Chov\Notes ren Seyi : UPGRADE = Features: Shop-built table Neel yet ag tee UNM Latta} Rae us iM lecrs (Ih eee Ue eeerel Cc = Hanging Gieae Peck for Jigs Assembly Tips | Fold- Out Magazine Rack = Resawing Thick Stock ‘www shopnotes.comIssue 51 May 2000 ‘pusuisnen Donald Pasehike pron Tim Robertson ‘associareepiron ‘Tom Begnsl assisranreprron ryan Nelson agtouscroa Cary Christensen ‘an onapieoesionen Kort Shut ‘sewoninivernarons Toger Reiland ‘Mark Higdon oie Ore TE pe De Soatirecteeein vse ae Reis rch aeiee ecceeeennneaee amore see Er ge oe eee Soran Gone azn pceeor ia tne ariceraae near iene eee ce pore Peecsertieryn ante ern Eee pee era cae Soe Se ce Dis Bugs Pdaean »Tekagy org Corl Scere noe yetartnts Soaps’ serene Shier nt inne ‘tr ln «Ma A Clr Wer Mayegr Dara Sle SéfMeneSne i ‘are ty" Smake Lary Moron Har {SS i Ha i al pe Seat GR OR & aed aly pena tae ‘BhepNote hw resivatel ealomat of Aga Home Eau anaes ee a cree esa FOS naperatseing satan ever decree aie eet ene Bia Sopectetlrmn om Enea eraraes PRINTED INUS.A. IETS Cutoffs ‘ecently, I stopped by to visit, Adolph, an old woodworking friend of mine, As usual, he was hunched over his bench, busily working, on a project of some kind. When I took a closer look, I noticed he had clamped a hammer in the vise and was seraring the wood handle At first, it didn't occur to me to ask why he was seraping the handle. The thing that intrigued me ‘was how he was doing it. Glass Seraper— Instead of using a metal hand seraper, he was peeling off tin, ley shavings with a piece of broken glass. It surprised me at first. But there was no gettting aronnd the fact that the jagged pieces of glass had a keen euiting edge. ‘Well, I couldn't wait to try ib out, and it didn't tale long to get the hang ofit, After experimenting a bit, Iwas making shavings like P'd been using glass scrapers all my life. (If you try this at home though, Pd recommend ‘wearing a pair of gloves.) “Neat trick,” said, “But why goto all the trouble of scraping the handle on a hammer?” “It’s simple,” he said. “I just fin- ished putting a new handle on this hammer. Tt works okay, but it foots dead. By making the neck of the handle dinner it gives it more spring and bounee. So I ean whip the head of the hammer, get the job done quicker, and use a lighter hammer to boot.” ‘Now to be honest, I didn't rush out and scrape the handles on all my hammers. But it got me thinking. A hammer is one of those tools that often gets taken for granted. In fact, the first thing that comes to mind is the old standby — a wood-handled ‘ShopNotes hammer with a curved law. Must-Have Hammers - Although a law hammer is fine for general purpose work, it's not_always the best tool for the job. Here in our shop, we use several different types ‘of hammers for everything from nailing on the back of a cabinet to adjusting stationary tools. So we decided to take a look at these “must- have” hammers in the article begin- ning on page 12. Band Saw Table & Fence —We're also featuring two simple projects in this issue that will help you improve the performance of your band saw. ‘To provide better support for big ‘workpieces, there's a large auxiliary table that mounts to the east iron table of the band saw. And an adjustable fence will help you get more accurate results, Project Designer ~ One final note, We're looking for someone who is enthusiastie about woodworking and home improvement to join our pro- Ject design team here at August ‘Home Publishing, This would involve designing projects for ShopNotes and ‘two of our companion publications, Woodsmith and Workbench. If you're interested in this position, send a cover letter and resume to Ted Kralicek, 2200 Grand Ave. Des Moines, LA 50312. "ae No. 51e Contents Features wigistoradelwack 22 5s 8 6g: This celling-mounted rack provides the perfect solution for sloring large oy od-sized jigs and fidures. Theyre suspended ‘rom wire hangers that are bent fo shape using a simple jo. Four “Must-Have” Hammers ____ 12 Here's a close look at four different types of hammers that WEDGES are useful to have in your shop. Also, step-by-step instructions for repairing or replacing damaged handles. Band Saw Upgrade _________16 Two shop-made accossorios to holp you got the most ut of your band saw: An auxiliary table provides rook solid suppor for large workpieces. And an adjustable fence makes i easy to produce accurate cuts every te. e Resawing on a Band Saw_____24 Learn how to cut thick wood iat thin stock on the band! ‘saw. Here are some simple tips, jigs, and techniques that will have you resawing lumber to uniform thickness inno tne Fold-Out Magazine Rack ____28 Do the plans in your woodworking magazines get covered up with clutter as you work? This shop-made rack holds them up off the bench and folds out for easy viewing. Band Saw Upgrade page 16 Departments Readers atipo: sate teres tis "Hig ur readers offer their own shop-tested tips dealing with some of the most common weockvorking problems Assembly lips AD These five great tips ensure 4 squared-up assembly when yout gluing up a project. e Bouncesees: Soe eet ‘Mailorder sources and supplies fo help you build the projects featured inthis seve No. 51 ShopNotes 3ae Miter Gauge Setup mi Here's a quick way to set the miter gauge on your table saw to 45°, All it takes is a framing square and a little geometry. The idea is to form a right tsoscetes tri- angle using the framing square and miter gauge slot. (An isosceles triangle has two equal sides) Start by setting the framing square on top ofthe table ‘saw. Now align the same increment on each leg of the Soaking Tube TIPS & TECHNIQUES Readers’ Tips square with the edge of the miter gauge slot. (The 6" incre. ment is shown in the drawing atright) Next, loosen the Tock knob on the miter gauge and gently snug the head up against the framing square as shown in the photo at left. The miter _gauge is now set at exactly 45°, So efter tightening the Jock knob, you're ready to cuta perfect 45°mite: Note: For accurate rests, the saw blade must be par- allel with the miter gauge slot. Also, check to make sure Your framing square is truly square. Bob Adams: Greenville, North Carolina mi Tve made several of the fishing nets featured in ShopNotes No. 34.8 yousuggested, soaking the thin wood ‘strips that make up the frame makes iteasier fo bend them around a form, ‘The only problem isthe strips are over sixfeet ong, and didn't have a container that would keep them ‘completely immersed in water. ‘The solution occurred to me as I was working on a plumbing project —along piece of PVC pipe with acap glued on one end, As shown at left, you simply slip the strips into the pipe and standiton end. (Luse rubber straps to keep it from falling over) Driver Bit Face-Lift It's frustrating when the tip of a Philips driver bit gets chewed up and starts to slip in the screw head. Fortunately, there's an easy fix. Rather than throw it away, touch the tp ofthe bitto a grinding wheel ta remove the rounded shoulders. The sharp corners on the restored bt will engage the recess inthe screw head and prevent the bit from slipping. John Conners Omaha, Nebraska 4 [Now fill the pipe with water, and fit another cap (no glue) over the top. (This prevents the strips from bob- bing up out ofthe water) After letting the strips soak overnight, carry the pipe outside and dump out the water. Bob Baker Des Moines, owa NEW DRIVER BIT gan ne sSeeeane bai Orns ShopNotes No. 51Tip If you ever grab the wrong screw- chiver by mistake, try using this tip from G Foss Damell of Idaho Fels, ldaho. He just marks the type of A To make a knob for a small shop tip (fat, Philips, or when repairing a finish. To prevent the drawer, Tom Blackwood of Crystal Lake, square-crive) on the sticks from drying out, Dave Batadortof IL. simply cuts the tumed end off a handle with typists! Candia, NH stores them ina plastic bag. _clothespin and screws itn place, correction fluc. C-Clamp Handle ends off the sliding bar and ee attached a wood handle to oe the remaining “stub.” Now L ‘can tighten the clamp with a few-quick turns. See photo) FREE AAsshown inthe drawing, Online Tips the handle is just a dowel Ir you'd tke even with a hole drilled in the ‘more woodwarking ‘end to accept the threaded tips, the solution screw, [also cut a notch in 's simple. Just the handle to fit the stub. St ueatour mJ often use a Clamp when set- After shaping the handle for a eae ting up a tool. But sometimes the _comifortabl grip, bit of epoxy i all icc sliding bar used to tighten the clamp —that'sneeded to secureitto the clamp. eee sets in the way. Before each turn, 1 But frst, wrap the handle with tape oe hhave to slide the bar all the way to to prevent the epoxy from leaking. the opposite side. That's a pain. Adolph Pesce To sone the problem, I cut both Des Moines, owa Dry-Erase Board WE & Toskeich out anidea for a project i i GY psceccoteccres: || Send in Your Shop Tips | tty. own. “dryerase” board and 1EYOUave a unique shop tp, we'd ke screwed itto the door of my shop. to consider featuring tin one or more of I Tis just a piece of Tieboard sur. our printer electronic publications. rounded by a wood frame. Tileboard ‘Weill pay up to $200 for a tip we pub- is 1/4" hardboard that’s covered with lish, Just write down the tip and mail it melamine on one side (ts avaiable © StapNotes, tn: Readers Tips, 200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50312. Or at most home centers) FAX it to 515282-6741, or send us an be aiuake easy ean the boaté, mall at shopnotes@shopnotes.com. be sre tou “rvers” mares’ Pease fide Yur Tae, aes e aan and daytime phone number in case we have any questions. Summerville, South Carolina ‘ShopNotes 5Build this handy rack to hang jigs and fixtures. . . and learn how to make your own dowels in the process. C) te yeas, te mace all kinds of different jigs and fix tures to use with my tools. And like most woodworkers, I hang the jigs on the wall or stack them on a shelf until Pm realy to use them again. Although this “syste” works okay, there are a couple of drawbacks. For one thing, it takes up valuable space. ‘Ako, because the igs areal different Sizes and shapes, there never seems to be good way to store them. ‘To solve both problems, I made a storage rack that attaches othe ceting Joists. As you can see in the photo above, the jigs hang from the rack like ornaments on a Christmas tree. ‘The jigs are suspended on metal hhangers that ook onto the rack. Hanging the jigs like this not only takes advantage of the unused space ing. Italso provides alot when it comes. t0 arranging large or odd-shaped jigs. Hangers ~ Just a note about the hangers. They're not something you'll (Gee eraie by find ata hardware store. (Atleast not the completed hangers) But don't ‘worry the hangersare easy to make. T used heavy-gauge wire and bent the hangers to shape using a simple jig. (For more information about this ‘bending jig, turn to page 8.) RACK Ata glance, the rack looks ike a set of monkey bars. Ifyou look at Figure 1, youl see that ifs made up of two ‘ood rails connected by dowels. Rails ~ I begun work by making ‘the two rails (A). Each rails a piece of 1 by” stock (pine) that’s ripped to a width of 244", It pays to be a bit picky when selecting the lumber for the rails. To help strengthen the rack, it's best to use straightgrained lumber that’s relatively free of knots. After ripping the rails to width, it's just a matter of cutting them to Iength, The rails shown here are 56" Jong which allows them to span joists ‘that are either 16" or 24" apart. Drill Holes ~The next step is to drill a series of 3a. holes in each railtohold the dowels. To prevent the rack from twisting,’ important that the holes in each rail align. So as you can see in Figure 2, [used carpet tape to hold the rails together and then clamped a fence to the dill press table to position them accurately. Crossbars — After drilling the holes, you can turn your attention to the crossbars (B) that connect the No. 51Pe rails, To make it easy to hook the [iP] hangers on the rack, I used dowels forthe erossbars. Atfirst, I thought about buying the dowels. But there are quite a few Courteen atogethes). Als, to provide plenty of strength, I wanted to use hardwood dowels. The only problem was the cost. (A %" maple dowel that's 36" long costs about $2.40) So T made my own dowels as shown in the box below. Besides ‘saving money, this gave me achance to use some scrap pieces of wood that had been piling up in the shop. ‘With dowels in hand, the next step is to cut them to length. The dowels shown here are 17" long. This wa, if your ceiling joists are 16" apart, the rack can be mounted parallel to the joists, If they're farther apart, just ‘mount the rack acrass the joists. Sand Chamfers — Before assern- bling the rack, there's one las thing to do. That’s to sand a chamfer on ‘both ends of each dowel. This eases the sharp edges, plus it will make it ‘easier to assemble the rack. ‘To produce consistent chamfers on ‘each dowel, [clamped a simple fence with a stop to the table of the disk sander. As you can see in Figures 3 and 3a, the fence is usta scrap piece cof wood, and a dowel glued into a hole inthe edge ofthe fence acts as.astop. ‘The ideas to position the ence at a45° angle tothe sanding disk. Also, check that the stop is close enough tothe disk to produce a Yi" charnfer before clamping the fence in place. Now turn on the disk sander, hold the dowel agains the fence, and slide itforward, When itcontactsthe stop, rotate the dowel counlerclockwise to sand the chamfer all the way around. ‘Assembly ~ After sanding all the chamifers, you can assemble the rack. Start by slipping the dowels into the holes in the rails. Then to prevent the dowels from rotating inside the holes, naa couple ofbrads ‘in each dowel as shown in Figure ta. JOnce the rack is assembled, it’s just ‘a matter of drilling holes in the rails ‘and mounting the rack to the joists with lag screws (Figure 1b). No. 51 Its easy to make a dowel. Allthat's needed is a scrap pieve of wood and a rounchover bit. Setup - Start with a blank that’s the ‘same width and thickness as the desired diameter ofthe dowel, Forexample, to make a" dowel, use a piece of i" x3/" stock. ‘The next step is to mount a 44" round ‘over bitin the router table as shown in the drawings below. (The radius of the bit should be half the diameter of the dowel) To getconsistent results, the cutting edge of sunk otoan FOmiRD ONT (Teens STE the bit needs to be fish with the table and fence, (Lattached an awe ilary fence to “close” the opening around the bit) Rout Corners - Aver clamping a featherboard to the table, rout the waste off each corner of. the blank. Then lightly sand the dowel to ‘remove any mill marks,Wire Hangers Once the basic racks completed, all ware slore, (For another source of thats needed is to add the wire this type of wire, refer to page 31.) hangers that hold the jgs. ’ Making these hangers presented memen 20 fan interesting challenge. I wanted Although the wire works great, i them to hook quickly onto the rack. there's a problem. I's neariy impos. Plus they had to stay put when sible to bend the stiff wire by hand, hanging aig. Atthe same time, the That's why I made the bending hangers had to be easily adjustable jig shown in the photo at right It to rearrange igs (or add new ones). has a pivoting wood arm with a ‘As you can see in the photo at curved head that creates the hock. Jef, the solution was to bend both atthe top of each hanger. To make F ends of the hanger. The top end isthe angled bend atthe bottom, one shaped ikea shepherd's crook that of the top corners of the fig is A Bencing botn nooks onto crossbar. The “Kink” “knocked” off tan angle ends of a sti wire oor endy, ear the end prevents itfromTiting Base ~ As you can se in Figure : he off the rack when hanging a jig. 4, the jig starts out as a base (C) “stop.” Itsjusta dowel that's glued snger that hold® arias Fey seeatnerece Even so, you can sill “pop” the made fom “AMhick hardwood. into a hole nthe base, } hanger off the crossbar if your There are tvo holes drilled near Next, tocreate the angled bend at storage needs change. the edge af the base. One hole the bottom of the hanger, drill hole As for the lower end of each accepts a nail that acts as a pivot in the end of the base and then trim hanger, i's bent at an angle. Itjust point forthe arm. The otherholdsa the comer at an angle. ftsintoahole that's driledinthejig. cutoff bolt, In use, the wire is bent Pivot Arm ~ After completing Wire - To support the weight of against this bolt to make itconform — the base, you can concentrate on the the jigs, the hangers are made from to the curved head on the arm. pinot arm (D). Its astrip of thick. if, heavy-gauge wire. Lused nine. To prevent the arm from hardwood with anarrow groove that sauge wire that boughtatthehard- swinging too far, [also added a holds the wie. To prevent the wire pase ee ies MEXBOUT LONG) 56" to-.onG wine — é oa Dai tea HOLE sleederbiace 28 Th BREMADE FROM m7 v SMe EDtiooo KR 8 ‘ShopNotes No. 51fom slipping, drilled a counterbore @ xcipiothotenextto the groove and installed a washer and serew. As you can see in Figure 5, tightening the serew “clamps” the washer tightly against the wire. Lay Out ~ At this point, you can lay out the curved shape on the end ofthe armas shown in the Pivot Arm Detail in Figure 4. To produce the carved hook at the top of the hangers, the idea is to create a rounded knob tha “blends” smoothly into alarge, curved recess After laying out the basie shape with a compass, youl need to drill hole that’s centered on the location ofthe round knob, This hole accepts the nail that serves asa pivot point forthe arm, Now youre ready to cut the arm to shane. A band savr (or sabre saw) makes quick work of removing the bulk of the waste, Then carefully sand up tothe layout lines. ‘Support Block - Once the arm @ fortes te terser toss short support block (E). hiss just a scrap piece of ¥"hick hardwood that provides 2 mounting surface fr aplastic plate that’s added next “Top Plate - Alter gluing the sup- port block in place, is time to add the top plate. W's a piece of Y'shick Plexiglas that provides rigid support for the shank of the nail and the bolt ‘A Hook. To form the hook atthe top of the hanger, swing the pivot armal the Way around until it contacts the stop. No. 51 aR mae Es. is ‘The nice thing about the clear Plexiglas is it makes it easy to see ‘the hole in the arm when you slip the nal in place. After drilling holes to accept the nal (an bold, just screw the top plate to the support block. MAKING THE HANGERS With the bending jig complete, you're ready for the easy part — ‘making the hangers. Cut Wire To Length ~ Start by cutting a short length of wire for each hanger. I found that a 10" piece produced a hanger about 6" long which worked fine for me. One thing. to be aware of is that when you cut the wire, itformsa sharp burr on the B. Angled Bend, Now fit the straight end ofthe wie in the hole ant bend itarounel the angled comer of the jig. ‘ShopNotes end. This burr will make a deep scratch on the arm as you bend the hhanger: Plusit makesit dificult to fit the wire into the groove inthe arm. So be sure to file off the burr. Insert Wire ~The next step isto work the wire down into the groove inthe arm, (YouTl need to straighten the wice to do this) To produce the caurved hook, the wire needs to pro- ject about 3" past the end of the groove as shown in Figure 5, Also, dont forget to tighten the serew that holds the wire place. Install Pivot Arm Atthis point, you can tighten the jg in a vise and install the pivot arm. To do this, slip the arm between the base and the top plate and fasten it with the nail igure). Bend the Hook — At this point, youre all set to bend the curved hhook at the top of the hanger. The ‘dea here isto swing the arm all the ‘vay around in a smooth, continuous ‘motion until it contacts the stop. As ‘you can see in photo ‘A’ at left, this Provides all the leverage that’s needed to mold the wire around the curved part of the arm, ‘Angled Bend ~ Nowall that’s left is to make the angled bend at the ‘opposite end of the hanger. To do this, remove the wire from the arm and slip the straight end into the hole in the top end of the jg. Then simply bend the wire around the angled ‘corner of the jg as in photo ‘B. &a Egreat serene Assembly Tips ° Frame & Panel Jig 1 Gluing up a frame and panel door 0 it ends up perfectly square can be dlffcit, The pieces aways seem to slipoutof square during ghieup. ‘To prevent this, I built the simple jig shown in the photo at right. Itprovides an accurate reference that makes it ‘easy to square up the door. A glance at the draving shows that the jit consists of a plywood base that supports the door and two wood cleats that form a. square corner. It’s important thatthe cleats are 90° to each other. So start by ol AN acew attaching one cleat with ghie and uwehiqntH eee — screws, Then use a framing square ‘ to position the second cleat as you she and use in pe, le To use the jig, start by placing each clamp directly over (and par alle to) the rails of the frame. Then, adjust the pressure and position of the clamps until the frame sits ‘square in the jig. Note: To prevent ghie fom ore, exe sticking tothe fg, Ibrushed on ser. REPEWASE Gee eral coats of polyurethane f vse Peau scusne ros SECOND Ear Squaring a Mitered Corner For some projets, tke the mitered box shown in the draving at Tight band clamps the caiest way Ra, SECOND ane, to hold the project together while the glue dries, But there is one small problem. The mitered corners tend to slip out of alignment as the clamp t istghtened. us eonene ‘So in addition to the band clamp, I eae clamp short pieces of aluminum angle bracket to the inside of each corner to draw the miter together. _As you can see in the detail, filing a slight roundover on the outside comer ofthe bracket provides room forge squeezeout 10 ShopNotes No. 51TIPS FROM OUR SHOP e Clamping Squares @ The problem with assembling a large project is it's hard to keep it from racking after you add the glue and then try to screw it together. As shown in the drawing at right, I solved this problem by making sev- eral plywood “clamping squares” that resemble a framing square. ‘When clamped in place, they square up the cabinet and hold the pieces in position. Miter Joint Corner Clamp MIs a challenge gluing miter below, you can see that this comer A pair of wedges sized to fit joints. There just isn't an easy way to clamp uses a pieve of plywood for a between the workpiece and the cleat clamp them together. The store- base. Then a square block and two does all the work. They apply pres- bought clamps [ve tried in the past cleats are glued and screwed on top. sure in two directions at the same in‘ always poll the joint together. What's important here is that the time. When the inside wedge (the Solcame up withashopbuitcorner inside corner of the square block is one contacting the mitered piece) is ‘lamp that uses wedges to push (or exactly 90°. Then align the inside tapped forward, it pushes the joint press) the mitered pieces together. edge of each cleat parallel with the tighter together and firmly holds the Looking at the photo and drawing inside edges ofthe block. pieces in place while the glue dries. ap nsurty weotbedh WeDge. ‘Barn PAR oWO0D Toner wakes) wevece Meee 16 wore SE ORRPECE Plywood Insert i Another way to square up a case ‘ray consens is shown in the drawing at right. pauoepe gael sea ‘This method uses an insert made from a serap of plywood that’s sized to fit the inside of the case. To pro- vide room for glue squeeze-out, I ‘rimmed each corner of the insert atan angle. ‘To help hold the insert in place while you ada the clamps, serew a @ si cf clears across the top of the insert. After setting the insert in place, tightening the clamps squares the box around the insert. No. 51 ‘ShopNotes icasa uIAM RO MGTNE CSE in] Four “Must-Have” e Hammers There are ‘striking’ differences between these four hammers, That's why each one of these simple hand tools has earned its place in my toolbox. Claw Hammer Since a claw hammer is such a two parts that are nailed together 4A Claw Hammer, common too, its easy to lake for and ipthem apart. Butastraight law Forgeneral purpose granted, But when it comes to dri isn't much good fr pulling out nails. work theres no ving in nails, yanking them out, ‘That's where the curved claw more versatile foo! knocking parts ofa project together, comes in, When you apply pressure than an ordinary or prying them apart, i's hard to onthe handle, the curved claw rocks claw hammer imagine a more versatile too back against the workpicoe and Claws - Asyou can seeinthebox levers out the nail. As you can see in below, there are two types of claw the photo at right, placing a block Jhammers: straight and curved. under the claw provides even more ‘A straight claw comes in handy leverage for piling out long nails. ‘when Tim working on a remodeling Weight ~ If youtre looking for a project. just drive the law between new claw hammer, one thing to con- sider isthe weight of the head. They dled hammer. It's resilient enough to i 2 _rangein weight from to 28 ounces. absorb the shock of the blow. The Pec caed Although Ican drive nails faster with only drawback is the hammer head eee cee vine — ahheaxy hammer, it pts more strain eventually loosens upon the handle frag apart boars ram, Soluse Taft not noble vith fie gather s Bat wen paling nals, 2 160uncehammerformostwork. glass handle or a_steebbodied Youll get eve everage Handle ~ Another thing to Keep hammer. Just be sure they have a Kier er Cale in mind fs the type of material used good quality rubber (or leather) grip for the handle. I prefer a wood-han- _ to help cushion the blow. Warrington Hammer. Here’sahammer that Tkeeprightby But with this hammer, the cross my bench. Its called a Warrington peen slips between my fingers. As a hammer, and instead ofa claw. it es result, I can tap the nail to get it \. alla, wedge-shaped crass peen on started without hitting my fingers. theendofthehead.Aterdoing ‘Then I just fp the head around and some checking around, I use the striking face on the opposite found out it’s named after end to drive in the nail the town in England where Side Strikes — Another unusual ‘twas frst manufactured. thing about this hammer is there's a Cross Peen -Sowhat’s striking face on each side of the head the big deal about a cross as well. These side stries make it pen? Inaword, i'safingersaver'To easy to pound in a nail when I'm ‘A Warrington, understand why, take a look at the _workingin close quarters. Awedge-shaped photoatright. When 'm assembling Weight - Here again, Warrington back of a cabinet or the wood strips cross-peen makes a a project with stall nails or brads, hammers are available in a range of used to hold apiece of glass in a cab- @ Warmington hammer the head of the nail barely sticks up weights G¥., 6, 10, and 120unce inet door. Note: These hammers are a great ‘oo! for above my fingers. So Toften end up sizes). prefer aSounce hammer. Its availble at some woodworking stores chiving smalinails. Witting my fingers instead of the nail, jus ight for tasks Tike nailing on the and fromthe sources on page 31. 12 ‘ShopNotes: No. 51e Magnetic Tack Hammer Ball-Peen Hammer. Assimple idea that saves a lot of time and frustration. That’s the reason I like this magnetic tack hammer. It makes it easy to hold a workpiece in position with one hand — and drive {na small nai or brad with the other. Split End ~ Ifyou take a look at the photo at left, you can see how this works. The tack hammer has a Jong slot in the head and a narrow “split” at the end, This split is what allows the end to be magnetized. ‘Third Hand - ‘The magnetized end of the hammer holds the brad like a “third hand.* As shown here, Toften need a hammer designed for working with metal. That’s when a balkpeen hammer comes in handy. Rounded Ball ~ One thing that ‘makes a balt-peen hammer so useful is the rounded dail on the end of the head opposite the striking face. ‘The ball is ideal for shaping soft metal. A good example is shown at left. The wood and metal parts of this, project are held together with short pieces of brass rod. Here, the ball is ‘being used to peen the ends of the rods over like a mushroom to draw ‘the pieces together. this frees up one hand to stretch a vweb tightly across the chair rungs. A quick rap of the hammer sets the tip ofthe brad in the rung, Then flip the head of the hammer and driven the brad with the square end, Styles ~Justa note aboutditferent styles of tack hammers. Instead of the square striking face as shown above, some tack: hammers have a round face. But I haven't found that the shape makes much difference. Tack. Amagnetic tack harnmer lets you start tiny nails (or brads) with ‘one hand General Purpose ~ But aside from the ball, this hammer is a great general purpose tool. 'use it for everything from striking punches and cold chisels to setting the depth of plane blade and knocking parts of a tool into alignment. Weight - Once aguin, ballpeen ‘hammers are available in a range of ‘weights (4 to 32 ounces). I've found that an Sounce hammer like the one shown above handles most jobs. Balt-peen. A Whethor you're shaping soft metal or knocking parts of 2 too! into alignment, a ball-peen hammer Is just the ticket (Quite iran, this hammer loos funny Tt thas a long “nose,” short claws, and a ‘machined striking face on each side of the head (like a Warrington hammer). But when I used it to help build a deck recently, Iwas impressed. Nose ~ On several occasions, Thad to ‘pound nails into pieces that were partially obstructed by other parts of the deck. ‘That's when the long nose came in handy —itprovided the extra “reach" Ineeded, Nail Slot ~ Another feature Iiked is recessed groove in the nose thatholds a nail. With the nail in the groave (a ‘magnet keeps it from falling out), I was able to hold boards in position with one hand then start and drive nails ‘with the other. Cats Paw - ven the claws are different. To dig out embedded nails inset photo), the claws taper to a sharp point like the claws of a cat. And since the claws are quite short, it also ‘nereases leverage when paling a nal More Details - In addition to all ‘that, this hammer has a 13"long fiber- glass handle, a 20-0unce head, and a rubber grip, Allin all, itadds up to an excellent framing hammer, (A mail order source is listed on page 81.)Quick Fixes Let’s face it. A hammer gets beat up with use. So it’s bound to need a few, fixes to keep itin “swing.” Check the Face - Over time, the ‘Striking face of ahammer gets dented or dinged. And sometimes rust and dried-on gunk accumulate on the face. Either way, it can make it hard to hit anail squarely on the head. All that’s needed to clean up the face is a few light strokes with a fle Photo A). [also make it a point to “rough up” the face with sandpaper (120grt). Since my aim has been known to be less than perfect, this helps prevent a misplaced blow from. slancing off the head of the nai Sharpen the Claws ~ The claws of a hammer may also need atten- tion, Pulling a lot of nails can round over the inside edges of the claws which means they won't grip as well. Auiliy knifo is allittakos to trim off the frayed wooo! fibers at the base of the head. 4 To 1esea he head ofa hammer, D siartty rapping the end of he iancle ona soi surlace uw A Tune-Up. It only takes a minute to “tune up" a hammer. After filng the face smoath (Photo A), sharpen ‘The solution is to “sharpen” the claws. An easy way to do this is to rock the head back and forth on a sanding block until the edges are nice and sharp (Photo B). Oil Handle - To improve the arip of the hammer, its also a good idea to clean off any dirt and grime on the handle. Then after lightly sanding the handle, apply a couple ts To secure the head on the handle, drive the metal wedge below tne top of the head. 2 Now trin off the waste sticking up above the head. Then sand the end of the hanale lush, ShopNotes. the ciaws with sandpaper (Photo B). Then apply ol to keep the wood handle from drying out (Photo C). coats of linseed oil to keep the wood. rom drying out (Photo C), FIXING A LOOSE HEAD Even with proper care, the wood ‘handle may shrink and cause the head of the hammer to loosen up. This is annoying at best. Butif the head fies off the handle, it's downright dan gerous. So the few minutes it takes to fixa loose head is time well spent. ‘Reseat the Head ~The idea is to reseat the head by driving it far ther down on the handle As you can see in Step 1 at left, several good solid raps on the end of the handle ‘will set the head tightly in place. Drive in Wedges ~ The next step is to use a punch to drive the metal wedge (or wedges) further down into the handle, as shown in Step 2. Be sure to set the wedge below the top of the head. This way, ‘you won't have to worry about cut- ting into the wedge when trimming off the waste at the top end of the handle (Step 3). ‘Trim Slivers ~ One thing to note about this process is it may fray the ‘wood fibers atthe base of the head. If 0, just trim off the wood slivers as shown in the margin. REPLACING A HANDLE Ifthe handle on a hammer cracks (or breaks), its easy to replace. But first, ou'l need to buy a new handle, Selecting a Handle - There's a good selection of wood handles at ‘most home centers, Usually, they're rade of hickory which is a strong, resilient wood that helps absorb the No. 51shock ofa blow. Ijust pick a handle toms out” aguinst the head. thatsclosestinszeto the oldhandle. _Toaccomplish that, slide the handle Mosthandles come witha hardwood into the eye as far asi goes. fitrubs ‘wedgeandione (rtwo) metal wedges, against the sides (or ends), remove asshown in the drawing at right. the handle and fie offa small amount ‘Tapered Eye As you can sce, of material Gtep 2). Then just con- there's a tenon on the end of the tinue this tral and error process handle that ts intoan opening inthe until you get.a good fi. head, (This opening isthe ey ofthe Trim Handle — if gait’ hammer) The eye is tapered on the you're satisfied with “es sides and ends. This way, when you the fit, seat the head Ry drive in the wedges, it spreads the onthe handle as before. tenon apart and creates ajam” fit. ‘Then mark and remove the waste at Remove Old Handle~Sinceits the top end ofthe handle asin Step 3, suchatightfitthe only waytoremove Cut Kerfs - Before instaling the the head and install the wedges, theoldhandleisto push toutthe op wedges, there's one more thing to Start with the wood wedge, taping end ofthe eye. To do this simply saw do, That's to remove the handle and itinsfaras you can (Step 5). aff the handle below the head and cut two Kerfs for the metal wedges, Alter trimming off the excess, is then drive out the remaining waste, as shown in Step4. (The kerffor the just a matter of driving inthe metal a shown in Step I below. teood wedge will already be cut in 2 wedges, To spread the handle apart Fit the Tenon ~The next stepis new handle) The kerfs will make evenly, alternately tap one wedge, tofitthetenononthehandleintothe the wedges easier to install and pre: hen the other, a shown in Step 6 head, It docart have tobe a snug ft. ventthem from “following” the grain Don't worry if the wedges don't go (The wedges wil take care of that) ofthe handle allthe way in.Justtrim ofthe excess Even so, ou wantitto tall the way Install Wedges ~ Now all that's with a hack saw and file them flush ‘in until the shoulder of the tenon “bot- left is to slide the handle back into with the top of the head. & | J Tovemove the wasiointheeye, AYA fle wil help speed up the 3 With the head ‘seated on the place the head over an open dad process of fiting the tenon cn «J shoulder of the tenon, mark the Vise and use @ bolt asa punch. the handle into the eye of the head. waste at the top end of the handle. Gite timing off the waste, Now ft he head back entothe @ # cut kerts for the metal wedges |= handle, tap in the wood wedge Q insice tne head, alternately tap at 90°to the kerf for the wood wedge. as faras it goes, and trim the waste. the metal wedges into place. (To spread the handle apart evenly No. 51 ShopNotes 15TPosty ad one regret ater Abuitding this auxiiary table and fence for my band sew — I wish I'd done it sooner. If you take a look at the photo above, its easy to see wiv. Large Worksurface - Firstof all, the table ereates a large work- surface that's about three times larger than the cast ron table on my band sav. Tis provides plenty ofextra support when making a curved cut. Plus I can rip (or resaw) a long board without having ittp off the back edge ofthe saw. ‘The tableis designed to mount othe casiron table on the band sew. By looking underneath the band sew as in the inset photo above, you can sce how this works To keep the auxiliary table from shifting around, a simple system of wood cleats surrounds the cast iron table. Tightening a set of small wood blocks against the cleats holds the auxiliary table securely in place. MCL Tag yan Adjustable Fence - As much as Ilike the large table, the thing that’s made an even more sign cant improvement to my band saw is an adjustable fence. Itpro- vides a qui need to fiddle with clamps to lock the fence in plac ‘The fence rides on a metal rail that attaches to the front of the table. To position the fence, simply slide it along the rail until is the desired distance from the band sav. blade. Then as you can seein photo ‘A’ below, turning a singie knob allows you to lock the fence securely on the rail ‘This fence also solves another nagging problem that often crops up when working on a band saw. That's the tendency of the blade to “pull” the workpiece at an angle during a cut. (This is called drift) To compensate for this, the metal rail can be adjusted so the fence matches the angle of drift. Stop/Pivot Block ~ Just ‘one more note about the fence. ‘There's a T-shaped slot on the front of the fence that accepts a simple accessory. As you can seein the photosat let, it serves ‘wo different purposes. First, it acts as a stop which comes in handy when cutting tenons. Second, the rounded ‘edge ofthe block can be used as a pivot point when resawing. information ‘A. Fence Clamp. The band saw B. Stop/Pivot Block. An adjustable block does double fonce has 2 builtin clamp thats duty as a stop (left) and a pivot block when resawing locked in place with 4 plastic knob. (right). Tightening a knob clamps the block on the fence. (For resawing with a pivot block, refer to page 27.) 16 ShopNotes No. 51