin

Readerdevisesa different urayto slice a thin-strip ripping iig

I read with great interestyour article i t/t'hardboard cleat to one end
on "3 must-havetablesawjigs" just screws,no glue)so that
i (using
(issue151,page80),and esPeciallY : it overhangs one edge bY t/0".
liked the thin-stripripping jig. The To use the jig, Positionthe riP
i
articlenotedthat cuttingthin strips i fence to leave a gap betweenthe
againstthe fencecan be dangerousi bladeand jig equalto the desired
becauseit becomesdifficultto use , thicknessof the strip.Then Place
jig, as
a pushstickor bladeguard. i the workpieceagainstthe
Yourjig worksgreat,and is ideal . shown,and push the jig and work-
for cuttinglong strips.I designeda i piecepastthe blade.
jig, shownat right,thatletsme riP You can use the jig to riPthinner
shortstrips (less than 2' long), with- strips,too. Doingthis will cut away
out havingto readjustthe fence the end of the cleat but that's not
betweencutsor get mYhandsclose a problem.lf this hapPens,just
to the blade. removethe old cleatand screwa
To make it, I cut a piece of 3/4" new one in place.
scrap to 6x24". Then I attacheda

Delta updatesUnisawblade guard

tablesaws
Yourrecentreviewof cabinet-style (issue
151,page74),mentioned as a "lowpoint"thatthe
bladeguardon the Delta36-L31X-U50 couldnotbe
"parked"in the up positionwith the throatplatein place.
We understandthat beingable to temporarilymove
the guardout of the way greatlysimplifiesmeasuring
and set up. So, in an effortto make those tasks easier,
we changedthe assemblyso that the guardwill stay up
when the throatplateis in Place.
for everyonein the
Safetyis of the utmostimilortance
woodworking andwe endorse
industry, the useof the
guardsandsplittersto helppreverrt
accidentalcontactwith Tooltest update
the bladeand to help preventkick-back.lf the guardhas been Pocket-holejigs (issue 152, page 62):
"parked"in the up position,the user shouldlowerit into position The Kreg ProPackincludesthe Mini,
priorto cutting.However,if the user does not do this priorto cutting, Rocket,and K2000jigs. Hole spacing
the guardwill automatically drop into positionwhen the wood contacts on the K2 modelis7/e".Spacingon the
it, providinga safetybarrierbetweenhim and the blade. K2000 is e/ro,7/e,dlld 17/'ra".
Q
Marketing,DeltaMachinery
andBiesemeyer
KendaltSmith,Directorof ProductManagement

r Editorialquestionsandfeedback: Boone,lA50037-0439. Pleaseenclose your aresoldout.Forreprints, send$5 per

E -m ailwoodm ail @ w o o d ma g a z i n e .c o maddress
; label
from a recentmagazine issue. (no
article phone orders), thearticle
including
call800/374-9663and pressoption 2; or name andissue number, to:W00D Atticle
writeto W00Dmagazine, 1716Locust St., r Tofind pastarticles: ReprintService,P.0.Box349,Kalona, lA
lA50309-3023. Goto ourcontinuouslyupdatedonlineindexat 52247: make check 0r money orderpayable
GA-310, DesMoines,
woodmagazine.com/index. to W00Dmagazine.
I Subscriptionassistance:
change,or to r Toorderpastissuesandarticles: r Updates to previously published projects:
Tonotifyusof anaddress
gethelpwithyoursubscription,goto 0rderpastissuesof W00Dmagazine Fora complete listingof known changes
woodmagazine.com/service; call andournewsstand specialissuesat in dimensionsandbuying-guide sources
andpress option1; or woodstore"woodmall.com, or bycalling from issue1 through todaY, go to
800/374-9663
writeto:W00Dmagazine, P.0.Box37439, 800/346-9663.Beawarethatmanyearlyissues woodmagazine.com/editorial.

WOOD magazine March 2004

10
great ideas for your shop

,'"''**

drel Width of openingequalsthe

widthof desiredchamfer.
Disc rotation

chamfering
oo
lfq r+x4*Brt?Frv*ooo
aJ-*
Createprecisechamfers Disc-sander
table
with thi-snifty disc-sander
accessoryjig. 3/qx4x4" plywood
cut a 45oand90'angles

f{ hamfereddowelsinserteasierfor Adhereright-handguideto the

Vatignment purposes,like thoseusedin
our CD rack on page 92 and chamfered
endsalsocreateglue spacefor stronger
doweljoints.
To quickly createyour own consistently
chamfereddowels,build thejig shown.We
used /+" plywood for the baseand t/+"ply-
wood for the two 45o guides.The key is that
the right-handguide is moveableto widen
or narrow the gap betweenthe guides,
allowing you to increaseor decreasethe size
of the sandedchamfer.We screwedthe left-
base with double-facedtape.
DOWELCHAMFERINGJIG
handguide in place,and securedthe righr
handguide with double-facedtape.To use
thejig, simplyclampit to your disc-sander
table so the insideedgeof thejig is next to
but not touchingthe sandingdisc. Startthe
sander,slide the dowel along the left-hand
guide,and rotatethe end of the dowel clock-
Adjustchamfer
size by moving
right-handguide.
wise againstthe disc. The righrhand guide
actsas a stopto preventyou from sanding
too large a chamfer.If the chamferedend
isn't sandingenough,simply move the righr
handguide away from the other guide.lF
Project Design:Kevin Boyle

12 WOOD magazine March 2004

urise buys

our eCtors test Whybuy?

a longlevelorplumbline,thesetools
lf youaredoinga taskthatrequires

lovtr-cost greatly it.Common

simplify applications wallpaper
installing
include orpanel'
cabinets
ing;attaching orhanging
orcountertops; shelves, pictures,
ordrop
Wheninuse,thesetoolsemita laserbeam
ceilings. that'slevel,plumb,
orat

laser lerrcls
oddangle, dependinguponhowyousetthedevice. Mostofthedevices are
recommended useonly,asthelinetheyproject
forindoor to
canbedifficult
readinbright
sunlight.

test-drive:
Editor
Theinstruction manual isclearabout howto use Because Craftsman specsitsaccuracy atplusor
thissimple laserlevel. I mounted
First, ittoanordi- minus r/2"
at I
30', use
wouldn't ittobuibsomething
narycamera tripod usingthesupplied "precision ascritical asa buildingfoundation, forexample,
manual leveling base."(Thelasermounts to its And it'snot recommended for useoutdoors.But
base using magnetic plates,
andcasts a 1O0'-wide thetool is greatfor distances
shofter and interior
Three
line.) thumb screws onthebasemake it a projects andisa greatvalue.lts$40priceincludes
snap tolevelthe 2'axisbubble Then,
levels. froma a push-pin plate
wall-mounting andapadded case.
-Tested by BillKrienEditor-in-Chief
distance of20',I checkedtheLaserTrac foraccu'
racyusing 4'level.ltwasrightonthe
a high-quality
money. I rotated thelaserfora plumb line,and Tolearnmore:
again,itwasright on. Visita Sears store,www.sears.con/craftsman

test-drive:
Editor
Thissurface-mount-only unitsetsupeasily-you "see"aroundminor suchasmoldings,
obstructions,
justlevelit withtwointegratedbubblevials,andit Anoptionalstudfinderattachmentproved idealfor
castsa linethemanufacturer saysis accurateto markingstudlocationswhenhanging wallboard or
plusorminus %"at20'.Toattach theleveltoaver' (There's
shelving, no provision
fora tripodmount,
ticalsurface, I usedan optional no'marleveling however.) a vinyltilefloor
| alsousedit to install
basetosticktheunitto painted drywallandaccu' withouta messy chalklinebysimply liningupthe
placed
rately a seriesofthreephotos ata uniform twonotches ontheendsofthelevelwiththecenter
TheStrait-Line's
height. no'mar baseworked per' lineonmyfloor.
fectly,
andavoided pinholes
thetell'tale thatthe -Tested by KevinBoyle,SeniorDesignEditor
standard push-pinbasewould haveleftthere.
Thelaserlineisconsistent andeasytosee,and, Tolearnmore:
thoughit leaves gapinthelaserline,itcan
a slight www.strait{ine.com
464-7946,
8001

test-drive:
Editor
The Crosshair projects two laserlines-one comes withthelevelpicksupthatfaintlinesoyou
horizontal,one vertical-at the same time. can transferit accurately to yourworksudace. I
Because thelaser'Tloats" in itscase (solong as I have onlyone gripe about the Crosshair:Because
heldorhung itwithin5' oflevel), theunitautomat' it generates a lineonlytotherightofthelevel, you
icallyfoundlevelwithin a couple of seconds. can'tshoota lineto the left.
So,you can'tworkboth
Hanging shelves in myfamily room,I usedthe directions froma markinthecorner, forexample,
device'ssingle-pinhanger to pierce the drywall in because the self-levelingfeaturedoesn't workwith
(l
theroomatshelfheight.verified theaccuracy of theinstrument upside down (whichitwouldhaveto
thelinewitha 4'level; itwasdeadon.)For layout beto generate a lineto theleft).
a stairrailing-the -Tested by DaveCampbell, Editor
Products
purposes-say, when installing
head
floating locksintoa fixed position,
About 10'outfromtheCrosshair, thelaserline Tolearnmore:
becomes fainttotheeye,buta handy gadget that 800/544-6986, www.blackanddecker.com

WOOD magazine March 2004

14
great ideas for your shop

vvorkshop
dnvver
orgwer
Keep small tools and
accessoriesin this
convenient lift-out box.

o matterthe size of your shop

drawers,this compartmentalized
box keepseverythingtidy. If need
be, you can removethe box quickly to
whereveryou're working. Seemorcof
To build an organizer,measurethe width ldea Shop 5
of the draweryou want the insert to fit into. projects at
We dimensionedours to fit into the utility woodmagazine.com/ls5
cabinetdrawer shownon page74 of issue
152.The overall width of the drawer should
be Vc"lessthan the measuredopening.To
accomplishthis, measurethe drawer open-
ing (side-to-side),and cut the front andback
(A) to this sizeminus /+". )0" DR.LLBrr
Cut the sides(B) andbottom(C) to size. -) ) <---\ HOLDER
Cut the grooves,dadoes,and rabbetsin \ DETAIL
partsA and B, where dimensioned.
Clamp the piecestogether,and cut the
divider (D) to fit. Cut the drill bit holders
(E) to size,bevel-rippingone edgeat 30o -27/a'l
where shown,right. Drill holes in
the holdersto fit your bit shanks. .Lengthof
@equats drawer
Drill mountingholes,and screwthe openingminus7+".
31/4':- , ry2"
holders(E) in placeto the box bot-
tom (C). We did not glue the holders 't/q"
rabbel /n" deep
(E, F) in place,shouldwe want to
th" groove
resizeor relocatethem later. Cut the tA" deep t/q" gloove tA" deep
holders(F) to fit, and drill shank 14"ttom 121/2' 13/q"
1/a"from bottom edge
holesin them. Apply a clear finish to back edge
) ,/2" daio yq" deep
the insert,and fit into place.i

1/z' *15"
A frontandback 21/t' M
B sides 1/z' 21/q' 13" M
C bottom t/4' 121/2' 15 P 121/z'
7sz"shank hole,
D divider 1/2' lVc' 121/2' M countersunk
on bottom
E bitholders 11/2' 11/z' 11' M i
#8 x 1" F.H.wood screwJt
F smallholders lt' 3u 27/a" M
.Length
ofA equals
drawer minus
opening %". DRILLBIT DRAWER tZ" grooves 1/4"deep
Materials key: M-maple, P-plywood. (Viewedfrom back) 1/+"lrom bottomedge
woodscrews.
Supplies: #8x1"flathead ProjectDesign:KevinBoyle

20 WOOD magazine March 2004

 Y'i
designerts notebook fn

must-have
meEsufements
forcomfortable
( @
19"'

seating i
i 3"
] @
16-1 8"
r
SIDEVIEW FRONTVIEW

hinking about designinga chair but @ For added comfort, particularly when i and bottom of the lower backr"est,
ol'curve
struggling with determinin-ethe the chair will not have a cushion,slope the : out the lower 4-8" of the backrest.
dimensionsand anglesthat will seat 5-8o from front to back. This also
guaranteemaximum comfort? Then let us helps keep the occupant from sliding for- : Finally, the armrests
introduceyou to the guidelinesestablished ward. For an office or desk chair, though. po. the armreststo suppot-tthe foreanns
' @
by the furniture industries.Keep in mind it's best to forget the slope as a flat seat : without elevatingthe shoulders,position
that they apply to an average-size5' 10" facilitates leaning forward. , them 7-9" above the seat.Be sure to check
adult sitting in an upright position. You may r the table-apronheight when determiningthe
need to adjust the dimensionsand angles NoW the back : armrest height so the arms will slide under
slightly dependingon the intendeduser's
/':\ -
(9 To give lower-backsuppoftwithoutinter- ; the apron.
size and shape. feringwith the shoulders,planfor a back . O, @, and @. vtate annrestsa rnini-
Also, to help with your visual understand- heightof 12-16"abovethe seatfor a casual , mum of 8" long, 2" wide, and spaced
ing of chair design,we letter-keyedthe chairand20" (typical;for a formalchair. i approximately 19" apart.?
guidelinesfor the seat,back. and armrest @ Stuntthe back up to 5o for a formalchair
dimensionsand anglesto the.drawings and up to l5o for a , lllustrations:
MikeMittermeier
obove and riglt. Now. try them out for a casualchair. Keep in 1-1t/z"taper 1-1t/2"taper
chair that looks right and feels -ereat. mind, thou-eh,that as
the back angle
First, the seat increases,you need
@ nor the occupant's feet to rest f-laton to up the seat angle
the floor with a knee angle of 90-100", (to rnaintainthe
locatethe seat l6-18" above the floor. If seat-to-backangle
the chair will have a cushion.accountfor between90o and
its compressedthickness in the seat height 100") to prevent for-
by sr.rbtracting
half the cushion'sthickness. ward sliding and
@ fo allow clearancebetweenthe seat's lower the seatheight
front ed-eeand the occupant's le-ts.rnake to keep the front
t h e s e a tl 5 - 1 8 " d e e p . ed-9eof the seat from
@ nir for a seatwidth of l6-20". contactingthe back
Dependin-eon the chair's style and your ofihe le-es.
pref-erence, you can taper the seat 2-3" (9 To give "rear"
from front to back (l-lt/2" per side).A clearancefor hind
wider front provides more leg room while pafts, leave 3" of
a narrower back allows a little fflore open spacebetween
elbow room. the top of the seat

24 WOOD magazine March 2004

sho y0uworkfaster,
Helping smarler,
andsafer
ti
Whenwe called
Bob Lasleyto
tell him thathis
Iig makes it safe tip was tops,he
was at a wood-
to rout small pieces working store
My table-mounted conductinga
routerseemedideal cabinetmaking
for shaping7+"stock demonstration. He teachesregularly,
intoknobsfor a box I often on routeruse."Woodworkingis
w as building, butt he my passion,"Bob saidwhenwe talked
smallblanks-only later.Our Top ShopTip winnerenjoys
1 %"s quar e- would building furnitureand occasionally
makethe job haz- smallprojects."My wife saysevery
ardousto my hands. projectseemsto involve a new tool,"
So I builtt he jig, he chuckled.This time,Bob's new
shownal right,to hold tool is on us.
ontothe blanks.
I cut scrapsof Baltic
birchplywoodto the
dimensions shownfor
th e j i g' sbas eand
sl i d ingL- s hapeguid e .
To makethe jig
adjustable, I cut two
sl o tsin t he guideand
attachedit to the base
with knobsscrewedintothreadedinserts as shown,to clearthe bit; I then set up the
in the base.A toggleclampholdsthe appropriatebit and a zero-clearance fence
workpiecefirmlyagainstthe baseand the on the routertableto machinethe knobs.
guide.I routedthe frontedgeof the base, -Bob Lasley, Broken
Arrow,0k.
We liked Bob Lasley'sTop Shop Tip so
much, we're sendinghim a Ridgid
tablesaw (model T53650).Attaboy, Bob!

Here's a cute trick, for clamping acute angles

Guessinghowfar the springclampwould
fly as it poppedoff the end of an acute-
angleglue- upwas al mo s tb e c o mi n g
a -ErvRoberts,
gam ein m y s hop.T h e nI
foundthat I couldget
betterclamping(although
lessentertainment) by
wrappinga stripof cloth-
backedabrasivearound
the c lam pt ips .
To keepthe stripin
pl a c e,I s lidt he r es il i e n t
tip coveroff the clamp
and foldedone end of a
stripof abrasiveoverthe
clamptip, abrasiveside
faci ngt he c lam p.T he nI
slidthe coverbackonto
the clampand foldedthe
abrasivestripback
aroundthe clamp-rough
si d eout ,as s hown,a n d
up the otherside.I tapedthe free end to
the clampto keepthe striptight.
DesMoines,lowa
Describehow you'vesolveda work-
shopdilemmaandyou'll earn$75 if it
appearshere.And if your tip gamers
Top ShopTip honors,you'll alsowin a
tool prize worth at least$250.
Sendyour besttips,alongwith photos
or illustrationsandyour daytimetele-
phonenumber,to: Shop Tips, WOODa
Magazine,lT16Locust St.,GA-310,
Des Moines.[A 50309-3023.
You canalsoe-mailyour tips to:
shoptips@woodmagazine.com, or
postthem on the Top ShopTip forum
at www.woodmagazine.com.
Becausewe try to publishonly
originaltips,pleasesendyour tips only
to WOODmagazine.Sory, submitted
materialscan't be returned.
Continuecl on page 28

26 WOOD magazine March 2004

 shop tips
To pull a pen together, reach for the riveter
Th ank sf or t he gr eata rti c l eo n p e n -tu rn i n g togetherat once.Althoughit is do-ablethat timeyouconstantly theparts,you
readjust
in WOODamagazineissue#148(page And,evenif you succeed
way, it'sdifficult. won'tlikelyhavesavedtime.
8 0).l' v ebeent ur nin gp e n sfo r y e a rs ,a n d at addingall the partsone at a time,by the VernShellman,
BeverlyHills,Fla.
alwaysfoundit awkwardto assemblethe
bottomof the pen in a vise,as shownon
page83 of that issue.So instead,I use my
pop riveter,as shownin the drawing.
I thr eadone end of a l e n g tho f tA a "
wel d ingr od and t wis ta n u t o n toth e e n d
to a c t as a s t op.( Y o ua l s oc o u l dc l a mpa
l o ck ingplier son t he e n d ,i f y o u d o n ' tw a n t
to thr eadt he r od. )W h e ni t c o m e sti meto
a ssem blea pen, I s li pth e ro d th ro u g ha
smallwas her t, he pe n ti p ,th e b a rre l ,
anot hers m allwas he r,a n d fi n a l l yi n toth e
p op r iv et erS . queez i n g
th e h a n d l eo n th e
ri ve t erdr awst he wel d i n gro d u p , p u l l i n g
al l o f t he piec est oge th e r.Wh e nth e
assem blyjus t s t ar t st o s n u gu p , I ma k e
o ne l as tc hec kt o ens u reth a t e v e ry th i n g ' s
pro per lyalignedand th e ns q u e e z ei t i n to
fi n aloos it ion.
Resistthe temptation to speedthe
processup by pullingall of the parts
Corrtirtued ort ltuge -10

28 WOOD rnagazine March 2004

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 shop tips
Toggleclamp puts
a lock on hole spacing
I had to drill21 evenlyspaced3/+"holes
in eachof 100 cedar2x4s whilemaking
deckrailingsrecently.Layingout and
dri l l i ngal l thosehol esandt hensanding
awaythe layoutmarkswouldtakea lot
of time,but a vertical-handle toggle
clampsavedthe day,
I mountedthe clampbehindthe fence
on my drillpressso the centerof the
clamppad coincidedwiththe hole
centerand was positioned the hole-
spacingdistancefromthe centerof the
drillbit. (Usetwicethe spacingdistance
if the clampwouldbe too closeto the
drill-press chuck.)I drewindexmarkson
the fenceto positionthe end of each
boardfor the firsthole(or firsttwo holes
for doublespacing).Afterdrillingthe first
hole(or two),it becamesimplya matter

DR.IVES 4 STZ;ES of lockingdownthe toggleclampwith

the pad in a hole.Besidesservingas a

oF NArrswltH stop,the clampheldthe boardfirmly

againstthe fenceand tablefor safety.
NO ETT The taperedpad on my toggleclamp
fit perfectlyintothe 7+"holes.For other
tCmfortable holesizes,it wouldbe easyto makethe
figonomi,c rightsizewoodentip with a lathe,hole-
Stylingwitr saw,or beltsander,and then attachit to
Cushioned the clampin placeof the pad.
tYon'Slljl -Scott Winkle, lll.
Cooksville,
ctip,

tlriggr and
Surface
Safutyl,ocfts.

tllonManing
Bumper,

elvt-:r
ffi |tlf
N
ffi | o*,uo* arhome
cenre' rumher yards
., and
andhatrdwaresroret
hardware rine
wherever
fine
sforet wherever tootaresold.
tools
| \ I h# LT_l

Arrow FastenerCo., Inc.,271 Mayhill Street,SaddleBrook, New Jersey07663

Canada:JardelDistributors,Inc.,6505Metropolitan Blvd. East,Montreal, QuebecH1P 1X9
United Kingdom: Arrow Fastener(U.K.)Ltd., Unit 5 ZK Park,23 CommerceWay, Croydon CRO425, Surrey
www.arrowfastener.com Rev.1002

WOOD rnagazine March 2004

Find empty brad holes with a stud sensor
Whenmy bradnailerrunsoutof fasteners, sensoralongthefasten-
it'shardto tellwherethe nailingstopped ingline.Thesensor
because thetoolleavesan impression in pointsto onlythedim-
thewoodwhetherit drivesa nailor not.To plesthathavefasteners
determine whereto startagainafter in them.
reloading,I passmy density-sensing stud -MarU Gerbasi,
Sonora,Calif.

Get hole layout right by making copies

Thetoughpartof attaching shop-made imagecopy,depending
jigsandfixtures to a routeris drilling
the on thewayI planto use
mounting holesto matchupwiththeholes thepattern.
in the routerbase.I foundan easywayto I alsomakepatterns
makea patternof the router-base hole usingmycomputer's
layout:Copythe routerbaseon a photo- scanner. Afterscanning
copymachine. thebaseplate,I canflip
Aftermakingthecopy,checkit against thepatternwithmy
thetoolbaseto makesureit'sexactlythe drawingsoftware if I
samesize.(Somecopiersareoff by a few needto. I canusethe
percent, so youmayneedto adjustthe samesoftware to mark
copierenlargement or reductionfactor.) exactcentersin the
OnceI havethe pattern,I tapeit or traceit holes.I storedthepattern
ontomyjig anddrilltheholesin theright fileso I canprintoneout
placesthefirsttime.I sometimes needto whenever I needit.
reverse thepatternor makea mirror- -Matt Besser.Urbandale.
lowa
Continued on page 32
www.woodrnagazine. com

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Coll or go onlineto get your FREE cotologtodoy! code14031
 =
l-ii F A C T O R YD I R E C T L I F E T I M EW A R R A N T Y
(r)Lrllitr(lNC machined steel tips
ACCUMU
-(r -i.r +lE AeeLrlrttu\ lurninumextruslons
Simpliciryof design
\\ \\,w.mulecab.com This iob doesn't even start
untillhe paperwork'sdone
W henI haveto mi ter-c utm oldings t o f it
l t l r c l i i n t O 1 , O t t rs l $ ' l an odd-anglcorner,
e a l it t lepaper wor k
Gives the ACCUSQLIARE the S'l'ltl'.\(;l'H
to stand up to rugged everyday usc & yrt'orirlc the mi ter saw
makesadj usti ng a snap.
ttre ACCURACY you need! process,
U sethe three-step shown
I{ELI,\IJILITY ACCURACY - GUARAN{ [I'T]D hplntu to net nerfect resrlts everv time.
TrlllilrlftllTlTlTm - l ll S tep2 gi vesyou a templat eof exact ly
ffi ;:".# -nilnlPz @
n
N
hal fthe angl ebetw eenthe t wo walls.
j*::g,|rori
,,1;3lL-',"',
l;)1';;ffiJS.!,*lP;5f.*;t'J,;fi
o
z

a
.:
A f t e rm a k i n gt h e c u t i n S t e p3 , f l i pt h e
templ ateto the othersi d eof t he m it er saw
fence,and sw i ngthe bl a det he ot herway
to cut the mati ngpartof t hejoint .
-Earl McGilvray. Ga.
Sharpsburg.

STEP 1 slioe a sheetof paper

MNT THIS? againsteachwallandtapetogether.

A clean, sharphole
everytime.
Nochips,

{g
nosplits,
*"** n0errors.
It takesskill
anda sharp
drillbit. STEP 2 Startingwhere the two sheets
Andthat intersect,align the edges that were flush
against the wall. ---\---
takesthe andfold. \
'

b- Glt Drill Doc|orle-

drillbitsharpener.
l'--. ,3 t

1,,

GET S T E P 3 P l a c et h e
edges that were
a g a i n s tt h e w a l l

ot WOOD rnagazine lt4arch 2004

Put sander on a credit card, but dontt worry about a bill
Whenmy sandingblockprovedtoo large i sandpapergrit on the frontof the cardwith : don'treceiveenoughunwantedcardsin
for the apronson a smalltable,I grabbed i a felt-tipmarker. , the mail,use yourexpiredcreditcards.
one of thosecreditcardsthat so often i The thin,flexibleplasticlet me sand right -Nathan Dixon,FortFairtied,Maine
arriveunsolicitedin the mail.Insteadof i up to the tablelegsmoreeasilyand evenly
slappingit downto buy a sander,however,, than I couldhavewith my fingertips. The Seea new
I cut a pieceof adhesive-backed sand- : card'sfour edgeslastthrougha lot of shop tip daily at
papertosize,as shownbelow,and stuckit i sanding,and the plasticis easyto cutto
to the backof the card.Then I wrotethe r shapefor customsandingblocks.lf you

www.woodmagazine.com 33

THEKITINCLUDES:
. PocketJig with Clamp
o 3/8" SteelSteo DrillBit
o AdiustableStop Collarfor DrillBit
o HexWrenchfor DrillBit Collar
o A Supplyof SquareDriveScrews
. 6" SteelSouareDriveBit

You can
use this
versatile
pocket jig
kit to make
numerous
types ot
joints.

The POCK'lT JIG* KIT is available at these dealers:

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To recieve your rebate, clip & mail us this ad with proof of purchase.
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 -!

askwood
to yourquestions
Answers fromletters, andW00DOnlineo
e-mails,

Try the look of ash,

and savesome cash
f) r As I wasadmiringa friend's
Y r door,he informedmethatil
wa5madeof ash.I wouldhavebetthat
it wasredoak.ls thereanyproblemwith
substituting ashfor oakin my projects?
-John Scott,lndianapolis

3sr

r No problemat all, John.As you **J;,

I seein the photo at right, the grain
patternsof white ashand red oak are simi-
Wttfte.ash
lar. The samestainor topcoatappliedto
eachproducesa lighter result in ashthan
oak, but if you seethat as a problem,just
selecta darkerstainthanusual.And, who
knows?You just might preferthe golden
toneof ashonceyou try it.
Ash machineswell; offers plenty of
strength;and, when cut into thin strips,
ranksas one of the premierwoodsfor
makingbent laminationson a form. Even
better,white ashbeatsred oak at the cash
register.We found ashpriced at $2.28per
boardfoot at our local lumber outlet,
while red oak cost$3.44.That's a33 per-
At the lumber store, we quickly found white ash and red oak boards that bore a strong
cent savings,the kind of differencethat resemblanceto one another in grain size and pattern.Though not identicalin color, they
really addsup on a largeproject. weren't far apart after a coat of Zar Provincial #114 stain.

A left-tilt tablesawlooks Manufacturersoffer both left-tilt and

like the right tv-ayto go right-tilt optionsin many cabinetsaw
f| r I'm shJppingfor a tablesaw, and models,so it's easyto find what you want.
Y r wondering whetherI should For example,of the seventablesawstested
chobsea left-tiltor right-tiltmodel.Which in issue151.threeoffer a choiceof tilt
do you recommend, andwhy? direction.(One of the othershas a right-tilt
-Clark Howard,
SanDiego design,and the remainingthreeare left-tilt
saws.)Before you make your decision,
[ . You'll get usedto whicheverone also considerthesefactors:
a l r you buy, Clark, but at WOODa r A left-tilt saw throws off your mea- Left-tilt blade
magazinewe prefer the left-tilt style.Most surementscalewhen you usea stackof
of us are usedto working with the rip dadobladesor even a thin-kerf blade.The
fenceto the right of the blade,and a lefr bladeor bladesmount betweenthe arbor
tilt saw leansthe blade away from the plate and the fence,so the blade-to-fence
fence.As you seein the photoand caption distancecan vary.
at right, that's a saferarrangementthan r The motor and its cover sit at the left
you get with a right-tilt saw and a standard end of a left-tilt tablesaw,wherethey'll
rip fencearrangement.Of course,you can get in the way if you ever decideto add a
move most (but not all) rip fencesto the sliding table.
left side of your blade to achievethe mir- r The tilt-adjustmentwheelis on the
ror imageof this set-upwith a right-tilt right side of a left-tilt saw, and the left When you bevel-rip on a left-tilt tablesaw, as
saw.However,that forcesyou to usethe side of a righrtilt model; one location shown here from the rear of the saw, the
fencein an unfamiliar way, which intro- might strike you as more convenientthan piece under the blade is not trapped against
ducesa differentkind of risk. the fence. The result? Less risk of kickback.
the other.
Continuedon page 36
34 WOOD rnagazine March 2004
 ask wood
Ease.up,clean up when pilot
DeanntrmaaKesa mafK
ff , wien I usemyfavoriteround'over bit,thebearing
Y r makes a grooveinthewood.Amliustusingtoomuch
preEsure elsecausing
ontherouter,or is something theproblem?
-Jim Brody,
Aurora,
Colo.

a It soundsas if you're pushing the router againstthe work-

r piece a lot harder than necessary,Jim. All you needis
constantcontactbetweenbearing and wood on your final pass
after making a lighter passor two. However, you also should
check on the condition of that pilot bearing.If it's not turning
freely as you rout, it's more likely to leave a mark.
To disassemblethe typical piloted router bit, remove the retain-
er screw at the end with an allen wrench, take off the small wash-
er underneath,and pull off the bearing with your fingers. Use a
cotton swab to clean any residuein the bearing's centerhole.
Somebits have a steppeddust shield that sits betweenthe bearing
and the bit's body; make sure the smaller-diameterportion rests
againstthe bearing.If the dust shield is ever installed upside
down, its wider surfacecontactsthe outer portion of the bearing,
impeding rotation.
It's virtually impossibleto lubricate such a small bearing.If it
has seizedup, buy a replacementthrough your dealer.

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wso , Maslercard . Amex . FREECAIALOO!

36 WOOD rnagazine March 2004

CircleNo.2117
 Door won't shut?
Gbeckthosehinge screws
n r I installed butthinges
mortised
! I on my proiect,
latest a small
cabinet,andthe doorwon'tstaycom-
pletelyclosed.Anysuggestions?
-Steve Sullivan,lndependence,
Mo.

1 Assumingthat the cabinet

I componentsare straightand
square,Steve,it soundslike a hinge
problem.Make surethe hinge surfaces
are flush with the wood. If they are,the
most likely culprit is one or more pro-
truding screwheads. A screwmight
requirea deepercountersinkto seat
flush with the hinge leaf, or it might be
sitting at a slight angle.
To take careof the first problem,see
the photoatright.If the screwwas dri-
ven at a slight angle,removethe hinge
from the cabinetand glue a small
dowel in the hole. Let the glue dry, and
then replacethe hinge.This time, be Enlargea screw-holecountersinkwith an appropriatelysized countersinkingbit installedin
carefulto drill a straightpilot hole, and your electric drill. Use a light touch, and check your progressfrequentlyby matchingthe
reinstallthe screws. screwhead to the diameter of the countersink.
Continued on page J8

www. woodrnagazine. corn 37

H Simpu
H q#
*

$ theBest!

1EOO,2341976
ask wood
SEinnybiscuits lead to sloppyjoints
n f *inO up with unevenjointswhen| ; won'tmatteraslongasyoualwayskeepthe that'smisalignedwhenyou clampit.
! usebiscuits,andthenI haveto do i samesideuponall pieces.Butif youspace Investigateyour own situationby using
a lot of time-consumingsanding.What i your slotssymmetrically alongthejoint line, calipersto measurea coupleof slotsand
can I do to avoid that? i andthenonepiecegetsflipped,the pieces severalbiscuits.If you find a lot of varia-
-LarryBair,viaW00D Onlineo will still go together,but thejoint won't be tion amongbiscuits,and if a numberof
flush.Avoid that problemby markingthe themare .010"or morethinnerthanthe
I tu-, you're probably seeing the face of eachworkpiecebeforeslotting. slot, you might want to buy a different
I lresult of eithera slightlyoff-center As for mismatchedslotsandbiscuits,note brand.(And you might want to put the
slot settingor a mismatchbetweenthe that the samplesin the photographshow a calipersto thosenew onesbeforepaying
width of the slotscut by your biscuit joiner differenceof .010",which could producea the cashier.)
andthe thicknessof your biscuits.If your joint that'sunevenenoughto causea prob- As you usebiscuitsin your workshop,
biscuitjoiner cutsthe slotsa bit aboveor lem. The biscuitswill fill the slot after you might find somethat are too thick for
below the centerof your workpiece,it swellingwith glue,but that won't fix a joint the slots.Avoid that problemby keeping
thebiscuitsin a tightly sealedjar or plastic
bag,to keepthem from absorbingmoisture.
If you comeacrossone that'stoo thick,
you can makeit thin enoughto fit by tap-
ping it with a hammer,or compressing it in
your vise.
No matterwhich brandyou settleon,
makeit a habit to checkalignmentafter
gluing andclampinga biscuitjoint. Use
clamps,cauls,or a malletto makethejoint
flush beforethe glue setsup.

We found severalexamples like this when

we experimentedwith one containerof
biscuits in the WOODamagazine work-
shop. This degree of size variation results
in a sloppy fit.

WOOD magazine March 2004

 that drum_sander,
Cle_alr
and learn not to burn
nMy drumsanderburnsnarrow
! streaks in my workpieces.I make
surenot to feedthe stocktoo fast;what
elsecouldcausethe problem?
-Kermit Pearson,
Gowrie,lowa

It r.r-it. thosestreaksareburn marks

frl.uured by a stripeof hard,dark glazing
on the sandpaper. This glazingresultswhen
pitch or glue accumulates on the sandpaper,
and then tums hard underthe heatand pres-
suregenerated by the sandingprocess.This
arearubs your workpieceand burnsit. To
eliminatethe problem,you needto replace
the sandpaper or give it a goodcleaning.
To cleanthe sandpaper, put on eye pro-
tection,openthe drum sandercover,turn
on the power, and hold a rubbercleaning
stick againstthe surface.You can purchase
one of thesesticksfrom Klingspor's
WoodworkingShop;call 800/228-0000to
orderitem BS99801,pricedat $7.95.If the
glazingremains,cleanpolyester-or cloth-
backedsandpaperby soakingit in a mix-
www.woodrrragazine. com
When your drum sander develops a glazed streak off to one end of the drum, you might be
tempted to avoid it by placing your workpiecetoward the other end. But eventuallyit will be
in the way, so you're better off cleaning it now.
ture of 2 ouncesof householdcleaner, i sanderfor light passes.
Heavycutsbuild up
suchas Murphy's Oil Soap,in I quartof , heat,which makesglazingmore likely. Go
warm water.When the glazedareasoftens, i with /oq" whenusingsandpapercoarserthan
scrubthe sandpapervigorouslywith a stiff i 100grit. With 100-gritandfiner sandpaper,
nylon brush. i easeup to Xzs".Also be sureto thoroughly
To keepthe problemto a minimum in the ; scrapeaway all dried glue beforerunning a
future, makeit a habit to setyour drum r workpiecethroughthe sander.
Continued on page 4O
39

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ask wood
Treat your CA glue right, thenfollow this rule of thumb:one drop per particlesor otherforeign mattergets
and you'll bond squareinch of surface.Also, you'll usually inside;replacethe capbetweenusesto
fi r I havetwoproblems withcyano- havemoresuccessif you usesome"acceler- keepout dust and acceleratoroverspray;
Y r acrylate(GAor "super")glue. ator,"which shouldbe availablewhereyou don't wipe the tip with a cloth or paper
it sometimes
One-, doesn'tbondwell, buy the glue.Spraythe accelerator on the towel, althoughyou can wipe it with a
eventhoughI'vecoated oneor bothsur- matingsurfaceto speedthe bonding,and plasticbag;anddon't inserta pin or nail
faces.Andtwo,it setsupjustgreat you won't haveto hold the piecesin posi- into the tip, which can caffy a traceof
insidetheapplicator
tip,forminga clog. tion for morethana few seconds.Skip the moistureinsideandpromoteclogging.
Suggestions? acceleratorif you know it's goingto take Also, asthe glue ages,it becomesmore
-Mel Lewis,Houston time to positionthe piecescorrectly. likely to clog, and its shelf life relatesto
As for the clogging,herearesomerecom- the containersize.The manufacturer
[ . Unlike otheradhesives,Mel, you mendations from SatelliteCity, the company claims a shelf life of six monthsfor Hot
Ilr don't needto spreadCA glue into an that makesHot Stuff glue:Keepthe tip Stuff in a Vq-ounce container,and more
evencoat.Buy a high-qualityproduct,and away from the work surfaceso no sawdust than a vear in a 2-ouncecontainer.

lf you spread CA glue like other glues, it

tends to remain liquid.Apply separate
spots of CA glue, as shown here, to pro-
duce the instant bond that you want.

lf you'relooking
forananswer to a wood-
working question,
writeto AskW000,
1716LocustSt.,GA-310, DesMoines,
lA 50309-3023, or sendusane-mailat
askwood@woodmagazine.com. For
immediate feedbackfromyourfellow
woodworkers, postyourquestion onone
of ourforumsat
vuww.woodmagazine.com.

WOOD rnagazine March 2004

hcxnrto
frndthe
pearls
in burls
Tt urls-those odd, bulbousgrowths on
Fltrees that result from an injury or
-' disease-hold hiddentreasuresof
exotic figure beneaththeir haunting exteri-
ors. For a woodworker,this figure makes
for eye-catchingturnings;accentssuchas
inlays, box lids, and handles;and veneers.
To get the most from burls, you needto
know how to properly cut and preserve
them.Bruce Hoover, an award-winningpro-
fessionalwoodturnerfrom Virginia's
EasternShore,knows burls inside and out.
He shareshis tips below on preparingthese
prized beauties.
Startwith the harvest
When you're lucky enoughto come acrossa
downed nee with burls (and you have per-
Author Bruce Hoover shapes a large hollow
vessel from spalted box elder; characterized
42
fn the photo,right, a red mapletree
bulgeswith burls.Thougheerieon
the outside,thesegrowthsyield
beautifulfigure,as evidencgdin the
turningsaboveby BruceHoover.
mission to take them), cqt over-
size sectionsthat include a
minimum of 6" of runk'material
aboveand below the burls. The
exffa wood, Bruce notes,will pro-
tect the burls from drying too
quickly and checking.To saveas
much of a burl's figure aspossi-
ble, avoid slicing the burl from
the trunk. However, if a trunk sec-
tion is too largeto handle,you
can cut through the pith to remove
ttre back half of the trunk, reducing its size
and weight. stepsto preparea round,"page 44, bonom.)
i
For exftemely large burls, you may be bet-
If you're not in a hurry to usethe burls,
i
ter offcutting them into more manageable leavethem whole for storage.Allowing
i
sectionsor slabsfor transport,againallow- them to dry slowly can producespaltingand
i
ing extramaterial,wherepossible,for dryingcolor changethat addsadditionalcharacter,
and mounting on a lathe or later slabbing as you can seein the insetphotos,above.
into box material or someother project. When cutting burls into boards,cut the
boards25 percentthicker than you'll needto
For faster drvinn. i allow for distortionduring drying. Also, be
trim and siz6 th6burls i awarethat your cutting direction can make a
To speedup drying,cut theburlsthatyou i differencein the figure's appearance,
planto usein thenearterminto roundsand i dependingon the burl's grain pattern.Burls
blocksfor turningor boardsandveneersfor i typically haveeither an eye figure or random,
swirling grain. If you're cuffing a burl with
Continued on page 44
WOOD magazine March 2004
the pros knour

eye figure, the boardwill exhibit eithereyes

or radiantlines dependingon the way you
slice it, as shownon the drawing at right.
How canyou tell if the burl haseye figure?
You can't be surewithout taking a thin slice
off the burl's top. But, you generallycan
expectto find eye figure in maple,cherry,
ash,and walnut burls. If a burl hasswirling
grain (typical in mulberry,gum, and birch),
you needn'tbe concernedaboutthe cutting
direction.Justcut it to get the bestyield.

Sealand storeyour gems

In orderto slow the releaseof moisture.seal
the exposedend-grainsurfaceson your cut
pieces.(It's not necessaryto sealany over-
size sectionsor roundsthat you plan to turn
wet within 8 to l0 weeks.)Use a sealer,such
asEnd Grain Wood Sealer.availablefrom
PackardWoodworksInc. (call 800/683-8876,
or go to www.packardwoodworks.com).
Now, storeoversizesectionsoutside,off
the ground,and shelteredfrom direct sun and
rain. Keepthe cut piecesinside.How long
will it takethe cut piecesto dry? This varies
with temperatureand humidity conditions.
As a generalguide,Brucehasfound that
smallroundsandblockslessthan lVz" thick
or boardslessthan 3/c"thickdry in about 12
weeksin warm air. Thicker piecescan take
up to 6 months.|l

Illustration: Mike Mittermeier

Photographs:David Dereng

3 easystepsto preparea round

ln orderfor the weightof your burl to be evenlydistributedwhen turningit on the lathe,
you'll need to flattenits back and round its outside,as shown in these photos.Waiting
about four weeks beforeturningthe burl will allow initialmoisturereleaseto help
stabilizethe wood so there'sless chanceof distortion.

Ghainsaw through the pith of the oversize Trim the excess trunk ends, then chainsaw Nail a cardboard disc of suitable size for a
section to remove the back half of the log along the sides of the burl to square it, as cutting guide to the burl's top. Bandsaw
while also flattening the back of the burl. shown here. the burl round, following the disc.

44 WOOD magazine March 2004

@
!f,hough clients go to professional
-*oodworker
-
I Mike Jagielo for
- built-ins, furniture, and church fix-
tures, they often have no clue about his
other talents.Longtime WOODa magazine
readers, however, recognize his unique
skills. His amazing articulating projects
have won many awardsin this magazine's
contests.But how doeshe do it?
Our curiosity took us to his shop in
Almond. Wisconsin, to find out. While He may be crawly, but this
there, we gleaneda few insights on what beautiful spidef complete
makes his projects stand out from the with moving legs and eyes, is
anything but creepy.
crowd and wow all who seethem.

This woodworkerts
winning ways Add personalitv always try to keep my designs,especially
If you're a betting man,put your money on for ifistant app6al toys, lighthearted,"he says. Discovering
Mike Jagielojust about any time WOOD You can easily imagine,even without see- that these beautifully crafted pieces also
magazineholds a woodworking contest. ing Mike's creationsin person, that they movejust sealsthe deal.
Mike's uniquecreationsgarnerprizesyear fascinate and ooze charm even when
after year (though we judge entries they're standingstill. The ladybug,opposite To becrin the process,
"lllnd"-without knowing who submitted andnextpage,begsto be handled,while the ponddr, then-put it ori paper
them), thanks to their ingenuity and turtle's eyes and friendly grin simply suck To make his projects move, Mike initially
impeccablequality. you in. Even the spider,with its creepylegs mulls over ideasin his head."I may spend
"Grandpa'sTractor," shownwith Mike at and wicked pincers,looks so friendly that, a month thinking about conceptsbefore I
left, won Grand Pnze (and a new Dodge had it come along, Little Miss Muffet begin any actualdesignwork," he says.
pickup truck) in our 1998 "Build-a-Gift" would not have abandonedher tuffet. Once an idea "sticks" in his head,Mike
contest.Discover how this amazing con- This cartoonishamiability boils down to makesrough sketchesto hone the concept.
traption works by reading "Inside Mike's one thing: personality.In Mike's opinion, From those,he producesfull-sizedrawings,
most complicatedcreation,"page 49. that's the key to his projects' success."I as seenin the photo, below.Mike doesn't
Mike's "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"
clock, visible at left, took secondplace in
our "It's About Time" clock contest.Turn
on the motor to make the fisherman rock
and row, while four fish pop in and out
behind the clock face.
Mike competed and won consistently
in our legendary "Build-a-Toy" contests.
The "Lazy-eyed Turtle," opposite and
right,loped out the door in 1992with three
prizes: first-place professional,best pull
toy, and best finish. The spider,top right,
spun its way into our judges hearts to
become a grand prize winner in 7994,
while his crab pull toy, below, skitteredin
for a win in 1995.

\
\,

This cute crab's legs

and claws move, while
his eyes practically pop Mike Jagielo'sprojects all develop in the same way. After figuring out what he wants to build, he
out of his head as he rolls along. makes a full-sizedrawing,then templates,roughed-outpieces,and finally the finished product.

www.woodrnagazine. com 47

By tracingaroundhistemplates,Mikeeasily
createsmultiplepiecesof exactsize.He
cutsthemon his bandsawandthensands
the piecesto finalshapeand smoothness.
have any formal drafting training, but has
taught himself how to createdrawings that
work for him.
Thoughthis steptakestime, he views it as
critical to success."In the drawings,I can
size all of the parts, check clearances,and
look for interferencepoints. If I can make it
work on paper,it will work when I build it."
Once he's finished with the drawings,
Mike makes photocopies,and then cuts
theseapart to createtemplatesfor the vari-
ous parts. He makes his templates,which
are also visible in the turtle photo,previous
page, from a variety of materials,including
hardboard,plywood, and cardboard.
Using templatesallows Mike to fabricate
most of the parts without additional mea-
suring. He simply tracesthe templatesonto
Protect your original ideas
MikeJagielopoursa lot of effortinto
his toys,so he copyrightshis plansto
preventothersfrom reproducingor
sellingthemwithouthis permission.
Woodworkerscan buildthe project,
but can'tclaimit as theirown design.
Anyonecan applyfor a copyright,and
it only costs$30. For more informa-
tion, visitthe UnitedStatesCopyright
OfficeWeb site:vvvvw.copyright.gov.
lf you builda mechanism, tool,or
otherobjectand want to prevent
othersfrom manufacturing and selling
it, or designingand marketinga similar
product,you'llneeda patent.To get
one,though,you'llspenda lot of time
and moneyto provethe meritsand
originality of the piece.Learnmore
from the UnitedStatesPatentand
TrademarkOfficeat www.uspto.gov.
48
Shell halvesflap, legs move back and forth, and eyes glance up and down as you pull this bug.
the wood, and then bores, routs, or cuts similar parts that give them their articulat-
where indicated,as shown at left. ing action. Take a look at "A few basic
Mike's drawings also serve one more movements," below, to understandhow
important purpose.They allow him to pro- eachcomponentfunctions.
tect his designs.See the Shop Ttp, bottom Whenever possibie, all componentsare
left, to find out how. madeof wood. Occasionally,though,when
clearanceswon't allow spacefor a wooden
Keep it simple to pushrod, Mike fabricates one from brass
man:agemdving parts rod, as shown atfar right.
Though eachof Mike's creationsmovesin Mike has devisedother unique ways, as
different ways, they all sharejust a few well, to make the partshe needs."If neces-
ATHWB^H,SIG
MOVEMENTS
MikeJagielo'stoys functionby turningone type of motionintoanother.That sounds
complicated,
but needn'tbe. Mikedemonstrated by mockingup the assembly,
shown below,that producesseveraltypes of movementfrom one rotatingshaft.
Rotating shaft: Like an axle,this part rotatesinsidea hole,and drivesothercompo-
nents.The shaft may get its powerfrom a motoror from a wheelthat rollson the ground.
Cam: This circularpiecegets securedto the rotatingshaft.With its off-centerhole,
the cam's outeredge revolvesin an eccentricarc.
Pushrod: Ridingon the cam, this rod turns rotatingmotioninto back-and-forth
actionto push and pull on anothercomponent.
Rocker artn: When one end of the boomerang-shaped arm gets pushedand
pulled,it rockson its centralpivot,causingan oppositemotionat the other end.
Wheel: Securedto the shafton a centeredhole,the wheeloften rollson the ground
to providepowerto the shaft.An off-centerhole in the face of the wheelcan accepta
pin to driveanothercomponent.
Transfer bar: Similarto a pushrod,this bar gets pinnedat each end, and
transfersmotionfrom one end to the other.When pinnedto a wheel,the transferbar
gets mountedoff center.
Lever: The free end of this piecesweepsan arc that variesin size dependingon
wherealong its lengththe leveris pinned.
Pivot pins: Thesesimplysecureone componentto another.
-.l-t\ -A Rockerarm
WITHTRANSFERBARANDWHEEL TRANSFER
BARANDWHEELREMOVED
WOOD magazine March 2004
sary, I'll gnnd down a drill bit to createthe
exact size I need.Just becausea tool isn't
available off the shelf, that doesn't mean
you can't createit yourself,"he says.
Finishinq touches take
quallty u-pa notch
No matter how well Mike's creations
move, they wouldn't garner accolades
and awards if they didn't look great. To
that end, much time gets spent choosing
woods, sanding,and finishing.
Mike shiesaway from stainson most of
his pieces, choosing instead to mix
domestic species,such as walnut, maple,
cherry, and oak to create contrast. He
often chooseseasy-to-workbasswoodfor
carved pieces, such as heads. Those he
sometimes stains an opaque white to
eliminate grain lines. Or, he may use col-
ored stain, as seenon the chicken, to lend
colors not found in natural wood.
Before finishing, Mike spendsa lot of
time sanding. "Because many pieces are
small, they're tough to work with on
machines,so I do a lot of hand shaping,"
he says.He usually sandsthrough 220 grit
before applying oil finish to bring out the
wood's rich color. Then, he sprays on a
couple of coatsof lacquerfor protection.
If you'd like to build toys suchas these,
Mike offers some advice in "Toying
around," belowright. But if you don't feel
ready to designmoving toys on your own,
you're in luck. Plans for Mike's spider,
turtle, and a fun-loving crab are available
from Cherry Tree Toys at 800/848-4363,
or www.cherrytreetoys.com. Once you
try building one, we're sure you'll be
moved to make more! I To create a brass pushrod, Mike inserts one
end into a 7a"-deephole near the end of a
Written by David Stone closet rod. He pulls the rod around to create
Photographs:Dennis Nolan the radius, removes it from the pole, and nips
off the starter end. The rod rides on a cam
with a grooved edge, seen on the benchtop.

Inside Mike's most Toying around

cornplicated creation
lO /

After seeing Mike's tantalizingtoys,

Mike pulledout all the stops when he created"Grandpa'sTractor."This 3O"-long you may want to try making your
motorizedmaruelrolls bumpilyalong (thanksto off-centerfront wheels)while own. He offers the followingadvice:
the driver,engine,and even the free-loadingchickenmove. Powercomes from a
battery-operated motorthat originallyserveda child's ride-ontoy. The motorturns Start simple: You don't have to
a drive shaft, runningfrom front to back,that activatesall of the movirigparts. create multiplearticulatingpoints to
They'redetailedbelow.Mike doesn'tventureto guess how make the piece move in interesting
many hourshe spentdesigningthis project,but ways. Just one or two moving parts
J4-t\
estimatesthat it took him 120 hoursto build. are necessary.Mike's first contest
DriVer rocks.
entry, for example,was an apple
Exhaustpipe moves pull toy with two worms that
up and down. poppedin and out of holes.

Chicken's
r Observefor inspiration:When
wings flap. On/off devisingyour own designs,look
switch for an object-perhaps a bug or
Pigs peek out an animal-and observe how it
as lid opens. moves.Then decide if you can
recreatethat motion using simple
shop-madecomponents.

Don't ask for big move-

ments: Whenhestarted,Mike
often located holes on wheels, for
example,too far off center. "l found
Drive
band out that it took too much force to
overcomethe resistance,so now I
keep offset holes within a half inch,
6-Volt at most, from center,"he notes.
battery
Drive Add personality: Make your
shaft
toys irresistibleeven when standing
sti l l by i ncl udi nga si l l yg r in,unique
Motor and shape,or oddballquirk,just to
transmission keep it fun.

www.woodmagazine. corn
sttaHmaker'
completeryide
 owever simple a woodworking
project may seem,it pays to Plan
ahead.Shelving is no excePtion.
Any board supportedat two points quali-
fies as a shelf, but you quickly run into
questions: Which material and sPan
dimensions work best?What supports
shouldyou use?What choicesdo you have
for making the shelf look good and match
its surroundings?
To steer you through successful shelf-
making, we put together this guide. In the
following pages,you'll find a chart cover-
ing 19 materialand edging choicesat five
possible spans, 1l adjustable-shelfhard-
ware possibilities,five options for placing
fixed shelvesinside a cabinet,pointerson
attaching supports for wall-mounted
shelves, and information about glass
shelves.Whether you plan to build a formal
bookcasefor the living room or a place to
store paint cans in the garage,you should
find the answersto your questions.
Golsider.width,height'
and spacing
Although shelvesmight hold a variety of
objects over the years, tailor the dimen-
sions to suit the first pu{poseyou have in
mind. To allow for spacing changes,use
standardsand brackets or shelf pins and a
www.woodmagazine.com
If you plan to use the shelvesfor elec-
tronic components, allow extra space for
Shelf Shelf wires and cords, and provide holes to run
Item Spacing Depth cords betweenshelvesor to a wall outlet.
6" An electricalplug requiresa hole at least
Gompactdiscs 6r'
lVq" in diameter.
VHS tapes 8" 6r'
DVDs 8r' 6rt
Paperbacks 8" 8" The front edqe of the shelf
Hardboundbooks 11" 12" says a lot ab6ut your work
Let's start our materials discussionwith
the subjectof edging.As you'll seelater,
series of evenly spaced holes. (See solid wood glued to the full length of a
page 57 in the bookcaseproject article for shelf's front edge adds a great deal of
instructions on accurately drilling shelf- strength. It's also essential for appear-
pin holes.) ance'ssakewhen you use plywood. And,
Shelf depth, however, is a one-time edgingmadewide enoughto extendbelow
choice. It typically dependson what you a3/+"shelfaddsvisual weight, which lends
intend to store or display. Measure the a solid, sturdy feel to large bookcases.
objectsthat you want the shelvesto hold, If you choose to apply edging, luse34"
whether it's a TV, audio equipment, or stock cut to an appropriate width. The
small figurines. Take a look at the handy wider the edging, the more strength you
chartabove for the spacesthat a few com- add.Rely on a simplebutt joint and yellow
mon items require. glue to securethe edgingto the shelf. Also
For the heightof your shelves,make sure make sure the edging is slightly proud of
they are within reachof the peoplewho will the shelf's top face when you clamp it up.
use them. In generalterms, a convenient After the glue dries, trim the edging per-
maximum shelf height for adults is 68" fectly flush with the top face by using a
above the floor; for teen-agers,61"; for flush-trim bit in a handheldrouter. Seethe
middle-schoolers,55"; for kindergartners box below for a simple jig that helps you
through third-graders, 5l"; and for complete this task without damaging the
preschoolers, 48". shelf surface.
a
After making a pair of
Shelf,EdgingJigs, clamp
them at the edge of Your
workbench. Next, clamP
two edged shelves as
shown, with their top I
faces against the jigs, to
provide suppoft for your
router base. Install a
t/2"flush-trim bit in your
I
8"
router, and rout along one
shelf, then the other to
make the edging flush
with the shelf surface.
JIG
SHELF-EDGING
7sz"shank hole,
countersunk
# 8 x 1 1 / z 'F . H .
wood screw
51
 When you use a solid-wood shelf, or
apply wood edging to sheet goods, you
have a wide range of profile possibilities.
A simple round-over softens the appear-
ance of the shelf, and a chamfer adds a bit
of visual interest.
For elegantor classicalprojects,use an
edge-forming router bit that suits your
design.Use a seriesof light passeson your
router table to shape the profile after
applying and flush-trimming the edge.
For a quicker way to dress up the front
edge of a shelf made with plywood or
other sheet goods, simply attach flexible,
pre-glued wood or melamine veneer.See
#:*.'f
,,il$ l.'l,,,]i
the photos at right for the correct proce- :.;r iii,:t,:l: r'l-q

dure. Visit a home center for this type of
veneer, which adds no strength to the
shelf, but quickly covers a raw, unattrac-
tive material edge.
Attach pre-glued melamine, shown here, or
pre-glued veneer with an ordinary household
iron. Uncoil the strip, and center it on the
shelf edge. Set the iron to medium heat,
press it against the veneef and move it
slowly along the shelf edge to melt the glue.
Wait a few minutes for the glue to cool and
set, and then trim the overhang from each
side. lt's an easy job with a special edge-
veneer trimmer. This Band-lt trimmer from
Woodcraft sells for $9.99. Call 8OOl225-1153,
and order item 129119.

Ghoosea tourrh-enouqh
-
shelving mat-erid
Almost any form of sheet goods or solid
lumber can serve as a shelf, given enough
support points. However, the choice of
material becomes all-important when you
support a shelf only at the ends. To
evaulate differences in strength, we per-
formed a test. See the photo at right and
"The smart builder's shelving selector,"
opposite,for the results.
To give our test materials a serious
workout, we loaded each ll"-wide shelf
with a full set of encylopedias-that's 64
pounds of books. We left the weight in
place for half an hour, and then measured
the deflection at the centerpoint. Of To check deflection for each shelving choice in the chart opposffe, we placed a straightedge
course, photographs or lightweight col- on the shelf, and then measured the gap at the center. We decreased the width of this mock
lectibles would place only a fraction of this shelving unit after each round of tests, cutting our shelf samples to fit at varying lengths.
load on your shelves.But it's a good idea
to build in extra strength, just in case Overall, z/q"Baltic birch with poplar edg- (Vte") at the centerpoint,which is visually
future usagerequires it. ing outperformed all of the others, even acceptable.(The eye will notice a sag of
We tested 10 of the materials in two the solid woods; it refused to sag over a roughly Vzz" per running foot.) Consider,
ways: with and without a 3/qxlVa" edging 42" span.The main disadvantageof Baltic however, that a perrnanent installation
glued onto the front of the shelf. We used birch is availability. You're more likely to probably would sagmore over time.
oak, pine, and poplar for edging,matching find it at a specialtywoodworker's storeor When we testedour shelvesat 36", often
the choice to the shelf and its most likely lumberyard than at a home center. considered the maximum span for
setting.In many cases,edgingreducedsag Somewhatsurprisingly,edgedpine beat unedged material, sagging remained a
by half or more. (The wheat stalk fiber out edgedoak as the next one to achievea problem for most of our shelves.Edged
shelving comes from the factory with a zero-sag rating, that coming at 36". pine remained flat, however, and solid
bullnose profile that's not adaptable to However, oak performed better than pine oak, both edged and plain, stayed within
front edging.)We usedthe sameshelvesat in the unedgedcategories. acceptablelimits.
each spanto avoid any variations in quali- Edged or not, none of the tested materi- Edged oak plywood and edged medium-
ty, cutting them shorter for each round of als gave satisfactory results over a 48" density fiberboard (MDF) becomefeasible
the test. span.If you need shelvesof that length to choices at 30". By the time we shortened
We didn't include all of the options, of hold books or other heavy objects, lami- the span to 24", the notable entries were
course. If you add a second edging at the nate two 3/q" pieces together to make a the ones that still failed to stay flat: parti-
back of any shelf or a stiffener on the bot- IVz"-thick shelf. At 42", the solid woods cleboard,oriented-strandboard, and wheat
tom, you'Il beef it up even more. with edging sagged approximately 4/u" stalk board.

52 WOOD magazine March 2004

Note:All shelvesmeasured11" Matchthe shetftengthyouwantwiththe materialyou'reconsidering.,-The t9{t,y9! l9y^T|"h in
re.sull
wide beforethe addition of edging. inchesour samplesaggedin the centerwhilebearinga 64-lbload.(Edgingis 74x1l/4"narowooo.)

edging I shelf sPan

you need to know 24" 32" | 36" | 42" | 48"
loitterence | |
This option looks good for
utility purposes, with its
painted bullnose edge. We
found it priced at about $11
for a 1x8' piece. lt needs a
lot of support.

Even with an edge, this

common shelving material
developed a noticeable sag
at 36'. A 4x8' sheet costs
$2S at our home center.

With a solid-wood edge

added, this inexpensive
material ($t t.SO per sheet)
can handle medium loads in
a garage or workshoP.

A simple layer of plastic

laminate (about $2 per
square foot) on each face
adds a surprising amount of
strength to particleboard.

When you make rough

shelving, note that medium-
cost OSB ($27 per sheet)
offers more strength than
particleboard.

MDF is comparable to the

other manufactured sheet
goods in strength, but has
a smooth surface. Our
sheet cost about $20.

With an edge, this choice

gives you furniture-like
appearance along with
visually acceptable def lec-
tion up to 36". lt's exPen-
sive, at $40 per sheet.

This is the winner of our

strength test. However, its
face has a bland appear-
ance in comparison to solid
wood, and we paid a heftY
$46 for a 5x5' sheet.

There's no need for edging

unless'you build shelves in
the 48" range. But itb
expensive: $S.SOper board
foot at our home center.

With an edge, it performs

as well as oak, and we Paid
only $1.50 per board foot.
 For a light, bright look , try glass shelves
Some displaycabinetsare more attrac-
tive with glassshelvesratherthan
wood.See-through shelvingcreatesa
light,airy look and focusesattentionon
the objec t son dis pl a yGl
. a s ss h e l v i n g
NO ROUTINGREQUIRED
is easilysupportedwith shelfpins or
l i g h tw e i ght
standardsand snap-i n
brackets.lf you considerglass,here's
what you needto knowaboutstrength
a n d p ro fi l eopti ons.

AVOIDA SHATTERING
EXPERIENCE
Here'sthe maximumload,in poundsper squarefoot,for annealedglassusedas
shelvingand supportedat each end.

a
@
v4"
o
c
Y

E 318"
F
a
a
6

(,
1n" Most glass suppliers offer several edge pro-
files, such as these, that make great-looking
shelves.Choose between a greenishtint in
GlassSpan
the edge or a nearly clear appearance.

When you're quite sure about shelf spac- support. It's worth the effort to cut net side is made of plywood or another
ing and don't expectto changeit to suit dadoes,which give much more support manufacturedmaterial,so you don't have
differentitems,you might chooseto build over time. For less formal work, place a to be concernedwith the screwsrestrain-
a cabinetwith fixed shelves.Suchshelves simple cleat under each end of the shelf. ing its movement.Fastenthe shelvesto
not only give the shelvingunit a well-built This approachworks best when the cabi- the cleatswith screwsdriven from below.
look, but also add strengthand stability.
Selectamongthe optionsshownin these
drawingswhen you build a cabinetwith
fixed shelves.Make your choicebasedon
the style of the pieceitself or to match sur-
roundingfurniture.
The key to any of these fixed shelf
methodsis to make certain that the sup-
porting dadoes at either end of a shelf
match perfectly. To do this, locate them
exactlythe samedistancefrom the bottom Exposed dado: An exposed dado is easy Sliding dovetail: A shelf made with a
of the cabinet side, and perpendicularto to make, and fills the bill on simple cabi- sliding dovetailsuppliesthe unit with
nets. Howeve4hiding the dado helps the great resistance to racking, but it can
the edges. Avoid butt joints, in which look of the cabinet, and is easy to do prove fussier to fit than a standard dado.
nails,screws,or biscuitsprovideall of the with a face frame. See issue 148, page 90, for pointers.

Stopped dado: Take a little extra time to
make a stopped dado if a face frame
doesn't suit your design. You'll need to
cut a notch in each front corner of the
shelf o6 with edged shelves,simply
adjust the length of the edging.
Concealed dado plus rail: With basic
face-frame construction, it's easy to
make through dadoes for shelf support,
and then hide them with the stiles.A rail
loined to the stiles covers the front edge
of the shelf.
Goncealed dado plus edging: A face-
frame stile covers the dado, as in the
drawing at left, but here a wide edging
covers the shelf edge. This design pro-
duces the same visual weight, and adds
interestwith the stepped-backlook.

54 WOOD rnagazine March 2004

Ulake sure to provide all
the support ndeded
The array of shelf pins shown at rigllt rep-
i ___
resentsthe tip of the iceberg when it comes ____
.....:.",_.. Brasspin,flat top
il
to supporting the ends of adjustable
shelves. We picked some of our favorites
for applications from utilitarian to elegant. i',
I
If you plan to cover the wall of an unfin- lrr 6 --r

ished basement with shelves, choose the

t rWfril
i
Brasspin,round
lr'
ones that cost the least. For small projects, l.
the price differences are less important, and lri
li A ---
you should use whatever style seems t]' U ---
appropriate.
Wide . - - o L*
Brasspinandsleeve
Note that some brass pins come with
snap-in
bracket
brass sleeves for the pin hole. Sleeves
might seem like a small detail, but they ;
f - - - - - _- - _ ' t Offsetbrasspin
lend a much more finished look to your tl, andsleeve
project. They hide the exposed plies if J,i
you're drilling into plywood, they keep the J,;
pins from pressing into the lower side of ; hsi'
ri L-shape
support
the hole, and a classy circle of brass shows t

at the surface. ]
Metal standards designed for clips
,, L-shapesupport
mount on the surface of the cabinet side.
Standard % withpad
To add a quality look to your installation, snap-in
cut a shallow groove for each standard to bracket
sit in.
(Before Plasticsupport
Tailor wall-mounted insertion

r
shelves to hold anything
Sometimesyou'll want to placeshelveson
a wall insteadof inside a cabinet.This
approachcan speedconstruction,savefloor
space,or allow for the storageof lumber or
otherlong items. t . l r
ng support
Shelf-grippi
Wall-mountingmakesit easyto increase Slotted-
the number of supporlpoints and increase track
the strength of the shelf. For shelving support
designedto hold lumber, paint cans, or
other heavy materials,it's'wise to place
severalbracketsundereachshelf,eachone
attachedto a wall studwith the appropriate
screwsor nails.As a rule,use#12x2V2." or
longer screws for guaranteedstrength.
Check the bracketload ratingsto calculate
the numberof bracketsneededfor your par-
ticularsituation.
Slotted metal standardsand brackets,
such as those shown in the photo at near
right, offer flexibility in shelf numberand
spacing.The double-slotdesignincreases
s t abil it y .
si de- t o- s ide
Installlargerbrackets,suchas the one in I
tl
the photoatfor right, in a permanentloca-
tion for truly big jobs. For example,a set
of thesebracketswill supporta lot of lum-
It l
ber in your workshop.dF
" ll
This double-slotdesign is rated at 360 lbs This heavy-dutybracket snaps into the posi-
Writtenbv Jim Pollockwith Jeff Mertz and per bracket. Cut a groove into a strip of tion shown to hold a shelf, and folds flat
C h u c kH 6 d l u n d wood to enclosethis standardfor a more when not needed.The model shown has a
lllustrations: Tim Cahill.RoxanneLeMoine formal look. (Woodworker'sHardware,7" 16" horizontalarm, and a pair together are
bracket in white, item KV0182WH 7, $2.48 rated for 750-lb loads. (Woodworker's
each. Call 800/383-0130.) Hardware,item KV206ZC 16, $19.94each.)

www.woodmagazine.com 55
 three
Onebookcase,

Simplychangethewoodtypeandtrim
Forthe boad feet of lumberand otheritems
detailsto suityorr taste.We'll
shoruyou
ho,u. neededto buildthis project,seepage62.
ere's a masterpieceyou can build bookcase,which measures3334" wide by plywood for the Shaker unit, and knotty
that will showcaseyour treasured 13" deepby approximately6Vz'high,has a pine andknotty-pineplywood for the country
tomes for years to come. Simply fixed shelf and three adjustableshelvesto look. But, you also can use less-expensive
build the basic casein the wood of your hold loads of books or display items. We materials,such as solid poplar with birch
choice, and then add the traditional,coun- usedprimarily oak and oak plywood for the plywood, particularly if you plan to paint
try, or Shaker top and bottom trim. The traditional bookcase. cherrv and cherrv the unit.

56
 I

populatstyles E stoe

: il
deep i
tA"
th
ir^ao"t/

jll+"-.
'l* ; ii
r 1 '/cu l-+l \
fJ
1V4"
T-'
|
first, build a case / o
/./
(A) to
I Cut the sides 19/u" hole o
I the size listed in the s/re"deep o
MaterialsList. As explained
in the Materialskey, choose
the plywood species that
suitsyour bookcasestyle.
f Using a dado'blade set
tl

fradjusted to the thickness

of your rZ" plywood, cut V+"-
deep rabbets on the inside
face of the sides(A) at their
ends. where shown on
Drawing1. Then, cut a Vq"- W"-
With the marked centerlineson the tape
@
deep dado near the center, aligned with the drill-pressfence's index mark,
wheredimensioned.Now, on drill 170+"holes s/ro"-deepin the sides (A). 711/2"
the outsideface of the sides,
drill countersunkshankholes O1/2'

centeredon the width of the

rabbetsanddadoes.
2fo drill the r%+"holes
tfon the inside face of t
the sides (A) for the shelf i)i
paddle-support sleeves, Tge"shank holes,
where dimensioned on countersunkon
outsideface
Drawings 1 and la, first
mark centerlines for the r\i
holes on masking tape
along the sides' inside -o
l
i,\
faces.Mark near one edge 'i 'i
first, and then transfer the A case for shelf supports - oi
\:
marks to the oppositeedge with metal sleeve5 "i
I t-.
i i". \
i i\
it
o

i i \.'',
-o I l\'
using a framing square. Ever been frustratedby shelf supportsthat "
(See the sidebar, right, won't stay in their holes,sag over time, or
requirepliersto remove?Holesthat are worn
iiiit
for more information on
the shelf support and
o r d ri l l edsl i ghtl yoversi zeto preventbi ndi ng 1/2" iii': I
cause the first two problems,and holesthat
sleevehardware.)
te/64" are swollenby moistureor drilledslightly
3/q i i li
ono"t
/ Next, chuck a
v " dg"P\; ll
'fbrad-point undersizeto resistlooseningcause the third I i i \ tj
bit in your problem.Here'sa simpleway to prevent
drill press,and position the these irritations.Use brass paddlesupports
fence lVq" backfrom the bit's with matingsleeves,shown in the photo (lnsideface shown)
center.Make an index mark on the fence above.The sleevesprotectthe holesfrom
centered with the bit. Then, aligning the wear, and they providea consistentfit with
the supportsso they'realwayseasy to insert 170+"hole
marked centerlineswith the index mark, s/ro"deep
drill %0"-deepholesin the sides,as shown and remove.Anotherplus:The sleeveshide
th e h ol ew al l s,w hi chcan be unsi ghtl y, Ht=?
in PhotoA. Now, sandthe sideswith 220-
particularlyin plywood. \ Brasspaddle
grit sandpaper. To ensurethe s/ro"-diameter sleevesstay
t/+"-thick stock, cut four Sleeves support
f From s n u g i n thei r hol es,dri l lthe hol esusi nga
9IVqxTlt/2" piecesto form the front stiles 1s/aq" brad-pointbit. To installthe sleeves, Et-
(B). Laminate the piecesto make a pair of inserttheir beveledend in the holes,and tap
lVz"-thickstiles. them in flush with a hammer.See Sourceson
fUsing the same dado-bladestack as page 62 to buy the paddlesupports,sleeves, IE sHeu
lJbefore, cut a 3/+"rabbet Vz" deepalong and bit. DETAIL
SUPPORT
the back face of the stiles. where shown on

www.woodrnagazine. corn 57
Drawing2, Step 1, to receivethe E rnorursrLEDETATL ToPvtEW
sides (A). Then, glue and clamp Step 1 Cut the rablqt, and glue the stile@ Step 2 Cut a groovein the stile/sideassembly.
to the side Qy.
the stiles to the front edge of the
sides,where shownon Drawing3.

I
Back face
When the glue dries, adjust the
dado set to match your rZ"-thick
stock, and cut a V+"-deepgroove 1 1/qu
I lsiletomatcn
along the inside face of the stiles,
whereshownon Drawing2, Step2.
I Cut the top, fixed shelf, and
I bottom(C) andtheiraccompa-
l. I
I
t---F
ly2'-)
lthickness
lplywood.
of

%" stockfor
nying rails (D, E, F) to size. parts
@ and Q.
CDFor a Shaker
lJbookcase. lav out E exploDED vrEW
thecurveon thetopfront (Bookcase withtraditional trim shown) # 8 x 1 1 / qF' . H .
wood screw 7o+"shankhole,
rail (D), where dimen- countersunk on rear
sioned on Drawing 4.
Then,bandsawandsand
the rail to shape.
Qfor a country -113/q"
I ->,
t/bookcase, make
four copies of the top
front rail/base front
trim full-size partial
E-@
pattern in the WOOD #8 x 11/2"
Patternsainsert.Next, wood sc
draw a centerline
across the width of
the top front rail (D). ,/2 4 / l l

Spray-adhere two
copi e s t o t he r ail,
aligning them with the j- 1rl0"
marked centerline, I
where shown on
Drawing 5. (You'll
need to trim one copy
and flip it over to
completethe contour.)
Set aside the remain-
ing copies. Now,
bandsawand sand the Brass-paddle
rail to shape, and support
removethe patterns. 7sz"shank hole,
countersunk

Iofiyffi:;,Til|
shelf,and bottom front
on bottomside

I
rails (D, E, F) to the )
c
top, fixed shelf, and
bottom (C), where
shown on Drawing3,
keeping the rails' and l/--\
#8 x 11/q"F.H.
panels'ends flush wood screw
and the rails' top edge
13'!
even with the panels'top face.Position EErop sEcroNvrEW
the top panel'sbest face down and the #8x11/z'F.H.
fixed shelf and bottom panels' bestface wood screw
up. When the glue dries,sandthe assem-
11/q"
blies smooth.
| | Assemble the case by gluing,
I I screwing.and clamping the side
I- #6 x g/q"F.H.
wood screw
assemblies(AiB) to the top, fixed-shelf,
and bottom assemblies(C/D, C/E, C/F).
Checkthe casefor square.

58 WOOD magazine March 2004

 A trgrroonytt waSrto put the squeeze
on glue squeeze-out
Removing
excessglue
when assem-
blingpartsis
messyand
risky.lf you
leavethe slight-
est residue,it
can seal the
wood and block
stain penetra-
tion, resultingin
a blotchyfinish.Here'sa simpleway to avoidthe problem.
Cut t/e"groovest/e"deep 1/a"trom a part's edges on its
glue surface,whereshownabove.Then,applyglue to the
area betweenthe grooves,and clampthe part in place.
The grooveswill capturethe excessglue,preventingit
from oozingbeyondthe part'sedges. Using 21s/q"-longspacers to position the middle side rail (H)above
the bottom side rail, glue and clamp the rail to the side (A).

NoW complete the case 'fillCut

I Cut the top side rails (G), middle and
I bottom siderails (H), andback stiles(I)
to size. Sand the parts smooth. To avoid
glue squeeze-outwhen mounting these
parts,seethe ShopTip, above.
llCtue and clamp the top side rails (G)
Eand bottom side rails (H) to the sides
(A), flush with their top and bottom edges,
where shown on Drawing 3. Then, when
the glue dries, glue and clamp the middle
side rails (H) to the sides, as shown in
Photo B.
QCtue andclamp the back stiles(I) to the
9sides (A), flush with their ends and
tight againstthe siderails (G, H). The stiles
overhangthe sides'back edgesby V+".
the t/q" plywood back (J) to size.
Then.on the rearof theback.drill coun-
tersunk shank holes. where shown on
Drawing3. Now, position the back on the
case,drill pilot holesusing the shankholes
as guides,and drive the screws.
f Cut the upperand lower fillers (K, L) to
rJsize to fit the 3/q"-widegroovesin the
front stiles (B). For traditional and
Shaker bookcases,cut thOupper filler (K)
393/q"long. For a country bookcase,cut
the upper filler (K) 381/2"long. Glue and
clamp the fillers in place.
(M) and shelf
QCut the adjustables.helves
lJtrim (N) to size.Then, glue and clamp
the trim to the shelves,flush with their ends
and top faces.Sandthe shelvessmooth.
Add the base
I Cut the bottompanel(O) to size.Next,
I to form the front trim (P) and side trim
(Q), cut a 5x65" workpiecefrom:/+"-thick
stock. Then, rout the applicable profile
along an edge of the workpiece. For a
Shaker bookcase, rout a /+" round-over
where shown on Drawing4. For a country
bookcase, rout a V4" chamfer, where
shown on Drawing 5. For a traditional
bookcase, rout a V+" cove, where shown
on Drawing6.
jlXrtiter-cut the trim (P, Q) to length to fit
Athe bottom panel.For the best appear-
ance, maintain a continuous grain flow
acrossthe trim pieces,as laid out on the
CuttingDiagram.

RAILANDBASE
E snnreRTopFRoNT TRIM El couruTRy RAILANDBASE
rop FRoNT TRIM
t/a"round-over
t/q" chamter on part
@ -
341/z'
P 313/q"
_l
I3"
)_
l z "-j-r
-T- I
-r/tt

I
%_ L-
41,

t- rutt-(izepatternI ,u,,lr,="pattern 4I' t

TOPFRONTRArL@ 171/q"--:-----A reversed 1s/a'/ 17u"
ANDBASEFRONTTRIM)
TOPFRONTRArLo ^
/a" round-over ANDBASEFRONTTRTM(B)
t/+"chamter

1/z'

[--1s3/8"4
B A S ES I D ET R I M B A S ES I D ET R I M

www.woodrnagazine. com 59

7ge"shank hole.countersunk
on bottomside
l--
5"
1---
Lay out the applicable contour on the
trim. For a shaker bookcase, lay out
the curve on the front and side trim (P, Q),
where dimensionedon Drawing 4. For a
country bookcase, adhere the remaining
two copies of the basefront trim patternto
the front trim (P), as you did for the top
front rail (D), where shown on Drawing5.
[The country base'sside trim (Q) doesnot
have a contour.]For a traditional base,lay
out the contour on the front and side trim
(P, Q), wheredimensionedon Drawing6.
/ Bandsaw the nim to shape,cutting just
'loutside
the lines,andthensandto the lines.
fCut the corner blocks (R) to size,
tfangle-cutting one end, where dimen-
sionedon Drawing6.
ftMark centerlinesfor #20 biscuits on
lJthe bottom panel (O), trim (P, Q), and
corner blocks (R), where shown on
Drawing 6. Then, position your biscuit-
joiner fence to centerthe slof cutter on the
thicknessof the bottom panel. Plunge all
of the slots except the ones in the trim's
With glue applied in the biscuit slots, assem-
ble the bottom panel (O),trim (B Q), and
corner blocks (R)with #20 biscuits,and
clamp the assembly together.
60
E ensefiRADnoNAL-sryLE
TRIM
sHowN)
mitered ends. For these, reposition the
fence to offset the slot Ve"from the trim's
inside face to ensurethe slot cutter does
not go through the outside face. Now,
plunge the slots in the mitered ends.
lf Assemblethebottompanel,trim, andcor-
I ner blocks. as shown in Photo C. When
the glue dries,sandthe assemblysmooth.
QUsing a helper,set the bookcaseon its
lJback on your workbench.Then, posi-
tion and clamp the base assembly
(O/P/Q/R) tight against the bookcase's
bottom, flush with the back and centered
side to side. Drill countersunkmounting
holesthroughthe bottom panel (O) andVz"
into the bottom (C), where shown on
Drawings 3 and 6, and drive the screws.
Now, with the instructions in one of the
three following sections,add a traditional,
Shaker,or countrytop to the bookcase.
Make a traditional top
I Cut the plywood top panel (S) to size.
I Then. miter-cut the front and side ede-
Using a 121c"-wtdescrap spacer to position
the front trim (VAA/DQfrom the back edge of
the top panel (S) and centering the assembly
side to side, glue and clamp it to the panel.
I
/+" cove
21/a'
ing (T, U) to length to fit the panel, where
shownon Drawing7. Now, glue and clamp
the edgingto the panel.
Dfo form the top trim assembly,cut the
6tband, cap, and cove blanks (V, W, X)
to the listed sizes,exceptcut the coveblank
(X) to a width of lVz". (The cove blank is
initially extra wide for safety when rout-
ing.) Rout a V+" chamfer along an edge of
the cap blank (W) and a Vz" cove along an
edge of the cove blank (X), where shown.
Now, rip the cove blank to a width of s/e".
QCtue and clamp the blanks togetherin
trthe arrangementshown on Drawings7
and 7a. When the glue dries, miter-cut the
assemblyso the back (short)edgemeasures
12V4"for the sidesand 32V4"for the front.
illClue the front trim piece to the top
'fpanel
(S), as shown in Photo D. Then,
glue andclampthe sidetrim piecesin place.
fWittr the bookcaseon its back, posi-
rJtion and clamp the top panel/trim
assembly(S through X) tight against the
bookcase'stop, flush with the back and
centered side to side. Drill mounting
holes through the top panel (S) and into
the top (C), where shown on Drawings3
and7, and drive the screws.
Afo form the front and side dentil mold-
lVing (Y, Z), shown on Drawings3 and
3a, cut a 3/cx54"workpiece from t/+"-thick
oak. Mark the locations for /+" dadoes
spaced 3/q" apart along the length of the
workpiece,wheredimensionedon Drawing
8. Now, using a dadoblade,cut the dadoes
%" deep.
lCut the molding to the listed lengths,
I leaving Vc"-widerecesses at the endsof
the front dentil molding (Y) and Va" wide
recessesat the endsof the side dentil mold-
ing (Z), where shown. Now, glue the front
molding to the top front rail (D) and the
side molding to the top side rails (G), tight
againstthe top-panel edging (T, U), where
shownon Drawing3.
WOOD magazine March 2004
 't

E rnnonoNALToP
[[ sroesEcnoNDETAIL
1/4"chamler / r/c" chamter

1/2"cove

V^'4 #8x11/q"F.H
wood screw 1/z"cove
Miteredends i
7sz"shankhole,
countersunk
---43/4'--

l DETAIL
El oeml MoLDING
. 1/+"for part O
; t/a"tpr part
@
Miteredends \ r1/o"
---] \i s/^"11?-
, 1 / 8 " 1l l ll
Build a Shaker top top, flush with the back and centered side to tt \\t lt _l r_ J
d \
tl
i______-.i 4\ ,__
side. Drill mounting holes through the top
1/!n =- -J /

I Cut the plywood top panel(S) to size.

J/4

I Then, miter-cutthe front and side edg-
ing (AA, BB) to length to fit the panel,
whereshownon Drawing9. Now, glue and
clamp the edgingto the panel.
j)'ttlt your tablesaw'sblade to 17" from
(tvenicaL Now, using a tall auxiliaryfence
attachedto your rip fencefor support,bevel-
rip the edging, where dimensioned on
Drawing9a, cutting the side edgingfirst and
thenthefront edging.Sandthebevelssmooth.
DWittr the bookcaseon its back,position
Oand clamp the top panel/trimassembly
(S/AA/BB) tight against the bookcase's
panel (S) and into the top (C), where shown
on Drawings 3 and 9, and drive the screws.
Add a country top
I Cut the plywood top panel(S) to size.
I Then,miter-cutthe front andsidebands
(CC, DD) to length to fit the panel,where
shownon Drawings10 and 10a.Now, glue
and clamp the bandsto the Panel.
{)From /+"-thick knotty pine, cut a
A2t/2x72" workpieceto form thefront and
sidecaps(EE, FF). Then,rout a /+" chamfer
along an edge of the workpiece, where
r| T v| 7+" dadoes
t/e" deep
shown.Miter-cut the capsto lengthto fit on
top of the bands(CC, DD). Now, glue and
clamp the capsin place,keepingtheir back
edgeflush with the bands'back face.
4DCut the front and side crown molding
OIGG. HH) to the lengths listed. (We
used architecturalpine wood molding no.
WM54, availableat home centers.)Then,
gluethemoldingto thebands(CC,DD) and
caps(EE, FF), whereshown.

roP
El sHnxeR @ sroesEcloNDETATL
7sz"shank hole,
countersunk #8x11/q"F.H.
wood screw

ItrEsroesEcloNDETAIL
7-rrr'-11
t/q" chamter r-.\
\;
qiz. -I 3/cu

-\
IO couttrRYToP 7ez"shankhole,countersunk \)
@ 2"
{S
#8 x 11/a'F.H.wood screw
151/e'

61
 Finish up
I Sand any areasthat need it with 220-
I grit sandpaper,and removethe dust. toppanel 3/tu 125/a' 33' BP
sides 113/t' 711/z' CP
I ninistr the bookcaseas you wish. For AA frontedging 23/a' 373/q" C
Er the traditional bookcase,we applied B frontstiles 11/z' 11/r' 711/z' CL 2
BB sideedging 3/^' 23/a' 15"
ZAR Oil-BasedStain no. l14 Provincial C top,fixedshelf,
andbottom 3h' 113/q' 313/q' CP 3
and two coats of AquaZAR Water-Based
D topfrontrail 3h' cs1 toppanel 3/tu 12s/e' 33" BP
Clear Satin Polyurethane, sandingto 320
E fixed-shelf CC frontband 3/"' 341/z' KP 1
grit betweencoats. frontrail 3h' 313/q" CS 1 DD sidebands 13s/e' KP 2
For the Shaker bookcase.we omitted a
F bottomfrontrail 3/qu 3/^' 313/q' CS 1 EE- frontcap
stain and appliedtwo coatsof DEFT Satin 3/qu 21/z' 38'
G topsiderails /i' 10 CS2 FF-sidecaps
LacquerClearWood Finish,sandingto 320 3/"n zv2 151/e" KP 2
grit betweencoats. H middleand GG frontcrown
bottomsiderails Vr' 4', 10' C S 4 molding eAa" z'/4 37'.
For the country bookcase, we first I backstiles Vz' 1Vz' 71t/z' CS 2 HH sidecrown
applied Minwax Pre-Stain Wood molding e/6" 21/q' 145/a' P
J back 1/q'
323/qr 711/z' CP 1
Conditionerto help the knotty pine absorb -Parts
K upper
fillers 3/qu Y4" tt cs2 initially
cutoversize.
Seetheinstructions.
the stain evenly. (We kept the wood wet
L lower
fillers 3h' 34', CS2 tFortraditional andShakerbookcases, widthofpartD
until it stoppedsoakingin the conditioner is3".Forcountrybookcase, widthofpaftD is4tl+
before wiping off the excess.)Then, we M adiustable
^L;.r.,^^
bt ttrtvub 3h' 103/q' 31t/a' CP 3 ttFor traditionalandShakerbookcases, lengthofpartK
applied Minwax Oil-BasedWood Finish, is39%".Forcountrybookcase, lengthofparlK is38t/z'.
N shelf
trim 3/4' 311/a' CS 3
no.218 PuritanPine.After the staindried.
Materials key: CP-choose plywood species,
we finishedwith two coatsof Minwax Fast- CL-choose laminated
solidstockspecies, CS-choose solid
panel
bottom 1Zs/e' plywood,
Drying Polyurethane,sanding to 220 grit stockspecies, BP-birch O-oak,C-cherry,
P- fronttrim 3/qu 341/2' CS 1 KP-knotty pine,P-pine.
Foritems CP,CL,andCS,use
betweencoats. oakforthetraditional
34', bookcase, fortheShaker
cherry
Q- sidetrim
QFinally, installthe sleeves(beveledend
133/a' CS 2 bookcase, andknottypineforthecountry bookcase.
tJin first) for the paddlesupportsin all of R corner blocks 3/qu 41h' 61/qu CS Suppfies: Spray adhesivei#6xs/t",
#8x1t/n",and
the holesin the sides(A). Then, with your #8x11/z"flatheadwoodscrews; #20biscuits.
helper,placethe bookcasewhereyou wish, 10ppanel Blades and bits: Dado-blade set.170q"brad-oointdrill
and install the paddlesuppoftsand shelves T frontedging 3/q' 341/z' 0
bit.Forthecountry bookcase: chamfer routerbit.Forthe
(Mnt.I).Now, stafi filling this lofty library Shaker bookcase: %"round-over routerbit.Forthetradi.
U sideedging 3/^' yi' 13e/a' O t/q"and1/2"
tionafbookcase: chamfer, coverouter bits.
with your favorite books.JF
V bandblank 3h' tv2 7z',
Sources
Writtenby Owen Duvallwith Ghuck Hedlund W capblank 3/4' 72', Hardware. Brass paddle
supports,no.63206.04,
94.50
Projectdesign:Jeff Mertz X- coveblank \/^tl
"/6 vd' 7z', forpackage of20(1package);
brasssleeves,
no.63206.06,
Illustrations:
Roxanne LeMoine $2.60forpackage of20(5packages).CallLeeValley
Y- front
dentilmolding 1/t' s/tu 311/q' 0 800/871-8158,orgotowww.leevalley.com.
Z* side Drill bit. t%q"brad-point no.07J02.19,
drillbit, $5.80.
molding t/+"
dentil %i 10" 0 2 LeeValley-phone andWebaddress aboye.

Gutting Diagrarn Traditional Top

3 / a x 9 1 / qx 9 6 " O a k ( 6 . 7 b d . f t . )
3/qx71/qx96"
, cherry,or knottypine(5.3bd.

3/qx31/z
x 96" Cherry
3/qx71/q
x 96" Oak,cherry,or knottypine(5.3bd. ft.)
.Planeor resaw
to the thicknesses listedin the MaterialsList.
I
3/qx31/z
x 96" Oak, cherry,or knottypine(2.7 bd. ft.)
3 / q x 5 1 / zx 9 6 " K n o t t y p i n e ( 4 b d . f t . )

3/qx 51/zx 96" Oak, cherry,or knottypine (4 bd. ft.) e A a x 2 t / q x 7 2P" i n ec r o w nm o l d i n g

.--, .-.
o----'----'----
(9
3/+x 48 x 96" Oak, cherry,or knotty-pineplywood r/qx 48 x 96" Oak, cherry,or knotty-pineplywood 3/qx48x 48" Birchplywood
62 WOODmagazine March2004
 s

ry
xpect a storrnof complimentswith both faces.Joint one edge,andcut the blank Add the feet and top
T!
greatlittle project.It's so good to a finishedsize of 4x10", where dimen- 3/s"thick, and cut two
F_this I Plane oak stock to
tr-f looklng that no one will realizeyou sionedon the drawing,opposite. Ifeet (B) to 2tAx23/+".Then rout t/1"
made it frorn- scraps that were gatheiing the vertical centerline on the chamfers along their top ends and edges,
llMark
dustin your shopjust yesterday. A body'sfront faceandthe 3%otaperson where shown. Plane oak stock to s/e"thick,
For generalguidelineson usingbarometer its ends.where shown.Mark the ends and and cut the top (c) to 2%xl l7+". Then rout
readings to predict the weather, see the center of the body's bottom arch, bend a t/2" chamfers along its bottom ends and
sidebar,opposite.For handyreference,you fairing stick to connectthe threepoints,and edges. Finish-sand the feet and top.
may want to photocopy the sidebar and draw the curve. Cut the tapers on your assemble the weather station, first
DTo
adhereit to the backof your weatherstation. tablesaw and the arch on your bandsaw. A cut two 2x14" spacers from /+"-thick
Sandthem smooth. scrap stock. Plane one to 7s" thick and the
Startwith the body QWorking from the centerline,mark the other to 3/s"thick. Using the spacersto posi-
I Laminatea blank for the body (A) from lJcenters of the three2l/s"holes.Chucka tion the body (A) for the proper front and
* two 3Ax4t/qxlZ"piecesof oak.Planethe 23/s"Forstnerbit in your drill press,anddrill back overhangs, glue the feet and top in
blankto I3/s"thick,takingequalamountsoff the 1"-deepholes.Finish-sand the body. place, as shown in Photos A and B.

64 WOOD magazine March 2004

 I
r/2" chamter J
5/a"

vrEW
I exeloDED I

Hygrometer
Thermometer
2s/a" hole
1" d e e p
4"
I
II

t/+" chamfers

Written by Jan Svec with Kevin Boyle

Projectdesign: Schlabaughand Sons Woodworking
Illustrations:Mike Mittermeier
2"/o"
---------l
2,/",,
Applv the finish, and Sources
irisldtl the instruments Instruments. thermometer
Kitincludes (1),
(1),hygrometer
andbarometer (1).Order
kitno.200AC-WS-1,
$29.95ppd,
I Inspect the assembly,and resand any kitscost$24.95
Additional each.Schlabaugh 720
& Sons,
I areasthat needit. Apply a stainand clear 14thSt,Kalona,1452247. ororder
Call800/346-9663,
finish. (We appliedZar Dark Mahogany atwww,schsons.com.
online
no. 118stain,andthen sprayedon two coats Forstnerbit.23/s'Forstner
bitno,400901,
$18.95 ppd.
of Zar Aqua Coat satin finish, sandingwith & Sons,seeabove.
Schlabaugh
220-git sandpaperbetweencoats.)
I Wittr the finish dry, set the barometer
Ct accordins to the instructionsincluded Seemorc
with the iniruments, and then press the
instrumentsinto the holes.Now check the gift and decorative
Apply glue to the foot areas of the body (A),
temperature,humidity, and barometric accessory plans at
and lay it on the le"-thick spacer.Clamp the
feet (B) in place, centeringthem side-to-side pressure,and seeifyou canout-guessyour gazine.com/gifts
woodma
and front-to-back on the foot areas. local weatherman.|l

winddirection:with
rinih'ei barometerreadings,you can makesomepretty
goodguessesaboutthe typeof weatherheadedyourway.The NationalWeather
readingsthat
Serviceprovidesthe followingrulesof thumbfor wind-barometer
aregenerallyapplicableto all partsof the UnitedStates:
Wind Direction Barometer Forecast
From S to SE Fallingsteadily Stormapproaching from N or NW, passing
near or to the northwithin12 to 24 hours.*
From E to NE Fallingsteadily Stormapproaching from S or SW, passing
near or to the southwithin12 to 24 hours.*
From E Fal l i ng Foul weather.
FromW R i si ng Clearingand fair.
Apply glue to the top surface of the body *The speedof the storm'sapproachand its intensityis indicatedby the rate and
(A),and lay it on the 7a"-thickspacer.Clamp
the top (C) in place, centeringit side-to-side amountof the fall in the barometricoressure.
and front-to-back on the body.

www. woodmagazine. corn 65

 Spray cans savea lot of time for profes-
sional furniture restorers,and they're fine
for hobbyists,too. A few basiccolors pro-
ducemanyhueswhenusedin combination.
You also have the option of mixing your
own toners.Do this by addingoil-soluble
dye to lacquer;water-solubledye to water-
base; or alcohol-solubledye to shellac.
These,too, can be purchasedthroughcata-
logs or online. The dyes can be liquid or
powder. If you use powder, dissolveand
strain the mixture before adding it to the
finish. Woodworker's Supply carries a
wide rangeof dyes.Call 800/645-9292for
more information.
In a pinch, you might chooseto make a
pigmenttoner by addinga small amountof
artist's oil-available at stores that carry
craft or art supplies-or lacquer-based pig-
ment stain to lacquer;or add water-based
pigment stain to water-base.However, a
pigment toner obscuresthe grain of the
wood if you apply it too heavily. We rec-
ommendstickingwith dye toners.
When you mix a toner, start with a very
small amount of colorant.Test the result.
and add more as needed.
Onceyou find the right color, apply your
homemadetonerby spraying.You can't get
the desiredresultsby brushingor wiping. If
you don't have high-volume,low-pressure
(HVLP) equipment, try the inexpensive
systemshownat the bottomof page 69.It
works well for small applications.
Frustratedby different-colored
boardsofthesamespecies?
lilbnderinghowtoblendsapwood with heartrrcod,or matchanold Take a subtle approach
No matterwhat taskyou tacklewith toners,
*
finish?Sotvingthoseproblemsis easierthanyoumightthinlc the basicusagerulesremainthe same:
t r Light it up. Work in a well-lit areaso you
1

,i
ometimesstain doesn'tgive you the Toneroffers a coupleof importantadvan- get a clear look at the colors.Also take the
resultsyou want. Maybe the project tagesover stains:(l) It's easierto control type of lighting into account.For example,
you just built and finishedisn't quite the color you apply and (2) a toner goeson a given color might look quite different in
the samecolor as the furniturethat it's sup- in a consistentlayer on a sealed surface sunlightthan underfluorescentlights.
x posedto match,or an areaof light sapwood ratherthan soakingunevenlyinto the wood, r Use thin coats.Hold your sprayapplica-
I

standsout, or adjacentboards within the addinganotherdegreeof control. tor 12" to 15" away from the surface,and
projectvary too much in color. Fortunately, apply the toner as a light mist. Be sureto
there's a straightforwardsolution to many Buv it or mix it: move the applicatorquickly and steadily
suchcolor problems:It's calledtoner. Heie's whattsavailable when spraying.
A toner is simply a clear finish with dye We bought lacquer-basedtoner in spray r Take your time. Pauseoften to let the
or pigmentadded.Most often,the finish is cansto preparethe samplesyou seein this tonerdry, and look at the resultfrom sever-
lacquer,but it also can be shellac,water- article. We chose l3-ounce cans from al anglesto judge the result.
base, or varnish. Those componentsare \ \ \ \ \ , \. r t o l , . ! i ' tr l t r h c r ' : . . t t p I i r. , - ' 1 y 1f1o1r $ 4 . 2 5 One caution:A toner that's incompatible
typically combinedin an aerosolcan that apiece. Klingspor's Woodworking Shop with the underlying finish can result in
enablesyou to fine-tune your project's also carries toner in spray cans. Call cracksor crazing.If you have any doubts,
color like a professional. 8001228-0000 to purchasea catalog. apply a barriercoatof shellacbeforetoning.

66 WOOD magazine March 2004

Learn to judge color
The biggestchallengein toning,of course,
is to arrive at the right color. Practicewill
help you develop your eye, but don't
worry: Most woodworking projects stick
close to the basic earth tones. When in
doubt, start with a light color, and gradu-
ally move toward a darker one if needed.
It's easy to darken a finish, but almost
impossibleto lighten it without sandingor
stripping it away and startingover.
Furthermore, it's easy to preview the
effect of a toner before spraying it on your
project. As shown in the photo at right,
sampleslidesare availablethat let you see
how various toners would alter the color.
This allows you to buy exactly what you
needfor a project.However,you can test a
shop-madetoner with nothing more than a
small paneof glass.It's a simple technique
that we'll use as we set out to match an
unfinisheditem to a finishedone.
Somecompanies offeropaquecolorchips,
but thesesee-throughsamplesfrom Wood
Finisher'sSupplygiveyou a truerpreview.
Thecompletedeckof samplesis item
TU100,andcosts$19.95.

Threewaystonercanimproveyour projects

Toners reign supreme when you want to
match pieces,such as these stools. lf you
don't have a stain of the exact color needed,
find one that provides the right base colo6
and then turn to toners.
Test several basic earth tone stains on scrap
that resembles the piece you plan to stain.
Look for yellow or red tones in the stained
piece to guide you. With practice,you'll
learn to pick out the right backgroundcolor.
To test shop-made tone[ spray it on glass,
and then place the glass on the surfaceto
be toned. Note: Here'syour stafting point
when you simply want to adjust the color of
a piece without regardto matching.

flIoner gives you a quick way to tweak the color of a finished

I projectuntil it suitsyou perfectly.Or, when you want to match
a new projectto existingpieces,toning can savethe day.
As you seein the photoaboveleft,we neededto matcha finished
stoolthat's madeof red oak and hasa reddishtone.First, as shown
in the photoabovecenter,we testedsomecornmonoil-basedstains
on red oak scrap.We chosethe one that seemedto best match the
backgroundcolor of our finished stool, and then applied it to the
unfinishedpiece.After the stain dried, we sealedthe surfacewith
shellac sprayed from an aerosol can. This step ensured that the
toner would go on as a separate,transparentlayer rather than being
absorbedinto the stainand wood. This helpskeepthe processsim-
ple and manageable.
Next, we sprayedseveralshadesof toner on glass,laying down a
light mist of one toner per pane.Then, we placedone paneat a time
on the newly stained surface.When we tried the amber sample,
shown in the photo above right, we saw the color we wanted. Of
course,you might needmore than onetonercolor to reachyour goal.
The photo at right showsthe next step.We simply sprayedtoner
on the stool in very light coats until the two pieces of furniture Apply light mist coats of your chosen toneGas shown in the photo
matched,as shown. After toning, spray on a clear topcoat for pro- on page 66. Let each coat dry and check the results from different
tectionagainstwear. angles. Eventually,you'll come up with a perfect match like this one.

wrvrv.woodmagazine. corn 67
 |Blend rlri

Stain often fails to even out the differences between boards of Seal a stained surfacewith a clear finish, and then mask off the
differentcolor, and can even emphasizethem. The same thing areas that don't need colori either with tape or by holding a piece of
happens if you opt for only a clear topcoat. Again, spray samples cardboard where needed. Check your progress frequently by moving
on glass to decide which toner or toners will do the trick. the cardboard or lifting the tape.

you.stainor topcoata project,it's

A lr.tt
4ldisappointing to seesignificantvaria-
tions in color. Sometimes,boards just
don't match,or an areaof sapwoodstands
out like a beacon.Solveeitherproblemby
using toner on light areasto blend them
with darker ones. This process is often
referredto as blending.
We made a small tabletop with cherry
boards,placing a significant area of sap-
wood along onejoint. Thesephotosshow
the problem, and how we solved it. If you
use this methodon cherry, place the wood
in direct sunlightfor a coupleof daysto let
it darken,and then match that color.
Remove the masking material before
you're done toning. Featherthe toner into
the rest of the surface as you make your
final passes,ratherthan building a distinct
ridge of finish. When you're satisfiedwith
the color, stop and let the toner dry. Then,
you might choose to add a light coat of
toner over the entire piece to make the
overall appearanceas unifonn as possible.
In most cases,you'll want to sprayon a
clear topcoat after the toner dries.
Spraying instead of brushing avoids dis-
turbing the toner coat, which becomesa
problem if you apply lacqueron top of lac-
quer toner, or shellac on top of shellac
Two toner
toner. A good topcoat allows you to rub sapwood colors-honey maple followed by medium red mahogany-combined to give the
streak a warm cherry hue in this panel.With the sapwood blended in, we sprayed a
the finish without going through the toner. mist coat of honey maple over the entire tabletop to even out the overall appearance.

68 WOOD magazine March 2004


This raised-panelred oak cabinet door has
an ordinary appearance after a coat of stain.
We decided to shade the beveled edges of
the panel for the illusionof greaterdepth.
As you're learning to shade, it's best to
mask around the area you want to color.
Choose a toner that complementsthe
existing stain, but darkens it noticeably.
Try the flo-it-yourselfapproach
to sprayingtoner
Many home centers and hardware
stores carry a handy, very affordable
product that's well suited to toning.
The Preval spray system, made by the
Precision Valve Corporation, consists
of a pressurized sprayer unit and a
detachableglass jar. We bought the
systemfor under $4 at a home center.
wwwwoodrnagazine.com
llfhen you spray toner onto selected emphasizethe differencebetweenhigh and
YY areasof a project to increasecolor low spots.Thesethreephotosshow how we
variation, it's called shading. Create an emphasizeddepthon a raised-paneldoor. JF
antique look by adding dark color to spots
that normally accumulatedirt and wax, or Written by Jim Pollock with Jim Kull
Shading produced a distinct contrast between the toned and untoned surfaces. The raised
panel now seems to stand out visually much more than it did before.
To useit, simply changefrom onejar
to anotherto spray different toners, and
replacethe spraycanisterwhen it loses
its pressure.Each canister will spray
approximately 16 ounces of liquid.
Make sureto cleanthe unit by spraying
a small amount of the appropriatesol-
vent after eachuse,or it will clog.
 trt
f-'l't'[=f
t*J-J -J -,1
'VJ

Behind the complex maze of intersecting growes that make up

these turned kitchen accessorieslies a very simple idea.
he idea for this turned trivet was sparkedby a tablesawnone givento a Prepare the trivet blanks
friend of mine.Squareand dadoed halfwaythroughits thicknessfrom each To create trivet blanks, plane 6th"-wide
I
- side, it got me thinkinghow I could make somethingsimilaron my lathe. I stock to t,/+"thick. and cut it into 6%"
Playingwith the designon and off for about a year and a half,I startedwith a len-eths.Glue and clarnp together pairs of
squaretrivet dadoedfrom one side and turned from the otherithen tried a square these squares with the grain of one piece
turned from both sides,followedby an oval design.Finally,a roundwoven rattan perpendicular to the grain of the other. (We
trivet belongingto my motherprovidedthe inspirationthat clinchedthe design. combined rnaple with chery and ash with
My method incorporatesa simpleoffsetturningtechniqueand uses only a parting walnut. You also can use a single piece of
tool. The key is an auxiliaryfaceplatethat holds and indexesthe trivet blanks.Once t / 2 "- t h i c k s t o c k o r , i f y o u ' r e f e e l i n - e
you make it, you'll tear throughyour shop scraps makingtrivets by the dozen. adventurous. try t/2"-thrck solid-surface
countertop material, such as Corian.)
make a pattern for accuratelytrim-
Dto
Er ming your trivet blanks to shape,cut a
6t/2" squareof 7+"-thick medium-densi-

70 WOOD magazine March 2004

ty fiberboard (MDF]. frrf*t the center of
the square by drawing its diagonals, and
then usea compassto draw a 6/s"-diameter
circle on the square.Bandsawthe circle to
shape,staying about /s" outsidethe line.
Qnttactr the pattern disc blank to your
tflathe's 3" faceplateusing the diagonal
lines to centerit. Fastenthe disc with panhead
sheet-metalscrewslong enoughto peneffate
Vz" into the disc. Mount the disc on your
lathe, and using your parting tool, tum the
disc to a 6" diameter,as shown in PhotoA.
/ Remove the pattern disc with the face-
rlplate
attachedfrom your lathe. Place it
on your laminated trivet blanks, and trace
6"-diameter circles on them with a pencil.
Bandsawthe blanks just outside the pencil
line. Now chuck a flush-trim bit in your
table-mountedrouter and trim them to fin-
ished size, as shown in Photo B. With all
the trivet blanks trimmed, remove the face-
plate from the patterndisc.
Make an auxitiary faceplate
I From
I6VzxI0"
3/q"MDF, cut a 10x10" backer,a
insert, and two L3/qxIO"
guides. Glue and clamp the two guides to
the backer: drill countersunk screw holes
for #8x1V+" flathead wood screws, where
shownon Drawing1; and screwthe guides
to the backer,as shownin Photo C.
j)Orllt countersunkholes for #8-32x2"
Et brassflathead machine screws,where
shown on Drawing 1. Remove the insert
and waxed paper,and clean up any excess
glue. Now reinstall the insert,and fastenit
to the backer with the machine screws,
washers.and nuts.
Locate the centerson the front and back
facesof the auxiliary faceplateby draw-
With the pattern disc blank mounted on your
3" faceplate, use your parting tool to true
the disc and turn it to a 6" diameter.As you
turn, check the diameterwith calipers.
www.woodrnagazine. corn
E nuxlrARYFAcEPLATE 10"
Diagonalline on
back face for
centeringfaceplate
Vertical
centerline
\ 3/ro"shank holes,
countersunk
3" faceplate
6Y2' )
11/8" #8-32x 2" brass
F.H.machine screw
Tab overhangsthe
'rh.--
edge of the hole by '/"". !
r
# 8 x 1 Y 4F
wood screw
' .H.
7ez"shank hole,countersunk
with a 7sz"pilot hole 1/+" deep
ing their diagonals.Referring to Drawing 1, 9Vz"-diametercircle. Using the drawn diag-
draw a 6"-diametercircle, a9Vz"-diarneter onals to center your lathe's 3" faceplateon
circle (indicatedby the'dashedline), and the auxiliary faceplateback, drill pilot holes
horizontal and vertical centerlines on the and screw it in place. Mount the assembly
front face. (You'll form a recessfor the triv- on your lathe, and use your parting tool to
et blanks inside the 6l' circle, and use the true its edge.
centerlinesto offset the insert and index the f Working outward from the auxiliary
trivet blanks later.) rJfaceplate center, start forming a 7Ao"-
Bandsaw the auxiliary faceplate to deep recesswith your parting tool. As you
'l/ progresstoward the markedcircle, checkits
shape, staying about %" outside the
Secure the trivet blank to the pattern disc With a piece of waxed paper wrapped
with double-faced tape. With a flush-trim bit around the insert for easy removal, apply
in your table-mountedroutei trim the blank glue to the guides, drill screw holes, and
to finished size. screw the guides to the backer.
71
Whenformingthe z/re"-deep recessthat
will holdthe trivet blanks,stop the lathe
periodicallyand checkits depthwith a
combinationsquare.
depth as shown in Photo D. When you get
close to the circle line, start checking the
diameterof the recess,as shownin Photo E.
With the recesscomplete,adherea piece of
120-grit sandpaper,as shown in Photo F.
th" hardboard, cut forfi s/ex3/c"
finrom
lfretaining tabs, and drill countersunk
holes in each,where shown on Drawing 1.
Now start turning trivets
I Vtat<ecopies of the top and bottom ffiv-
I et patterns from the WOOD Patternsa
insert. Adhere the top patterns to the ffivet
blanks with spray adhesive. Then remove
the machine screwsfrom the auxiliary face-
plate and mount a trivet blank, as shown in
Photo G.
DS* your lathe, ffid use your parting
Ertool to cut the top face of the ffivet, as
shown in Photo H. Repeat these turning
stepson all the ffivet blanks.,
Position the trivet blahk pattern side out in
the auxiliary faceplate recess. Fasten it in
place with the four retaining tabs and the
flathead machine screws, washers, and nuts.
72
As you nearthe finisheddiameterof the
recess,checkit with a trivet blank.Increase
its sizein smallincrementsuntilthe blank
fits snugand still allowsfor easyremoval.
QRemove the machinescrewsand retain-
ffing tabs, pop out the trivet blank, and
peel away the pattem. Then reinstall the
blank. To hold the insert in place, reinstall
the machine screws without the retaining
tabs. Finish-sandthe top face of the trivet,
as shown in Photo l. Now finish-sand the
top facesof all your trivets.
again, remove the machine
'f/lOnce
screws.Using the vertical centerlinefor
reference,offset the insert lVz" to the right,
where shown on Drawing2. Using the holes
in the insert as guides, drill new %0" holes
through the backer. Now trace the curved
edgeof the backeron the back of the insert.
Removethe insert, and carefully bandsawit
on the tracedline.
felace the insert in its new position, and
9fasten it with the retaining tabs,machine
screws,washers,and nuts. Clamp the cutoff
in the void createdby offsetting the insert,
Gut into the blank, removing the pattern's
shaded portions to a depth equal to half the
trivet thickness. Stop just as you reach the
different wood species of the bottom layer.
To keep the trivet blank from rbtating in the
recess during the turning operations, cut a
piece of 12O-gritsandpaper to size, spray it
with adhesive, and stick it in the recess.
where shown on Drawing 2. Drill counter-
sunk screw holes and drive the screws.
ftRdtrere the bottom paffernsto the trivet
tlfblanks with sprayadhesive.Then mount
a blank in the auxiliary faceplaterecess,and
align one of the pattern index lines with the
faceplate horizontal centerline. Secure the
blank with the retainingtabs.
your lathe, ffid use your parting
75*
I tool to cut the first set of concentric
grooves,as shown in Photo J.
llWittr the first setof groovescut, move on
lJto the secondset, as shown in Photo K,
and turn thesegrooves,as shown in
Photo L. In the same manner, turn the
last set of grooves. Repeat these turning
stepson all the trivet blanks.
(lRemove the machinescrews,retaining
r/tabs. and the insert cutoff. Center the
insert and secure it with the machine
screws. Place the cutoff in its original
Holding the trivet in the auxiliary faceplate
recess by pressing a piece of sandpaper
against the trivet with your hand, switch on
the lathe and finish-sand its top face.
WOOD magazine March 2004
 't

11/2' TNSERT
fl orrserrNcTHE
Vertical
centerline @ Removethe machinescrewsand
offsetthe insert1t2".
@ Oritta /10"holethroughthe backer.
Horizontal @- tvtovethe cutoffto the void created
centerline bv offsettinothe insert.Drillscrews
i-%,1 holJs and drive the screws.
o
@ tuarr.and
bandsaw
' tnetnsen,
t X
5
1"
c

@ c
Securethe
insertwith F.H. \ ii

machinescrews.
retaining
tabs, nuts, 7sz"shankhole,
and washers. countersunk.centered
#8x11/+'F.H.
wood screw
) ing bowls,boxes,pens,and trivets
{ that he sel l sthroughga ller ies.He
position, drill pilot holes in the backer, Chuck a %" round-over bit in your
and screwthe cutoff in place.Removethe table-mountedrouter, and rout the top
bottom patternsfrom the trivets and finish- and bottom outside edges of the trivet.
sandthe bottom faces as you did the tops. Finish-sandthe round-overs.
(Th e ins er t and it s c u to ff a re n o w i n QAppty three coats of penetrating-oil
position for a new batchof trivets.) 9finish, following the directionson the
container. Let the finish dry for several
finishing up days. Now take a few trivets into the
I Use a hobby knife to trim away any kitchen and start cooking. i
I flakesof wood left in the voids formed
by the intersectinggrooves.
Reuben Etrerett
Retiredafter33 years as a heating,
air conditioning, and refrigeration
servicetechnician,Reubennow
pursueshis love of turningby mak-
al so does archi tectural t ur ning,
producingbalusters,newels,and
columnbases.Reubentaughtturn-
ing at the HermitageFoundation
Museumi n N orfol k,V i r ginia,and
servedas presidentof Tidewater
Turnersof Virginia.He was a
demonstrator at the 2002 and 2003
symposiumsof the American
Associationof Woodturners.
Written by Jan Svec with Jeff Mertz
Projectdesign: Reuben Everett,Mrginia Beach, Va.
lllustrations:Roxanne LeMoine

Cut into the blank, removingthe pattern's Loosen the retaining tabs. Rotate the trivet With the trivet blank rotated to center the
shaded portions.To avoid catching the tool blank 120", aligningthe pattern'snext index se6ond set of concentric grooves, once
in the grooves cut from the other side, use a line with the auxiliaryfaceplatehorizontal again use your parting tool to remove the
very light touch as you near the final depth. centerline.Tightenthe tabs. pattern's shaded portions.

www.woodrnagazine. com 73
A, G }

t{
f
__J
 hen it comes to crosscutting
wood for projects,nothing beats
a 10" sliding mitersaw, which
can cut monster-size workpieces up to
about 12" wide and 3Vz" thick. Sure, you
can usea tablesaw,but for long workpieces,
it's easier to move the saw through the
wood than vice versa.And althoughradial-
arm sawscut even wider than a slider, they
have issuesof their own, as you can see
from the boxed information, below.
S-ixqpaJitiesthat separate
the Sliding saws
I Power and srnooth cuts. We cross-
I cut 2"-thick hard maple with all of the
saws using their factory-suppliedblades,
and found that all had more than enough
power for the task. After examining the
freshly cut workpiecesand noting any scor-
ing or burning, we put identical new Freud
sliding-mitersaw blades on each saw to
level the playing field, repeatedthe cuts,
and againnotedthe cut quality.
Regardlessof the blade, all of the saws
left bum-free and acceptablysmooth cuts,
but the surfacesleft by the Bosch Ml0,
Hitachi CIOFSH,and Makita LS1013 felt
the smoothest.Only the Porter-Cable3807
showed any improvement when we
switched to the Freud, demonstratingthat
manufacturersnow equip their saws with
good quality blades,not "throwaways."
j)Aceutate stops. Four of the saws-
Athe Bosch 3915, Delta 36-240, Makita,
and Porter-Cableanived with their scalesand
stopsdead-onaccurate.We adjustedthe oth-
ersto perfection,then repeatedlyslammedall
of the saws, hard, through their fulI miter
range to bry to knock them out of alignment.
The Bosch 3915, Hitachi, and Porter-Cable
held their accuracy;the restendedtp rA"-r/2"
out of alignmentat the 45" miter.
Miter stop detents should snap reliably
into place every time. Ball detents on the
Delta and Milwaukee 6497-6 are too soft
for our liking, making it easy to blow past
the stops. Makita's stops snapped into
place, but fit sloppy enough that we could
lock the angle as much as Vzooff from the
stop's statedangle. Both factors likely also
contributedto thesethree saws' inaccuracy
after the "slam" test.
The bevel- and miter-locking systemson
thesesevenslidersproved,easyenoughto
use and lock securely.Bosch engineersput
the 4410's bevel lock right up front (see
photo on the nextpage), so you don't have
to fumble aroundbehind the saw for a wing
knob or lever when tiltine the head. The

How slidinq mitersaws

cornpare to-other
cros3cutting machines
A 10" slidingcompoundmitersaw(SCMS)
representsthe best combinationof accura-
cy, capacity,safety,and pricefor the home
woodworker.The charl belowshowshow
five sizesand stylesof crosscuttingsaws
comparein key areas.
What we can't show in a chaft, however,
is how a slidingmitersawis saferthan a
radial-armsaw (RAS).With an RAS,you
pullthe motorand bladein the samedirec-
tion as the rotationof the blade (near right
photo),whichcan causethe bladeto lurch blade,then push it throughthe workpiece. you can'tmakepartial-depth cuts.All slid-
fonryardunexpectedlyunlessyou carefully Althoughthis bottom-upcuttingaction ers have a depth-of-cutadjustmentfor just
controlthefeed rate. wantsto lift the workpieceoff the table,a that purpose.Tenoningbed rails,and pro-
On an SCMS,you startwith the blade properlyused hold-downpreventsthat. ducinghalf-lapjointsin outdoorstructures
aboveand on the outsideedge of the You can'tuse a dadoset on a sliding are two examplesof how you might use
workpiece(far rightphoto),plungethe compoundmitersaw,but that doesn'tmean thisfeaturein a woodworking shop.
The accuracy
gradeson the chart
are basedon our

h*l
experiencewith the
varioustools over
WORKPIECE
CAPACITIES* the years.The more
(RANGErN TNCHES) movingpafts a tool
34567 10 1't 12 13
'14
15 16 has,the more
opportunityfor error
and misalignment.
Compoundmiter-
saws tilt and rotate
only;SCMSstilt,
rotate,and slide;
RASstilt, rotate,
slide,and the head
pivotson its carriage
to turn it intoa rip-
pingmachine.

I width I rhickness I Exceltent @ eooo ffi rair

*Ranges
resultfromdifferences
in capacity
frommodeltomodel, 75

You can lock the bevel angle, overridethe
O'-bevelstop to bevel to the right, and
fine-tunethe miter angle with convenienily
located controls on the Bosch 4410.
4410, like the Hitachi and Makita models,
bevels both left and right, making some oper-
ations, such as cutting crown molding that's
lying f1at,more intuitive. But we wouldn't list
dual-beveling as a make-or-break feature
unlessyou know you'll use it a lot.
QEasy-to-read scales. We prefer
tJ scaleswith fine lines and widely spaced
graduations that make it easy to accurately
set angles to a fraction of a degree. Delta's
miter scale has both attributes.but the cur-
sor is located behind the fence on the left
side of the saw, as shown below, so it's hard
to read unless you're looking straight down
on it. Miter scales on the Hitachi and
Porter-Cable read easiest. As for bevel
scales, we liked the Milwaukee 649'l-6,s
best, owing to its widely-spaced markings
and its location-up high, not tucked in low
at the back of the saw.
Effortless and precise cutting
2fr
-E
astign. Here. we considered:
t Plunge-and-slide action. It's smooth on
most saws, but the Delta and Porter-Cable
saws didn't slide as easily as the others; the
Besides clear markings, what makes a.good miteror_bevel scale? Location, location, location.
miier scale (left) accurately. Milwaukee's bevel scate (center)_readseasily from the normal
the rear of the saw (right),has stepped markings,some of which disapplar behind the poinier.
76
Makita and Milwaukee
saws plunged effortlessly
and glided through rhe cur.
. Head deflection We
tested the rigidity of the
steel bar or bars on which
the head slides by pulling
the saw's cutting head all
the way out to its full
extension, and then apply-
ing 20 lbs. of sideways
pressure.Using a dial indi-
cator, we measured how
much the arbor moved. The
photos at right explain
what happened.
a Handles. We've never
been fans of pistol-grip or
vertical-D handles that put
your wrist at an awkward
angle at the start of each
cut. We find the horizontal-
D handles on the Delta and
Porter-Cable models much
more comfortable. If you
can't make up your mind,
the handle of the Bosch Delta, Makita (shown at top), and poder-Cableall use a slide-
4410 rotates and can be under design, and their heads deflected an averageof .023,,
at full extension.By comparison,over-the-tableslides,such
locked into any of four as those on the Hitachi (shownabove) averaged.0S0"
positions. deflection-more than twice that of slide-undersaws.
. Power-up. Safety switch-
es must be depressed on fbur saws before the largest and smallest capacities,fiom the
the motor will starl; the Delta, Milwaukee, Bosch 4410's max of 123A"at 0o to porter-
and Porter-Cable saws lack this device. Of C a b l e ' s I l t h . ".
those with safety switches, all can be oper- AII of the saws can miter-cut angles larg-
ated either left- or right-handed, but er than 45' in at least one direction (most
Hitachi's switch felt uncomfortable to oper- can overcut both ways), and that's handy,
ate left-handed. for example, when cutting molding for an
ffi Ability to cut wide and deep. out-of-square corner. The Full Swing chart,
a#Let's face it: You buy a slider for the above.far right, shows the maximum miter
extra capacity it provides over a regular angles each saw can cut. Angles above 50"
compound mitersaw. As you can see from were designed for homebuilders, who need
The Long and Short Of It chart, above the extra capacity for cutting rafters for
right, we found lt/t" ditference between steep-pitchedroofs.
we had to lean way over the Delta to rcad its
operating position. rh"'gos"n ssr s,s bevel scale at
WOOD magazine March 2004
 A A supportive fence. The ability to
[f bevel and miter simultaneouslyallows
the complex compound cuts required for
cutting crown molding flat on the table.
However, we find it more intuitive to cut
crown in the position it will be in when fas-
tenedto the wall: angledbetweenthe fence
and the saw table. (Learn more about cut-
ting and installing crown molding in
WOODamagazine issue 135, page 50.)
The fences on the Delta and Porter-Cable
mitersaws aren't tall enough to support
molding for such a cut without adding tall
wooden auxiliary fence faces.
Fence support near the blade is essential
when cutting thin stock on edge, but that
need must be balancedwith the ability of
the bladeto tilt for bevel cutting. The Bosch
4410, Hitachi, Makita, and Milwaukee all
employ movable left fences that stay in
closefor 0"-bevel cuts,then flip or slide out
of the way to accommodatethe tilting head.

THE FULLSWING
Maximummiterangleleftandright

Noru,a look at the ssuensliders in our test

Highpoints Low points
f fnis sawarrived perfectly andheldits
aligned ? Thepointers
ofthemiterandbevel hide
scales
cuttingaccuracy evenwhenwepurposely tried someofthemarkings, whichgofromshortto
to knockit outof alignment. page.)
longevery5". (Seephotoonlheprevious
rangeis
i At52' leftand62"right,itsmitering I Pistol-grip
handle as
isn'tascomfortable
thebroadest inthetest. stylehandle.
horizontal-D
l 31.6"miterstopand33.9"bevel stopfor
cuttingcrownmolding.
t Thelowest-priced sawinthetest.

Highpoints i stopmakes
depth-of-cut
Quick-release
cutquality
I Excellent evenwhenusingfactory- changing fast.
depth
cutting
suppliedblade. Low points
l Widestcrosscutting inthetest:123/r".
capacity ? Thepointer ofthemiterscalehidessomeof
i Miteranglescanbefine-tuned thanks
easily to themarkings.
microadjustment
thebuilt-in system. I Knocking thesawaround changed themiter
i Bevellockis located upfront,eliminatingthe accuracy byabout%".
needto reachbehind thesaw;wide,clear ? lt'stheloudest sawinthetest,themost
markings makethescaleeasyto read. expensive, andtheheaviestby10lbs.
i 31.6"miterand33.9'bevel stopsforcutting I Thefence-adjustment boltsareseated deepin
crownmolding flatonthetable. counterbores thatmakeaccess and
difficult
I Fence andtableextend to 37"-the longest in provide littleroomforadjustment.
thetest-without theneedfortools.
i Handle rotatesto anyoffourpositions to suit Morepoints
operatorpreference orangle of bevelcut. ) Dual-bevel sawtiltsbothleftandright.

www.woodmagazine.com 77
 Highpoints
I Sawwasperfectly alignedoutofthebox. I When usedontherightsideofthesaw,thestock
I Head deflection
atfullextension isamong hold-down interferes
withthetablerotation
and
thelowestinthetest. limitsmiteringcapacityto 38o.
t Themiterscale, located behindtheleftfence,
is
Lowpoints hardto readunless youlookstraightdownonit.
? Softdetentsandsomewhat stifftablerotation ? ftslowfenceistooshortforcutting crown
makeit hardto hitmiterstopsrepeatably, molding in "installation"
orientation
withoutuseof
I TiedwithPorter-Cable3807forthesmallest anauxiliary subfence.
crosscut
capacityintest,al11Y2" . {} A steelwebinthedustportcaused theportto
clogwithsawdust during normaluse.

Highpoints Low points

I Excellent cutqualityevenwhenusingfactory- I Slotted
mounting holesallowthefenceto be
supplied blade. foralignment,
shifted buttheslotsinoursaw
I Thissawhelditscutting accuracy evenwhen weren'tlongenough,sowehadto reamthemto
wepurposely triedto knockit outofalignment. getenough adjustment.
I Miterandbevel scales areeasyto read. I Pistol-grip
handleisn'tascomfortable
as
I Laser lineshows whereleftedgeofsawblade horizontal-D
handle,
andsafety switchis
w i l l c u t. uncomfortable
to operateleft-handed.
i Two-position leftfenceprovides up-close I Noon-board storage
fortheblade-changing
support for0" bevelcuts,thenflipsoutofthe wrench.
wayforbevel-cuts.
I Has31.6"miterstopand34' bevel stopfor Morepoints
cutting crownmolding. ) Dual-bevel
sawtiltsbothleftandright.

1.ffi
PERFORMANCE

ilfs llr
| /!

/!t
H\

l-{g" / r .
lr=-qt /^t /r- tw
f' /--/
lco IE
'i-.*l pff lf /s' l6 l6
=a
t<, /
lFlr
,*q
q-/q>

F9*ffF/
$,$,6$ Ys"lFl,,
[8S/
a'9/

3 7 A aI l l V t e
l/g"sl
i 6qfA ffi
lislb%T
31.6L,31.6R,
60R
31.6L,31.6R,
60R
d-rt6
OSQ I So'/l

3 1 . 6 13. 1 . 6 R
31.6L,31.6R
1S1013 31/zI 21/ta 3 1 . 6 13. 1 . 6 R

SsAal2t/q 3 1 . 6 L3, 1 . 6 R

T Excellent I Average 4. (c) Stockclamp 5. (J) Japan

tr Good E Belowaverage (cM) Crown-molding
fence
(H) Horizontalstock clamp
(r) Taiwan
(u) UnitedStates
(t) Throatinsertplates
UsingnewFreud1U91R0101
bladeson allsaws. (R) Right-fenceextension
(s) Lengthstop 6. Pricescurrentat timeof article's
production
anddo notincludeshipping,
Measured position.
at operator's (r) 90'/45"setuptriangle whereapplicable.
(x) Tableextensions

WOOD magazine March 2004

 I

Highpoints Lowpoints
cutquality
I Excellent evenwhenusing factory- ? Miterstopsaresloppy andallowed usto lockina
suppliedblade. miterangleasmuchas%"fromthestopangle.
I Smooth plunge-and-slide andlittlehead
action, I eistol-grip
handle isn'tascomfortable as
atfullextension.
deflection handle.
horizontal-D
I Depth-of-cutstopflipsoutofthewayfor Morepoints
cutsandcanbeflipped
full-depth backto ontherightsideofthe
) Miterscaleis located
repeata partial-depth
cut. instead
turntable of upfront.lt'seasyto read,
leftfenceprovides
I Two-position up-close covered whena workpiece is
butcompletely
supportfor0" bevelcuts,thenrotatesoutofthe onthesaw.
wayforbevel-cuts. sawtiltsbothleftandright.
) Dual-bevel
l Up{rontslidelockis easyto access.
thequietest
I Noticeably sawinthetest,

Highpoints Lowpoints
I Smooth plunge-and-slideaction. I Miteraccuracywasotfby1/+oafterweknocked
t Thebestofthebevelscales, thesawaround.
locatedontopof thesawin easy ? Head washighatfullextension,
deflection
viewof theoperator, andwith I Pistol-grip
handleisn'tascomfortable
as
widelyspaced markings. handle.
horizontal-D
I Two-positionleftfenceprovides Morepoints
up-close workpiece For
support. ) Spring-loadedbevelstopscanbebypassed by
bevelcuts,youremove thetop simply pushingtheheadharder,buttheywant
podionofthefencewitha quick- to springbackwhenyouloosen thelockto
releaselever,flipthefencetop, tweakanangle.
thenremount it.

Highpoints
I Wasperfectly alignedoutoftheboxand
(1)
GRADES | | (4)
lnccessoRlEs helditscuttingaccuracyevenwhenwe
purposelytriedto knockit outof
alignment.
I Head deflectionatfullextension is
among thelowest inthetest.
Low points
I TiedwiththeDelta36-240 forthe
smallestcrosscut capacityintest
a|111/2".
I Lowfenceistooshortforcutting
crown molding in"installation"
without
orientation useofan
B B B 144 94 c I,S,X 1 T 55 $sgo auxiliary
subfence.
B B 106 01 C , S , X cM,l 1 T 65 560 ? A steelwebinthedustportcaused
theportto clogwithsawdust during
1 0 198 c 2 T 52 420 Written by Dave Campbellwith Garry Smith normal use.
B- B 102 77 c S,X 5 J 49 500
B 97 77 C , T , X CM, H, R 1 U 47 500
B 1 0 157 C , S , X 5 T 55 450 Both the Bosch Mtj andthe Hitachi ClOFSH did well in our tests,but
104 08 c 1 T 53 450 for different reasons.The nicely equippedMI} offersthe widest cutting
capacity and a raft of featuresnot found on any other saw in the test, such
as extendabletablesand fences,microadjustmentfor miter angles,and the
up-front bevel lock. We were able to knock the 4410out of alignment,but
in a woodworking shopwhere it's not being thrown into the back of a
truck and hauledfrom job site to job site, we're lessconcerned.We
"''':l:-l"=:i=:-'--'{ christenedit the Top Tool for this test.
The Hitachi C1OFSHlacks the bells and whistlesof the Ml\, but addsa
I woodmagazine.com/ScMs laserfor lining up your cuts.And, it sellsfor $60 lessthan the Bosch, so
it's our Top Value.*

www.woodrnagazine. com 79
 ffig#ffif
you'vebeenanxiously
ffi
awaiting
thematching
chair
ffi
ffito the oakdiningtable
featuredin the November 2003
issue,relax-it's here.And,
speaking of relaxing,you'llsavor
the comfortof thisbeauty'shigh,
curvedbackandcushioned seat
at mealtime. Whetheryou planto
buildtwo chairsor a completeset
of six,you'llalsoappreciate the
straightfonruard
constructionand
oursimplemoney-saving method
for upholsteringthe seats.

For the board feet of lumber and other

items neededto build this project,see
page 85.

Hungry for more dining room furniture? Then

you'll want to start whetting your appetite
for the May 2004 issue,where you'll find the
plan for this sideboard. lt matches the style
of the oak chair and dining table.

WOOD magazine March 2004

 E ucs
LEFT FRONTLEG LEFT BACK LEG
1/+x 21/2"mortise
tslo" dgep
1Ax 21/2"mortises t/s"chamfer
tglro"dgep

21/z' l+ x 2lz" mortise

tsl0" deep

171A',

161/z' Vqx 1" mortise

tslo" deep

t/e" chamfer

---=i t '1t/"'
F- ---l .' 1F-/e"
y2"
chamfer
1/cx 21/2"mortise
Insideface Rear face Front face 1 3 1 6d" e e p ,
angled at 6'

1/+x 1" mortise

tsl0"dggp

Chuck a tZ" Forstner bit in your drill press. Using chisels held perpendicularto the leg's
Using the drill-pressfence to,positionthe surfaces, square the mortises' ends and
legs, drill the mortises. clean up their sides. lnsideface

Start
'ii
with the legs
Plane lzA"-thick stock to lVz" thick for
,,.t,,the front legs (A) and back legs (B).
Lay out the legs on the workpiece, where
dimensionedon Drawing 1, nesting them
where shown on the Cutting Diagram to
reducewaste.
',"r,.Cut the workpiece to form separate
'.r-,,,,
front and back leg blanks. Trim the
front legs to the size listed in the Materials
List. Then, bandsawand sandthe back legs
to the layout lines. Crosscutthe back legs'
top endsperpendicularto their front faces.
t i .Lut out the mortises on the front and
,,.4backlegs, where dimensioned,making
sure you have mirrored pairs of legs. Drill
the mortises, as shown in Photo A, and
squarethem as shown in Photo B.
i.:r,Sand Va" charrferson the tops and bot-
'',iitoms
of the back legs (B) and on the
bottomsof the front legs (A), where shown.
Make the railg, s_tretchers,
backrests,
'fj
and slats
From zA"-thick stock, cut the front seat
.#,,rail (C), front and back stretchers(D),
sideseatrails (E), and sidestretchers(F) to
the sizeslisted. From lt/q"-thick stock,cut V4'
turo3xl6Vz" blanksfor the bottom and top
backrests(G, H). Set asidescrappiecesof
the samethicknessand width as the parts
for testing your tenon cuts.
.l''TJ
Using a dado blade and miter gauge
.,,.,,,,withan auxiliary fence, cut sample
tenonson the t/c"-thickscrapto the dimen-
sions on Drawing2 for front seatrail (C),
front and back stretchers(D), side seat
rails (E), and side stretchers(F). Now, test
the fit in the legs' mortises.Then cut the
tenonson the actualparts.
+ * Lly out the curves on the bottom
q*+edges of the front seat rail (C) and
side seat rails (E), where dimensioned

www.woodrnagazine. com 81
 161/2"

p exeloDED
vtEW
t/e" chamfer

l/q x 21/2"moftise
rslo" dgep

15Y4'

g=a7o"
J

t/e"rouhd-overs
R=3/q"

#8 x 11/qF
' .H.
wood screw

ta
1/cx 21/2"mortise
rsl0"deep
/gz"shank hole,countersunkon bottom
edge with a 7ez"pilot hole /q" deep in part

/ ...., 7o+"pilothole
r/z"deep
/
#8x2rh" F.H.woodscrew- v-

#8 x 1" F.H.woodscrew
1/qx 1" mortise
1/qx21/2"mortise 1316"degp

chamfer
1/+x1" mortise
1316"deep 11/z'

.,,' Raisethe dado blade to 3/8",and make

t/e" chamfer
on Drawing 3. Bandsaw and sand to
the lines.
.:'r Without changing your tablesaw
setup, cut the rA" tenen shoulders
on the backrest blanks (G, H), where
\/
1t/2"1
shown on the backrestfull-size front-view
half pattern on the WOOD Patternsainsert.
Also, to give you two testtenons,make the
same should cuts on both ends of vour
lz/+"-thickscrap.
: ,' 1|1sftst cheekcuts on the front facesof
the backrest blanks and the lz/+"-thick
scrap, where shown on the backrest full-
sizeedge-viewhalf pattern.
'
: Raisethe dado blade to lVs", and cut a
,.,':second tenoncheekin the back face of
your scrap.Test the scraptenon'sfit in the
leg mortises, and make any necessary
adjustments.Then, cut the second tenon
cheeksin the backrestblanks.
'
. Make four copiesof the backrest edge-
,,'. view half pattern and two copies of the
front-view pattern. Spray-adherethe edge-
view patternsto the top edge of the bottom
backrestblank (G) and to the bottom edge
of the top backrestblank (H), joining the
halveswhereindicated.Bandsawthe back-
restsjust outside the pattern lines, saving
the cutoffs.Then,using a 3"-diameterdrum

82 WOOD magazine March 2004


Adhere half of a backrest's outside cutoff to
your drill-press fence with double-faced
tape. Using the cutoff as a guide, drill the
mortises in the backrests.
Check for equal diagonal measurements
between the legs' inside corners to ensure
square. Make sure the front legs are parallel
to the back legs.
sander or a random-orbit sander, sand
smooth to the pattem lines.
ffifo provide a guide for positioningthe
Wgurv.6 backrests when drilling their
mortisesfor the slats (I), cross-cutone of
the backrests'outsidecutoffs in half. Then,
attachone of the halvesto your drill-press
fence, as shown in Photo G. Using a Vq"
Forstnerbit. drill the mortisesin the back-
rests,where shown on the patternsand as
shown in Photo G. Note that the mortises
are 3/q"wide in the bottom backrest and
lVz" wtde in the top backrest.Cleanup the
sides of the mortises and square the ends
with a chisel.
ffifo cut the curve along the top edge of
#the top backrest(H), attach the cutoffs
to the backrest with double-faced tape.
Spray-adherethe backrest front-view pat-
terns to the backrest'sface. Then. cut the
www.woodrnagazine. com
Withthe top backrest(H)sandwiched
betweenits cutoffs,bandsawthe curveon
the backrest'stop, stayingjust outsidethe
patternline.
curve. as shown in Photo D. Remove the
cutoffs, and sandthe edgesmooth.Remove
the patternsfrom the mortised edge of the
top and bottom backrests.
*#
#ftetune stock to Vz"thick for the slats
'S, 'i'"f (I). Cut the slats,plus an extra piece
to testthe tenoncuts,to the sizelisted.With
a dado blade in your tablesaw, cut a V+"
tenon shoulder on the top end of the slats
and your scrap,and a 7a" tenon shoulderon
the bottom end of the slatsand scrap,where
shown on Drawing 2. (The s/s" shoulder
becomesa /+" shoulder after the slats are
cut to shape.)Lower the dado blade to Vs".
Then, cut the tenon cheekson both ends of
your scrap.Test the tenons' fit in the top
and bottom backrest mortises. Make any
necessaryadjustments,and cut the tenon
cheekson both ends of the slats.
'5 H Make five copiesof the full-size slat
S' .'i. end pattern on the insert. Spray-
adherethe patternsto the top (wide-tenon)
end of the slats (I), aligning the patterns
with the tenons' shoulders.Extend straight
lines from the patternlines to the slats' bot-
toms. Then, bandsawjust outsidethe lines,
and sandto the lines. Removethe patterns.
BRAcE
4 conruER
s/sz"
shank hole,
countersunkon bottomedge
Miteredend
e/e"counterbore
Ta"deep drilled
at 45", with a
7sz"shank hole,
centeredinside
41/+"
'l
Glue and clamp the back stretcher (D) and
backrest assembly (G/H/l) between the back
legs (B). Lay this assembly on a flat surface
until the glue dries.
Assemblethe chair
$ Glue and clamp the front seat rail (C)
.S"and front stretcher (D) between the
front legs (A), and the slats (I) between
the bottom and top backrests(G, H).Make
certain both of theseassembliesare square
and flat.
aS Glue and clamp the back stretcher(D)
#"+and backrestassembly(G/H/I) between
the back legs (B), as shownin Photo E, and
check for square.
ffi loin the front assembly(A/C/D) and the
*sffibackassembly(BIDIGfilD by gluing
and clamping the side seatrails (E) and side
stretchers (F) in place, where shown on
Drawing3. Measurethe diagonalsto check
for square,as shown in Photo F. Rest the
assemblyon a flat surfaceto dry.
,r$ Cut the back seat rail (J) to size to fit
'.S.
betweenthe side seatrails (E). Position
the rail between the side seat rails with
their top edgesflush. Then, drill the mount-
ing holes into the back legs (B), and drive
the screws.
fl"ffCut the corner braces (K) to the size
-+,*Slisted. Miter the ends,where shown on
Drawing 4. With the faces of the miters
ZdropsEcloN
VIEWDETAIL
7sz"shank hole
83
 ..l

Seat cushions made easy

There'sno need to take a back seat and leave upholstering
of seat cushionsto a pro. In just six simplesteps,and using
materialsreadi[ availableat localfabricstores,you can
quicklymake comfortable,attractivecushions,and enjoy
cost-savingsto boot.
Usingthis prolect'sdiningchairas an example,purchase
a 2x24x24"pieceof medium-densityupholsteryfoam, and
enoughhigh-loftpolyesterquilt battingand coverfabricof
your choiceto cut a 21x21"pieceof each. (We used a rust-
colored,cloth-backed vinylfor our fabric.)
Next,from t/2"plywood,cut a 16-3lex17" piecefor the seat
(L). Usinga thin,flexiblefairingstrip,lay out the curveon
the back of the seat to fit the curvedbottombackrest(G),
where dimensionedon Drawing3. Then, bandsawand
sand the seat to the markedline.To keepthe upholstery
materialfrom wearingon sharp edges, cutsh" radiion the
seat'scorners,and rout /a" round-oversalong its top and
bottomedges.Sand the seat'sedgessmooth.Now, to
compfetethe cushion,shownat right,justfolloq the six
steps below.

Adherethe oversizepieceof foamto the seat
with sprayadhesive.Guidedby the seat's
edges,trim the excessfoamwith an electric
carvingknifeor serratedbreadknife. Be
sureto keepthe bladecuttingvertically.
Forthe cushionto haverbundededges, Usingthe electricknifeor serratedbread
removethe foam'ssquaretop edges.To do knife,cut alongthe markedlines.Keepthe
this,first markcutlines4" in and 1" down knife'sbladesimultaneously alignedwith
from the foam'stop edgeswith a medium- the linesmarkedon both the top and sideto
point,felt-tippedmarkerand a straightedge. form bevelson the foam'stop edges.

ti
I
; held flat on a piece of scrap on your drill-
press table, drill counterboredholes with
shank holes centeredinside, where shown
on Drawings4 and 4a. Then, turn the parts
on edge,hold them with a clamp, and drill
the countersunkshankhole centeredon the
parts' length and thickness.
ftPosition the corner braces %" below
tlJthe top of the seatrails (C, E, J). Using
the angled shank holes in the braces as
guides, drill pilot holes in the rails, and
drive the screws.
On to the finish
I Sand all the surfacesto 220 grit, and
& ease the unchamfered edges with a
sandingblock. Remove the sandingdust.
Apply a stain if you wish. (We used
ZAR Oil-Based Stain. no. 110 Salem
Maple.) Then, apply two coats of a clear Fasten the seat to the braces with screws.
finish. (We sprayed on AquaZAR Water- whereshownon Drawing3.t
BasedClear Satin Polyurethane,sandingto
320 grit betweencoats.) Written by Owen Duvall
Project design: Kevin Boyle
lllustrations:Roxanne LeMoine
Fashion a seat and cushion
T To make the seat (L) and your own
t cushion. follow the instructionsin the
sidebar "Seat cushions made easy,"
above.If you do not wish to upholsterthe
plywood seat yourself, take the chair,
seat, and a copy of the sidebar to an Seemore
upholstery shop. Mission furniture
#l With the seat and cushion complete, plans at
fu place it on the chair, tight againstthe
back legs (B) and centeredside to side on gazine.com/mission
woodma
the side seat rails (E). Using the counter-
sunk shank holes in the corner braces (K)
as guides,drill pilot holesinto the seat(L).

84 WOOD magazine March 2004

 SEATCUSHION
Cloth-backedvinylcover,21 x21"

High-loftpolyesterquilt batting,21 x21"

R=3/a"'

t/a"round-overs

t/z"plywood

Pface a 21x21" piece of quift batting on your
workbench. Center the seaVfoam on the bat-
ting. Now, pull the batting up over the foam,
and fasten it to the seat with 7a" staples.
Trim the excess batting at the corners.
Genter the cushion on the back side of the
21x21" cover. Secure the cover to the seat
at the middle of each side with one 3/a"staple.
Working from centers to corners, pull the
cover onto the seat, and finish stapling it.
Pinch the fabric together in the corners, and
trim the excess about 3/q"above the seat.
Keeping the remainingfabric taut, fold it,
smooth out any wrinkles, and staple it (inset
photo). Again, trim away any excess fabric.

Materials List
13/tx51/zx 96" Oak (7.3 bd. ft.) .Plane or resawto the thicknesseslistedin the MaterialsList.
frontlegs 161/2' 0
B backlegs 1Vz' +f4 405/a' 0
C frontseatrail 16V2' 0
D frontandback 3 / c x 7 1 / tx 9 6 " O a k ( 5 . 3 b d . f t . )
stretchers Vq' 11/z' 16Vz' 0
E sideseatrails Vcu 16' ffi-----.--:.-::
F sidestretchers Vq' 11/z' 16' x 48" Oak (2.3bd.ft.)
13/cx31/z
backrest11/z'
G- bottom 161/z' 0
Materials plywood.
key:O-oak,BP-birch
H- topbackrest 11/z' 161/2' 0
Supplies:#8x1"flatheadwoodscrews ('16);#8x1%"flat
I slats 12 221/s' 0 headwoodscrews (4\;#8x2r/t"
flathead
woodscrews (4);
J backseatrail U"' zf2 161/+' 0 sprayadhesive;
double-facedtape;medium-densityuphol-
steryfoam,2x24x24"; polyester
high-loft quiltbatting,
K corner braces 4t/q'
21x21"; vinylcover,
cloth-backed 21x21";
%"staples,
L seat 16Va 17' B P 1 1/2x24x 48" Birchplywood
f2
Blades andbits:Stacked dadoset,%"Forstnerbit,t/s"
.Partsinitially Seetheinstructions.
cutoversize. round-overrouter
bit,

www.woodrnagazine.
com 85
 ry#
'/-

[- [
--JJ

quxx:rd#

rlo

We taped off cast-iron tablesaw

extension wings into equal sections,
misted them for 24 hours to create rust, then
remoyed the corrosion with various products. ."t:.,

o a woodworker,rust is a four-letter alwaysbe vigilant againstthe red menace. tives,we decidedto seehow well they work,
word. Unlessyou live in the dry cli- With at least nine products marketed to and uncoverwhich productsdeservea spot
mates of the Southwest.vou must woodworkersasrust removersandpreventa- in your shop.
Before we could removerust, though,we
neededto createa consistent coatof it on two
tablesawextensionwings. We sandedthe
wingsto removeany previouslyappliedrust
protectants,then divided the surfacesinto
equal-sizeareasfor each remover.We built
the "wet box," shown at left, and pumped
moisture-ladenair into the sealedbox for 24
hours.After letting the rust standfor a day,
we testedeach of the removersand combi-
nation products (those designed to both
removerust and preventits return) shown in
the chart on the nextpage.
During this test,we noticedthat someof
the freshly cleanedsurfacesbegan to haze
over with orangerust within minutes.This
so-called"flash rust" proveswhy removing
To acceleratethe formation of rust, we built this "wet box" and connected it to a cold-air
lid
vaporizer.The box's clear acrylic allowed us to obserue the progressof the test, while a rust isn't enough;in mostcases,you needto
drain hose allowed excess moistureto trickle away. apply a protectantright away.
Continuedonpage88
www.woodrnagazine. corn 87
Proving the protectants
To test the effectivenessof rust protectants,we sanded,cleaned,
and sectionedoff anotherpair of cast-irontablesawwings, and then
applied the products accordingto the manufacturer'sinstructions.
Next, we put the test piecesinto the wet box, pumping moisturein
continuously, noting when rust began to form and when the test APPLICATION METHOD TIPSFORUSE
areawas completely rustedover. Spray on, scrub with synthetic For heavy rust, apply and let it
stand for 5-20 minutes before
abrasive pad or steel wool.
The seriesof photos,below, show the outcomeand the clear dif-
ferencein rust-preventionproducts.Rememberthat our testsaccel- Brush on with disposablefoam
brush, let stand for one hour,
Before rinsing, scrub with a
synthetic abrasive pad for
eratedrust formation far beyond what you can expect in even the rinse with water. better results.
most rust-proneareasof the country. (Much of the time in the wet Rub rusted area with blocks to
"erase" rust. Start wilh coarse Keep a shop vacuum handy
to suck uo dust.
box, water was actually standingon the test surfaces.)Even the pro- block,then medium,then fine.
Pour onto surface. let stand Before rinsing,scrub with a
tectantsthat failed in a few minutes in theseconditions should last for 10-20 minutes,rinse synthetic abrasive pad for
much longer under normal circumstances. with water. better results.
Spray on, scrub with synthetic Synthetic pads left a nicer-
abrasive pad or steel wool. looking finish on the tabletop
Wipe dry with clean cloth. lhan steel wool.
Soak steel wool or synthetic Let it soak for about 2 minutes
abrasive pad, and then scrub. before scrubbing for best
results.
The test sudace wasn't
completely dry after one
hour, so we gently wiped it dry.

Forbestresults,recoat
and buffagain.

Spray on, then wipe off with You needn'twaitfor the

a clean cloth.
protectantto dry before
wipingit off.
Spray on, then wipe off with
a clean cloth.
Apply with pad, allow to
haze, then wipe with a sott
cotton cloth.
Apply with damp pad, allow to
haze, then wipe with a soft
cotton cloth.
Wioe surface with this Wipe the surface to wet it,
premoistened towelette and then scrub with steel wool
let dry.
Spray on, scrub with synthetic
abrasive pad, then wipe dry.
Re-sprav and butf surface.
* Combination products designed to remove rust and protect
from future corrosion

NOTES:
1. Keep all chemicals out of the reach of children.
We applied a different rust protectant to each of the eight sections of When using chemicals,always wear gloves and protectiveeyewear.
these tablesaw extensionwings and put them into the wet box. At this
point, the wings have been treated but subjected only to normal
humidityconditions.

Flash rust already covers three of four sections of the back wing, and Except for the section treated with Boeshield T-9 (right foreground),
has started creeping across the center two sections of the front wing. all sections have completely rusted over.

88 WOOD magazine March 2004

 SAFETY (1)

Nonflammable,nontoxic,
biodegradable
PERFORMANCESUMMARY

Easy to use, but it took five applicationsto completelyremove the rusl.

Low odor, nonflammable Etfective,but rinsing with water is ditficult and sloppy on stationary-tooltables, such
nontoxic, biodegradable as on a jointer or tablesaw. Emits vapors that prevent flash rust from returning.
ffi
dr
/ri

B N/A

N/A
PR|CE (3)

$9 for 8.5 oz.

$9 for 16 oz.
/
/ FOR MORE
INFORMATION

8001962-1732
www.boeshield.com

800/426-7832
rog.com
www.bull-f

The only non-chemical These blocks are tops for spot rust or hand tools, but they require a lot of elbow grease 800/228-0000
rust solulion in our test. for larger areas, such as tabletops. B N/A $10 for 3 blocks www.woodworkin
gshop.com

Skin and eye irritant.Use Rinsing with water is difficult on stationary tools, and the product discolored our test
in well-ventilatedarea. piece, lurning it a dull gray. All in all, the results don't justify the hassle. N/A $3 for 8 oz. 8001321-0253

For light rust, this is a quick fix, but it's not as effective on heavy rust. 888/324-7596
Flammable N/A $2.50 for 11 oz. www.wd40.com

Easy to use, but it took four applicationsto completely remove the rust. On heavily Availableanywherecoatings
Flammable
rusted surfaces, we couldn't completely remove the rust using mineral spirits. N/A $4 for 1 gallon and solventsare sold

After only 24 hours in the wet box, T-9 stood head and shoulders above the other 8001962-1732
Extremely flammable protectants,as you can see in the photo sequence, at left. Clearly, T-9 is the best N/A $12lor12o2. www.boeshield.com
protectant in the test.

Easy to use, and has a pleasant smell. lt protected a little better than paste wax and 888/603-8558, exl. 7 423
Extremelyflammable
carnauba wax in our test. N/A $ 1 4 f o r 1 1o z . www.bostikfindley-us.com

Nonflammable,nontoxic, About as etfective and easy to use as TopCote. However, it's much safer, especially 800/426-7832
biodegradable around pilot lights and other possible ignition sources. N/A $8 for 32 oz. www.bull-frog.com

Of all the products sold to protect against rust, this one was least etfective,with rust 845/691-8400
Nonflammable.nontoxic returning within 15 minutes in the wet box. Probably effective if applied regularly. N/A $'10for 16 oz. www.slipit.com

800/558-5252
Nonflammable.nontoxic
In our extreme test environment, neither of these products held up well, with rusl
N/A B $5 for 16 oz. www.scjbrands.com
returning in 20 minutes. However, applied regularly, both would probably be
somewhat effective. Availableanywherecoatings
Nonflammable.nontoxic N/A B $7 lor 12 oz. and solventsare sold

It's a tidy process, but the wipes tend to dry out in their container and work much better
Low odor, nonflammable, with the aid of an abrasive pad or steel wool. Less etfeclive on heavy rust, and size is 800/426-7832
nontoxic, biodegradable better suited to surface rust on hand tools. B B $9 for 25 wipes www.bull-frog.com
Removed rust as well as any dedicated remover, and fared pretty well as a protectant, 866t700-5823
Flammable so it's a good one-stop product for both tasks. EveMhing you need comes with the kit, B B $20 for 8 oz www.empiremfg.com
including gloves, abrasive pad, and wiping cloth.

3. Prices current at time of article's production and

ExuEr'rr Average Lrues rur. auurv ru rrrs uruuuur. do not include shipping, where applicable.
I I -

,l u*o Berowaverase
| I

None of the products we tested did away

ip
with heavy rust with only one application. rF
s
So for cleaning a large, heavily oxidized I

surface,such as a jointer table or tablesaw

top, your first step shouldbe to sandaway nDilovDn t ttot'tt0TAN']
as much as you can, then clean it with
Empire TopSaveror BoeshieldRust Free.
Both productsproved easyto use with lit-
tle mess.TopSaveralsodid well in the pro-
tection test, so it's our top choice for a
combination product. For small areas of
spotrust, we found ourselvesgoing back to
the Klingspor Sandflex Blocks. The rust
BoeshieldRust-Free Boeshield T-9 Empire TopSaver
ring caused by an effant soda can on a
humid day came off quickly with these section treated with T-9 was almost as box. After 380 hours in this extremeenvl-
abrasiveblocks,then vacuumedaway. clean as when it went in. We were curious ronment, rust finally overtook the T-9
There's only one choicefor protectantas to seehow long it would take for this area protectedarea.aF
far as we're concerned: Boeshield T-9. to rust over, as the othersdid in a day, so
After 24 hours in the wet box, the wing we continued to pump moisture into the Writtenby Dave Campbellwith Dean Fiene

www. woodrnagazine. com 89

 a''o

Case

fl
*iG tr',
j *
-*'t* qt
Base f-u

The CD storage units fea-

tured in the photo, above,
are made from cherry and
maple. As an alternative,
you can build them from
less expensive Baltic birch
plywood, and have the child
dye them with bright colors,
like the ones shown aI left,
and as later explained.

Here's a project . , " , ' , a v e a c h i l c l o r g r a n c l c h i l cw l ho's B o y l e . o u r k i c l - a t - h e a r tS e n i o r D e s i c r r

that really stacks up.
Thismodularstoragesystemcan
growalongwitha CD collection.
Just
add morecases,bases,and lidsas
needed.You can placeup to six inter-
lockingcaseson a base.Eachcase
,,, 'iy, fascinateclri ith woodu orking ancl E c l i t u r .f i l l s t h c b i l l . D a v i c l a r r c lI s p e n t a n
: " r r ' r , I l a - g i c a l l t ,i l p p e a r si r t y o u r r v o r k - afielrroon constrlrcting it in the WOOD
s h o p e r e r y t i n r c a t o o l r v h i n c - sa n c lu ' l i i l s ' l nragazineshop. as shur,''nherc. Hc saiclthc
I c k r . H e ' s n r t ' c i g h t - y c a r - o l c sl o n . D a v i c l . experience was "sw'ec'1."No cloLrbtyoLrr'
T o k e e p h i s i n t e r e s t - u r o w i n g .I l e t h i n r a s p i r i n - ly o L l n - sa p p r c n t i c cu ' i l l f i n d i t t h c
hclp rl'ith ntt, pro.jects.cloing opcr;.rtions siulc. Now. muncl Lrphinr or hcr. ancl -gct
he can perfbrnr saf'el1'.Ancl for sonte tilne reacly to share rrr-rr.r\\'esonre builcling ancl
n o w . I ' r ' c h u n t c c lf o r l i h i p k i c l ' s p r t l e c t learni n q experic'ncetogether'.
that we clrn bLrilcl together-sonrething

h o l d s1 0 C D s ,w h i c hp o po u t w i t ht h e
h c ' l l L r s ca n c lt ' e e lh e c r e a t e c l .
Tl-tissnazzy.stackable.ancleasy-to-builcl drrr"-0
touchof a finger. C D s t o r a s e p i e c e . d e s i g n e c lL r ) , K c v i n O w e nD u v a l l P , r o j e c t sE d i t o r

90 WOOD rnaqazine March 2004

 For the board feet of lumber and other I nefit the drill presswith
Hat/s" Forstnerbit. Using
items neededto build this project,see
page 93. the same fence and stop-
block setup and resetting
the depth stop, have your
Note: This article is presentedin a way that partner drill %" holes %e"
makesit easyfor you and a child to build this deep in the top face of the
project together.Thefirst sectiondetailscut- threecasetops (B) and base
ting operationsfor you to prepare the parts. (E) at their corners,where
The next section presents stepsyou can do shown.The larger s/s"holes
with the child to complete the parts and compensatefor minor mis-
assembleand finish the unit. Except where alignment of the %" holes
noted,wefeel theproceduresin this section, for the dowel feet in the
which includelimitedpower-tooloperations, casebottomsand lids.
are safefor an eight-year-oldto perform with
adult supervision.Dependingon the child's Vs/8"?ro drill the two pairs of
holes 5sls"from the
age, maturity, confidence,and skills, you ends of the base(E), where
may want to further restrict or increasethe shown, repositionthe stop-
hands-on involvementas appropriate. block to one side of the bit,
.|l
where required. Have your With the case bottom (B) held tight againstthe drill-press
R I S_tart by pr,eparing - partner drill a pair of diago- fence and stopblock, drill aVz" hole th" deep in each corner
rq! the projdct Barts nally opposite holes, as of the part.
I Witfr your young apprentice observing
I from a safe distance.cut the casesides C- 6t/q"
(A) and tops and bottoms (B) to the sizes E rxploDED vrEW
listedin the MaterialsList plus 1" in length. 1/2"hole
t/q" deep
Angle your tablesaw blade to 45o. Then,
miter-cutthe partsto finishedlengths. /z" dowel
t/2" long
t/a" chamfers
Note: The MaterialsList showsthe quantities
of parts neededto constructthree CD cases, 61/a'
a base,and two lids. You can makea two- or
four-caseunit simplyby adjustingthe quanti- Mitered
ties ofcase parts and dowelfeet. Want even ends
7e" hole s/ro"deep
morestoragecapacity?Just lengthenthe base
t/a"chamfers
in incrementsof 61/q"and drill the necessary
th, t/a"chamfers
holes,where dimensionedon Drawing 1, /o
hold additionalcases.

t/q" birch plywood; cut the backs CD racks

)from
Ef (C) to size. Then, cut a V+" groove Vt"
deepand W" from the backedgeof the sides,
tops, and bottoms on their inside face to 1/q"groove
receivethe backs.(We cut the groovewith a t/e" deep
uLu 1/+"from back edge
standard blade in two passes to fit
designates
the plywood exactly.) Finally, cut the leftCD
lids (D) and base(E) to size. rack ,/2

I
Fa\rsffiinn***
I To drill the %" holes Va"deepin the bot-
t/e" chamfers t/z" hole
Va" deep t/2" dowel
RightCD
rack \=-

I tom face of the three case bottoms (B), t/z" long

two lids (D), and base(E) for the dowel feet, ,/a"chamfel
whereshownon Drawing 1, first chucka Vz" l*r|
Forstnerbit in your drill press.Then,showthe 121/z'
child how you position the drill-press fence 1 63/+
and a stopblockto locatethe holes7s" in from
the parts' comers.With a depth stop set for K-
the Vz"-thickcasebottoms,let the child drill f---=-
t/z" hole
the holesin them,asshownin Photo A. Now, t/q" deep r/a"chamter
resetthe depth stop for the3/+"-thicklids and r/2" dowel r/z" long
base,and have the child drill the holes. t/e" chamfer
% 0 "c h a m f e r s

www.woodmagazine.com 91
With the stopblock positioned57e"from the bit's center,drill a hole in While checking for square and verifyingtight mitered corners,
the base (E),rotate the part 180", and drill another hole. tighten two band clamps around the case to secure it.

shown in Photo B. Now, move the stop-
block to the other side of the bit. and drill
the remainingpair of holes.
1f Using a random-orbitsanderwith 220-
'fgrit
sandpaper,have your parlner sand
the inside face of the sides (A), tops and
bottoms (B), and backs (C). Ensure the
workpieceis held securelywhile sanding,
and use long overlapping strokes for an
evenfinish.
ETo assemblea case,have your partner
rJapply a small amount of glue in the
groovesand to the miteredendsof partsA
and B. Then, help him or her join the parts
together with a back (C) capturedin the
pafts' grooves,and clamp the assembly,as
shown in Photo C. Remove any glue
squeeze-out.Repeat for the remaining
cases.When the glue dries,sandthe outside
of the cases.
ftChuck a 45" chamferbit in your table-
lf mountedrouter,and show your partner
how you setthe bit heightfor a t/s"chamfer.
Next, review the "5 essentialtips for safe
routing," oppositepage, top.Then, provid-
ing an assistinghand, let your paftnerrout
the caseedges,as shownin Photo D. Now,
rout the edgeson the bottomfaceof the lids
(D) and the top face of the base(E).
1to make the chamfereddowel feet for
I tne casebottoms(B), lids (D), andbase
(E), first cut a t/2"birch dowel 36" long in
half. Then, using a disc sander and the
super-simpledowel chamferingjig shown
on page I2,have your partnerchamferthe
dowels'ends.as shownin Photo E.
Next, using a miter box, crosscutt/2"-
long feet from the dowels, as shown in
Photo F. Repeatthe processto form 24 feet.

Keepingthe case assemblytight against the fence, move the assem- Holdingthe dowel flat on the jig's base and tight against its angled
bly at a steady rate across the bit to chamfer the case edges. stop, rotate the dowel 360' to sand a t/'re"chamfer on its end.

92 UIOOD magazine March 2004

 5 essential tips for safe routing
Althoughbasicroutersafetyproceduresmay be secondnatureto you, they'relikely
to be new to the child.Reviewthese precautions with the youngster,and be sure
he or she understands them beforeroutingthe parts'edges. A-casesides
II Vtakesure the routerbit, cutting-depthlock,and router-table fenceare secure. B-casetops
andbottoms f2 63/q' ov4
E Positionsplitfencesas closeas possibleto the bit to reduce C backs 1/q' Jt/2 65/s' BP3
exposure,and keep handssafelyaway from the bit.
D lids 63/q' 6vi'
El Wear safetyglassesor gogglesand hearingprotection. E base 63/q' 121/z' M
E Removeall jewelryand looseclothing.Wear a short-sleeve -Parts
initially Seetheinstructions.
cutoversize.
shirtor roll up long shirtsleeves. Materials key: C-cherry, BP-birch plywood,
El UotOthe workpiecesecurelyagainstthe fence,and feed it M-maple.
slowlyand steadilyfrom rightto left againstthe bit's rotation. Supplies: 1/z" birchdowel36"long,five-minuteepoxy.
Blades and bits; t/2"and5/0" Forstnerbits,450cham-
Now, glue the feet in the holes in the bot- the racks' inside faces. (Ours measured ferrouter
bit.
tom face of the parts with the chamfered 4t/r".) Removethe racks.Then, from scrap Sources
endsexposed. V+"plywood, cut six spacersto your mea- CD Racks.Pop-out CDracks,
no.35875, pr.(3
$3,99
suredwidth plus %u" (to ensurea tight fit) pr.).CallRockler, orgotowww.rockler.com.
8001279-4441,
Qfor the cheny and maple unit, apply
|ffthree coats of a clear finish. (We used andto a lengthof 6". Now, let the child drill
Deft aerosolSatin Clear Wood Finish. For two 1" finger holes through the spacers,
safetyreasons,we recommendthat the adult locatingthe holes' centerpointsI " from the Photo G. Repeatfor the remaining cases.
do this in a well-ventilatedarea.)For a ply- spacers'endsand centeredon their width. When the epoxy cures,removethe spacers.
wood unit, let your partnerdye the project I fltvtix a small amount of five-minute | | ninally, let your proudpartnerassem-
with bright colors, making sure he or she llf epoxy.Then, have your companion ll ble the unit and load it with CDs. To
wears protectiverubber gloves. (We used put a dab of it on the back of a pair of racks easilyremovea CD, presson its casewith a
Homestead'swater-solubleTransFastDye near each corner.With a caseon its back, finger, lift up slightly,andrelease.The racks'
Powders,in the accentcolors blue, lemon solicit help to install the racks againstthe springlikefingerswill pop out the CD. cF
yellow, dark green, and scarlet red, as sides,where shown on Drawing 1, tight Written by Owen Duvall
shownin thephotoonpage 90.The dyesare againstthe casebottom (B) and back (C). Projectdesign:Kevin Boyle
available at Woodcraft. Call 8m1225-1153 Securethesewith two spacers,as shownin Roxanne LeMoine
lllustrations:
or go to www.woodcraft.com.) You alsocan
usefood coloringasa lessexpensiveoption, Diagrarn (for 3 cases)
if you wish. When the dyesdry, apply three
coatsof clearfinish.
place, first
Ofo epoxy the CD racks in 3/qx71/q x 96" Cherry (5.3bd. ft.) .Planeor resaw
9make spacersto keep the rackspressed to the thicknesslistedin the MaterialsList.
againstthe sides(A) while the epoxy cures.
Determinethe spacers'size by positioning
a pair of racks in a casetight againstthe
sidesand measurinsthe distancebetween 3/qx71/+ x 48" Maple (2.7 bd. tt.) 1/qx 12 x 24" Birchplywood

t/z" dowel
chamfered
on both ends

Using a stopblock clamped to the miter-boxfence, cut the t/2"- Insed two spacers in the case, one at the back and the other at the
long feet from the chamferedends of the dowels. front, to wedge the epoxied GD racks against the sides.

www.woodmagazine.com 93
catts rneow
scrollsawn
plaque
Oh, what a relief this is-
with cutout cats of varying
thicknesses and a simple
ffi
one-piece frame.

Plaque viewed
from back side

ut a -y'+"-thick
pieceof stock(we Sawtoothhanger
usedqr"riltedmaple)to 9xl 1".Use
a squareto lay out andmarkthe Il exploDED
vrEW
left and top ed,eesof the area to be scroll-
sawn, where dirnensionedon Drawing 1.
Make a photocopy of Drawing 2 on page
98, and spray-adhereit to the cutout block Roundcorners
location on the maple blank. Drill a t/tr," to fit rabbet.
blade-starthole, where shown. Now, with
a #12 scrollsawblade. cut the block from % 0 "h o l e s
t/a" deep
the blank. Sand the edges of the resulting
opening smooth.
Drill a pair of /ro" holes %" deep for each
cat's eyes where marked on the full-size
pattern.Use the head of a finish nail to
indent eyes for cat no. 2. Cut the cats to
shapefrom the block in the seqLlencenum-
bered on the pattern.Rout a /s" rabbet t/s"
deep along the back inside ed_qe of the
blank openin-{,where shown on Drawing 1.
Now, cut a piece of t/s"hardboardto fit the
rabbetedopening, and glue it in place.
To createcats of varying thicknesses,
cut a strip of wood I"o |Vxl2". One at a
time, apply double-faced tape to a cat and
press it to one end of the carrier strip. Cut
or sand each cat to the thicknessnoted on

Corttinuecl on page 98

96 WOOD magazine March 2004

scrapvnood projects
B ruu--srzEcATPATTERN

Drill%0"blade-start
holehere.
%o" holes t/e"deep

the Thickness Key next to Drawing 2. (As

shown in the photo above, the carrier strip
let us bandsaw the cats safely.) Sand the
frame and each scrollsawn cat up to 220-
grit abrasive.Glue the cats to t/s" hard- \-"-
* Indenteyesfor cat no. 2 usinga finishnail.
board in the configuration shown on Blank cut from s/+"stock
Drawing 2. Center and attach a sawtooth
hanger on the plaque back I " down from
the top. Apply a clear finish. (We used Thickness Key
s/a" z/a"
spray satin polyurethane.) lF 1
3/q"
6 11 1/q"
2 7 e/a" 12 a/a"
3 7/a" B 1/+' 13 7/16"
ProjectDesign:
JerryKrider, 4 1/q" 9 eAa" 14 e/16"
Claywood Columbia
Creations, City,lnd. 5 3/e" 10 5A6"

98 WOOD rnagazine March 2004

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short
andnotes
News world
fromthewoodworking
cuts
Heretslooking at you
Can't find what you want?Thenmakeit out of wood.That'sthe tack Seeing is believing
with Dave
Dave McHuron of Concord,California,took when he went shoppingfor a McHuron'shome-
spottingscopein orderto view wildlife from his home'sbackdeck."All made spotting
the onesI looked at were very expensiveor junk," he says.Dave madethe scope. Built from
oak, myrtle, and
intriguing scopeshownat right the old-fashionedway-using only hand walnut, the lens
tools. But wood wasn't the only materialhe worked with. "Altogether," he housing raisesto
says,"I cut the glass,groundandpolishedthe lenses,designedandbuilt 60", rotates
horizontally360',
the housingand stand,and then assembledthe entireworks." and angles up and
With the 25mm eyepiece,Dave achieves93x magnification;switching down as desired.
to a 17mmeyepiece,he gets l57x; his 1Ommeyepieceyields237x.

Testyour workshop smarts

Put your woodworking wits to work by
solving thesetrying questions.Then,
tune into the next issueof WOODv maga-
zine's Short Cuts, or go right now to
www.woodmagazine.com/shortcuts to
find the answers.
I What's the difference between
water-resistant and waterproof glues?
I What makes a better power tool
table, cast-iron or aluminum?
I Can you guessthe diameter of the
largest turned wooden bowl?
stationarymachines were
driven by steam-or water-
poweredline shafts.
Smallershopswere at a
big disadvantagebecause
they simp$tcould not
afford boilers and steam
enginesor water wheels.
Consequently,smaller
shopsbeganto experiment
'
with driving individual
machinesusing electric
motors.For more on old
These two electric-powered machines exemplify turn-of-the-
woodworkingmachines, go century technology. The surfacer sander, left, runs off a motor-
to www.owwm.com. powered drive shaft; the bandsaw, a direct-drive motor.

Answers to the questions I When an oil-basedvar-

in issue L53:
f What was the first woodworking tool
powered by electricity?
According to Keith Rucker,an antique
tool expertfrom Tifton, Georgia, thefirst
electric handheldwoodworkingtools were
drills. German-basedFein claims credit
for thefirst handheldpower tool,below,
an electric hand drill madein 1895.
nish skins over in the can, does that removingthe skin so you don't get
mean the finish is no longer any good detractingpiecesin the remniningfinish.
and should be disposedof? "Strain the varnishfor the nextuse," Bob
"Absolutelynot," saysfinishing guru Bob advises."I usemy wife's panty hosefor
Flexner of Norman, Oklahoma."It can this.It worksgreaL"
skin overfive timesin five yearsand the
varnish underneathwill still be usable." I What is the heaviestwood
You will, however,needto take care known to man?
Generallyspeaking,many expertsogree
that lignum vitae is the heaviestwood.
One boardfoot of it weighs6.4 lbs.
By contrast,a board
foot of Ponderosa re
pine,weighs ft-':: 4
2.67lbs. \
The weight of lignum j

vitae far exceeds that J

,.f;
of much lighter ,#
Theveryfirst handheldpowertool was an Ponderosa pine.
electricdrill manufactured
by Fein. That's why it rests on

With regard to electric-poweredstation-

ary woodworkingtools, the picture grows
murky.Just beforethe turn of the century,
The skin that forms over the surface of oil-
based varnishes is not damaging to the
material below.
the bottom of this
water-filled container
while the other
wood floats. t
Continuedon page 102
100 WOOD magazine March 2004
short cuts
In woodworking,hope springs eternal
Crime and drugs can take their toll on the
minds and spirits of youths growing up on
the District of Columbia's meanstreets,
wherehigh-schooldropoutratesaverage
around40 percent.Many youthsin these
neighborhoodsface unemploymentand,
evenworse,homelessness. Covenant
HouseWashington,a nonprofrt organiza-
tion committedto caring for at-risk young
people,aims to improve this picture one
young personat a time, via woodworking,
and the volunteerefforts of dedicated
skilled craftsmen.
Through the organization'sArtisanspro-
gram, according to managerMaff
Barenholtz,youthsbetween16 and2l
yearsold enroll in a six-monthwoodwork-
ing classduring which they masterthe
skills neededto apply for an entry-level
Successsecretsfrom the Long IslandWoodrrvorkers
Any woodworkingclub that's worth its
weight in pink ivory hasactivitiesand poli-
ciesin placethat guaranteeits long-term
success.The Long IslandWoodworkers'
Club (LIWC) of New York is one such
organization.Boastinga membershipof
more than 250, the LIWC puts on an
impressiveevent every April-the Furniture
and Woodworking Show.It includeswork-
shops,tool vendors,and members'works
that arejudged by suchwoodworkingnota-
Members of the Long lsland Woodworkers' Club look on as
club president Gabe Jaen explains how to tune up a hand
plane during a round-robinmeeting held in June 2003.
102
position in a cabinetshopor other wood-
working enterprise.While enrolled,
youths train in a workshopsettingusing
severalmachines,as well as hand tools.
As the programpicks up steam,however,
the needfor new volunteercraftsmen
increases,and that's where you can help.
If you live in the areaand would like to
shareyour knowledgewith thesebudding
woodworkers,here'show to participate.
Begin with a tour of the CovenantHouse
WashingtonArtisans' workshopto
glimpse at the young craftsmenand
craftswomenat work. You can arrangeit
by calling 2021610-6519 or 2021610-
9621.Or you can e-mail the workshop
facility at artisans@chdc.org.The work-
shopis locatedat 1235Kenilworth
Alenue,NE-,
Wa.1hireto1
DC20019:
bles as Frank Klausz, Ian Kirby, Struther
Purdy, and Mario Rodriquez.This year, the
eventlured 4,000 attendeesand was deemed
the largestin the club's history.
Another successfuleventis the club's
round-robinmeetingsheld nvice a year.
Here, accordingto board memberDaryl
Rosenblatt,"Severaltablesare setup where
volunteer memberspe5formhow-to demos
on topics that rangefrom pen turning to
applyinga Frenchpolish to working with
dovetailjigs."
Daryl sharedstill more
ideasbehindhis woodwork-
ing club's success:
r Encouragebroadvolun-
teerism and participation in
club activitiesand special
causes,suchasToys for Tots.
r Don't placerestrictionson
the kind of woodworking
donein the club. Include
scrollsawing,woodturning,
and so on.
r Keep things socialby
schedulingpicnics and other
fun events,and be sureto
invite spouses.
r Communicatewith mem-
bersthrougha club newslet-
ter and Web site.
To learn more about the
LIWC, visit it at
www.liwoodworkers.org.
Students enrolled in Covenant House
Washington'sAr.tlsans'program show off
the toddler chairs they constructed for a
local charity.
find iust what vou rmnt with
our ohline searbhable index
Forever an handy resource,the WOODa
magazineonline searchableindex lets you
find the issueand pagenumberof feature,
technique,'tool,and project articlesfrom all
previousissues.If you're counting,that's a
full l9-years worth of valuablewoodwork-
ing information.But what if you want the
actualarticle from a pastissuefound in the
online index?
Startingnow, you have the opportunityto
downloadmany of the articlesfound in the
index for a small fee. To locateand order
an article, go to the magazine's searchable
index at www.w oodmagazine.com/index
for details.
Bringing home the gold
For the second
consecutiveyear,
WOOD magazine
receivedthe pres-
tigious Eddie
award for editori-
al excellence.
Competingin the "ConsumerHobbies"
division, WOOD magazinewon the highest
Eddie-at the "gold" level. Each year,
Folio, a leading magazine-industrytrade
publication,sponsorsthe international
competition. Participating magazinesare
judged on how well they articulateand
adhereto their mission statement,content
quality, overall design,and production.ai
WOOD magazine March 2004
curious craftsmen
onepuzzFng
woo-dworkef
Building these intricate wooden
puzzles takes Tom Lensch hours
of exacting work. And if you think
that's tougrh,just try solving one.
om Lenschalwaysloved puzzles
and collectedthem for years.Then,
in 1989,he grabbeda book, a bit of
wood, his few modesttools, and began
makingpuzzlesof his own. Today,this
retiredcivil engineerfrom Dayton,Ohio,
producesthe beautiesyou seehere,plus
many more stylesthat he sells to puzzle
collectorsaroundthe world for as much
as $200 apiece.
Whethercraftedfrom hiS own design,or
built under agreementswith severalof the
worlds most-respected puzzlecreators,the
puzzlesTom makesareas beautiful as they
are baffling. All feature.interlockingparts
that often take a dozenor more movesto
disassemble. A puzzlecalled"Torture,"
below,for example,could keepyou busy
Tom Lensch has to be part mathematician, for daysfiguring out the complex sequence
part woodworker to design and build the
of movesrequiredto get it apart.Then
intricatepuzzlesthat sunound him in his shop.
you'd facejust as much challengegettingit
back together.
"Torture"lives up to its name, requiring17 moves to disassembleand as many to put back
together.This 3x3" cube featuressix pieces made from bubinga, ebony,and holly.
Gareful control helps
get the proper fit
Making puzzlesfit togetherproperly-
without any play or binding-requires tight
tolerances.To achievethem,Tom often
measuresin thousandths of an inch. "I
know wood can expandand contractmore
than that with changesin humidity, but I
want the piecessizedexactlywhen I build
the puzzle,"he says.Tom studieswood
and choosesspeciesthat haveconsistent
grain structureand good stability to help
minimize this wood movement.
Many of Tom's creations,including a
model known as "Triumph," page 106,
also requirecomplexanglesthat have to
be accurateto within a fraction of a
degree.One puzzlehe createsrequiresa
cut at 70.529'l
Achieving thesesuperaccurate results,
and being able to repeatthem, requires
exactingtablesawand bandsawsetups.
Tom accomplishesthesetasksusing setup
gaugeshe makesfrom acrylic plastic.
When cutting puzzle parts, Tom has to
securelyhold piecesthat may be lessthan
1" square.To do this, he employsa
numberof homemadejigs-sometimes
as many as six or sevenfor a single
puzzle.And he cuts similar piecesfor
multiple puzzlesbeforechangingsetups
to minimize the chancesfor error.
Becausethe puzzlepieceshave to be
shapedso precisely,many can't be sanded
after cutting. That meansTom needs
clean,smoothcuts. He prefersForrest
bladesfor his tablesawand radial-arm
saw, and he has them resharpened by the
company.On the bandsaw,he usesblades
with teeth madeof silicon carbide.
Continued on page 106
WOOD rnagazine March 2004
curious craftsmen

Assemblv and finish
prove ke!'s to success
No matterhow carefullythe piecesarecut,
a puzzlewon't work properlyunlessits
paftsaregluedtogethercorrectly.Tom
joins mostpiecesusingyellow woodwork-
er's glue,but on occasionhe usestwo-part
epoxy or polyurethanefor hidden
areasor problemjoints.
Tom usesconventional clampson some Tom finisheshis puzzleswith a coat or
puzzles,but othersrequiremorecreative two of tung oil. It offers protectionwithout
methods.Oftenhe simplyholdsthe pieces buildingup on the surface,which could
until the glue getstacky.At othertimes,he preventthe puzzlesfrom fitting together.
gluespiecestogether.thengluesthemto a Then he rubson furniturepastewax to add
pieceof V+"temperedglass.The flat surface a lustroussheen.
holdsthepiecesin theright orientationand While creatingpuzzlesrequiresbig
allowsthe assemblyto be brokenfree.Read demandsfor accuracy,this type of wood-
the Shop Ttp, right, to learnhow Tom gets working requiresonly a smallwork space.
incorrectlygluedpiecesapart. Tom'sshopmeasures just 10x15'.
To seemoreof Tom's work, or to learn
@ aboutthe world of puzzlemaking,visit
www j ohnrausch.com/puzzleworld. Jl

A rnicrorma,ne glue redo

EventhoughTom Lenschtakesgreat
caregluingup his puzzlepieces,
occasionally he'llget themassembled
incorrectly.Thankfullyhe doesn'thave
to trashhis hardwork and startover.
He just "cooks"the smallassemblyin
the microwaveovenfor 15 to 20 seconds.
A puzzlecalled "Triumph"consists of six identicallyshaped pieces,each made up of three Thissoftensthe glueenoughto allowthe
woods: ebony, pink ivory and holly.Tom cuts the complex shapes on his tablesaw using just jointto be pulledapart.
one shop-builtjig to hold the workpiecesat the proper angles.

106 WOOD rnagazine March 2004

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These warespassed
woodworking ourshoptrials
Power+ features= Ridgid sander
Recently,Ridgid inffoduceda new line of
portablepower tools targetedto professional
users,and backedby a 3-yearwaranty. If
the R2600 5" random-orbitsanderis any
indication,thesetools appearto have hit the
bull's eye.
The R2600's3-amp,variable-speed,
permanent-magnet motor is unusualfor a
portablepower tool. Insteadof coils of wire
that can overheatand burn out, the motor
usespowerfi.rlmagnets.That makesthis
sandervirtually unstoppable.With most
random-orbitsandersI've used,bearing
down while sandingusually causesthe pad
to stop turning. No matterhow much
weight I put on the R2600,the pad kept
sandingalong.
Speakingof the pad, the R2600 comes
with a hook-and-looppad installed.
However,if you prefer adhesive-backed
paper-ven if only occasionally-Ridgid
Come for the price, stay for the performance
When Ryobi's multi-baserouter kit landed
on my benchtop,I didn't expecttoo much. I
mean,really: For $180 you get the motor,
plunge-,fixed-, and D-handlebases,a
durablecarrying bag, guide bushingsand
an edgeguide.How good could it be?
The heartof the REl803BK.kit is its
variable-speed,soft-startmotor that fits in
any of the threebases.Ryobi lists it as a
2-hp motor,but at9.5 amps,it's on the low
end of that range.Still, I madefull-depth
cuts in red oak using a Vz"frnger-jointbit,
and the motor barely complained.
Setting the cutting depth with the fixed
and D-handlebasesrequirestwisting a ring
that surroundsthe base,which gradually
raisesand lowers the motor (and the bit) in
the base.It's not nearly as fast or easyas
other router kits where you simply thread
the motor up or down, but it works. Once
setto the right height, a lever locks the base
in place.
I did notice that locking the lever caused
the baseto shift .028" off-center.For bear-
ing guidedbits, that's no problem,but
when using the included guide bushings,
Ryobi officials say you shouldre-centerthe
subbaseto the collet after locking the base
to ensureaccuratecuts. (The shift onlv
110
also includesan exffa pad that
acceptsPSA sandingdiscs.
The soft grip covering the
top of the sanderproved its
worth in dampeningvibration.
I sandedcontinuouslyfor 30
minutesand my hand never
got that tingly feeling I get
with other sanders.
Ridgid haselevatedthe
lowly power cord, as well. The
uniqueplug has a light that tells you the RidgidR2600random-orbit
sander
outlet is "hot," and a sander-shaped icon Performance *****
showsyou what tool is at the other end of
the cord-handy when you have several Ridgid
tools pluggedinto a power strip or gang 710,www,ridgid.com
866/539-1
box. A hook-and-loopwrap attachedto the
l2'-long cord helps when it's time to stow the air. However,the dust port fits both
the R2600 away for the day. ZVz"andIVq" vacuumhoses,and connected
I do have one gripe aboutthe sander:The to a vac, little dust escapedwhile sanding.
cloth dust bag allows a lot of dust back into -TestedbyDeanFiene
occurswith the fixed and D-handlebases; is awfully good.Ryobi sendsa V+"adapter
the plungebasetightenswith a threaded sleeveto usewith smaller-shankedbits.
knob insteadof the lever;) -TestedbyPaulMcClannahan
Egg-shapedhandleso4 the plungebase
make it comfonable to hold, but I found the RyobiRE1803BK
plunge springspretty stiff. And the depth- routerkit
multi-base
settingsystemlacks a turret stop for routing Performance *****
in progressivelydeepersteps. Price $180
To changefrom baseto baseyou must Ryobi
Technologies
hold in the spring-loadedcollet-lockingpin www.ryobitools.com
800/525-2579,
while removing the base,which can be
tricky. Using a precisionground steel
rod, I measuredjust a hair more
than .001" of runout (wobble) in
the REl803BK's Vz"collet.
which-based on our
tool-testingrecords-
ryH D-handle
base
Guidebushinss {D Continuedon page 112
WOOD magazine March 2004
 shop-proven products

Bunjipeg hangshard-to-holdhand tools

Sometimeafter the first cavemanfashioneda crude hand tool from
stone,he beganlooking for a way to hang it on the wall, so it
wouldn't clutter up his bench.That's when somebodycameup
with perforatedhardboardand peg hooks. And they were good, but
they couldn't hold everything.Fast-forwardto the 21st century,
when anothergenius came up with Bunjipegs.
The Bunjipeg systemconsistsof elasticcord and forked pegsthat
pin the cord into ttre holes in your perforatedhardboardpanel. Thus
fastened,you simply slip hard+o-hold tools in behind the cord, and
it holds them snugly in place. (The manufacturersays 10' of cord
holds 25-50 tools, and should remain stretchy for about 5 years.)
I was arrazedat how well Bunjipegsdo their job. Tools suchas
chisels,steelrules,block planes,Forstnerbits, and pliers of every
sizefit behind the cord and stayput. Occasionally,I had to readjust
the length of cord betweentwo pins to accommodatelarger tools,
suchas the block planesor safetyglasses.
Bunjipeg held virtually every tool I threw at it, including a 15-lb.
sledgehammer, but traditional peg hooks work beffer for some
tools (suchas the sledge).For example,it's fasterand more secure
to hang the 12" steelrule, shown below, from a hook. However, the
24" ruLebelow it had no
hole, and two short Bunjipegs
piecesof Bunjipeg, Performance *****
Price $9.24oeqsand10'ofcord:
stretchedvertically, held $10,40'pe-gs
and18'of cord
it fast. Bunjipegs
-TestedbyJohnCebuhar 919/571 -1283,www.bunjipeg.com

Oualitytools,
education,
serviceand value.
Expectthis and
more from KREGi,
the leaderin Pocket
Holetechnology.

WOOD magazine March 2004

 Roufet
Bititnd
ffierCrrtfers
ilra
Variable-speedgrinder at
a qround-level price
A b-asichigh-speedbench-grinderworks
WOODLINE trd#t
greatfor heavygrinding andbuffing. But Master
woodworkerswho sharpentheir own chis-
els and planeirons prefera slow-speed
grinderthat won't overheatand destroy
66
Pieces
Craftsman
Woodworking
the temperof their tools.So, do you need Collectio
two grinders?Not if you havea Craftsman
6" Variable-speed GrindingCenter.
Besidesa speedrangeof 2,000-3,450
rpm, this compactgrinder offers some
0nly$1
89,*
I Straight Bits 1 Double RomanOgee
nifty features,suchas water cooling 5 DovetailBits W Cove
3 Core Box Bits 1 Plunging Roundover
trays,largeacryliceye shields,and a 3 RoundnoseBits 1 SteppedCove
goose-necked work light that canbe 2 FlushTrim Bits 2 Edge BeadingBits
3 MortisingBits 1 MultibeadingBit
operatedeven with the grinder off. And, 1 Plunging PanelBit 1 Bowl &Tray Bit
a V-groovedplateholdstwist-drill bits at '|
LaminateTrimBit 1 Key Hole Bit
'|
the proper anglefor sharpening. BevelBit 1 Double RomanOgee
3 90 V-GrooveBits 1 ClassicDouble
The 6" Variable-speed GrindingCenter's 2 RomanOgee Bits Roundover
tilting tool restsmateto their mounting 6 RoundoverBits 1 Flat Bottom 60
1 Point Cutting V-Groove
bracketswith radial matchingteeth,like Roundover 1 Standard60 V-Groove
two stackedpokerchips.Althoughthis 1 Ogee With Fillet 3 Rabbeting/ Slot Cutters
rurangement locksthe rest solidly,it also 1 PlungingRoundover 4 ChamferBits
W Bead 6 Cove Bits
limits you to 15oincrements.
Still, I was very satisfiedwith the per- For112"Shank WL2065For114"Shank
formanceof the 6" Grinding Center,
putting sharpedgeson all of my turning wL-2008
$189VALUE
tools,benchchisels,and drill bits. Its $80 OURPRICE
price tag includesa 60-grit aluminum-
oxide wheel, a wire wheel, and a serrated
wheel dresserthat storeson the grinder.
PICTURE
FRAME
SET
Perfecl great
lormaking picture
looking frames.
Bitscanbe
-TestedbyJeffHall loform
combined complexmouldings frames.
ordecoralive

MOULDING SET
Profiles
5Inqedible
'Jltr
$99",
1/2" BilsWL-2011 $175 VALUE
Router
Shank

Piece D00R
CABINET
Router
1/2'Shank Bits
2.pc
Roman Rail&
0gee Stile
31/4"Panel
Raiser
wL-2019-1
$129VALUE
PRICE $69 set
ONLY
LASER
CIJrflilG
GUIDE
made.
0uality Precision
cutting Economical
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(included)
operated. Versatile,
easily toyour
mounts chop
saw,
compoundmiter
saw,
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:i+
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Quality,plrrite, Economical,
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andshaper
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Bits
Price .2-pc . Dlslvtt
VisityourSears
store
$80
yi'll
l' w00DBlTs'ffi!yly,y,.c#aBi"',,f
Rail (Roman
&Stile
.3 1/4'DPanel
0gee)
(Ogee).
Raiser Door
1,,*
Lip.GlueJoint
www.sears.com/craft
sman *#ry:C0M' :[ffi:"ilffi,'i-ri$t
W,iri'r,te, wL-2020-1
$175VALUE
E-mail:
woodline@woodbits.com
QUALTTY Guaranteed oURPRICE $119 set
ONLY
Continuedon page I 14
.INDIVIDUALBITSALSO AVAILABLE.ALL MAJORCREDITCARDS. SAMEDAYSHIPPING.
www.woodmagazine.com 113
shop-proven products

This unicnredrum sander

doesthin-gsthe otherscan't
Over the pastseveralyears,wide-bodieddrum sandershave
becomepopularin homewoodworkingshops,as we continueour
questto takethe drudgeryout of sanding.Like a thicknessplaner,
though,thosetoolscan only maketwo oppositefacesof a work-
pieceparallel.The Sand-FleePS35000isn't limited in that way.
In fact, the Sand-Fleeworks more like a jointer. After settingthe
stainless-steel tabletopjust a hair lower thanthe top of the drum
duringthe initial setup,you passthe workpieceover the drum by
hand,giving you controlover the feedrateand pressure.In my
tests,I found it impossibleto bog down the tool's %-hpmotor,no
matterhow hardI pushed.
The lack of a self-feedingmechanismis a big plus in many ways.
For example,I easilysandedsomevery small scrollsawnwork-
piecesthat would get lost betweenthe pressureroller and drum of a
traditionalhorizontaldrum sander.You alsocan sandextra-thickor
tall workpieceson the Sand-Fleebecauseyou're not limited by the
distancebetweenthe feedbelt and drum. (Most drum sandersmax
out at about3" of thickness.)It's especiallyhandyfor sandingbox
joints and dovetailssmoothafter assembly.
Although workpiecesshorterthan about2' long sandlike a
dream,keepingconsistentpressureon longerworkpiecesis more
problematic,and I couldn't get as smootha surfaceas I get sanding
thosesamepieceson my self-feedingdrum sander.
Hook-and-loopabrasivesinstallquickly on the Sand-Flee's18"-
long polycarbonatedrum, so you can startand stop an abrasive
strip anywherealongthe drum.I loadedthreegrits of progressively
finer paperon different partsof the drum and quickly sandeda nar-
row workpiecethroughthreegrits without changingpaper.Much of
the dustcreateddropsharmlesslybelow the tabletop,and a2Vz"
dustport hooksnicely to a shopvacuumto makeit evencleaner.
The manufacturertoutsthe Sand-Fleeas "portable,"and it is, to
somedegree.You can standit on edgefor storageso it doesn't
alwaystakeup the 21x35"
Sand-Flee PS35000
footprint createdby the
Performance ****ti
woodenmountingbase,
Price $450
which, by the way, you must
provide. Advanced
Machinery
-TestedbyMarlen Kemmet 800/727-6553, www.advmachinery.com

114 WOOD rnagazine March 2004

One-handedclamp becomeslight-duty vise
SinceQuick-Grip launchedthe first one- advancethejaw),
handedbar clamp, other manufacturershave along with a "foot"
followed suit to get their own piece of that on eachjaw allow
lucrativemarket.Wilton's Multi-Grip the clamp to stand
Holding Systembrings a coupleof new fea- on its own. This
turesto the table-pretty much any table. trigger configura-
More than a bar clamp, the Multi-Grip tion works pretty
Holding Systemconsistsof a one-handed well with the clamp
clamp and a portablebasethat easily horizontal.but with
mountsto any tabletopbetweenV+"and the bar vertical
2Vz"thick. The bar of the clamp, then, locks (when clamping a
into the base'sheadto make an instantvise. tool baseto a
While power carving with my high-speed bench,for exam-
rotary tool, I like that the headrotates360o ple), it's morediffi-
and locks'in any of 16 positions. cult to manage.
So, haveWilton engineersdone anything One other nice
to improve the clamp itself? You bet. A touch: A grooved
fixed jaw that flips to turn the clamp into a pair ofjaw pads
spreaderisn't anythingnew, but Multi- replacesthe Mutli-
Grip's fixed jaw locks anywherealong the Grip's normal
full length of the bar. That meansyou can smoothfacesfor holding a round work- Multi-Grip
HoldingSystem
repositionthat jaw and the fixed jaw to piece.They held fast while I hand-saweda Performance *****
betterbalancethe clamp. dowel, and also worked well on the odd- Price $30
The in-line designof the Multi-Grip shapedbaseof my carving. Wilton
Tools
clamp's trigger (the part you squeezeto -TestedbyJeffHall 29,www.wiltonmultigrip.com
888/804-71
Continuedon page I 16
wwwwoodrnagazine.com 115

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products
Workpate on_wheelsstays
put when working
Sinceits introductionnearly30 yearsago,
the name"Workmate" hasbecomesynony-
mouswith "portableclampingworkstation"
(like "Jell-O" and "gelatin").Black &
Decker's WM375-the latestincarnation
of the venerableshopaccessory-adds
wheelsto makeit moremobile,a big plus
if you're not asyoung,or strong,as you
usedto be.
Anotherbonuswith the WM375 is that it
folds flat with the pull of a singlelever
beneaththe tabletop.That surebeatsthe
releaselatcheson the old Workmates,and
folding up the four shortlegs at the bottom.
The WM375's heavy-gauge steelframe
supportsup to 350 lbs of projectsor bench-
top powertoolswithout tipping,sagging,or
wiggling.Eventhoughthat's 100-200lbs
lessthanotherWorkmatemodels,it's plen-
ty for any taskin my woodworkingshop.
My only disappointment: The wheels
work only with the WM375 in its
folded-for-storage position.I hopedit
might work like a mobile base,wherethe
workstationandtool couldbe easilymoved
aroundthe shop.Still, its priceandporta-
-#" bility make it a
good value. lF

SUBSCRIBERS: -Tested by
PaulMcClannahan

PLEASENOTE!
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receiving offers for otlier products and services from our company (Meredith
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Workmate
WM375
Include a current magazine address label with this coupon, and mail your request to: Performance * * * - L i - L :

Price $60
}'[.agazine Customer Service
Black
& Decker
P.O. Box 10263 800/544-6986,
www.blackanddecker.com
Des Moines, IA 50336-0263

116 WOOD magazine March 2004

rruhatrg ahead ondeckfortheMayissue(available March23)
at newsstands
Justsomeofthearticles
Proiects for your horrre, shoPr and orrtdoor spaces

3-piecekid'sset
yourexperience
"Fastto make"and"funto give"willdescribe withthistrio.

Easyglider
Floatoff intothesummersunsetonthiscomfyaddition settee,
to theAdirondack-style
plantelchair,andfootrest
featuredin previous
issues,

level
Torpedo
enough
Good-looking to be sideboard
Traditional
yourtoolbox,
butbuiltto survive
displayed, Buildthishandsome servingpieceasa stand-alone,
or to matchtheoakdining
beautywillproveindispensablearoundyourhomeand in issue152andthediningchairdetailed
tablefeatured onpage80.

Tools, tips & rnore

Tablesaw
fencesand
splitters
Doesyoursaw
deliver safeand
precise ripcuts?
lf not,it may
needan after-
marketripfence
or splitter.
Checkoutour
ratings of
today'stop
products.

projectmaterials
Unique Shopsetupona shoestring
Turnshopscraps, debris,
construction andeven Discover
dozensof waysto getthe
treeprunings projects.
intohighlydecorative in yourshop.
mostoutof everydollarinvested

WOOD magazine March 2004