Sofa Table » Stacking Storage Boxes * Redwood Planters * Magazine Boxes ¢ Full-Length Mirror Vol. 18/ No. 104Woodsmith No: 104 April, 1996 Publisher Donald B.Peschke Eiitor Terry}. Srohman Associate Editors jon Gartison Mark Wiliams Contributing Paitor Vincent S. Ancora ‘ArtDirector Todd Lanbieth Senior Mustrators David Keying Dirkversteeg Miustrator Erich Lage CCRERTIVE RESOURCES rate Dino Te. Keck © Beatin. ator Desist tt «rc De Dir Ken Mul Sear Pojet Dons Kent Wh» Stop Mose: Stee carts» Sop Catia Seve jlo » Sor Pap Caen ron Coma ‘Si er Snr rt Dur Ce Coma Grape ener Chest Grae ‘axcutaTion ratatio Dirt Stan DB Asian Ciraation ‘tector Tray Bowel» Saberitn Monee Say ets teen Manager Pig: ont ie Mat ena o Gnkes Nettnd Monger Ret Mucor ‘conpoRaTE sexvicis Vie Prete of ning ond Foner: lon Macey « Ger fbi toon Sr Aco Lar Tas ete ct. Pt Cee faire» eon ag Bose ser ‘elaine C= ‘esr Asin A Bares» Po Domest Dir Slpeetanes inn Aton Chao ere "apis ene sn gant ‘WOODSMITH MAIL ORDER tating itr es ake A ir Chay Sein Mare Mais » Cutomer Serie Lamry Prine, Scott Gillam, Cathy Steiner WOODSMITH STORE Dae Larson Asian Menage Pal Scheider * Seles Sta Pat Lowry, lero Hert Offer Manager ‘Vick Edvaris Seem cesta, Soo acionkieee as Septoria Pa Des Motes, a twin IGS COLUMN SAWDUST Tecoereatans the last issue of Woodsmith. As many of you know, we went through some rather extensive changes in Issue No, 103m realy pleased with the nev look. And judging from most ‘ofthe comments Ive received, so are many of you. However, as often hap- pens when trying something new, we ran into an unforeseen problem, ‘msPunT In Woodsmith No, 108 the text on page 8 was inadvertently duplt- cated on page 9. We've tracked down the source of the problem and have taken steps to prevent it from hap- pening in the future. But that really ‘doesn thelp much ifyou wantio build the rolop desk featured on that page. So I decided to do something to help those woodworkers who are building the desk. (And those who might want to build itin the future.) In this issue there's a corrected version of page 9 from last issue with page 10 also printed on the back. So all you have todo is remove the cor- rection page from this ssue and insert itin Isste No. 103. ‘Note:The correction pageshould ‘be bound into thisissue, iit missing, write or call our customer service department (Gee lowerlef), and they be gladto send one right outto you. [apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. ‘Wes SE. Butrunning into one prob- Jem doesn't mean we are going to stop trying new things. Tm plessed to announce that we now have an Woodsmith Internet web site up and running. Avweb site is like having a key to ‘our front door. (You can come in and Jookaround whenever you like.) ‘This site is on the World Wide Web, and anyone that has access to the internet and a web browser can get on line and visitus Gur URL (web address) is: http://ww.augusthome.com Once you're in the site, some of the things you'll find are tips from Woodsmith and SkopNotes maga- Also, there are special offers from the WoodsmithShop catalog and ‘The Woodsmith Store. There’s even alist of current job openings here at August Home Publishing. Uv HP WANTED, Speaking of job open ings, we're looking for someone to join our design staff, Candidates should have a strong woedworking bbackgroune, with proven design and technical drawing experience, Ifyou're interested in this positon, please senda resume along with alet ter explaining your qualifications to: LW. Moore, 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50312. NEW FACS. While Pm on the subject of jobs, we've had a couple of addi- tions to our extended family. First, Jerome Herr has joined the sales staff at the Woodsmith Store. ‘The other new face around here is Alan Barnes, our Network Administrator. His ob isto take care ‘of our computer ani software needs, which means he will be very busy Tam No. 104AW Beu SID: CONTENTS Features Sofa Table This table has many features typical of cafesman-style furniture quartersaun oak, square spindles, and mortise and tenon joinery. Stacking Storage Boxes Three boxes, all exactly the same size, are designec by stacking one on top of the other. Box joints fold the ieee together, and an interesting paneled lid caps off the project. Magazine Boxes 18 A space saving way to store magaxines is upright on the shelf. Buile with bax joints, these old-fashioned looking magazine boxes hold and protect your prized issues. Redwood Planters ..20 Looking for a quick and easy weekend project? Try building these planter Boxes. Tis box oine projet makes an attractive adltion to a deck or patio. Box Joints. Here's a step-by-step look at building with box joints. A table saw, miter gauge, andl a quick shop-bual jig are all you'll need. Full-Length Mirror tn26! This unique, free standing mirror features simple lap joints and an arched top built in segments. It alto folds flat on a hinged stand to be hung up cut of the way. Segmented Arch The way to build arches isto avoid a weak cross grain joint. We Jou how to do this by using several pieces and reinforce the Joints with splines. Departments Tips & Techniques Shop Notes .... Reader's Jig Sources. No 104 Woodsmith, . [i Full-Length Mirror page 26FROM FELLOW WOODWORKERS Tips & TECHNIQUES 7 Band Saw Wedge Jig Here's a quick and easy” a carrier board with a thecuteutand ide thecar- stock over before cutting way to cut wedges on a cutout that matches the rier board along the rip out thenext wedge. band saw so they're allthe wedge shape se Fig.1. fence, ee Fig. 2. Aer each Lerty Davon same sizeand shape. use Just place your stock in wedge is cut free, fip the aGrove, tows Tall Featherboard we Tuse atable saw when cut- unusual and doesn’t look _ ina L-shaped block. Yetit's board in position, the run- ting grooves inthe edge of like a traditional feather- easy toadjust for different ner expands when a pair of a workpiece. But to keep board. That’sbecauseluse _ stock sizes. wing nuts are tightened, talpicesstableduringthe a piece of hardboard that The Blockisattached to see Fig. 1a, This wedges ‘cut, I made a tall feather- acts like a spring to apply a runner that fits inthe _ therunnerin theslotsothe board that apples pressure the presoure, ee Fig.1. miter guagestotofthe uble featherboard won't move. tothe fullface ofthe board. _ Thishardboardfitssnug saw. Instead of using Gale Ramerman_ ‘My design is a little in an angled saw kerf cut _clampsto hold the feather- Bellingham, Washington NOTE: Sowrkert eutat 13" angle [NOTE Cut kerf in _ sealer Nigee oes ‘A This tall eatherboard slides inthe miter slot ands lacked in positon by tightening the wing nus. A piece cof hardboard is wed to apply pressure tothe workpiece. 4 Woodsmith No. 104Locating netic Catches Sometimes it can be cult to get the stike plate and the magnetic catch aligned on a cabinet door. But I've found a quick way todo this using anordinary household thumbtack. Just ceater the thumb- tack on the magnet and sure plate Stret One way to strengthen ‘wooden threads and make them wear longer is to apply a thin coat of au set epoxy to the threaés. Todo this, put epoxy in the hole, screw in a bolt, and then remove it. The bolt spreads the epoxy evenly toall ofthe threads. Waler Diedrck Edgerton, Wisconsin Quick Tips BURN MARKS It’s easier to remove burn. marks from cherry or ‘maple ityou apply mineral spirits to the mark before sending, The solvent pen- trates the glazedarea, and after a fewminutes, you can ‘sand it off easily. Sian Kasiaa Ironwood, Michipen GETTING AGRI To keep a good grip on your hammer ar screw- driver, try storing a rosin bag (ike baseball pitchers No. 104 gthening Threads close the cabinet door. The point on the thumbtack Teaves a small hole in the door frame. Now it's easy to center the strike plate over this hole fora perfect installation, B,J. Ganuert Philadelphia, Pemsyleria use) in your tool bet They're available at sport- ing goods stores for only a {ew dollars. RB. Himes Vienna, Ohio GLUE VACUUM Excess glue squeeze-out canreallymakeamess. So Tvacuun up thegiue wih, anempty plastic bottle. Just squeeze the bottle and letit suck up the glues you run italong the jointline, Stanley. Johns Des Moines, Iowa Clamping Blocks Tightening a pipe clamp can be a real “knuckle buster" when t ts onthe workbench. So I made a couple %"-thick wood ‘spacer blocks to raise the clamps upand make iteasy to turn the handle, They also act as clamp pads to protect your workpiece. Walter New Naples, Idabo Suspended Extension Cords Getting electrical power 'o Yyour workbench in the cen- ter of the shop can bea problem. A drop cord ‘works, bulyou risk tipping over it or oven cutting the cord, So Iraise the cord up ofthe lor and protectitin plastic eletrcal conduit ‘the tip and redraw theart, ‘Woodsmith “if to us at: 515-282-6741. Or use our E-Mail: 75990.2001@compuserveicon, ‘fpublished, you'll receive $30 to $150, depending ‘on the published length. Include a brief explanation and sketch or photo, And don't worry, we'll rewrite The drop cord runs inside the conduitfrom the ‘outlet to your workbench, Nate: Youll have to remove the plug or recertical end first ¢0 the cord can be pulled through the conduit. Nick Cicera Rosuel, Geonja ifnecessary. Also, pleaseFEATURE PROJECT SOFA TABLE This table features everything you'd expect of a crafisman-style table: quartersawn oak, square spindles, and mortise and tenon joinery. Prretecttsoe mise choice you have tomake when a projectincludes a wide panel. Often, Tl choose plywood since it doesn't ‘expandand contract with changes in ‘humidity as much as solid wood. But I decided against using ply- ‘wood on this project fora couple rea- sons. For one thing, quartersawn oak Ishard to find in plywood. And bevel ing thetop edge wouldn't work with- out framing theedlges with hardwood. Since solid wood was the only option for the panels, I had to come up witha way to allow them to expand and contract. This wasn't aproblem with the table top. Tused some sim- ple Zshaped{asteners, see the Table ‘Top Detail on page 7. Twas algo able to use these fasten: erson the front and back ofthe shel But the ends were alittle more work. ‘The problem here is thatthe shelf fits between the legs. So when the panelexpands, twill tend topush the legs apart, and when it contracts, there will bea gap. To solve this prod- Jem, I madea pocket for the shelf by extending the groove on therails into the legs, see the photo at right. Woodsmith ‘A. Housing the shelf between the legs requires “extending” the groove in ‘the rail into the legs. No. 104aie Construction Details OVERALL DIMENSIONS: 50"L x 28°HX 17°W oe — pee om i / cate ee & Ee a eae a ‘TABLE TOP DETAIL (CROSS SECTION) ae tier Sept under To allew top and ‘alle top eve “helfto expard Wit Panetheld router and contact both ‘and/jig Seepage 13, reseed with Incl faces oli at 7 Boped fotorers MATERIALS CUTTING DIAGRAM Panty 1 50" pare A Legs) PUXBA-27% B Upr Rais) 34x2-11% wen 4" 86" Quarterso¥n White Osk (2 boards @ 2. Bd. Pca) Cheke® nc | | ictal, D Spindles (14) Vx- 15% Donel) ost | | Creve encenmm remnants F Upr. Stretchers (2) ¥%4 x 2 - 39% H Top(1) Yx17-50 ™ | Haroware * (16)Z-shaped Table Top Fasteners + (16) #856" fh Woodscrews No. 104 Woodsmith‘To buildthis table, Istarted by building the end assemblies — the legs rails, and spindles. Les With some projects, keeping the legs oriented correctly requires some mental gym- aastics. But the four legs on this table are identical ‘The legs (A) are cut from 8/4 stock. They're 274" long, and 1% square, see the draw- 274 ing at right. -MORTIES. Once the legs were eutto size, worked oncutting centered mortises forthe rails and stretchers, se the details at right. To do this, frst drill overlapping Ya. holes Ae! deep on adjacent faces of the legs. Then square up the sides and ends with a chisel TAPERS. Finally, I tapered the inside faces ofeach leg where the mortises are located. To dothis, Imade a simplejig that rails hat wiljoin thelegs atthe ends works onthe tblesaw,see Fig, Land ofthe sofa table, drawing at left.’ justa scrap piece ‘The upperand lower rails (B, ©) with atapered edge and asmallcleat are cat from thick stock and are attached to one end. This jg acts asthe samelength (111, Butthe upper an angled spacer between the rip railis'tas wide 2") as the lower one fence and the leg. You push the leg (4, see drawing zbove, The extra | through the blade, andthe clestcaus-_widthon the ower rai allowsroom for | «8 the jig to simply ride along, When a shelf panelthat’s added later. one taperis cut rotatethe legso the —_TENONS. After cutting the rails to final | other mortised face is toward the size, tenons can be cut on the ends of | blade and make a second pass. the rails tofitthe mortises inthe legs. Pa ‘Since the terons are centered, I cut | | Ralls them on the table saw with a dado Now the legs ean be set aside for a blade, pping the rails between pass- minute and work can begin on the esto sneak up on the final thickness. ‘Then I cut the shoulders on the tenons, which are all 4" except the upper shoulder on the ower rail (C). Here, it's 14" because of a groove that's added later, see detail’ above. SPINDLE NORTISES. With the tenons cout it's time to lay out the mortises for thespindles. There are seven square ‘mortises in each rail. For a good fit, these mortises should line up between the top and bottom rails, To censure this, I clamped the four rails together and lad cut the centers ofall the mortises, see Figs. 2 and 2a, Next, unclamp the railsand set up the drill press to bore aia. hole A This ape igs use ‘an angled pies of. plywood witha cleat screwed to the font. Be‘fe! deep that’s centered on the thick- ness of the rail, see Fig. 3 Then drill single hole for each mortise. Finally, | squared up the mortises with a chisel Since the tenons will be ‘cut with one setup it’s important hat these mortises are identical. So, 1 made a shopmace squaring jig, see photo in margin at right. SPINDLES. Atthis point the rails are ready forthe spindles To find the length of the spin- dles, you need to dry assemble the rails and legs. Measure for the spin- dies’ shoulder to shoulder distance. ‘Then add ¥ to allow for the tenons ‘oneach end. (My spindles were 1514" long, see drawing below right.) Next, to cut the spindles (D) to size, I began with "thick stock cut to finished length Then I ripped 1". ‘square spindles from the blank, see drawing below right. Note: Ita good idea to make a few extraspindles to help setup the cut for the tenons. ‘ENON’. Now, square tenons can be cut onthe spindles to fit the square ‘mortises in therails. It's easiest to do thison the tablesaw with adado blade buried in an auxiliary fence. Leave a 7h! of the blade exposed and raise it 4h above the table, see Fig. 4 Butbefore cutting the tenonsin all the pieces, start with the test piece and check the fit carefully. This means ‘more than just setting the tenon in the mortise. It also means making sure the spindles will ft between the upper and lover rails KER IN RAIL, Now to complete the upperrails (B), Icuta 4" kerfin each rail's top, inside edge, see Fig. 5 and drawing below. Thisis for the haré- ‘ware used to attach the top panel later, A Toend up with identical, square mortises, 1 made this simple chisel aude, see page 12.10 Before the ends of the table can be assembled, a groove stil needs to be ‘cut. the lower ails to house a shelf ‘panel. This groove supports the pane! and prevents it from cupping. Easy enough. But since the shelf willbe notched oft between the legs, ‘wehad to comeup witha way tallow ‘the panel to expand and contract with ‘out spliting or leaving gaps. ‘The sslutionisto extend the groove into the egs so there's anotch in each. Jeg for the shelfto expand into, refer 1 the photo on page 6. SHELF JOINERY Creating the groove forthe shelfisn't difficult. But sine the shelf (E) deter- mines the width of the grooves, I slued itup first, see drawing above. ‘That way, I knew the final thickness of the panel after it was sanded. GROOM. After determining thethicle ness ofthe pane! the fist stepisto lay ‘out the location of the groove in the rail. Mark the bottom edge of this _groove soit willbe flush with the top ‘edge ofthe tenon on therail, see detail ‘a. Then cut the groove Yi" deep. oTcH. Now dry assemble the legs andrails again and transfer the depth and height of the groove to the leg, see Fig.6. When that's done, you can notch the leg, see Fig. 7. To remove most oftthe waste, I drilled -deep overlapping holes and pared upto the layout lines with a chisel Test the fit of the shelf in the groovesand notches. Then routa 4" radius on all four edges ofthe legs. ASSEMMLE ENDS. AL this point, the ends ofthe table canbe assembled. [posi- tioned the spindles between the rails ‘Then! glued the legs to therails. STRETCHERS After the end assemblies are glued up, the next step is toadd the upper and lower stretchers (F, G), see drawing below. These pieces are the ‘same length (3994"). But the upper stretchers are2 wide, while the lower ‘ones are 9% see detail b’ below. TENONS. Next, cut "long tenons ‘centered on the stretchers to fit the NOTE: Cut Jong tenons On the enc of strethers Woodsmith ‘mortises inthe legs But note thatthe lower stretchers don't have a shoul der along their top edge. That's because the shelf sits directly on top and will hide any gap. AGRE. There are two more steps to complete the stretchers. First, the hardware that holds the shelfand top inplace requires akerf cut along the inside faces of the stretchers, see detail’b'below. The second step isto lay out and cut an arc on the loverin SHELF AND TOP Before connecting the end assem- blies with the stretchers, you need to ‘cut the shelf panelto final size. To do this, youllhave to dry assemble the table again, see drawing at right. ‘The overall length of the shelf equals the distance between the ‘grooves in the rails. (Mine was 40" ong.) The overall width equals the distance across the streichers plus overhang on each side, see detail ‘e. (Mine was 1234" wide) NOTCHES, After the shelfis cut to size, the corners need io be notched to fit around the legs (and into the notch- esin the legs), see detail'd: Finding the depth of the shelf notch is easy. Measure from the bottom of the ‘groove in the railto the inside edge ofthe leg. (Mine was %") ‘The width of the notch is alittle more tricky. First measure from the outside edge of the stretcher to the edge ofthe notchin theleg (4"),see dail‘ atright. Add 4" forthe over- hang on the outside ofthe stretcher, ‘Then add another "for a gap inside the notch that allows the shelf to ‘expand and contract, sce detail ‘a (My notch was 11" wide) Note: Its a good idea to double- ‘check your measurements before cut: ting the notches on the shelf. The length between the legs should equal the length between these notches. ‘Then once the notches are cut, dry No. 104 assemble the table one last ime to cut itto finished size, see drawing make sure everything fits, below. Then rout a bevel around the ASSemnY. When everything fis, rout bottom edge, see page 13, a'4e! chamfer on the top edgeofthe Finally to attach the top (and the shelf, se detail'c’ above. Then glue front and back of the shel), I used up the table. (But remembernot to metal Z-shaped table top fasteners, use glue on the shelf panel) see detail‘e’ below. These fitinto the ToP. Nowell that’s leitis to ad the kerfsin the stretchers and rails and top (H).Glueupa'"thickpaneland are screwedto the panels above. re _s {bole top Font tabletop tSbock and Se toside Woodsmith u2 Tips FROM OWES 07 Chisel Guide Itcan be difficult to get all, the holes on the sofa table rail squared up accurately for the spindles (refer to page 6). To speed up the process, Imadea simple ig to guide my chisel. This jig is just a piece of aluminam angle with a ‘square hole filed in the mid- dle. The secret to making fectly over the drilled holes in the table rails This's easy to do. Once the holes for the mortises are driled, clamp the alu- minum angle tothe froat of your workpiece, see Figs. Land 2, Don't move the fence on the dri press, but changetoa twist bit before Arilling the aluminum. Now drill the hole and use a small file to change & -A This jig guides your chisel to pare away the waste and -squace up the sides. Simply center the aluminum angle ‘over the hole in your workpiece and clamp itn place. the hole into asquare the position it over the holes sizeneeled forthe morse, and clamp it in place. The see Fig.3. (In my casethis jig guides your chisel to was %! square) accurately cut square mor- To use the jig, simply _tises for the spindles. seaman a When installing a solid ‘wood panel in a frame (ike the lid for the stacking boxes on page 14), you have to allow for wood ‘movement. One way to tackle this problem is by using asimpleinterlocking double groove oint. This joint is created by ‘cutting grooverin both the Double Groove Joint frame and the panel. These sroovesare the same width asthe thickness of your saw blade and set to leave tongues that fitn the oppos- ing grooves, see photo The key to setting up the joint is positioning the rip fence exactly so the blade leaves a tongue the same width as the groove, see Fig. 1. To check the fit, 1 just use a piece of sere. ‘Simply cuta groove, then ‘cut the est pece in half see Fig, 2, Now flip one ofthe pieces over and check the fit. If the tongues are too thick move the fence away from the blade. If they're A Thekey to perfect it- too loose, move the fence _tingdouble groove int closer to the blade. It isan accurate setup. seap test pieces os are a Woodsmith No. 104Bevel Jig ‘Typically, [use a table saw to.cut a bevel on a work- piece. But trying to bevel the bottom side a the sofa table top shown on page 6, created a problem. It just ‘wasn't safe to stand this large panel on end and use the table saw. ‘The solution wasashop- madejig that holds a router atan angle Witha straight bitin the router, ifs easy 10 rout the bevel. Note: The flutelength on thebit hasio belong enough to cut the full width othe bevel. Mine was 1" ong. ‘NG CONSTRUCTION:The ji consists of four pieces: a fence, bit guard, auxiliary base, and a handle, see Cut angie on one end ofthe 1 and ok NOTE: ig ays fat Penne. ‘when routing bevel ‘drawing below. Tobuild the Jig, start with the fence and bitguard. First, cuta notch atthe center of the fenceto provide clearance for the router it. Then glue the bit ‘guard and fence together. To make this jig work, simply cut an angle on one ‘end of the fence and bit ‘guard that matches the bevel you need on your workpiece, see detail‘. ‘Then when you add the auxiliary base, it tips your router to match the bevel. ‘The auxiliary baseis simply attached with 2 couple screws into the fence. Finally, glue and screw a handle to the fence. SETTING DEPTH, Since this rd ‘A Working om the bottom side ofthe sofa table top, this jig jigis designed to cut the bevel in several passes, you adiust the depth of cut by pivoting the auxiliary base, see detail ‘c’. The arched slot allows the router to ‘swing down to therequired ‘and hand-held router make it easy to create a beveled edge sith just a straight bitin the rower. depth before locking it in positon with a screw. USING 36, Start with the depth set shallow. Then increase the depth gradu- ally until your bevel is com plete, see detail 8. 1 fender 7 No. 104 Woodsmith 1BAsoc) PROJECT STACKING STORAGE BOXES A maximum amount of storage in a minimum amount of space. That's the basic idea behind this unique box joint project. final size, see drawing below. Note: ‘Step-by-step instructions for cutting box joints begin on page 22. Next, to keep the boxes square ‘when gluing them together, Icutthe ‘bottom panels (B) to size and used them as squaring forms, These yan- ‘elsare made from'4" hardboard and match the inside dimensons of the boxes (7!4!x714"), refer tothe explod- ‘ed drawing on page 15. Once the glue is dry, relieve the sharp edges by routing a Ys cham- fer around the inside and outside of thetop edges. Then chamfer justthe ‘outside ofthe bottom edge. (To keep these straight, younay want to mark the top edge of each box) Note: To ‘complete the chamfer on the comers, youl need to use a chisel hreetiered storage — that's the ing on page 15. Then to ad alte Next, [ worked on the insides of concept behind these boxes. The bit ofcontrast to the project, Idecié- the boxes, adding liners and base three boxes stad on top ofeach other ed touse two different types ofharé- pieces. These pieces sandwich the inany order, and aframeandpanellid woods: maple and cherry. bottom parels andalso determinethe ‘covers the box that’s on top. spacing between the boxes. ‘To hold each box together, used ‘THE BOXES HANKS, One liner and one base "boxjpints. Ando cantinue the "To build these boxes, I started with piece can be cut from a single 2"x 8" pattern of the box joints, I built the "thick maple stock cut into 2"x8" cherry blank. (You'll need twelve boxes so there would be a ¥"space blanks. These blanksare litle wide, _ blaaks total — four for each box) ‘etween them when they are sacked butaftercutting the boxjointsonthe Next, I mitered the ends of each ‘ontop ofeach other, see margin draw- ends,l trimmed the box sides (A) to blank so they would fit inside a box. sHoP TP: . Use battom pane! (@) Bo keep each assembly square Bonsante edge ater assembly Ge seepage 22 4 Woodsmith‘The trick here is to avoid makingthe liners fit co tight. The pieces should slide in easily, without being able to shift from side to side. Note: Up to this point, I had been building all three boxes at the same time. But now, to get a custom it, 1 ‘worked on each box separately. LINER ANO BASE. After the blanks fit inside the box, they can be ripped into two pieces: aLf-swide Hiner (C) that creates a lip inside at the top of the box, and aide base (D) that the box sts on, see Fig. 1, Once that’s done, sand a slight chamfer on the top, inside edge of each liner and ‘another on the bettom, outside edge ‘ofeach base piece Now the liners can be glued in place. To create the lip, these pieces should end up 16" from the top ofthe box. Todo this, I made a 4" spacer to set the liner on, see Fig. 2 But when applying the glue, you don't want any to get on the exposed edges ofthe lip youre creating. So apply the glue only to the inside of the box, s0 its spread down as the Jiners are pushed in place, seeFig.2. FINISH. Now before adding the base and the bottom, I applied a couple coats of an oil finish. The reason for this is simple. When the velvet-ined bottom is added next, it wil be just about impossible to finish the inside of the box without getting finishon the velvet. (But keep in mind that the base pieces still need to be glued inside the box, so don't apply finish to the inside ofthe boxbelow the liner) BOTTOM. Now it’s time to add the bottom panel. Since it was used ea- lier tosquareup the boxes, its already cat tosize. Al you need to dois attach the velvet, see Fig. 3. (Lused a spray adhesive to do this) Then setthe bot- tom panelinto the box and sandwich itin pace by gluing the base pieces. SAND TO IT. At this point, the boxes are done. But you may need to sand the base so the boxes will stack on top ofeach other easly: Whea they do, you can apply oil to the unfinished partsof the boxes. (chamfer Assorted a A The if spacing eeween the buses is determined by the liners and bases inside the boxes. = ° pects ” = ~ wo Fe ke Za CL No. 104 ‘Woodsmith. 6and handle are maple. ie FRAME ‘To make the lid, I started with the ee fame. These pieces are pretty small tocutouton the table saw, So to make itsafer to work with the frame pieces ©), [started with two thick Hanks that were oversize in width 614"), refer to Fig. 4 This way, I could cut two pieces from each blank. The first step is to cut a couple bevels on the blank, see Figs. 4 and 4a. To do this, the blade should be tited 8% and the rip fence should be set so it eaves i" along the erige of the blank. Oncethe firs pass iscom- plete, lip the blank and make a sec- ‘ond passon the other edge. ‘Aer the edges have been bereled, yout can ip each blank ino two pieces, ‘ee Fig. 5, Imade mine 24" wide, but don’t worry about the overall width. ‘What you wantis a 6wide, flat bor- der along the bevel, see Fig 5. ‘With the frame pieces cut from the ‘lank, i's goodidea tosand out any saw marks on the bevels ‘GROOVE FOR PANEL. Before mitering the frame pieces to final length, Tut aa groove in each piece to hold the center panel, see Fig. 6. This %e'- aluethesetwo assemblies around the panel (but don't glue in the panel. HANDLE. After the glue was dry, I added a small handle (G) to thecen- ter of the lid. To do this, cut acou- | No. 104 ple small, square blocks from ¥/"- place. So [cut a small rabbet around thick maple and glued them togeth- the bottom edge of the lid until it it er, see Figs. 9 and 92. Then Isimply into the box openings, see Fig. 10. slued the handle to the lid and sand- Finally, applied an oil finish to the edaslight chamfer onthe edge. _lid and then cut and glued a mirror ‘At this point, the lid sits on top of into the recess under the ld, see the the box with nothing to hold it in photo below. IN sie ofthe lid panel. Simply cut amirror to ft the frame and glue itn place with scone sealant. ‘Woodsmith 1A Fra spell euch, [added a snll mir to the back WAVS. PROJECT These simple boxes provide a convenient and stately way to store magazines. And they don’t take much time or material to build. I tseems like magazines pile up faster ‘than Ican read them. And oace I've | read them, I can never find a conve- nient place to put them. ‘That's why Ilike these magazine storage boxes. They will keep your magazines organized, and they Took handsome on a shelf or bookcase. GAVE UP PANES. began bullding the boxes by gluing up panels from %!- thick stock. Each box requires three 12"x 10" panels To hold the panels at, [built simplejig, see box below. Once the glue dries, you can begin cutting the panels to length. They be cut to width later.) Cut the two side panels oa length of 9%" Thencutthe third pane! into two 4'4!“Iong pieces for the front and back only @ fraction of an inch, when you BOTTON. After cutting the boxjoints, BOX JINTS. The sides (A) andlends mulply that errorby the umber of — the pieces can be cut to finished width. Bhofthe boxarejoined togetter with pins you're cutting it can really add I cut mine 1194" wide, but the exact box joints. Although they look time- up. So mucho thatthe pinsand siots _ dimension isn critcal. What you want consunsing, the box joints areeasy to might not even fit together. toend upwithis fll pixat the top and make sing a simple ig, see page 22. Topreventthis, tested my setupby bottom of each side piece and a full Whea you're cutting thismany box cutting box joints on a couple of 12" slot atthe top and bottom ofeach end joints setting up the jg accurately is long scrap pieces. Then I made sure piece, see detail‘a' next page. very important. Evenif you're off by they it together smoothly. The next step isto cut a Y4'deep ‘Thisfig solves one of the most difficult problems in gluing up panels from thin stock holding the pane’ lat while they/re being clamped. The jig consists of two cleats screwed down to a plywood base, ‘Then hold-down ribs are screwed to the cleats. And small wedges placed ‘underneath the ribs keep the pane! pieces from shifting and bowing. é y 4 Note: used waxed paper under the as > Yr panel and paraffin wax on the wedges wedges refer to pages b to avoid accidentally gluing the pane! to the wedges and base ofthe fig. 18 Woodsmith No. 104aroove on the inside face ofall four pieces. The width of this groove is. sizedto fit a bottom of thick hard- board, see detail b: Todetermine the width and length ofthe bottom (©), dry assemble the ‘boxand measure the bottom opening, including the depths of the grooves. Now subtract "from each dimen- sion o allow for clearance. Then cit the bottom piece to size. ASSEMBLY ‘To mukeit easier toget magazinesin and out, the back corner ofthe boxis ‘cut away. Bat if you do this before assembling the box, fc to post tion aclamp across the top ofthe box. So I glued and clamped up the box defor starting on the cutaway. ‘And even though thisisasmall ro- ject, the box ints can make assem- bling it abit tricky. To give mysel! a litle more time, used whiteglue since it doesnt setup as fst as yellow gue. also used a lot of clamps to help pull the boxjints together, se Fig. 1 ‘Younay need w repasiion some of he clamps as you're assembling the box to apply pressure where you need it. One morething. Since the grooves for the bottom are visible onthe sides ofthe box, you will ned to make and glue some small wooden plugs into these gaps, see detal'c. ‘cumay. Alter theglue was dry and the pins were sanded lush, Iai cut a geitle doublecurve on one side of the box, see detail'd. (used alarge coffee can to draw the ares) Togetasmooth cut onthe straight section ofthe cutaway, Tused a table saw, see Fig.2, Then competed the catusing a hand saw, see Fig 3. Grong fefert page 35 on Sipe Soa After cutting the curve, sand it ‘smooth with a drum sander. Then ‘round overall the outside edges with 2}! round-overbit and a router, ‘ADDING A PULL. After wiping on an oil finish, Taided a brass card file pull to nore: Formore irformation make the boxeasier to pulloffashel, see Sources on page 35. Note:The ‘screws that come withthe pull are too Jong. You'll ned to purchasea couple ‘of 1” brass screws to use as replace: ments, see detail bt ore Use amps Dlloints together ‘Woodsmith ut remainder ‘ofeune with Banca 19A aaseaiD} PROJECT REDWOOD PLANTER Like the logs on a log cabin, the pins on these box joints extend past the sides and ends of this redwood planter to give it a rustic appeal. ere in lowa,a flood of flower and garden catalbgs arrive around the first ofthe year After locking through the pages, I decided a planter box to hold some of these flowers would make an interesting spring project. But he problem with most planters {sthe bottom rots out from themois- ture inthe soi To solve this, Imade ‘redwood box thatfits around aplas- tic linet. This box holds the liner securelyand hides tat the same time. Also, to add highlight to these planters Lused boxjoints wit extend- ed pins. Making the pinsa litle Inger «alls attention tothe joint. ‘Note: This planter works two ways. Itcan si on a deck. or by building a pair of rackets itcan hang on awall. Box “To buildthis planter, you simply make 4 bottomless box to fit around the plastic liner. But since liners come in various sizes t's a good ideato have the liner before you start to build. SIDES & ENDS, With the linerin hand, you'll need to take a few measure- ‘ments to determine the size for the sides (A) and ends (B). First thas to be tall enough to cover the liner (my liner was 514" deep), So my pieces were cut from a 1x8 piece of redwood, see drawing at left. But determining the length of the pieces isn't quite aseasy. You have to work from the inside out. First, mea- sure the length underneath the lip of the liner that runs around the top, edge, see detail 0’. Then add in ait tle extra forclearance (about 1"). Next, add the length of the boxioiat ateach end 0%"). For the 2874ong liner used, my sides were 309%! and the ends were 8" Jong, Now the box joints can be cut. For ‘more on this refer to page 22) The -goalis to end up with either a full sbt or pin. To do that, I used the table ‘sawand trimmed the waste from my sides and ends, see Fig. 1 My pieces cended up 6%! high (wide) ‘CHAMFER PNS. Then to complete the box joints, Ladded a decorative Ys" chamfer to the ends of the pins. ‘What’ allitle unusual is how you cut the chamtferon the inside ofthe pins. Tused the box jointjig, No. 104 oJust tit the blade to 45° and repo- sition thejig, see Figs.2 and 2a. Then to chamfer the outside edges, remove the box jointjg and use the rip fence, see Figs. 3 and 3a. assem. With the pinschamtered, the box can be assembled, Butrather than glue the joints and have to lean ‘upsqueeze-out around the protruding pins, I pinned the joints with a ¥4" dowel, see detail's'in exploded view. Todo this, ust dill a hole from the ‘top and bottom sides at all four cor- ners and tap in the dowels. BASE OR BRACKETS Atthis point the “box: is complete, but he projectisnt. Its designed with couple options. You can add a base ora pair of arched brackets, ase. Ifyou want the planter 0 sit ona deck, you'll ned a base. Itrais- esthe planter up and makes it easier tograsp. The bases justfour pieces ‘ofredwoed, two base sides (C)and two base ends (D), cutto fit inside theboxand giuedin place, see explod- ced view detail b’, Note: Allow about 1! ofthe base to extend below the ‘bax. This matches the pin width. BRACKET. However, if you intend to ‘hang the planter, you'll need to build pair of bracketsio hold the box, see the photo below. The bracket con- sits of two pieces amounting board and a support. ‘Themountingboard (E) isal!#" 1244" piece of redwood chamfered ‘onthe outside edges with four holes drilled init, see Fig. 4. ‘Attached to the mounting board is MouNTING #8215" Fh BOARD woodkcrew, O— Gehanieed) ree = 0 , Gal Oo f- ies NOTE: Planterbor #8 135 Fe hedinpacedy voodren, otehesinsuppert, (ahvanize Sedeara he No. 104 an arch shaped support (F). It’s aotched on opto keep the box from sliding off-The distance between the notches matches the inside width of yourbot. (Mine was 64!) To make the support, draw the ach, cutit out ‘Woodsmith ‘on the band saw, and then sand up to the line, see Fig. 4a. Finally, rout a %" chamfer on the ‘outside edges ofthe arched support ‘and glue and screw the support to the mounting board. ‘A Appar of notched brackets hold the planter box securely inplace when atoched to a wall. Yeti’ easy to remove the planter by simply lifting the box off the brackes. aOODWORKING Biernieu: Box JOINTS Box joints are strong and attractive. And they don’t require any special tools: just a table saw, a miter gauge, and a simple, shop-built jig. hereare alotofreasons for using don’t require any special tools or ‘expensive jigs. And they look good. ‘They can be used to “dress up” apro- ‘ect, lke the stacking boxes or the Planter. And for other projects, like ‘the magazine boxes, they can give a ‘ately, old-fashioned feel. INTERLOCKING FNGERS. Box jinis are ‘made upof alternating pins andslots, see drawing below. The pins on mat- {ng pieces interlock like tiny fingers. This creates a lt of good glue sur face andmakes fora strong joint. But inorderforitto be strong, youneed snug, accurate fit. To trick to getting a good fiona ‘tox ins to getthe with of the pins to match the width ofthe slots And thisis just aboutas easy sit sounds. All you need is aii that uses a small hey. This key determines the width of ‘oth the pins and the sts, But first, you have to decide ‘whether to use the table saw or the router table, The ig foreach is cosen- tally the same. But most ofthetime, Tike to use my table saw. It works ‘much quicker than a router, espe- _iary fences and a hardwood key. cially when cutting large box joints. FENCES. The fences are joined with carriage boks and wing nuts, see Fig. BOX JOINT JIG 1. The fixed fence is screwed to the Tocutboxjoints with atable saw, you miter gauge. Its slotted so the fence need three things: a dado set,a miter in front can be adjusted side-toside. gauge, and ajg. Thejig canbe very _ Ker. There's also asmall, hardwood basic. All you need isa pair of auxil- key that’s glued into a notch cut in ‘Woodsmith No.104the front fence, see Figs. 2and3.The nice thing about using z key is that once the jis setup, cutting the box mst Joints is just about automatic, But it Into notch also means that the size and postion ofthis key must be perfect. Since the key fits into a noteh, its blade sgh apart width and heightare determined by ee a thickness ofstock the dado blade that cuts the notch, ‘The width ofthe dado determines the spacing of the box joints. And the height of the dado determines the Jength of the pins. Note: For my box ois, I set the dado blade a hair above the thickness of the workpiece, see Fig. 2. Then afer the key is ghied in pace, I sand itdown, so the workpiece won'tbot- (7 f Eat joins tom out on the key, see Fig. 3. Cel ‘The position ofthe key is alsocru- cial, It determines whether the pins that are roughly the same width as _will help start the same process on will ft or not. To getthe key close to the finished pieces. the mating pieve, see Fig. 5 wheret should be, Tusean identical To cutatestcorner;buttonepicce Test the it ofthe two pieces and sized spacer to position , see Fig. 4. upagainstthe key and cutaslot. Now, makeany adjastments necessary, see TUNING THEJIG, AE this point, the jie reposition the piece sothe sloistrad- the drawings below. The goal is to justneedsto be fine tuned. Thissim- dles the key and makeanother pass. _getasnugrfit— nothing too tight. But plyinvolvescuttingatestcorner.And Repeat this process until you get _ the pieces should require a few taps foran accurate test, Lusescrap pisces the end ofthe board. Now thisplece with a mallet to go together. TROUBLESHOOTING To adjust wie Z Tight fit. fthepins won'tfitinto the erhen pine tide slots atall, then side the key towards oe oS the blade, see drawing at right. Loose fit If there's a gap between ‘each pi, simply slide the key away from the blade, see draning at right. ‘Short pins. f the dado blede is set t00 Tow, you'l end up with pins that are too short. So raise the bide slightly ‘Long pins. ifthe pins extend too far -& For a perfect box joint, the wo ‘beyond the sides, the dado blade s set pieces will ft snug, and the pins t00 high and needs to be lowered. willbe flush after a litle sanding. No. 104 ‘WoodsmithWith the boxiointig complete. you're ready to get down to business. But Just because the jg is set up accu- rately doesn't mean the process is completely automatic. Tere ae still afew things that can give you trouble, ACCURATE BOX JOINTS ‘When building with bo joins I typ- ically shoot for visual accuracy rather than dimensional accuracy. For instance, the planter on page 20 is suppose tobe ie" tal. But whether itends up exactly this height or not, the important thing is that there's a {ull pin (or slo) atthe top ard bot tom of piece. SATRAWIDE PCS. To do this, Liypi- cally start with workpieces that are extra wide and then trim them after the boxjoints ae cut, see Step 6. Of course, there are times when a workpiece aso bea specie dimen sion lik when building a drawer. But [still start with an oversize ieve. I simply trim the same amount from SL Bees ett tp ofthe fist workpiece against the key and hol ie tightly against the fence and. the table saw Then cut the fist slot both the top and bottom. Law Pits. Another thing I ike to do is label the front, back, and side pieces and number the joints so Ian ‘cut the joints in sequence, see draw- ing above and Step 4 below. CONSISTENT rRessuRE. When cutting the box joints (ee the steps below), it's important to be consistent. Even shifting the pressure slightly can Now: move the piece so the fist Ot straddles the key and cut a second notch. Repeat this process untill the Sots on this end are cut affect the fit of the box joints. So I hhold the jig with both hands and per- form each pass exactly the same. ‘CLEAN BOX JOINTS ‘Unfortunately, evea if your boxjoints fit perfectly, you may run into other problems: chipout and uneven slots. ‘@iPoUT. Chipout is inevitable — sooner or ter i'sbound to happen, ‘Afterall the sts are cut on one ‘end, filp the piece end-for-end, keeping the wasteedge on the same side. Then cut the slots on this side Gy terrae inesicepieceso te waste is outside and the frst slot fits over the key Butt the mating piece against the fist and cut the first slot ‘mating piece up tight tothe key. Continue this procedure unti the box joints are cuton all pieces. Woodsmith Before assembling the box, rip the waste edge off each piece, 0 there's a full pin and slot on the top and bottom of the piece. No. 104 -r But thereare afew thingsyou can do tominimize it. Fist, make sure your blade is sharp. And dor't push the piece through the blade too quickly. ‘And ifyou're geting alo of chipout, slipascrap piece ofhardboard behind. the workpiece so the cut can always be backed up complete. ‘CLEANING THE SLOTS. Another prob- Jem, common with dado blade cuts, isunevenslots se Fig. Ga. What you want istoget them flat without affect ing the accuracy of theft. To do this, Imakea simple sanding Jig. Start with apiece ofserap and cut ‘tongue on one edge, see Figs. 6and 6a:The tongue should slide smooth lyin the slot and mated its depth Next, attach a piece of adhesive- backed sandpaper to the bottom of the tongue and sind the los fat. SMOOTH ASSEMBLY Atthis point, youre ready to assem- ble the box. Here's where thingscan getalittle frantic. But take afewpre- cautions to avoid this, First, I try to avoid a lot of mess. Aber all, here area lot of opportuni- ties to slop glue around. So I tape the inside edges ofthe pieces, see Fig. 7. ‘This way,any glue squeeze out can be carefully peeled away later, TIME SAVERS. To buy myself more ‘time, I use white instead of yellow glue. White glue sets up slower, which helps when there are a lot of box joints, lke on the magazine boxes. Also, to get the glue on quickly, I use Q-Tips and dab glue onto the A A full-length groove for a bot- ‘om pel il eave a al ‘square hole, But you can fil Plug the hole, Start by cutting an exira-long Trim the plug. Next use @ chisel to pare off the hole wid an end grain plug plug tot the ole, Taper the sides slightly © the ecessby working arourd the pig toners and make ic virtual disappear. get a snug fit and glue the plug in place. No. 104 sides ofthe pins, see Fig. 8. You don't want much glue, though. Even a lit lle bt creates e strong hold. ‘CLAMPING. When it comes tockamp- ing up box joints, I take a couple pre- cautions so there are no surprises. After dry assembling a project, I often make a squaring form out of Woodsmith eer ‘scrap wood, see Fig. 9. Talso make ssure [have the right clamping blocks, see Fig. 10. The important thing here, is that they don't cover the box joints, Otherwise, they might prevent the Joint from pulling tight. Allthats left nowisto sand the pins ‘lush with the sides of the box. EM the center Then sand it smooth.ADV UON: A uXO)] set FULL-LENGTH MIRROR Fhe CU bret rnmreriee eerie to stand on the floor or be hung up out of the way — on a wall. I here were acouple things that made building this full. length mirror enjoyable. One was building a seg- mented arch. The other was the straightforward construction. Together they provided just theright blend of woodworking techniques to keep things interesting. ‘Now, don't think the segmented arch was added to this, project asa “gimmick” to spiceup themirrordesign. It's there tosolve two basieproblems withcuttingarchesout of solid pieces of stock. One is how to avoid weak cross grain and the other is how to avoid wasting a lot of wood. ‘Not that using segments is anything new. Technically, every time you build a picture frame or a frame and panel door you're working with segments, But an arch is dif- ferent. The segment angles aren't 45°. Plus, the segments are joined with splines, see detail ‘a’ of drawingon the next page. And once the segments are glued together, youstill have to cut the arch free. For more on making segmented arches, refer to page 32. ‘To compliment the clean, simple lines of the arch, the mirror and stand frames are put together using basic stile and rail construction. Then they're joined with simple half lap joints, see detail ‘b’ of drawing on the next page. What | like about using half laps is they're easy to set up on the table sav, yet they provide a relatively strong joint once they're glued together. MATERIALS ‘ASegments(3) 44x 4- 10¥% B MirrorStiles (2) ¥x2-52 € MirrorRail(1) %x4-16 F Stand stiles (2) 44x 1%-.49 G BottorRail(1) 34x 398-1515 H Middle Rail(1) #4 x 1%- 15% D Backer(1) Ye hrdbd. - 12% x 60 1 Bracket (1) 5x 2-155 E Molding Strips (3) ex ¥%a-48 3 Cleat (1) Hex2-B CUTTING DIAGRAM SUPPLIES rt 96" G0 Blt) (1 par) 1%" 148" Hinges (8) Brass Screw Eyes 2icx5% 96" 4 8. Ft) as - 914) #8x 1" FhWoodscrews + (1) 2/0 Brass Chain 20° long Woodsmith No. 104BUILDING THE ARCH Because the size of the arch (vith) will determine the overall width of the mirror frame, started work on thearch segments frst. CUTTING SCGmENT.Bulcing the arch for this mirror requires using three segments (A), see Fig. 1 Theseses- rents are cut toa finshed sizeof 4" x 104! That way when they're glued together they create enough stodto cut out an arch witha 16 span (the outside dimensions of the micror ffeme).Butto make sure these pisces fittogether tightly, you need two things: segments all the exact same length with ends cut at exactly the same angle, see ig. 1. TER GWUGE. worked onthe angle first. Since Idd trust the scale on my miter gauge to be entirely secur rate, a goed protractor came in handy when setting the angle to 60°. Next, clamped an auxiliary board to the miter gauge with a stop block clamped one end, see Fig. 2 Using astop block sthe key tomaking this ‘whole setup work It guarantees that ‘Bier and ras reed thepieces come cutthe same length, ah half ip os {also find that it helps to cut an angle on the stopblock that matches the angle of the segments, see Fig. 2a That way the stop block fis tke a love around theend ofthe segment soit doesn't shift duringthe cut Note: Hang onto the scrap pieces cat off the ends of the segments, ‘They'll become part of a shop-uilt 60 Anale NOTE: Use aprotractor fost angieacuratey‘RoOvES. After cutting the arch sea- [EJ ments to size, the next step iso cut 44'-wide grooves in the ends of the segments to hold the splines. used a crosscut saw blade and rotated the segments endfor-end between passes, see Figs. 3 and 3a, ‘This way the groove ends up auto- matically centered and the width can be adjusted by moving the rip fence. SPLINES, Next, splinescan becut to fit snug in these grooves. The key here isto cut the spline so the wood ‘grain runs perpendicular to the joint line, refer to detail’ ofexploded view «n previous page. This may sound complicated, but its a simple two-step procedure on the table saw. Start with a 5'wide scrap piece. Then stand the piece on end and make a cut, see Fig. 4. Adjusting the fence will change the spline thickness, Note: You can cut two splines at the same time in the end of the workpiece. Now, using the miter gauge, cut the splines free from the end of the scrap piece to ther final length. ‘ARCH ASSEMBLY, After the splines are cut, the arch cen be glued together. But the trouble with angled joints is being able to apply adequate camp- ing pressure tothe joints. The way 1 solved this was witha shopmade jg, see Fig 5. (For more on building arches and thisjig, refer to page 32) ROUTING THE ARCH, Once the glue dries, Iused a router with a 14" straightbitto cutthe arch, see Fig. 6. Todo that, youhave touse atrammel to guide the router. This trammel is NOTE. Distance between pivot hoes equa’ Det plese Sameera Wi\thick piece of hardboard with, ‘wo pivot holes atone end, see Fig, 6a, ‘The pivot holesare key to routing thearch. That’s because the distance between them plus the width of your router bit determines the width of yourarch.In my case theholes were spaced 24" apart. MIRROR FRAME With the arch complete, the rest of the mirror frame can be built. STIS & RAL. This frame consists ‘of two 2"svide stiles (B) held togeth- erbya 4".wide bottom rail (C),see exploded view at ight. The stiles and rail are joined j together with a half lap joint. This joint is easy to cut yet its relatively strong when glued together, see Fig. 7 and detail ‘a of exploded view. ‘The trick to cuting halflapsis get- ting each piece ext exactly half way through. So I start with the blade set shallow and sneak up on the final i thickness. Its easyto check ifthetwo faces are fush. Just run your finger over theoint ine see Fig. 7a. “There's one critical dimension cut- fing the half laps on the bottom rail. ‘The distance between the shoulders on thejointshasto be equal tothe dis: tance between the inside edgesof the arch (12"), see drawing at right. Otherwise the frame and arch won't Tine up during assembly, ‘After cutting the halflaps, the next step isto cut a groove in the ends of the stiles fora spline, see detal ‘a of «exploded view. Since these are long. pieces, used a simple gto help hold them vertical while cutting the grooves sce the box at lower right. FRAME ASSEMBIT. With the grooves cut the ame can be glued together. Since you don't need a lot of damp- ing pressure, you can clamp apiece of Scrap across the frame and then useashort clamp to pullthe arch and frame pieces tight, see Fig. 8. Finally, trim the endsofthe splines flush with the frame. [used a chisel to pare away most ofthe wood before sandingit smooth. @MIRROR INSTALLATION Although the frames assembled, alit- tle more work needs to be done before the mirror canbe installed. Rabb. Firs, arabbetis cut onthe back edge, see Figs. Yand 9a. This ‘creates lip tohold the mirror, a"- thick backing board, and a molding strip. Alter routing the rabbet, the small radius leftby thebitin the bot- tom comers has to be chiseled sway ‘before the mirror wil tin the frame. ROUNDOVER. Now to complete the frame, Isoftened the edges with a 14" roundorer bit Use ahandeldrouter and routthe three outside edges, see Figs. and 102. ‘mnRoR & BAcKER. With the mirror ‘fame complete. a thick hardboard backer (D) can be cut to cover the ‘A The hardboard back ofthe micror and protect the backer protects the glass. Lipped ito width first, butleft lass and is held in textralong. This way is ensyto trace place by small around the inside edge of the arch. ‘molding strips. and transfer the profleto the backer, see Figs. 11 and 11a. “The backer also comes in handy ‘when its time to cut the mirror. A slass shop can use itas a template to size the mirror exactly, ‘moLpinG stRPS. With the mirror and backer board installed in the mirror ‘ame, used small molding strips (©) to hold them securely in lace. ‘These small trips ("x Yt) are ‘cut out of a larger piece of stork. To do this, first make a cut on one edge to cut the 4" thickness, see Fig. 12. ‘Then set the rip fence to 4" and rip the pieces free. ‘To install the strips, start atone of the bottom corners, Dri pilot holes. firstbefore tacking thestrips inplace, see Fig. 13 and drawing below. ‘NOTE start isting ‘molaing strips at 3 Woodsmith No, 104i STAND With the mirror installed, work can ‘begin on the stand. The stand con- sists oftwo stiles and rails attached to bracket, see drawing aright. SUES & RAL, Building the frame for the standis alot ke making the mir ror frame. Except you have an extra ralthats added for strength. To make the stan first cuthe stiles (F) to fin ished size Then the rails The rail are the samelength (15'4"),but thebot ‘tom rail (G) is 314" wide while the middle rail (H) is 1% wide, Here again, used hallaps to} the stiles and rails. Then once you. have a good fit glue and clamp the frame pieces together, RACKET, The last piece needed for the stand is a bracket. I's used t0 attach the stand to the mirror frame, ‘What's little unusual about the bracket (I is the bottom edge. Its ripped at 30°, see detail‘ of explod- ed view. This allows an optional angled cleat to be used so you can ‘hang the mirror up. INSTALLATION, To attach the bracket to the stiles you'll need a pair of hinges. They're installed on the ends ofthe stiles and the bottom of the bracket. Once that’s complete, four counterbored holes can be drilled in the back of the bracket before it's serewed to the mirror frame, see detail ‘bof exploted view. Justalign the top edge ofthe rack: ctwith the jointline between themir- No. 104 rorarchand frame, Finally, cover the heads of the serews with hardwood plugs. ‘Then trim and sand them flush. To keep the stand from swinging too far open, | added a chain and screw eyestothe mirror, see explod- ed view and detail’. ‘Gu. Ifyou plan on hanging this ‘mirror, youlineed an optional angled cleat (J), see Figs. 14and 14a. Simply ip 20° angle on one edge and attach the cleat (angled edge up) to a wall. ‘Then hang the mirror over the cleat, see Fig. 14b and photo below. Hil A With the cleat securely screwed to a wal stud, close the Stand ond hang the miror over the cleat 3132 WOODWORKING SUe rite SEGMENTED ARCH This arch is built with segments and splines for strength. Then a simple shop-built jig is used for assembly and routing the arch. Ce the fulHength mirror) can be an interesting challenge. You may think cee piece ofstock wide and flat enough for the size you need, see Fig. 1. But there oe ‘The first problem is waste. You end coehoese the arch is cut free. The other prob- pouecnn No matter how you lay out the arch, ‘some part of it will be held together by weak cross grain. ‘That's why I make anarch inpieces (segments). Since youre gluing sex~ ments end-to-end, there's no weak =a is kept to a minimum. NUMMBIR OF PIECES. So how many seg- ee oe — bigger the arch the more segments ee ing waste to a minimum, see Fig. 2. eae eee ‘The pieces are glued together end Ce Single piece of tock vsteful ros grain is weak pore ‘grain to end grain — a pretty weak joint. Fortunately, there's an eaey solu tion to this problem. I just install a spline to strengthen the. (CUTTING ANGLES. The key to making segmented arch is cutting the angles -curately. Aslight ecror compounds feach time you make a cut. So NOTE: tse moresegmens, not wer ane to minimize waste om arg oes what angle do I use? It depends on ‘thenumber of pieces usedin the arch, ‘seeFig,2,To find the angle, dvidethe number of segments into 180° (half of a circle}. On the mirror arch the ‘angle was 60°for three segments. sur, For accuracy, Ise the miter ‘gauge with aprotractor tomake sure Woodsmith No. 104itstight on. Talsoaddl a stop block to anaunxiliary miter gaugefence. This way all the pieces will come out the same length, see Figs. and da. Note: Keep a couple of the waste pieces from the sezment ends. You can use them later in an assembly jig. SLOTS & SPLINES. Once the segments are cut to size, the next step is cut ting a slotin the end of each pieve to held a spline. To center the slo, ip the segments between passes on the table saw. For the mirror the slot was Wsvidex deep) Nowa spine can be cut to fit snug in the slot. The Key to cuting splines is make ing sure the grain direction of the spline runs perpendicular to thejoint line. To do this, [cut them out ofthe endl ofa scrap piece of hardwood, for ‘more on this refer to page 28. AsseMBU, With the splines cut the arch can be glued together. But try- ‘ng to glue and clamp these angled pieces together is like trying to read aadoctor'shandwriting on aprescrip- tion —nearly impossible, So Luse a shopmade jg, soe Fig 4. This isa multipurpose jig. Its an assemblyjie where a single clamp on a three segment arch pulls the seg: ‘ments together: And once the pisces have been glued, italso holds tiem. soa router can cutout the arch. ROUTING THE ARCH. To cut the arch, I ‘used a router and a 14" straight bit, refer to Figs. Gand 6a, But first youl need to attach a trammelto the router toguide it through the are. ‘There’ really nothing to making a trammel. Its justa piece of Ythick. arbcard hardboard wide enough for your router base and long enough for the longestradius, see Fig. 5, Plus a cou- ple pivot holesare drilled at one end. One pivot hole is for the inside radius ofyour arch, while the ethers for the outside radius. One way to check if the holes are in the correct Jocation is to measure the distance between them. It should equal the ‘width of your arch plus the diameter of the router bit. il No. 104 WoodsmithMORTISING JIG Reet neem Appleton, Wisconsin, seat in a video tous showing a mortisingjighe had bul. I's designed to work with ‘your router so you canquicklyknock ‘outa bunch of mortises all cutto the same sze and shape. DESIG, His jigs basicaly a “corral” for your router. The router rides on. MDF (medium densiy fiberboard) platform with guide strips screwed. to the top. These strips keep the router centered over your workpiece as it slides back and forth routing the mortise, see Figs. land Ia. USINGTHE,IG. Ths fizis designed to eliminate the lengthy setup time that’s normally needed to rout a ‘number of mortises. The way it works is a pair of adjustable fences are atachedio the bottom of the router platform. Simply adjust one fence until the router sits perfectly centered over the workpiece. Then tighten the knobs so this fence can be used as a fixed fence. You won't need to ‘move it again unless you switch to a different thickness of stock To set the mortise length, start by marking the location onthe work- piece. Then set the router in the j against the fixed stop and slide the Jig along the workpiece until the router it lines up with your rst ay- A Thisadjustable morts- ing jig ean be clamped ‘quichy to a workpiece. outline, see Fig. 2. Nowclamp the jig in place and set the adjustable stop, See photo above. To do this, move the router until the bit is aligned with the second layout ine and lock the stop in place. Once the length is set, you only need to align the jig with a single layout line for each mortise. Shop Note: [like to use an upcut spiral router bit to rout mortises. It pulls the chips out of the hole, Woodsmith Weds back ess “with: binders. Include a sketch (or photo), explain how it'sused, and Include adaytime phone number. No. 104SOURCES Woodsmith Project Supplies olfers hardware kits and supplies for some of the projects shown in this issue. Supplies for these projects are also available at your local hardware Sore or through the mail order sources at right. SOFA TABLE The sofa table on page 6 requires litle hardware.In fact all you needare some Zshaped table top fasten- ers and some screws, see sources fisted atright STRAIGHT BIT. To rout the bevel on the sola table, 1 used aida. straight it FULLAENGTH MIRROR Bat what's important is Tobuild thefulHlength mir- thelength ofthe utes, pot ror shown on page 26, the diameter of the bit. you'll need some hinges, The flutes must’be longer brass chain, and three than the length of the screw eyes. A complete bevel (atleast 14) hardware kit (not includ- ing the mirror) iscurrently MAGAZINE BOXES available from Woodsmith The only hardware needed Project Supplies. for the magazine boxes are W104-7104-100 Mirror the brasscard fle pulls on Hardware Kit ......$995 the front, see sources at This or similar hard ware is available rom local hardware storesas wellas the source listed at right RABBET BIT. Also, to rout right. Note: Youll have to switch toshorterscrewsto accommedate the Y'thick. panels used in the boxes. the rabbet that holds the INDEX mirror, used a4" rabbet Weve recently updated our bit I'youdon'thave ai" index of woodworking pro- bit, another option is to replace the bearing on a jects and information to include issues 1-100 of 4 ore rabbetbit witha Woodsmith larger one, see the router W104-8001-500 Woodsmith Bit sources listed at right. Index. $495 SS ta nt To order a hardware kit from Woodsmith Project Supplies or fora copy of our WoodsmithShop catalog, use our Toll Free orderline. I's open Monday through Friday, rom 7 AM to 7PM Central Time, ‘Before calling, please have your VISA, MasterCard, or Discover Card ready. If you would like to mail your orter in, call the number below for more information concerning ship- ping charges as well 2s any applicable sales tax. 1-800-444-7527 Note: Prices subject to change ater June 1996 No, 104 FINISHING SUPPLIES Here are afew products, wwe use in our shop. ‘AK. Like Liberon’s Professionals or Black Bison paste wax. The Professionals gives a high sheen. And Black Bison's colored waxes hide scratches, Liberon Professionals Paste Wax ‘Wi04-4001-200 Liberon Black Bison Paste Wax W104-4001-201 (Clear) W/04-4001-202 (Medium Oak) Wi04-4001-208 (Walnut) Liberon 0000 Stee! Wool (to apply wax) ‘wi04-4012-145 $6.95: FINISHES. We also use General Finishes’ products, see inset photo above. Sealacell (a scaler) goes on first. Royal Finish or Arar R-Scal are final topcoats. Sealacell W104-4003-601 (Quart) Royal Finish (Satin) W04-4003-602 (Quart) ArmR'Seal Satin) $13.95 $11.95 $11.95 $11.95 $11.95 $11.95 ‘© More than 40 Project Plans to Download 1 Stepby-Step “Howto” Articles ‘© Woodworking & Finishing Forums ‘Back Issue Indexes for Woedsmith & ShopNotes ‘© For PC or Mac ‘© Download FREE on First Call Join Hundreds of Members To log on to WoodNet, set your communication pro- gram to 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity full duplex, and ANSI terminal emulation, Then call 15152459663. Questions? Call us at: 515-282-7000 x2173, MF 95. Woodsmith, AIL ORDER SOURCES ‘Simitar project supplies and hardware may be ordered from the following ‘companies: 800.235.0272 Ronde Bits Mr Toots Rovter Bite Constaetne’s 300.228:8087 ible Top Fasteners Card Fie Pil Mucs 300.535.9298 ower Bite 800-228-1153. Rover Bt, ‘ibe Top Fasteners (Cond Fue Pa Woodsmih Store Rover Bis, ‘ibe Top Fasteners (Cont Fie Pa Mirror Hentare Woodworker? Store 800-278-4441 Rowe Bit, Table Top Fastener, ‘Cand Fe Pal dora Sos 800.645.9292 Rowers, Table Top Fasteners 35FINAL DETAILS SEALE. [A These stacking bores are held together with simple box joints, And to make both the boxes and the lid more striking, we used contrasting hardwoods — maple and cherry. Plans begin on page 14. AA routerand trammel make short work of euting a perfect arch from lued-up segments. Building seg- rented arches begins on page 32 ‘A To strengthen the arched top on our ful- length mirror, we reinforced the joints with simple splines. Just folow the step-by-step plans on page 26. we A A quick and easy box joint project, these planers feature removable liners. Instructions begin on page 20.