WinA FREE

' ForTwo
Trip
Toltaly!
GonbstRunsSePt15b Jan.15
Seevuvuw.teudtools.com
ftrmorcdctails

For Making
Extended
Tenon Guts

lls Same Stile Bit

HBIt
Sior
5r
ET:T
Ietrc For Stile Guts

Rail B it

For Making
Stub Tenon
cuts on Rails
Raised Panel Bit

For Making
Raised
Panel Guts

llor you Gan Grcab Beautilul' $*$-"

qEl
r"frfr'1
Gusbmizedlloorcwtl|t SUottgJoints' i {l ' \.llJ ;\!
\
Imaginethe Possibilities,,' lnslruc'tlonal
Thanks to Freud's patented innovation,you now have oUIlIncluded
the ability to make door joints with preciselyfit tenons
of any length. Use the bits right out of the box for high
quality stub tenons, or by simply removing the top of Bit Sets Available:
Two Piece Bit Sets Available: . RoundoverProfilewith Bevel
the Rail bit, create extended tenons (for strongerjoints) . RoundoverProfile(#99-267) Raise Panel Bit (#98-300)
at all four critical corners of your door. Combine with . Ogee Profile (#98-268) . RoundoverProfilewith Cove
Freud's flawless Stile bit design, even add Freud's . Cove & Bead Profile (#98-269) RaisedPanel Bit (#98-302)
award winning Quadra CutrM Raised Panel Door bits,
you can create unique interior doors with any design
or wood species. These router bits come set up for
1-3/4"height(forentrydoors)and can easilybe adjustfor
1-3/8" height (for interiordoors).
ffi'
Preciselythe best.
American;6
Wbodrrrrorker
Contents
3 Copingwith InsideMiters
4 Organize YourTools
I OutfitYourShop
1 4 Tipsfor BuyingLumber
1 8 LumberStorage Tips
22 Measuring & Marking
26 10Clamping Tips
30 11Tipsfor BetterGlue-Ups
34 10Routing Tips
42 9 GreatTablesaw Tips
46 Tipsfor Bandsawing
50 Tablesaw BoxJoints
54 Mortising on the DrillPress
58 Howto HanglnsetDoors
62 MakingLippedDrawers with a Dovetail
Jig
66 TurningTableLegs
69 Slot& SplinePaneled Door
72 Waterborne PoreFillers
74 Bandsawn TaperedLegs
77 WedgedMortise& Tenon

A ShopPrcvenFinishingSander
Thatls:
oEerU oFast .Glren rUbr|rillc
oGost Effrclfrrc oFun
.tedc In U.Etr

ffi***
609-gol -l goo
wwn.rjrstudios.com
American&s
Wbodworker
EDlTORIAL
EditorialDirectorRandYJohnson
Editor TomCaspar
AssociateEditor Tim Johnson
ContributingEditor DavidRadtke
OfficeAdministrator ShellyJacobsen
ART& DESIGN
CreativeDirector VernJohnson
Directorof PhotographyJasonZentner

Category President/Publisher Carol Lasseter

Advertising Director Brian Ziff
Classified Advertising Manager Susan Tauster
Vice PresidenVProduction Derek W. Corson
Production Coordinator Michael J. Rueckwald
Ad Production Coordinator Kristin N. Beaudoin
SYstemsEngineer D e n i s eD o n n a r u m m a
V.P.Consumer Marketing Dennis O'Brien
Circulation Steve PiPPin
Adrienne Roma
COMMENTS & SUGGESTIONS
Susan Sidler
Dominic M.Taormina Writ to us at AmericanWoodworker,
1285Corporate CenterDrive,Suite180,
Eiqan,Mi\ 5sl 21.Phone(952)948-5890, fax (952)948-589s'
ADVERTIS!NG SALES e-riail:aweditor@americanwoodworker.com'
21
1285 Corporate Center Drive, Suite I 80, Eagan,MN 551 SUBSCRIPTIONS American Woodworker@Tips & Techniques is
published by
MA
Brian Ziff, bziff@americanwoodworker'com AmericanWoodworker SubscriberServiceDept' Woodworking Media, LLC,90 Sherman 5t', Cambridge'
(203) s0g-Ol25,fax (860) 417-227s 02140. U.S.n6wsstand distribution by Curtis Circulation
office (860) 417-2275,ce11 Box420235
P.O. @ 2008
-
ClassifiedAdvertising Manager SusanTauster' PalmCoast,FL32142-0235,(800) 666-3111, iompany, t-t-C,New Milford, NJ 07646' Printed in USA'
stauster@americanwoodworker'com e-mail:americanwoodworkerwebcs@palmcoastd'com Woobworking Media, LLC.All rights reserved'
(630) 858-1s1 0
office (630) 858-1558, cell (630) 336-0916, fax for 56'99each'(plus53 s/h) No part of this publication may be reproduced by any
Backlssues:Someareavailable
Backlssues, r"ih."i..i, pft'"tographic, or electronic process,nor may it be
NEW TRACK MEDIA tLC Writeor call:AmericanWoodworker copied
Box83695,Stillwater,
P.O. MN 55083-0695, stored in a retrieval system,transmitted, or otherwise
Chief Executive Officer Stephen J' Kent personal
(715) 246-4521,8a.m.to 5 p.m.CSf,,Mon'throughFri'Visa' i*itrr irt" exception of one-time, non-commercial,
ExecutiveVice President/CFO Mark F Arneft accepteo' use) without written permission from the publisher'
MasterCard, and AmericanExpress
Discover
Vice President/Publishing Director Joel P' Toner
 A time-honoredtip for applyingmoldingto insidecorners
C A B I N E T M A K EHRASV EU S E D
copedjointsto creategreat-looking
insidecornersfor centuries.The trickto
makingthesejointsisto cut a profileon
the miteredend of one pieceof mold-
ing,so it fitsjigsawpuzzle-like
against
the adjoiningpiece, whichsimplybutts
'[
fUalean inside45-degreecut to cre-
S ate a profilededge.Themolding
shouldbe held upsidedown on the saw.
A stop blockclampedto the sawholds
t h e m o l d i n gi n p l a c e .
againstthe insidecorner(seeabove).
Tocreatethe profile,cut a 45-degree
miteron the end of the molding(photo
1),justasyouwouldif youweregoing
to miterthejoint.Then,usea coping
sawwith a fine-toothedbladeto cut
out the profile(Photo2).Onlythe sim-
profitewith a copingsaw,
D t"rthe
f-l followingthe profilelinecreatedby
the mitercut'Anglethe sawbackabout
30 degreesasyou cut alongthe profile
to removemore wood from the backof
themolding.
plestmoldingswillallowyouto com-
pletethe joint with one longcut.For
abruptdirectionchanges, you'llneedto
backout of the cut andapproachit
from a differentangle.Usefilesto clean
up the profilededgeand fine-tunethe
fit (Photo3).
e Fine-tunethe cut by filiing.choose
U a file that matchesthe particular
profile.Fileand test-fituntilthe joint is
tight.
.[mericanWoodworker 3
 YourTools
Organize
Cabinet
SmallTlool
sToREyouR sMALL TooLs in thissimple,easy-to-build plywoodcabinet.The shal-
low drawersare idealforlayouttoolsor carvinggouges,whilethe deep drawersare
bestsuitedfor markinggaugesand blockplanes.Placeyour cabineton a shelfor hang
it from a wall by fasteningthroughthe back.
l)se 1/2" thick ApplePlyor Balticbirchfor the caseand back 1/4" temperedhard-
boardfor the drawerbottoms,andpine for the drawersides.
The drawerbottomsdo doubleduty.Theyfunctionas
slidesand pullsaswell.Cut 3/16"deepdadoesin the
case'ssidesfor the drawerbottomsto slidein.Stagger
the dadoesin the middledividerso it staysstrong.
The lowestdrawersdo not havedadoes.Cut rabbets
for the cabinet'sbackand fastenit with screws
or nails.
Simplerabbetjoints hold the drawersides
together(the backof the draweris madethe
sameway asthe front).Nailand glue the sides
together;then evenup the bottom edges.Gluethe sides
down to the hardboardbottom.Thestiffnessof the drawersides
keepsthe hardboardfrom bendingunderthe weight of your tools.

Eye-LevelBit Storage
LOTSoF FoLKs storerouterbits in wooden blocks,but this
nifty pull-outmethod keepsthoseblockssecurelymounted
insideyour cabinet.Theblocksbecomeshelvesthat pull out and
hangat eye levelwhile you find the bit you need.Eachpull-out
blockslideson a pan headscrewcapturedin a routedkeyhole
slot on the bottom of the block (photo,below right).lf you want
to removethe block and take your bits to whereyou'reworking,
just lift the block off the screwand go.
Routthe stoppedkeyholeslot in the centerof eachpull-out
blockand drilla 1" dia.
by 1/2"deepfingerhole
in the front.
I

RouterRack r

II
K E E PY OU RFIX E D -B A S Erouters
D handyand r eady
to go with your favorite bits.Make this rackfrom scraps I
of 3/4" MDF or plywood.lt measures 4" tall by 9" deep
by 16" wide.Each slot measures 2" wide by 6' deep.To
makethe slots, just drill a 2" hole at the back of each
slot and cut out the rest of the slot on a bandsaw.
Routerwrenchesand extracolletsfit nicelyunder each
router.
 PantryDoor
ToolCabinet
T H I SS H O PC A B I N E T
is inspiredby a kitchen
p ant r yc abinet . lth a s
th e c las s ic
deepdo u -
b l e - hingeddoor st h a t
makeeverythinginside
easyto reach.lt'smade 318" x314" CABINETAND LEFT-HANDDOORSSHOWN
1-1l4" 16-GAUGE RABBET(TYP)
of 3/4" thick stockso BRADS (TYP) (R|GHT-HANDDOORSNOT SHOWN)
you can usescrewsto
h angt oolsins ide.T h e
thick backmakesit
_l --a

easyto fastenthe cabi-

n et t o t he wall.
You'lluselessthan a
sheetof 3/4"thick ply-
wood and two 4' long
cont inuous hingesto
buildthe cabinet.Get
everythingyou needat
the localhome center
i n c ludingt he lat c ha n d
magneticcatchesfor
about575.

1t4" STRIKEPLATE
ROUNDOVER

MAGNETIC CATCH

1t4" x314" GROOVE(Typl

OverallDimensions:l2-518"x 18"x 24"

- Part Number Name G

inz.- G 2 lnner Door Divider 314,,x B-l lZ" x 23',-
c CabinetBack 314"x 17-t14"x23-W
D Shelf 314"x4-l.12"x l6-l'12" Outer Door End 314"x2-314"x 8-5/8
Inner Door Side 314"x 4-314"x24" Outer Door Face 314"x9" x24"

f,mericanWoodrvorker 5
 CliP
Bandsaw-Blade
Y O U ' L LN E V E RT H I N KT W I C Ea b o u tt h e s p r i n g
tensionin coiled-upbandsawbladesuntilyou
drop one.Whena bladehitsthe floor;the coil
canexplodeand the wild bladecan bounce
right backat you.
Binderclipsare much moreconvenientto
usethan twist-tiesand they makecoiled
bfadeseasyto carryand hang.Binderclips
costlessthan a buckeachand they come
in a rainbowof colors;so you'llbe ableto
color-codethem bYsize.

A R O U N Di Nd T A W COTTS
I F Y O U H A T EF U M B L I N G
digging into cabinetsfor tools,try this add-onfor your
workbench.ltdisplayshandtoolsout in the open where
you can grab them instantly.Most workbencheshavea
perfectspot to hang some perf-boardfor benchtools
betweenthe legs.You'llenjoy havingbenchtools within
easyreach,right whereyou'remost likelyto usethem.

ChiselCorral
GRABBING T H E R I G H TC H I S E Li s e a s yw i t h t h i so p e nr a c k
becauseyou can seeall the blades.The long slotsallowyou to
storechiselswith blades that are wider than the locatingholes.The
bottom shelf prevents you from brushing up againstsharpedges.
Makethe 3-318" wide slotted rail by ripping three lengthsof
wood from one wide board. Cut the front piece 1" wide,the center
piece3,/8"wide and the back piece 2" wide.Then clampallthree
piecesbacktogetherwithout glue. Drill 5/8" dia. holes spaced2"
apartdown the middleof the center piece. unclamp the three
pieces.Take sectionsof the center piece to make three short
bridges,one for eachend and one for the middle.Gluethe railback
togetherwith the bridgesseparating the outer pieces.
Cut 3/8" deep dadoesinto the 3/4" uprights,slottedrailand
shelf.Reinforcethe joints with screws from the back.

6 f,.rncdcrnWbodrtorkcr
 SquareCorner
sroRE DELICATEseuAREs in a safe,convenientplace.These brack-
ets haveslopedtops,so the squaresstayput if the rackisjiggled.Make
the backat least1" thick.Yourtools are easierto grab if they sit well
awayfrom the wall.

SandpaperPress
wHE N s r oRE D Lo o s E i n a d ra w e r,s a n d p a p e r
sheetscurl likepotatochips,makingthem difficult
to handle.This simplesandpaperpresssolvesthe
problem.Thetray keepsan assortmentof gritsflat
and readyfor use.Thelid is madefrom MDEwhich
is heavyenoughto keepthe sandpaperflat.

Clamp
Rack
IFYOU'VE
Gor a lot of
clampsand not
much space
buildthis handy
clamprack.Just
drill5/8"dia.
holesthrough
3/4" plywood at
a slightupward
angleand glue
in 9" long
5/8" dia.dowels.
Eachpairof Drill PressStorage
dowelsholdssix P A cK P LE N TYoF sroR A GEunderyourdri l lpressby recyclingan
clamps,so you old kitchencabinet.Tomakeit fit aroundthe drill presscorumn,
c a nh a n g1 8 move the cabinet'sbackpanelin about 8" and shortenthe drawer
adjustable to fit.Add a plastic-laminate
top and mount pull-outdividersinside,
clampsand four usingfull-extensiondrawerslides.A set of castersmakesthe whole
springclampsin thing easyto move when you haveto sweep.Theremovabledrill bit
only 2 sq.-ft.of indexesmakestoringand handlingdifferentbits a breeze.
wall space.
InrerlcuWbodworher 7
 Fold-Down
CuttingRack
I F Y O U ' V EG O TL I M I T E D
RooM in y ou r s h o Pfo r c u t-
ting up full sheetsof PIY-
wood,this lightweightrack
m ay be y ours o l u ti o n .lfot lds
up and out of the waY,Pre-
servingpreciousfloor sPace.
Whenyou'vegot sheet
stockto cut,fold down the
rackand setthe PlYwoodon
the fixedsupportblocks.
T henc lam po n a s tra i g h t-
edgeas a sawguide.SetYour
c ir c ulars awb l a d eto c u t 1 /8 "
deeperthan the stock,and
you'rereadyto go.Fornar-
rower sheets,usethe swivel-
out bloc k sin th e mi d d l eo f
e$g
the rack.

The lightweight rack

swingsup for easystor-
age.A single2x4catch
temporarilyholdsthe
rackin place.Two
lengthsof chainand a
hook safelysecurethe
rackoverhead.
-.-!."

_r''i.- -t.

8 A.rnericanWoodworker
Double-DutyPlanerStand
T H l s R o L L IN Gc A R T w i th l ocki ngcasters
makesa greattw o-for-one storagecabi netand
outfeedsetup.
The cart is designedso the outfeedtableon the planerequalsthe heightof your tablesaw.
Thisgivesyou a beautiful,longoutfeedextensionfor the planer.Buildup the cart so the top
of a pairof 22"rollersequalsthe heightof your saw.Now,your planerstandactsasan exten-
siontablefor the saw,just asthe tablesawactsas an outfeedextensionfor the
planer.Theret lotsof room underthe cartto storethe planer,and the saw,s
top is perfectfor stackingwood while planing.

ROLLER\
I
d4
-a

'-:.J

s
a,t

.;
,t"
I ' ':a' '
t{i
' y:r::
t .
,!j
Sr,,l

#.)*t4'
:'Iff t
-r"1.".u-*.. LOCKING
" CASTER

.f,,rnericanWoodrvorker 9
 ibi basesfor an assemblY
sawhorses. The hingedframes
tan be used individuallyor together.
framesand two identicalgates made
joinery.Fourcontinuous hinges hold the
i openingand closing.Hook-and-eye screwlatches
in the open Position.

x 37" x 37"* for one hingedframe assembly

31-718^
Dimension
**
3/4" x 31-7/A' x 37"
A S , / + "x g - 1 1 2 ' x 3 1 - 7 / 8 "
B 3/4" x3-1/2" x37"
C 1-112"x 30"
'16"x
3/4"x 20"
D 3/4"x3"x20'
E 3/4" x 3" x 16'
F 1-112"x 18"
\l
2" hook-and-eye screw
" 2 " x 3 1 - 7 1 8 "x 3 7 " w h e n c l o s e d
**2" toe kick below bottom rail

10 f,merlcanT9oodworker
 \4-n

Shop Carts are

Your Best Friends
l F T H E R Et s o N E s i n g l et h i n gt h a tw i l l
makeworkingalonewith plywood .ht.
bearable, it'sa good shopcart,madeso \
LOCKING
it is the sameheightasyour tablesaw. CASTERS
Don'tmakejust one,though,because
onceyou usethis cart,you'llinstantly
want a couplemore.Youcan useone
cartto supportthe plywoodas it
entersthe sawand anotheras it exits,
leavingyou free to concentrateon
keepingthe plywoodgoing straight
againstthe fence.And when you'renot
cuttingplywood,the cartsaregreatfor
mo v ingpar t sar oundth e s h o p a , n da l l
sortsof miscellaneous tasks.
Thecart'sdesignis simpleand
strong.lt's made from 3/4" plywood,
glued,nailedand screwedtogether.lf
your floor is rough,put largerwheels
on your cartsand makethe carts1/8"
lowerthan your saw,just to be safe.
Madefrom fir plywood,eachcart will
costlessthan S80.

O v e r a l fD i m e n s i o n s2: 0 ' W x 3 2 " L x 3 4 - 1 1 4 , ' H

Part Name oty DimensionsT"xW"x L"
A Side Legs 4 3/4" x3-3/4" x29"
B End Legs 4 3/4" x 3" x 29"
1. Base Frame Sides 2 3/4" x 6" x30-1/2"
D Base Frame Ends 2
E Shelf 1
3/4"x6"x17"
N
ut\-r
3/4" x18-1/2'x3O-1/2"
F Top Frame Sides 2 3/4" x3-3/4" x3O-1/2"
U Top Frame Ends 2 3/4"x3-3/4"x17"
H Top 1 3/4" x20" x32"
J Wheel Support Boaros 2 3/4" x3-3/4" x20"
K 3" Casters 4

.f,mericanWoodworker 11
 ,tr", .. 11
[,:

WING-DOWN t
LEG I

\
\-
Lightweight
ExtensionWings
shop-made
E x r E Ns t oN w tN GS o n th e mi te rs a wm a k ecutti ngl ongstocka breeze.These lili
a n d they' reas l i ght as feathers, because they' re
wingsins t alal n d k n o c kd o w n i n s e c o n d s
the door to width, push the honeycomb
internal ir
madefrom a hollow-coredoor.Afterripping
piecesbackand glue new pine siderailsbetweenthe faces.Then installswing-downlegsfor
stability.Steelbed-railfastenershold the wings level with the saw table.Afterengagingthe
f as t enerdr, o p a n a i lb e h i n do n e o f th e h o o k sto l ockthe w i ng i n pl ace'
#127456, $'12 for a set of four'
Source Woodcraft, www.woodcraft.com, (8OO)225-1153, 5 Bed-Rail Fasteners,

NestingSawhorses
HERE'S A R E A LL I F E S A V Ei nRa s m a lsl h o p . T h e sh eo r s e s
are lightweight,strongand designedto nesttightly
togetherfor easystorage.They're builtfrom 2x4sand put
togetherw i th bi scui tsand a si mpl enotchedj oi nt.M illt he
2x4sto 1-1/4"by 3" so they'reflat and square.Sizeyour
horseshoweveryou like,keepingthe angleof the legsat
98 degreesfor stabil-
ity.Cut the notches
that join the foot to rwo fo_-=\_
the l eg on your No.20 I II
. lf..
'-j bandsaw. Attach '''"''"/ 98 DEGREES
.f
the foot with glue
//
and a screwrun uP
throughthe bottom.
Il
|l
ffi 3" NO.10
SCREW

12 AmericanWoodworker
'. :tl
!
',i,i,1
' ,t'1
'"{I
. - ::
-e:

4,

'wt
$r
f

ffii
h

stancen0l*e@' them stationary during use.

,t.'
., ,.,
i r:1. ,.j i :
so fou ubtrttwhackyourtoeson them,andyou
to lockor unlockcasters.
rsis:gbis+rt$rc.p
*rke, much.less thana caster-equipped
(seephotolJefr)costabout53apiece; they'recut froma sheet
tsd$sbfte,belirw).
ra plb#pullmethodkeepstopheavytools,likea drillpress,
stable.
yourtophandto*eep the toolfromtippingforwardandpullwith
tb slide,it.
:i::,;

1*;Sutcg teeUilevfods,wvuuteemttey.com,:UruW{llydttrylenesheet
3/4'xt x24',#4GJ90.14,
$21ea.

ImcdcanWoodrvorler 13
 L*mber
forBuying
Tips
CheckOut No. 1 Common
N O . I CO M M O tT l ut mb e r(1 C )i s a l w a y sw o rthc o nsi deri ng.lsit ts
onlyone notchbelowSelectsand Better(S/B), the bestgrade
most lumberyardscarry,butcosts20 to 40 percentless.
I n gener al,1Cg ra d eh a smo red e fe c tsa,n d b o ardsusual l y
containmorewaste.This reducesits costadvantagesomewhat.
On the other hand,some 1Cboardsare perfect,but too nar-
row or shortto makeS/Bgrade.In fact,there'sa largegrayarea
bet weent he low e n d o f S /Bl u m b e ra n d th e to p e nd of 1Cl um-
ber.lt'snot hardto find 1Cboardsthat lookjust as good,if not
. y i n g1 Cl u m b e ri s a g reatw ayto
bet t ert,han S / Bb o a rd sBu
r.-
s t r et c hy ourwoo d w o rk i n gd o l l a rs . lC
BASSWOOD

and Bettergrade(5/B)is 830/o'

Minimumyieldfor Selects

_r
' {S i''= '
,+

Be Prepared
T A K EA T A P EM E A S U R E a n d c a l c u l a t o r w i tyho uw h e n
you go to the lumberyardso you can measurethe boards
you chooseand figureout how muchthey'llcost.Because
r oughs awn b o a rd sc o mei n ra n d o mw i d th sa n d l engths
(no two arealike)they'remeasuredby volume,which can
be c alc ulat e bd y u s i n ga s i mp l efo rmu l a .T hsetandard
unit ,a boar dfo o t (b d .ft.),m e a s u re1s 2 "x 1 2 "x 1"thi ck,or
144c ubicinc h e s .
Because bd.ft. is a measureof volume,any combina-
ti on of thi ckness (mi ni mum1" ),w i dth and l engtht hat
equal s144cubi ci nchesal soequal sone bd.ft.
Roughlumberis soldbasedon its costper bd.ft. Some
speciesare morepriceythan others,and thickerboards
costmore per bd.ft. than thin ones.Todeterminecost,
si mpl ymul ti pl ythe total numberof bd.ft. i n the b oar ds
you'veselectedby the bd.ft. price.

Wiclth x Lengrth x Thickness + LZ = Board Feet

(in inches) (in feet) (in inches)
9 " X 4 ' X 2 " + 1 2 = 6 B D .F T .
COST @ $7/BD. FT. = $zt!

1 BD. FT.
 Top-Grade
BoardsAren't
AlwaysPretty
SPECTACULAR
BOARDScoSt no more
than ordinaryones,
becauselumbergrades
dependon yield,not
aesthetics.The pres-
ence of off-colorsap-
wood,funny-looking
figure and color differ-
encesbetweenboards
isn't a factor.Thefour
boardsat left all came
from the sametop-
gradestack.Inthe eyes
of the grader,thetrio
of slenderboardsis
identicaltothe single
wide one,becausethey
containthe same
amount of usable
material.Three boards
or one,they'll costthe
same.How would you
spendyour money?

BuyMoreThanYouNeed
l T ' S A B I G M T S T A KtE
o buythe
exactamountof roughlumberyour
projectrequires.lf you dq you're
gonnacome up short,because
rough lumber isn'tperfect,not even
top-gradeboards.Forexample,
don't expectto get an 8' length out
of an 8' roughboard.Eventhough
roughsawnboardsare regularlycut
a coupleof incheslong,they usual-
ly containchecks,knotsor wild grainthat must be cut off.lf you needfinished
8' lengths,you'll probablyhaveto buy 9 or even 10' long boards.
A commonruleof thumb is to buy about 20 percentmore rough lumberthan
you need.some species,like red oak consistentlycontainfew defects,so you
don't haveto over-buyas much.other species, like blackwalnut,requiremore
insurancethan the average.
ln somecases,it's best not to bother with percentages,just buy extra pieces.
Forexample,if you'regoing to build a table,chooseenoughstockto makean
extraleg.lfthe top requiressevenboards,buy eight.
StartOut Thick
R O U G HL U M B E T
RH I C K N E S S E S
are measuredin 1/4"increments.The
thinnestrough-cut boards,labeled
4/4,andcalledfour quarter,are 1"
thick.
Itt tough to get surfacedstock
thickerthan 13/"16" from 1" rough
stock.Planto loseat least3/16" (1/4"
on thickerstock)when you planea
roughsawnboardsmooth.
Hardwoodlumberyardscommon-
ly stock speciesin 4/4 and 8/4 thick-
nesses, with additionalsizesavailable
basedon supplyand/ordemand.

^frnericanWoodworker 15
TameWarpedLumber
coMMoNsENsETELLSyou to chooseflat boardsand avoid the pretzels.Unfortunately,flatroughsawn
boardsare sometimeshard to find. Lotsof boardsend up warped as a resultof the drying process.
In lumber lingo warp is definedas any deflectionfrom a flat,planarsurface.Warped boardscan
be cupped,bowed,crookedor twisted.A singleboard can containa combinationof warps.
Luckily,most warped boardscan be flattened,if the deflection isn't too severe.
Knowinghow to identifyand dealwith boardsthat aren'tperfectlyflat will
giveyou many more choicesasyou lookthrough the stack

Checkfor cup by looking

end of the board.

A BOARDTHATBENDSacrossthe width of its face

is cupped.Cupping,whichoccursmainlyin plain-
sawnlumber,affectsa board'sfinishedthickness.
Boardsthat are slightlycuppedare easyto flat-
ten.Jointthem with the concavesidedown.This
keepsboth outsideedgesin contactwith the joint-
er'sbed,for stability.Toflatten a severelycupped
boardwithout sacrificing rip it in half
its thickness,
and joint both piecesseparately. Don't rip a cupped
board on your tablesawhowever.lt'stoo likelyto
causea kickback.Usea bandsaw,circularsawor jig-
saw.Gluethe piecesbacktogether,afterjointing
their mating edges.Thenmakea final smoothing
passon the glued-upface.

ANNUAL RING
PATTERN
CUT FAR FROM CENTER

Cuppingis more likely on plainsawnboardscut close

to the centerof the tree.Youcan determinewherethe
board camefrom by lookingat the annual-ringpat-
tern shownon the end grain.Boardsshowingwide,
shallowarcsare best.Cuppingusuallyoccurson the
bark side of the board,awayfrom the center.
Bow
Bow is SEVEREBOW

easyto
seewhen
you sight CUTa\
down the
i
edge of I

I MANAGEABLEBOW
the board.

A B O A R DT H A TB E N D sa c r o s s t h e the jointer bed.Theonly way to deal with

lengthof its faceis bowed.you'lllose
lengthwhen you flattenbowed boards,
becauseyou haveto removemore
from the endsthan the middle.Joint
with the bowedsidedown,and
don't pressthe boardflat against
a boardthat'sseverelybowed is to cut it
into shorterlengths.The shortpieceswill
still bow but not as much,so they'll be
easierto flatten.lf the bow is confinedto
one end of the board,cut it off or make
repeatedjointing passeson that end only.

Crook A B o A R DT H A TB E N D sa l o n gi t sl e n g t hi s a crookedboardon the tablesawwithout a sled

crooked(pronounced'trookt").Straig hteni ng a to hold iUkickbackis too likely.)Jointingor rip-
crookedboard reducesits width. Boardswith a ping won't work on a boardwith a majorcrook-
minorcrookare common.Theycan be straight- you'dend up with nothing.Instead, cut the board
ened by jointing and/orripping.(Again,don,trip into shortpieces.

A crookedboard makesa smiley(or frowny)face.

A minorcrookcan be straightened.

A majorcrookmust be crosscuuthen eachpiececan be siaightened.

Twist A B O A R DW | T HO N Eh i g hc o r n e rh a s
twist.lt'sbestto let twisted boardsbe
someoneelse'snightmare.They're dif-
ficult to flatten,and even if you'resuc-
cessful, the twist hasa tendencyto
return.lfyou must usea twisted
board,cut it as shortand narrowas
possible, to minimizethe deflection.
Sight down the face of a
board.lf the oppositeends
aren'tparallel,it'stwisted.
Put it back.
 r.1f
I
i

PIPE
FLANGE

5/8" PLYWOOD

l\
t . \plpE
. STRAP

F- 2x1o

I
\_ CASTER

:il
,l

I
Swing-Out
Plywood Storage
H E R E , SA C L E V E RW A Y t O K C C P
',, and eas yt o
1" x48" PIPE Y ourP l Y w oodorgani zed
uccess. B ui l dthi s sw i ng-outstorageunit 'lt
,
fi tsthe spaceal ongthe si deof the gara geper -
fectl yand al l ow syou to access anypi eceof ply-
wood becauseit workslikea file folder.
Y oucanbuy al lthe materi alfor s i t at a homecent er
. for around75 bucks.The hi ngei s madeof 1" pi pepar t sand
fastenedto the end of the storagecontai ner w i th i " pi pe
straps.The pi pe i s connected to the w al lw i th pi pe fl anges. The
uni t rol l son four 3" nonsw i vel i casters.
ng

.$ \
CASTER

18 AmericanWoodworker
 OverheadLumberRack
tF yoU H A V Ea basement shopw i th l i mi tedfl oorspace , t his
l umberrackmaybe the perfectl umberstoragesol uti on.ltholds
both l ongand shortboardsand canbe i nstai l ed at a hei g htt hat 's
convenientfor you to reachbut high enoughso you won't bean
your head.
Makeit from 1x4s,2x4s and 2x6sfor a costof about s30.Make
three U-shapedframesby screwingthe 2x4stothe2x6s.Then
screwtheseframesto the cei l i ngj oi sts.Fi ni shthe rackby a dding
1x4sto the bottom edgeof the frames.

StoreLumber
Vertically
W H E NY O U ' R E A L O N g i, t ' S
a realchoreto unearth
boardsfrom the bottom of a
horizontalstack.Boards
s t or edupr ighta g a i n s t StableLumberRack
bracketsareeasyto seeand LU MB E RR A C K Sal w aysget stackedhi ghw i th pr oj-
s or t J. us tf lip t h ro u g hth e ect leftovers. Here'sa trickfor keepinga wobblystack
boar dsand t ip o u t th e o n e s ti ppedi n the ri ghtdi recti on:Tack
a w ood shi mont o
you want.Youdon't haveto eachracksupportso the stackedlumberwiil lean
lift anything. sl i ghtl ybacki ntothe rack.Thikeeps
s any l eaning
towersof lumberfrom topplingthe wrong way!

ArnericanWoodworker 19
TemporaryLumberStorage
tT'S OKAYTO STOREWOODin an unheatedgaragefor shortperiodsof
time.Howevelwithin a few months,significantchangescan occurin the"
wood'smoisturecontent.
lf you must storewood in an unheatedspace,youcan do a fevy;
things to slowthe moistureuPtake:
1. Stackthe lumberflat to minimizeexposure
of the boardsto the air.
2. S ealt heend g ra i n .
3. Useblocksto keepthe stack
off a concretefloor.
Be sureto bring your wood into a
heated spacea few weeksbefore ..
you use it. As crazyas it
sounds,somewoodwork-
ers stackwood undertheir
bedsto let it acclimate
beforethey build with it. As
always,it paysto check
your wood with a moisture
meter beforeyou use it.

LumberStorageWorkbench
T H E B A C K B O N E SO F T H I S B E N C HA T C t h c 2 X 4
frames. For an 8-ft. bench make four frames as
shown.Therestof the
materialsare cut from 3/4"
plywoodfor the work sur-
facesand 1/4" pegboardto
stiffenthe assemblyand
provideampletool-
hangingoptions.

20 lbnerlcanWoodworker
-rlI

RollersEase
PlywoodStorage
[.*-*---
H E R E 'A
S GREAS T OLUTION
for slidingheavysheetsof ply- WASHERS
upRtcHr BETWEEN
wood in and out of your storage ROLLERS
rack.Cut the 2-1/2" dia.rollers t
fro m 314"har dm apl eo n y o u r o\
drill press,usinga fly cutter.You ,\ I
co uldals oc ut t hem o n a b a n d s a w ?; BLOCK
with a circle-cutting jig. Drillout the \,..
centersto 17/32"so they'llspinon the -.'
\.
1/2"hex - head bolt su s e da ss p i n d l e s . \- Counterbore the backboard's holesfor the
The rackconsistsof four evenlyspaced 1/2"nutsthat the 7" l ong bol tsscrewi nto.A ft er
blocksattachedto uprightsand a 4" wide by 6' screw i ngthe bl ocksto the backboard and i nstal l i ng
t he
long solid-woodbackboard.The backboardis nuts,screwthe assemblto y the w al l .Thenscreweach
screwedto the wall;the uprightsfastento a board upri ghtto the bl ockon the fl oorand the boardon the ceil-
mo unt edon t he c eil i n g . i ng.Instal l i ng
the rol l ersand thei r' l /2"w asherspacer is s t he
B ef or eas s em blinth
g e ra c k ,l a oy u t a n d d ri l lh o l e sin the laststep.slidethem onto the boltsbeforescrewingthe bolts
uprightsand backboardfor the hex-headbolts. i ntothe backboard'housed s nuts.

PlasticStickersDon't Stain thF-

T H E S EP L A S T T C O N D U T T S T T C K E RpSr o v i d ec o n s i s - I
t e n t s p a c i n ga n d e x c e l l e n a
t i r c i r c u l a t i o nw i t h m i n i m a l \.%.*
c o n t a c t . Y o uw o n ' t h a v e p r o b l e m s w i t h i n s e c t s m , old or *l
s t a i n i n gw, h i c h c a n o c c u ra r o u n d w o o d e n s t i c k e r se, s p e -
c i a l l yw h e n t h e w o o d i s g r e e n a n d t h e a i r i s d a m p .
F o r s t r e n g t h ,u s e 1 - 1 / 4 "i . d .S c h e d u l e - 8 0r i g i d p V C l%****h'
e l e c t r i c acl o n d u i t .A v a i l a b l ef r o m h o m e c e n t e r sa n d e l e c -
t r i c a ls u p p l ys t o r e si,t c o s t sa b o u t S t Z f o r a 1 O 'l e n g t h .
S c h e d u l e - 4 0r i g i d P V Cc o n d u i t i s m u c h l e s se x p e n s i v e
b u t t h i n n e r - w a l l e ds,o i t d o e s n ' ts u p p o r t a s m u c h w e i g h t .
U s e i t f o r s m a l l s t a c k sB. o t h S c h e d u l e - 4 0a n d S c h e d u l e -
8 0 r i g i d P V Cc o n -
rb-l duit aresuitable
f o r i n d o o ra n d

rft
outdooruse.
After cutting
t h e c o n d u i tt o s i m p l ej i g t o h o l dt h e s t i c k e irn p o s i t i o n( s e ep h o t o ,l e f t ) .
rI s t i c k e rl e n g t h s ,
cut them in half
T o k e e pt h e c o n d u i tf r o m r o t a t i n gd u r i n gt h e c u t , f o l l o wa
s t r a i g h lti n ed r a w no n i t s s u r f a c eT.o d r a wt h e l i n e ,s i m p l y
on your band- l a ya f l a t b o a r dn e x tt o t h e c o n d u i ta n d u s et h e b o a r da s a
I*\ () s a w ,u s i n g a s t r ai gh t e d g e .
Es,*.,.
Illt-Y-rr'
. :i ar'

ArnericanWoodworker 21
: -

ng& Marking
Measuri
Two Must-HaveTools
you shop.Starretcombination page).Thebest fractionaldialsshow
Ev E RYwooDwoR KE R s h o u l dh a v e
s q u a re s(bel ow )are made to every commonlYused fraction uP to
a precisionsquareand a fractional
extremelyprecisetolerancesand an inch clearlymarkedon the outside
caliper(seeSources, Page23).
A 12" pr ec is io ns q u a res h o u l d b e individuallycheckedbefore theY of the dial.Readthe dial like a clock.
leave the factorY. One revolutionis 1";a quarterof the
no more than .002"out of squareat
Fractionalcalipersare available way is 1/4".Eachline indicates1/64"
the end of the blade.Look for a
publis hedt oler a n c eth i s s ma l lw h e n with digital or dial readout(opposite and eachmaj ordi vi si oni s 1/16".

?I
l
ILPerfect blade
90
No matter where This edge is ground
you slide the head, flat to within .0001".
this angle is as close
to a perfect
90oas you'll ever
need.
Most precision squares
don't have this miter-
checkingfeature. Removable rule
You can take the This bladewill stay
blade out and fliP it smooth and straight.
to anotherscaleor Not even a marking
Easy-to-readscale use it loose as a knife can scratch it.
This satin finish is much easieron the precisionruler.
eyes than a shiny finish.The ruler has
four fractional scales: 1/8", 1116",1132"
and 1/64".To avoid making mistakes and
counting unnecessarylines, use the scale
Removable awl
with the same fraction you're measuring.
Scribelines and
mark measurments
without reaching
for a pencil.

A 6" precision combination square is very

convenientto carry in an apron pocket.This
silicon brass and rosewood jewel is made
by Bridge CityTools(see Sources,page 23).

22 f,rnericanWoodrvorker
 Tlps Width of a Dado
A calipermeasures
a n i n s i d ed i m e n -
sion, too, with small
"reverse" jaws that
can span a gap as
narrow as 1/16".A
caliper is a perfect
tool for setting up
dado blades.Using
the reversejaws,
measurethe width
Thickness of a dado you've
The most common use for a made;then use the
caliperis to measurean outside other jaws to meas-
dimension,such as the thickness ure the thicknessof
of your stock as it comes out of any shims you must
I the planer.A caliperis a lot easi-
I add to or subtract
er to read than a ruler for this from the dado
ilrlir everyday job.You can also blades.
measurethe precisewidth of a
l,[ board you've cut in order to
adjust the rip-fencescale on
your tablesaw.
FractionalScale
This scale makes it easy
to make measurementsto
the nearest 1164.Youcan
go smalleryet by reading
between the lines,to
about the thicknessof a
heavy sheet of paper.
Some fractionalcalipers
have digital readout
instead of the traditional
dial readoutshown here.

Depth of a Hole
A small bar extends from the end of
every caliper for measuring the depth
of a hole.Thisbar may not fit in very
small-diameter holes, however.The
width of different calipers' bars varies
from 1/8" to just over 114".

DEPTH Sources
BAR (800)64b-
MSC, wl,ruw.mscdirect.com,
Many folks are surprisedto learn
7270,Starrett12"CombinationSquare,
the backof a calipercan measure
#86400632$79.
the width and depth of a rabbet
or dado. In addition,whenever BridgeCityTools
you use a zero-clearancethroat www.bridgecitytools.com;CS-66"
plate on your tablesaw,you can CombinationSquare,#1101-125E,$84.
measurethe height of your blade
or dado set with the back of the HighlandHardware
caliper.Thisis much easierthan www.highlandwoodworking.com, (404)
standinga ruler on end. 8724466, Woodworking6" Dial Caliper,
#065008,$30.

f,rnerlcen Woodworker 23

WhichLeg
GoesWhere?
s Y s r E t vm
T H r sM A R K I N G t ight
lookas complicatedas ancient
hieroglyphics, but its logicis
quite simple.lt clearlyidentifies
which leg goeswhere.And ulti-
mately,it givesyou thisfair warn-
ing,"Don'tmakea mortiseon the
wrong sideof the leg!"
lndicatethe outsidefacesof
the legsby markingthem on the
top.Themarksareeasyto draw.
Justhold your pencillikea mark-
ing gauge.Youwon't touch this
surfaceagain,so there'sno dan-
ger of losingyour bearingsbY
removingthe marksin taPering
or bandsawingthe legs.Once
you'velaidout the marks,You
c anjum bleup t h e fo u r l e g sto
your heart'scontentand stillbe
ableto returnthem to their cor-
rect positionsin seconds.
Standthe legsup on your
benchand with a bold,squigglY
line,markwhereall the mortises
go.Whenit comestime to actual-
ly makethe mortises, if you'renot
staringdirectlyat one of those
squiggles,somethingtwrong!
24 trmericanWoodworker
CalculateProportionsWithoufa Calculator
U ST N GpR OpOR TtONto S desi gnfurni turesoundsgreati n the abstra ctbut
,
the realitycan be awfullycomplicated.Afterall,how do you actuallyfigure
but here'san old-fash-
out two-fifthsof 31-7/8"?You could usea calculator,
ioned draftsman'smethod that'sfar more elegantand won't give you answers
i n d e ci mal s!
Thismethodis basedon a tool calleda sector.Youcan makea roughand
readysectorin only a few minuteswith cardboard,a pushpinand a paper
c l i p .Thearmspi voton the pushpi n,l i ke
a
c o mpass.The paper cl i p hol dsthe arms
tight at any angleyou choose.
Markeacharm with equallY
spaceddivisionsof anY
lengthyou want.
^c)
I
I
c\J
,i, .{er
t
\ cnnogolno
Wheredo you put two knobson this drawerfront?One rule of thumb placesthem
one-fifthof the way in from eachend.Youmust dividethe board into five equal parts'
but it'seasywith this homemadesector'
That'sawkwardto do,evenwith a calculator,
Spreadthe armsso the fivestouch the endsof the board.
Locatethe exactdistancebY
readingoff the sector.Thedis-
tancebetweenthe onesis one-
fifth of the length of the board.
Youcan calculateother Pro-
portionsaswell.Thedis-
tancebetweenthe twos is
two-fifthsthe length of
the board.lfyou start
out with the threes,
the distance
betweenthe onesis
one-thirdthe lengthof
the board.Startout with sevens,
and you'llhaveone- t =-+
seventh,and so on. c.l
Y O UC A N I N C R E A SP o .e r e 'as n e x a m p l e :
ER O P O R T I O NwSi t h a s e c t o r , t o H
You'redesigninga door,on paper,in the proportion of five to eight.Openthe
sectorso the fivescorrespondto the door'swidth.The distance betweenthe
eightsgivesyou the door'sheight.
 LookMa,No Compass!
T H R E ES M A L LN A t L S a, t h i np i e c e
of
plwoodandthisold boatbuilder's trickareall
you needto drawa perfectarcof anydiameter.
W hyusethi sw ei rdgeometry? Other
methodshavetheir drawbacks. A curve
draw narounda bent sti ckfl attensout at t he
ends.A curvedraw nw i th a trammelor g iant
compassrequiresyou to know the exact
radi usof the ci rcl eand i tscenterpoi nt,and
both may be difficultto figureout.
Thismethodis easy.You canwork directly
on a boardor makea templ ate. Fi rst,fi gur e
out w herethe arcbegi nsand ends.N ai lt wo
bradsat thosespots.Then deci dehow high
the arcw i l l be.N ai lanotherbradi n the cen-
ter and top of the arc.N ow makethe j i g,a s
shownbelow.
D rawone hal fof the arcat a ti me.S ta r t
by removingone of the end brads.Buttthe
j i g agai nstthe tw o remai ni ngbrads,as
show n.S l i dethe j i g backand forth al ongt he
brads.A penci lpl acedi n the notchw i l l m ar k
a perfectarc.Replace the bradyou removed
and repeatthe operationto makethe other
hal fof the arc.
WORKPIECE
NAIL AT How to Make the Jig
NAIL AT END MIDPOINT
OF CURVE NAIL AT 1.Makethreemarkson yourboard,two at
BEGINNING the endsof the arcand one at the hi ghe st
p o i n ti n t h e m i d d l e .
S M A L LN O T C H 2.Transfer thesemeasurements to a thin
pieceof plywoodthat'sa littlelongerand
w i derthanthe arc.Taper one end of the ply-
wood to matchthe trianglemadeby the
marks.Then cut a smal lnotchfor the pen cil.

Cabi netmaker'sTriang le
T H EC A B I N E T M A K E RT , SR I A N G L Ei s a
straightforward method of marking boards to be
j o i n e d t o g e t h e r . l m a g i n ea n o l d - t i m es h o p . T h e
m a s t e rc a r e f u l l ya r r a n g e st h e b o a r d st o m a k e t h e
m o s t p l e a s i n gp a t t e r n ,t h e n s c r a w l st h i s t r i a n g l e
a c r o s st h e b o a r d s a n d h a n d s t h e m o f f t o a n
a p p r e n t i c et o g l u e u p . T h e s ed a y s ,t h i s m a r k i s
j u s t a h a n d y r e m i n d e ro f w h a t o u r i n t e n t i o n s
w e r e w h e n w e l a i d o u t t h e b o a r d s l a s tw e e k e n d l

ArnericanWoodworker 25
10 ClamplngTlps

U G L YB L A C KS T A I N S
C A NL E A V E
P I P EC L A M P S
duringglue-upswhereverthey contactwet wood.
Thosestainsare hardto sandout! Here'san inexpensive
solutionthat'llhelpkeepallyourglue-upspristine.
Fora coupledollarsat the home center,buy a show-
er curtainrod cover,which is a 5' long flexibleplastic
tube that'sslottedalongits length.Coincidentally, it's
the perfectdiameter to slipover 1" pipe clamps. Cut the
tube into 3" long sectionsand outfit all of your clamps.
Beforeyou tightenthe clamps,simplyslidethe tube
sectionsinto positionoversqueezed-out glue or any

i'*-'

is,iriyi
lti,* ;$
 Inside/Outside
FrameClamping
KEEPING s M A L LP I c T U R EF R A M E S
s Q u A R ew h i l e
clampingcan be a realhassle.You can solvethis problem
by makinga pairof squaringblocksthat clampon inside
the frame beforethe band clamp is added,Useoutside
cornerblocksas well,which will keepthe band clamp
awayfrom the springclampsand focusthe clamping
pressureat the corners,where it's most needed. CORNER
BLOCK

No-Slip
TaperClamps
E V E R YW O O D W O R K E R
eventually comes across an
angledor taperedclamping
task.Wedge-shaped clamping
blocksplacethe clampsat a
right angleto the joint, which is
what you want.But the wedged
partsarestilllikelyto slipand
slidewhen pressureis applied.The
realsecretto keepingthings from
moving aroundis to add a stop cleatto
eachclampingblock.Now the partswill
stay put.

Short of Hands?UseFeet
To HoLD a workpieceon its edgefor
mountinghinges,gluingon edge
bandingand similartasks,simply
clamp handscrewsto the bottom.

WedgeClampCurvedTops
s Q u E E z ET o G E T H E R
c u R v E DT o p s a n do t h e rr o u n d e d
shapeswith blocksand wedges.Justscrewthe blocksto a
sheetof plywood or MDFand drive in the wedge-shape
shimsto applyuniformpressure.

f,mericaaWoodrrorker 27
 BenchtopBoardClamP
tF YouR woRKBENctt doesn'thavea facevise,usethis
"bird'smouth"jig to securelyclamp 1/4"to 3" thick boardson
edge.Youcan mount the jig permanently,but if you preferan
unclutteredspace,it'sa snapto clampon and remove.
To hold a boardfor planingor edge banding,simply
engageone end on the slidingwedge.Slidethe boardand
wedge forward until they lock betweenthe fixed wedge and
the fence(insetphoto).Supportthe backend of the board
with a blockthe samethicknessasthe base.
Youcan cut both wedgesfrom a singleboard on the
tablesaryusinga taperingjig and the bladetilted 45 degrees.
Mount the fenceon the baseand glue a stop on the sliding
wedge.Positionthe two wedges
by usinga3/4" thick spacer
betweenthe slidingwedge and
SupportUnwieldyClamPs the fence.Thenfastenthe fixed
w l T H o U T H E LP i,tt toughto hol da l ong, wedge to the base.
heavypipe clamp levelwhile you draw it tight.
By supportingone end,a springclampelimi-
natesthe needfor help from extra hands.

28 f,rnerlcanWoodworker
PullingClamp
P U L LT O G E T H E R
odd-shapedparts
with handscrews.
Screwhangerbolts-
which are half screw
half bolt-into the
endsof handscrew
clamps.Then drill
holesin the backside
of the pieceto accept
the hanger-bolttips.

S P R I N GC L A M P Sa l w a y s
seemto be out of reachor
scatteredaroundthe shop.To
keepyour clampscloseat
hand,suspenda worn out
dog's leashover your work-
bench.The leashalso makes
clampseasyto transport
aroundthe shop-and unlike
a dog, they'll never stray.

&nartcalWoo&rorler 29
 The5O-secondSqueeze
W H E NY O U , R E DEALING W i t hS M A I I
or hard-to-clamp parts, the bestclamp-
i ng tool s mi ght be your hands. Sim ply
appl y gl ueto the P arts and then r ub
them together to distribute and tack-
setthe glue.Holdthe partstogetheron
a flat surfacefor 30 to 60 seconds
(althoughit may seemlike5 minutes).
Watchthe joint asyou releasepressure;
if anythingmoves,squeezeand hold
for a few moreseconds. Letthe assem-
bly sit undisturbed for a halfhour
before you handle it again.

the
the

an even

s a snap.

{ '",;
ji
i*

ti

i .; ,;;.*'
r.&
n i1
,
' 1rt
' + Li
'!l 'L
-
Heavy-Du$ GlueScraper
tT'sBESTTo REMovE GtuEbeforeit hardens,but some-
times that's not possible.Thisrobust scraperallowsyou
to bull right through hardenedglue.Thebladeis 1/g"
thick temperedsteel,as tough as a chisel.There,sno
chatter,becausethe tool's long body is made from
heavyiron pipe.Extraweight and leveragereallycount!
Orderthe bladethrougha catalogfor about S12and
buy the rest of the partsfrom the hardwarestorefor
about StO.thepipe is a pre-threadednipple.Theblade
comeswith a pre-drilled1/4" hole;you'llhaveto drill
holesthrougha dowel and the end cap for the thread-
ed rod.Therubberwashersdampenvibration.To
removeold,dried glue from the blade,scrapeit with a
chiselor soakit in hot water.

Sou rce Woodworker'sSupply,www.woodworKer.com,

(800)645-9292,ScraperReptacement
Blade,#b11-004,
$13.

1l2" x12" LONG PIPE

5/8" DOWEL, 1-1l4'RUBBER

1" LONG WASHER

*,.W
t
1t4,.-/
THREADED
ROD

1.1/4'FENDER
WASHER

Two-PartForms
Apply EvenPressure SawKerf StopsGlueSqueeze-Out
U S EA T W O . P A R T
F O R Mw h e n - w H E N GLU tN GTR tMor othersurface-appl i ed
pi ecesof
everpossibleto clampbent lami- wood,cut a shallowsaw kerf nearthe edge of the
nationstogether.Two-part piecebeingglueddown.Theglue will get
formsare the bestchoicefor trapped in the grooveinsteadof
gentlecurvesunder 180 squeezingout onto the
degrees.The two partsapply even
clampingpressure alongthe lami-
nation'sentire length.
Usingglued-upsheetstockis a
quic( easyway to makea form
blank.Waxedpaperprotectsthe
form from glue squeeze-out.

.f,mericanWoodworker 31
 Knock-Off
GlueBlocks
L o N G M l r E R sa r ea n i g h t -
mareto glue,but addingtem-
poraryclampingblocksmakes
it a snap.Thekeyis to use
paperfrom a grocerybag
betweenthe blocksand the
workpiece.Dab somewood
glue on both sidesof the
paper,stickthe blockswherev-
er you needthem and let the
glue set overnight.When You're
done clamping,removeeach
blockwith a hammerblow.The
papercreatesa weak glue
bond,so the blocksbreakaway
without damagingthe wood.
Usehot water to softenanY
paperor glue left on the wood,
then scrapeit awaYand sand
a s usual .

EndGluingTimeTrials
Y E LLoWW OODGLU E StY PicallY have
about five minutesof open time (that's
how long you haveto assemblethe
joint afteryou'veappliedglue).Five
minutesis sufficientfor simpleglue-
ups,but this shortwindow putsa real
EliminateCloggedCaPs squeezeon when you facean assembly
! S Y O U RG L U EB O T T L Eh a l fe m p t yo r h a l f with numerousjoints.
full?Eitherway,you'resureto becomean opti- One way to beat the clockis to
mist aftertrying this glue bottle storageblock. spreadgluewith a trim roller.lt'samaz-
By storingthe bottle upsidedown,you elimi- inglyfastand the rollerleavesa nice
natethe half-driedglue that'sforeverplugging even layerof glue.Trimrollers,pack-
up the nozzle.Plus, there'sno more waiting for agedin a smallplastictray,costabout
the glueto run down the sidesand into the tip. 54 in a home center'sPaintdePart-
ment.Therollersare reusable; just rinse
Here'swhat to do:Takea blockof wood
them out. Short-nap rollersproduce
about 3" x 3" and drill a 1-1/4"dia.holefor the
cap of the bottle,followed by a 5/8" dia.hole the bestresults.
Anotherclock-beating methodis to
for the neck.Makethis holejust deep enough
buy wood glue with a longer open
to hold the cap onto the upsidedown glue
time (from a couple extra minutes to
bottle.Storethe
halfan hour,depending on the formu-
glue bottle in the
blockand your glue lation).Theonly drawbackis longer
is readyto run right clamptime,becausetheseslow-setting
when you need it. formulationstake longerto drY.
And becausethere's
Source RocklerWoodworking,
no air in the cap, www.rockler.com,(800)279-4441,Titebond
there'sneverany ExtendWood Glue(7-to 8-minuteopen time),
crustybuildupto #24623,$7 a pint. r GarrettWade.
www. garrettwade.com, lSOOl221-2942, SIo-Set
cleanout.
Glue(3O-minute open time),#62J04.01,$7 a pint.

32 .f,rnortcrsWoodrrorkcr
 PartsStandsfor EasyAssembly
B t s c u t T J o t N E R yt s G R E A Tb, u t w i t h o u ta n o c t o p u sf o r a
shopassistant, how do you hold all the parts?Thesesimprelit-
tle standscan help.Madeof 3/4" melamineand some3/g"
dowels,they hold your partsand allowyou to easilyadd the
clamps.The dowelspacingallowsfor either3/4,'or 5/g''mate-
rial.As a bonus,the glue won't stickto the melamine.

brf
-
s/8"DowELs
t
?
,,b
hv 518"

3/4'MELAMINE

GlueComplexAssemblies
in Stages
TH E R E ' sN o R U LEthat saysyou haveto gl uetog et hera
tabletopor a cabinetall in one shot.Whenyou work alone,
it'seasier-and a lot smarter-to glue in stages, tackling
only as manyjointsasyou cansafelymanage.(Here,for
example,the cabinet'sleft sidejointsare beinggluedfirst.)
Thenyou won't riskhavingthe glue dry beforeyou can
assembleand clampthe joints.Toensureeverythingstays
squareand properl yal i gnedw henyou usethi sme t hod,
alwaysclampthe entireassemblytogether,eventhough
you'reonly gluinga portionof it.

One-PartFormsHandleSharpCurves
usEA ONE-PART FORMfor bent laminationsin excessof l g0
degreesor for complexshapes. A one-partform is easierto
makethan a two-partform,but it doesrequirenumerous
clam psand t hat c a nma k eg l u e -u pmo rec h a l l e n g i ng.
Because pressure is appliedonlywherethe clampsare
located,usinga one-partform can resultin somecrushed
wood fibers,an unevensurfaceand gapsin the glue lines.
Mostof theseproblemscan be avoidedby simplynot over_
tighteningthe clamps.Useclampblocksand plentyof
clampsto helpspreadthe clamppressure evenly.
34 .f,rnerican Woodworker
 ,1{
-rffq
:'ii]
. !::: a

-d PATTERN
BIT .tf

-.{
t

r+].

-a\ TEMPLATE
'@!,-.... JIG
.' \\

ShapeThick Partsin Two Steps

S T E P 1 : U s ea t e m p l a t ej i g a n d t o p - b e a r i n gp a t t e r nb i t t o
rout the bottom halfof the thick part.
S T E P2 : R e m o v et h e p a r t f r o m t h e j i g a n d c l a m p i t t o t h e
t a b l e . T h e nu s e a r o u t e r e q u i p p e d w i t h a b o t t o m - b e a r i n g
f l u s h - t r i mb i t t o r o u t t h e p a r t ' st o p h a l f . T h eb e a r i n g r i d e s
o n t h e s u r f a c ea l r e a d yc r e a t e di n S t e p 1 .

FingerGrip
THls DEcoRATTvE D R A W E Rp u L t i s m a d ew i t h a s p e c i a l t y
b i t . T h es h a p ei s r o u t e d i n t o a n a p p l i e ds o l i d - w o o de d g i n g .
U s ee d g i n g a t l e a s ti - 1 1 2 "w i d e . T h i sw i l l r e s u l ti n a n e a r l y1 "
s p a c ef o r y o u r f i n g e r s Y
. oucan makethe edging wider if you
l i k e .R u n a c o u p l e o f t e s t c u t s t o f i g u r e o u t h o w m u c h s p a c ei s
c o m f o r t a b l e s, o y o u d o n ' t e n d u p s c r a p i n gy o u r k n u c k l e se v e r y
time you open the drawer.
T h e b i t i s d e s i g n e ds p e c i f i c a l l yf o r c r e a t i n gp u l l s .l t h a s a
3 / 4 " d i a . c u t t e ra n d a l / 2 " s h a n k . y o uc a n u s e t h e b i t i n a r o u t e r
t a b l e o r a h a n d h e l dr o u t e re q u i p p e dw i t h a n e d g e g u i d e . T h e
b i t l e a v e sa s m o o t h , r o u n d e d - o v e rf r o n t e d g e ,w h i c h i s e a s yf o r
y o u r f i n g e r st o g r i p . T h i sb i t r e m o v e sa l o t o f w o o d , s o c o m _
p l e t e t h e c u t i n s e v e r a l i g h t p a s s e se, s p e c i a l ray s y o u g e t c l o s -
e r t o y o u r f i n a l d i m e n s i o nA
. n o t h e ro p t i o n i s t o f i r s t r e m o v e
t h e m a j o r i t yo f w a s t ew i t h a d a d o b l a d e o n y o u r t a b l e s a w .
Source T o o s T o d a yw w \ r t o o l s t o d a yc o l - r , ( g O O 6
) 99_3939
Drar.ver.P,D
r oor[ip Bit, #53906, Sg4

AmericanWoodwoxker 35
EdgeBandingLeveler
LEVELING E D G EB A N D I N G i s e a s yw i t hy o u rr o u t e ra, 1 / 2 " Thefencedeterminesthe cut'swidth:Thedistance
s t r aightbit and a s i mp l ej i g .T h ej i g h a sa g ro o v eto house betweenthe fenceand the bit'sfar edge must be the same
bandin g a
, fe n c e to e n s u reth e b i t c a n ' tacci dental - asthe edgebandi ng'thi s ckness.The fenceregi ste ragainst
s
t he edge
pl y w o o dto p a n d a h a n d l efo r tw o-handed the groove,so you haveto plane it to the proper thickness'
ly c ut int o t he
c ont r ol.Rem ove th e ro u te r' b
s a s e p l a tea n d mo u ntthe B ychangi ngfences, you cantri m edgebandi ngof anyt hick-
j i g .T h e ns e tth e b i t to c u t j ust above ness.To edge-band gl uea nd level
a panelon al lfour si des,
rout erdir ec t ly t o th e
plywood. the si debandi ngsfi rstand then band the ends.
the

ROTATION

MELAMINE

nceSuPPort Fence
Tero-Cleara
t ysupport-
A Z E R O - C L E A R A NFc E r u c e l i m a t etse a r o u b
SpecialtyBit ing the faceof the boardas it'sfed into the routerbit.
for FlushTrimming To makea zero-clearance fence,setthe routerbit at the
D O W N - C U T T I NSGP I R A LB t r S p u s hd o w no n t h e w o o d ' s hei ghtand depthyou w ant.l fyourfencehasremovable
surface.The resultis a clean,tearout-free shearingcut.Down- subfences, turn the routeron and slowlyslidethe infeed
c ut t ings pir albi tsw o rke s p e c i a l lwy e l lfo r tri mmi ngor cut- sideof the fenceinto the bit. lf your fencehasa fixedface,
t ing t hr oughde l i c a tev e n e e rsme
, l a m i n e ,l a m inates and cl amptemporarysubfences on both si des.W i tthhe r out er
highlyf igur edw o o d s . runni ng,l oosen the cl ampson the i nfeedfenceenought o
sl ow l ysl i dethe subfences i ntothe spi nni ngbi t.
36 AmericanV/oodworker
 Makea ScoringCut on DovetailJigs
F Ac EGR A TNcA N S pLtN TE R w henyou run a bi t i n and out of a boardi n a
dovetailjig.Insteadof havingwood fillerat the ready,startby makinga light scor-
ing passalongthe entireedgeof the board,cuttingabout l/8" deep.Gentlymove
the routerin and out of the templatefingers,then go backand finish.

ROUTER
SLED

MakeSomePlungeCuts
R O U T T NAGG A T N STTH EG R A T N
may
be unavoidable. On someedges,the
grain reversesdirection,so you can't \
STOP
win.lf you'regettingtear-outalongan
edge-or even if it lookslike you
might-make a seriesof plungecuts
everyinchor two.Thiswill causesplin-
ters to breakoff at the cutout before
they can ruin your profile.
FlattenEndGrainwith a Router
The bestway to makeplungecutsis H E R E ' sA stMpLEJtc that w i l l fl attenthe top of a l og secti onqui ckl yand
to hold one end of the boardtightly safely.Belt-sandinga projectlikethis would be tediousat bestand usinga
againstthe outfeedfenceand the thicknessplanerwould be unsafe.Justattachyour routerto a sledas shown
otherend awayfrom the spinningbit. and screwsiderailsto the bottom of the routingjig. clamp the jig to your
Pushthe boardagainstthe fence,then bench,and be sureto screwin stopsto keepthe rog sectionfrom shifting
pull it out. Movethe boardforwardan while you rout.Add shimsto keep it from rocking.
inchor two and repeat.

f,mericanWoodreorher 37
 Adjustable
DadoingJig
T H ts l l c (Fi g.A ,bel ow )takesthe guessw ork
out of routingdadoes,becausesettingthe exact
width is virtuallyfoolproof.Beingableto tailorthe
dadoes'widthto preciselymatchthe thicknessof shelvesis
a realblessingwhen you'rebuildingcabinetswith hard-
wood plywood,which is almostalwaysundersizein thickness.
Thisjig accommodates wood up to 24" wide.ltsdouble
T-squaredesignguarantees dadoesthat aresquareto the edgeson both left and
right cabinetsides.Positioning the jig couldn'tbe easier-just line up the fixedfence
with the top of eachdado.This jig must be usedwith a patternbit (seephoto,below
left,and Sources, page39).Thiscombinationis perfectfor usewith nominal3/4"
thick plywood.lt allowsroutingdadoesfrom 5/8"to 1-1l8"wide and up to 1/2"deep.
M A K ET H EJ I G
1.Glueand screwthe fixedfence(A)to the rails(B).Makesurethe jointsare per-
fectlysquare.
2.Routthe slotsin the adjustablefence(C)on a routertable,usingthe router
table'sfenceand a 5/16"straightbit.
3.Usethe adjustablefence'sslotsto locatethe rails'carriage bolt holes.Laythe
fenceon the jig, snugagainst
the fixedfenceand flushwith Currrruc Llsr
the rails.Usinga pencil,transfer Part Name Number Dimensions
the slot locationsto the rails. A Fixedfence 1 314'x5" x29-718"*
4. Drilland counterborethe B Rail 2 11116"x 2-112"x 18"
C Adjustablefence 1 314"x 6" x 29-718'*
holes.
*Lengthallowscuttingboth fencesfrom one 60-in.
l carri age
5 .In s t althe bol ts.
lengthof Balticbirchplywood

FreuneA
Ao..rusrRele s-STAR -y'
Daoorttc Jlc

=q
{KN.B --.---'

1"-DtA.
WASHER

J.

A patternbit is a
flush-trimbit with
t h e b e a r i n gm o u n t -
ed on the shaft.
---'
#6 x 1" F.H. -.

.L
scREw(TYP.)\ A
I.,../

114-20x 1-112"
CARRIAGEBOLT
s-________=_
g-5/g"
--.---l
..- ----=.........-*'

38 f,mericalWoodrrorker
 Usruc rHr ]rc

eositionthe fixed fence

I
I o n a l i n ei n d i c a r i ntgh e TOP OF
top of eachdado.Always
orientthe jig with the fixed
fenceat the top of the
workpiece. Makesurethe
jig s railisfirmlyseated
a g a i n stth e e d g e . T h e n
clampboth piecesto your
bench.Bothrailsaresquare
to the fixedfence,so it does-
n't matterwhichrailregis-
tersthejig.Out of habit,
though,alwaysregisterthe
jig againstthe frontedgeof
the workpiece.

f) Set the adjustable

4l fence usinqoffcuts
from your shelvJsasspac-
e r s . T h im
s e t h o dg u a r a n -
teesthat the dadoeswill
be exactlythe right width.
.,/
.r"

ADJUSTABLE
FENCE ,"" r'"
,"
,s' ./'
i/ //
."t ,"

,11 Rout the dado in rwo

V p a s s e sD.u r i n gt h e c u t ,
the patternbit'sshaft-
mountedbearingrides
againstthe jig'sfences. So
the dado it cutsis exactly
t h e s a m ew i d t ha st h e
o p e n i n gB. e a ra g a i n stth e
fixedfenceduringone pass
a n d a g a i n stth e a d j u s t a b l e
fenceduringthe other.

Sources Router
BrtWorld,
w w w .r o u t e r b r t w o r l d . c o n r ,
(800)688-2260,518"dta.x 112
F l u s h - T r jPml u n g e - R o u t i n g
( P a t t e r nB)r t ,# 4 5 4 6 9$, 1 2 .
Rocklelwww.rockier.corn,
(8001279-4441
S-StarKnob,#23804,52 ea

.Ernerican Woodworker 39
F...*s!i .."
t6{** .. -1

Didyou missan issue?Misplacea favorite?Or lookingfor something

special?GetyourbackissuestodaywhilesuPPlies last!

^' #095 L #096 L #o97 ' #O9B A'#101

September2O02 October 2OO2 November2OO2 Dec/fanuary2003 fuly 2003

L #102 .#103 ^'#106 L #107 L #109

2003
September October 2003 March 2OO4 May 2004 September2OO4

^' #113 L #114

^'#110 .#111 L #112
Dec/fanuary2005 March 2005 May 2005
October 2OO4 November2004
 /
T1
//i
f i
| /
*{j

,f
t/
f--**.*--- t/

$mq,t
I
I

'JYelzrs!l,Ji3
\ \l r

Oiier !-sai"/
GooD > chooseonefromthe25 issuesshownandpayonly$6.99(plus$3.00s/H)
>i<BEST>Buy2 or moreissuesandshipping
andhandling
is FREE!
LIMITEDQUANTITYORDERTODAYI

^r#115 aFllt) L#117 L t119 L #122

f u l y2 0 0 5 September
2005 October2005 Dec/fanuary2006 fuly 2006

^^;l2i ^. !.12-i L r125 L #126

September2006 ^ #132
October 2OOG November2006 Dec/fanuary 2007 November2007

Someof ourpastissues arestillavailable for

$ 6 . 9 9e a c h+ h a n d l i n g .
F i n dm o r ei n f o r m a t i oonn l i n ea t
americanwoodworker. com/backissue
C a l l 7 1 5 - 2 4 6 - 4 5 2B1a mt o 5 p m ( C S T ) ,
Monday-Friday for availability and ordering.
V i s a , M a s t e r C a r d .D i s c o v e r a n d A m e r i c a n E x p r e s s a c c e p t e d .

Or writeto.
AmericanWoodworker Backlssues
PO Box 83695
Stillwater,MN 55083-0695
9 GreatTablesawT
Two-SideTaperingJig
MA K T NGt DE NT |GA Lp AR T sth a t a reta p e re do n both
sidescan be challenging.To makethe job easier, build
thisjig that'll work for both angles.The two screws
makesettingthe anglesquickand precise. On the first
cut,the edge of the board restsagainstthe first screw
headand the end ofthe boardrestson the second
screw.Forthe secondcut, just flip over the board and
move it to the secondscrew(asshown in the photo).
Restthe end of the board againstthe wood stop block.
The toggle clamp holdsthe boardin placefor both
cuts.Oncethe screwsare set,you can cut perfect
anglesall day long.
Raised-Panel
TablesawJig
RATHERTHAN BUy a setof raised-panel routerbits,usethis
tall fenceon your tablesaw.lt'ssimplya plywoodbox that slides
on the rip fence.Useclampsto hold a 3/4" thick panelto the
fence.Thestop at the backof the jig alsokeepsthe panerfrom
shifting.Tosawthe bevel,set the saw bladeat 15 degreesand
raiseit 1-1/2"abovethe table.Thenusea scrapboardto test
the settingand adjustthe rip fence,so the panel'sbeverededge
endsup slightlylessthan 1/4"thick.Thispermitsthe edgeto fit
snuglyinto the slotin the railsand stiles.you
can
afso adjustthe bladeheightto createa'l/g,'
wide shoulderon the inneredgeof the
bevel,as shownin the photo.

Avoid KickbackWhen Resawing

A CovENTIoNALSPLITTERwon't work for resawingon a tablesaw.Instead, glue a hardwoodsplitter
into a zero-clearance throat plate.Justextendthe opening in the top of the plate with a shallow1/g,'
wide dado and glue in a wedge of hardwood.Thewooden wedge keepsthe kerf open so it can,t
pinchthe bladeand causea kickback.
It'sessentialthat the splitterbe alignedpreciselywith the saw blade.
Here'show to do it: Laya zero-clearance throat plate upsidedown on your
sawwith the bladeextendingup through the slot.(Besureto haveanother
throat plate in the saw.)Setthe fenceagainstthe
edge of the throat plate,lowerthe bladeand makea
3/"16'deep cut.Gluethe hardwoodsplitterinto the
slot.Sandthe wedge so it'sa touch thinner than the
bladekerfand sharpenthe leadingedgejust a bit.
Now you won't haveto sweatthe dreadedpinch
when you resaw.

Somesawingoperationsrequireremovingthe blade
guard. Useextra caution during these operations.
 SaferRipping
W O O DO F T E NC O N T A I N S
b u i l t-i nt ensi ondue to drY -
ing stresses. Rippingthe
boardreleases the tension,
causingthe wood to either
p u l l a p artor pi nchtogeth-
er.A splitterkeepsthe
wood from pinchingthe
blade,but it is ineffective
w h e n the w ood pul l saP art.
In Europe, tablesawfences
e n d j u s t pastthe bl ade.
That way the wood is free
to s p l ayapart.InN orth
America,we'reusedto a LaminateFlooringfor
fenceextendingfull-length, nce Inserts
Zero-Cleara
but there'sreallyno need
for this additionalfence RATHER T H A N M E S Sw i t h g l u i n gu p p l a s t i c
lengthfor rip-cutting. laminate,usea pieceof laminateflooringto
Y o ucaneasi l ymake makezero-clearance inserts.Laminatefloor-
your own Euro-style fence. ing is greatbecauseit'sstiffand hasa nice
U s ed o ubl e-si ded tape to slicksurface.lt's between1/4" and3/8"
a d d a subfencethat ends thick,which isjust right for inserts.lt also
just pastthe far end of the sawsand routsnicelY.
b l a d e Make
. the subfence Justbuy a coupleof samplepiecesof
e x a c tly1" thi ckand i t' l l laminateflooringfrom a home centeror
makedirect-readmeasure- flooringstore.Each8" by 48" plankmakes
me n tseasi er. four inserts.

ng TablesawSuPPort
Self-Stori
A N O U T R I G G ESRU P P O RiTsj u s tt h e t i c k e tf o r c u t t i n gf u l ls h e e t o
sf
ply woodin y our s m a l ls h o P.
lf you own a T-square-style fence,or evenone with a roundtube,you
can buildthis crosscutsupportin a few minutes.Mill a 2x4to fit inside
the supporttube for your fence.(Useclosetrod stockif your fencesup-
port is round.)Half-lapjointsare strongand easyto build.Whenyou're
donec ut t ing,t he s u p p o rts l i d e si n a n d
storesup flush againstthe saw. ,l'.
'.peb,
, :*--_
- - ' ' --*Gk::-*
:;.--
r . . . :
- \

l,

44 AmericanWoodworker
 Fine-TuneMiter Cuts
N O TOOLC A NTW E A Ka mi ter' sfi t aseasi lyasa disc
sandercan.Youcanshortenthe workpiecea hairwith
a qui cktouchof the di sc.Y ou
by a fractionof a degree.
Insteadof fussingwith the
canal soadj us t he angle
l
mitergauge,maketiny
adjustmentsby sticking
a papershimbetween
the gaugeand the
workpiece.

Rip Fencefor PlasticLaminate

B U t L DT H t s s t M p L EJ t G t o k e e pp l a s t i cl a m i n a t fer o m l i f t i n gd u r i n gt h e
cut or from slippingunderthe saw'srip fence(a commonproblem,because
mostfencesrestslightlyabovethe saw'stable).
Thejig is a simplebox that fits snuglyoverthe saw'sfenceand is
clampedor screwedin place.A subfenceand a pieceof plasticlaminate
gluedto the bottom of the box arm corralthe pieceof laminatethat's
beingcut.Tosetthe fence
when us ingth e j i g ,
s im plyadd th e
3/4"thicknessof
the box arm to
the overall
widt h.

.E.rnericanWoodworker 45
 ng
TipsforBandsawi
CutCompoundShaPes
wooDcARVERS U S ET H I ST E C H N I Q UtEo r o u g ho u t curvesyou'recutting.Youcan cut the legsin thesephotos
carvingblanks,and furniture builders use it to cut cabriole with a 1/4",4-tpiblade.
legs.Bladeselectionwill depend on the tightness of the

Traceyour pattern on two adjacent

faces(seephoto,left).Cut all the lineson
one face,keepingthe offcut pieces.Then
usemaskingtapeto reassemble the
block.Tapethe offcutsbacktogetherand
cut the adjacentface(seephoto,below).

RoughCuttingGuide
A TEMPLATE.FOLLOWING
GUI DEon a band s a wma k e si t
easyto rough-cutworkPieces
priorto routing.Thebandsaw
bladesitsin a notchabout 1/8"
backfrom the round end of the
guide.Theguidefollowsthe
edgeof the templatewhilethe lT.{;;1i;;;,r+:;
workpieceis cut oversizebY
1/8",which isjust rightfor most
projects.Rough-cuttingYour
WORKPIECE
workpieceremovesthe excess
materialso your routerdoesn't t,d

haveto work as hard. r+.,

: E'i:* I
l
f "'i,+-

46 .f,mericanWoodworker
 [.
>il>Y423#3cH^E

SawPerfectCircles
W H E T H EYRO UN E E Dc i r c l e s t h a t a r e 4 "
#: D

,\-
or 4' in diameter; a jig likethis makesit a *ffi
snap.Fitthe jig to your saw modifying 30 DEGREES
the three bottom cleatsas necessary.
M ak ey our b l a n k sa b o u t 1 " b i g g e rth a n
the circleyou want to cut.Witha 1/4",4-
xl
-_---,----'"-t-

tpi bladeon the saw,makea notch in the

blank(seephoto,bottom right).The FLAT -
notch createsa pocketfor the bladeto WASHER #WFz- - n
startin and shouldbe centeredon the
r-6?rN
width of the blank.
-$rt $
Sources : McFeeleys;www.mcfeeleys.com,
(800)443-7932ThreadedInsertsfor Jigs.
RocklerWoodworking,www rockler.com,
fr"
0-.1,,lilJ!o.o
(8001279-4441,Knobsfor Jigs.
KNOB

Mount this adjustablecirclejig to your

sawtable.lt hasan adjustabledovetailed
sliderand a screwfor a pivot point.The
pivot point must be lined up with the
front of the saw blade(seeinsetphoto at
left).Withthe jig clampedto the sawtable,
measurefrom the bladeto the jig's pivot
point,set it to the desiredradiusand lock
the dovetailedsliderin place.put the
bladein the blank'sprecut 1/4" by 1/4,,
notch (seephoto below),centerthe blank
on the jig and pressthe blankdown onto
the pivot point.

Spinthe blank to
cut a perfectcircle.
.^*sffi lt'sa goodideato
cut a pieceof scrap
first to makesurethe
setup is right.Don't
feed too fast,or the
bladewill wander.lf the
bladewandersevenwith a
slowfeed rate,checkthe
positionof the pivot point.lt
probably needsfront-to-
backadjustment.

.[,rnericanWoodworker 47
DovetailJig
HE RE ' SA G RE A TW A Yto p ro d u c e th ro u g h
dovetailson the bandsaw.lt's similarto the
way you hand cut them but a little easier,
and likehand-cutdovetails, practicehelps.
Thistechniqueis well suitedto cut-
ting largenumbersof dovetailsfor
smallboxesor drawers.The mate-
rial you'redovetailing has to be
shortenough to fit in the throat of
the saw.Use layout techniques similar \
to hand-cutdovetails.lfyou don't mind
tiltingyour table left and right to make
the anglecuts,youdon't evenneedto make
the jig. But if you preferto keepyour table
square, the jig providesthe left and right tilt
you need.
Layout the depth and width of the pinsand socketsand Cut one side of the
markthe wastewood.Youonly needlineson the faceof the
material.Installa 3/16",10-tpibladeto cut the dovetails.The dovetail, then reverse the
high tooth count givesa good surfacefinishand the narrow
bladeeasilyturnsto cut the baseof the sockets.
jig to cut the other side.

wittr the jig anglingup to the right asyou facethe blade,cut Turnthe jig in the other directionto cut the left sideof the
I
I the lineson the right sideof the sockets. sockets.

48 AmericanWoodworker
 rarc out the
Q
lvl waste.Remove
the ji9.Cut into the
wastewood and fol-
low alongthe base-
line of the socket.
Whenyou get near
the end,you'll need
to lift the boardto
matchthe angleof
the cut to the angle
of the pin.Turnthe
boardand cut in the
otherdirection,nib-
blingout all the
wastedown to the
baseline.

/l witn pins and

E socketscom-
plete, trace them
onto the tail board.
Besureyour pencil
is sharpbecause
theselinesare
very important.

Carefullycut
f,
V on the linesto
producethe tails. HandyOffcutTray
Try to take away
h a l ft h e p e n c i l i n e C A TC HOFFC U TS from aroundyour bandsaw
to get a good fit. insteadof trippingon them or sweepingthem up.
Thisone is madefrom scrapsof "l/2"plywood
and 1/4" hardboard.ltis fastenedto two piecesof
1/8"x 1" steelthat is boltedto the sawthrough
the rip fencemountingholes.lnadditionto catch-
ing offcuts,this tray alsooffersconvenientstorage
when you'recuttingnumeroussmallpieces.

ArnerlcanWoodwothet 49
 t

A shop-madejig with micro-adjust

guaranteesperfectjoints.
ByTim Johnson

B O X J O I N T Sa r e
the savvy woodworker's
a l t e r n a t i v et o d o v e t a i l sS. trong,
g r e a t - l o o k i n ga n d q u i c k l ym a d e ,b o x
j o i n t sa r ea n e s p e c i a l lg y o o d c h o i c ew h e n y o u
h a v e a l a r g e n u m b e r o f i t e m s t o p r o d u c e . T om a k e
t h e m , y o u n e e d y o u r t a b l e s a wa , m i t e r g a u g e ,a d a d o s e t
a n d a s i m p l es h o p - m a d ej i g ( F i g A . , p a g e 5 1 ) . l ' l ls h o w y o u
h o w t o b u i l d t h e j i g a n d u s e i t s m i c r o - a d j u s ts y s t e mt o
d i a l i n p e r f e c t - f i t t i n gb o x j o i n t s .
B o xj o i n t s h a v e a l t e r n a t i n gp i n s a n d s o c k e t s . T of i t
t o g e t h e r ,o n e p i e c e h a s p i n s w h e r e t h e m a t i n g p i e c e h a s
s o c k e t s( F i g B. ,p a g e , 5 ' l ) . T h ce h a l l e n g ei s t o c u t p i n s a n d
s o c k e t st h a t a r e v i r t u a l l yt h e s a m e s i z e w , i t h p a p e r - t h i nt o l -
e r a n c e sf o r f i t t i n g t h e j o i n t . F o r t u n a t e l yt ,h e j i g c a n m a k e
p a p e r - t h i na d j u s t m e n t sl.t a l s o a u t o m a t i c a l l yp o s i t i o n s
b o t h p i e c e ss o t h e i r p i n s a n d s o c k e t sa r e c o r r e c t l yo f f s e t .
DesignDetails
P insand s oc k e tsc a nb e w i d e o r n a rro wto s u i tyour proj -
ec t . T os iz et h e m a p p ro p ri a te lyyo, u me re l ya d j ustthe
io1
width of
t h e d a d o s e t .F o r
e x a m p l e t, o c u t 1 / 4 " w i d e p i n s a n d s o c k e t su, s e a 1 / 4 "
w i d e d a d o s e t . T h eb l a d e ' sh e i g h t d e t e r m i n e st h e l e n g t h
o f t h e p i n s a n d s o c k e t s . T h ilse n g t h m a t c h e st h e t h i c k -
n e s so f y o u r b o x p i e c e s .F l a t - b o t t o m e dd a d o e s a r e a
m u s t f o r g o o d - l o o k i n gj o i n t s .
I t ' s b e s t t o s t a r t w i t h y o u r b o x p i e c e so v e r s i z ea n d
t r i m t h e m t o f i n a l w i d t h a f t e ry o u c u t a n d f i t t h e j o i n t s .
B o xj o i n t s u s u a l l yt u r n o u t t o b e w i d e r t h a n t h e s u m o f
t h e p i n a n d s o c k e tw i d t h s b e c a u s eo f t h e f i t - t o l e r a n c e
b e t w e e n e a c h p i n a n d s o c k e t .S t a r t i n g o v e r s i z ea l l o w s
you to compensate.
 Setthe bladeheight usinga piecefrom your project.place
I Q Clamptheadjustablefencetemporarilyto the carriageand
I the pieceon the jig'scarriageand raisethe blade. Q cut a slot through both pieces.After cutting,thickness-plane
A scrappieceheld on top tellsyou when the bladeis exactlyeven a 12"long pieceto exactlyfit
the slots,width.
Cutthis pieceinto
with the workpiece.Beforemoving on to the next step,makesure three keys.Trimone keyto
two-thirdsthe sizeof the slot'sheight.
the mitergaugebar slidessmoothlywithoutany side-to-side play.

Thejig hastwo parts.Thecarriageis To cut a perfectjoint,the key,the slot and

attachedto your mitergauge.Theadjustable
fenceis attachedto the carriage.One micro-
adjustblockis attachedto eachpart.These
blocksbutt together,separatedby two
piecesof paper.
the spacebetweenthem (A)mustall be the
samewidth.Trimthe key'sheightto fill about
two-thirdsof the slot.
Afteryou'vecut the slotsand installedthe
key,the jig is dedicatedto cutting pins and
socketsof that one size.
Whenusingthe jig,alwaysorientthe work-
piecewith its bottom edge facingthe key.

-
?
co
E
-
Y
z
r
L

2
F

-
)
a
J
J

llmericanWoodworker
 SPACER KEY
,/"o^ IAGE
.{ sLoTKEY
GLUED KEY
;-/
/) Usethree hardwoodkeysto positionthe adjustablefenceon
I Glueone key in the fenceslot.Fitthe second
the carriage.
keyin the carriageslotand sandwichthe spacerkey in between'
Securelyclampthe fenceto the carriagewhile buttingthe three
keyssnuglytogether.Drillpilot holesand screwthe fenceto the
carriage.Removethe clampsand the two temporarykeys.
Cut and fit a test joint. Butt the bot-
tom edgeof yourfirstworkPiece
againstthe key.Cuttingthe firstsocket
createsa full pin at the bottom.I think box
jointslook bestwhen the end pieceshave
f u l l p i n sa t t h e t o p a n d t h e b o t t o m ; s oI
alwaysstartwith an end piece.Herel'm
cuttingsocketsin an end piecefor a serv-
ing tray.
52 f,rnerlcan Woodworker
f blocksallowyou to fine-tunethe jig by paper-
tvticro-adjust
1f thin amounts.Attachone blockto the carriagebase.(The
spacebetweenthe carriageblockand the key must be wider
Butt the secondblockagainstthe first,
than your workpiece.)
with two piecesof paperbetweenthem.Fastenthis blockto the
adjustablefence.
SIDE
PIECE
f, Cutthe rest of
the socketsby reposi- J cutsocketsin a sidepiece'Thesetup
\J tioningthe workpiece. Hookthe sock- I is different,becausethe sideshave
et you'vejust cut overthe keyto cut the socketsinsteadof pinson the top and
nextsocket,and so on.Thekeyindexes bottom edges.Flipthe end pieceover
the workpiece, so that the socketsare a n d h o o ki t o n t h e k e y . l tn o w a c t sa sa
e v e n l ys p a c e da n dt h e p i n sa r ea l lt h e fenceto perfectlypositionthe sidepiece.
samewidth.Alwaysmakesurethe end of Orientthe sidepieceso its bottom edge
the workpieceis firmlyseatedon the car- facesthe end piece.Cut the first socket.
riagebeforeyou cut. R e m o v et h e e n d p i e c ea n d c u t t h e
r e m a i n i n gs o c k e t si n t h e s i d ep i e c e .
 Test-fitthe joint.The pinsand socketsshouldsliptogether o:"t in a perfectfit with the micro-adjustsystem.First,remove
Q Q
\J easily, without binding,but alsowithoutgaps.A dry fit that ftt the fencescrews. lf the joint is too tight,removea pieceof
requiresfirm pressure is too tight;the pieceswill be tough to paperfrom betweenthe blocks.lf the joint is too loose,add a
assemble afterglue is applied,becausethe glue causesslight piece.Buttthe blocksbacktogetherand clampthe adjustable
swelling.The fit shownhereis too looseby a paperthickness; fenceto the carriage. Drillnew pilot holesand reattachthe fence.
glue won't swellthe fibersenoughto closethesegaps. Removethe clamps,cut anothertestjoint and checkthe fit.

Checkthe socket
I n
Irr-rt depth.The ends
of yourtestjoint should
be flush.lf the socketsare
too deep,the pinswill
protrude.Protrudingpins
makethe joint difficultto
drawtightlytogetherfor
gluing.Recessed pins
indicatesocketsthat are
too shallow.Recessed
p i n sa l l o wg l u et o p u d -
dle,makingcleanupafter
gluingmoredifficult.
Adjustthe bladeheight
as necessary.

1t Beware of blow-out.
Lowering the blade to make
yourjoint flushcreatesa problem.
It leavesthe slot in yourjig's
fencetoo tall,so it won'tfully
supportthe backofthe
workpiece.When you cut
'.
the slots,the bladeis like-
,il6 ly to blow out the unsup-
$:H portedwood.Onhatfof
yourboxjoints,this side
will faceout.Thisprob-
Installa subfenceto preventblowout.lf you,veloweredthe
lem alsooccursif you 1 I
taJ blade,simplyscrewa freshboardonto the adjustable fence
want to reuseyourjig to
and cut a new slot.Beforeyou fastenthis fence,cut an oversizeslot
makeboxjointsin thin-
to fit overthe key.Now yourjig is tuned and readyto cut perfect-
ner stock.
fitting boxjoints.
AmericanWoodworker 53
Mortlslng
onthe
Drlll Press
Simpleimprovementsmakea mortising
attachmentwork great. ByTimJohnson
SEXY,
E V E NT H O U G HT H E Y ' R E
benchtopmortisingmachines aren't
the only powertool option when it
comesto cutting square-shouldered
mortises. A drill pressmortising
attachmentcan be just aseffective
and it costsa lot less.l'llshowYou
how to tune any out-of-the-boxmor-
tisingattachmentso it'seasyto install
and a joy to use.
Mortisingattachmentsareavail-
ablefor almosteverydrill Press.
Althoughthey varyin appearance,
they all havethreebasic
components:a
fence,a
54 .[,rnericanWoodworker
chiselholderand a hold-down.
Upgradingthesepartsto stabilizethe
workpieceand operatingthe drill
pressat the optimalsPeedarethe
keysto success.
I get first-classresultswith mY
tuned-upmortisingattachment.That
meansI don't haveto storea large,
heavymortiserthat I would only use
occasionally. On the drill press,I can
slowthe speedway down,too,so the
bits don't screetchand smoke.Drill
pressmortisingis slower,but it'smuch
more pleasant, a lot quieterand
much lessnerve-racking than
usinga mortiser.
AUGER BIT
SquaremortisesrequiresPecial
bits,whichcan be boughtindividually
or in sets.Bitsrangein pricefrom S10
to morethan 550apiece.lnexpensive
bits usuallywon't staysharpas long
(see"start Sharp,StaySharP," Page
57),but droppingone on the con-
cretefloor won't give you a heart
attack,either.
Two-piecemortising
chiselscut square
holes.Theauger bit fits
insidethe chiseland pro-
Y;'* Duringopera-
trudesslightly.
tion,the augerdrillsa roundhole
.i and the four-sidedchiselsquares
the corners.Cut sideby side,square
holescreatemortises(seephoto,left).
 , Slowdown.Mortisingchiselswork bestat slowspeeds, Mount the mortisingfenceon a separatebase,ratherthan
: between1,000rpm and 1,500rpm,dependingon the mor- fasteningit directlyto the drill presstable.Thenclampthe
tisesizeand the wood density.Withinthis range,usetrialand baseto the drill presstable.Thissetupmakesthe fenceeasyto
errorto find the speedthat worksbest. adjust;so positioningthe workpieceis a breeze.

DRYl.{f.6E

, Installthe chiseland bit.Thechisel
holder,which clampson to the drill
pressquill,centersthe chiseldirectly
beneaththe chuck.Lockthe chiselwith
its collartightlyagainstthe holder.Then
slidethe bit into the chuck.
Leavea gap. Positionthe augerbit
with its cuttingheadabout 'll16"
awayfrom the domed insidesurfaceof the
hollowchisel.Don'tjam thesetwo parts
together.Thegap is essential, becauseit
allowsshavingscut by the augerto be lift-
ed into the hollowchiseland ejected.lf the
gap is too smallor too large,the trapped
shavings will bindthe bit.
Lubricatethe augerbit after making
.
sureit spinsfreelyinsidethe chisel.lf
the bit squealswhen you powerup,it
isn'tcenteredprecisely. Shutoff the
power,rotatethe chisel90 (or 180or 270)
degreesand retest.lfthe squealpersists,
loosenthe chiselholderand rotateit
slightly.Thenrepositionthe chisel.

.f,mericanWoodworker 55
 POOR FIT

Checkyour hold-down.lf it doesn'tsit flat on the workpiece,
grindor file it until it does.A poorlyfitting hold-downwon't
hold the workpiecefirmlyenoughagainstthe base.While you're
mortising,any workpiecemovement can bind the bit in the mor-
tiseand wreckyour setup-or the bit.
Clampa fencein front of the workpieceto hold it firmly
h ei trh t h e h o l d - d o w n ,
a g a i n stth e f e n c ea s s e m b l y . T o g e t w
thisfencecapturesthe workpieceeffectively duringoperation,
eliminatingany movement.When you repositionthe workpiece
betweencuts,thisfencekeepsit correctlyaligned.

Stiffenthe table
with a brace.On
manydrillpresses,
mortisingexerts
enoughdownward
pressureto flex the
table.Likeworkpiece
movement, anytable
movementwill cause
t r o u b l e . ltfh e t a b l e
flexes, the chiselwill
b i n di n t h e m o r t i s e . A
two-partadjustable
braceis mucheasier
to install.

Squarethe chisel.Forthe mortiseshoulders to be parallel,

the chiselmust be perpendicular to the fence.Loosenthe
chisel,rotateit flushagainstthe squarelycut end of your work-
pieceand retighten.

56 AmericanWoodworker
 set the depth of the cut.Thetop of the chisel's
archindicates
the
bottom of the squaremortise.

Positionthe workpiecefor mortising.First,clampthe baseand fence

assemblyso the centerpoint of the augerbit is on the centerline
of
the mortise.Thenslidethe workpiecebetweenthe fencesuntilthe outer
edgeof the hollowchiselalignswith the mortiseend line.

r..r'rEstablishthe ends
of the mortisefirst.Thenclearout the middle.
,,i ,' Alwaysengageall four sidesof the chiselor two opposite
sides.
Apply steadypressureand advancethe cut slowly.Don,tpush too hard.
Matchyour feed rateto the cutting actionof the augerby watchingthe flow
of chipsexitingthe chisel.Easy-but firmly-does it.

f,rnericanWoodworker 57
HowtoHang
Doors
lnset
lnstallbutt hingesperfectlY
and establishconsistent,
slendermargins.
ByTimJohnson

NOTHING SIGNALS KILLFUL

cR A FTsMA N sH IPLIK Ean i nsetdoor
with eleganthingesand eye-pleasing
margins.This challengingjob leavesno
room for error:Unevensurfacesand
unsightlygapswilltellthe tale if the
hingeqdoor and frame don't fit precisely.
Likemasteringhand-cutdovetails,suc-
cessfullyhanging insetdoorson mortised
butt hingesis a woodworking milestone.
l'll show you a three-stepmethod for
installinginsetdoorsthat produces
great resultseverytime. First,You match
the door to the opening.Thenyou rout
mortisesfor the hinges.And finally,you
createuniform,attractivemargins
between the door and frame.
To complete the job,you'll need a
couplesimplejigs,a mortisingbit and a
laminatetrimmer.
Roundout your door-installingarse-
nal with a pair of secretweapons-a
plasticlaminatesampleswipedfrom the
home centerand a double-bearingflush-
trim router bit.Thisgreat new bit should
be a fixture in everywoodworking shop.

Friction-Fitthe Door
I makeeachdoor about 1/32"largerthan
its opening.Thenltrim it to fit squarely
and snugly.Firstljoint the doort latch
stile untilthe door slipsbetweenthe face
frame'sstileswithout binding.ThenI
checkthedoor'sfiuwhile holdingthe
door'shinge stileflush againstthe face
frame,I butt the door'stop edge against
 the frame'supperrail.lfno gap
appears,thedoor and openingare
square.Then ljoint the door'stop and
bottom untilthe door wedgesinto
the opening-l want a friction fit, so
the door staysput.
lf the door or the faceframe are
out of square,I true them by tapering
the door'shingestile.I markthe end
that needsto be taperedwhile I hold
the door in position(photot).lf the
gap alongthe top appearsabovethe
hingestile,as in the photq the sidet
taper increasesfrom top to bottom.lf
the topb gap appearsabovethe latch
stile,theside'staperrunsin the oppo-
sitedirection.Thetaper increasesfrom
zero at one end to the width of the
top'sgap at the other end.lf the top,s
gap is widerthan l/16", I taper both
the sideand the end,removingone
half of the gap from eachedge.
Routingis an easyway to taper the
stile(Photo2).Justmakesurethat the
taper runsthe full lengthand that the
taperededge is perpendicular to the
door'sface.Whenboth the hinge stile
and top edge fit properlywithout any
gapttrim the bottom edge so the
door fits snuglyin the opening.
Routthe Mortises
Maketwo jigs,one for routing the
hinge mortises(photo3) and the
other to positionthe hinge in the
mortise(Photo4).Thenrout test mor-
tisesto dial in the depth of cut (Fig.C,
page 61 and Photo5).Laminatesam-
ples make perfect gap testersfor
frame-and-panel doorswith stiles
and railsup to 2" wide;thesesamples
are usuallyslightlylessthan 1/16"
thick.Doorswith wider frame parts
should haveslightlywider 9dps,
becausethey'll exhibitgreatersea-
sonalmovement.
Rout mortisesin the door first
(Photo6).Makesurethey go in the
correctstile!ltt easiestto rout hinge
mortisesall the way through.lf you
want to rout half-blindmortisetto
shoulderthe hinge leavesalong their
length,simplymodifuyour mortising
jig by moving the fill block forward to

rrue an out-of-squaredoor by tapering the side ratherthan

f
r the end.Theside is longer,so the taper will be more gradual
and lessnoticeable.lnthis case,makingthe hinge stile narrower
at the markedend will eliminatethe gap at the top.
Q taperthe side with a straight board and a flush-trim bit.
6f Positionthe board so it's offset by the width of the gap at the
markedend and flushat the other end.Routingthis taper elimi-
natesthe guessworkassociatedwith creatingtaperswith a jointer.

m
(E
-
(E
V
z
r
L

2
F
E
F
<t)
f
-J
=
a

z
uJ
E.

position the center of the barrel 1/32',out

H After installingthe jig's guide blocks,add the fill block to provide
o
r
from the board'sface.Drill pilot holes using a self-centeringbit.
o_ continuoussupportfor the router.

f,rrrericanWoodrvorker 59

f fest the mortisedepth by routing mortisesand mounting
U hingeson scrapstock.The gap shouldequalthethickness of
laminate.lf the gap is too wide,the mortisesaren'tdeep enough.
Widena gap that'stoo narrowby jointing the door stile.
usinga mortisingbit (see
f, nout mortisesin the door stile
V Sources, below).Locatethe mortiseat leastone hinge
lengthfrom the top. Becauseof its smallsize,a laminatetrimmer
worksgreatfor this delicatejob.

7 Transferthe mortise locationsfrom the door to the face (l nout mortisesin the face-framestilesusing the mortising
I frur" usinga straightedge.The door'ssnug top-to-bottom Ll lig.Vou'llneed a laminatetrimmer for this job, becausethe
fit holdsit in position. mortisesare so closeto the corner.

meet the hinge leaf.Thismodification
eliminatesthe needfor the hinge pro-
jection guide,but it requiressquaring
the mortisecornersby hand after
routing.
No hard and fast rule existsfor
locatingthe hingeson the door.One
methodis to alignthe hingewith the
door'srails.Another methodis to
dividethe door'slengthby sixor
sevenand centerthe hingesone unit
from the ends.Useyour eyeand trust
your gut.
Carefullytransferthe mortiseloca-
tions to the faceframe (Photo7).Your
markshaveto be perfectlylocated,
becausethe hingesfit the mortisesso
precisely. Usethe door'stop-to-bottom
frictionfit to hold it in position,and
makesurethe doort hingestileis
flush with the faceframe'sstile.
Routmortisesin the faceframe
(Photo8).lf you don't havea laminate
trimmer,youroptionsareto choP
thesemortisesby handor to change
your entireprocedureand rout these
mortisesfirst,beforeyou assemblethe
faceframe.
Mountthe Hingesand
CreateEvenMargins
Mount the hingeson the faceframe.
Thentemporarilyinstallthedoor by
pressingthe mortisesonto the mount-
ed hinges'looseleaves.Markthe
door'sendsand latchstilefor trim-
ming (Photo9).
Removethe door, and rout the
endsto final lengthusinga flush-trim
bit with two bearings(seeSourcesand
Photos10and 11).Clamp the boardso
its straightedge barelycoversthe line;
the line indicatesthe laminatesam-
ple'sthicknessand the goal is to
removeexactlythat thickness.
lf you build duringthe summer's
high humiditywhenyour lumberis at
its widestseasonal dimension,a one-
laminate-sample gap betweenthe
door'slatchstileand the faceframeis
sufficient. But if you build duringthe
winter,it'swise to provideextra room
for the door'sseasonalmovement
(Photo12).
Sources AmanaTool, www.amanatool.com'
(800)445-0072MortisingBit, #45460-5,$23. o
(800)3344 107
FreudTools,www.f reudtools.com,
ToF.and Bottom-BearingFlush-TrimBit, 1 14"
shank,#50-501,$34.

60 ArnericanWoodworker
Q rvrarkthe door'sfinal size,usinga laminatesampleto estab-
trf lishuniformgaps.Slightly recessthe door,usingthe hinges
and the frictionfit to hold it in position.Markwith a mechanical
pencil,so there'sno gap betweenthe laminateand the line.
I n
Routthe door to finallength.Usea fenceand a flush-trim
I Vt bit with top- and bottom-mountedbearingsto avoidblow-
ing out the backedge.First,rout halfwayusingthe top bearing.

Flipthe door over,adjustthe bit to usethe bottom bear- Allow for seasonalmovementbetweenthe door,slatch
I I 1 D
I I i n g a n df i n i s hr o u t i n g . LE-l stileand the frame.Makethe gap wider if you builddur-
ing the winter,whenthe humidityin your heatedshopis proba-
bly significantly
lowerthan duringthe summermonths.

1 " P I NN A I L Thisguidepositions the hingesothe center

ofthe barrelprojects1/32"beyondthe
frameand door.Determinethe exactover-
FILL BLOCK - -.-.---l
112"x1-112"x 1-15/16" hangby trialanderror:lt dependson
the thickness ofyourstockandthe
width of the hingeleaf(Photo4).

Yourmortises shouldcreatea gapof 1 / 1 6 ' O R S M A L L E RG A P

7
BOTTOM RAIL 1/"16"or slightlylessbetweenthedoor
1-118"OVERHANG 1 1 / 1 6 ' x 2 - 1 1 2 "x 5 - 1 1 2
andtheframe.Usually,this meansthe
hingeleaves mustbe recessed slightly
Thisjig requires a mortisingbit with a top-mounted bearing. belowthe surface.lf they'reflush,thegap
Bothguideblocksareperpendicular to the bottomrail.The
dis- will betoo wide.lf they'retoo deep,the
tancebetweenthe guideblocksisthe lengthof the hinge.The gapwilldisappear andthedoorwillbind.
fill blocksetsthe mortises'width;its setbackensuresthrough BARREL
Calculate the hingemortisedepthby subtracting 1/16,'
mortises. from the hinge barreldiameter and dividing the remainder in half.

.ErnericanWoodworker 61
 ffitffiwf;il-S
nffL$ffiffim#
$VRffikfi
w$qh ifiU
ffiffi#wmffnfi*
ByTomCaspar
Y o U C A ND o M O R Ew i t h Y o u r h a l f -
blinddovetailjigthan meetsthe eye.
You'veprobablyusedit to makedraw-
erswith plain,insetfronts,but it'sreally
qui tesi mpl eto makel i ppedd r awer
fronts,too.Eventhoughmostdovetail
jigsarebasically the same,someof
thei rmanualdon' s tgo i ntom uch
detailabouthowto makethisvari-
ationof the basicdrawer(they
oftencallit a rabbeteddrawer,
whichisconfusing).Whatever
kindof jig you have,here'sa
foolproofprocess for making
lippeddrawersfrom begin-
n i n gt o e n d .

I
(J

@
E.
I
o
t
Y
z
t

z
o
=
E
F
a
f
J
J

z
Z

E
u
co

I
U
=
;
I
o-
t
(J
o
F
o
I
o_
 lf this isyourfirsttime out with a
dovetailjig,try makingsomestandard
half-blindjointsto familiarize yourself
with the processand to fine-tunethe
settingsof yourjig.Makea samplecor-
nerand useit to workout thesetwo
importantdesigndetails:
I D E A LD R A W E w
RIDTHSH . e r e ,as the top (Fig.B,page65).Theirideal
basicrule:Designthe casearoundthe widthsaremultiplesof one number:
drawers.Figureout the width of the the distancebetweenpin centers.
drawersidesfirst,thensizethe open- That'stypically7/8",butsomejigs are
ingsof your caseon paper.Why? I slightlydifferent.
think drawersideslook bestwhen L O C A T I OO
NFD R A W E R . B O T T O M
there'sa half-pinat the bottom and GROOVE.No matterhow manydiffer-

Cut a groove for the drawer bottom in all the

I
I drawerparts.lfyou'reusingplywoodor hard-
boardfor drawerbottoms,thegroovemust be
slightlylessthan 1/4"wide for a good fit. Fine-tune
the width of the grooveby makingtwo cutswith a
standardsaw blade.Cut a singlesaw-kerfgroovein
all the drawerpartsfirst,then movethe sawfence
overa bit and grooveall the partsa secondtime.

Q C"trabbets to form
Cl lipson the top and
endsof the drawerfront
(usuallythere'sno lip on
the bottom).Theprecise
width of the rabbets
affectsthe fit ofthe
drawerfront in its open-
The grroovefor the ing (Fig.C,page65).Fine-
drawer bottom is your tune the fencesettingso
there is 1/'16"or lesstotal
reference guide for sideplay betweenthe
insideof the drawerfront
positioning parts in the jig, and the sidesofthe case.

Ctrect<
the fit of sampledovetailsmadewith yourjig.
Q
V Usethe samespeciesof wood asyour drawerpartsfor
test pieces(wood that'stoo soft givesa falsereading).
Adjustthe routerbit height until you makethe partsfit
togetherwith hand pressurealone.
Adjustthe jig'stemplatein and out until the partsfit flush.
The positionof the templateaffectsthe depth of the sockets.
drawer sidesin the dovetailjig,insideout and front
1llre.laceboth
I Srdeup.Usethe groovein the drawerbottom asa referenceguide.
It facestowardyou and linesup with an outsidefingerof the dovetail
template.The bottom edge of everydrawerpart butts up againstthe
stopson the jig.

L,rnerlcanWoodworker 63
 ent drawersizesyou'remaking,for
workshopefficiencyit'sbestto have
thisgroovein the samelocationfor
everydrawer.Centerthe grooveon the
lowestsocketof the drawerfront.(A
socketisthe concaveholethat each
tailfitsinto,seePhoto9.)On your sample
corner,markthe edgesthat you placed
againstthe jig'sstops.Measurethe dis-
tancefrom that edgeto the centerofthe
first socket.
Onceyou'veworkedout the details,

nout dove-
f,
V tailsin the
drawersides.
Movethe router
from left to right
for best results.
Usebacker
boardsbehind
the drawersides
to preventthe
backsof the
tailsfrom chip-
ping out.

la Placethe
\f drawerfront
A rabbeted in the jig.One
end ofthe board
spacer board makes is cut on the right
sideof the jig.
setup a breeze. The other end is
cut on the left
side.Again,use
Board
Spacer
Fig.ARabbeted the grooveas a
referenceguide.
Thistime it lines
up with the out-
sideslot of the
ET IS template.
DWITH
OFJIG

f nlign ttre
DRAWER
FRONT
\\ I drawerfront
usinga shop-
madespacer
board(Fig.A,at
left).Tocut the
dovetailto the
correctdepth,
the rabbet'send
JIG
DOVETAIL
grainmustbe
exactlyin line
Sawa rabbet in the end ofthe with the front
spacerboard.Matchthe rabbet's edgeof the jig.
heightto the lengthof the lip on Cut dovetailsin
the drawerfront.Thewidth of both endsof the
the rabbetisn'tcritical,but it drawerfront.
shouldbe aboutaswide asthe
lip isthick.

64 f,mericanlfloodworker
buildthe case.Then cut all yourdrawer
partsto fit the actualbox (ratherthan
cuttingthem to the dimensionsof the
caseyou plannedon paper!).Make the
drawersidesand backthe samewidth.
Thedrawerfrontsarewiderthanthe
sidesbythe heightofthe lip,generally
about 1/4".Thefrontsarelongerthan the
Here's a basic rule:
backsby the width of two lips.Finally,
up your tablesawto cut a "l/4" deep
set Design the case
drawer-bottomgrooveand follow Pho- around the drawers.
tos 1 through10.

nout a profiteon all four sides Fig.C

FittingtheDrawer
Q
\.J of the drawerfront.Al/4"
roundoveris typical.Raisingthe
bit up a littleto createa fillet adds
an attractiveshadowline.
Youreallycan'trout this profile
beforecutting the dovetails
becauseyou needsquareedges
on the sidesof the drawerfront
for positioningin the jig.These
sidesbump up againstthin index-
ing stopson most dovetailjigs
(seePhoto7).

l+__r__+l

Dovetaitone drawer side and
Q
V backasa pai4makinga stan-
dard half-blindjoint.As in Photo4,
one pair is placedin the left-hand
sideof the jig and the other pair
in the right-handside.Youwon't
get partsmixedup if you remem-
ber that the groovesalwaysgo
nearestthe stopsof the jig.
Sandall the insidefacesof the
drawerbeforegluing.
ATaperedFit:TheDrawerltself
It'sdifficult to fine-tune the fit of a
lippeddrawerafter it'sglued
together.Youcan'trun a planeor
belt sanderdown the sidebecause
the lip gets in the way.Theansweris
to taper the sidesof the drawer,so
the backis slightlynarrowerthan
the front.That'seasilyaccomplished
by closelyfitting the front first and
then cutting the backso it'sa bit
shorterthan the distancebetween
the front's rabbets.

Fig.B
Sizing
DrawerSides
A half-tailatthe top of a drawerlooksawkward.Toavoidan unbalancedlook,
checkout the dovetailspacingof yourjig firslthen designyour case.How-
ever,both joints will be plenty strong.
I n Gtue
upthe
*V drawer with
care.Thedrawerside
and rabbetshould
end up flush.
The drawert lip pre-
vents you from easily
eveningup thejoint
with a planeor belt
sanderiso the time it
took to set up a per-
fectjoint in the
beginningpays
off now!

trmericalWoo&rcrher 55
Turnlng Legs
Table
TURNING F O U RT A B I r T E C St h a t
matchmaysoundimpossible,
not.Withthesetried and true
and a littlepractice,you cansuccess-
fullyturn eventhe largestlegs.And
t hes es am et ec h n i q u easp p l yw h e n
you'recopyinga brokenchairspindle
or producinga setof balusters.
Here'swhat l'll showyou:
r Saferwaysto mount largestock.
(Thisreducessomeof the intimida-
tion if you'renew to turningon this
scale.)
r How to work pommels(areasleft
square).
FIRST,turna prototype
leg.Then placethe pro-
totype leg directly
behindthe blankfor the
remaininglegs.By sight-
ing alongthe upper
horizonsof both pieces,
you'llsimplifythe
processof repeating
specificshapes.
66 ArnericanUoodworker
r H o wto markthe turni ngbl ankfor
but it's keydetailsand diameters.
tips, r How to accurately and quicklysize
diameters.
r Howto repeatthe sameshapefrom
one leg to another.
Beforeyou startturningtablelegs,
h e rea resomei nsi ghtson maki ng
multiplesthat l'vepickedup over
the years:
r Perfection can be veryboringand
needlessly tediouswhen making
matchingparts!| usedto obsess
about makingan exactcopy.NowI
lf you get the lay-
settlefor similarity.
out right and the diametersand
shapeclose,you'lldo fine.As dupli-
catedpiecesget furtherapart(such
aswith tablelegs),approximate
ByAlanLacer
diametersand shapesstartlooking
identicalto the eye.Plus,slightvaria-
ti onsadd w armthand a humanele-
ment that machine-made partslack.
r Learnto trust your eye.After mak-
ing the firstlegto your satisfaction,
placeit immediatelybehindthe next
blankon the lathe.Learnto lookat
the upperhorizonsof the prototype
leg and blankand not the wood itself.
Thi shel psyou to real l y" see "and
duplicatethe form (seephoto below).
r Makeat leastone prototypebefore
you committo four legs.Evenif you
havean accuratedrawingto scale,
the transitionfrom two dimensions
to threewill surpriseyou.
r Asyou makethe prototypeleg,
removeit often from the latheand
view it standingon the floor in an
uprightposition,as it will be viewed
mountedon the table.Thetransition
from horizontalviewing to verticalis
alsoastonishing and may leadyou to
changesi n desi gn.
 1 a"toutthe h-.I. PARTDOWNTO cut 1/8" to the
I pommel(the E CREATEACYLINDERQ
-[I 4l right of the lay-
areaat the top ofthe -.-
- | out linewith a parting
leg that remains - t
tool.Makesurethe
square). Onlyone line u
,TItrIF ^t{
tool'sedge is keen
is necessary at the
pommel'sshoulder
!- a / and keepthe handle
low.Takeonly light
b e c a u s teh e s p i n n i n g
cuts.Widen the cut as
wood will showthe
you go deeperto pre-
lineclearly.
vent binding.Cutto
the left untilyou
reachthe layoutline.

Roundthe
Q /l Vsea layout
\J pommelcorners
T board with cut
with a skewchisel
pinsto accurately lay
afteryou'veturned
out the placementof
the areato the right
elementsbelowthe
o f t h e p o m m e l t oa
pommel.Securely
cylinder.Makesure
placethe boardon the
the long point of the
tool restand gently
skewis down and
push it into the rotat-
leadingthe cut.The
ing cylinderbelowthe
lineto the left of the
pommel.
shoulderindicates
the top of the
roundedportion.

( fhe pins are

V simply bradsor ff usea catiper
and
finishnailsdriveninto V parting toolto size
the edgeof a3/4" criticaI diameters.The
thickboardat the crit- calipersmusthave
icalpointsand roundededgesand
clippedoffabout 1/4" makecontactonly on
from the surface.On the sideoppositethe
longerwork,it'soften cuttingtool.Theremust
easierto manipulate be no gap betweenthe
the layoutboard by wood and tool rest.Hold
makingit in two or the partingtool handle
threesections. low,tuckedunderyour
forearm.

TIP: Driving with a Dead Center

Althoughnormallyusedin the tailstock, the dead
centeris a good alternativeto a spurcenterfor dri-
ving the workat the headstock. Bycontrollingthe
pressure
on the tailstockhandwheel,you can
determinethe amountof slippagein driving
the work-a realbenefitin caseof a catchor
if you areintimidatedby a largespinning
square.Youalsocanremoveand accu-
ratelyremountthe leg severaltimes,
whichis importantfor viewingthe leg
verticallyduringthe designprocess.
SCALLOP
To usethe deadcenterfor driving,file its shoulderto a
sharpedge.Youcancut severalshallowscallops alongthis
edgeto increaseitsgrip on the wood.Thisshapingis easily
donewith a rotarytool and a smallstoneor a chainsawfile.
Priorto mountingturningstockon the lathe,drivethe center
into the headstock
sideof the blankwith
a deadblow malletto
makean indentation.

.f,rnerican Woodworker 67
 Strapedetails with LEG PROTILE
J
I the detailinggouge.
Usethe roughinggouge
t AND DIMENSIONS
for long,gradualcurves,
cylindersor straight
tapers.Afterturningthe
pommel,work from the
1.* 3-r/r'____>1 -T
i
headstock towardthe tail- I
stockuntilthe leg isfin-
ished.Controlthe shape
I
5-112"
by watchingthe upper
horizonof the piece
ratherthan the tool'stip.

use the skew chisel

Q
lJ (long-pointdown)to 7lg"
add shadowlines,crisp-
nessand emphasisto
beads,shoulders,fillets
J' t'ot"--
and otherdetails.Besure
to checkthe leg by
removingit from the lathe
and examiningit in a ver- 2-518"
ticalposition.Complete
the legwith finalsanding. t'ot"--t-

Woodto Turn
Toturn four farmtablelegsas the outsidecaliperswith a fine
shownhereyou'llneedfour Pieces mill file or rotarytool beforeusing
of 3- 1/ 2" by 3-1 /2 "b y 3 0 "s q u a re d th e m o n the spi nni ngw ood.
stockcut exactlyto the same r A 12" tool rest.Optionally, a
length.(Note:I usedtwo piecesof double-posted 24"tool restis
8/4 ash,gluedand squaredon the veryconvenientif you planto do
jointer.)Havingsquaredstockis l o n gs pi ndl ew orkon a regul ar
restrequiresan addi- 2-118"
c r it ic alwhenl e a v i n gp o mme l so n basis.This
t he f inis hedp i e c eC . u tti n ga l lth e cal l eda
ti o n a ltool restbase,al so
2-1116"
blanksthe samelengthgreatly banjo.
s im plif ieslev e l i n gth e ta b l e . r T u rn i ngtool s:a roughi nggouge
-_- -r
5/16"
(a n ys i ze);a 1/2"detai l i nggouge 1- "-tro"*
*----eg

Toolsand Supplies g ro u n dto a fi ngernaishape;

l a
3-3/8"---D
r A spuror modifieddeadcenter 1 /2 "o r l argerskew chi sel and
; a
(highlyrecommended if you area partingtool (any size).
noviceturner,seeTip page67)for r A s q u areand a penci l .
t he heads t ocski d e ,a n da l i v ec e n - r Layoutboardmaterials:3/4"x
ter for the tailstockside. 6 " x 2 8 "popl ar,1" bradsor fi ni sh
r An outsidecaliper, at least4" n a i l sa, hammerand a ni ppers.
capacity.Forthis projecthaving r Sandpaper;four sheetseachof
threepairswould speedthe gri
th e fo l l ow i ng ts:
100,120,150,
processalong.Roundthe endsof 180,and 220.

68 .trrnericanWoodworker
Slot&Spline
Paneled
Door
Handsdown, the easiestway
to makea frame-and-panel
door
ByTomCaspar
A G oo D- LooK tNG fra me -a n d -p a n e l
door is reallyquite easyto make if you
keepit simple.Just usea plywoodpanel
and a slot-and-spline joint (seephoto,
below).This door is heldtogetherby
splinesmadefrom 1/4"plywood.The
panefis 1/4"plywood,too.Thesplines
and panelfit into the samesizeslotsin
the stilesand rails.
All you needto makethe door is a
routertableand a 1/8"slottingcutter
(seephotq right).Plywoodis usually
undersized, so a 1/4"cutter would be
too big.Instead,you'llmaketwo slightly
overlappingpassesusingthe 1/8"cut-
ter.Thatway,you can adjustthe slot,s
width to perfectlyfit your plywood,
whateverits actualthickness. A 1/8" slot-
ting cutter is
the only bit
you need to
makethis door.

PLYWOOD
SPLINE
I
r
 I Markthe
I door'sparts
usingthe cabi- Toolsand Materials
netmaker'stri-
angle.ltidenti- You'llneed a tablesaw,a smallhandsawa
fiesthe top and routertable and a 1/8" slot cutterwith a
bottom rails, bearingthat makesa 3/8" deep slot (a 1/2"
and the left and deep slot is OK,too).Slotcuttersand bear-
right stiles. useda thre e-
i ngsarew i del yavai l abl e.l
winged versionfrom Amana tools
(#53406-1 ,52+1.
lf you'remakinglots of doors,you may
want to usean adjustablecutter.You'll only
haveto makeone pass per slot,ratherthan
the two passesshown in Photo6. Most
Cl Rtt tre
adjustablecuttersuseshims,but there is
6l joints for
this door are one that can be dialedto variouswidths,
cut on the the AmanaE-ZDialslot cutter (#55500,
router table. S109).lt makes1/8"to 1/4"wide slotsthat
Set up a 118"
are1/2"deep.Thedoor show nherei s m ade
slot cutter so
its bearingis from 3/4" thick solidwood and 1/4' MDF-
flush with core plywood,but you can usethis tech-
the fence. nique with any type of plywoodor material
of anythi ckness.

Mill the Stilesand Rails

Ripand crosscutthe stilesand railsso they
havesquaresidesand ends.Notethat the
railsbutt up to the stiles.Makean extrastile
Q Rout 1/8" or railfor testingthe routersetup.Markthe
\.1thick slots
the full length stilesand rails(Photo1).
of each stile
and rail. Refer Rout Slots,FirstPass
to your marks
to be sure each
lnstallthe slotcutterin the routertable.To
face side is approximatelycenterthe slotson 3/4" mate-
down and the rial,raisethe cutter1/4"abovethe table.
i n s i d ee d g e i s Exactlycenteringthe slotsisn'timportant.
againstthe
fence.
Alignthe fenceso it'sflushwith the bearing
(Photo2).lf your routertableis equipped
with slidingsubfences, pushthem within
1/16"of the cutter.This makesroutingend
grainsaferand moreaccurate.
/ Rout slots Rout3/8" deep slotsin eachstileand rail,
E in the rails' face-sides down (Photo3).Routslotsin the
ends. Push end of eachrail,face sidedown (Photo4).
each rail with a Pushthe railswith an 8" squarebacker
backerboard.
This steadies board.
t h e r a i la n d
preventstear- RoutSlots,SecondPass
out on its back Figureout exactlyhow much wider the
side.
slotsmust be to fit the plywood.Hold a
small pieceof plywood next to a test
piece'sslot and markthe plywood'sthick-
ness(Photo5).

70 .ErnericanWoodworker
 f, Mark the
V plywood's
thicknesson
Placethe test pieceon the router table,
the end of a
facesidedown. Raisethe cutterto just test piece.
belowthe pencilline.Turnon the router Raisethe slot
and make a short secondpass(Photo6). cutter to just
below the pen-
Testthe plywood'sfit in the slot.lf you have
cil mark.
to useforce to push in the plywood,the slot
is too narrow.lf you can fit two piecesof
paperbetweenthe splineand the slot's
wall,theslot is too wide.Whenyou'vegot
the right fit, makea secondpasson all the
railsand stiles.

Cut the Spline A Make a

Ll second
Ripa long,narrowstrip from the plywood. pass on the
Cut the strip 1/32" narrowerthan the com- test piece to
bined depth of two slots. widen the slot.
Adjust the
Measurethe railsto determinethe slot's width by
spline's.length.The splinesrun from the out- raisingor low-
sideedge of a railto the bottom of its slot. ering the cutter
Cut the splinesto length.Thesafestway to until the ply-
wood fits per-
cut thesesmallpiecesis with a bandsawor fectly.Then
with a backsawand miter box.Putthe make a second
splinesin the rails'ends,without glue,and pass on all the
assemblethe door. stiles and rails.

Cut the Panel

Measurethe panelopening.Add11/16"to ! ctue
I splinesinto
the opening'slengthand width and cut the the rails'ends.
panelto this size. Apply a bead
of glue to the
panel slots,
Gluethe Door too, but only
Sandthe paneland the insideedgesof the on the slot's
stilesand rails.Gluethe splinesinto the rail,s back edge, so
glue won't leak
ends (Photo7).Put glue on both sidesof the
onto the front
splines'slotsand on the rails'endgrain. of the panel.
Positionthe splinesso they extendabout
1/32"beyondeach railt outsideedge.Apply
glue to both sidesof the splinesprotruding
from the rails.
To makethe door as strongas possible, Q Clampthe
glue the panel,too.Youcan'tdo this with a \J door.
solid-woodpanel,becauseit must be free to There's no
messy squeeze-
expandand contract,but plywood won,t out around the
move.Runa beadof glue on the backsideof panel'sfront.
the long slotsin the stilesand rails. G l u i n gt h e
panel isn't
To assemblethe door,insertone rail into
required,but it
a stile.Slidein the panel,then the second makesthe door
rail.Makesurethe railsalign with the stile,s extremely
ends.Pushthe secondstile into placeand strong.
clamp(Photo8).Sandthe protrudingspline
flushafter the glue hasdried.

.trm,erican Woodrvorker 71
Waterborne
Flllers
Pore The poresof red oak
are largeenoughto seeand
finish.
Thefirst stepto a glass-smooth feel eventhrough a finish(left).
Porefiller levelsthe surfaceof the wood
ByMichaelDresdner so that it looksand feelssmooth.

the wood pores. softwoods,fi ller isn't necessarY. On

S O M EO F O U RF A V O R I TW EO O D S
pores the surface. In theory,youcouldfillthe Pores large-poredwood,filler can be used
havelarge,open on
waln ut,teak koa, ash,oak by buildingup layerafterlayerof fin- for two main reasons:To createa level
Mahogany,
into this category. ishand sandingit back.However; this basefor the finish and to createcolor
and rosewoodallfall
With theseand other woodsYouhave is a verytediousprocessand is likely contrast.
a choice:Apply a thin finishthat lets to resultin poresshowinguP again Glossfinishesand solidcolors
the poresshowor useporefillerto cre- somemonthslaterasthe finish benefitgreatlyfrom a levelfinishing
pore-freesurface. packedinto them shrinks.Porefilleris surface.When poresshow under
ate a glass-smooth,
Whichyou choose strictlya matterof
is a quickerand more reliablePathto thesefinishes,they tend to detract
the sameend. from the elegantappearance. Even
taste.But if you go for the second
Porefillerdoesn'tshrinkafterit worse,when you trY Polish high-
to a
option,knownasa"filledfinish,"You
needto know about Porefillers. dries.As a result,onceapplied,it levels glossfinishwith open pores,therub-
the entiresurfaceof the wood,pores bing compoundwill often Packinto
What ls a PoreFiller? and all.Don'tconfuseporefillerwith them,leavingyou with an unsightlY
filler, wood putty,whichis a thickermixture mess.When you finishoPen-Pored
Porefiller,alsocalledsemi-paste
is a thick mixtureof inert solidsand meantfor fillinggougesand dingsin woodswith eithera solidcoloror
resinthat can be Packedinto wood wood.Porefilleris too thin to fill large with a glossfinish,useporefillerfirst.
pores.The inertsolidsareusually gouges,and putty is too thickto fill A coloredporefillercan either
ground-upsand,but theYcan be poreseasily. changethe overallcolor of the wood
powderedrock(talcor Pumice)or or createan interestingcontrast
wood dust (calledwood flour).The Whento UseThem betweenthe wood and its Pores.A
resinin the mix actsasa binderto On woodswith veryfine Pores,such porefillerthat is darkerthan the gen-
keepthe solidstogetherand stuckin as maple,cherry,PoPlarand most eralcolorof the wood createscon-

U
Y
J
T

-
)
N

Work filler into the pores by rubbing

with a white nylon pad.Whitepadsarethe from the surface,while it'sstillwet. A credit cardcut to matchthe profile.Curvedsur- t
I
(L

finestof the nylonabrasives, containing card makesa greatsqueegee.Letthe filler facesand insidecornersarethe toughest E

only talc.lf the fillersetsup too fast,spray dry completelybeforesanding. areasto cleanof excessfiller.Creditcards F

can be cut and filed so they can get into

I
L
it with waterto keepit workable.
tight areas.
72 f,mericanWoodworker

Sand with 220-grit, self-lubricating
sandpaperto removethe dried fillerfrom
the surface.This is an importantstep. Any
filler left on the surfaceshowsup when
the pieceis finished;so be thorough.
trast betweenthe poresand the
backgroundwood.Thismakesthe
wood appeardarkerand adds rich-
nessand characterto the wood by
makingthe poresmore obvious
(Photo7).Thesameis true of a light
porefiller.ltcreatescontrastwhile
makingthe wood lighterin color.And
while wood puristsmay blanch,using
pore filler coloredto contrastwith
typical wood tones can createstun-
ning effectsthat MotherNaturenever
imagined(Photo6).
Oil vs.Water
Porefillersare sold both in oil-based
and waterbornevarieties.They both
do the samebasicjob, but water-
bornefillershaveseveraladvantages.
Theyhavefewerannoyingfumes,dry
fasterand are compatiblewith virtu-
allyany finish:waterborne,oil-based,
shellacor lacquer.
Waterborneporefilleris available
coloredor neutral(a paleecrucolor).
Youcanalsoalterthe coloror add
coloryourselfusinguniversaltinting
colors(UTCs),which comeasthick liq-
uidsor pastes.UTCscan usuallybe
found at a well-stockedpaint or home
store,orat woodworkingspecialty
stores.UTCsusuallyslowdown the
filler'sdryingtime.
Applying
WaterborneFiller
Insteadof brushing,I scrubwate-
bornefillersdirectlyinto the wood
usingthe white nylon abrasivepads
An eye-catchinglook can be achieved
by usinga coloredfillerthat contrastswith
Wipe the surfaceclean with a the naturaltonesof the wood or by apply-
cloth dampenedwith water (aboutas ing contrastingcoloredpore filler over a col-
damp as a healthydog'snose)to remove ored,sealedsurface(above).Use320-9rit
the last bit of sandingdust,and it's ready sandpaperto removethe fillerwithout dis-
to finish. turbing the color.
(the finestgrit).Graypadsare the
secondfinest,and will do in a pinch.
The pad lets me get the filler onto
the wood and packit into the pores
all in one step.
As soon as I get it scrubbedin, I
squeegeeoffallof the excesswith a
plasticscraperor old creditcard.
Oncethe excessis squeegeedoff,I
let the fillerdry.Ina few hours,
dependingon the humidity,I cango
back sandthe surface,cleanoff the
sandingdust with a clothdampened
Dark-coloredfiller makesthe sample
lightly with water,and the pieceis on the right appeardarkerthan its compan-
readyfor finish. ion,which hasneutralfiller.Both samples
camefrom the samemahoganyboard.
ClearWaterborne
Fillers
Clearwaterbornefillersoffer the
option of filling poreswithout adding
any color whatsoever(PhotoS).The
beautyof somewoodsis diminished
by stain,evenwhen it is only in the
pores.Forsuchwoodtthis new filleris
a delight.
Clearwaterbornefillersare easy
to useand dry quite fast,often in
underan hour,dependingon humid-
ity.Apply them the sameway as
other waterbornefillers.Theone
drawbackI havefound is that they
shrinkquite a bit duringdrying and A clearfiller on walnut allowsa
for effectivefilling,you need to make g lass-smoothsurfacewithout affecting
two or more applications.
the naturalrangeof color in the wood.
Sources
Inc.www.grizzly.com,(800)5234777,BehlenWaterborneGrainFiiler,#H395bBrown,
Qri4]ylnd.uqtrial
#H3956Mahogany, #H3957Natirral,$17 per quan.
RocklerWoodworking, www.rockler.com, (800)2794441,CrystalLac
ClearWaterborneWood Filler,
#34644,$22 per quart.
.EmerlcanWoodworker 73
 -

hperedLegs
Tipsand tricks to maketable legslook better
and the job go faster. BYTomCasPar

Cut Riftsawn lregs

The riftsawnsectionof a board makesthe best-lookinglegs.
Here,the growth ringsrun about 45 degreesto the surface.This
makesall the leg'sfaceslook pleasinglysimilar,withstraight
grain lineson all sides.By contrast,legsfrom the boardt plain-
sawn section havevery different faces.Twoare plain-
sawnand two are quartersawn.
Millthe leg blankssquareand cut them to
final length.Layout and cut the joints in
the legs beforeyou cut the taPers.
This preventsyou from mix-
ing up insideand out:
sidefaceslateron.

PLAINSAWN
SECTION

RIFTSAWN
74 f,merlcanWoodworker SECTION
y Out the Tapers
Draw tapers on both outside facesof each leg.I
markthe outsidefaceson the top of the leg,
I
where they wont be removedby sawingor
sanding.
Beginthe taper 1/2" to l " below the
spot wherethe railjoinsthe leg.A short
flat spot above the taper is barely notice-
able.Youneeda smallcushionhereto
makesurethat after allthe sawing,
jointing and sandingaredone the

I
taper doesnt accidentallyrun too far
up the leg.lfit does,youmay get
an unsightlygap betweenthe leg
and the end of the rail.
LINE OF TAPER t
a Red Medium-Tip Marker
Usea markerand a wooden straightedgeto draw the
tapers.Whenyou'resawing,red is much easierto see
I
than a pencilline,particularly
on darkwoods.This
markerdrawsa linethat'sabout ,a/16"widewhich
servesas a guide for both sawingand jointing.you,ll
sawalong the line'soutsideedge,thenjoint down to
the line'sinsideedge.Thisis easierthan trying to saw
a straightline 1/16"awayfrom a thin pencilline.

the Grain
Whenyou draw the tapers,follow the
graint slopeon both outsidefacesif possible.
Thismakesnot only a better-lookingleg but a stronger
one,too. lf this taper slantedthe oppositeway,cutting across
the slopinggrain,theIeg would be weak.

the First Taper

Sawthe first tapeLstayingon the outsideedge of
the line.Beginat the thin end of the wedge,at the
top of the leg.You'llget a smoothercut herethan
if you start at the leg'sbottom and exit at the top. lf
you were to cut in that direction,going from bot-
tom to top, the bladecould prematurelyslideout
of the cut as it approachesthe thin edge of the
wedge,leavinga bump that'sawkwardto remove..

.f,,mericanWoodworker
 ort, Flip, Cut Again
On the first cut,stop beforeyou reach
the leg'send;then backout. Leavea
1/8"to 1/4" long portion of the leg
uncut.Thewastepiecewill remain
attachedto the leg and help supportit
duringthe next cut.Rotatethe leg so
the secondtaper'slayoutline facesup;
then makethe secondcut.Sawall the
way throughwithout stopping.Discard
the secondwastepiece.

Off theWbste
Snapoff the wastepiecefrom the first
cut.lt comesoff quite easily,leaving
a
very small,roughridgeat the leg'send.
Removethe ridgewith a file or chisel.
Thisproduction-shop methodof leaving
the first wastepieceattachedis very
fast-faster than cutting the pieceoff
and reattachingit with tape or hot-melt
glue.Thisstrategyalsoworkswell with
cabriolelegs.

the Bandsavvn Surfaces

Jointthe leg.Setthe jointerto takea
very light cut,about 1/32".Usea narrow
pushstickwith a hook cut on the end to
keepyour fingersout of harm'swaY.
Taketwo passesto joint down to the
insideedgeof your layoutline.Youmay
needan additionalpassto removeall
the bandsawmarks,but that'sOK.
There'sa built-insafetymarginin the
taper'slayout.

'er
the Leg
Chamferthe leg's
end with a file or a
blockplane.I do
thi son al l typesof
legsto keepthem
from splintering
when pushedacross
the floor,but it's par-
ticularlyimportant
on a taperedleg
w i th a thi n end.

76 .f,mericanTVoodworker
 I
!t1 'l
il

;I .-
' ,i i: , I,'t'
''1. | .! ,
t.
' ,"h
l',,''
1 l ' ii
l,i ":

r ; i {''

Wedged
.f TAP,TAp,rnp. Thewedgesgo
:li,l
. I rF. home,the glue squeezes out and a
,; L
f i t ri 'l
big smilelightsup your face."This
i i$ joint isn'tcomingapartfor a hun-
tl

,,1.,
:
dred yearsi'you say."lt'sassolidas a

Mortise
'li ,
r ll
i:it
rock!"
I' i:" I
Makinga wedgedmortise-and-
J",i '
r l.ft
tenonjoint is richlyrewarding. Once
I li .
' you understandhow it works(see
photo,below),you can'thelp but

&Tenon
I
.t
admirethe joint'selegantsimplicity.
It alsosendsa message. A wedged
i
joint saysto one and all,"Thiswas
I r, madeby a skilledwoodworker."
l . , l
f i L ;
ll'1
Wherecouldyou usea wedged
I i', * i ,
i,ritf
,
i
Thisjoint will joint?ltt a candidatefor anyjoint
1 ,l '

'..{'
r :
I
neverloosen! that receivesa lot of stress.A table
basesuchasthe one shownhere,is a
.,,'ll good exampl e.
ByTomCaspar P ushi ngor l eaning
on the table might slowlyforcea
standardjoint apart,but wedges
keepthisjoint lockedtogether.
7H Thewedgedmortise-and-tenon
,fr'"d joint isn'tdifficultto make,but you
shouldhavesomeexperience making
standardmortise-and-tenon joints
beforetacklingit.

-i,, t ^r'
',rir{/ . . l u '

I i' How the JointWbrks

Heret a cutawayview of a wedged mortise_and_tenon
joint. Drivingin the wedgesforcesthe tenon to flareinto
a fan or dovetailshape.Themortiseis taperedto match
the angleof eachwedge.Likea dovetail, thisjoint can,tpull
apartafterthe wedgesgo home.
Thistenon hastwo unusualfeatures:saw kerfsthat create
flexiblestripsand holesthat dispersethe strainthat the
wedgescreate.Thewedgescausethe stripsto bend;the holes
preventthe bend from splittingthe rail.

.f,mericanWoodrvorker 77
 ToolsRequired
To makethisjoint,you'llneeda tablesaw
drill press,plungerouter,chiseland a
bandsaw.lf your mortise'swidth is 5/8"
or more,likethe mortiseI made,you'll
needa 1/2" dia.top-bearing flush-trim
bit. lf the mortiseis more than 3/4" deep,
you'llneeda bottom-bearing flush-trim
bit (seeSource,page80).Fora mortise
lessthan 5/8"wide,you'llneeda straight
routerbit and a fenceor jig for your
plungerouter.

I fUatethe mortisebeforeyou cut the tenon.I usea shop-made

template, Routthe Mortise
I a drill press,plunge routerand two flush-trimbits to make largethrough- Beforeyou begin your project,makea
mortises(Photo2).Thehole in the templateis the exactsizeof the mortise. prototypejoint (see"Designing Your
WedgedJoint,"page 79).
TEMPLATE It'sgood practiceto start with the
mortisefor any type of mortise-and-
f) Here'sa crosssec- tenonjoint.lt'seasierto fine-tunea
6 rionof the mor- tenon to fit a mortisethan the other
tise in variousstages way around.
of completion.You Thisis a through-mortise, meaningit
makeit in four steps: goesall the way throughthe workpiece.
1 . D r i l l o u tm o s t My favoriteway to makea fairlylarge
of the waste. one is to removemost of the wasteon
2. Followthe tem- the drill pressand then usea plunge
platewith a short routerand template(Photo1).This
top-bearingflush- methodworksparticularly well in thick
trim bit.
stocKbecauseit makesa mortisewith
3. Usingthe samebit, absolutelystraightwalls.That'simpor-
removethe templateand rout deeper.
tant for appearance's sakein a through
4. Flipthe workpieceand finishthe mortise joint,becauseyou canclearlyseefrom
with a bottom-bearingflush-trimbit.
the outsidehow well the mortiseand
tenon fit together.
'i Makethe templatefrom PlYwoodor
solidwood by gluingfour piecestogeth-
1l er.Theinnertwo piecesarethe exact
& width of the mortise,but their overall
lengthis unimportant.The outer pieces
must be long enoughto allowroomfor
clamps.Spacethe innerpiecesapartby
the lengthof the mortise.
Beforeyou start routing,usethe tem-
plateto drawthe mortiseon the work-
piece.Drillout most of the wasteusinga
Forstnerbit that's1/16"to 1/8"smaller
than the mortise'swidth. Makeoverlap-
ping holesto removeas much wood as
possible. Routthe mortise(Photo2).

Taperthe Mortise
f) Usingan angledguide blockand chisel,taperthe mortise'sendsinto a
Taperingthe endsof the mortise
9 flaredshape.Thetaper leans3 degreesfrom square.Makethe taper
the mortiseoverand chisel;there'sno
requiresa razor-sharp
about three-fourthsthe depth of the mortise.Turn
squarethe remainingcorners.
78 .f,rnerieanWoodworker
 Designing Your Wedged Ioint
Eachpart of a wedged joint must often be
practicalway tailored to fit the joint's size, intended
to do it with a strength and type of wood. Make a proto-
router.You type followingthesesteps:
m us tus ea c his e l 1. Substitutea notch madewith a dado
to squarethe set for the mortise (see"How the Joint MOCKTENON
ends of a routed Work," page 77). Taper both of the
mortiseanyway;so notch'ssidesby anglingthe mitergauge.
taperingisn'tthat 2. Make a full-sizetenon.Observehow well the
much extrawork. flexible strips bend. You may be able to use
Makea 1-1/2"to 2" thick smallerstrain-relief holesor no holesat all.
blockto guideyour chisel.Cut 3. Experimentwith the notch'sangle.The
one end square.Cut the other widerthe taper,the strongerthe joint.My taper is 3 degreegbut you can increase
end at the angleyou'vechosenfor it up to 8 degrees.
taperingthe mortiseand wedges.l've 4.Testthe bend.My flexiblestripsare only l/9" thick opposite
found that a 3-degreeangleworkswell. the strain-reliefhole;so they bend easily.Dependingon the
Us et he guid e b l o c k ' sri g h t-a n g l e wood, this thicknesscan be increasedto 1/4" or so
end to squarethe backof the mortise. to improvethe joint's appearance.
Chopabout one-fourthof the mortise's
depth.Turnthe workpieceover and
positionthe blocka short distance
awayfrom the end of the mortise
(Photo3).Theexactdistancedepends
on the mortise'sdepth.You'llwant the
taperto extendapproximatelythree-
fourthsof the way down the mortise.
On a 3-degreetaper,shiftingthe block
1/16"from the mortise'sends resultsin
a t aperabout 1" d e e p .

Makethe Tenon
Makethe tenon anyway you want.I use
a tablesawtenoningjig to cut its cheeks,
a bandsawequippedwith a fenceto rip
its top and bottom sidesand a table-
saw'smitergaugeto cut all four shoul-
ders.Thetenon'slengthis up to you;it 1l Cuta tenon to fit tightly into the backof the mortise,wherethere'sno taper.
can be flushor standproudof the joint. E On the tenon,draw a centerlinedirectlyoppositethe point wherethe mortise
Fitthe tenon to the back,untapered beginsto taper outward.Drilltwo strain-reliefholesall the way through the tenon.
sideof the mortise.lt shouldbe no
m or et han a pap e rth i c k n e s s m a l l e r
t han t he openin g .l fy o u r te n o n s ta n d s
proud,chamferits end usinga block
p laneor f ile.
The next two stepsare uniqueto this
joint:makingthe strain-relief holesand
sawingkerfsfor the wedges.Startby
markingand drillingthe holes(Photo4).
Theirlocationand diameterdetermine
the flexiblestrips'thickness. ln most
woods,suchasthe white oak l'm using
here,I drill 1/4" dia.holescentered1/4"
from the edge.Thismakesthe bending
Sawkerfsin the tenon to receivethe wedges.Thiscreatesstripsthat can flex
stripa flexible1/8"thick.Holesthat are f,
V without breaking.I aim for the inneredge of the hole so that the kerfsdon't
end up too closeto the tenon'sedges.
.ErnericanTYoodworker 79
 Tilt the bladeto the guide block's
angle.Here,it's 3 degrees.Raisethe
bladeto makewedgesthat are about
1" longerthan the tenon.
Fora trial cut,positionthe stoP
blockso the thin end of the wedgeis
the samethicknessasthe tenon's
kerfs.Clampthe blankto a tall fence
usinga wooden handscrew. (A wood-
en clamp protectsYourbladefrom
damageif you accidentally placethe
clamptoo low.)Flipthe blankaround
to cut a secondwedge.Removethe
blankand crosscutthe wedgesbY
handor on the bandsaw. Filecham-
fersall the way aroundthe wedges'
thin ends.

A Cut extra-longwedgeson the tablesaw.Tilt the blade3 degrees-the sameangle

(J ut the guide blockyou usedto taper the mortise.Crosscutthe wedgesfrom the Testthe Wedges'Fit
blankwith a bandsaw. Pushthe tenon all the way through
Caution:Youmust removethe blade'sguard for this cut. Be careful. the mortise-without glue,of
course.Tapin the wedges,but not
too hard (Photo7).lf they'retoo skin-
ny, cut them shorteror adjustthe
stop blockand sawnew ones.lfYour
wedgesbecomestuck,Pullthem out
usinglockingpliers.The wedges
shouldgo in asfar as Possiblebut
not be so long that they hit bottom
beforefully spreadingthe tenon.
Markingthe bandsawkerf'slength
on eachwedge will helPYou Prevent
this problem.

l/ test-fit the wedgeswithout glue.Youhaveto get their thickness
I pletely flare the tenon beforethe wedges hit bottom. Adjust the tablesawsetup
readyfor gluing.
until the wedgesarethe right size.You're
only 1/8"arecommonlyusedfor this
joint, too, for types of wood that bend
easily,suchas mapleand ash.
Forthe saw kerfs,draw linesthat
connectthe holesto the tenon's
end.Traditionally, the kerfsgo to a
hole'scenter,but I aim for the hole's
insideedge (Photo5).Lookinghead-
^ on at the completedjoint, I believe
this dividesthe tenon into more
pleasingproportions.
just right to com-
Sawthe Wedges
Makewedgesusingthe tablesaw
(Photo6).Thismethod allowsyou to
cut a preciseangleand fine-tune
eachwedge'sthickness.Makea
wedge blankfrom straight-grained
wood. I prefer one that contrastsin
color from the tenon.Makethe
blank about 3/4" thick and as wide
as the mortise.
Assemblethe Joint
When everythingis readYto go
together,youonly haveto put glue on
the mortise'slong sidesand the
tenon'scheeks.Clampthe joint so the
tenon'sshouldersaretight to the mor-
tise.Thenbrushglue into the saw
kerfsand the mortise'staperedspaces.
Tapin both wedgesand cleanuP the
glue squeeze-out. Sawoff the wedge's
excesslength after the glue dries.Use
a file or low-angleblock planeto level
the wedges flushto the tenon.
Source:
MLCSWoodworking,
www.mlcswoodworking.com,(800)533-9298'
1 12'PanernlFlush-TrimBir, 1 14'shank,#16509,
Bi't,112'shank,#17803,
$19. 112' Flush-Trim
s15.

80 f,merlcanWoodworker
Making Spirits Bright
fortheWoodworker
Giftldeas
Great
I
lw

a-

1. 4, , Doubl e Sq u a re 2 4 N20.H
8 .0 3.P reci si onOi l erP en25K
a c1k i n g K n i fe28K 02.60 4.Magneti
70.02 cP ai ntbrushH ol d er 6TKT4. 02
5. Lum ber Ga u g e 5 0 K6 6 .J a p1 a n e s e N
3 .0 Sea t4
i l 4 K 13.01 H ei ghtGauge88N 90.01
T.D i gi tal 8.LanyardLevel 36N 9.W oodwor ker 's
35.15
K nif e06D0 7 tO.B E l e c tro
.tO l i n d m a n ' s F ra c ti o n a l ni cC al i perS S11.P
N l
62.60 aneS crew dri l
ver50K 2.Mi croti
39.01 pS crew dr iver lTK0l'95
13.pocketScraper gtKSZ10 14.FingerWrench 25K11,03 15.Folding Dozuki 60T56.01 16.LifetimeKnifeSharpenerT0M46'50
17.10painter'spyramid" 88K58.70 1-8.+patetteKnives35K09.01 19.Veritas@RuleMagnifier05N57.01 20.Veritas@10"SlidingBevel05N44.01
Torequest a copyol ourtree276-page woodworking toolscatalog,callor visffusonline.1 -800-683-8170 WWW.lggValley.COm

I-eVall &(JeR.itols@ Made

Shopping
Honday Easy.