this issue's

WOODomagazine
hli hts
February2OO1lssue130 www.woodonline.com

wopdWorki ng
proiects
22 knock-down-drag-out
cuttingplatform
Six interlockingstripsof 3/+"plywood fit snuglytogetherto form
a sizablesupportfor machininglarge workpieces.

46 full-service
laundrycenter
Createa functional and appealingwash-daywork areawith this
wraparoundstorageunit. In the process,discoverthe tricks for
working with melamine-laminated particleboard.

60 a classictilt-topovaltable
You don't haveto be a woodturnerto shapethe pleasingpedestal
of this weekendwoodworkingproject.Simplymail-ordertheturn-
ing from our source,cut the pds, andassemble.

68 decorator'sfireplacescreen
Add an eye-catchingaccentto your home's hearthfollowing the
easyinstructionsfor both the wood standandfabric panel.

72 NathanHalepipebox
Constructa faithful replicaof an authenticperiodpiecefoundin the
page46 homeof oneour nation'sgreatestpatriots.

HAF$Ial"
drumsandersfor homeworkshops
Looking to avoid the tedious,time-consuming page72
businessof surface-sanding boardsand wide,
glued-uppanels?Give one of theseshop-tested
workhorsesa try.

productsthat perform
Checkout the latestin the woodworkingmarketplace.The prod-
ucts include a saw-bladecleaner,a scrollsawarm lift, wood-
aging chemicals,a shop-vacuumhoselock, a quick-changetool-
lesscollet for routers,a uniquescrew-drivingsystem,and an
aerosolthat lets paint adhereto plastic and metal.
page60
Continued on page 4

Cover photograph: Wrn. Hopkins

2 WOOD magazlne February 2001

 this issue's
highlights
WOODo magdzine February2OO1lssue130 www.woodonline.com

fff$iques
A shopskills:copeand stick
Discover a low-tech, low-cost methodfor joining frame members
for cabinet doors using dovetail and slot-cutting router bits.

28 tips fromyourshopand ours

One woodworker savesmoney using carpet tubes for dust
collection; anotheremploysa shelf supportto fastendown
a tabletop.Seetheseand more workshopsolutionsinside. page24
76 learnthe secretsof
scrapingsuccess
No tool cleansup a woodworkingproject
better than the simple metal hand scraper.
Find out about the types of scrapersavail-
able, how to sharpenthem, and how to put
one to good usecleaningup joinery and
glue lines.

featunes
6 the editor'sangle
t0 talkingback
l4 WOODONLINEo

page76

40 one very puzzlingcrattsman

Get to know Virginia woodworker Jerry Syfert and see how his
intriguing boxesexhibit a whole new level of complexity,with some
sellingfor over $1,000.

66 back-to-basicscaskets
Travel withWOOD magazine'sPeteStephanoto the New Melleray
Abbey in northeastIowa where the Trappist monks supplementtheir
monastery'slagging farm income with money made from a rather
' uniqueline of woodworking.

100 finishingtouches

This issue's cover wood grain: Rosewood

4 WOODmagazine February2001
the editor's Better flomes and Gardens

WffiMM.
2001. Vol.18.No.1 o lssue
It's Here! FEBRUARY
EditorIARRYCLAYTON
Managing
No.130

EditorJIMHARROLD
A new series of articles Assistant
Managing Editor/Features
PETER J. STEPHAN0
that will help you make Senior
DesignEditorJAMES R. DOWNING
Projects
EditorBILLI(RIER
the most of your wood- Projects
EditorJANHAIESVEC
working skills in and ProductsEditorDAVE CAMPBEIL
TechniquesEditorJIMP0LL0CK
around the house ShopManager/Project
DesignerCHARLES l. HEDLUND
Assistant
DesignEditor/Project
BuilderKEVIN BOYIE
We know that you take a lot of Production/0ffice
Manager MARGARET CLOSNER
Administrative
AssistantSHERYT MUNY0N
pride in your homes,yards,and Reader-Contact
Specialist
BENV0NRUDEN
gardens.With that in mind, we lllustrators
KIMD0WNING, L0RNA J()HNS0N,
R0XANNE LeM()lNE,ERICH LAGE
have decided to add a whole Consultants
B0BMcFARtlN. DAVE HENDERS0N
new dimension to the Contributino
Craftsman JIMHEAVEY

magazine-woodwork- Creative
Director
DANIEIMASINI
Associate
ArtDirector
J0HNMEEK
ing projectsthat improve Assistant
ArtDirectorCHERYL
A. CIBULA
the value and beautv of ArtDepartment
Assistant
VICKIE
JANSSEN
PublisherMARK HAGEN
vour home. Ancillary
SalesandInternet
ManagerMARTEN KEMMET
Stating now, we plan to cover some aspectof woodworking that enhances Advertising
0ffice:333N.Michigan
Ave.,
Suite1500,
your home in every issue.For example,you'll find a nifty laundry storage lL60601
Chicago, Phone:312853-2890
FM:312580-7906
DirectResponse Advertising
CAR0IYN DAKIS
center on page 46 that we designedto help bring order and good looks to an AccountExecutive
YUWEI tEE
often-neglectedareaof the home.In the next issue,we'll bring you a bathroom Account Executive
R0NG0LMINAS
AdvertisingManager
JIMHUGHES
cabinetthat we think many of you will want to build and put in place of your Marketing Manager GERALIIEIEGASPI
SalesAssistantMARGARET TRAVIS
standardmedicine cabinet. This smartly designedproject
SalesAssistantTHERESA C00KS
has built-in electrical receptacles;cord storagefor shavers, Publishing
DirectorWltLlAMR.REED
blow dryers,or other appliances;and threemirored doors. Advertising
Services Manager PATHENDERSH0TT
But, we think you'll be really impressedby what we'll Consumer Marketing Director tlz BREDESON
Associate
Consumer Marketing DirectorKATHI PRIEN
bring you in the April issue's "The HandcraftedHome" Assistant
Consumer Marketing Manager DAVE H0N0LD
section.The coveragewill includethe completeoverhaulof Business Manager CRAIG FEAR
Product
Senior Manager RICK GROW
a '60s-stylefamily room into a high-style,woodworking-richliving MEREDITH PUBTISHING GROUP
space.We'll show you how to make and install paneledwalls, builrin book- President STEPHEN M. LACY
President JERRY KAPLAN
caseswith doors,and matchinglight sconces.(Seethe drawingbelow.) VicePresident
Publishing DirectorJERRY WARD
We'll do a major home-beautifyingproject,suchas this family room, twice Creative
ServicesELLEN DETATH0UDER
M a n u f a c t u r iBnRgU C E H E S T 0 N
everyyear,in our April and Octoberissues.So staytunedas Consumer Marketing KARLA JEFFRIES
we tackle a completekitchen remodel and 0oerations DEAN PIETERS
FinanceandAdministration MAXRUNCIMAN
a new deck in future issues.As always,
r?leredrth
we'll leadyou step-by-step to the success- I cosooaltpru

WltLlAMT. KERR.
President
andChiefExecutive
Officer
ful completion of each project. We'll
E.T.MEREDITH
lll, Chairman
oftheExecutive
Committee
includepatterns,exploded-viewdrawings, @CopyrightMeredithCorporation2001
All riehtsreserved.
Printedin the U.S.A.
precise instructions... everything you
needfor perfectresults. Better Homes and GardensoWOODo magazine(ISSN-0743-
894X) is publishedninetimesa year in February,March,April,
May/June,July/August,September,October, November,and

4W
December by Meredith Corporation, 1716 Locust St., Des
Moines, IA 50309-3023. Periodicals postage paid at Des
Moines.Iowa. and additionalmailine offices.BetterHomesand
Gardenstrademark registeredin Caiada and Australia. Marca
Registrada en M6xico. ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION
PRICES: U.S. and its possessions, $27; Canada,$39; other
countries,$47. CanadaPost PublicationsMail SalesProduct
Agreement No. 1369350.Canadian BN 12348 2887RT.
Customer Service Information: For serviceon your subscription,including changeof address,contact www.wood- CANADIAN RETURN ADDRESS: Better Homes and
magazine.com/service or call 800/374-9663. Subscription mailing address: Better Homes and Gardens WOOD Gardens WOOD magazine, 2744 Edna Street, Windsor,
magazine, P.O. Box 37439, Boone, IA 50037-0439. Pleaseenclose your addresslabel from a recentissue.Editorial mail- Ontario,N8Y 1V2. POSTMASTER: Sendaddresschangesro
ing addrtss: The Editor, WOOD magazine, 17l6 Locust Street,GA3l0, Des Moines, IA 50309-3023.For questions BetterHomesand GardensWOOD masazine.P.O.Box 37439.
{or our editorial staff, questions about how to reach an advertiser, or to place an advertisement in our magazine call Boone,IA 50037-0439.
E001374-9663.To order back issues call 800/346-9663. For article reprints. write to the editorial addressand enclose
$5 per article. 6 ^lP^l
WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
talking fuffi'r#M
Letters, & Updates
Comments

Knowing when
to clean an air filter
How do you know when
the filter on the WOODa
cyclonedustcollectorfrom
Issue100needscleaning?I
addeda simpleair-pressure
gaugecalleda manometer.
Here'show. Sealtubefitting
intofilterhousing.

1/+"brass barbedtube
fittingsolderedon

pressurebacking up behind the clean

Mount a U-shapedloop of V4"i.d.
clearplastictube (availablefrom hard-
ware storesor home centers)on a
board,and attachone end to the filter
housing,as shownin the drawing.You
can mountthe boardon a joist adja-
cent to the filter. Fill the tube about
halfway up the U with coloredwater.
Mark the level of the water with the
cycloneoff. This lets you keep tabson
the evaporationof water from the
tube.I haven'ttried it vet. but I hear
that you can eliminateevaporationby
floating a smalldrop of light oil on top
of the water on eachside of the U.
With the filter clean.and one blast
gateopen,switch on the cyclone.The
filter will push the water a distanceup
the openleg of the U. Mark this level.
Now, as the filter loads up, additional
pressurepushesthe water fanher up the
tube. With the sameblast gate open,
when the waterlevel reachesVz"
beyondthe clean-filter mark, service
the filter. I find that the WOOD
cycloneloosesabout 100 CFM for
eachhalf-inchincreasein the heightof
the water column.
-Rod Cole,Lexington,
Mass.

Tablesaw trials appealed

The review of mid-pricedtablesawsin
The complete guide to chair cane sizes
Issue128 incorrectlyidentifiedthe Jet's I just readthe articleon chaircaningin lssue123.
fence-facematerialas melamine-coated Althoughmediumand fine are the two mostpopu-
carnage w
particleboard.They are madeof high- lar sizes,there are actuallysevensizesof cane
superfine
densitypolyethylene(HDPE). available.This is importantinformationto know, finefine {tan 7/trlz"
Also, a cast-irontablesawtop is much more especially whenrecaningan old chair.As shown
flexible than one would expect.Becausethe in the chart,ditferenthole diametersand spacing nanowmedium,': iA"
openstandof a contractorsaw lacksthe indicatethe size of cane to use
rigidity of a cabinetsawbase,its top flat- -VincentTarantini,
ShipBottom, N.J. *b'-
nessdependson the flatnessof the floor. Note: Wncenthastaught chair caningand rush seatingfor 28 years.He curently feaches
-Dave Campbel[W00Dmagazineat the SouthemRegionalAdult Schoolin Manahawkin,N.J.
Continued on page 12

10 WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
 talking

A production jig for

wheel treads
The instructionsfor One Huge Hauler The American Chestnut
in Issue 122 call for filing the wheel- and Elm: Theynreback!
treadnotchesby hand.I madea jig to The WoodAnecdote on American
cut the notcheson my routertable chestnutin /ssue 125elicited the
with a straightbit. I thoughtsome responsefrom several readersthat,
other WOODareaderscould useit. while the Americanchesfnutn
-James Geary, ElkPoint,S.D. down, it is by no meansout.
Chinesechesfnufsare known to
To fit any sizewheel, Twicethe distancefrom have chestnutblight resistance,but
positionbolt alongthe the outsideof the miter
centerline so the gaugeslot to the center they lack the staturethat makesthe
bottomof the wheel ,A. of the bit Americanspecles desirablefor shade
clears,the table. /^
and lumber.Many decadesof breed-
ing researchby the U.S. Department
of Agriculture,the Connecticut
AgricultureExperimentStation,and
TheAmerican ChestnutFoundation
ffACn have shedlight on the genet- Americanelm. The decline of the
ics of chestnutblightreslstance. chestnutstartedin 1904;Dutch elm
TACF'sgoal is to introduceinto the diseasewiped out the elmsin the
American chestnutthe blight resis- 1960s.Many of us rememb€rcitY
tance of the Chinesetree, while streetsand country roads arched
Clampthb stopblockin
the mitergaugeslot. preseruingthe other characteristicsof over by elms.
theAmericanspecies.The first lineof TheHm Researchlnstituteis a non-
blight-resistantAmerican chestnuts profit organizationdedicatedto the
will be ready for planting in 10-15 restorationof the AmericanElm.
-T
years.For information,contact The Theymarketa preventativetreatment
4" plus
thedepth American ChestnutFoundation,469 for Dutch elm diseaseand the dis-
of the Main St., P.O.Box 4044, Bennington, ease-resistantAmericanLibefi elm.
miterslot
I W 05201; phone, 802/447-0110; For information,contact the Elm
e-mail, chestnut@acf .org; or visit Researchlnstitute,1 Elm Street,P.O.
wwwacforg. Box 150,Westmoreland,NH,03467;
Great idea,Jim. We combineda cou- Whilewe're on the subiectof deci- phone, 800/367-3567; e-mail,
ple of ideasfrom a recentlypublished matedspeciesmakinga comeback, eri@top.monad.net; or visit
jig with yours,and here it is. we feel obligatedto mention the www.libertyelm.com.

Make that tablesaw insert safe to use Write Us!

A shoptip in Issue122 suggests makinga zero-clearance tablesawinsertfor both
Wewelcome yourcomments, criticisms,sug'
a full-width and a thin-kerf saw bladeby turning the insertend-for-end.This is andyes,evencompliments.
gestions, Please
an excellentidea,with one additionto improveits safety.Original equipment writeto:Talking Back,W00DMagzine,
1716LocustSL,GA310, DesMoines, lA
insertshave somemethodto hold them down, keepingthe bladefrom accidently
50309"3023 oremailusat
catchingthe insertand throwing it back at the operator.I would suggesta talldngbaCk@mdp.com.
swivelingtab at both endsof the insert.The tab at the rear of the insertWould Weselect andpublish of ffie
onlyletters
engagethe sawtablewhile the one at the front would be rotatedout of the way. greatestbenefittaourreaders.
-HowardAcheson, N.Y,
Larchmont,

WOOD magazine F e b r u a r Y2 0 0 1
12
 WffiffiruONuNE
wwwwoodonline.com

Watcha masterfulwoodworkingproiect : Morefree web

unfold before your eyes want
You'll evergbe able to take a 360otour aroundthe completedroom.
www.woodmagazine.
offeringsyou don't
to miss
If you're interestedin customizing
the interior spacesof your home
with beautiful woodworking,
check out the upcoming April
issue of WOODa magazine.In it
you willfind a spectacular renova-
tion of a family room. But you
don't haveto wait until thento see
how this exciting project is pro-
gressing.Just visit the web page
below,andyou'll get a behind-the-
scenessneak-peekat the construc-
tion, including the
oak wall paneling,the
application of wall
stencils, and the
installation of the
wood floor.
We'll give you new coverageof
this ongoingrenovationeverytwo
weeksup until the publicationof
the April issue, so stay tuned!
com/handhome
.The Design in Wood Show in San
Diego featuressomeof the most beauti-
ful woodworking pieces you'll tind
anywhere. You can view 29 inspiring
piecesand learn which onestook home
the prize money.
www.woodmagazine.com/
woodmall/sandiego/index.html
.Watch from designto finished master-
piece as a craftsmaninlays an image of
Sitting Bull in a cedar-strip canoe.
Thirty-eight color images guide you
every stepof the way.
www.woodmagazine. com/
woodmall/canoes/index.html
.The Northwest Fine Woodworking
Furniture Gallery in Seattleis one of the
finest handcraftedfurniture storesin the
nation.But you don't haveto travel any-
where to visit 23 of the artistsrepresent-
ed there-just checkout this web page:
www.woodmagazine.com/
I
woodmall/furn_gallery/index.htm

A mall loaded only with woodworking

stores that stay open day and night
Soundslikea woodworker's dreamcometrue,doesn'tit?Notanymore.Thismallexists.You
won'tfindit downthe street,butyou cangettherein onlyseconds. Justclicka computer
you'll
mousea fewtimes.and beattheWOODMALL@, 7-day-a-week
a 24-hour-a-day, cyber-
spacerealitywith20-plusstoresthatcaterexclusively to theproductneedsof woodworkers.
Shopping around,you'llfindeverything you require,frompowerandhandtoolsto hard-
wareand wood.lt's all there-over40,000items-withmanyon sale.You'llfind special
prices,closeouts,comparisons of overtwodozentypesof tools,andevena giftregistry.
lf youdon'thavethetimeto checkouteachstorein the mall,youcansurveyall of themat
oncefora specifictoolorproductviaourelectronic searchfeature.Justplugin thenameof a
product,and we'lltellyouwhereto findit in the www.woodmagazine.com/woodmall
mall.

14 WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
rrvoodforum
gathered
questions
towoodworking
Answers fromyourletters
andourW00D
ande-mails, Onlineo groups.
discussion
How to haruest
beautiful burls
1Ff l I haveacquireda walnuttree
\f I withseveral largeburls.What's
thebestmethod for harvestingthese
get
burlsto the maximum yield?
-Jerry Tibbetts, Texas on veneeror slabs.
Rockwall,
Jrr.l'. we consulted
A I
Fll with burl expertTom
Hutchinson, who owns
Hut Products,Inc. He
advisesyou to saw
off each burl deep
enoughso that
some of the
non-burl wood
remainswith
it. That should
help avoid
cracking and
splitting. Store
the burl in a rela-
tively dry spotfor
six monthsbefore
slicing it up or turning
it. Or, you can speedup
the processby coating or soak-
ing the burl with Pentacryl.This
wood stabilizer is availablefrom
\Yoodcraft, 8001225-1 153, for $ 14.99
per quart.
But before you spendsix months
dreaming about what beauty lies with-
in, grab a sneakpreview. Scrapeoff
just enoughwood to find out if it's an
"eye" burl or an "onion" burl. If lots of
round, eye-like feafuresappear,as in
the sampleaboveheft,that's a valuable
burl. Slice acrossthe eyesonce the burl
dries, and you can turn out somebeau-
tiful veneeror slabs.But if you find
16
only convoluted
layers of wood,
as in the one at
right, don't count
Tom says,"Most onion
burls will literally fall apart"
if you cut them into pieces.
-w00D@Magazine
Ready,aim, blast? walnut and teak arejust too tough. Oak
| wouldliketo sandblastsome doesn't work well, either. Try cherry or
1Ff |
\ll text into a pieceol th" walnut, maple for indoor projects and redwood
usingan inexpensive sandblasterand or cedar for anything outdoors. And if
playgroundsand.WhenI sandblasted you can get your handson a heavy-
glass,longago,lthink I usedcontact duty blaster,the work will be much
paperto masksurfaces.Wouldthat more rewarding.
workin this situation? As for the masking material, you'll
Texas
-loe Pani4,Lewisville, get the best results with adhesivevinyl
for light jobs. Try adhesiverubber,
11 ; You can get some wonderful available at sign shopsor from grave
Al t"rolts by sandblastingwood, monumentcompanies,for more serious
Joe,but using a low-end machineon work. Or you can get by with a couple
walnut soundslike a formula for frus- of layers of duct tape,.cutto shapewith
tration. Jerry Stephens,who makes a sharpknife. Contactpaper won't
signs in California, sayswoods such as standup in this application.Do the
blasting with silica sand,widely
available at most home centers.
Wear a good respirator,though,
becauseprolongedexposureto
silica sandleadsto lung damage.
For more information about
sandblastingequipmentand sup-
plies, call TP Tools and
Equipment at 8001321-9260and
requesta free catalog.You also
could check the Yellow Pages,or
do an Internet searchfor "sand-
blastingsupplies."
-W000 Magazine
Continued on page 18
WOOD magazine February 2001
 I

woodf*nffirtr* r
UJ
(5
z
Furniture from I use recycled wood all the time. Here (E
sF
J

barn wood? in Ohio a lot of the old barns were z

=
1Ff I A fellow herein eastern To me it's the greatestwood to work madefrom red and white oak. The last o
>
\ll Pennsylvania is sellingboards with. Most of the wood that I get from I bought was about a buck a board I
o.
(r
he hassalvagedfrom old barns, old barnsand housesis 70 to 100 years foot. I just run it through my planer, (,
mostlypine,with somehardwood old. That gradeof wood just doesn't taking light cuts. I do have a handheld FoT
n
mixedin. lt's in random-width boards, grow here anymore,and I don't plane metal detector,and it found a few nails
some'12'or longer.I wonderwhether or sandout all the defects.It's so cheap I never saw. I usually find a couple of
theseold barnboardsaresuitablefor that most of the time I get it for doing squarecut nails and can pull them out
makingfurniture' the take-down.That's a little work, but in one piece. I made a harvest-type
w00D ^n,neaparticipantworth it to build somethingfrom that kitchen table and the tables in the liv-
ageof wood. ing room. I leave small defectsin the
Here in Kentucky most of the -Mike Carlton,
Newbern,Tenn. wood for character.
rf,r l |
Fll barn wood is oak and old. I made -W00D 0nlineparticipant
a small cabinet from it for a customer There's an antiqueshopright near me
who suppliedthe wood. This stuff eats that sells tablesmadeexclusively from Got a question?
planer andjointer knives quickly, and really old barn wood. The tablesare
there'sa lot of waste,but it doesmake new, but the wood is old. If I could get lf you're
lookingforananswerto a woodworking
question,writeto:W00D Forum,1716Locust Sf,
nice-looking stuff. I leave on someof the prices they get, I could make a liv- GA310, Desliloines,lA 5m1F3023, ore-mailus
the gray, weatheredwood for looks. ing working two hours a day. atwoodforum@mdp.com. furanimmediate
-Don Eisenhard[NewHaven,Ky. -WayneVanCoughnet[ NewMilford,Conn. answer h yourquestion, gethelpfiomfellowwood-
workers byposting it ononeofourIntemetdiscus-
siongroups at w.woodonline.com.

CircleNo.877 WOOD magazine February 2001

reat ideas
f*r y*ur *hcrp

WOOD magazine February2001

 develop.your
shop skills'
easy& quick I
GoFe&
sti-ck
Use a basic routerbit in a
new way to dress up those
frame-and-paneldoors.
j oineryproduces
ope-and-stick
greatJookingframesfor cabinet
doors, but you need specialized router
bits or shapercutters to do the job the
traditional way. Those items don't
come cheap.So we found a low-cost,
low-tech alternative, basedon a simple
dovetail bit.
First, let's define someterms. "SticK'
or "sticking" refers to the molded edge
that's cut along the inside edgeof the
frame; pieces that meet that molding at
a right angle must be "cope{" to match
the profile. Our technique replacesthe
usual round-over profile with a clean,
simple bevel. It producesa subtle
effect, not a dramatic o;re.
If you have a router, a router table, a
dovetail bit, and a slot cutter, you can
do it the way we show here. Begin by
cutting the stiles to their final length.
24
Lay out the rails by adding 1" to the
final-inside width of the frame. That
measurementwill allow for a /2" stub
tenon on both ends of each rail.
Bevelthe edges.Install any dovetail bit
with a /+" shank in your router, mount-
ed in a router table. AVz" shankwould
rub againstttre middle of the workpiece
and ruin your alignment. (Note: It's
helpful to make severalauxiliary fences
with different-sized openings.For each
bit, use a fence with an openingjust
big enoughfor that bit.)
Raise the bit so that it extends to the
top surfaceof the workpiece. Set the
fence to allow the bit to slice offjust
enough material to bevel the top half of
the inside edge,as shown in the draw-
ingbelow, left.Make that cut, then flip
the piece over and mill the other half of
the sameinside edge. Rout all the rails
and stiles this way.
Gutslots for.the panel.Switch to aVt"
slot cutter in your router. You could
use a V+"strughtbit instead,but the
slot cutter allows you to work with the
pieceslying on their facesinsteadof
balancedon edge.It's safer and more
precisethat way. Set the slot cuffer to
extend Vz"ftomthe router fence, as
shown in the drawing below. Then, run
the inside edge of each stile and each
rail through the cutter to form a full-
length slot.
Continued on page 26
WOODmagazine February2001
 ',j,i
l;: {r-:l 1

shop skills

Mounta dado
Startformingthetenons. Finishthe tenons.Go backto the Assemblethe frame.Now the rails and
andsetit to cut
bladeon yourtablesaw, routertableand re-installyour dovetail stilesfit togetheras shownbelow.
a centeredtenon Vq"thick on the rails, bit Adjust the height of the bit to Make standardpanelswith Vq"sheet
as shownbelow.Supportthe workpiece matchthe bottom surfaceof the tenon. materialor solid wood shapedto fit
with an auxiliaryfenceon your miter Now mark t/2."from the end of one into the slots.We chosea third route
gauge.Run a testpiecethroughfirst to tenonto establishthe completedlength and maderaisedpanelsout of the light-
makesureit fits snuglyinto the grooves of the tenon.Setthe routertablefence weightversionof medium-density
madein the first step.Cut the tenons so that the point of the dovetailbit hits fiberboard.We glued the panelson all
E/s"long,just to get someof the waste the mark, as shownbelow.Rout the ends four edgesand setthem in the grooves.
out of the way. You'll finish cutting of the rails with this setup,finishing the Glue plywoodpanels,too, but don't
them to length on the router table. top andbottom shoulderof eachtenon. glue solid-woodpanelsin place.JF
Writtenby Jim Pollock with Chuck Hedlund
Photograph:Baldwin Photography
Brian Jensen
lllustrations:

ffit'1;ooducing the New Delta Store.

rr'
Thp into the
Power of the Pros.

ThenewDettastorehas
over5ooproducts
froma complete [ine'
Acceptno imitationsl
up of unisaws to those
BuythePerformax 16-32
hard-to-find machinery
PlusDrumSander, the
attachments.Extensive
industry's drum
original
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WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
tlps
Rookie mis_talfe,
veteran solutioh
While building a small tablerecently,IrealizedI'd
forgottento cut a saw kerf inside the apronfor the tabletop-
mountingclamps.And, the tablewas smallenoughthat I
couldn't fit my biscuitjoiner insideto makea slot.
Forsendingthis issue's
While contemplatingmy dilemma,I stumbledacrosssome
TopShopTip,Jason
Matthews'shop will 7+"shelf supportslike the onesshownin the drawingbelow.
TopShopTipwinnerJasonMatthews grow by onetool-a
I drilled holesin the apronas shown,slippeda pin in each
standsin the customkitchenhe Porter-Gable
3807slid-
designed andbuiltbeforehe was old ing compoundmitersaw. hole,thenrotatedeachsupportinto the positionshown.
enoughto vote. Thanks,Jason!
Finally, I securedthe shelf supportsto the tabletopwith
'all screws.The techniqueworkedso well, I now useit regularly
him a precociouswoodworker,but by the
t rn my proJects.
\-/ tender age of 17, JasonMatthews alreadyhad
-,JasonMatthews,
Ogden,
Utah
a custom kitchen under his tool belt. Did he learn
woodworking at his daddy's knee? "Actually, I got
startedwith a scrollsawwhen I was 13," our Top
Shop Tip winner replies. "My mom did tole paint-
ings, and I helped her by cutting the pine wood
shapesthat she painted on." Later, Jasonparlayed
Mom's requestfor a spice rack into a new tablesaw,
drill press,and benchtopsander.
Thesedays, Jason'sshop takes up most of the fami-
ly basement.That's where he designedand built a
kitchen full of cabinetsfor a friend. It's also where
he came up with this issue'sTop Shop Tip, at right.
Have you come up with a solution for a workshop
ptzzler? Share it with us, and we may share it with
the world. If we chooseyour tip for publication,
you'll get $75; if we'deemit the best of the issue, Garpet tubing makes thrifty dust duct
you'll also get a tool prize worth at least $250. I recentlypurchaseda dust collectorfor my shopand need-
Send your tips, along with drawings or photos and ed someductwork to connectit to severalmachines.I'm
your daytime telephonenumber, to: always trying to be thrifty, so I trekked over to a local car-
pet shopand acquired-for free-several lengthsof 4"x12'
Tips From Your Shop (and Ours) spiral-woundcardboardtubing usedto roll carpetingon.
WOODa Magazine
These,I found, fit nicely into 4" PVC wastepipe fittings
1716Locust St., GA-310
Des Moines, IA 50309-3023 that you can buy at home centers.
Or post your suggestionson our Top Shop Tips dis- I madeseveraloverheadruns,connectingthe tubeswith
cussiongroup at www.woodonline.com. PVC elbowsand wyes, shop-madeblast gates,and varying
Because we try to print only original shop tips, lengthsof flexible connectortubing. Gluing thejoints with
please send them only to WOOD magazine.Sorry, but siliconecaulk whereshown
we can't sendback vour submissions.Thanks! Inserttube into PVC fitting
makesa rigid, airtight fitting. and sealjointwithsiliconecaulk.
A coat of paint madethe entire
4" carpettube
installationbarely noticeable.
-Jim Maier,
Joseph, Ore. Standard4':
WOODWORKINGPRODUCTS
EDITOR
PVC fitting
Continuedon page30

28 WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
 tips g,?f"f:rshop
Secondbenchtop
liftsto accommodate
False tabletop makes thickstock.
space for long boards Continuous
In my smallshopI can't dedicatea lot hinge
of spaceto mitersawstock-support
tables,so my benchhasto do thejob.
But whenI needto cut long boards,my
bolted-downbenchtoptools were
alwaysin the way.
To solvemy dilemma,I addeda sec-
ond top to the benchas shownat right,
mountingit abovethe original surface
Permanentbenchtop
so I have3t/2"of clearancebetweenthe r7)
q r same
at sqrrrv level
rvYvr as
L
\-/ mitersawtable
tops.Now, I can slidelong boards
underthe false top and cut them with-
out interference.
I also hingedthe falsetop so if I need
to cut thicker stock,I simply block it
up enoughto clear the workpiece.My
benchgrinder,bolted to the second
benchtop,goesalong for the ride.
-PeterLundebjerg,
Greeley, Colo.
Continued on page 34

b"Built a Porter-Cable
Store to Show it all.
;
fi

€
,:..
Seethe comptete line-upof
Porter-Cabte productsin the new
Porter-Cable store.Over5oo
i t e m si n c l u d i n gp n e u m a t i c s
andcordlesstoolsto the
.hard-to-findwoodworking
" accessories. Seethe
!".' entirefleetof this year's
newPorter-Cable products
at the storethat has it att.

Producepertectgap-freehairlineglue
jointson the miteredcornersof any multi-
sidedobjectwithouttrial-and-error
setups.
Visit the Porter-Cable
storeat
.-L. 1.800.7 52-Of 25
amazon.comI portercab[e
wvtfvtf.
lnc,
ffi|{/pqlpr,e&rs
{|#f131ffi.
':...
routers sanders cordlesstotls
generators the Porter-Cablestore
urwrr.woodpeck.con naiters& stapters air compressors
30 WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
tips l:";lxirJr'n"o
Gheck the cut before
you make the cut
Using a scratchawl, I scribeda line on
my tablesawtop, as shownbelow,to
indicateexactlywheremy favorite
bladewill cut. I just mark my stock,
then align my mark with the scribed
line. Make sureyou rest the ruler
againstthe teeth,not betweenthe gul-
lets, when marking.
-Chuck Hedlund,WOOD@ magazine
shopmanager

Maximize your tablesaw's

rip capacity with support
My tablesaw'sfencerails reachwell
beyondthe extensiontable,but I found
a safeway to usethoserails to the max
without letting the workpiecesag.I
clamp a supportstrip to be bottom of
the fence,as shownbelow.The support
holds the end of the workpiecelevel
with the table and ensuresprecisecon-
tact with the rip fence.When I'm not
using it, it hangson the wall nearthe
tablesaw.
-Tom Hock,Oconomowoc,
Wis.

34 WOOD magazine February2001

 7-^-^-^e
I
a TMPoRTANT
For a better a sAFETY ,
r{oTtGE
grip, a dip'll do ya'
To get a bettergrip on
2 Cr^ttsman'Radial
AmSr*, 2
2 Model
ltos.beginning
with113 ,
clamphandles,dip themin
heavy-dutyflexiblecoating, , Emercon
TootGompany nu/
suchas "PlastiDip"
(800/969-5432).Let the / announced
thevolunhry
recallol /
coatingcureandyour
clampswill be betterthan
whenthey were new.
, ;:#:ll;',11J':1,"
#:/
-Erv Roberts, ) nanmc'tured from1958ttrrough
/
DesMoines,lowa
(fte8-t/ainchthrough
19951
1l9I9/: ,
Board-stretching easier
with shop-made clamps
, i,^i;['J
;l'il'ffJ*Tj'lli7
/ Toolwillp^V
*ritable, Emeson
To conservematerial,especiallyon projectsI plan to paint, /
I'll sometimesend-glueshortpiecestogetherto makeup
longerboards.I don't haveclampslong enoughto spanthese
glue-ups(somemeasure7' long) so I madeseveralsetsof the
,,'f,$lllrl'liit
ar;i:",fi
o* wercsoldwithouta guatd,
clampshownbelow.One setspanseachfingerjoint.
/
that Gouered
the entireblade.
To use,I positionthe crossbarsaboutequidistantfrom the t- J
joint, then tightenthe four bolts at the endsof the crossbars. - Gonsumers have come into- -
Next, I tightenboth carriagebolts connectingthe crossbars- 2 ,o*H wfinmebrade rc$nmg*)
this enablesme to draw the piecestogetherwith precisepres-
sure,while ensuringtheir alignment. / *terciniuries. /
Note: I drilled two setsof bolt holesthrougheachcrossbar
to accommodate both wide and narrowboards.Also, gluing
,r,,m'HHlffi,
sandpaper to the insidefacesof eachcrossbarhelpsreduce
/ **n radialarmsawrec all.com/
slippageon the boards.
todetemineif theirsawissrbiect
-lohn Pugh, Haliborton,Ont. a
--. /-
to therccallandto ensurc that -
2 ,nw naueprupelsntetyanduset
/,r*rctions. /
,/

)r;miifrfu-=_^ /
/;lru,lltl'Pffi6 ,
,itil:;il,€ ,

3/ax 6" carriagebolt

(top and bottom)

/
a TMPoRTANT
Continued on page 36

www.woodonline.com 35 lyirrvNoTrcE,
^J^J^J^J^l
II ffiffipm
I

Routingan edgeprofile on delicate

workpiecescancausebad tearoutand
evenruin valuablepieces.I headoff
this problemby usinga techniquebor-
rowed from ripping plywood, wherea
scoringbladeis sometimesused.
BeforeI evenplug in my router,I
scribea line alongthe workpieceedge,
as shown/ar left,
scoringthe material
at a height to match
the bit. A marking
gaugefitted with a
steelcutter(as
opposedto a pin
marker)makesthe
scoringtaskeasy.
-Timothy England,

Breeding, Ky.

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36 WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
 S T E V EW A L L L U M B E RC O . *NOWAVAILABLE-
QualityHardwoods
and Woodworking
machineryFor TheCrattsnan
andEducational
lnstitutions CustomMade
RaisedPanel
Sharpening tools? Hang A s h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4. ./ ,4. . . . .
B a s s w o o d. . . . . . . . . . . . . .4, ./.4. . Select
2.35
1.95 CabinetDoors
one unit of HzOnstat! B i r c h. . . . . . . . . . .......... . . . . .4. ./ .4 Select
B u t t e r n u.t. . . . . , . . . . . . . . .4. /. 4. . . 1 C
2.60
2.30 4/4LogRun I AtsoAvaitabte
C h e r r y. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . ./.4. . . . Select 4.35 Walnut I Exotic
I don't usemy wet grindingwheeloften H i c k o r y- P e c a n. . . . , . . . . . 4 1 4 Select 2.50 Lumber
Mahogany(Genuine).. 4/4 Select 3.90
100bd.fr. $160I
enoughto keepwaterin the wheelbath M a p l e( H a r d ). . . . . . . . . . . .4. 1. .4 Select 3.15 .. $ 92.00
M a p l e( S o t t ). . . . . . . . . . . . 4. .1. .4 Select 2.30 .. $ 75.00
all the time, but filling it everytime I do P o o | a r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4. 1. .4. . . Select 1.75 .. $ 68.00
R e dO a k. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. ./.4. . . Select 2.50 .. $ 83.00
is a messyproposition. I solvedthe W a l n u .t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . ./.4. . . . Select 3.55 .. $ 98.00

flffi'...$:l[s
W h i t eO a k . . . . . . , . . . . . . . 4 , .1. .4. Select 2.40 .. $ 80.00
dilemmaby attachingoneendof a hose Cedar (AromaticRed) .4/4 1C+Btr. 1.75
C y p r e s s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4. ./.4. . . Select 2.30
W h i t eP i n e . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4. .1. 4 F . G . 1.20
to the drainplug hole at the bottomof Y e l l o wP i n e. . . . . . . . . . . . .4. 1 . .4. Clear 2.OO $ 70.00
A b o v e p r i c e s a r e f o r 1 0 0 ' q u a n t i t i e so f k i l n d r i e d Above prices are 20 bd. ft. bundles ol
the bath;the otherI sealedto the cap of rough lumber sold by the Bd. Ft. clear kilndriedlumber 3"-10' wide . 3'-7'
FOB Mayodan, NC. long (Random widths & lenglhs) Sur-
a waterbottle. Call for quantity discounts. Other sizes and {aced 2 sides or rough. Delivered UPS Send$1.00For LumberCatalog
grades available. prepaid in the Continental U.S. PrlcesSublect
lo Change
Without
Noiico
WhenI want to work at the wheel.I Circle No. 592
hangthe bottle from the ceiling,andthe
waterdrainsinto the bath.When I'm
finished,I hangthe bottle,still upright,
beneaththe grinder.The waterthen
refills the bottle,readyfor its next use.
-Tim Gant, La Maddalena,ltaly

www.woodmagazine.com 37
 Unroll your roller stand
for better control
A roller standworks well for supporting
stock coming off your tablesaw,but it
can also "steer" your workpieceif it's
not properly aligned.To remedythe sit-
uation, I replacedthe roller on my stand
with a scrapof 2x stock and a strip of
ultra-high molecularweight (uHIvfW)
plastic,as shownbelow.This.low-
friction material supportsthe outfed
stock without regardto its orientation,
and can evenbe usedto supporta long,
narrow piecefor crosscutting.

WOOD@
-)im Downing, magazine
seniordesigneditor
glq x 1'tlz"
1/s'chamfelon topedges

Afewmoretipsfromour
woodworkingpros
Hi gh IiJiJ'J'if.1,!H,1f,':'.Tn'',T.1
|.ii:'
you a superior
finish.Thanks
to an ad-
.Learn a simple trick to make wood
slide aroundmore easily on your
Fr G ^: -
feedback
erectronic
vanced this
circuit, bandsawor scrollsawtable in "One
FefTQfman(g Yery Puzzling Craftsman," a profile
at a con-
routeroperates
state-of-the-art

Route r :H:ill .'ff:';i:fJ:'.'ff.y

H:::,,il'
of Virginia puzzlemakerJerry
Syfert, on page 40.

;::,fi:,ix'J
from Fein li;il'#'J"i1ffxH
start,dustcollectionport, andQCspindle.ThenewFEINRT-1800 is designed
.Melamine-laminatedparticleboard
can be tricky to work with if you're
usedto solid stockand plywood.
fabricator
sotidsurface
for the cabinetmaker, and hobbyist.
serious Catt1- Seepages 48 and 49 for tips on dri-
800-441-9878for moreinformation anda deaternearyou, or visit us on
ving screwsinto melamine and
the webat www.feinus.com. pointers on making chip-free cuts.i
Finishing is just the beginning
FeinPowerToots,Inc. 1030AlconStreet
Pittsburgh,PA75220 1-800447-9878 Fein@ WOOD magazine February 2001
 uz zl
rffiT€
ln
ffiffKTffir
oy Underhill, woodworking made of laminated native and exotic large, difficult puzzlesas a 'hook' to get
author and host of public televi- woods in a variety of colors. people into my booth. I set a big attrac-
sion's The Woodwright's Shop, The buying public's responsewas tive piece out front to draw attention,
believes that many people today begin good. But always eagerto try something maybe with a little sign telling how
woodworking as a diversion from tech- new, Jerry begancutting the inside mate- many pieces are in it. Usually, I put a
nology. The switch to creating some- rial of the boxes into simple jigsaw puz- large enough price tag on it so I won't
thing by hand provides a satisfactionnot zles. He then made them more and more lose my hook. But at one fair I put out a
found in the computerworld. And that's intricate, and their selling price rose with big puzzle priced at
exactly the way it was with Locust the difficulty level. Today, his puzzles $1,200 and a lady
Grove, Virginia, craftsmanJerry Syfert. might have as many as 1,200piecesand bought it the first
"I worked for a large company in sell for $2,000or more. Yet, he hasmany day! It's usually
mainframe computer maintenance,and lesser-pricedpuzzles,too. puzzle collectors
really enjoyed it becauseat first I could As he explains,he doesn't make and that buv those."
work with my hands and solve prob- sell very many of the big ones. "At a
lems," saysJerry,now in his late sixties. crafts fair, peopleget overwhelmedwith
"Then I was promoted into middle man- all there is to see. so I
agement.Suddenly, I had people above developedthe
me to satisfy and people below me
whosework I was responsiblefor. And
I was no longer working with my
hands.So, I took up woodwork-
ing as a hobby."
With seven children-and
grandchildrenstartingto appear-
Jerry built toys. He crafted large-
scale trains, doll cradles, rock-
ing horses, trucks, and cars,
plus occasionalpieces of fur-
niture. He was infatuated.
When his company merged with
another large firm about 12 years ago,
Jerry opted to retire into full-time wood-
working. "I thought that selling my work
at crafts fairs with my wife, Anita,
would be fun, and I'd really be working
with my hands again,"he recalls.
Jerry's toys sold well, but he was dis-
covering that wooden toys were difficult
to pack and bulky to move. So he began
experimenting with bandsaw boxes

This barn puzzle has 640 pieces in eight layers. Jerry

makes puzzles like this to draw customers to his crafts f6iJ .,:;i:,.
booth. lt stands about 10" high and has a hefty $2,500 price tag.,

vYww.woodonline.com
oneverypuzzlingcraftsman
Howto cut up_a
.terrylaid up and sawedthe maple
I
I and padaukfor this 27a"-thick
box
blankso that the bandsmeetat 90'
angles.But gluingit up requiredclamp-
ing blocks.
Nearlyall of his puzzlesbeginas a lami-
natedblankof contrasting wood.
42
Gommonsensepricing
Although Jerry occasionallyparts
with one of his large puzzles,the
majority of salesare generatedfrom
smalleronespriced under$60. "My
leastexpensivefour-layerpuzzleis
$35 in solid maple.Then
they go up in incre-
mentsof $5." he
notes."So I think
they'reall reason-
ably priced."
Although much has been
published about pricing
items to sell, and Jerry's
read all of it. he has
developed his own theo-
ry. "You can read about
pricing practices that
deal with fixed costs.
Someone will spend $2,000
for Jerry's 750-piece space-
station puzzle made of
figured maple and
padauk.lt's 18" tall.
Dto cut the top and bottomotf the box
f-blank and to saw out the inside,
-3la"
Jerryinstalleda 10-teeth-per-inch
bladeon his bandsaw."lliketo keepmy
puzzlethicknessto about11/z"i' he says.
At this stage,Jerryusesa fenceto
suchasoverhead,materials,and all, but I
don't do that,"he says.
"I designa piece,which is really what
I like doing,thenfigure out how to make
it the most efficient way," Jerry contin-
ues. "Sometimesthat requireschanging
somethingbecauseit won't work readi-
ly. But when I've got the designdown
pat, and the processto make it ironed
out, I ask myself, 'What am I willing to
'Would
make that for?' Then, I ask,
somebodybe willing to pay that much
for it?' Becauseif I made a puzzle and
thoughtit shouldbring $100,but no one
would be willing to pay that much, why
shouldI makeit?"
Jerry tries to set reasonableprices for
his pieces.And there'sgood reasonfor
it. He sells the puzzles only at crafts
fairs. And he only makesthosehe sells
during sevenmonths of the year. From
DecemberthroughApril you'll find him
andAnita in Florida,whereJerrydoesn't
have a shop.That makesoutletsfor his
work, such as galleries and gift shops,
out of the question."In Florida,I can't
ensurestraightcuts.The squareol1/8"-
thickacrylicclampedto the bandsaw
tableprovidesa smooth,slicksurfaceto
guidethe workpiece.
Q Puzzlingthe insideof the box calls
L,lfor a 14-teeth-per-inch
7s"bandsaw
blade."Oneof .025"thicknessprovides
WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
take a phone call from a shop owner
asking for some more puzzles right
away because I couldn't deliver," he
points out.
Design with
bands of wood
A quick glance aroundJerry's double-
car garage shop hints at something
missing.Drill press?Nope, there'sone.
Jointer?Yes, it's an ancient Craftsman.
Planer?There it is in the corner.
"I don't have a tablesaw.When I quit
making toys and furniture, I sold it,"
Jerry replies to the questioninglook. "I
resaw on my bandsaw, then cut the
workpiecesup with either the mitersaw
or bandsaw."
In a few quick steps,Jerry approaches
his workbench,the back of it a wall of
clamps in various sizes. "I glued up
these pieces of padauk and maple to
demonstrate how to make different
designswith laminatedwood," he says,
removing the array of clamps from a
long block before him. "I removed the
more stiffness,"Jerry notes,as he
beginsguidingthe wood-now turned
on its side-against the blade.Quickly,
wavy slicesbeginfallingfrom the work-
piece.'The thinnerI saw the slices,of
course,the morepiecesthe puzzlewill
have.Theseare about t/2"thick for a
five-layerpuzzle;'(Notethe peg holesin
the box at Jerry'sleft.The lid has
uwvw.woodonline.com
glue squeezeout earlier, now I need to
squareup the block."
Jerry carriesthe workpieceto his join-
ter. "First I get one side perfectly flat,"
he explains, turning on the machine.
After a few passes,he placesthe now-
flat side againstthe fence and feeds the
piece through two more times. "Now
the block has two flat sides to ride on
the planerbed."
The planer spews a colorful mixture
of padaukorangeand maple tan as Jerry
completes the squaring. "Looks like
confetti," he quips.
At the mitersaw,the craftsmanclamps
to the fence a thin stopblock, set for
"about half an inch." (After so many
years,Jerry actually does little measur-
ing.) Then, he setsthe blade at 45", and
saws off a slab of the laminated block,
as in the photo at right. "This Freud
crosscut blade cost me about $140,"
Jerry says, fingering the piece, "but it
makes such a smooth cut that I don't
Jerry clampsa stop to his mitersaw
haveto sand.And with all thesepieces, fence,then makes45"cuts throughthe
the lesssandingthe better!" laminatedblock.
matchingones. He'llcut the headsoff
f,Finally, Jerry startsthe final step for
of two maplewheel axlesand glue one r-,/a wood puzzle.His steady fingers
in each of the box's holesto hold the lid movethe wood to and from the blade
in place.) as he crosscutsthe skeletalbands into
pieces,whichbeginto pile up on the
/lme puzzlepieces-to-benow cut table."Usually,I end up with about56
Ainto wavy slabs,Jerry once again or so piecesper layer,"he notes."So
beginsfeedingthem into the bandsaw this five-layerpuzzlewill have 280
blade."l've learnedto keep my waves piecesin all."
somewhatuniform,so
the wood has a solid
foundationas I saw,"
he says.Out from the
bladecome long,skele-
ton-likebandsof wood.
"Here,I could get as
intricateas lwant, but
the finer the cutoutsthe
weakerthe pieceswill
be. So there'salwaysa
compromiseto consider
with puzzles."
43
one very puzzlingcraftsman
After slicing off severalmore pieces,
Jerry gathersthem and places them on
an adjacenttable. Placing the slices on
edge,he proceedsto move them around
like dominoes, as in the photo below.
"Dependingon how you matchthem up,
you can get several different designs.
Here arejust two possible,"he saysas
he arrives at the configurations."When
I find onesI like, I'll glue them up into
The angled slices done at the mitersaw
can be glued up in several patterns to
provide what will become eye-catching
puzzle boxes.
box blanks," he adds. "Then, I'11 cut
them up at the bandsaw as I would a
box, but l'll puzzle the inside."
(You can see how Jerry
puzzles a box in the
sequenceon the preced-
ing pages.)
Pieces aplenty
to play with
For a final finish on the box, "',E
''
Jerry puts on three coats of lac-
quer with his HVLP sprayer,sanding
in between."But in spraying the box,
the top layer of the puzzle gets coated,
too," he says."So you can alwaysiden-
tify the top layer's pieces.They always
have one shinv side."
Prior to the final finish, though, the
puzzle maker treats the box and the
pieceswith a sealercoat. "I've used a
mixture of two parts linseedto one part
turpentine for years," Jerry explains.
"The piecesI just drop into a can, then
pour in the mixture to cover them. After
swishing it around, I pour it off. It pri-
marily servesto rinse off the sawdust.I
couldn't spray them with lacquer. I'd
blow them all over the shop!"
These two
puzzles show
how plain or
patterned puzzle
boxes done follow-
ing Jerry's tech-
nique can be.
Understandably, Jerry
dare not mix the pieces from
one puzzle with those of anotherin the
finishing process.Nor will the pieces
from one box blank fit into anotherone.
Seemslike it all might becomeconfus-
ing somewherealong in the process.
"Not really," Jerry says. "I keep the
pieces for one puzzle in a pile some-
where near the box they go in until
everything is coated with finish. Then
Anita assembleseachfinishedpuzzlein
its box." He smiles."My job is just to
cut them out."l
Written by Peter J. Stephano
Photographs: Stete Uzzell

A real bear of a puzzle to make

Sincethe 1930s,versionsof the table-and-chairpuzzlehave poppedup here and there.You even may
have ownedone. But Jerry,likesto tell the tale that sparkedthe idea for it back in a distantdecade:
"Many,many years ago there was a familyof bearswho lived in the woods duringthe summerand in a
cave duringthe winter.So everyspringand everyfall they had to pack up their furnitureand move it.
"As the bears grew older,this becameharderand harderto do. One winter night,a
coupleof the smarterbearsgot togetherand figuredout that if they could
constructtheir furnitureto fit into one package,it would be
a lot easierto move.That's how the now world-
renownedtable-and-chairpuzzlecame about."
Accordingto Jerry, the large table and chairs
belongto the grandmaand grandpabear. (They
are up in years,and live with the "kids.")The next
largesttable and chair belongto mama bear and
papa bear. The smallesttable and chair belongto
baby bear and the little girl with blond hair who
sometimesvisits. Fittedtogether,the puzzle mea-
surels6x3x2r/2".
To order plans for Jerry's bandsawnversion of the
table-and-chair puzzle(stuffedbear not included),send a
checkor moneyorderfor $6.95ppd.(U.S.)to: JerrySyfert,
HC 76 Box 920/ 218 Saylers Creek Rd., Locust Grove, VA
22508.Pleaseallow up to four weeksfor delivery.

44
 ; full-servlce
+1)
ulldl-\ t
eLILEl'^
l-'

Ithough doing laundry doesn't rank

high on anyone'slist of fun activities,
this feature-packedproject helps make
{* wash-daywork as pleasantand efficientas
possible.It has storageaplenty,a rod for
air-drying clothes, bulletin board, shelf,
and a light to help spot stains.It ties all of
thesefeatures,plus your appliances,into a
tidy, hardworkingassembly.

: '1 .
I' i''
1 : . : ' I, '"i . i i . : . ' , ; ; , ' : i : i l j i i 1 ; l i ' ' l . :,

From 3/+"melamine-laminated particle-

i board (often referred to as just
[. "melamine"), cut the two 24x80" side
t'
Ir panels(A).
On both panels apply melamineedge
bandingto onelong edge(thefront edge
in the assembledcabinet) and one short
edge (the bottom edge of
the cabinet).Use a clothes
iron set on high heat to
apply the bandingas shown
rn PhotoA. Be sureto keep
the iron moving during
application.
Mark one of the panels
with dado and rabbet Apply the front
locations accordingto the banding edge last.
That way, the joint
Large Cabinet Left Side between the front and
drawing. Repeat these bottom banding isn't
visible from the front.

47
 laundry
full-service center

A sides 3/q' 24' 80" ME 2

B top 3/tu 231/c' 24' ME 1
C fixedshelves 3/t' 231/t'233/q'l$E 2 7se"shankholes,
C OR N E R
D- bottom
cleats 1Vz' 11/2' 4' MA 4 CLEAT
E- upperfrontcleats 3/qu Ttu 51/q' MA 2
F upper backcleat 3/q' lYz' 22Vz'MA
G topfixedpanel 3hu 6u 24' ME
1
I
3/e"

H bottom fixedpanel% 4u 24' ME 1

I back 1/q, 231/q^751/t', ME 1
J upper
door 3/qu 24' 383/ro"ME 1
K lowerdoor 3/q' 24' 31%o ME 1 @st/^"
L shelves 3/qu 22la' 231/z' ME 2 @s,/o'
front/back3/q' 3u 203h' ME
M drawer 2 @ 4'/o'
N drawersides 3/q' 3u 213/q"ME 2
0 drawer bottom 1/tu 21Tq' 20' ME 1
filler s/qu 1V2' 23' ME 1
P drawer-slide
-Cutpartsmarkedwith* oversized,
andtrimto finished
to instructions.
sizeaccording 7 s z "s h a n k h o l e ,
ME-melamine-laminated
MaterialsKey: MA-maple, countersunk
particleboard. LEVELINGCLEAT

-sw
D1
tf

#i .n Read t his b e fo re y o u d ri v e a s i n g l e s c rew i nto mel ami ne.

t I $J Unlikesolid-wood fibersthattendto crushwhenyou drivea screw
into'ihem,the glueand woodparticlesin melamine-laminated particleboard
tendto bulgeup at the pointwherethe screwentersthe surface.
To avoidthis,alwaysdrillpilotholesintomelamine. 13/a",
Forthe 1", 11/a', and
2" deckscrewsusedthroughout thisprojecl,T/64" pilotholesworkwell..
Also,in additionto drillinga countersink for the screwhead,it helpsto
countersink the areawherethe pilotholeentersthe secondpieceof material
as shownat right.This givesthe particleboard materiala placeto go so it
doesn'tbulgeup and interfere with the pieces fastening tightlytogether.

markings on the other panel (the right holes 7s" deep, where shown on the
DRAWING,I
RoutingDadoes side of the cabinet), keeping in mind drawing. To do this, align the end of the
and Rabbets that the right side must jig with the center dado
be a mirror image of the in the cabinet sides as
left side. shown in Photo B.
Chuck a 3/1" straight Cut the top (B) and
bit in your router,and the two fixed sheves
adjust it to cut -/s" deep. lC) to size. accordingto
Clamp a straightedgeto the Bill of Materials.
your panel to cut the Band the front edges of
dadoes and rabbets as all three panels.
shownin Drawing 1. Cut a lt/zxlVzxTJ"
Bu i ld the hol e- maple blank, and
drilling jig shown in crosscut it into four 4"
Drawing 2. Next, drill lengths for the bottom
Bandingon front and bottomedges. the V4" shelf-support cleats (D). Drill the

4B W O O D m a g a z i n e F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
J t/q" rabbel
s/q" rabbel Locationof
7a" deep
1',deck ,- lo" rabbet7e"deep 3/au
for back
parto
screw ( Ior pan Q)
-s/+" tabbet7a"deep
LARGE CABINET
I EXPLODEDVIEW
6"

17a"hole t/2"deep
on insideface,
r5lro"
from back edge

t/a" holes
7e" deep ("'
European125"
full-overlay
hinge
3/+" dado
7e" deep 31/2" Frontof
wire pulls cabinet

Bottom-
mounting
drawerslide
1/q"groove
s/q" dado e/a"deep,
Ta" deep
fi'Jilisr"*,1

2" deck
")"*
s/q" rabbel
7e" deep

7e" hole 1t/2" deep Bottom-mounting

drawerslide s/q" rabbel 1_ 24'\
5/ro"T-nut
7a" deep of part@
Locdtion Locationof part@
Floor leveler
LARGE CABINET LEFT SIDE

DRAWING
2
Hole- dr illingJ ig
3/qx 3/qx 36" stock
1/q"gloove
t/q" deep 6,, the upper
- front cleats (E).
-
36" Drill the holes and
countersinks,where shown
in the Corner Cleat drawing.
Attach to the sides(A), where shown.
1 / + x Gx 3 6 " h a r d b o a r d Apply glue to the dadoesand the top
rabbet.Clamp togetherparts A, B,
holes,and countersinksas shownin the and C, as shown rn Photo C, and check
Leveling Cleat drawing. Attach to the for square.
bottomof the sides(A), whereshownin Cut the t/qxlt/2x22%" upper back
the Large Cabinet Left Side drawing cleat (F) from maple. Attach the
and Large CabinetExplodedView. cleat to the top (B), where shown.
Cut a zAxt/qxIl" maple blank, and Cut the top fixed panel (G) and rabbets will help the carcase
crosscutit into two 5/q" lensthsfor bottom fixed panel (H) to size. self-squareduringclamp-up.Check
with a framingsquare.

wrlw.woodonline.com 49
 laundrycenter
full-service
Band all edges.Attach both panels to
the cabinet as shown, being careful to
align their edgesflush with the top and
bottom of the case.
Cut the 23/+x75Vq"back (I) from
Vq"melamine.Place the back into
the rabbet on the case, and attach with
1" deck screws.Use six screwsevenly
spacedalong the long edges,and two
screwsinto the top and fixed dividers.
Tap V+"T-nuts into the 3/s"holes
in the ends of the leveling cleats.
Thread a floor leveler into each T-nut.
Cut the upper door (J) and lower
door (K) to size. Band all edges.
Drill holes for 125ofull-overlay hinges,
where shown. Install the 3V2" matte
chromewire pulls, where shown.
Attach the hinges to the doors
with the screwsprovided with the
hinges. Locate and drill holes for the
To preciselypositionthe drawer tr
slides,placea t/+"-thick
spacer
underneath themas you
fastenthemwithscrews.
s/+"rabbel Locationof
Locationof
part@ Ta"deep partO
Add a drawer ts
the lar#e #*bi*tet
Cut the drawer front/back (M) and
drawer sides(N) to size.Band the top
edgesof all four pieces,and the endsof
the front and back.
Cut a 3/q"rabbetz/s"deepon the ends
of the front and back. Using a V4"-
wide dado set,cut t/s"-deepgrooves/+"
from the bottom edges of the drawer
front, back, and sides.
Cut the 2IzAx20" drawerbottom (O)
from Vq" melamine. Apply glue to
the rabbetsand grooves,and assemble
the drawer, as shown in the Large
CabinetExploded View.
Cut the IVzx23" drawer-slide filler
(P) from 3/q"melamtne,and band its
top and front edges.Attach to the case,
where shown.
Place a V+"-thickscrap spacerunder
eachdrawer slide, and position them
along the side (A) and drawer-slidefiller
(P), where shown. Positionthe fronts of
the slides 1" from the front edge of the
carcase,and attachwith the screwspro-
vided. (See Photo D.) Attach the other
half of the slides to the drawer bottom.
where shown. 123/a"

Nowo build the

small cabinet 24"---------------
From 3/q" melamine, cut the two Locationof Locationof
24x8O"sidepanels(Q).On both pan- partO pano
els apply plastic banding to the front SMALL CABINET
other half of each hinge that attachesto and bottom edges. R IGH TS ID E
the carcaseside, where shown on the Mark one of the panels with dado
Large Cabinet Left Side drawing. and rabbet locations, according to
Attach the doors to the carcase,and the Small Cabinet Right Side drawing.
adjust the hinges according to the Repeat these markings on the other With a straightedge,router, and t/+"
instructionsincluded with the hinges. panel(the left sideof the cabinet),keep- straight bit, cut the 3/s"-deepdadoes
Cut two shelves(L) to size. Band ing in mind that the left side must be a and rabbets.
the front edgesonly. mirror imase of the risht. Cut the top (R) and the two fixed
shelves(S), accordingto the Bill of
Materials. Band the front edges of all
three panels.
Cut and drill four bottom cleats (T),
as describedin Step 7 of the section
How to cut clean melamine edges. The thin plasticouterlayers "Let's build the large cabinet first."
*l*r
ll|vl on melamine-laminated particleboard
can chipeasilywhensawn,leav- Attach to the bottom of the sides (Q),
ing ilnsightlyedges.To minimizethis chipping,do the following: where shown in the Small Cabinet
.Alignyour tablesaw'srip fenceperfectlyparallelwith the blade. Right Side drawing and Small Cabinet
.Use a sharpbladewith plentyof teeth-10" carbidebladesmadeespeciallyfor Exploded View.
cuttingmelaminehave80 teeth. Cut and drill two upper front cleats
.Orientthe face side of the melaminesheetup when cuttingit with a tablesaw. (U) as described in Step 8 of the
.The previousrule is reversedfor handheldcircularsaws and jigsaws-face large cabinetsection.Attach to the sides
side goes downwhen usingthesetools. (Q), where shown.

50 WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
Pilotholesfor 1/q"rabbel
lightfixture g/q"rabbel Te" deep
Te" dego
Locationof 1" deck 1't/+"deck screw
lightfixture SCTEW Q sides 80" ME
R top 3/c' 11t/c' 24' ME
S fixedshelves 23V+'ME
Vc' 111/+' 2
31/2" T* bottomcleats 112' 1Y2' 4' MA 4

I Door
3/ax12x693/+"
U* upperfrontcleats 3/q' {+u 51/q' MA
V upperbackcleat 3/q' 11/2'101/z'MA
2
1

II s
I
Conduitclip
Levelpole to
ind location.)
W topfixedpanel 3/c' 6n
X bottom
Y back
fixedpanel Vq' 4u
12'
12' ME
ME

Y4' 111/s'751/c' ME
1
1
1
30"
machinescrew 2" Z door /+' 12' 69%' ME 1
M rodswivelblock 3/q' 3' 3UMA1
3tl2"wire pull
BBrodend 1/z' 2' dia. MA 1
*Cutpartsmarked
with* oversized,
andtrimtofinished
O | "'oeeg4 sizeaccording
toinstructions.
1" chrome MaterialsKey:MA-maple, ME-melamine-laminated
showerrod particleboard.
2" deck 42" long
European125"
screw full-overlay
hinge

@
RIGHT 1"hole
@ Te"deep
ROD.MOUNTING
LEFT DETAIL s/ro"
SIDE washer

1" chromeshowerrod
3/a"hole

23s/q" \l
s/ro"T-nut
s/'rax 13/c"R.H.

.V,,,
7a"hole centeredinside

Ts" hole 1t/2" deep

s/ro"T-nut SMALL CABINET
EXPLODEDVIEW
f-----''-
Floorleveler
L_

Apply glue to the dadoesand the top
rabbet. Clamp together parts Q, R,
and S.
Cut the z/+xIVzxl0Vz" upper back
cleat (V) from maple. Attach the
cleat to the top (R), where shown.
Cut the top fixed panel (W) and bot-
tom fixed panel (X) to size.Band all
edges.Attach both panels to the cabi-
net, as shown, being careful to align
their edgesflush with the top and bot-
tom of the case.
Cut the llVqxl5/4" back (Y) from
Vq" melamine.Place the back into
the rabbeton the case,and attach.
, Tap /a" T-nuts into the 3/s"holesin
the ends of the leveling cleats.
Thread a floor leveler into eachT-nut.
Cut the z/qxl2x693/q"melamine
door (Z). Band all edges. Drill
holes for 125' full-overlay hinges,
where shown. Also install a 3Vz"matte
chrome wire pull.
Attach the hinges to the door with
the screws provided. Locate and
drill holes for the other half of each
hinge that attachesto the carcaseside.
Attach the door to the carcase, and
adjustthe hingesas needed.
Cut the 3x3" rod swivel block
(AA) from 3/q"maple. Drill a cen-
tered, Ve"-deep,7s"counterboreon one
face, then drill a 3/s"hole, centered on
the counterbore,throughthe block. (See
the Rod-Mounting detail.) Attach the
rod swivel block to the inside of the
right side of the case,as shown on the
Rod-Mounting Detail and Small
CabinetRight Side drawing.
Attach the l"-diameter, 42"-long
chromeshowerrod. Swing the rod
to a level position,and attacha support-
ing conduit clip to the inside of the
door. where shown.
Cut a Vz"-thick. 2"-diameter
maple disc to make the rod end
(BB).Bore a centered1" hole,3/e"deep,
on one side of BB, and attach it to the
end of the rod with epoxy.
Let*s mhfrsr*$$ght#trt $rlf"rktn#
mq,'#rs##
ttt *r f $r",t r$t'f-ixta*
s.m
Cut the front/back (CC) and ends
(DD) to size. Band the bottom edge

vnryw.woodonline.com 51
 laundrycenter
full-seruice SHELF/
CORKBOARD
END VIEW
/2" access hole
for electricalcord':::,
@
LEFTSIDE

corkboard
22 x 551/2"

1t/q"deck screw lt/q" deck screw

lth" deck screw

111/qx 42t/2" ditluser

'r/z"rabbet
7e"
deep

101/2"'

LIGHT HOUSINGEXPLODEDVIEW LIGHT HOUSINGBOTTOM

and ends of the front and back, and the
bottom edgeof the ends.
Rip a z/+x3/qx20"maple blank for the
corner cleats (EE). Crosscut it into
four pieces43/q"long. Drill each cleat,
as shown in the Corner Cleatsdrawing.
Attach the cleats to the ends with ltl+"
deck screws,where shown in the Light
Housing Exploded View.
Clamp the front, back, and ends
together,being careful to align their
ends and edgesflush. Fastenthem with
lVc" deck screws driven through the
remainingholes in the corner cleats.
Whitewire
Switch
Black
Cable wire
clamp
wire /
(green)
Rip four 3/qx3/qx52v2"maPle
front/back cleats (FF), and four
3/qx3/qxl5" maple gnd cleats (GG).
Attach two FF cleats to the front and
back, between the bottom ends of the
corner cleats, where shown. Use five
evenly spacedlV+" deckscrews.Follow
the same procedure to attach two GG
cleats to the ends, but use two screws.
Set the unusedFF and GG cleatsaside
for now.
Cut the z/qxl6v2x54"melamine bot-
tom (HH). With a jigsaw cut the
opening, where shown, in the Light
Housing Bottom drawing.
Rout a 3/a" rabbet, Vz" deep around
the edgeof the openingusing a pilot-
ed 3/a"rabbetingbit.
Placethe bottom into the light-hous-
ing frame and screw it to the FF and
GG cleatswith 1/+" screws.
Cut a plastic lighrdiffuser panel to
ll%x42V2". Placeit into the rabbet
in the bottom.
Attach the remaining FF and GG
cleats between the top ends of the
corner cleats in the same way You
attachedthe other FF and GG cleats.
Cut the Vzxl6Vzx54" melamine
top (II).
Add a single-pole pull switch,
electrical cord, and plug to a 48"
single-tubeflourescentlight, as shown
in Drawing 3 at left. Mount the light to
the center of the top (II). Drop the
switch's chain pull through the grid of
the light diffuser. Drill a V2" hole
through the top (II), and feed the elec-
trical cord through it.
lo 'i*1 ''
o'; ', : ,
.'ll li, .,,',,';{.. r.ft.'1
Cut the shelf supports(JJ), and shelf
(KK) to size. Glue and clamp these
shelf-assemblyparts together,using the
Shelf/CorkboardEnd View drawing as
a guide.
Cut the 28x55V2"back (LL) from Vz"
melamine.Clamp tw o V+xlx60" strips
of wood 3" from the edges,as shownin
Drawing 4. Use a short-nap roller to
apply contactcementbetweenthe strips.

WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
 ccfront/back 3/t' 6" 55t/z' ME
DDends s/q' 6" 161/z' ME 2 x7t/dx 72" Maple
EE*corner
cleats 3/q' Vtn 43/q' MA 4
cleats 3/qu Vq" 521/z'MA
FF front/back 4
GGendcleats 3/q' Vqo 15' MA 4
@
HHbottom 3/qu 161/2',54', ME 1
1lzxSj/z x 48" Maple
@
"Planeor resawto the thickness
listedin the Bill of Materials.
V+x 49 x 97" Melamineparticleboard
KK shelf 3/"' 6' 551/z'ME 1
LL back 1/z' 28* 551/z' ME 1
MMbackcleats 11/z' 11/z' 22' MA 2
NN ends 3/qu 2Y4^ 4s/a' MA 2
*Culpartsmarked
with* oversized,
andtrimto
finished
sizeaccording
to instructions.
MaterialsKey: MA+naple, ME<nelamine-laminated @
particleboard.
s/qx 49 x 97" Melamineparticleboard Vax 49 x 97" Melamineparticleboard
$upplhs: 125"full-overlay hinges(7);3%"matte
chrome wirepulls(3);20-bottom-mounting drawer
slides(2);z[8'single-tube flourescentlightfixture,
single-polepullswitch, grounded plug,1O'-long 16/3
insulatedelectrical cordi11r/+x42tl2"whilet/2"-grid
dif- @
fuserpanel;1"chrome shower rcd42"long;1'con-
duitclip;7r0"floorlevelers (8);%o"T-nuts(9);t/+"pin
sheffsupports; 1o, 1lt' , 1{+",and2' deckscrews;
lcx22x58'corkboa rd; Vtax1 V+"roundheadmachine
o
screw;/ro"washer; whitemelamine edgebanding,
Vcx 49 x 97" Melamineparticleboard t/zx 49 x 97" Melamineparticleboard
Buying Guide: Hinges, whepulls,anddrawer
slidesavailable
fromWoodcratt, 560AirportIndustrial
Park,P.0,Box1686,Parkersburg, !W 26102-1686.
Call800/225-1153 or goto www.woodcraft,comThe @
pricesdonotinclude
following shipping charges,
whichwillvarydepending onquantityordered:125o
full-overlay
hinges,item02560,$8.99perpair;20'
bottom-mounting drawerslides,item01V09$5.S0
perpair;3tl2"mattechrome wirepulls,item13031
1,
$'1.50each. g/+x49 x 97" Melamineparticleboard 1/cx 49 x 97" Melamineparticleboard

From W" cork cut a 22x55V2"panel
and apply contact cement to one
face. Attach the cork to the back (LL),
and removethe wood strips.
Attach the JJiKK assemblyto LL with
six evenlyspaced1%" screws.
Sqptvls";. $6n*r' i:*r:g.,-.,
i * ' m l i r $ f + f f f . j ' i . i ! ,i r , '
Cut the back cleats (MM) and ends
(NN) to size.Attach to the sidesof the
large and small cabinets,where shown
in the Small Cabinet Exploded
View drawing.
Clamp the light housingbetweenthe
two cabinets.It should be set back
3/q"frem the front edse of the cabinets
DRAWING
4
Applying spaced holes through the back
Gontact cleats (MM), and fasten the
Cement
shelf/corkboardwith countersunk
l3/q"deckscrews.
When placing the finished
unit in your washing area,
attachthe cabi netssecur elyt o a
wall to prevent them from tip-
pi ng forw ard. D o thi s b y dr iving
fastenersthrough the upper back
cl eats(F, V ) and i nto w all sr uds,
concrete, or masonry block.
and flush with their tops. Screw to the N ow , grab your di rty l aundr y. I t 's
sideswith lVq" deckscrews. ti me to cl ean some duds.JF
Slide the shelf/corkboard unit
Written by Bill Krier with Kevin Boyle
between the cabinets and set down Photographs:Baldwin Photography
on the ends (NN). Drill two evenly lllustrations:
Roxanne LeMoine:Lorna Johnson

vnvw.woodonline.com
53

th.e,profe ional
wrde-p?n smoother
comes nG
1,-t used to be that you had
I option for making stock of
Ithickness: a power planer.l
er can't tidy up a misfit
joint, nor can it size wide
frames. And a planer
surface smooth enough
you still have to vi
piece, no matter how
In recent years,
nessingtool has invaded
the drum sander.With
on the market for less $1,000,the
come to take a close look at
operators that can sand
even panelsflat and fine.
face Drum vs. planer:
, the A heailto-head look
SO Look underl5: hood, and'you'll seethat
the a drum many similarities to
a planer. As f workpiece enters the
thick- machine, tensiotr]:olleqs(see the draw-
shop: ingsonpages56-5n guideit beneatha
now spinning cylinder that removes a thin
layer of wood. A planer may have two,
three, or even four'knives
doing the' cutting; a drum
sander has, in effect, thou-
sands of knives-the grit on
the abrasive that spirally
wraps the drum.
There are some key differ-
ences,though. For instance,a
planer can cut away lots of
material quickly, removing
r/re"or more in a single speedy
pass.With a drum sander,you
generally remove no more
than Ys" (and often only half
that) with each pass, and then
at only about half the feed rate
of a portableplaner. However,
this slower feed speed and
shallow cut leaves an excep-
tionally smooth surface on
most woods.
I
A drum sander has other advan-
tages as well. Because it doesn't
stce away wood like a planer, you
can sandend grain, and use it safe-
ly with thin or fragile stock, such as
veneer and burls. And, you can abrade
away a dirty or weatheredsurface, such
as the maple benchtop, shown above,
without dulling your planer knives.
Test talk
We began by assembling each of the
four sandersin our test, noting any dif-
ficulties. T\e Gizzly G1079 and Ryobi
WDS1600 sanders come with the
table already mounted. It took us
about 10 minutes to bolt on Delta's
table, and les.sthan 20 minutes to
attach the Performax table. The
Delta 3l-250 and Gizzly come
with leg stands,. and the
Performax 16-32 PLUS has
extensiontables,which we also
assembled.
Next, we paralleled each
machine's table and drum
(or drums, in Gizzly's
case).Although each of the
four sanders differed in
the method for making
this adjustment, we
found none of them dif-
ficult to'align. On the
Performax, we loos-
WOODmagazine February2001

ened the four bolts that
attach the shroud and
motor/drum assembly t0 the table,
tweaked the alignment with the fine-
tuning knob (shown at top right), and
tightened the bolts. Ryobi's process is
similar, but lacks the fine-tuning knob.
Instead, Ryobi provides two .010"
shims ttrat raise the outboard end of the
table for fine-tuning. Larger adjust-
ments are made by loosening four bolts
and repositioning the shroud and
motor/drum assembly where it fastens
to the tabte.
wunry,woodonline.com
The fine-tune adjustment
knob on the Performax
16-32 PLUS, above, allowed
us to dial-in precise head-
to-table alignment.
To make Delta's table,
below, parallel to its drum,
turn the outboard elevation
screws an equal number of
turns, then lock them in
place with setscrews.
Delta's system was our favorite.
Changingthe alignmentis as simple as
looseninga setscrewatopeachoutboard
table-elevationscrew,and rotating both
elevationscrewswith a Vz"wrench.(See
photo above.)Aligning Grizzly's table
takes more work because with two
drums you have to make it parallelboth
front-to-rear and side-to-side.Those
adjustmentsare made with a jackscrew
on eachof the table'sfour posts,and the
process is akin to leveling a washing
machineor dryer.
Once aligned, we loaded an abrasive
strip on each drum and went to work.
Becauseof the open-endeddesignof the
Delta, Performax, and Ryobi sanders,
we wonderedif the drums and tablesof
these units would stray from parallel
under sanding load. So, armed with a
dial indicator.we measureddeflectionat
the outboard end of the drum while
removing a healthy Vtz" ftem5Vz"-wide
red oak boards.We also measuredthe
actualdifferencein thicknessacrossthe
testboards.
55
drumsanders
FIXED-HEADSANDER
Finally, while running hundreds of Abrasivestrip
Dust-collection
hood S a n d i n gd r u m
board-feetof red oak and pine through
each sander,we changedsandinggrits Abrasivefastener
frequently.This gave us a good feel for
the processof replacing the abrasive Tension-roller
spring
Conveyor-belt
stripsthat wrap the drum anddo all of the drivemotor
work. During this test,we alsoexamined
the testworkpiecesfor any signsof snipe.
lnfeedroller
Heads or tables?
Going from thick to thin Table-elevation
SCTEW
Just as on a planer, you set the cutting
depth of the abrasive by closing the gap Drumpulley Depth-
between the sanding drum and the table. adjustment
(See the box, below, for some great Conveyor- cranK
belt speed
guidelines on stock removal.) To accom- control Depth-adjustment
plish this, you either lower the head pulley
toward a fixed-height table (Performax Belt
and Ryobi) or raise the table toward a Motor Coggedtiming
pulley
stationary head (Delta and Grizzly). belt
Performax and Ryobi employ a simple Conveyorbel
crank on a threaded rod to elevate the
Conveyor-belt
head within the shroud. This design tensioner
demands some tolerance-no matter
Table-elevation
how small-between the motor-mount Motor drivegears
slide plate and shroud, or the head can't
move. That small tolerance resulted in
only .002" difference edge-to-edge on
our 5t/2"-wide test pieces. all four corners of the table. By fixing One caution regarding Delta's timing
The tables of the Delta and Gnzzly the head and moving the table in this belt: If the idler gear thar takes up the
sanderselevate courtesy of four threaded manner, Delta engineersreduced deflec- belt slack is too loose (or if you take too
posts. These posts, linked by either a t i o n t o . 0 0 1 " o n o u r t e s t p i e c e s .e v e n deep a cut and jam your workpiece
cogged timing belt (Delta) or chain though the machine is open-ended like between the drum and table), this belt
(Grizzly), simultaneously raise or lower the Performax and Ryobi models. can skip when you try to change the table
height. A couple of skips won't cause
problems, but every "click" puts those
four elevation screws farther out of sync,
Four tips for eventuallycausingthem to bind, and the
smoother sanding condition worsens rapidly. Delta engi-
Gettingunbeatableresultsfrom a drum sandertakes neers have prepared a flier describing
a fair amountof practice.But hereare a few things how to re-align the table, should you
you can do to get a jump start on sandingsuccess: encounter this situation. To get a copy,
oDon't get greedy. Usingabrasivecoarserthan call 800/438-2486.
1OO-grit, removeno more than Yaa"with each pass.
For 1O0-gritor finer,reduceyour take to l/tzz"or less. Sandpaper replacement:
Remember,eachfinergrit shouldonly removethe Gruising the strips
scratchesleft by the previousgrit. Once you get a drum sander, the task
oWanna drag? An easyway to set the proper sandingdepth is to placeyour
you'll perform most often is changing
workpiecebetweenthe drum and table.With the machineturnedoff, spin the
abrasives. Just as with hand-sanding,
drum by hand,and lowerthe heador raisethe table untilthe abrasivejust drags
on the workpiece.lf you can't turn the drum by hand,you'llsand too deep, each workpiece must move through the
oFlatten first. Beforeyou sand to thickness,make sure your workpiecehas one whole range of grits from coarse to fine.
flat face. Makea seriesof pencillinesacrossthe grain,as shownabove/eft,then Fortunately, it's a pretty simple job.
make repeatedshallowpasseswith the sanderuntilthe linesdisappear.Sand Rather than sliding a sleeve over the
crownedpiecescrown-up. drum, like with an oscillating spindle
.The old reverse play. After sandingto your final grit, rotatethe workpiece180' sander,you attach a long abrasivestrip to
and, without changingany seftings,run it throughthe sanderagain.Abradingfrom one end of the drum, and wrap it spiral-
the oppositedirectionremovesthe "fuzzies"raisedduringthe previouspass, fashion to the other end. You can cut

56 W O O D m a g a z i n e F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
 Depth-adjustment
knob
Shroud
FIXED-TABLESANDER Motor-mountslide plate
Dust-collection
hood
Thicknessgauge
Abrasivestrip
Motor
Abrasivefastener
Conveyor-belt
drive motor

Conveyor-belt
speed control

Sandingdrum

Let's buckle down

and talk about belts
Drum sandersuse a conveyor belt to
move the stock at a steadyrate beneath
the spinning abrasive. For softwoods
and narrow workpieces,a fast feed rate
meansless time spent sanding.But for
hardwoodsand wide workpieces,slow is
the rule. Delta and Performax share a
similar stock-moving system: a cloth-
backed abrasive belt that you can dial
LEFT: Performax's "TUF Tool" activates the tough-to-get-to spring clip on the from zero to its maximum speed.At 12
inboard end of the drum to prevent finger-pinching while loading abrasive. feet-per-minute (fpm), Delta betters
RIGHT:The cutout on Delta's drum means you don't have to blindly feel for the take- Performax's10 fpm top rate.
up clip. However, it tended to pinch our fingers against the sharp edge as we relased
the clip. Gizzly and Ryobi use an embossed
rubberbelt, but Ryobi's feed rate can be
your own from bulk abrasive,using the Operating the end spring clip requires adjustedonly from 2-10 fpm-it can't
strip that comes with the machine as a somefinger gymnasticsin a tight spoton be stopped completely without turning
template,or buy pre-cutstripsin various the Performax and Ryobi sanders,but off power to the sanding drum.
grits. (Grizzly doesn't sell pre-cut strips Performaxprovides a tool (shown above Likewise, GizzIy's feed rate is fixed at
for the G1079.) left) to make the job easier.Delta engi- 11 fpm, andthe belt startsand stopsonly
Spring-loaded clips on both ends neerscut away a portion of the drum to with the main power switch. For safety
securethe strips and keep the abrasive make room for your fingers (seephoto reasons,we prefer a drive system that
taut should it stretch somewhatin use. above right), but left an edgethat's just can be operated independently of the
Again, Gizzly differs by using a spring sharp enough to be uncomfortable. drum motor for cleaning the abrasiveor
clip to attach the start of the strip, and Fortunately, there's plenty of room settingsandingdepth.
duct tape to affix the end. It takes a bit around the end of the drum to operate Any time you wrap a belt around two
longer,but wasjust as effectivein use. the take-upclip. rollers, you must keep thoserollers par-

www.woodonline.com 57
 drumsanders
HERE'STHE LOWDOWNON FOURDRUMSANDERS

'//f/
m./a/
I orurvrI
MoToR TABLE
wrDTH
(TNCHES)|
CAPACTTY
lTHtcKNEsslI
PERFORMANCE
(4)
RATTNGS

'-="-"/
ACCESS0RTES

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=5
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DELTA 3t -250 1 1 01 2 8 5 2.210/3,300.

F 0-12 20x 181ir 1 8 3 6 4 tla 7 Y G G 61lz 4 L.P D.E.I,[/,PPD

GRIZZLY G1079 220 8 6 2.100 S 1'l P 30r/zx 16 to N/A 3 1 l z tla I G GIP F 6 4 L.P 8.M

A.B.C.CS.
PERFORMAX1P6-32
LUS
11014 5 2.100 A 0-10 F 1 9 1r- to 32 3 't:,2
2'lt N G J t2 2rlz E.PT D.L.P

RYOBI rtvDS160(1 1 0 1 0 5 2,.100 A 2-10 F 1 9x 1 7 to 32 3 lp 21lq G G 6 2t lz D,P B.L,P

NOTES:
1 . ( . ) D u adl r u ms p e e d s 3 . ( l ) C a sitr o n 5. (Al 21/z to 4"dust-port adapter (l) External inflatable drum 6. (TAl)Taiwan
(P) Panicleboard withsteel (B) Bulkabrasive (L) Legstand 0SA)United
States
2. (F)Formed steel substructure (C) Casters ( M ) M o b i lbea s e
(S)Solidsteel (F)Formed steel ( C S )C l e a n i n
s tgi c k (P) Precut abrasive strips 7. Allprices attime
current
( A )C a sat l u m i n u m (D) 90"dust-port elbow (PD) Pneumatic drum production.
of article's
q . f f i r x c e l t e n t@ e o o o (E) Extension tables ( T ) P a p e r - c h a ntgoionlg (.) Inctude sh
sipping
f rui'. f,eoo'

allel, or the belt will mistrackand wan- A few more things to sandersis plenty for panel and face-
der off the end of the table. While it's mull over before you buy frame work. Grizzly's 15" capacity is
simple to adjustbelt-trackingon all of .Stunting snipe. Overall, we were bettersuitedto narrowpanelsand indi-
the machines,Performaxbringsa couple impressedwith the lack of snipe we vidual workpieces.
of nice featuresto the table.First, you found in thesesanders.Only the Delta Incidentally,the manufacturersof the
can't lose the wrenchbecauseit's cap- dinged our test workpieces,about 2" C-framemachinessuggestthat you set
turedon the bolt it adjusts.And second, from the end and.00l" deep.We traced the drum perfectly parallel to the table
the sandercomeswith a pair of magnet- it to the 3l-250's front pressureroller, for sandingpiecesin one pass,but a
ic ceramic guides, called "Trackers," which appliedmore downwardpressure slightly different alignment for pieces
that cling to the bottomof the tableand to the boardthan the other modelsin the wider thanthe drum.By settingthe out-
keepthe conveyorbelt from straying. test, and audibly snapped when it board end slightly more open, you
released the board. reducethe likelihood of a ridge in the
Performax and Ryobi middle of your panel.(We settledon a
allow you to adjust the compromiseposition-with the out-
True grit: roller tensionto achieve
the bestresults.
board end about .001" wider-that
worked well with both narrow and wide
Knowing what to use, and when .Go wide.Delta wins the stock, and kept us from constantlyre-
Choosingthe right abrasivegrit for the job at hand is " mi ne' s bi gger than settingthe alignment.)
halfthe battle when using a drum sander.As you get yours" battle. With its .Smoothingshort stuff. Becausea drum
more comfortablewith your sander,selectingabrasives 18" drum and C-frame sander is ideal for smoothing fragile
will becomealmostsecondnature.Untilthen. use this design,you can sandup workpieces,it makeslevelingmarquetry
referencecharl as a guide. to that width in one pass, a no-brainer.But the distancebetween
and workpieces up to the pressurerollersand drum limits how
TASK 24 36 60 80 100 120 150 1 8 0 220 36"-wideby rotatingthe short a piece you can sand. Performax
rouoh-sawn
Surfacino lumber workpiece end-for-end and Ryobi can handlestock as short as
Removinq oaintandqlue and feeding it through 2t/q",a big plusif you sanda lot of small
Truingcuppedandwarpedboards
planer
again. For many wood- or fragilepieces.
Removin0 ripples
workers, the 32" max of .On the drum heat, Oneinterestingnote
Lightsurfacing
Finishsandin0 the Performaxand Ryobi here about sandingdrums: Grizzly has

58 WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
 r+ Ryobi WDS1600

##
I

'I
TAI 285 660.
andlargest
Industrial
machine
COMMENTS
Thenewkidonthedrum-sanding
USA 1 9 0 $850 performance block,withthebest
Priceincludes
capacities.
price.
f0ra small-shoo
in onepass.Requires
two-gritsanding
stand.
Dualdrumsallow
high-volume
dust-collector,
A topperformer
withaccessories galore,butthemost
USA 95 870
expensive
modelin thetest.Priceincludes
extension
tables.

a
verygoodperformance
TAI 1 0 5 600 Thismodeldelivers for comparatively
littlem0ney.
Takesa littlemoreworkt0 align.Standis 0ptional.

Formoreinlormalion,
conlacl:

Delta Grizlv
800/438-2486 800t523-4777
www.deltamachinery.comwww.grizzly.com

Performax Ryobi
800/334-4910 800t525-2579
www.performaxproducts.com
www.ryobitools.com

dust that quickly fills the air
when using one of these
machines.In our experience, one
is asgoodasthe otherfor mostof
the machines,but you may have
to adaptthe togl to fit your col-
lector's hose. (See the chart
above to learn the dust port size
on eachmachine.)
The Delta 3l-250 gersa slight
edge here: The blow-molded
drum cover mimics the shapeof
the drum and wasalmostspotless
at the end of our testing. True to
Grizzly's drum duet cuts your sanding time in its industrial roots, the Grizzly
half by allowing you to use different grits on
each drum. Note that the height adjustment
G1079 has two 4" ports and a
crank can be moved to another lug, such as the cavernoushood, which made it
one in the foreground. hard for us to capturemuch dust,
evenwith our 750 cfm collector.
two of them, shown above.For produc-
tion sanding,you canmounta coarsegrir After the dust settled,
on the first drum and a finer grit on rhe whiCh WOUId We bUy?
seconddrum, and step up two grits of Honestly, it's a tough call. But Delta's
paperin one pass.A felt liner makesthe engineers really did their homework
seconddrum slightly largerthan the first when they designedthe 3l-250, and this
to sandjust a smidgeondeeper. machine'sextracapacity,cast-irontable,
'Dealing with the dust. Be it shopvacu- dual drum speeds,andincludedleg stand
um or dust-collectionsystem,you must nudgeit pastthe Performax16-32PLUS
have some method of grabbingthe fine for generaluse.
On the other hand,if you work with a
lot of small pieces or veneers,it's a
toughcall betweenthe Performax16-32
PLUS and the Ryobi WDS1600.In the
trenches,the two were virtually identi-
cal. Only you can decide whether the
extra power and features on the
Performaxare worth the $270 difference
betweenthe models.i
Written by Dave Campbell
Technicalconsultant:Dave Henderson
lllustrations:
Kim Downing
Photographs:Baldwin Photography
We've had our sa$ now go
online and have yours
lf you'veusedoneof the modelsin our
test, we'd likeyou to soundoff in our
special Drum Sanders discussion
group.Or, if you'restill on the fence,
go therefor a secondopinion.
To participate,simplylog on to the
WOODONLINE@home page at
www.woodonline.com and click on
"lnteractiveTool Reviews."Besides
hearing from other woodworkers,
you'll also learnhow the manufactur-
ers respondedto this article.

www.woodonline.com 59
 classlc
pninip Harmon restores and repro-
I ducesantiquesin Duson,Louisiana.
The original table, copied here, came
through his shop some 20 years ago. A
colonial period American piece, it prob-
ably originated in the Mid-Atlantic or
New England region. Phillip was so
taken by it that he made two for himself,
and provided the documentation that
allows us to presentit to you.
Becausethis project is a copy of an
antique, some of the parts have odd
thicknesses.We useda 3" turning square
for the pedestal, and were fortunate to
find some 6/4 lumber for the legs and
pivot block. If you can't find this thick-
nesslumber, laminate the parts from 414
lumber, or plane down 8/4lumber.
Itlote; For those of you who are inter-
ested in building this project, but don't
want to turn the pedestal, see the Buying
Guidefor a preturned one. For tlnse up
to the challenge,but needinga little help,
see the turning instructions on page 63.
Adept fiirners, go directly to thefull-size
pattern on the WOOD PATTERNSo
insert. No nianer which way you choose,
once you lnve your pedesnl in lnnd,
you're ready to proceed.
Form the pedestal's
sliding dovetails
z/qx4x4" pieces of scrap
{ Stick two
I material together with double-faced
tape. We used MDF. Make a copy of
the Pedestal Indbx Block on page 62,
rvww.woodonline,com
and adhere it to the
assembled pieces with
spray adhesive. Band-
saw, then sand to the
pattern lines. Drill the
screw shank holes,
where indicated. then
separatethe blocks. t
ODrill screw pilot holes at
(-the lathe center locations
on the ends of the pedestal(A).
Screw the blocks to the pedestal,
using only the centerholes. Fasten
the block with the pattern on it to the
bottom of the spindle with the pattern
facing out. Lay the pedestal/index
blocks assembly on a flat surface,
aligning the blocks. Drill pilot holes in
the pedestal, using the second hole in
each block as a guide. Drive in a sec-
ond pair of screws.
QOutfit your router table with the
Llauxiliary table and fence shown in
Drawing 1: Router Table/Fence
Extensions, on page 62. This set of
extensions supports and guides the
index blocks attached to the pedestal
when forming the flats and
dovetail slots at the bottom.
f Chuck a3/q"srught bit
-tin
your table-mounted
router, and position
the table extension
over the bit so it is
centered in the
hole. Clamp the
61
 classicovaltable
1
DRAWING
RouterTable/FenceExtensions
Table extension(Clamp
to routertabletop.)
Fence
(Fastento
routertablefence.)
/ 3%e' plus
, 1,,hole
the thicknessof ...- \
Stopblock
(Clampto fence.)
extension to your router table. Fasten
the fence extensionto your router table
fence, and position it againstthe table
extension.Clamp a stopblock to the
fence,whereshownon the drawing.
Place the spindle on the extension
table, and raise the router bit to the
height indicated on the bottom index-
block pattern. With the index blocks
against the extension fence, feed the
pedestalthrough the bit until the index
block contactsthe stopblock.Turn the
pedestal,andrepeaton the remainingtwo
faces.Repositionthe fence,maintaining
the spacingfrom bit to stopblock,and
make a secondset of cuts, as shown in
PhotoA. Repositionthe fence,andrepeat
until the flats are completelyformed.
Chucka Vz"x8"(cuttingangle)dove-
tail bit in your table-mounted router,
and raiseit to the heightindicatedon the
pattern.Seethe Buying Guide for the bit
we used.Adjust the fence to centerthe
I'lvirJa ij-cis
u:'ierliE lelr
iita alrd: c.ri
iitr nrrlr::i;rl
62
bit on the pattem image. With the stop-
block positioned the same distance from
the center of the bit as before, rout the
dovetail grooves. Remove the auxiliary
fence and table. but leave the dove-
tail bit installed.
Make tapered legs
with dovetail tenons
Planea lt/+x4x60" board to
lVB" thick, and cut three
l5"-long blanks for the legs
(B), plus a coupleof scrapsfor
testing the setup of the dovetail
cuts. Set your tablesaw miter
gauge to 57o, and trim one end of
each blank, where shown on the Leg
pattern on the pattern insert.
Set your tablesawrip fence so the
distance from the left side of the
blade to the fence is /r,+"less than the
depth of the dovetail slots in the
pedestal.Raisethe bladeto cut 3/s"deep.
Place the first leg (B) blank with its
angledend againstthe fence,and adjust
your miter gauge to match the angle.
Make the first shouldercuts on all three
of the leg blanks, supportingthem with
your miter gauge.Flip the legs over,
readjustyour miter gauge,and make the
second set of shouldercuts. Make the
sameshouldercutson your scrappieces.
DRAWING
FULL-SIZE
PEDESTALINDEX
BLOCK
Note: Cutting the dovetail tenon
slightly shorter than the depth of the
groove keepsthe tenonfrom bottoming
out in the groove.This makesit easier
to get a tight-fitting joint that will still
slide together.
Using one of the scrappiecesprevi-
ously cut as a gauge, adjust the
height of the dovetailbit in your table-
mountedrouter so it is just shy of the
shoulderscut in Step 2. Position the
fence so the bit is partially housed.
Using the scrap pieces, make passes
from both sides,adjustingthe position
of the fence until you form a dovetail
that fits the slots in the pedestal.Now,
cut the dovetailson the leg blanks, as
shownrn PhotoB.
Remove the cutterheadguard from
your jointer, and positionthe fenceto
Heightof
dovetailbit
Heightof
straightbit
WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
 1 Copythe full-sizehalf-pattern of the
r pedestalfromthe WOOD
t Wlt.Jernplat€ Fur-size temprare
PATTERNSo inseft,and adhereit to a
t/ex3xZ3t/q" pieceof hardboard.Align
the patterncenterlinewith one edgeof
the hardboard.Cut out the shadedpor-
tion of the pattern,leavingthe negative
imageof the profile,as shownin
ry
#*
re the blank
Drawing1. Usethistemplateto check @ Cteanup the entirelengthof blank.
the progressof yourturning.
.. ,rTrimyour3" turningsquareto the
3" turningsquare
,.','lengthin the Billof Materials,squar-
ing the ends,Markthe centersof the
ends.Mountthe blankbetweenthe @P4?
Truethe centerin stepsfrom
4
' Truethe ends. o
lathecenters.Useyour 1" roughing the endsin 1" to 11/e"
indrements.
gougeto roundthe blankto slighily
greaterthan27/a", as shownin Drawing2.
Stopthe latheoften,and checkyour
Q Mark and eut the diameters
\J T00L:olamond oartlnotl TOOLREST: SPEED:800-1,200rpm
progresswith calipers.
t,.?iWitha pencil,markthe locationsof o Yft,'5'i,:11;i,'." Checkdiameters
withcalipers.
,*."lthecriticaldiametersand beadson
the blank,whereindicatedon the pat-
tern.Cut groovesin the blankwith your
partingtool to the depthsshownon
yourtemplate,whereindicatedby your
pencilmarks,as shownin Drawing3.
Beginwiththe shallowcuts,and work
I The shape ernerqes
to the deepones.Shutoff the lathe "f
periodically, and checkthe diameters.
,{ Roughout the basicshapeof the
'"?pedestal
witha s/s"spindlegouge,as
shownin Drawing4. Checkyour
progressagainstthe pattern.Cut to
within1Aa" of the depthsset earlierwith Roughout the shape,workingdownhillon profiles. Diameterspreviouslycut
the partingtool.Workas closeto the with a partingtoo,.
finerdetailsas the gougeallows,leav-
ing enoughmaterialfor finedetailing
later.For bettercontrol,workthe profiles
downhill(largerto smallerdiameters).
ffi Useyour partingtoolto truethe nar-
'u.$rowflatsand insidecorners,rollthe * i I I

6-m3
tr\-l.l

beadsand round-overs, and sizethe top oil

tenonand bottomcylinder,as shownin
Drawing5. Startin the centerof the a
Make overlapping
beads,and workdownto eitherside. A
F i n i s h up
Rollthe partingtooloveras you follow
the beadprofile.Workthe round-overs
b
downhill.Makemultipleoverlapping cuts
to bringthe tenonand cylindercloseto
finishsize,thencleanthem up witha
finallight,continuouscut.Checkthe
sizeof the top tenoncarefullyto ensure
a goodfit of the pivotblock(C). Smoothbroadprofiles.
Smooth the broad profiles
with your
ff
a.'F'/au spindlegouge,as shownin Drawing6. As before,workthe
profilesdownhill.Makevery lightcuts,and movethe tool in long, ]Slow the latheto 800-1,200rpm,and finish-sand the
I pedestalwith a progression of 120-2}O-320-grit sand-
continuousmotions. papers.Do not sandthe top roundtenon.

wurw.woodonline.com
63
classicovaltable
expose 4%" of cutterhead. Clamp a
stopblockto the infeed table, IlVz" from
the centerof the cutterhead.Set the join-
ter to cutVro" deep.Placethe squareend
of a leg blank against the stopblock,
while holding the dovetailedend off the
cutterheadwith a push stick. Switch on
the jointer, and lower the blank onto the
cutterhead,face-jointing it, as shown in
Photo C. Repeatthis three times on each
side of all three leg blanks.
;:,. Make three copies of the Leg pat-
i.,ojtern, and adhere them to the leg
blanks with spray adhesive.Bandsaw
and sand the feet to the'pattern lines.
Trim the tops of the dovetail tenons,
where indicated on the pattern.
1,,-'Remove the pattems,and sandthe feet
':,..,rtosmooth the ffansitions at the top
from the taperedto the untaperedportions.
and sandthem down to fit the 1%2"holes
in the pivot block. Glue them in the
holes, as shown on the Exploded View
drawing. When the glue is dry, trim the
dowels so they protrude e/r0".
i'..,'Cuttwo blanks for the cleats (D) to
, ,'the size listed in the Bill Of
Materials. Make two copies of the Cleat
pattern on the pattern insert, and adhere
them to the cleat blanks with spray
adhesive.Becausethe cleats are mirror
images, transfer the location of the Vz"
hole from one cleat to the other.
Bandsaw, then sand the cleats to the
patternlines.
.,';Rout the chamfers, and drill the
' holes for the screws,where indicated
on the pattern. Center the screw holes
on the thickness of each cleat. Drill
mirror-image holes for the pivot dow-
els. Remove the patterns.
,,, Edge-gluethree z/+x7x27"pieces of
.'walnut to form a blank for the top
(E). Make four copiesof the Top quarter-
pattern on the pattern insert, and cut
them out. Adhere the patterns to the
bottom face of the blank with spray
adhesive, forming a complete oval.
(Two quartersof the pattern will be face
down.) Bandsawand sand the tabletop
to the pattern line.
PIVOTBLOCK
1t/2" hole
I 'Place the top (E) on your workbench
=.'with the patternfacing up. This will
be the tabletop's bottom surface.
Assemblethe cleatsto the pivot block,
inserting the pivot dowels in the holes in
the cleats.Positionthe pivot block/cleat
assemblyon the top, aligning the cleats
with their locations on the pattern.
Clamp tAe" spacersbetween the cleats
andpivot block to keepthe cleatsparallel.
Using the screw shankholes previously
drilled in the cleats as guides, drill pilot
holes into the top. Make a srnall chisel
mark on a hidden portion of one cleat
and the top to assistin reassemblingthe
parts later. Remove the pattern.
Now finish and
do final assembly
, Finish-sand the legs, pivot block,
: cleats, and top to 220 grit. Break the
edges of the legs (except where they
abut the pedestal),pivot block, and top
with a sandingblock.
, .,Spreadglue in the pedestaldovetail
and slide the legs into place.
,,,,,,slotS,
Apply glue on the pedestal tenon, and
seat the pivot block. Immediately lay
assembly AIBIC on your workbench
and, before the glue grabs, align the
pivot block, as shownin Photo D.
7a"chamfer

Build a top that

tilts for storage
'. Cut a piece of lVq" stock for the
, pivot block (C) to the size listed in
the Bill of Materials. Drill the holes for
the dowels and the pedestal tenon,
where shown on the Pivot Block draw-
ing. Cut the s/s"chamfer. Mortise in the
catch plate for the brass tilt-top table
catch, drill the screw pilot holes, then
removethe plate. Seethe Buying Guide
for our sourcefor the catch.
,""iCut two 2"-long piecesof Vz"dowel,
,,, shr.* them in turn in your drill press,

64 WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
 Tilt-tootable catch

A pedestal 2?/ei' dia. 23t/t" W

See the
WOOD PATIERNSo B. legs 11/8', A', 15" W
insert for the C pivotblock 11h' SVc' 53/q' W
full-size patterns. D cleats 7/B' 13/q' 20' W
E. top 3/tu 181/z'251/z' EW
- Partsinitially
cutoversize,
Trimtofinished
sizeaccord-
ingto instructions.
MaterialsKey: W-walnut,
EW-edge-glued
walnut.
Supplies:#10x1r/2"
brassflathead (6),
woodscrews
t/z"dowel,
finish.
% 0 "c h a m f e r s
BuyingGuide:
Dovetailbit:%"x8odovetailbit,
Jesada #618-129.
$22,90 plusshipping.
FLresidents addtax.Call
800/531-5559to order.
Catch:Spring-loaded
tilt-top
tablecatch#4720,
s/o' shank hole,
Paxton Hardware,phone 800/241-9741 , ltemis
countersunk
importedfromEngland.Please callforcunentprice.
MDresidents mustaddtax.
Pedestal:A preturned
walnut pedestalisavailable.
Orderitem#OT,$48.95 ppd.,Schlabaugh andSons
15/sz"hole # 1 0 x 1 % "b r a s sF . H .w o o ds c r e w Woodworking, 72014thStreet,Kalona,IA 52247 or
t/2" deep call800/346-9663.
Otherwoodspecies available upon
t/2"dowel, sanded lo 15/sz" Askforpricing
request. anddelivery time.
, 1 %0" long

A
Scrapfor
dovetailsetup 3x3x30"Walnut

1t/txGth x 72" Walnut

Plane or resaw to the thicknesses listed in the Bill of Material.

s/ax7r/e x 96" Walnut

R e m o ve sandi ng dust w i th
compressedair or a tack rag,
a n d a p pl y tw o coats of sati n
polyurethaneto all the parts and
assemblies. Sandlightly with 220-
grit sandpaper betweencoats.
R e i n s t a l lt h e c a t c h p l a t e o n
the pivot block. Place the top,
bottom surface up, on your work-
bench. Mount the cleats on the \Yitit tyv,t lzgt ilar-un
pivot block, and reposition the y,ttl t w o t l<:.te
r rci t,'di,1r t
pedestalassembly AlBlClD on the tite pe'Jzs!',tl t,-tp tvilit
EXPLODEDVIEW top (E). Align the previously made lie eevzl i'acing up.
(viewed from behind)
index marks. Drive the screws
throu-ehthe cleats and into the top.
Ali_snthe catch with the catch plate. Written by Jan Hale Svec with Charles L Hedlund
lllustrations: Roxanne LeMoine; Lorna Johnson
drill the screw pilot holes, and screw
Photographs: Baldwin Photography;
the catch in place. lP Wm. Hopkins

www.woodonline.com 65

T J ntil the fall of 1999,the Trappist
I I monksof New Melleray Abbey at
\-/ Peostain northeastIowa support-
ed a contemplativelife mainly through
farming their 1,300 tillable acres.But
the ever lower prices for corn and soy-
beans that plagued Midwest farmers
also affected the agrarian monastery's
revenues.On top of that, the aging
monksin the brotherhoodhad dwindled
to 36, requiring the hiring of help to
tend and harvestthe crops.
Living not too far away from them,
however,was a possibleanswerto their
dilemma.Sam Mulgrew, a Monmouth,
66
Iowa, hobby farmer, had developeda woods and pine covering 1,700 acres.
business of handcrafting and selling And it alreadyhad a sawmill and drying
wooden caskets. Having acquainted facility, once relied upon to produce
himself with the Trappists over the lumber for buildings and abbey furni-
years-he built his first casket in theirture. All the monks neededwas some-
carpentry shop-Sam wasn't surprised thing to make and market, as well as
when the monasteryaskedaboutacquir- someonelike Sam with the knowledge
ing his growing casketbusinessto sup- and experienceto direct the operation.
plementtheir saggingfarm income. Sam,now generalmanagerof Trappist
Caskets,immediatelyrealized the mar-
A merger of resources keting valueNew Melleray could add to
PurchasingMulgrew's casketbusiness his line, and sold his company."Where
was a natural move. New Melleray else could one buy a caskethandcrafted
Abbey is the secondlargestprivate for- by Trappistmonkswith wood from their
est owner in the state.with mixed hard- own forest?" he asks rhetorically.
WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1

"Besides, it took little investment in
equipment becausemaking caskets is
not like making furniture. You don't
need a lot of fancy tools. But you do
needa few good ones,like a shaperand
a tablesaw."
The Rule of Saint Benedict
The originalTrappistsof New MellerayAbbeycameto lowafrom lrelandin 1849,the
time of the GreatFaminein that country.Then as now,the monksbelongto the
Cisterciantraditionthat adheresto the monasticRuleof SaintBenedict.In short,the rule
prayer,communityliturgy,and manuallabor
saysto followGod in a life of contemplative
to supportthemselves.Accordingly, the monksariseat 3:15 a.m.for prayer,workquietly
throughthe day with stopsfor prayerin the chapel,then retireat 8:00 p.m.

More than
the basic pine box
TrappistCasketsnow offers two designs
in threegrades.All displayhonestlines
that reflect a simple dignity. First,
there's the straight-sided,box-shaped
casket in pine. The premium, shaped
casket,availablein walnut, ash,oak, and
maple,featuresraisedpanels.There's a
shapedpine casket,too, with a crosson
its lid. (All lids aresplitcrosswisesothat
lffi SamMulgrew,Trappist
Caskets'generalmanager,
checksinventory. The
abbeyoperationsold 120
casketsin theirfirstyear.
in place with stainlesssteel fasteners.
Nickel-plated,trunk-type "D" handles
embellishthe pine models.
"We don't put any finish on caskets
made of pine," notesSam. "I've found
that peoplelike the feel and smell of the
wood. For the raised-panelcasketsin
otherwoods,we usea lacquerfinish."
In their first year, the Trappist monks
made and sold I20 caskets. sendins
they can affbrdon a lovedone'sfuneral
casket becausethere hasn't been an
inexpensive,yet respectable-looking,
option. TrappistCasketsfill that need.
They're dignified, yet affordable, and
funeraldirectorscan still make a profit.
Having a woodencasketthat was care-
fully craftedby monksalsoaddsa spir-
itual aspect.
However, some casket sales have
takena turn to interior design.Brother
Felix Leja, in chargeof orders,tells of a
casketin wait asa wine rack.Anotheris
on call as a coffee table. And a plain
pine one was fitted with shelvesfor use
asa bookcaseuntil neededby thebuyer.
Unusual?Maybe, but there's at least
one historical precedent.Frontier folk-
lore has it that Daniel Boone madehis
casketout of buckeyewood, and in his
later yearsactuallysleptin it.cl
Written by Peter J. Stephano
Photographs:David Lee Hartledge

BlPine casketsreceiveno finishbecausebuyerslikethe feel

and aromaof the wood.Through6 funeraldirecbr,a casket
likethe one at leftcostsabout$900. i
[gA shaped,raised-panelcasket, suchas thisonecraftedof
oak,measures26Vz" at shouldersand '16"at headand foot and
is 15"deepand80" long,lt hasa splitlid (nohinges),anda
completemuslinliningwithpillow.

the top half can be removed for view-
ing.) Each comeswith a pillow and cot-
ton muslin lining. Prices start at about
$600 and top out near $1,400.
Additionally, Trappist Caskets sells a
cremationurn, a coveredbox with dove-
tail joinery in walnut, ash,oak, or cherry.
When Mulgrew beganmaking caskets
at his farm, he used no metal parts.
Tight-fitting lids snapped into place
without hinges,and he offered wood or
rope handles.The joinery was all dow-
els, splines,and glue.At New Melleray,
though,the eight or so monks involved
in casketmaking employ biscuitjoinery
to turn boards into panels and pocket-
hole screwsto mate the casketcompo-
nents.The unhinged,split lids are held
them to customersasfar away asNew
Mexico and SouthCarolina(shipping
costswithin the U.S. are about $150).
Although sold only to funeral direc-
tors-and directly to membersof the
religiouscommunity-the casketscan
be seen in a showroomat the abbey
(888/433-6934)or viewed on New
Melleray'swebsite,www.trappistcas-
kets.com.By the way, they'reaccept-
ed by all funeral homesand cemeter-
ies in the UnitedStates.
Gaskets for caring,
and the home
According to Father Brendan
Freeman, abbot of New Melleray,
many people spend much more than

67

Here'sa great
projectto complete
in a weekendor
Vd"dado blade
two with the help raised7a"
of your favorite
seamstress.
ew thingsimpart ambiance
like flamesflickering atop a
stack of firewood. But after the
last embers go out, it sure would be
nice to put a glow back on your fire-
place.And that's what we had in mind
in designingthis screen.It radiatesan
inviting warmth,even when you don't
have a log burning.
Note: You'll needat least6 boardfeet
of stock to build this project. We cut all
of our parts from a clear s/tx9x96"
piece of red oak.
Letosgive this project
some Negsto stand on
Cut two t/qxlVzx32"blanks for the
uprights (A) and two t/qx2t/sxl2"
blanksfor the feet (B).
Lay out and cut half laps at one end
of both uprights as shown in
Drawing I below.The auxiliary wood-
en fence minimizes chip-out on the
edge of the upright where the dado
bladesexit the cut. Leave this setupas
is for Step5.
DRAWING
1 Rout %" round-oversalongall edges
Cuttinga half lap in
\__ the upright
Va" dado
blade
www.woodonline.com
DMWING2
Cuttinga half lap
in the feet
Stopblock
Measuretp 29" from the shoulderof
eachhalf-lapand mark a I " radiusat
the other end of eachupright.We used
a draftsman'scircle template.Bandsaw
and sandto the markedradius.
Make two copies of the Feet pattern
found in the WOOD PATTERNSa
insertand apply one copy to eachof the
feet blanks.Crosscutthe feet blanksto
11" long, cuttingjust up to the pattern
lines at both endsof the feet.
Cut centered dadoes in the feet,
whereshownon the pattern.Use the
setupshownin Drawing2 above.Sneak
up on the shouldersof the cut, testingits
fit with the half laps cur into the
uprights.Clamp a stopblockto the aux-
iliary woodenfenceto help you quickly
cut a matchinghalf lap in the otherfoot.
Cut just outsideof the feet pattern
lines with a bandsaw,and sandup to
the lines with a drum sander.
Glue and clamp togetherone upright
to each of the feet. After the glue
dries,sandthe upright'sprotrudinghalf
lap end flush with the feet bottoms.
of the leg assemblies exceptfor the
feet bottoms,as shownon the Exploded
View on the nextpage.
Now, make the cross-
members, panel holders,
and brackets
Cut a 3/+x4t/2x31"
blank for the top
crossmember(C). Make two copies
of the top crossmemberhalf-pattern
found in the WOOD PATTERNSinsert.
tapethem together,and cut to shape.
Makingthe
fabric panel
At WOOb magazine
we know a lot more
about woodworking
than sewing,so we
enlistedthe helpof Jill
Kemp of BearsPaw
Designsin Westfield
Center,Ohio,to design
and stitchtogetherthe
fabricpanel.Anyone
familiarwith sewing
techniquesshouldbe
ableto duplicateher
design.To helpout,
we've includeda full-
size pattern in the WOODPATZERNSo
insert.The photo aboveshowsthe
stitchingJill used to sew the pattern
piecesin place.Just make sure the
finishedpanel measures22s/q"high
and 292/a" wide,with loopsat the top
and bottombig enoughto holda3/e"-
diameterrod.
Jill used the following materials
to put together the panel:
O Wool, navy blue-1{+ yards
D Wool,lightgold,dark green,and
light green-t/a yard of each color
D Wool,red,caramel,pumpkin,peach,
gold,mediumblue,and rust-scraps
D Wovenfusibleinterfacing-11/2yards
D Cotton backing tabric-s/+ yard
fl Embroideryfloss,#612*3 skeins
D Embroideryfloss,a greencompati-
ble with your greenwool-3 skeins
D Heat N Bond Lite-1 t/z yards
D Templateplastic
All of the sizes givenfor the wool are
priorto washingand drying-a
processthat felts the wool nicely,but
causesit to shrinkto abouttwo-thirds
of its originalsize.
To see a copy of Jill's detailed
instructions for makingthe panel,go
to: www.woodonli ne.com/editorial/
13Osew.html. Or, if you don't have
internetaccess,we'll mail you a copy
of the instructions. Just send a
stamped,self-addressed, business-
size envelopeto:
Sewn panel instructions
WOOD Magazine
1716LocustS t.,GA -310
Des Moines,lA 50309-3023
firescreen
t/e"round-over,top edgesonly

Handleopenrng
3/a"counterborer/+"deep, /e" round-overs,routedafter leg assembly
with a s/sz"hole centeredinside - 30'--
o 78"round-overs
o
7o+"pilothole 3/+"g(oove t/a" deep
-o
3/auplug \ 1t/z"deep
" lqng \
c/16

[\
{\
\\r 1I
-f o I
I I
I
See the I
".?:# WOOD PATIERNSO
insert for the
full-size patterns.
22e/a"from
centerto
centerof
rods
O^o

5:

7e"button
l
s/sz"hole,
countersunk Wool applique'
\" on bottomside

,#
t{

l1 3/e"steelrod 31" long

1t/q" deck screw

Chamferends of steel rod.

/a" round-overs, 7+" groove t/2" deep

routedafter
leg assembly
3/+"groove 1/8" deep -)

EXPLODEDVIEW
PANEL HOLDER DETAIL

Adhere the pattern to the top cross-
member blank. With a bandsaw or
scrollsaw,cut just outsideof the pattern,
and sandto the line.
Drill two 1" holes,wheremarkedon
the pattern. Complete the handle
openingwith a scrollsawor jigsaw, and
sandsmooth.
Rout a %" round-overalongthe han-
dle opening and the curved edgesof
the top crossmember,where shown on
the ExplodedView drawing.
Cut four 3/qxlx3l" pieces. Group
them in pairs and glue each pair
face-to-face to make two lr/zxlx3I"
blanks for the panel holders (E). all four edges (Do not
Resawor planeeachblank to lW" roundover ends.)
thick. Keep the joint line centered
on the thicknessof theseblanks.
Set up a dadobladeto cut a 3/4"
-
wide groove for holding the
crossmembers.Cut a centered
groove, Vt"-deep,along the length
of both blanks where shown in the
PanelHolder Detail drawins.
Raise the dado blade to cut a Vz"- Round over all four long edges of
deep groove. Cut this centered the blankswith a %" round-overbit.
groove on the edge of the panel holder (SeePanelHolder Detail above.)
blanksoppositethe cut madein the pre- Crosscutthe top crossmember(C) to
viousstep. a finished length of 30". Cut the

70 WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 ' l

 Assemblenfinish, and
put your fabric in place
Mark the locations of the lower
3/8"counter- A' uprights 3/tu 1Y2' 315/e' O 2
% borest/q"deep, screw holes and the lower r%:"
1/ B* feet 3/qu 27/s* 11" O 2
with a 7se" rod hole on each upri_eht, where
holecentered shown in the Upright Detail. C* topcrossmember 3/q' 47ta" 30' 0 1
inside
To find the locations of the screw D* lowercrossmbr. 3/q' lVqu 30' 0 1
holes and rod hole on the upper E* panelholders 1Vq' 1" 30" O 2
end, you will need your finished fab- F brackets 1/2" 1Vq' 6" 0 2
ric piece. Insert a 3l "-long 7s" steel -Cutpartoversized
andtrimtofinishedsizeaccordino
lo
rod into each of the loops in the fab- theinstructions.
ric, and pull the fabric tallt. as shown MaterialKey:0-oak
in the photo belotr. Measure the cen- Supplies: 7s'steel
rod31'long (2),2'deckscrews
ter-to-center distance between the (10),1/+"deckscrews
(2),/a"oakbuttons {4),wool
rods and use this figure to locate the fabric,
clear
finish.
Approximately
22s/e"(Final upper tA:" rod hole. With that done,
dimension mark the upper screw holes, where
d e p e n d so n shown on the Upri-ehtDetail.
lengthof
fabricpanel.)
315/e'
DRAWING
3
Fastening
the brackets

11Aa
7e"counter- {"" .//{
3/q"
bores t/c"deep,
with a 7sz"
holecentered Drill -%" counterbores t/+" deep at
inside each of the screw locations. Drill
-7r:" holes centered in the counterbores. bracket and into
27/a"
Drill the tt,/tz"rod holes.
I Locate the crossmemberassemblies
the lower cross-
member. Count-
Half lap
*] on the leg assemblies with the th." ersink the holes,
grooves centered over the I t/32" rod and drive home
UPRIGHTDETAIL holes. Dry-clamp these assemblies. the lt/+" deck screws.
Drill 542" screw holes about ls/s" Plug the screwholes in the uprights
deep into the crossmembers using with /s" face-grainplugs, and sand
the sAz" holes in the uprights as guides. them smooth.
lower crossmember (D) to t/*liAx37". Fasten the assemblies securely with Sand smooth,and apply your finish
Set up a stop so you can crosscut parts 2" deck screws. of choice to the project as well as
D and E to the same length as the top Apply glue to the long straight edge four /s" oak buttons.We choseGeneral
crossmember. of each bracket (F), and clamp them FinishesWipe-On SatinRoyal Finish.
Apply glue in the t/s"-deep centered on the ends of the lower cross- Placethe 3/a"rods throughthe fab-
grooves in the panel holders (E), members. Drill -7::" screw holes about ric loops and installthe fabric and
and clamp the crossmembers(C. D) to l7s" deep into the brackets, using the rods in the assembledframe. Plug the
them. Make sure the ends align flr,rsh. lowest y'r:" holes in the uprights as rod holeswith the 3/s"buttons-apply a
To make the brackets (F). l'esaw or guides. Attach the brackets to the light dab of woodworker'sglue to the
p l a n e a 2 " - w i d e , 1 4 " - l o n gp i e c e o f uprights with 2" deck screws, as shown buttonsso you can removethem later if
stock to t/2" thick. Make two copies of in Drawing 3. needbe.lF
the full-size brackets pattern in the Mark a screw-hole location on the
WOOD PATTERNSo insert and apply bottom of each bracket, centered and Writtenby Bill Krier with Kevin Boyle
lllustrations:
Kim Downing; Lorna Johnson
both copies to the stock. Cut along the 2" from the narrow end of the bracket. Photographs:Baldwin Photography;
pattern lines and sand smooth. Drill a 7::" hole ly's" deep through the Wm, Hopkins

www.woodonline.com 71
 t/2" hole
A back s/a' 6u 16" P 1
B sides s/au 4Ta' 12' P 2

%o"round-over
C bottoms 5/a' SVc" 6" P2
on front edge D frontpanel 5/a' 6%0" 61/2' P 1
E drawer
fronl 5/s' 37s" 61/z' P 1
F drawersides 7/16"31/ta"311/rc" P 2

3/ro"round-overwith G drawerback l/ta" 314a" 5%0" P 1

a %0"shoulder H drawerbottom 7/6" 27/e' 51Aa" P 1

61/z' Material Key:P-pine.

Supplies: 7a"diameter
brassknob.
BuyingGuide:4d nails,
antique-style item
AG-02220672, barnredmilkpaint,item
$5.75/lb.;
AG-200657, SDresi-
addshipping,
$9.95/pt,;
dentsaddtax.CallVanDyke'sRestorers,
65/'ra 800/558-1234,
LumberGuide:Allthepartsforthisproject are
cutfromone{+x7tAx96"pineboard.
Plane or
resaw tothethicknesses
listed
above.

31/e'

{_ 4d antique-stylenail
1j/2"long Brassknob
E XP L OD E DVIE W

s/0" round-overwith a %0"shoulder

riginally used to hold clay
smoking pipes in its top com-
partment and tobacco in its
drawer, this country accentis basedon
an Early American classicdesign.(See
the sidebar,right.)
Invest an evening or two in its con-
struction,and you'll soonhavepleasing
storage for candles, matches,or any-
thing else that suits your fancy.
S'"ftr+rtfi'..4tgtfir rii,r'*i::-
iT {1;$1?l;r,ii i{, l'l'r-,if i"'''iii r'li.;.';,.,{:
From at/+xlVqx96" pine board, cut a
piece 72" Iong, and plane rt to s/s"
thick for parts A-E. Set the rest of the
board aside. Cut a blank for the back
(A) to the size listed in the Bill of
Materials. Referrins to the Back on the
".eh#r#'sh*snmstmm#
RichardHale,a prosperousfarmer,built
a substantialhousefor his familyat
Coventry,Connecticut, duringthe spring
o f 1 7 76.Later that year, on S eptember
22, his 21-year-oldson, CaptainNathan
Hale,died a Patriothero of the American
Revolution. The houseand property
passedfrom the familyin 1832.George
DudleySeymour,a wealthyNew Haven
attorneyand notedantiquarian, acquired
the housein 1914,and devotedthe last 30 yearsof his life to restoringthe
homestead.Seymoureventuallyacquiredall of the morethan 300 acresof
Hale land,and steadilycollectedfamilyfurnishingsand periodConnecticut
pieces.At his deathin 1945,Seymourbequeathedthe estateto the Stateof
Connecticutand the Antiquarianand LandmarksSocietyof Connecticut,
whichopenedit to the publicin 1948.When we visitedthe NathanHale
Homestead,we foundthe pipe box hangingnextto a fireplace.
Visitor Information:NathanHale Homestead,2299 SouthStreet,Coventry,
Conn.Phone8601742-6917. Open May 1S-October15, Wed.-Sun.,1-4 p.m.
Admission:adults$4, students$1, preschoolfree. For information,
writeThe
NathanHale Homestead,P.O. Box 25, Coventry,CT 06238.

www.woodonline,com 73
NathanHalepipebox
Parts View drawing above,lay out the
top profile, and mark the locations of
the Vz" hanging hole and the 5/zz"nul
pilot holes. Scrollsaw or bandsaw the
top profile, then sandto the layout lines.
Drill the holes, where marked. Sand a
%e" round-over, where shown on the
Exploded View drawing.
')Cut two blanks for the sides (B) to
d*the size listed, and fasten them
together with double-faced tape.
Referring to the Side on the Parts View
drawing above,lay out the top arc, and
mark the locations of the s/zz"nail pilot
holes. Saw and sand the arc to the lay-
out lines, and drill the pilot holes, where
marked, through both pieces. Separate
the two sides.
74
PARTS VIEW
1Ys'
-t
5/a"
I
3Ya
I
II
I
_T Va"
QCut the bottoms (C) to size, then
\"Jfinish-sand parts A, B, C. Glue and
clamp together the back (A), sides (B),
and bottoms (C), as shown on the
Exploded View drawing. Cut 3%"-long
spacers,and insert them betweenthe bot-
toms to keep them aligned while gluing.
f When the glue is dry, remove the
tchmps and, using the sAz"holes pre-
viously drilled in the sides and back as
guides, drill the pilot holes to a total
depth of lVz". Drive the antique-style
nails, as shown n Plnto A. (See the
Buying Guide for our source of these
antique-reproductionnails.)
Align the length of the roughly rectan-
gular nail heads with the grain on the
sides, and acrossthe grain on the back.
DRAWER
EXPLODEDVIEW
f ),1$'
1$Ve"
Drive the heads slightly below the sur-
face of the wood.
Now' make two panels
and a drawer
I Cut the front panel (D) and drawer
I front (E) to the size listed. Install a
%0" round-over bit in your table-mount-
ed router, and adjust it to make a bead
with a t/ro"shoulder.Rout all four edges
of both fronts.
fllnstall a dado blade in vour table-
{ru*, and cut rabbets in itre bottom
edge of the front panel (D), as shown in
the Side View drawing, and in the side
edges,as shown in the Exploded View
drawing. Next, cut rabbets in the top
and bottom edges of the drawer front
WOOD magazine February 2001
 /e" pilot hole t/2"deep

s/0"round-overwith SIDE VIEW

a %o"shoulder

1 33/a"
s/0" round-overwith
a %o"shoulder

)
s/q" rabbel -
Ta" deep (sides)
r---\

s/0" rabbet 7e" deep

(bottom edge)
Te"brassknob
ru
%0"rabbet7e"deep
(bottomedge)
t/a" f abbel 3/a"

s/0" rabbet7e"deep (bottomedge)

::..
.';"ii er sides (F), drawer back (G), and
-r
F*" ,,
ilslrj iire nairr lviiir,,Sil=-r,ri ,tlizrt lu iseeu
lltzrn irurttruut!irtg';;'tf*;yJ;';,iir'ii='i,"-''
(E), as shownin the SideView drawing
and in the side edges,as shown in the
Drawer Exploded View drawing. Drill
the knob pilot hole in the center of the
drawerfront. Finish-sandpartsD and E.
Glue and clamp the front panel (D)
in place. When the glue is dry,
remove the clamps and, as before, drill
the pilot holes,and drive the nails.
Planethe pieceof pine previously
I setasidetel/ro" thick for the draw-
drawer bottom (H). Cut the parts to
the sizeslisted, and finish-sandthem.
Glue and clamp the drawer
together.as shownon the Drawer
Exploded View drawing. When the
glue is dry, drill the pilot holes and
drive the nails. Align the length of the
nail headswith the grain.Drive the nails
deepso the headsdo not protrude.
I I'l.rir;,:*$'"*
*&Ai$:fiV"q t$rT?**"r,r$r*)c'i
Break the sharpedgesof the drawer
front and the edges and corners of
the box with sandpaperto give them a
well-usedlook. Apply a coat of stain
(we used Minwax Early American
#230), and let it dry.
Mix up somemilk paint, and apply
it over the stain. (See the Buying
Guide for our milk paint source.)When
the paint is dry, rub through it on some
of the cornersand edgesthat would be
subject to wear with steel wool or a
Scotch-Britepad until the stain shows
through.Rub the lacquercoatingoff the
brassknob and give it a dull sheen.It
will darken with age and handling.
Install the knob, and rub away someof
the drawer front paint aroundit. *
Writtenby Jan Hale Svec with Charles l. Hedlund
lllustrations:
Roxanne LeMoine;Lorna Johnson
Photographs:Baldwin Photography;
Wm. Hookins

75
 r a closeshave
oodworkingdoesn'tget any
more basic than this. You
pick up a rectangularpieceof
steel and make problems go away.
It to Milling marks, joinery imperfections,
glue lines, runs in a finish-they all
and bow beforethe simplehand scraper.
A well-tunedhandscraper,with a tiny
"hook" of steelthat you shapealong its
to use. edge, smoothshighly figured wood or
burl without tear-out.If you startwith a
onsense. planeand run into tear-outtrauma,your
scrapercomesto the rescue.It doesn't
's how to eliminate sanding,contrary to popular
belief, but it doesallow you to skip the
coarsergrits.
this little So what's the catch?It takespractice
to use a scraperproperly, and, just as
important,it takes a honing technique
gem to your that's nothing like sharpeningyour
other tools. Don't worry. We'll guide
advantage. you throughall the stepswith the help
of scraper expert Marc Adams, who
runs the Marc Adams School of
Woodworking in Franklin, Indiana.
Get your hands on one
If you don't own a hand scraper,buy a
simple,rectangularmodelat a tool store
or through a woodworking catalog.
Most of them are either 5" or 6" long
and 2" to 3" wide. Woodworker's
Supply (800/645-9292)canies one for
$4.50,part number813-756.Thickness
and steelhardnessvary from one brand
of scraper to another, but you can
ignore thosefactorsfor now.
You can't go wrong at that price, but
you do have an alternative.A rectangle
cut out of an old handsawblade will
work like a charm.
Once you've learnedthe ins and outs
of scraping,you may decide to add a
cabinet scraper, a small two-handled

lf you wantto get technicalaboutit...

Scrapersrangefrom about C-30 to about C-50 on the Rockwellhardness
scale.The softerones are easierto sharpen,but the harderones hold a hook
longer.Thicknessvariesfrom .020"to .030".
A thick scraperworks best when you need to removea great deal of materi-
al. Try a small,thin hand scraperfor levelinga coat of varnishor makinga
delicatepiece of inlay perfectlyflush with the rest of the surface.Steel cut
from a dull and inexpensivedovetailsaw works well for this. Remember,you
also can make small scrapersof any size and shape to suit particulartasks.
 *

a!'
,,: :!

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lvl

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tool thlt cllurl-rs i.t \cl'Lt[lct'blltle irl t h u t ' s n o t u I l t t t l t i s t o o i i s t l c s i g t l c t lt o t l o . rr ith thoselcccssot'icshct'eat the scltool.
p l l c c . I t r c c l L r c c st h c r i s k o l ' I ' i t l s c s t t h c t t Prrt thc r-irht ltook ttt't its cclgc lttlcl lt lrnrl I'r c Irc\cl' scclt oltc -uadgetthltt
'This \\'hat \\'e treecl."'
\ i ( ) u \ n . . l o o t h l t l l t r g c s r u ' l ' l t c c .i t t t d i t " s l t \ c l ' a l l c l ' L r n l i t r - lu: i s 1 t r c" i t t ' l st t l ' r i t l t l t l . f i t l c r nurclcrnc thirrk. is
l o t c l r \ i c r ' ( ) n \ o u . r \ I l t n r l s c l ' L t p c ts' 1 l ' c s \ - thlrr r orr couicl c\ cr gcl u ith lt plitttc. l n h i s o p i t t i o l t . T l i c l c s s s o p h i s t r c a t cac l
"
c s \ ' o L r r t h L t t n l - r lst n c l g c t s i t i i l t t l l r h O t , \ c h i c r i n g t i t i t t h t t t t l . .r s l t ( ) : l l \ s t c l ' \ : rioocluorltcr is. tlrc tttorc sophisticatccl
r o u . j L r s in c c r l t l t c r i s i t t t c el t r t i r l L t c .l - c l t t - t l t o o l s h c t h i r r k si t c l t a st o h a v c . "
t o r i t r r t t h c s i n r P l c r i r L , ^r l t t t t l I ' c s i s t t l l c '\ hancl scrallcr uttcllt catrirtctscral)el
Y o t t c r . u .ct ( ) a \ s ( ) t t t c s i t u t l t t : t t t l l i t 1 - l t c c c r u r q c t o b L n : i l t t ' 1 ' r c it itt r : t l c r i c c s . N ' l l t l c rcrluirc slightlt' tliffercrrt ltrttceclltrcs.
'"!
ol' uoocl uith u n u n h o n c c l s c t ' i t 1 - r cbt 't"t t . , \ r l l n r s s l r rs . \ c \ccir pcoltlc \tl'Llgglc B o t h . I t o u e ' rc r . s h l t rc u ' o o c lu i t h a h o o k
t h a t r o u f i r r n r a l o n g t h e e c l g c .S e e t l l e
clnrning (o1t1to.sitt' l)ug(, lrtlt) |or a close-
Lrpr icvi ol' thc altrost iltvisiblc hook.
Youcan smooth -fhc
c a p t i t ) n st o P l t o t o . s , lt h r o r t g hF t c l l
curves,too \ oLr hou to sharpcn lt hattcl scritpel-.
S c r a p e r sa l s o c o m e i n a F r e n c hc u r v e ,o r Y o L r ' l l l i r l l o u t h c s u n t es t c l l st o s h a r p c t l
oonseneck stvle and a model that's convex a cabinet scral)cr'.lrLrtkee;rthe edgc at a
at one end and concaveat the other. +-5 artglc ancl thcn turtt thc hook tcr
W o o d w o r k e r ' sS u p p l ys e l l s t h e o n e s s h o w n nratch thc clraning. Wc usecla bLrrrlisl-r-
a I l e f t f o r $ 4 . 5 0 a p i e c e .T h e g o o s e n e c ki s i n g t o o l . b L r tt h c s h a n k o l ' a g o t t c lc h i s c l
p a r t n u m b e r 8 1 3 - 7 6 3a n d t h e c o n v e x / c o n - \ \ r r t ' k s . j t rl st :t r i c l l .
c a v e m o d e l i s B 13 - 7 7 0 "A n $ 1 1 . 9 5 p a c k a g e PLrtu hook on both siclestlf both lorlg
t h a t i n c l u d e st h e s e t w o a n d t h e r e c t a n g u l a r c c l g e ss o \ ' o l t u t t t - t ' th a r e t t t I ' c b l t l - t l i sahs
s t y l e i s p a r t r r u m b e r8 1 0 - 1 4 5 . ol'tc'n. r\ncl il' \'oLt \\'lu'lt ttt get the
I t t a k e s m o r e p r a c t i c et o h o n e a n d h o o k a lbsolLrtcr.t.tost oLttol'f il1,t.scl'ape i. N4arc
curved edge, but the steps remainthe same. points oltr that )roltcitttllLttas Irlattvas ll
M a r c A d a m s r e c o m m e n d sw o r k i n gt h e e d g e hooks on ()nc rcctangttlafscritper.J'hat's
an inchat a time.

WOOD magazine F e b r u a r Y2 0 O l
 rioning,step by step What'syour angle?
: ] i E r ' A : i a y ) / o u rs c i ' a p e ro n a p i e c e o f a s s h o w n r n P h o t o C . t h e n l a y it 11 | u to n t h e Use the same stepsto honea cabinetscraper
. ; C l ' . l l la. n d r u b a r , , " s t r i p a l o n g t h e e d g e s t o n e a n d w o r k i r b a c k a n d f o r t h .a s s h o w n blade,but keepan eye on the differentangles.
' v i l l i . r i - n e o r L i m - Esr hi i a r p e n t n gs t o n e K e e p in Photo D.
a . ii t u n i i l y o u c a n s e e s c r a t c h e sa l l a l o n g S T E P E : H o l d t h e s c r a p e rf l a t n e a r i h e H o n ee n d
l h e e c g e . t l i e i rt i i p t h e s c r a p e ra n d r e p e a t e d g e o f t h e b e n c h .a n C p u l l i h e b u r n i s h i n g 10 5 " of scraperto
H o n ea 4 5 " 90" square.
i h e p i ' o c e s sf o r a t r u l y f l a t e d g e . t o o l f i r m l y a c r o s s i t s e v e r a l t i m e s . F l r pt h e bevelon end of \/,
S T H B B : C l a m p t h e s c r a p e ri n a v i s e . a n d s c r a p e r o v e i 'a n d d o t h e o t h e r s i d e . t o o scraperblade.
f i l e t l e e d g e l e v e l .K e e p t h e f i l e i n c o n t a c t T h i s f l a t t e n sa n y w i r e e d g e t h a t m i g h t
with lhe lengih of the edge and oerpenrlicular r e m a i n .a n d s l i g h t l yt h r n s t h e s t e e l .
i o i h e s r d e s .A f e w s t r o k e ss h o u l d d o t h e j o b . S T E P F : H o l d t h e s c r a p e ri n o n e h a n d .
S T E P S C & D : W r t h t h e s c r a p e r ' se d g e A p p l y i n gm o d e r a t ef o r c e , p u l l t h e b u r n i s h i n g Cabinet
f l a i . s m o o t h t h e m i l l i n gm a r k s w i t h t h e tool along its edge at a very slightangle to Scraper
s t o n - o .P ; s h t h e s c r a p e r a c r o s s t h e s t o n e , push the steel down and out. Form the same
c a r e i r - r t ih) ro l d i n g i t u p r i g h t a n o a t a s k e w , s l i g h ta n g l e t o w a r d t h e o p p o s r t es i d e . t o o .

- r'i!:l

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r \ \ ( ) ( ) i t a , i L ' l t\ l , . l c . l \ \ o ( ) i ^ i - . . i , _ ' : hat "Yolr can't

N l a r c p L r l l s .r ' c a s o r . r i nt g
it , " , , r ' i r i cI t o o i . .i t t c a e l r i ' l r r n holcl il pcrl'cctlr I'lat w ltcn voll re pLrsh-
i l r r i i l J ci i n \ i - ' i '\f r e c s l i t r i . , i t ' i i t : , iccl i n g i t . b u t r o r - rc a r t$ h c n I ' O LpI u l l i t . " H e
(Jt Irolclsthc scnr;reri.rta sli-chtskeu' altcl
r u l r c st h c I ' l c r u c c o r c l i n gt o t h e . j o b .T h i s
I'lcring c()ltecnll'ates tltc cr-rttin-st pori,'erin
: \ l i t r i t i l c r i r r . r , . ru ' : l i l t r l n c r l . i r s er l 1 - l c r ' onc lrcu anclkeeltstltc cornersfl'otn clic-
\\ r)n i lui'n ol.tl l'clrtitcrrsllrr ings Lrlttil g i n g i n t o r o L r ru ' o r - k 1 t i c c c .

w w w " \/ o o d o n l i n e . c o m 79

The photos above and above, right
show both methods.Ideally, you should
hold the hand scraperjust 10o to 15o
from vertical, leaning in the direction
that you're scraping. "If you've made
the hook so that it cuts at that angle,it's
easierto use," Marc says."If you have
to hold it at 45 degrees,for example,it's
too sharpan angle for comfort."
The proper angle can change slightly
from one honing to the next. Move the
scraperuntil you can feel it cut and you
see the shavings.When you can't get
shavings any more, reburnish. Lay the
scraper flat on your workbench and
"draw" the edge slightly thinner with
your burnishing tool, then form a new
hook. You can reburnish Severaltimes
beforeyou haveto get out your stoneand
file and go back to the beginning of the
sharpeningprocess.
Midwesternmecca
for woodworkers
Hundredsof woodworkerstake
classes every year at the Marc
Adams Schoolof Woodworking.
Marc and visitingexpertsteach from
May throughOctoberat his acreage
near Franklin,lndiana,about20
milessouthof lndianapolis.
Last summer,we talkedto some of
his students,many of them repeat
customers,and heard nothingbut
enthusiasticreviews.For more
information,call 3171535-4013 or
log on to www.marcadams.com
80
\i[
L-r
t*;
-
Try pushingand pullingthe scraperto get a feel for
both methods,When you push, as shown al left, your
thumbsbear the burden.The pull stroke,below, is a
littleeasieron your hands.
rq"!*.
f ,: -rl
t:j:r.l
.?
w.'y
*Sn*.**
rXi;-
'*&
***sffi;.
Give your thumbs a break
A long sessionof scrapinggeneratesan
uncomfortableamount of heat. Rather
than put the scraperinto some sort of
holder, which stealsaway your control
of the tool, wear gloves.
However, no matter how comfortable
a hand scrapermay feel as you begin to
useit, a long sessionwill take its toll on
your thumbsand fingers.So if you have
a large surface to clean up, or some
heavy scrapingto do, switch to a cabi-
net scraper, as shown in the photo
above. Its big handles make this tool
easy to grip, while its large sole helps
you do a more consistentjob of flatten-
ing the surface.
After you sharpenthe cabinet scraper
blade, place the body on a flat surface
and position the blade squarely in its
slot, with the beveled edge facing the
rear.Hold the whole assemblyfirmly in
place while you tighten the screwsthat
Usethecabinetscraper,
/eft,whenyouwantto work
on a largesurface.But
remember thatbowingthe
scraperbladeouttoo far
willcausenoticeable
hollowsandridges.
force the pressure bar
againstthe blade.Then turn
the thumbscrewthat forces
the blade to bow. The far-
ther you nudge it out, the
deeper the cut that you'll
make in the wood.
A basic cabinet scraper,
such as the Stanley No. 80, holds the
blade at a fixed angle.It's up to you to
form a hook that works at that angle.
Marc's parting advice
Some woodworkers claim that scrapers
give them a surfaceready for finishing.
Becausethe scrapercutsfibersratherthan
tearingthem, you'll wind up with a clear-
er, brighter surfacethan sandingoffers.
However, Marc would advise you to
resistthe temptationto go directly from
scraperto finishing brush. "You're not
going to eliminatesanding.That's fan-
tasy," he says. "As soon as you try to
make a tool do what it's not qualified to
do, you'll have failure and becomedis-
couraged.But for certainjobs, a scraper
is a tool you can't do without."I
Written by Jim Pollock with Marc Adams
Photographs:Wm. Hopkins; Baldwin
Photography
lllustration:
Kim Downing
WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 ' 1
p##g-t!futs
Orange tool cleaner is
really quite green
Cleaning the accumulatedgunk and
gtime off saw bladesis a processthat
usedto be almost as dangerousas
using the saw itself. Caustic chemical
cleanersand solventsremove the pitch
and gum, true, but they also take off
any markings on the blade, and can
prove harmful to your health.
Now CMT has a cleanerthat's
biodegradable,nontoxic, and so safe
you don't even needto wear gloves
when using it. It's called Formula 2050
and, although it looks orangeand
smells orange,the manufacturerinsists
it's not a citrus-basedproduct.
They say Formula 2050 doesn't dis-
solve the pitch and resin like chemical
cleanersdo. Instead,it penetratesit and
breaksits bond with the metal tooling.
Whatever.The stuff just plain works.
I startedwith a couple of 10" saw
bladesI didn't think were too dirty. I
spritzedon the Formula 2050, waited a
few seconds,and wiped with a paper
Attachment makes DeWalt scrollsaw arm weightless
If you own a DeWalt DW788 scroll-
saw, you know it can be a nuisance
doing a lot of inside cutting. Every
time you releasethe blade to thread it
82
towel. The bladesmust
have been dirtier than I
thought becausethey
shimmeredand the paper
towel was filthy. And all
of the blades' original
markings remained
intact. A natural bristle
brush helped me touch
up betweenthe carbide
teeth and the posts.
Formula 2050 worked
just as well on router bits. I soakeda meanshad failed. Again, a couple of
cruddy bearing-guidedbit for a week, applicationsand a little scrubbing
with no apparenteffect on the lubrica- restoredthe abrasive.
tion in the bearings.For disgustingly -Tested by RaleighRubenking
dirty tooling, I found that a pair of light
applicationsworked better than one
heavy dose. CMTFormula2050
I even had an old abrasivestrip from Performance *****
my drum sanderthat was thick with $12,18oz.bottle
packedpitch and gum. (Don't ask me Value *****
why I savedit.) Previousattemptsto
CallCMTUSAtoll-free orvisit
at888/268-2487,
clean it with solventsand mechanical www.cmtusa,com.
through your next starter hole, you The assemblyinstructionsare com-
i
: have to juggle the saw's upper arm, the plete and thorough, and the Easy Lift
blade, and your workpiece. An exffa required only about five minutes of my
i
i hand would be nice. time for mounting. And, I recovered
The Easy Lift is just the hand, or that downtime on my very next scroll-
rather ann, you need. This pivoting saw project.
aluminum bar bolts to your DeWalt -TestedbyKevinBoyle
saw, using existing holes and replace-
ment hardware provided with the Easy
Lift. The spring at the rear helps to EasyLittfor DeWalt
0W788scrollsaws
counterbalancethe saw's arm, so it *****
stayswhereveryou put it. You can
even adjust the spring pressureto suit
your saw by moving it to a different
hole on the Easy Lift bar.
WOOD magazine February 2001
products
-that ristil
\ V2
perform
Time in a bottle (two bottl€sr actually)
Human beings are funny: We spenda
ton of money on productsto make our-
selveslook younger,but we sometimes
want our furniture to look old. Until
recently,the art of aging new wood has
beena job bestleft to Mother Natureor
a finishing pro. Now, though,the folks
at Old Growth Company are out to
changethat antiquatednotion.
To call Old Growth a stain would be
misleading becauseboth parts of this
water-basedsolution are as colorlessas
tap water. Part A-the activator solu-
tion----containsmineral compoundsthat
soakdeepinto the wood fibers.PartB is
an oxygen catalystthat crosslinkswith
PartA to instantlycolor the woodjust as
natureeventuallywould.
Want a fumed oak look for that fresh-
ly made Morris chair? Apply Part A
with a synthetic brush, wipe off any
excess,and let it dry 15-20 minutes.
When you brush on Part B, the color
instantly transforms into a rich, deep
hue.And unlike stain,which can muddy
the grain with pigment, Old Growth
makesthe grain vibrant. In lessthan an
hour, it's ready for a topcoator two of
clear finish.
You can adjust the color by diluting ; OldGrowthSolutions
Part A with distilled water or adding Pedormance *****
additionalcoats before applying Part B. Price $11,8 oz.kit;$22,quart
kit;
$55,gallon
kil
The color actuallybecomesa part of the
Value *****
wood, so test it on scrapwoodto get the
Forproduct callOldGrowth
information,
andordering
color just right before going whole hog Company toll-free orvisit
at866/301-9663,
www.woodpatina.com.
on your project.
Besides Fumed Oak, shown above Honey Brown, Whitewash,/Blackwash
right, Old Growth comes in nine other and more. The 8 oz. kit, used full
formulas,including Instant Age (which srrength, should
""!i*?f, otfr";;;;:;:;,,,
weatherswood to silver), Aged Cherry,
Continued on page 86
WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
 "AIInytools
oalil
bethis
gooil!"

Accu-MiteP
shownwith
optional
clamp,
manual

TheAccu-Mite9isa professionalmiter
ffi
M
gaugethatmakes pertectangleseasily.
Shot-pin
action
assures dead-on accuracy
forcommon angles. Ournewadjustablebar
a pertutfitinyourtablesaw'sslot.
insures

Callor writefor $17e

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Tow your vacuum with Pos-l-Lock'

It's a safebet that you've draggedyour minutes-bumping into
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off the vacuum and you have to go that hose come off.
back for the vac. Craftsman'sPos-I- Another Pos-I-Lock
Lock vacuum hose puts an end to that "plus" is that the fit-
frustration. tings on both ends
The aftermarketversion, which works swivel, reducing kink-
on Craftsman12- and 16-gallonvacs ing. My old hoseswiveledonly on one nitely worth it, but on an older model
built since 1990,consistsof two parts: end, and it seemedlike no matter you might be wise to put that money
an adapterthat snapsinto the vacuum which end I put in the vacuum, it still toward a new vacuum.
port and a2Vz"-diameterhose.The kinked llke crazy.
adapter,once snappedin place, is a The Pos-I-Lock,and Ridgid's identi-
permanentpart of the vacuum. cal Tug-A-Long, come as standard Grattsman
Pos-l-Lock
Hose
When you attachthe hose,a spring- equipmenton Craftsmanand Ridgid Performance *****
loadedcatch (the red lever in the photo vacs built since 1999.Updating your Price $20,hose(17882), (16917)
$5,adapter
above right) grabsonto the adapterand vacuum will set you back about $25
Value ***
won't let go until you releaseit. I for the adapterand hose.Ifyour vacu- Available
atSearsstores, orvisit
Call800/377-7414
draggedmy vacuum aroundfor 15 um is fairly new, this accessoryis defi- www.sears,com/crattsman

86 WOODmagazine February
2001
 WHYAREWE PRACTICALLY
"GIVINGAWAY''

,a
rd,

No wrenches required to change

router bits? Gall it one cool collet I
,u,*{*'|f.
Like the searchfor the Holy Grail, the questfor a truly tool-
lessroutercollet hasbeenfrustratingand mostly futile. But,
while the hunt for the grail continues,engineersat Jacobs
Chuck Companyhave quashedthe collet crusadewith the
Ir
t'41 Birdhouseand Birdfeeder
introductionof the PowerCollet.When installedin placeof
the original-equipmentcollet on your router,this gadget WoodworkingPatternsfor
makesbit changing,literally, a snap.
Here'show the processworks:Insertthe bit shankin the
Only$7.99?"
IF YOU LIKE TO CUT PATTERNSOUT
collet and pull the locking ring toward the motor until it snaps. OF WOOD,THISIS THE SET FORYOU!
That'sit-your bit is held firmly. To removethe bit, simply YOU'LLFINDATREASUREHOUSEOF
IDEAS INSIDE.41 BIRDHOUSEAND
snapthe ring back and pull out the bit. It doestake a fair BIRDFEEDERWOODWORKINGPAT.
amountof strengthto lock the mechanism,so you may have TE R N S A N D D E S IGN S .
rouble with it if you're arthriticor havelimited finger sftength. (By Frank K. Wood) Picket fence birdbath.
FC&A, a PeachtreeCity, 'Apple Cafe" feeder.
I haveto admit I was skepticalaboutthe gripping power
Georgia, publisher, ann- Clevercats,Christmasffee,
of the ball-bearingcollet mechanism,but after running
ounced today that it is a cardinalwith a treat.
everythingfrom straightbits to panel-raisers in the practically "giving away" Decorativecoveredwagon,
PowerCollet,I was impressed. I couldn'tevenbudgethe bit an all-new set of "47 two-storiedfun.
with a pair of pliers! And I quickly grew to appreciatethe Birdhouse and Birdfeeder One-of-a-kind birdhouse
Woodworkin g Pattern s." designs,hearts,and "Home
speedand convenienceof changingrouterbits in lessthan . Little thatched roof cot- TweetHome."
10 seconds. tage,lovely Swisschalets. Southwesternadobe-style,
o Old red barn with silo. spookyhauntedhouse.
Becausethe PowerColletis longerthan the collet that
specialholidays. Thilor shop,bakery charm-
cameon your router,a set of aluminumspacersextendthe Noah and the animals. ing countrychurch.
reachof the router'sbaseplate,as shownbelow.While the birds of love and song. o Jack-in-the-box, pumpkin,
additionalheight felt funny at first, it didn't hinder my abili- School davs. slanted roof. lighthouseby the shore.
. Watermelons. daisies.sun-
ty to control the tool. And, althoughI didn't do an
flowers, and more!
endurancetest,I suspectthat the addedlateralstresscaused
by the extendedshaftmay somewhatshortenthe life of the
router'sbearings.
The PowerColletis currentlyavailablefor the Bosch1615,
DeWalt625.Makita36l2, andPorter-Cable 690 and7500
seriesrouters.The
assemblyalso Build all thesewoodenfavorites.Illustratedplans include
JacobsPowerOollel
comeswith an intricately detailed patterns and complete instructions. To
Performance ****
adaptersleeveto ordera set,just returnthis noticewith your nameand address
Price $+s and a checkfor $7.99plus $3.00shippingand handling,and
use with Vq"bits. we will sendyou "41 Birdhouse and BirdfeederWoodwork-
Value **** -Tested by ing Patterns." Or, for only $9.99 plus $3.00 shipping and
CallJacobs
Company/DanaherToolGroup
at handling,you can get both the basic set and an extra 100
orvisitwww,jacobschuck.com.
800/866-5753, BobMcFarlin
assortedpatterns.
Continued on page 90 Plus, you'll also get a free preview of companionsetsof
FC&A Woodworking Patterns,about every two months,on a
30 day free trial. You can keep only thosesetsyou want and
cancelany time.
Send your check along with your name and address to:
FC&A, Dept. NWZ-2, 103 Clover Green, Peachtree City,
GA 30269.
You get a no-time-limit guaranteeof satisfaction or vour
moneyback.
You must cut out and return this notice with your order.
Copieswill not be accepted!
IMPORTANT - FREE GIFT OFFER
EXPIRES FEBRUARY 20, aOOL
All orders mailed by February 20r 2001, will receive a
free gift guaranteed. Order right away! oFc&A200r
www.woodonline.com 87
H[g"+"YFts
@
Ready,aim, Rapid-Firc!
If I drove a lot of screwsfor a living,
I'd want a tool that would automatical-
ly load fastenersonto the end of my
driver. Contractorshave been able to
get speedyself-feedingattachmentsfor
their drill guns that use strips of collat-
ed screws,and now you can,too.
Craftsman'sRapid Fire accessory,
at right, mounts to any corded or 9.6-
volt or greatercordlessdrill in less
than two minutes, and comesoff just as
quickly. But once you put it on, you
may never want to take it off.
Like professionalattachments,
Rapid Fire drives a Phillips or square-
drive screw, then instantly readiesa
new fastener.You can drive screw
after screw without reachinginto a nail
pouch andjamming a screw point
underyour fingernail (ouch!).
I sheet-rockedthe vaulted ceiling in
my living room using Rapid Fire, and
drove more than 1,000drywall screws
without replacing the bit. But it's not a
tool you'll find on the jobsite. Near the However, a box of five 30-screwstrips
end of that run, I noticed that the will set you back from $8-$20,
mechanismstartedto hang up a little at dependingon type. We tried other
the end of its travel. No big deal. A brandsof collated screw strips in Rapid
flick of my finger freed it every time. Fire and found that strips from Quik
And you won't have to worry about Drive (888/487-7845)also work, and
burying a screw too deepinto your can be purchasedin bulk quantities.
project or sheetrock. Insteadofa That keepsthe cost-per-fastenerdown.
clutch, the 1l"-long Rapid Fire usesa -TestedbyBobMcFarlin
three-positionstop that repeatedly
sinks the screwseither flush, slightly
Crattsman
RapidFire28540
proud, or slightly countersunk.
Performance ****
Cunently the fastenerscome in four
$50
stylesand sizes:ls/a" drywall,2"
***
general-purposeinterior, 2" galvanized
Availabb
atSearsstores,
orbycatalog
at8001377-7414.
deck, and2Vz"galvanizeddeck.
Continued on page 90

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88
EffiMffiU WOOD magazine F e b r u a r y2 0 0 1
rDroducts
'that perform ffifD
'-\Ez

Aerosol agent bonds paint to

plastic, metal, and more
In my day job as an auto-body profes-
sional,I often haveto make paint stickto
hardto-paint materials, such as plastic
and galvanizedsteel.BecauseI'm in the
business,I have at my disposala number
of bonding agentsthat do the trick. Now
comes a product the averagewoodwork-
er can use to make oil- and water-based
paints stick better to metal, plastic, or i Then I moved to tougher material: remove the paint. But for metal, plastic,
pre-paintedsurfaces:Bond-Aid. i glazedceramic tile. I masked off the left or other hard+o-paint accents,it's hard
To test the manufacturer's claim that i side of the tile shown in the photo above to beat Bond-Aid..l
-TestedW BobMcFarlin
Bond-Aid makes paint stick to almost i *d sprayed the right side with Bond-
anything, I sprayedtwo coats on galva- iAia. After painting the tile with latex
nized-steel and PVC rain gutter. Neither i paint, I easily scratchedoff the paint on Bond-Aid Promoter
Adhesion
piece had held paint well before. I then i the untreated side. The Bond-Aid-treat- Performance ****.,
top-coatedboth pieces with latex paint, i ed side held firm. $5,1202.
aerosol
and to my surprise, the paint bonded i Adhesion to thesesurfacesisn't neces- *****
where previously I could have scratched i sarily lock-tighc A purposeful scratch nearyou,callWm.BanBranded
Fora dealer Salesat
it off with a thumbnail. ! with a cur key or screwdriver will still orvisitwww,kleanstdp,com.
800/235-3546,

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Circle No. 1264
90 WOOD magazlne February 2001
finishins

Termite-proofHabitathouse No wood wasted

RussellColbertlives kitty-corner
goes up in New orleans from wood puzzlemakerJerry Syfert
(featuredon
To thwart the attackof voraciousFormosantermites,the New
page 40) in
Orleans'chapterof Habitatfor Humanityteamedup wrthjazz
Locust
musicianHarry Connick,Jr. and pressure-treated southernpine to
Grove,
build an inediblehouse.The ambitiousproject,called"Harry's
Virginia.Due
Houseon Music Street,"is the
to their prox-
first Habitathousein the nation
imity and
built completelyof pressure-
Russ'fond-
treatedlumber. At thedeskin his
nessfor beau- orderly
extraordinarily
Connick,a New Orleans
tiful wood, basement shop,90-
native,donatedthe $100,000 year-oldRussColbert
Jerryhaslittle
raisedfrom a benefitconcert holdsup oneof his
to worry scrapwoodcollages.
to Habitatto help fund their
aboutwhen it
home-buildingprojects.Habitat
comesto disposingof his scraps.
bringstogetherpeoplewith
Russ,you see,in his 90 years,has
resourcesand peoplein needto
masteredmany things,includingTV
build decent,affordablehomes
and radio repair,as well as stained-
in an ongoingeffort to eliminate
glasswork. And in the last three
povertyhousingworldwide.The
years,he's pickedup woodworkingin
homesarebuilt with volunteer
a crafty way, primarily usingJerry's
labor, sold at no profit, and
castoff bits and piecesof nativeand
Musician Harry financedwith no-interestloans.To date,more than 80,000houses
Connick, Jr. exoticstock.
havebeenbuilt in this mannerby Habitatin 67 countries.
fundeda Habitat With greatcareand artisticflair, this
for Humanity southernpine in the
The 8,500boardfeet of pressure-treated
ex-marine(he fought the Sandinista
housein New New Orleans'homeincludedrafters,floor joists, wall framing,
Orleansbuilt
guerrillasin Nicaraguatn 1927 and
plywood subfloor,and sheathing.The materialwas thoughtideal
solelyof treated also servedin World War II) assem-
southernpine.
for repellingthe voraciousFormosantermite,which chewsup
bles the bright scrapwoodinto what
woodenbuildingsin New Orleansand othercoastalcities in the
he calls collagesto hangon the wall.
South.More homesbuilt of this materialareplanned.
Doeshe sell them?"No, it's just for
/ ' the fun of it," Russsays."Gives me
--
somethilftg."b.u

Top trees tr:r

long-ago feni:ir.ttt -r---, 't
r t 1 i;r i l l t , ' r ii:t r-rra.le
in earlrl Arfiern?,. .*,h
rial t*r1heir ra.i1
f e n c e: . A l i . r '., Sii:,ane irt A 'r1eve:a.;tct:

for V/acd i',iQl;,;it. ':-';ii: ' r ; i : t r *i ) ? ' { .i i i r t l a t 2 r 2 t e r e r : r . " ;or :r a . i i j i ,

iu/ert nct a,,tttiiai:it ili:i':'.r i.)

',:trj::dIo rtaui llcrle .* (/

lllustration:Jim Stevenson Photographs:Jerry Syfert;Southern Pine Gouncil

100 WOOD magazine February200'l