PLUNGE RUMBLE: WHO’S LEFT STANDING? AUTHENTIC ARTS & CRAFTS FINISH: 5 SIMPLE STEPS TO SUCCESS

JUNE 2002 ISSUE #128

2002 REPORT We strip down 20 and report the NAKED truth 7 RULES OF RESAWING Tune your band ; make flawless cuts 6 Pro Tricks TO PERFECT BEDS Easiest methods ever produce rock-solid results

www.popwood.com $4.99U.S. $7.99CAN Actor Dan Haggerty with Ben, Stars of ™ “Grizzly Adams” PURVEYORS OF FINE MACHINERY – SINCE 1983 MODEL G8794 MODEL G1021Z MODEL G1033 1 12⁄2" Portable Planer 15" Planer w/ CABINET Stand 20" Planer • 3 H.P., 220V, SINGLE-PHASE MOTOR • 3 H.P., 220V, SINGLE-PHASE MOTOR • 2 H.P., 110V • PRECISION GROUND CAST IRON BED • TABLE IS PRECISION-GROUND TO A MIRROR-LIKE FINISH MOTOR, 15 AMPS • CUTTERHEAD SPEED: 5000 R.P.M. • CUTTERHEAD SPEED: 4833 R.P.M. • CUTTERHEAD SPEED: • RATE OF FEED: 16 F.P.M. & 20 F.P.M. • RATE OF FEED: 16 F.P.M. & 20 F.P.M. 8,540 R.P.M. 7 1 • MAX. WIDTH: 14 ⁄8" • MAX. CUTTING DEPTH: ⁄8" • MAX. CUTTING WIDTH: 20" • HEAVY-DUTY CAST IRON • FEED RATE: 1 5 Actor • MAX. CUTTING HEIGHT: 6 ⁄8" • NUMBER OF : 3 • MAX. CUTTING HEIGHT: 8 ⁄8" CONSTRUCTION 25 F.P.M. 1 Dan Haggerty • ALL BALL BEARING • MAX. CUTTING DEPTH: ⁄8" PPROX HIPPING • NUMBER OF PUTS PER • A . S CONSTRUCTION • NUMBER OF KNIVES: 4 H.S.S. EIGHT LBS INCH: 57 W : 785 . • APPROX. SHIPPING • MIN. BOARD 4 3 WEIGHT 540 LBS. THICKNESS: ⁄16" CUTTERHEAD! • MAX. CUTTING 1 WIDTH:12⁄2" 1999 • MAX. CUTTING HEIGHT: 6" 1 • MAX. CUTTING DEPTH: ⁄16" • APPROX. SHIPPING WEIGHT: 85 LBS. ONLY ONLY $ 00 ONLY $ 95 995 $ 00 “I love dealing with 289 FREE STAND 1,295 INCLUDED WITH G8794 PLANER $125 SHIPPING Grizzly Industrial. $30 SHIPPING (700LB. CAPACITY) ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES $150 SHIPPING They have excellent ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES products and stand MODEL G1182HW MODEL G1182ZX MODEL G1018HW 6" x 47" 6" x 47" Heavy-Duty 8" x 65" SUPER behind everything with Handwheels Jointer Heavy-Duty Jointer they sell.” • 1 H.P., SINGLE-PHASE, 110/220V MOTOR (PRE-WIRED TO 110 V) • 1 H.P., SINGLE-PHASE, 110/220V MOTOR (PRE-WIRED TO 110 V) • 3- CUTTERHEAD IS 3" IN DIA. AND RUNS IN • HEAVY-DUTY ONE PIECE STEEL STAND W/BUILT IN CHIP CHUTE • HEAVY-DUTY ONE PIECE STEEL STAND W/BUILT IN CHIP CHUTE SHIELDED, PRE-LUBRICATED BALL BEARINGS 1 • PRECISION GROUND CAST IRON BED • PRECISION GROUND CAST IRON BED • POWERFUL 1 ⁄2 H.P., 220V SINGLE PHASE MOTOR • SUPER HEAVY-DUTY, CENTER-MOUNTED - POSITIVE • RE-DESIGNED FENCE SYSTEM - POSITIVE STOPS @ 45º & 90º EASILY PLOWS THROUGH 1 STOPS @ 45º & 90º • 3 KNIFE BALL BEARING CUTTERHEAD • 3 KNIFE BALL BEARING CUTTERHEAD • TABLE SIZE: 6" X 47" • MAXIMUM DEPTH OF CUT IS ⁄2" AND 1 1 FREE • TABLE SIZE: 6" X 47" • ⁄2" RABBETING CAPACITY • ⁄2" RABBETING CAPACITY INFEED TABLE HAS RABBETING LEDGE PAIR OF SAFETY • APPROX. SHIP. WEIGHT: 215 LBS. • APPROX. SHIPPING • SUPER HEAVY-DUTY CAST IRON BED PUSH BLOCKS WEIGHT: 235 LBS. • APPROX. SHIPPING WT. 450 LBS. FREE PAIR OF SAFETY PUSH BLOCKS FREE PAIR OF SAFETY PUSH BLOCKS ONLY ONLY ONLY $32500 $47500 $69500 $55 SHIPPING $55 SHIPPING $75 SHIPPING ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES MODEL G1035 MODEL G1026 MODEL G1019Z 1 1 ⁄2 H.P. Shaper 3 H.P. Shaper 14" 1 3 1 3 1 • 2 INTERCHANGEABLE SPINDLES: ⁄2" AND ⁄4" • 3 INTERCHANGEABLE SPINDLES: ⁄2", ⁄4" AND 1" • CUTTING CAPACITY/THROAT: 14 ⁄4" 1 3 • HEAVY-DUTY 1 ⁄2 H.P., 110/220V MOTOR • 3" TRAVEL • MAXIMUM CUTTING HEIGHT: 6 ⁄8" “Please, can we buy • TWO SPINDLE SPEEDS: 7,000 AND 10,000 R.P.M. • HEAVY-DUTY 3 H.P., SINGLE-PHASE, 220V MOTOR WITH • OVERALL SIZE: 66"H X 26"W X 22"D 1 1 1 • SPINDLE OPENINGS: 1 ⁄4", 3 ⁄2", AND 5" REVERSING SWITCH • TABLE HEIGHT ABOVE FLOOR: 42 ⁄2" it, honey?” • PRECISION-GROUND CAST IRON TABLE • 3" SPINDLE TRAVEL • TWO SPINDLE SPEEDS: 7,000 AND 10,000 R.P.M. • TABLE TILT: 45° RIGHT, 10° LEFT 1 3 3 1 • TABLE SIZE: 20 ⁄4" X 18" • SPINDLE OPENINGS: 1 ⁄8", 2 ⁄4", 4", AND 5 ⁄2" • WHEELS: FULLY BALANCED CAST 1 • FLOOR-TO-TABLE HEIGHT: 33 ⁄2" • PRECISION-GROUND CAST IRON TABLE ALUMINUM WITH RUBBER TIRES • ALL BALL BEARING CONSTRUCTION • TABLE SIZE WITH STANDARD • MOTOR: 1 H.P., TEFC, 1 1 • MAX. CUTTER DIAMETER: 5" WING ATTACHED: 30 ⁄2" X 28 ⁄4" 110V / 220V SINGLE PHASE • APPROX. SHIPPING • FLOOR-TO-TABLE • AMPS: 12@110V / 6@220V WEIGHT: 220 LBS. HEIGHT: 34" • BLADE SPEEDS: 2500 & 3350 • APPROX. SHIPPING F.P.M. 1 3 G1706 WEIGHT: 353 LBS. • BLADE SIZE: 98" ( ⁄8" TO ⁄4" EXTENSION WING SHOWN WIDE) NOT INCLUDED • APPROX. SHIP. WT. 165 LBS. ONLY ONLY ONLY $42500 $82500 $33500 $55 SHIPPING $75 SHIPPING $55 SHIPPING ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES

CALL TODAY FOR YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE: FREE 468 PAGE MEDIA CODE (570) 546-9663 1-800-523-4777 FAX: (800) 438-5901 COLOR CATALOG AD1367 395001658 3 Locations: Bellingham, WA • Springfield, MO • Muncy, PA CIRCLE NO. 107 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. WE SELL DIRECT TO THE USER! NO DEALERS AND NO MIDDLEMEN! BUY DIRECT & SAVE! • FULL 1-YEAR WARRANTY ON ALL MACHINES • MOST ORDERS SHIPPED THE SAME DAY • HUGE PARTS FACILITY WITH OVER 1 MILLION PARTS IN STOCK AT ALL TIMES • WE HAVE 2 OVERSEAS QUALITY CONTROL OFFICES STAFFED WITH QUALIFIED ENGINEERS NEW TABLE FOR 2002! MODEL G1022SM MODEL G1022PRO MODEL G1023SL 10" heavy-duty 10" LEFT-TILTING SUPER 10" Heavy-Duty Table Saw 1 5 ® • TABLE SIZE W/ EXTENSION WINGS: 27 ⁄8" X 40 ⁄8" with Shop fox classic fence 3 HEAVY-DUTY TABLE SAW • RAIL DIMENSIONS: 44" X 1 ⁄8" • MAX. RIPPING CAPACITY: 24" ® 1 1 1 • 2 H.P. MOTOR • PRECISION SHOP FOX FENCE • CUTTING CAPACITY AT 90˚: 3 ⁄8" • CUTTING CAPACITY AT 45˚: 2 ⁄8" • 1 ⁄2 • 3 H.P. SINGLE-PHASE, 220V MOTOR • MAXIMUM DEPTH OF CUT @ 90°: 3" • PRECISION GROUND TABLE & WINGS • CAST IRON MITER ADJUSTS TO 1 H.P., SINGLE-PHASE, 110/220V MOTOR (PRE-WIRED TO 110V) • SOLID CAST IRON TABLE • MAXIMUM DEPTH OF CUT @ 45°: 2 ⁄8" • WIDE & STABLE STAND ELIMINATE ANY PLAY IN MITER SLOT 5 • APPROX. SHIPPING WEIGHT: 220 LBS. • PRECISION GROUND CAST IRON 5 1 • TABLE HAS T-SLOTS SO YOUR MITER • ⁄8" DIAMETER ARBOR IS LONG ENOUGH • ⁄8" X 1 ⁄4" BALL BEARING ARBOR • MACHINED STEEL PULLEYS 13 TABLE GAUGE WILL NOT FALL OFF THE TABLE TO ACCEPT UP TO ⁄16" • 37" TABLE HEIGHT • POWER TWIST® DRIVE BELT 1 WHEN RETRACTED • ONE-PIECE STEEL CABINET-TYPE STAND • 3 ⁄8" CUTTING CAPACITY AT 90°, • 4" DUST PORT • 25" RIP CAPACITY 1 • TABLE SIZE (WITH 2 SOLID EXTENSION • MAGNETIC SAFETY SWITCH IS STANDARD 8 2 ⁄ " AT 45° • SMOOTHER ACTION HANDWHEELS 1 WINGS ATTACHED) IS 40 ⁄8" X 27" • ALL SEALED BALL BEARING CONSTRUCTION • SEE THRU BLADE GUARD • SHIPPING WEIGHT APPROX.: 290 LBS. • EXTRA-LARGE HANDWHEELS • TRIPLE V-BELT DRIVE • TABLE HAS BEVELED EDGE & T-SLOTS 1 5 INCLUDES • CUTTING CAPACITY: 8" LEFT AND 26" • POWDER COATED • 27 ⁄8" X 40 ⁄8" TABLE SIZE SHOP FOX® RIGHT OF BLADE • SHIPPING WEIGHT APPROX. 430 LBS. CLASSIC FENCE! ONLY $ 00 FULLY 325 ADJUSTABLE $55 SHIPPING CAST IRON INTRODUCTORY ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES MITER GAUGE ONLY PRICE $ 00 $ 00 MODEL G7947 550 895 12 Speed 17" $75 SHIPPING $75 SHIPPING ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES floor Press • 1 H.P., SINGLE PHASE, 110V/220V MOTOR • 12 SPEEDS: 210-3300 RPM MODEL G1066 MODEL G9983 1 • OVERALL HEIGHT: 64 ⁄2" • SWING: 17" 5 24" Drum 15" wide- • DRILL CHUCK: ⁄8" • CAPACITY: 1" STEEL 3 • SPINDLE TAPER: MT #3 • SPINDLE TRAVEL: 4 ⁄4" 5 • 5 H.P., 220V DRUM MOTOR DRIVES 2 ALUMINUM SANDING DRUMS (open end) • TABLE SIZE: 13 ⁄8" SQ. 1 RECISION ROUND AST RON ABLE • ⁄4 H.P. CONVEYOR MOTOR GIVES AN 11 FPM RATE OF FEED • P G C I T 3 ABLE ILT IN OTH IRECTIONS • 2 BUILT-IN 4" DUST PORTS FOR EASY HOOK-UP TO COLLECTION SYSTEM • OVERALL DIMENSIONS: 61 ⁄4"H X • T T : 90˚ B D 1 PPROX HIPPING EIGHT LBS • ALL STEEL AND BALL BEARING CONSTRUCTION 32 ⁄2"D X 35"W • A . S W : 275 . • STATE-OF-THE-ART COMPUTER BALANCED DRUMS • APPROX. SHIPPING • CONVEYOR SPEED 13 & 16.4 BUILT-IN LIGHT! (BULB NOT INCLUDED) 1 1 • HANDLES STOCK UP TO 23 ⁄2" WIDE X 4 ⁄4" THICK WEIGHT: 430 LBS. F.P.M. 1 • BELT FEED MOTOR: ⁄4 H.P. • SANDING BELT MOTOR: 5 H.P. ONLY • REQUIRES SINGLE-PHASE, 220V $ 00 ELECTRICAL AND 50-70 PSI AIR 375 • INCLUDES EXTENDED SUPPORT BAR FOR WIDE BOARDS $75 SHIPPING ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES ONLY • APPROX. SHIPPING WEIGHT: 1,000 LBS. $ 00 MODEL G1029 1095 ONLY $75 SHIPPING 2 H.P. Dust Collector ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES $ 00 • MOTOR AMP DRAW: 12 AMPS (220V ONLY) 2,795 • 2 H.P., 220V, SINGLE-PHASE MOTOR $200 SHIPPING • R.P.M.: 3450 ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES • STANDARD BAG FILTRATION: 30 MICRON 1 1 • PORTABLE BASE SIZE: 21 ⁄2" X 33 ⁄2" • AIR SUCTION CAPACITY: 1550 C.F.M. MODEL G9922 MODEL G1071 • STATIC PRESSURE: 12.3" • APPROX. SHIPPING WEIGHT: 130 LBS.

Oscillating Spindle Sander Oscillating Spindle Sander 1997

1 INGLE HASE OTOR • ⁄2 H.P., SINGLE PHASE, 4.6 AMP, TEFC MOTOR • 1 H.P., S P , 110/220V, TEFC M 1 1 RECISION ROUND AST RON X ABLE ILTS TO • GROUND CAST IRON 14 ⁄2" X 14 ⁄2" TABLE TILTS TO 45° • P G C I 25" 25" T T 45° 1 1 • STROKE LENGTH: 1" • BUILT-IN 2" DUST COLLECTION PORT • STROKE LENGTH: 1 ⁄2" • FLOOR-TO-TABLE HEIGHT: 35 ⁄2" FREE CYCLONE SEPARATOR! 1 UILT IN UST OLLECTION ORT • FLOOR-TO-TABLE HEIGHT: 39 ⁄2" • 3450 R.P.M. SPINDLE SPEED • B - 4" D C P • 1725 R.P.M. SPINDLE SPEED • SPINDLE OSCILLATES AT ONLY 64 STROKES-PER-MINUTE • SPINDLE OSCILLATES AT 72 S.P.M. • SHIELDED & PERMANENTLY • 10 TAPERED AND THREADED SPINDLE SIZES $ 95 LUBRICATED BALL BEARINGS • PERMANENTLY LUBRICATED 249 BALL BEARINGS • INCLUDES 80 GRIT SLEEVE HIPPING • INCLUDES 100 GRIT SLEEVE FOR $55 S FOR SPINDLE, MITER GAUGE ANYWHERE IN LOWER 48 STATES AND WRENCH SET EACH SPINDLE, MITER GAUGE AND • APPROX. SHIPPING WEIGHT: 95 LBS. WRENCH SET • APPROX. SHIPPING WEIGHT: 300 LBS.

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Franklin International Columbus, Ohio 43207 • 800-347-4583 • titebond.com CIRCLE NO. 106 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. contentsTOOLS AND TECHNIQUES 18 Thumb-saving Push Stick TRICKS OF THE TRADE This thoughtful and simple push stick keeps your thumb from slipping onto the blade. Also, build a simple ammo- nia fuming chamber and protect small blades from rust. 26 Bosch Sander Eats its Dust 26 TOOL TEST Bosch’s latest 5" random-orbit sander removes stock 28 quickly, yet keeps the dust out of your lungs. Also tested: Freud’s router-table fence and Bench Dog’s ProLift. 28 Band-sawn Pencil Posts INGENIOUS JIGS There are several ways to cut octagonal pencil posts for the traditional bed featured in this issue. Here’s a method for woodworkers who like working on the band saw. By Nick Engler 31 Jet’s JPM-13 Planer/Molder ENDURANCE TEST Priced between a portable planer and a 15" model, the Jet JPM-13 has big-planer features and the ability to cut miles 42 of moulding. Find out how ours fared after years of use. 48 42 Premium Plunge Routers These mid-sized plungers have finesse, guts and lots of features. We test four of the most popular models to find out who has the smoothest and most accurate machine. 46 Tape Measures The lowly is the difference between parts that fit and parts that make you throw a fit. Buy a good tape measure. Here’s how. 48 Parallel-jaw Clamps 58 Until recently, Bessey K-bodies were the parallel-jaw of choice. Gross Stabil and Jorgensen now hope to dethrone the red leader with new lines of clamps. We strip them down and clamp them up to get some answers. 58 Resawing With the Band Saw The trick to effortless resawing is choosing the right blade, tuning up your saw and aligning the fence properly. Here’s how to do all three like a pro. By Lonnie Bird 68 Arts & Crafts Finish You don’t have to fume your projects with ammonia to 31 get a rich turn-of-the-century finish. We show you how to 68 get great results using dye and glaze.

www.popwood.com 3 PROJECTS 32 Building the Perfect Bed 42 With these simple tricks, you can build any size bed ON THE COVER that’s as sturdy as a mule. Plus, we give you the plans Mid-size plunge for this easy and elegant routers are capable of pencil-post design. almost any routing By Troy Sexton chore in the home workshop. We run 38 Arts & Crafts them all through their Globe Stand paces and pick the best If you have a library or a for you. taste for adventure, a stand Cover photo by Al Parrish. for your globe is just the right project. If this design doesn’t suit you, we also offer three other options. 32 By Dan Brody

52 Shaker Press Cupboard A single drawer and two doors make this IN EVERY ISSUE useful cabinet a challenge for the begin- ning woodworker, without being an over- 6 Out on a Limb whelming undertaking. Time to Shape Up By Glen Huey

8 Letters 62 Drop-lid School Desk Mail from readers Built entirely with hand tools (though there’s no sin in firing up your router), this 14 Q & A small desk is a lesson in traditional - We answer readers’ working and dealing with wood movement. most difficult questions By Dale Lucas 22 American Woodshops Scott Phillips gives you an inside look at his new shop

76 Flexner on Finishing The Case for Shellac

79 Caption the Cartoon 52 Win a Freud FJ85

Popular Woodworking (ISSN 0884-8823, USPS 752-250) is published six times a year in February, 80 Out of the April, June, August, October and December by F&W Publications Inc. Editorial and advertising offices Woodwork are located at 1507 Dana Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45207; tel.: 513-531-2222. Unsolicited manuscripts, Snakes, Scrap Wood photographs and artwork should include ample postage on a self-addressed, stamped envelope and Justice (SASE); otherwise they will not be returned. Subscription rates: A year’s subscription (6 issues) is $24.96; outside of U.S add $7/year ■ Canada Publications Mail Agreement No. 40025316. Canadian by Walt Akers return address: 2744 Edna St., Windsor, ON N8Y 1V2 ■ Copyright © 2002 by Popular Woodworking. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send all address changes to Popular Woodworking, P.O. Box 5369, Harlan, IA 51593 Canada GST Reg. # 62 R122594716 ■ Produced and printed in the U.S.A. Ride-along enclosed in polybag version 52000.

4 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 CIRCLE NO. 104 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. OUT ON A LIMB ®

June 2002, Vol. 22, No. 3 www.popularwoodworking.com Time to Shape Up Editorial Offices 513-531-2690 Editor & Publisher Steve Shanesy ext. 238 • [email protected] Making the case for shapers in the woodshop. Art Directors Linda Watts, Tricia Barlow Senior Editor David Thiel ext. 255 • [email protected] et me be the first to confess: You haven’t Compared to any router table setup, Senior Editor Christopher Schwarz Lseen “boo” in this magazine about wood the shaper is a beast with a steel cabinet base, ext. 407 • [email protected] shapers. You haven’t seen a tool review, a cast-iron top, split cast-iron fences, steel Assistant Editor Kara Gebhart technique article or even a mention about throat inserts and an induction motor. ext. 348 • [email protected] using one during a project. On the other A nice light-duty shaper (as defined by its Project Illustrator John W. Hutchinson 1 1 3 hand, we’ve shown you dozens of router table 1 ⁄2 horsepower motor and ⁄2" to ⁄4" spindle Photographer Al Parrish setups, router table reviews, even how to size) is $700 from Jet Tools. Grizzly offers one Contributing Editors build your own router table and fence. for $425; Bridgewood’s is $495. These ma- Nick Engler And during the past several years I’ve chines feature two speeds; a reversing induc- Bob Flexner Glen Huey groused time and again to the staff about tion (not universal) motor, which Scott Phillips how expensive these items are. It means it is extremely quiet; a Troy Sexton got to the point that I canceled a cast-iron top; and the cut- Senior Vice President David Lewis planned router table review ters, mounted on the Editorial Director David Fryxell and then threw down spindle, are easily ad- CIRCULATION the gauntlet – “I can justed up and down by turn- David Lee, Vice President build a great router table for ing a hand wheel on the Jennifer Shaffer, Group Manager $50.” It was featured in the front. Cutters are installed June 2001 issue. from the top and it can more PRODUCTION Don’t get me wrong, some safely handle larger-diameter Barbara Schmitz, Vice President Heather Griffin, Production Coordinator of these aftermarket acces- cutters than the router. sories are well made and will Of course, what you can’t ADVERTISING provide years of good serv- do with a shaper is remove Advertising Director ice. One of the latest exam- the motor for hand-held use Don Schroder ples is the “router lift” mecha- like you can with a router. 331 N. Arch St., Allentown, PA 18104 Tel. 610-821-4425; Fax 610-821-7884 nism. The engineering and per- When it comes to tool- [email protected] formance on some of these prod- ing, you can easily install a Classified Advertising Sales ucts is tremendous. spindle in the shaper that Joan Wright, Tel. 800-388-1820 1 1 [email protected] But throughout the years, uses ⁄4" and ⁄2" collets, so Advertising Production Coordinator woodworkers’ love of the router you don’t have to replace or Debbie Thomas, Tel. 513-531-2690, ext. 219 (a passion I share) has been ex- double up on tooling with one [email protected] ploited by companies that have intro- kind for the shaper and another for SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES Subscription inquiries, duced one product after another to make the the router. But you can buy shaper cut- orders and address changes can be made at hand-held router more versatile. Looked ters that sometimes provide greater value www.popwood.com (click on Subscriber Services). Or by mail: Popular Woodworking, P.O. Box 5369, at separately, a router table, a nice router than router bits. That’s because many shaper Harlan, IA 51593 or call 515-280-1721. Include your address with all inquiries. fence and a router lift are all good ideas. cutters come with more than one profile. For Allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery. But when you put them all together, the example, one shaper cutter will have both a NEWSSTAND DISTRIBUTION Curtis Circulation Co., 1 1 730 River Rd., New Milford, NJ 07646 only thing greater than the sum of the parts ⁄4" and ⁄2" radius profile. is the expense involved. It’s an expense that It’s high time the once-popular shaper ATTENTION RETAILERS: is far greater than a light-duty , should get another look. And I promise you To carry Popular Woodworking in your store, call RetailVision at 1-800-381-1288 ext. 6050 or write RetailVision, 23 Pond Lane, which provides superior performance. that in future issues we’ll be acquainting you Middlebury VT 05753. Do the math. First, you need a good medi- in more detail about this machine’s many Back issues are available for $6.50 ($8.50 Canada; $10.50 other foreign). Send check or money order to: Popular Woodworking/ um- to heavy-duty router: $200. Add to that benefits for the home woodworker. PW F&W Publications Products, P.O. Box 2031, Harlan IA, 51593; or a router table and fence: $350. Put on a router call 888-419-0421. Please specify publication, month and year. lift mechanism: $350. OK, that’s $900, SAFETY NOTE: Safety is your responsibility. Manufacturers place safety devices on and there’s bound to be another gizmo that their equipment for a reason. In many photos you see in Popular Woodworking, these have been removed to provide clarity. In some will get you to $1,000 faster than you can Steve Shanesy, cases we’ll use an awkward body position so you can better see what’s being demonstrated. Don’t copy us. Think about each whip out your credit card. editor and publisher procedure you’re going to perform beforehand. Safety First!

6 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 SEE THIS FINE MACHINE AT AN AUTHORIZED DEALER NEAR YOU!

his saw will definitely take center stage in any shop. We’ve included two large precision Tground cast iron wings, a jumbo miter gauge with a patented adjustment feature, and a powerful 3 H.P. motor with a triple belt drive system. The SHOP FOX® Classic Fence with a 26" rip capacity provides a compact and sturdy means for dependable and accurate ripping. (Longer rails are available.) W1677 SHOP FOX® 3 HP Left-Tilting Table Saw

LEFT-TILTING TABLE SAW ♦ MOTOR: 3 H.P., SINGLE-PHASE, 220V ♦ DRIVE: TRIPLE BELT 1 ♦ TABLE SIZE: 40 ⁄8" X 27" WITH WINGS (INCLUDED) ♦ TABLE: PRECISION GROUND CAST IRON WITH T-SLOTS 5 ♦ ARBOR: ⁄8" (CAN ACCEPT AS WELL) ♦ TABLE SAW INSERTS: 2 INCLUDED (STANDARD AND DADO) ♦ MITER GAUGE: HEAVY-DUTY CAST-IRON INCLUDES PATENTED ADJUSTABLE MITER BAR ♦ SWITCH: HEAVY-DUTY MAGNETIC ♦ MAX. BLADE HEIGHT: 3" ♦ WEIGHS APPROX. 450 lbs.

403801958R [email protected] 1-800-840-8420 www.woodstockinternational.com Technical Support: 360-734-3482 CALL TODAY FOR THE NAME OF A DEALER NEAR YOU

CIRCLE NO. 125 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. We s t Pe n n LETTERS HARDWOODS, INC. Satisfaction Guaranteed • No Minimum Orders Quarter-Sawn White • High Figure Curly Now Also Exotic Species: Bloodwood, Bubinga, Jatoba, Spanish Cedar Padauk, Purpleheart, Zebrawood and more NEW: European Steamed ALL CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED Users Speak Up Call for free catalog and pricing. TOLL FREE (888) 636-WOOD (9663) The Radial Arm Saw Actually Has Add Storage for Sheet Goods Benefits Over the Table Saw to the $30 Rack Your senior editor’s comments on radial arm The “$30 Lumber Rack” (April 2002, page saws, although he did state that they were 76) is a tremendous idea for wood storage. his opinions, makes me question whether he I like the ability to change the configuration has ever used a radial arm saw (see Q & A, of the rack at any time. In fact, I ran out and page 12, April 2002). My Sears radial arm picked up the material right away so I could saw has a kit added that makes it almost im- get my shop organized. possible to get your fingers near the saw blade. I ran my vertical supports from ceiling to My radial arm saw is equipped with an floor. One suggestion I would like to make anti-kickback system that is always in effect for others: Instead of placing the verticals during ripping. Can you say that for the table on the wall, I spaced them about 7" from the saw? With the radial arm saw you easily can wall. I bolted them to the joists above and see where the blade is relative to your cut- the cement floor below using standard 90° line before starting your cut. Can you do that brackets found in the building section of my with the table saw? local home supply store. I drilled into the With a table saw you always have to move floor using a hammer drill and used Tapcon CIRCLE NO. 121 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. the wood when cutting. On a radial arm saw threaded concrete screws to anchor the brack- you move the wood only when ripping. ets. The 7" space behind is for sheet goods As to the workable area of the tabletop, storage. Thanks again for a great, simple so- the table saw needs more area because you lution to wood storage. are always moving the workpiece. As to hav- Michael Mathews ing an adjustable fence, this feature on a table Jackson, Michigan saw has given rise to very expensive adjustable fence designs to keep from binding the wood Thicker Irons Don’t when cutting. If your table saw doesn’t have Always Work in All Hand Planes a good fence that keeps the wood parallel to After reading your article about tuning and the saw blade, the work can bind. using hand planes (April 2002, page 48), I In addition, when crosscutting on the have the following comment. I agree that buy- table saw, the wood is held perpendicular to ing an old relic plane and restoring it to a use- the blade by only a very short fence. On the able condition is both thrifty and rewarding. radial arm saw, it’s located by a fence that continued on page 12 runs the full length of the table plus any over- hang built in. In addition, the rotation of WRITE TO US the blade holds the work against the fence. Wilbert Freid Popular Woodworking welcomes letters from readers with questions or comments about the Sarasota, Florida magazine or woodworking in general.We try to respond to all correspondence. Published letters Editor’s note: We realize there are diehard ra- may be edited for length or style.All letters dial arm saw users out there, but we continue become the property of Popular Woodworking. to insist that for the home workshop, the table How to send your letter: • E-mail: [email protected] saw is a far safer, accurate and efficient ma- • Fax: 513-531-0919 chine. And in commercial woodworking shops, • Mail carrier: most radial arms saws are relegated to cross- Letters • Popular Woodworking cutting rough lumber. 1507 Dana Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45207

8 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 Make Beautiful Raised Panel Doors...

with a 1/4" or 1/2" router, PANEL and 1/2" or 3/4" shaper. STILE Plus, make many other types of doors RAIL and projects with our carbide tipped, production quality Raised Panel Door Sets, including: Flat Panel Doors, Kitchen Cabinet Doors, Cathedral Doors, Glass Doors, Wainscotting, Entertainment Center Doors. Sets include Combination ✶Cove Raised Panel Router Bit Rail and Stile bit, and Raised Panel bit. For our FREE tips and techniques manual order item #9069.

#1438 Raised Panel Door Video ....$9.95 ✶ Combination Rail & Stile Bit 1/4'' Shank Raised Panel Set 1/2''Shank Raised Panel Set 1/2'' and 3/4" Shaper Set Carbide Tipped! Includes 2" Carbide Tipped! Includes Carbide Tipped! Includes dia. Cove Raised Panel bit with $ 95 3-1/2" dia. Cove Raised Panel $ 95 4-5/8" diameter Cove plus $ 95 ball bearing and Ogee 69 bit with ball bearing and Ogee 79 Ogee Combination Rail and 99 SET #1301 SET #1302 SET #1303 Combination Rail and Stile bit. Combination Rail and Stile bit. Stile Shaper Cutters. 15 Piece Router Bit Set 30 Piece Router Bit Set 66 Piece Router Bit Set MLCS Anniversary Set at a once-in-a-lifetime price! Celebrate our Anniversary by saving money! An amazing price for our most complete set! Featuring these Featuring these carbide tipped bits: carbide tipped bits: 4 Straight (3/16", 1/4", 3 Cove (1/4", 3/8", 1/2"), 1/2", 3/4"), 2 Flush Trim (3/8",1/2") 1 Cove (1/2") 6 Round Over 1 Round Over (3/8"), (1/8",3/16", 1/4",5/16", 1 Roman Ogee (5/32") 3/8", 1/2") 1 14º Dovetail (1/2"), 5 Straight (1/4", 5/16", 1 Rabbeting (3/8") 3/8", 1/2", 3/4") 1 Panel Pilot 1 (45º), 1 45º Chamfer, 1 Slot Cutter (1/4"), Includes the 30 Piece Set (left) plus these bits: 1 Flush Trim (1/2"), 1 Rabbeting (3/8") 1 V- (1/2"), Straight (7/16", 5/8", 1"), 1 (30°), 1 Hinge Mortising (1/2"), 1 Groove Forming Classical (3/4"), 1 Keyhole (3/8"), 1 Bevel (25º) 1 Round Nose (1/4") Hinge Mortising (1/2", 5/8", 3/4"), Classical Bit (3/16" r), 1 Panel Pilot (3/8") 1 V-Groove (3/8") 3 Core Box (1/4", 3/8", 1/2"), 1 Dish Cutter (1"), 1 allen wrench and $ 95 3 Round Nose (1/4", 3/8", 1/2"), V-Groove (3/8", 5/8"), Cove (1/8", 3/16", 5/16"), 1 bearing to convert Round 39 3 Dovetail (14º-1/2", 5/8" & 9º-3/8") 1 Flat Bottom Sign Lettering (5/8" 60°), 1/4"Shank•#1442 2 Roman Ogee (5/32", 1/4") 1 Double Cove & , 1 Ogee Filet (1-3/8"), 1 Cove Over into Beading bit. 1/2" Shank•#1443 $ 95 1 Allen Wrench and 1 bearing 99 and Bead (5/16" r), 2 Edge Beading (1/4", 3/8"), WOOD STORAGE BOX INCLUDED to convert Round Over into 1/4"Shank•#1444 Dovetail (7.5°-1/4",14°-3/4), Slot Cutter (3/8") 1/2" Shank•#1445 Beading bit. 1 Point Cutting Round Over (1/2"), WOOD STORAGE BOX INCLUDED 1 Flat Bottom Round Over (1/4" r), Safety Small Parts Holder 1 Multi Bead/Reed Bit (1/8" r), 1 Double Round Over (5/32" r), $ 95 Eliminate danger when 224 6 Piece Cabinetmaker 1 Cove Sign Lettering (5/8" 60°), 1/4"Shank•#1446 working with small 1/2" Shank•#1447 parts. Securely posi- Router Bit Set Chamfer (30°, 22.5°, 15°), 4 bearings & allen wrench WOOD STORAGE BOX INCLUDED tions and aligns small 1/2" shank Carbide parts with quick Tipped set. Make release clamping kitchen cabinets, raised 16 Piece Forstner Bit Set action, preventing slip- panel doors, table tops ping and keeping fin- and drawers. For up to Includes these sizes: gers away from sharp 3/4" wood. Includes 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", cutting edges. Large, these bits: 3/4", 7/8", 1", easy-to-grip handles guarantee precision and 1-1/8", 1-1/4", control when custom-shaping small pieces. • Glue Joint (1-3/4") 1-3/8", 1-1/2", Handles wood stock up to 10” and any cut • Drawer Lock (1-3/4") 1-5/8", 1-3/4", angle up to 45 degrees. Works for router or • Rail & Stile Matched Pair (1-5/8") 1-7/8", 2", 2-1/8". saw tables, drill presses, band saws, • Ogee Raised Panel (2-3/4") and more. Great for toy parts, $ 95 $ 95 door rail ends, and other detail • Round Over & Ogee $ 95 Door Lip (1-1/4") 114 43 jobs that would be dangerous 19 SET #1452 SET #1418 or impossible without it. ITEM #1451 WOOD STORAGE BOX INCLUDED WOOD STORAGE BOX INCLUDED

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CIRCLE NO. 115 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD.

In the ’50s and ’60s, suburbs started springing up all

10-inch Table Saw over America. And Craftsman® tools were with Align-A-Rip XRC. For a consistent cut every time. there. Pounding in nails. Tightening screws.

Sawing boards. However, there was one piece of equipment that

wasn’t available back then. But considering the suburbs’ zest for uniformity, it would have

come in handy. It’s the new Professional Heavy-Duty 10-inch Table Saw. While it has all the

CRAFTSMAN HELPED BUILD THE SUBURBS. SO WE KNOW A THING OR TWO ABOUT UNIFORMITY.

innovations you’d expect — like easy-to-read scales — its most exciting feature has to be

the Align-A-Rip XRC™. It’s a quick-release rip fence with rack-and-pinion microadjustment

setups. In plain English, that means it allows you to quickly cut the size of board you need.

Then continue to cut that exact same size. Again and again. The Professional 10-inch Table

Saw — available at Sears. It’s sure to come in handy

around your house. Even if you don’t live in the ‘burbs.

CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF MAKING ANYTHING POSSIBLE.

CIRCLE NO. 119 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. © 2002 Sears, Roebuck and Co. LETTERS continued from page 8

You mentioned that a Stanley Type 11 is the best bang for the buck and that equipping this relic with a Hock iron will in- crease the performance of this jewel. Caution! I’m not familiar with the mouth of the Type 11, but the mouth on my No. 5 jack and No. 5 7 jointer planes is a mere ⁄32". On my No. 5 the bed angle of my frog is at 45° and with the Hock iron installed there’s a scant 0.02" 1 (less than ⁄32") for the shaving to pass. On planes with a lower bed angle, the mouth opening needs to be even larger. I’m not a purist with regards to ensuring that my planes are not used to maintain their value, but I would dread using a flat to open the mouth to accommodate a plane iron that I paid about the same price for as my No. 5 from the antique mall. Also, these thicker irons claim to and probably do hold an edge longer because of their hardness of Rc60 or better. Blade hardness is a two- way street. The harder the steel the longer it takes to hone (or worse, remove a nick in the micro-bevel). The harder irons are bet- ter ground on a grinder such as a Tormek unit, which is out of my and most wood- worker’s budgets. I almost purchased a thicker iron for my No. 5 because there is slight pitting on the face of the iron. By fortune I had my No. 5 with me in the big city and tried to fit a Hock iron in it only to find out what I explained above. Needless to say I kept the iron with “character” and have enjoyed good ever since – and saved $35 to boot. Tom Normington Athens, Wisconsin

Editor’s note: You raise a good point. I’ve only run into the problem with the Clifton aftermar- ket irons (which are even thicker at .116") but there are some plane mouths that simply are too small to accept thicker irons. The Type 11 planes we recommended work fine with a Hock. I’ve restored four of these planes, and the Hock has always had plenty of room. However, if you’re looking to upgrade a plane with an af- termarket iron, try the iron in the plane body be- fore you buy it (or make sure you can return it to the catalog company). One last note, I’ve never found Hock irons to be difficult and have flat ground them on my sharpening stones for years. PW — Christopher Schwarz, senior editor

12 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 Actor Dan Haggerty, Star of "Grizzly Adams".

Introducing the New Grizzly Pro™ Series of Nailguns & Staplers Sleek ergonomic design and more power than ever!

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Kits include oiler, hex wrenches, 5 • 18 Gauge Nailer, shoots ⁄8" – 2" goggles and a supply of staples 18 gauge brads. or nails encased in a heavy-duty • 1-Pc. type driver made of SKD61 steel that Grizzly carrying case. guarantees at least 400,000-shot performance. • Most powerful 18 GA nailer in its class. • Unique 6-position depth adjustment. 360° exhaust port. • Kit includes oiler, goggles, hex wrenches, 1000-Pc. of 2" brads in a Grizzly case. Introductory Price $10995

H2912 Grizzly Pro 2-in-1 H2909 Grizzly Pro Stapler

3 9 Nailer/Stapler • 18 Gauge Stapler that shoots ⁄8" - 1 ⁄16"staples 5 1 • 2-in-1 Nailer/Stapler, shoots ⁄16" – 1 ⁄4" • 1-Pc. type driver made of SKD61 steel 3 1 18 gauge staples and ⁄8" – 1 ⁄4" 18 gauge brads. • Unique 6-position depth adjustment. • Single-shot/Bump-fire switch mode,unique 6-position • 360° exhaust port, 100-Pc. capacity magazine, depth adjustment, 360° exhaust port. instant jam clearing without releasing the nose • Kit includes oiler, goggles, hex wrenches, 400-Pc. of 1" piece (just by opening the bottom loading magazine). 1 staples, 400-Pc. of 1 ⁄4" staples, 1000-Pc. of 1" brads • Kit includes oiler, hex wrenches, goggles & 1 1⁄ and 1000-Pc. of 1 ⁄4" brads in a Grizzly case. 1000-Pc. of 1 2" staples in a Grizzly case. Introductory Introductory Price Price $ $10995 13995

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11 • 16 Gauge 3-in-1 wood, metal & concrete nailer, shoots ⁄16" – 2" 16 GA Nailer/Stapler nails and 1.83mm diameter steel concrete nails up to 1". 5 9 • 2-in-1 Nailer/Stapler, shoots ⁄16" – 1 ⁄16" • 1-Pc. type driver made of SKD 61 steel 5 18 gauge staples & ⁄8" – 2" 18 GA brads. • Most durable tool in its class. • Single-shot/Bump fire switch mode, unique • Unique 6-position depth adjustment. 360°exhaust port. 6-position depth adjustment, 360° exhaust port. • Most affordable, powerful & versatile tool in its class. • Kit includes oiler, goggles, hex wrenches, • Kit includes oiler, goggles, hex wrenches, 225-Pc. of 3 1 400-Pc. of 1" staples and ⁄4" steel concrete nails, 500-Pc. of 16 GA x 1 ⁄2" nails 1000-Pc. of 2" brads in a Grizzly case. and 500-Pc. of 16 GA x 2" nails in a Grizzly case. Introductory Introductory Price Price $ $14995 14995

OVER 11,000 PRODUCTS CALL TODAY FOR A AVAILABLE ONLINE! MEDIA CODE AD1368 FREE 468 PAGE RECEIVE A FREE GIFT WITH EVERY 400101658R2 COLOR CATALOG ONLINE ORDER (LIMITED TIME OFFER) CIRCLE NO. 109 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. Q & A

suppliers just make them and sell them if they’re close enough? Swage Butt Hinges I admit I’m a perfectionist at times, but then again, “fine woodworking” is in many instances about paying attention to the finer points of the craft. for Tighter-fitting Jeff Badman via the internet

Jim Brewer at Freud Inc., responds: Cabinet Doors “Like anything in the market, you have different quality levels, including the tolerances a manufacturer holds on its product. I cannot speak for other manufacturers but can speak to Freud’s tolerances. “The cutting-diameter tolerance varies based on the critical dimension of the bit. An example of this is a straight bit. It would have a tight tolerance because of the critical need to cut a slot of a given width. A profile bit may be less criti- cal on the outside diameter and could have a tol- erance that was a little wider. One could rea- son, ‘Why not hold a very tight tolerance on Not swaged Fully swaged Illustration by Hayes Shanesy. every bit?’ Doing so would increase the cost of the bit without any benefit to the consumer. A or a Hammer is All You Need Some butt hinges come swaged. But it’s easy “Freud generally holds tolerances on out- to Help Your Doors Fit Better to do yourself. Either press the leaves together side diameters ranging from +/-.002 to When I install butt hinges on cabinet doors in a strong metalworking vise or place the hinge +/-.0008. Other quality manufacturers may I get much too large a gap, sometimes more on a solid surface, align a piece of heavy steel hold tolerances similar to this, but as you go 1 1 than ⁄8", when I mortise just as deep as the ( ⁄4"-thick) right along the barrel, then give it a down the price scale, you will find the tolerances hinge leaf is thick. Then I have to cut the good whack with a heavy hammer. get much wider.” mortise deeper, but this doesn’t look right — Steve Shanesy, editor and publisher and can lead to the door binding against the What Computer-aided Design (CAD) stile if I cut too deep. What’s the right way How Much Variation Should Software is Good For Woodworkers? to do this so you get it right every time? There Be in the Size of Router Bits? I am wondering if there might be some soft- Edward Bell I’ve been organizing my router bit drawer ware to aid in designing home furniture. Any Lawrenceburg, Georgia with new ones purchased from several man- help would be appreciated. ufacturers. Because most weren’t marked on Bill Adams Because one benchmark of a well-made cabinet the shanks with the nominal size they rep- via the internet is a small margin, or gap, around the door and resent, I used two different sets of micronic drawer openings, woodworkers want to get this to measure the diameter of each There are lots of software programs in all price right. A good standard to shoot for is a dime, or straight bit through its full circle. ranges that can help. Most sorts of CAD soft- 1 ⁄16" space, on all sides. Even the most careful What I find is a variation from the stat- ware designed for architectural work also work cutting to size won’t give you the right margin ed size, sometimes up to .012". For example, well for designing furniture – it’s simply draw- 3 on doors if the hinge isn’t properly mortised. a straight-cut bit I had that was a ⁄4" (.750"), ing boxes on a considerably smaller scale. One excellent solution to achieving the right measured .739". This bit had not been used If you’re just starting out, we recommend gap is to make sure your hinges are “swaged,” yet, so I couldn’t blame it on wear. QuickCAD (about $70), which is made by which means they have had the leaves partially I found this same scenario true on other Autodesk, the industry standard in the archi- or fully bent at the barrel so they are closer to- sizes. By the way, these were not the smaller- tectural world. QuickCAD will not draw 3D gether when the leaves are parallel to each other. diameter bits for ; I keep them sep- images, but it handles two-dimensional con- When swaged, all you need to do is rout or chis- arate from my other bits. struction drawings beautifully. el the hinge leaf mortise to the thickness of the What, in your opinion, is the acceptable Another advantage to these software pack- leaf. That way, the hinge itself will establish the tolerance from nominal that makes the bit ages is that you can easily make optimization correct gap along that side of the door. saleable? Is there an industry standard, or do charts for your lumber and plywood. After you continued on page 16

14 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 www.osbornewood.com

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Leigh Joinery Jigs have it all. Hobbyist or professional, the Leigh D4 Dovetail Jig will ensure you create your best work. Versatility, precision and superb value make the Leigh Dovetail Jig better than the rest. Rout through and half-blind dovetails, with variable spacing of pins and tails, on one jig. Create decorative Isoloc joints, finger joints, and multiple mortise Joining Tradition With Today & tenons effortlessly with Leigh attachments and our exceptional user guides! Get the right stuff for the job. Call toll free now! Leigh Industries Ltd., PO Box 357 Port Coquitlam, BC Canada V3C 4K6 Call For Your FREE Leigh Catalog Today! 1-800-663-8932 Toll free 1-800-663-8932 Tel.604 464-2700 Fax 604 464-7404 Web www.leighjigs.com Q & A

continued from page 14

draw a cabinet, you can drag the parts onto a drawing of your lumber (or your plywood) and move them around to get the best yield. — Christopher Schwarz, senior editor

Should I Be Worried About Wood Movement With Solid-wood Facing? I am planning to build bookcases, 7' high by 3 4' wide and 1' deep using ⁄4" oak plywood 3 and ⁄4" oak solid-wood facing on the edges of the sides and shelf facings. My question is whether I can safely glue the facing to the plywood without fear of expansion and con- traction of the solid wood. Art Daniel via the internet

You have absolutely nothing to be concerned about with regard to the solid-oak facings on your plywood edges. The solid lumber is simply not wide enough to expand or contract with no- ticeable movement. You might want to give some further thought to the 4' shelf length if you plan to load them down with books or other heavy objects. The shelves could sag some, especially if they are ad- justable and therefore not supported along their 3 back edge. Any length past 36" on ⁄4" ply that will see real weight is prone to sag. Some cabinetmakers would say that any length beyond 30" risks some sagging. — Steve Shanesy, editor and publisher

Does a Damaged Lever Cap on a Plane Hurt its Performance? When my father passed away I kept his jack plane. It is a Bailey No. 5. After sharpening the plane iron I noticed the lever cap must have been used to adjust the frog screw or lever cap screw. Two spots were knocked out of the left bottom side. Is this a bad problem? Can or should I try and replace the lever cap? James Lissner Bellevue, Washington

Damage to the lever cap isn’t as much a prob- lem as damage to the chipbreaker (another prob- lem on older planes). The main job of the lever cap is to hold the blade and chipbreaker assem- bly tightly against the frog. Its role in removing shavings is minimal. However, if the damage is severe, it can interfere with the removal of your plane’s shav- ings or even compress the chipbreaker and blade CIRCLE NO. 124 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD.

16 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 For a dirt & dust free finish TM L GET IT ALL LTD., LP. assembly unevenly. I would look at the lower with Datco STOCK ITEMS edge of your lever cap and make sure it is smooth Surgical Blue™ NO MINIMUM ORDERS and contacts the chipbreaker all the way across & Professional™ –OR– its width. If you’d like to replace your lever cap, Tack Cloth WE WILL MAKE PRODUCTION RUNS OF YOUR PART Woodcraft Supply (800-225-1153 or www.wood- craft.com) and Highland Hardware (800-241- By American Craftsmen

6748 or www.highlandhardware.com) both CHAIR LEGS carry replacement parts for most Bailey-style Call 1-800-TACKRAG planes. A new lever cap will cost about $21. or order online at www.tackcloth.com ACR08 — Christopher Schwarz, senior editor AMD08 CIRCLE NO. 103 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD.

BUN LEGS How Do You Get the Grain 913 LEGS FR STYLE in Baltic Plywood to Pop? QUEEN ANNE How does one get the grain in Baltic birch LEGS You’ll appreciate our difference. plywood to show to good advantage? I would like to get the grain to show darker against Prepaid Freight • Surfaced • Bundled A0556 Shrink Wrapped • Guaranteed the lighter wood. This plywood has won- FINIALS • All lumber is Select and better grade, 4" and wider, averaging derful structural properties and the grain is 6"-7" in width, lengths are 6'-8'. All stock meets or exceeds there, but I cannot get it to pop out. Heavy National Lumber Assoc. grade rules. • All domestic lumber is Northern Appalachian grown, exhibiting sanding seems to help. I also have tried clear characteristics of fine grain, texture and uniform color. 113 A0851 oils and finishes without success. Visa/Mastercard/Discover accepted. REEDED BASE 404 Commercial stains don’t penetrate enough Niagara Lumber W/206 LEG CHAIR to do the job. They end up more like a thin & WOOD PRODUCTS, INC. KITS P.O. Box 728, Dept. PW17 paint. I have tried , linseed oil, ni- 47 Street • East Aurora, NY 14052 Morristown, TN 37815-0728 Call Toll-Free 1-800-274-0397 Phone 423-587-2942 • Fax 423-586-2188 FREE www.niagaralumber.com COLOR trocellulose lacquer, polyurethane and many www.adamswoodproducts.com CATALOG commercial stain sealers. The best I’ve found CIRCLE NO. 126 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. CIRCLE NO. 100 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. so far is Minwax , but there is still much room for improvement. Joe Doyle Nobody But Bessey via the internet Has Ever Designed Adding color to Baltic birch is a problem. First, and Built a Clamp birch is one of those stubborn that will That Works Like a blotch when stained. It’s in the same blotch-prone family as pine, cherry and maple. Additionally, K-Body Clamp ... the color of the birch facing is uniform, so there are no dark/light color variations that Nobody. will be highlighted by stains or dyes. Furthermore, the grain is tight, so pigmented stains find no The original parallel clamp designed room to collect in the tiny grain pores, as is the for woodworkers who depend on case with oak and other coarse-grained woods. accurate clamping every time However, I have had some success using ani- they use their K-Body, line dye on Baltic birch. There’s less of a prob- year after year. lem with blotching because the dye penetrates The original Bessey the wood fibers, rather than lying on top of the K-Body ... for woodworkers wood. And because there is no pigment, the dye who believe "almost" doesn’t cover up what little grain there is to show. parallel, is just not You might enhance your results with the dye good enough. by following it up with a light application of lin- seed oil. I often have applied linseed oil to fig- ured woods such as curly or bird’s eye maple to deepen the contrast where the grain changes di- rection. It’s worth a shot. PW — Steve Shanesy, editor and publisher www.americanclamping.com

www.popwood.com 17 CIRCLE NO. 141 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. TRICKSOFTHETRADE Thumb-saving Push Stick THE WINNER: The push stick has been around for a long 1" of clearance between the blade and the time, making table saw work safer. There thumb guard at all times, to make sure you Gorilla Brand Premium Glue is the are many types, but I came across a vari- don’t accidentally rock the push stick into all purpose, interior/exterior glue ation a while back that made so much sense the blade. You can easily adjust the size ideal for most repair and bonding I had to share it. By simply taking a tradi- and shape of this push stick to match your needs. It’s great for indoor/out- door furniture repair, wood- tional push stick (I use a two-sided version preferred style, but adding a simple thumb working projects, as well as to work with different thickness material) rest makes me more comfortable when general repairs around the and screwing a poplar block to the center, working on the table saw. house. Bonds wood, stone, I made it even safer. The added block keeps Ron Martin metal, ceramic plastics your thumb from accidentally slipping to- Sunman, Indiana and more! Incredibly strong and 100% ward the blade. Make sure you keep at least waterproof.

3 Overall dimensions: ⁄4" x 5" x 10" Illustrations by John McCormick.

continued on page 20

CASH AND PRIZES FOR YOUR TRICKS AND TIPS! Each issue we publish woodworking tips and tricks from our readers that we think are useful.We want to encourage you to share with your fellow woodworkers, as well as reward the most useful and original con- cepts. Delta has agreed to lend us a hand with that, and the author of this issue’s winning trick receives the new 22-580 two-speed portable thickness finishing planer (shown at left).The other trick’s authors receive a check for $75. To submit your tip or trick, e-mail it along with a daytime phone number to [email protected] or mail it to: Tricks of the Trade • Popular Woodworking 1507 Dana Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45207 for retailers near you: www.gorillaglue.com 1-800-966-3458

CIRCLE NO. 113 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. 18 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 NEW!

FMT features: • Unique patented guide system • Joints of any size from 1⁄2" x 5" down to a tiny 1⁄16" x 3⁄32" • Use on matches or stock up to 3" x 51⁄2" (mortise) and 23⁄4" x 51⁄2" (tenon) • Easy fingertip adjustment of joint tightness • Make angled and compound angled joints • Rout perfectly aligned double, triple and quadruple joints • Use virtually any plunge router • Uses 1⁄2" shank cutters • Cam-action speed-clamps • Integral dust port for vacuum

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® The newest in our series, the Veritas low-angle smooth plane Veritas has all the advantages of our low-angle block with the added Low-Angle benefit of a full-size bench plane footprint. It is excellent for end-grain work, smoothing large surfaces and, with the large Smooth side wings, is ideal for shooting miters. Features an adjustable mouth, a 2" A2 tool steel blade and a body cast Plane from ductile iron. If you have never owned a low-angle smooth, you will find it a delight to use and immediately one of your favorite planes. 05P25.01 $139.00 Shipping and N.Y. sales tax extra. For more information or to request a catalog, contact us at: 1-800-871-8158 Lee Valley Tools Ltd. 12 East River Street or [email protected] Ogdensburg, N.Y. 13669 Shop online: www.leevalley.com

CIRCLE NO. 120 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. TRICKS OF THE TRADE continued from page 18 Rust-proof Storage from the $1 Store I bought a saw, but I didn’t think to holder is going strong after months of rolling buy something to store the extra blades in. around in the same drawer. I also While pointing out my oversight to my wife, put a cotton ball wetted with she remarked that I could use one of those Campho-phenique in one round toothbrush holders you use when trav- end. I have no idea if the eling. They cost next to nothing for a pack camphor actually coats the of three, and you can get them at lots of stores. blades to prevent rust or These tubes are long and fat enough to hold if the vapors alone displace the blades, too. I’ve tried some of the oxygen to keep the rust at bay. Either tubes you can buy from woodworking cata- way, I’ve decided to add a wetted logs, but after two weeks in a heavily used cotton ball to all my containers that drawer, the tubes were without tops and hold my precious metals. the blades were rusting. The toothbrush David Grundvig Napa, California

Plastic Pegboard Won’t Rot While building an outdoor got to the home center store we found a 2' x 1 planter recently, we ran across 4' sheet of ⁄4"-thick stout plastic pegboard the age-old problem of find- that was priced at $6. Perfect! Not only will ing outdoor materials that hold it hold up to all sorts of abuse, but it’s already up to water and sun, but still got the drainage holes drilled. And you can look good. Even more daunt- use the holes on the edges of the pegboard ing was constructing a bottom to fasten it to your planter. The pegboard that would hold up to moisture cuts easily with a jigsaw to fit any planter and still allow water to drain out of project you have in mind. the planter. Drilling holes in water-resistant The Popular Woodworking editors CDX ply had been the plan, but when we

Lock In Ammonia Fumes with Tinkertoy Technology I recently refinished an antique Morris chair with plastic wrap. The cellophane for a client. To my delight, the owner gave is inexpensive, practically airtight and me the leeway to color at my discretion. I allows you to view the oxidation 1" was interested in trying out fuming on a as it proceeds. When finished, large scale and set about to construct a fum- I tore the cellophane, extracted ing chamber. After a couple moments of my piece and disassembled contemplation, I hit on an idea that I thought the chamber. was worth sharing. I started by boring three Yoko O. Sorensen 1"-diameter holes in eight small blocks of Raleigh, North Carolina wood, two on adjacent sides, the other on the side above them. Then I took 1" Editor’s note: This temporary dowels and inserted them into the holes in chamber also would work well Roughly order to construct the cube. After the cube for keeping dust and bugs off 3"x 3" blocks was erected, I wrapped the whole thing wet finishes. Instead of cello- with commercial-grade plastic wrap. Then phane, you also could use plas- I cut a hole in the wrap, inserted the chair tic painters’ drop cloths and tape and my ammonia, and re-wrapped the hole the seams shut over the frame.PW Wrap entire structure in cellophane.

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CIRCLE NO. 123 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. CIRCLE NO. 111 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD.

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CIRCLE NO. 118 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. CIRCLE NO. 116 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. AMERICAN WOODSHOPS The Dream Shop A visit to Scott Phillips’ brand new ‘American Woodshop’ shows that any size shop faces the same challenges and rewards. Photos by Al Parrish. Photos by

hen I first designed and outfitted “The room for everything – especially wood. Five Zoning issues ruled out most locations. I WAmerican Woodshop” in 1970, I years ago, I started looking for a new wood- finally found two acres that were zoned for thought I’d have everything set up perfectly shop, in part to make producing my public business but were in a rural setting. It’s in the within a year. It’s now 32 years later, and I television series easier to shoot. Many peo- city limits (we shoot my show in Piqua, Ohio) think I might be close to getting my “dream ple would say that it’s easier to buy or fix up so I still get all the city services. shop” the way I want it. an existing space. I can’t argue with that logic The first step was to sketch out what I Most shops are clever adaptations of ex- because they would be right. But I decided thought I needed (my dream shop looked isting space. They’re usually packed with that to get everything the way I wanted it, great on a napkin), then to double the size. wood and tools, and there’s never enough I’d have to start from scratch. Expect to spend about $30 to $40 per foot if your shop is built on a concrete slab with a traditional footer. Next I enlisted the help of the Upper Valley Joint Vocational School in developing a design for the build- ing. The students and teachers added a lot to the shop project, providing invaluable plan designs and drawings. The construction is stick-built with a con- crete pad footprint of 32' x 92'. The roof is metal with a 9/12 pitch and 10'-high ceilings inside. If you’re doing math in your head, that gives me a 2,944 square-foot shop, but it all isn’t available for building projects. I partitioned the 12' x 32' built-on porch for those necessary moments to stop and pon- der my plans, and the front part of the build- ing includes an office, project gallery, rest- room and utility room. That brings the main woodshop room down to 64' x 32' – only 2,048 square feet. But it’s still a luxury with plen- This shot gives you a feel for the full length of the shop, with everything fairly organized.There’s lots of room ty of room for everything I do. now; the trick is to keep from filling the place up with more tools.You can see the large garage door in the back My machines are set up for both 110- and that makes moving lumber, equipment and projects in and out much easier, as well as letting that warm summer air in. I know you’re wondering about the rug.Well, it’s actually a temporary sound dampener for when we 220-volt power. To keep everything running, shoot the TV program. It seems sound bounces off the door pretty badly. I selected a 110/208 three-phase SquareD

22 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 200-amp breaker panel. This gives me volt- age flexibility and also saves me money when I run three-phase tools and utilities. The shop thermostat, which is zoned so the electric three-phase heat pump can be used efficiently, keeps things comfortable. The heat pump works both as a furnace and an air conditioner with central duct work in the attic and all registers in the ceiling. The main shop return air duct is equipped with an electrostatic prefilter that acts just like the world’s biggest ambient air cleaner. And because I have learned that 80 per- cent of all heat and air conditioned energy is lost through the ceiling, I opted to blow To keep the shop as dust-free as possible, I upgraded all the dust collectors with 1-micron efficiency bags that r38 virgin fiberglass into the attic. help keep airborne dust out of the air. I also use 4" and 5" hose, connectors and blast gates to maximize airflow efficiency and collection capacity. Keeping the collector close to the machines also improves performance. Oh, Lighting is one of the most important as- see the rescued barn door in the background? That’s going to be a new tool storage cabinet for the shop. pects in any shop, and you just can’t beat working with natural light. I installed lots of feet per minute) dust collectors and kept of furniture project preparation can be com- 48" x 62" double-hung windows. These let all hose and pipe runs short and sweet. A re- pleted in this one zone. Plus, this makes it in daylight, make things easy on the eyes and mote on/off switch for a dust collector is a easy to hook up all the tools to a dust col- save on the lighting bill. For when the sun real time saver. An ambient air cleaner by lector and saves time when moving from tool isn’t shining, I installed dual 8' florescent low- the where I sand the most picks to tool during construction. noise/high-output daylight florescent tubes. up dust that the other systems don’t catch. It also makes sense to put all the hand tools The tubes produce an 87 c.r.i. (color rated My shop basically is divided up into com- in cabinets by the best light so you can use index), are a good buy and come very close plementary tool zones. This is called the work- your workbench most efficiently. Any time a to the daylight spectrum. This translates into station concept, where tools are arranged to woodworker has to walk across the shop to less eye fatigue and better work. work most effectively together. For instance, fetch a tool, you can bet the setup can be im- Where dust collection is concerned, most a compound , table saw, jointer and proved. Maybe this is why it’s taken me 32 people make setting up a system too compli- planer are perfect companions. When these years to get my new shop just about right. cated. I opted to use three 1,100 cfm (cubic four tools are positioned together, 90 percent I still believe in the versatility of casters and mobile bases because this allows me to easily reposition tools for large work pieces and store them when they’re not needed. One huge luxury in the new shop is the 18' x 9' insulated garage door at the back of the shop. On good-weather days, the door goes up and the joy of working in great light and air is exhilarating. Often, I roll the plan- er or outside and let the chips fall where they may. Plus, when it comes time to use my high-volume, low-pressure spray fin- ishing system, you can’t beat the ventilation. When the weather’s not good enough to open the door and spray, environmentally friend- ly finishes such as water-based polyurethane, shellac, wiping gels and true oil finishes are easy and safe to use. A few extras (I didn’t tell my wife, Suzy, about these things) are the in-floor concrete The single most important tool in my shop is the 352-pound European-style Ulmia workbench.This heavy-duty electrical plates that cost about $300 each bench can’t be pushed around and is like an aircraft carrier with lots of room to do whatever I want. It also has a installed, extra incandescent track lighting tilting drawer which (confession is good for the soul) is one great catch-all with a lock.The drawers never stay neatly arranged if much work is getting done in the shop. I prefer to keep the bench pulled away from the wall to add highlights, three monster fire extin- so I can work on all sides of it as necessary. guishers (required) and a security system that

www.popwood.com 23 AMERICAN WOODSHOPS

protects a lifetime of accumulated tools My new property came with a beauty of a and also will call the fire department in case barn! The post-and-beam work in the barn it detects smoke. dates back to 1840, according to a local I did run into some snags. First, I’m 25 per- historian. All posts are hand hewn. Though cent over my budget. I expected that, and so the barn is in relatively good shape, it does should you if you build a new shop. I had to need some fixing up. I figure about one year’s install a retention pond to control the roof work. But guess what? I have to make the and parking lot runoff ($8,000); the shop lane barn comply with local covenants. That means and 20-car parking lot had to be paved to another $20,000 in roofing and siding! PW comply to code ($10,000); architect’s fee —Scott Phillips, contributing editor ($2,000, even if you do most of your own pre- liminary design work and have the help of J.V.S. students); engineer’s site plan and re- AMERICAN quired building permits ($1,250); and extra WOODSHOPS gravel for the access lane and raising the el- Woodworkers love to see the evation grade for the slab floor ($4,000). And shops of other woodworkers.And I almost forgot one of the most important parts of my then there’s the miscellaneous extras from few people see as many notable new shop: Callie. Every woodshop needs a shop dog. emergency exit signs, locking gate, plumb- shops as Scott Phillips, host of She keeps me company, chases dropped tools and ing extras and landscaping (another $3,000). PBS’ “The American Woodshop.” Every issue, Phillips generally keeps things lively.This is just one of Callie’s There were some good things about the takes us inside the shops of some of the finest crafts- favorite places to hang.The well-lit corner provides a men (and women) in America.You can see more about great place for fine work on the scroll saw. One process, too. Over the years I’ve accumu- Phillips’ new shop by tuning in to “The American addition to my machinery that I highly recommend is lated thousands of board feet of Midwestern the foot pedal by the band saw to turn the dust Woodshop”on your local PBS station or visit collector on and off. It saves a few steps and makes it hardwoods, and I’ve always dreamed about Woodcraft Supply (www.woodcraft.com) to purchase easier to remember to keep the dust out of the air. having a barn for lumber drying and storage. a videotape of the show.

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Creating strong,durable joints has never been STOP! easier with the biscuit .And now you can use Before you buy your next tool, see how it this practical technique to creating wonderful new pieces of furniture for your home! performed in Popular Woodworking’s workshop! Just log on to popularwoodworking.com. There you’ll find out how With 12 projects,including a bookcase,nightstand, chest of drawers,and entertainment center,you'll dozens of tools performed in the Popular Woodworking shop. Plus, discover the value of the for stylish, each review lists key features and important facts you need to know to durable,and functional furniture.Best of all,you'll make a smart and savvy tool purchase. Check out this FREE service! be amazed at how quickly you can turn your home into an artful display of your crafts! Log on today!

Order your copy of The Biscuit Joiner Project Book today! www.popularwoodworking.com #70531-K/$26.99/128 pgs/pb/200 color illustrations

Available at your favorite bookseller or directly from the publisher using the Order Form below. HIGH PERFORMANCE MOBILIZATION ORDER FORM YES! Please send me ____ copy(ies) of The Biscuit Joiner Project Book (#70531-K) $26.99 each SUBTOTAL: $ ______In the U.S.please add $3.95 shipping and handling for the first book, $1.95 for each additional book.In OH,NY,CO and MI,please add applicable state tax. In Canada,add US$5.00 shipping and handling for the first book,US$3.00 for each additional book,and 7% GST. Payment in U.S.funds must accompany order. TOTAL: $ ______■ Check or money order enclosed -or- ■ Charge my ■VISA ■ MC ■ AmEx Acct.#______Expiration date ______HTC Mobile Bases give you convenient Signature______Name______shop clean-up, make moving, using and storage Address______a breeze — and open-up valuable shop space City______for more equipment. Making it mobile just State/Prov.______ZIP/PC______makes sense! What are you waiting for? Send to: Popular Woodworking Books PO Box 9274 Central Islip,NY 11722-9274 ZAE02BJ For more information or to order by Credit Card visit www.popularwoodworking.com/store/books For your nearest dealer and FREE catalog, or call toll free 1-800-221-5831 call toll-free 1-800-624-2027 CIRCLE NO. 110 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. © HTC Products, Inc. 2001 TOOL TEST Bosch 5" Random-orbit Sander with Superior Dust SPECIFICATIONS Collection Bosch1295DVS Sander Street price: $90 Amps: 2.2 e’re not always enthused about get- RPM: 7,000 - 12,000 Wting a new sander to test. Let’s face it, Disc: 5" 1 few people enjoy sanding. So the best thing Orbit diameter: ⁄16" we can hope for when testing a sander is that need to clean the filter out every so often, Weight: 3.5 pounds Filter efficiency: .25 microns it will work more quickly, create less dust and but all-in-all, this is some of the best dust Performance: ●●●●❍ work without a lot of vibration. collection we’ve seen outside of using a vac- Value: ●●●❍❍ Bosch has two new 5" random-orbit sanders uum hook-up, which also is an option with Bosch Tools: 877-267-2499 or that try to fill this bill: the 1295D, a single- this random-orbit sander. www.boschtools.com speed tool, and the 1295DVS, a variable- The feel of the sander also was good, with speed model. We tested the variable-speed a soft-grip top adding some comfort while model. The 1295DVS boasts a 2.2-amp motor allowing a solid grip on the tool. We did lection box would get in the way during use, with variable speeds ranging from 7,000 to notice vibration and somewhat overactive but once we started sanding we didn’t no- 12,000 rpm so you can adjust the aggres- pulling from the sander when we weren’t tice it anymore. siveness of the stock removal. The eccentric using the full pad against the material. While Overall we found the 1295DVS to be a offset (also called the orbit size) on the sander this is something to be aware of, we didn’t good all-around random-orbit sander with 1 is stated at ⁄16", making it one of the smaller find it a problem with the tool’s performance. superior dust collection, and rapid and offsets in the category, but the sander’s per- Another nice feature is the sealed switch aggressive material removal. The price for formance tends to belie that statistic. We had that keeps the internal electronics free of either the variable- or single-speed model is good results: quick removal and low sanding- dust, which leads to longer life. in line with all the other manufacturers’ mod- swirl problems. The sander’s pad-dampening We were a little concerned initially that els, making this a strong competitor. system provided good protection against the somewhat large and rigid plastic dust col- For more information, circle #142 on Free Information Card. swirls when the running sander met the wood. Most impressive during our testing was HOW WE RATE TOOLS the performance of the new Microfilter dust canister filter system. Bosch has drawn on At Popular Woodworking we test new tools and products with an honest, real-world workout.We some of its automotive experience and in- check for ease of assembly and determine how clear and complete the manuals are.Then we use corporated a pleated filter that is rated to the tool in our shop to build projects that appear in the magazine. Each issue, our editorial staff trap particles as small as .25 microns. The shares its results and experiences with the tools. We use a one-to-five scale, with “five” in performance indicating that we consider it to be the thickness of a human hair usually is in the leader in its category. For value, “five” means the tool is a great deal for the money, while “one” 100-micron range, with common pollen means we consider it pricey.Though, a unique low-value tool may be worth the price. checking in as small as 10 microns, so this is If our tool reviews don’t answer all your questions, e-mail me at [email protected] or a pretty good filter. call me at 513-531-2690, ext. 255.You also can visit our website www.popularwoodworking.com This all sounds good in theory, but what to check out previous tool reviews and sign up for our free e-mail newsletter (focusing on tools) about in the shop? We found the 1295DVS that’s sent out every other week. a pleasure to sand with. Little dust escaped —David Thiel, senior editor the through-the-pad collection system. You’ll

26 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 Freud’s SH-5 Router Table Fence System Freud Inc., known for more than half a century as The housing is con- a leading manufacturer of carbide bits and blades, structed of a simple but now is offering another accessory to put those router sturdy steel casting that bits to good use. With the addition of the SH-5 should last for many router table fence, Freud now offers everything you years of use. need to get routing, including the router. While the fence The SH-5 is a split-fence system with micro- faces included are de- adjustable faces that work like the fence systems signed to be replace- on high-end shapers. Made of cast and machined able if damaged and are aluminum and steel parts, the Freud fence system certainly adequate to offers infinitely and independently adjustable in- the task, we’d likely re- feed and outfeed fences, with graduated marks on place them with taller the micro-adjuster calibrated to .001". plastic (phenolic resin) 5 The fence faces are ⁄8" melamine-clad medium fences for increased sup- density fiberboard, with a bearing length of 25" port and durability. SPECIFICATIONS 3 across both fences and a height of 2 ⁄16". We continue to Freud SH-5 Router Table The fence is designed for use on the Freud router wonder how much Fence System table, but it can be used on any homemade table woodworkers will spend by installing threaded inserts in your tabletop. for a fixture, rather than Street price: $120 In testing, we found the micro-adjustability of make their own. But Materials: Steel and alu- minum the fences to be a strong selling point. The preci- considering the micro-adjustable split-fence fea- Fence accuracy: .001" sion and adjustability allowed for any offset required ture (not available on many other aftermarket 3 Fence size: 2 ⁄16" x 25" for use as a jointer, for offset profile work or for easy fences for router tables) and the durability of the Performance: ●●●●❍ and perfectly flat alignment along the faces. Locking Freud unit, we’d spend the money on this nice Value: ●●●❍❍ knobs hold the fences in place effectively, once fence and build our own router table. Freud: 800-334-4107 they are positioned for your cut. For more information, circle #143 on Free Information Card. or www.freudinc.com

Bench Dog ProLift Offers Convenience and Stability It used to be you just cut a hole in a top and screwed the router can be run up your router to the underside and voila! You’d made above tabletop height a router table! Nowadays it’s a science in its own for easy bit changing. right – with a price tag that would make the The router is clamped Department of Defense smile. Well, truth be told, tightly in place in the the new router table inserts are pretty , and motor housing and there are real benefits to them. raises and lowers on two Two new models from Bench Dog are essentially 8 teeth-per-inch acme-threaded rods similar, with the ProLift Ni’s motor housing and for smooth and balanced adjustment. base plate constructed of cast iron, while the same Two reduction rings adjust the open- 3 SPECIFICATIONS pieces on the ProLift Al are made of aluminum. ing size from 2" to 3 ⁄4". The Ni version is designed for use with large fixed- The ProLift operates smoothly, pro- Bench Dog Pro-Lift Al base routers such as the Porter Cable 7518. It vides stable, sturdy support and fairly easy Street price: $260 also prices at about $380. The Al is designed for access for bit changing. We weren’t in love Routers accepted: 1 use with the 1 ⁄2 horsepower fixed-base routers, but with having to remove three hex-head screws to Porter-Cable 690 still includes the same steel columns and bronze remove the reduction rings (a snap-in or twist-lock Bosch 1617/1618 DeWalt 610 bushings. Priced at $260 (which still isn’t chump design would have been better), but we like the Makita RF1100/01 change) it’s more approachable for the home wood- performance and convenience offered by this lift. 5 3 Bit openings: 2", 2 ⁄8", 3 ⁄4" worker, so we’ll focus on the aluminum model. Bench Dog has provided a rock-solid and con- Performance: ●●●●● The ProLift allows convenient from-the-top venient lift; you need to make the decision re- Value: ●●❍❍❍ 9 adjustment of router height using a ⁄16" socket garding its value in your shop. PW Bench Dog: 800-786-8902 driver. In fact, with the reduction ring removed, For more information, circle #144 on Free Information Card. or www.benchdog.com

www.popwood.com 27 INGENIOUS JIGS Band-sawn Pencil Posts Don’t have a jointer or a router? Here’s another way to build eight-sided tapering posts.

ne of the axioms of woodworking is that Othere are always at least three good ways to accomplish any one task. This, in fact, was the premise of a book by a good friend of mine, Bob Moran, author of “The Right Technique” (Reader’s Digest). Bob proves this old saw by showing the reader three ways to accomplish dozens of common wood- working chores. The healthy sales of his book Begin by tapering the also prove that woodworkers tend to collect faces of the stock.As you these techniques the way cooks collect recipes. cut, make sure the bottom of the post is When the folks at Popular Woodworking butted against the end of told me they were planning a project on a the jig.Wedges hold the pencil-post bed, I said, “I’ve got a nifty jig post in position at the top of the jig. for making pencil posts.” And, sure enough, my technique was different from the one that Troy Sexton used to made his bed. Not bet- ter, just different. So for those technique col- Pencil-post Jig You want to leave the loose so you lectors among you, here’s another pencil- My particular technique relies on a tapering can mount the stock in the jig and take it post recipe for your files. jig – a very long designed to be out again. To position the middle holder, used on the band saw. This jig holds the pen- mount a post in the jig and place the hold- cil-post stock at a slight angle to the blade – er under it. Slide the holder along the post 0.83° in the example shown. The top of the until it’s 30" from the bottom end. Mark the post is held by a dowel so the post stock can position of the holder on the base, then at- pivot. The bottom portion of the stock is tach it with screws. Don’t worry that one end cradled in special holders. These holders of the middle holder hangs over the edge index the stock so you can turn it precisely of the base. You’ll cut this off when you make 45° between cuts. your first pass on the band saw. As shown in these drawings, the jig will help to create a pencil post that’s 82" long Making a Band-sawn Pencil Post 1 and 2 ⁄2" square. However, the design can be To mount the post stock in the jig, you must 1 adapted easily to make posts of any size. First, drill a ⁄2"-diameter hole in the top end. (After rip the side and base of the jig from the long making the post, you can use this same hole 3 edges of a sheet of ⁄4"-thick plywood – the to attach the finial if you have one.) Mount factory edges will be relatively straight. Stack the post stock in the jig and turn it so one of the holder parts face to face and cut two iden- the faces is parallel to the band saw blade. tical holders. Drill the hole in one end and Mount a fence on the band saw and position The holder cradles the pencil-post stock and indexes it every 45°, allowing you to cut a perfect octagonal assemble the parts, except for the dowel pivot it so the distance from the fence to the blade taper on your post. and the middle holder. is equal to the width of the jig.

28 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 1/2" 2 1/2"

2 1/2"

1 1/4" 23/32"

1 3/4" 5 1/4" Holder layout

1 6" 5 1/4" /2" diameter Exploded view 1/2" 1/2" 3 1/4" 4" End view Photos by Al Parrish. Photos by Illustrations by Mary Jane Favorite. Illustrations by Mary Jane

Slowly feed the jig and the stock past the blade, keeping the back of the jig firmly against the band saw’s fence. Cut tapers in the faces of the stock, turning the stock 90° between each cut. The blade should exit the stock at the middle holder, 30" from the bot- tom end of the stock. When you’ve finished this step, you should have a four-sided taper. If you were to continue cutting the cor- ner tapers in this manner, they would exit near the bottom of the post. This is because the post is wider when measured diagonally than it is when measured across the face. To stop the corner tapers at the same point as the face tapers, you will need to cut transi- tion curves in the corners. After cutting the face tapers, mark the transition Cut the transition curves with a .Take it To figure the radius of these curves (R), curves on the corners of the post. I made a simple slow and monitor the lines on both sides of the cut. subtract the width of the stock (W) from the marking jig to do this quickly and accurately. Cut on the “waste” side of the line. Later, you can sand or file the curves to the line to shape them precisely. diagonal measurement (D). Then subtract

www.popwood.com 29 INGENIOUS JIGS

the result from the width and divide by two. The equation looks like this: [W – (D – W)]/2 = R. For example, if you’re making a pencil 1 post 2 ⁄2" wide, the diagonal measurement 17 is 3 ⁄32". Plug these values into the equa- tion, and you’ll find the radius of the transi- 47 tion curve should be ⁄64". Mark the radius on both sides of each corner, then cut the curves with a coping saw. Rotate the stock in the jig so the faces are 45° to the blade. Cut the corner tapers, stop- ping when you reach the transition curves. Between each cut, back the jig out of the saw and rotate the stock 90°. After cutting the tapers, smooth the sawed surface with a , scraper and sand- paper. Don’t cut too deeply when you plane or scrape! You just want to remove the saw marks; you don’t want to change the sym- metrical shape of the post. Tip: To get the smoothest surface possi- Cut the corner tapers up ble when cutting with your band saw, use a to the transition curves. Be careful not to cut past blade with milled teeth. Ordinary band saw the curves; stop the blades are stamped and set, but most wood- moment the waste falls working suppliers carry a better brand of away and back the stock out of the saw. milled blade. They cost about twice as much as an ordinary blade, but they save an enor- mous amount of work when you need an ac- curate cut and a smooth surface. PW

Nick Engler is the author of more than 50 books on woodworking, plus countless articles. Currently, he’s helping kids across America build ribs for a full-size Plane and scrape the saw surfaces just enough to remove the saw marks.The replica of the first true airplane, the 1903 Wright Flyer. pencil-post jig holds the post for this operation; just clamp the base to your bench.

CENTENNIAL FLYER UPDATE In our quest to build a Wright 1903 flyer using ribs made by children, activities in the shop or the bookstore. Check out www.wright- we’re about halfway to our goal of 74 ribs – the total number of wing brothers.org and follow the links to the Centennial Flyer pages. ribs in the frame of the airplane.And we’ve begun to make the other Our final “Return to Kitty Hawk” is fast approaching.We’ll be flying parts needed for this airplane: struts, spars, skids and so on. Dayton’s the 1900, 1901 and 1902 Wright gliders at Jockey Ridge State Park in oldest bookstore,Wilkies, decided it would be a great thing if we made North Carolina on Oct. 5– 8, 2002.As always, you’re welcome to come. these parts and put the Flyer together right out in the open. So Wilkies gave us the front portion of its store, an area about the size as the Wright brothers’ workshop where they built bicycles and airplanes. Shopsmith Inc. – another community-minded business here in Dayton, Ohio – also helped out by equipping our shop.We’re busily making the parts and putting together the Flyer with a Shopsmith Mark 510 and a dozen other Shopsmith power tools and accessories.Wilbur and Orville never had it so good. If you’d like to watch us work, the “Centennial Flyer Workshop” is Kids sign the ribs they located at Wilkies on Fourth and Ludlow streets in downtown Dayton. made at a recent Every Saturday is kids’ day.We have rib-building workshops and other rib-building workshop.

30 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 ENDURANCE TEST Jet’s Planer/Moulder This machine is a substantial upgrade from a portable planer with extremely versatile moulding-making capabilities built right in.

1 f there’s a flaw in Jet Tools’ combination guts of the machine come from a 1 ⁄2 hp Ithickness planer and moulder, it’s that just motor that sits beneath the machine. It about the time you want to plane some stock comes wired for 110-volt operation, but you realize the cutterhead has moulding pro- easily can be switched to 220-volt op- file knives installed. Of course, this really eration. The twin pulleys and belts ef- isn’t a flaw at all, but it does make me envi- ficiently transfer power from the motor ous of those disposable knives in portable to the cutterhead. The belts are ten- planers that rest on indexing pins that you sioned by the position of the motor. It’s can change in the dark. But I look on the a good idea to check the tension of sunny side and realize my knife-setting skills these belts every year or so. Taking up have advanced markedly since I bought this any slack is a simple task and improves handy machine nearly five years ago. the planer’s performance. SPECIFICATIONS 7 Since that time I have probably run as The large 2 ⁄8"-diameter cutterhead is many lineal feet of moulding as I have lum- a full inch larger than ones typically used in JET JPM-13 ber through the 13"-wide planer, and it has portable planers. The three-knife cutterhead Street price: $850 (closed-stand version performed admirably at both tasks. Much of also has knife-jacking screws that aid in knife- available for $900) 1 1 the moulding has been a relatively wide 3 ⁄8" setting. When used as a moulder, the mould- Motor: 1 ⁄2 horsepower induction motor picture frame profile that requires a pretty ing profile knives are set in the cutterhead RPM: 4,500 heavy cut. I’ve cut this profile in maple, ash as the planing knives are. Most moulding Max planing width: 13" 1 1⁄ Max planing thickness: 6 ⁄8" and poplar, and the 1 2-horsepower motor knives less than 2" in width can be installed 1 Max cut (full width): ⁄16" hasn’t bogged down yet. Plus, with a two- in the cutterhead without removing the plan- Number of knives: 3 speed gear box, this means that just a light ing knives – a nice feature. Weight: 202 pounds sanding is necessary when a final pass is made In addition to installing cutterhead knives Nice features: A heavy-duty planer that in the 10-feet-per-minute mode. (The faster for moulding and removing the chip deflec- also cuts mouldings. speed is 20 feet per minute.) Changing speeds tor, it also is necessary to adjust the height Recommended modifications: We wish is a bit of a mess, however. You have to re- of the top-mounted, rubber-coated infeed the feed speed and the knives were easier to move a piece of the side cover and swap the and outfeed rollers. The pressure of the feed change. position of a couple grease-covered gears. rollers is adjusted on the top of the machine Available at: Jet dealers nationwide. In spite of the inevitable greasy fingers, by loosening a jam nut and turning a thread- Contact Jet at 800-274-6848 or www.jet- the variable speed is one of my favorite ed bushing. Start with the settings recom- tools.com features of the machine. Though the slow mended by the Jet manual, but don’t be afraid ABOUT OUR ENDURANCE TESTS Every speed is intended for moulding operations, to adjust them up and down a bit if your work tool featured in our Endurance Test column I switch over to the slow speed when work- seems to struggle under the cutterhead, es- has survived at least two years of heavy use ing with highly figured woods, and it really pecially in the planing mode. These minor in our shop here at Popular Woodworking. makes a difference. Curly maple and oak are chores require only a few minutes time. much less likely to tear out at the slower The cutterhead is just one example of speed. And if you wet the board a minute or what makes this a solidly built machine. The construction, the other major differences be- so before planing it, you can eliminate even bottom, bed and top of the machine are sub- tween the Jet and portable machines include more tear-out in these woods. stantial castings. With an open stand the the ability to easily adjust things such as the I also have a predilection for wide lum- JPM-13 weighs in at more than 200 pounds. chip deflectors, the position of the feed rollers ber, and running 13"-wide boards through The enclosed base option (the JPM-13CS) and the feed speed of the planer. These make the planer hasn’t presented any problems, takes the weight up to 242 pounds. Both the Jet more flexible for a wide variety of either. This is in spite of the fact that the ma- models come with locking casters. planing situations. PW chine does not have lower bed rollers.The Aside from the motor and the cast-iron — Steve Shanesy

www.popwood.com 31 Building the Perfect Bed

uilding a bed is a great project for beginning wood- Your bed needs workers. There aren’t a lot of parts, the joinery is sim- to be one of the Bple and the results can be impressive. We spend one-third of our lives sleeping in bed, but this toughest pieces piece of furniture also is a place to read, watch TV and play with the kids during waking hours. For those reasons, a bed of furniture you needs to be extra sturdy. You also need to be able to knock own. Learn the it down easily into parts to get it through the door. The ultimate piece of hardware that satisfies both these best way to needs is the lowly bed bolt. When installed properly, a bed bolt creates the strongest woodworking joint I can imagine. install traditional And with a wrench, you can disassemble a bed in minutes. bed hardware Sure there are other kinds of bed hardware that attach the rails to the posts, but if you know the tricks to installing and then build bed bolts, you’ll never use anything else again. I’ve built a lot of beds for clients throughout the years. this stunning And one of my most popular designs is this pencil-post bed. pencil-post bed. In Colonial times, pencil-post beds were draped with curtains at night to conserve heat and increase privacy. The high posts were never meant to be seen. Over the years the simple straight posts gave way to octagons and more ornate and carved forms. A lot of plans for pencil posts show the woodworker shaping the octagonal taper with a . With my method, you can cut a perfect taper in 10 minutes for each post. (Editor’s note: For another method, check out Nick Engler’s Ingenious Jigs column on page 28.) Even if you don’t want to build this particular bed, all of the construction principles apply to whatever type of bed you want to make. Plus, I’ve included some of the rules to follow when building beds. There aren’t Try to do as much work on the posts – many, but they’re important. mortising, drilling, etc. – before you cut the octagonal tapers. Begin With the Posts This particular bed was made using cherry, but I’ve made a lot of these in maple, too. Cut your posts from 10/4 rough lumber and cut them about 1" longer than stated in the cut

by Troy Sexton Troy Sexton designs and builds custom furniture in Sunbury, Ohio, for his company, Sexton Classic American Furniture. Troy is a contributing editor for Popular Woodworking. Photo by Al Parrish. Photo by

32 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 www.popwood.com 33 Mark the taper on two sides of each post (below), band saw proud of the line (right) and then joint each face. Mark the taper on the other two faces and repeat.

It takes a steady hand on your router, but it’s pretty easy to chamfer the edges of the tapered sides into an octagon (left). Here’s a closeup of the end of the post when you’ve chamfered all four edges (above). It looks a little banged up, but once you cut off that extra 1" it will look perfect.

list. Joint and plane the posts Make the Pencil Posts Next you want to turn that STANDARD 1 down to 2 ⁄4" square. First lay out the taper on the four four-sided tapered post into an MATTRESS SIZES With the posts square, now is posts. The taper begins 27" off eight-sided tapered post. The 5 You want your mattress to fit the best time to lay out and cut the floor and then tapers in ⁄8" easiest way to do that is with a close against the rails.As a rule all the mortises for the rails, the on all four sides. bearing-guided 45° chamfer bit of thumb, make your rails (be- footboard and headboard. All of Because I build so many beds, in a hand-held router. First mark 3 3 tween tenons) the same length the mortises are ⁄4" wide and ⁄4" I made a template that lays out out the octagon shape on the top as your box spring’s width and deep and centered on the posts. this taper without measuring. You of the post and set the depth of length.With this particular bed 3 My can handle a ⁄4" bit, can lay it out using a and a your router’s cut so it’s just a lit- design, you’ll get the right gap. so I cut the mortises in one pass. long length of scrap. tle shy of the line. Now mark on Width Length If you have a benchtop machine, Now cut this taper on all four all four corners of the post where Twin 39 75 3 use a ⁄8" bit and cut the mortis- sides using your band saw. Then the taper should end. Double or full 54 75-80 es in two passes. clean up the saw blade marks Make a test cut on the top of Queen 60 80-84 If you’re building this partic- by running each face of the post the post (you’ll lose the top 1" later, King 76 80-84 California King 72 84 ular bed, you need to pay extra over your jointer. so it can look a little sloppy) and attention to the mortises for the headboard. Make STANDARD the bottom mortise so it BED HEIGHTS fits tight around the tenon. When determining where to put But make the top mortise 1 your rails on the posts, aim to so there’s ⁄8" slop up and end up with your mattress at down. This allows the head- one of these heights: board to expand and con- tract without exploding. • 18"-high Bed:A common height for a platform bed. When you sit on this bed, your knees will be bent. • 25"-high Bed:The most common bed height.When sitting on the bed, your legs will be mostly extended, but your feet will reach the floor. • 36"-high Bed: Common on antique beds.When sitting on Clamp your self-centering doweling jig to the tenon and drill the long hole the bed, your legs will not for the bed bolt (above).When it’s complete, here’s what it looks like (left). reach the floor. A 16 1/4"

R4" 75" Taper starts 27" from bottom of post 1 1/2" D 15 1/2" and tapers in 5/8" 11 7/8" 5 1/2" R3" 1 1/2" 1 7" 7" 40 /2" E 1" 6" B B 6"

14" 14"

2 1/4" 39" 2 1/4"

43 1/2"

Elevation - headboard Elevation - footboard

PENCIL-POST BED RECOMMENDED BED HARDWARE NO. LET. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) NOTES T W L Whitechapel Ltd., 800-468-5534, www.whitechapel-ltd.com 1 1 ❏ 4 A Posts 2 ⁄4 2 ⁄4 75 Horton Brasses Inc., 800-754-9127, www.horton-brasses.com 1 1 3 3 ❏ 2 B Short rails 1 ⁄4 640⁄2 ⁄4" x 5" x ⁄4" TBE Ball and Ball, 800-257-3711, www.ballandball-us.com 1 1 3 3 ❏ 2 C Long rails 1 ⁄4 676⁄2 ⁄4" x 5" x ⁄4" TBE 3 1 1 3 ❏ 1 D Headboard ⁄4 15 ⁄2 40 ⁄2 ⁄4" TBE • For bed bolts, I use a 6"-long steel bed bolt. In general, bed bolts 3 15 3 1 3 ⁄8 ⁄16 ❏ 1 E Footboard ⁄4 740⁄2 ⁄4" TBE have a " square head, a "-diameter flange and 16 threads per TBE = tenon on both ends inch.You also will want to purchase a bed wrench that makes tight- ening and loosening the bolts easy. Call the companies above for pricing, shipping information and availability.

1 • For bed irons, I use 3" x 6" irons.These are made from ⁄4"-thick steel 1 that is 1 ⁄4" wide. Use three irons on each side rail for full, queen or king sizes. Use at least two irons on each side rail for a twin mattress.

www.popwood.com 35 Again, a simple jig helps me rout the mortises for the bed irons (left).Then Cutting the recess it’s a simple matter of for the nut is easy if screwing the irons to the you make a jig for rails (above). your router.The jig 1 simply is a piece of ⁄4" 3 ply and some ⁄4" scraps that limit the travel of the router.

3 adjust the depth of your router bit you can use the accompanying ing, a ⁄8" will work, too. Bore the SUPPORTING until it cuts right to that line. Now charts to accommodate other hole 4" deep into all the rails. THE MATTRESS chamfer all four tapered edges. mattress sizes. Now you want to cut a slot Near the end of the pass, watch Now cut the tenons on the that will hold the nut for the bed AND BOX 3 the bit and the line you marked rails. All of the tenons are ⁄4" bolts. The easiest way to do this 3 SPRINGS on the corner. When the bit hits thick, 5" wide and ⁄4" long. Clamp is with a router. I set up a tem- Essentially, there are five com- the line, turn off the router and the rails and posts together and plate guide in my router and made 1 mon ways to support your box make the next cut. mark the locations of the clear- a template that would rout a ⁄2"- springs or mattress. If you’re Before you finish up with the ance holes on the tenons using a wide slot that’s 1" long. Chuck a 7 1 building a king-sized bed, you posts, it’s best to cut the ⁄16"- pencil. Take the bed apart and ⁄2" upspiral bit in your router and likely need a center support, too. diameter clearance holes for the get ready to drill the clearance clamp the template in place. I 1 Bed Irons: This traditional bed bolts in each post. For the hole for the bed bolt. routed this slot 2 ⁄4" from the and sturdy method is outlined in bolts that go into the long rails, I use a self-centering dowel- shoulder of the tenon. Cut the 7 this article. Note that these drill the hole centered on the post ing jig with a ⁄16" bushing to drill 1"-deep slot in several passes. work only with a quality box 1 3 and ⁄2" above the center of the the holes for my ⁄8"-diameter bed spring. Some inexpensive box 7 mortise. For the bolts that go into bolts. If you don’t have a ⁄16" bush- springs aren’t rigid enough. the short rails, drill the hole cen- Wooden Cleats: Screw 1 1 tered on the post and ⁄2" below 1 ⁄2"-square cleats to the inside edge of all four rails and rest the the center of the mortise. DEDICATED box spring on those. By following these instruc- BED-BOLT JIG Angle Iron: Screw angle tions, the head of the bed bolt will iron (or aluminum angle brack- sit proud of the post. If you want I build a lot of beds, and I always ets) to the bottom inside edge to recess it, you will need to cut a use bed bolts. For years I used a 5 of all four rails. 1" that’s ⁄8" deep be- doweling jig to drill the holes for Cleats and Slats: If you’re fore you drill the clearance holes. the bolts in the rails – the technique I show in this article. It works well, building a bed that won’t use a Then you’ll need to pick out some box spring, screw square wood- but there is (as always) a faster way. bed-bolt covers and drill a little en cleats to the inside edge of One day I was eyeing my drill deeper into the rails. all four rails and then screw 1 x press and it came to me. I bought 4s to the cleats 1" apart. Now cut off the top 1" of all an inexpensive radial drill press Cleats and Plywood: the posts and finish sand them. and built a simple plywood cabinet Screw cleats to the rails and I usually start with 100 grit and to hold the machine on its back. 3 then screw a piece of ⁄4"-thick proceed up to 180 grit. Now I have a simple horizontal plywood to the cleats. boring machine.A fence and a Bed Bolt Basics holddown clamp keep the rails in Cut all your rails to length. The place as I bore the holes.This setup has saved me loads of time. It’s not cut list is for a twin-sized bed, but the kind of rig you would want for a home shop, but it’s proof that you can jig up just about any operation if you give it enough thought.

36 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 To hold the nut in place while screwing Now assemble the joint and the bed bolt in place, I use one of those snug the bed bolt. When every- telescoping-antenna gizmos with a thing looks good, fill the recess magnet on the end. If you aren’t recess- with hot-melt glue. Let the glue ing your bolts in the legs, you don’t have dry for an hour and then remove to use a bed-bolt wrench to tighten the bolt; an adjustable wrench will do fine. the bolt. The glue will hold the nut in place when assembling and disassembling the bed.

Bed Irons In my opinion, bed irons are the best way to hold the box spring in place. The irons are simply “Ls” 1 manufactured from ⁄4"-thick steel. You can purchase them in a variety of lengths (pre-bent), from 3" long to 10" long. The length of iron you use is er stock and cut shoulders on your A determined by the thickness of tenons, that’s OK by me. your box spring. When the bed Break the sharp edges on all is assembled, you want the top of the parts using and get the box spring flush with the top ready for finishing. I used a red 3/4" x 5" x 3/4" tenon of the rails. For this bed, 6" irons water-based aniline dye on this were in order. project followed by a couple coats B You’ll probably notice in the of lacquer. Cherry will oxidize 6" bed bolt photos that when the bed irons over time, so a dye or stain is re- 7/16" clearance hole are installed they actually will ally optional in my book. hang down below the rails by 3". When you assemble the bed, 1" This is not a mistake. The bed make sure not to overtighten the skirt covers the irons. bed bolts. I tighten them until 1/2" 2 1/4" I put three irons on each long the posts stop wiggling. After 2 1/2" rail. One iron goes in the cen- every season or two, it’s a good ter and the other two are 12" from idea to check the bolts to make the ends of the rails. sure they’re still snug. This will 1 You need to cut a shallow ⁄4"- ensure your bed frame will stay deep mortise for each bed iron. I rigid for years to come. PW again made a template for my Cutaway of bed-bolt joint router and used a straight bit. The template produces a mortise that 1 is 1 ⁄4" wide and 3" long. Rout the mortises and install the bed irons. Remove all the hardware and sand your rails up to 180 grit.

Headboard and Footboard Glue up the panels you need for the headboard and footboard, cut them to shape on the band saw and sand them up to 180 grit. You’ve probably noticed that the tenons on these two parts With the nut and the bed bolt don’t have any shoulders. This is in place, fill in the recess with a traditional look. If you want to hot-melt glue to keep the nut make you headboard out of thick- in position for years to come.

www.popwood.com 37 ARTS& CRAFTS Globe Stand Nothing decks out your library like a proper globe stand. And if you don’t like this design, we’ve got three others that might do the trick.

s was the case with most Americans, my When I visited my local map store, the globe- world became a larger place last fall. I began stand selection ran the gamut from traditional nau- Ato realize that I had only a vague notion of tical themes to modern metal sculpture. What I was the location, size and geographical relationship of really looking for, a simple Arts & Crafts-inspired many of the countries whose names dominated the piece, was lacking from the lineup. I decided that nightly news. Since I always had a problem with the the only way that I would be happy with the new ad- Mercator projection maps that colored the walls of dition to my living room was to buy a globe sepa- my high-school classrooms (is Greenland really as rately and come up with my own base. large as the United States?) I knew that a globe Paging through a few of my Arts & Crafts books, was the only thing that would give me a clear un- the taboret (essentially a small table) appeared to be derstanding of what’s what and where. a of the founding fathers of the movement. by Dan Brody Dan Brody, a home improvement contractor in Columbus, Ohio, is concentrating on some improvements to his own home. As with many woodworkers, he has found the simple elegance of the Arts & Crafts movement to be a source of inspiration.

You might prefer a tapered-leg taboret …or a globe stand in the style of Frank …or even in the style of a Gustav Stickley with wedged tenons… Lloyd Wright… end table. Photo by Al Parrish. Photo by

38 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002

Use the plans from the diagrams to lay out your After you’ve cut your top to size, you need to clean up the band- Once you get the outside shaped perfectly, you can mortises on your top pieces. Draw the mortise sawn edges using a router table, a straight bit and the shop- use that edge to guide your router. I used a com- 1 locations on paper, photocopy the plans and use made jig shown here. First cut a piece of ⁄4"-thick plywood to mercial edge guide (the Micro Fence, www.micro- rubber cement or a spray adhesive to attach the same size as your top and attach it to the top using a spray fence.com). Essentially, two rounded guides ride 1 3 them to your wood.Then it’s simple matter of adhesive. the center of the ⁄4" plywood to a sub-base of ⁄4" along the outside edge of the top, ensuring the cutting where the lines tell you to. plywood. My router table is part of my table saw setup, so I straight bit cuts a perfectly circular path.You also 3 attached a miter bar to the ⁄4" plywood, which allowed me to could make this cut using a commercial or shop- slide the jig into position. If you don’t have a miter slot, you made circle-cutting jig for a router. might need to first clamp the jig in place and raise the router bit while it’s running to get your cut started. From Limbert to Mackintosh, finally built incorporates a lot of to build the stand. Aside from cut the 1" x 1" mortises. They’re Stickley to Wright, there always the “tricks” – through-mortises, cherry’s tendency to scorch when easier to form when there are still seemed to be room for yet another half laps, chamfered and pegged being cut, it’s a pleasure to work, flat sides to press against a fence. small table. With all its variations, through-tenons, pyramids, and easy to finish and, in central Ohio, While splined joints might it was the perfect starting point corbels. As it turned out, it was a the price is right. have been another “trick” that I for a globe stand. With a little great project for developing my could have thrown into the mix, stretching here and a little cut- Arts & Crafts joinery skills. Around the World I opted for the ease and familiar- ting there, I soon had enough de- Because all the parts are small, in Four Easy Pieces ity of biscuits when assembling signs to house a galaxy, or at least and a limited amount of materi- Start by laying out the four top the ring. After gluing up the ring, a small solar system, of globes. al is involved, I didn’t become sui- quadrants. With the exception cut the arcs slightly wide of the The Stickley variation that I cidal when a mistake condemned of the legs, all the parts for this line on the band saw. I used a a piece to the kindling bin. project are sized to be cut from 1 shop-made circle-cutting jig on I strayed from the quarter- x 6 stock. Before turning to your my router table to refine the out- sawn white-oak norm and band saw to test your eye/hand side edge. Then I used a router chose to use cherry coordination on the outside curves, edge guide to trim the inside edge to a perfect circle. Though there are I also used biscuits to join the many complicated two halves of the lower table. I ways to attach added another level of detail with corbels to legs, I 1⁄ 1⁄ prefer to simply a 4" x 4" chamfer on the top glue and clamp edge of both the ring and table. 1 them in place. Finally, I plowed two ⁄4"-deep x 3 ⁄4"-wide grooves that crossed in the middle of the bottom of the table to position it squarely on the stretchers.

Here’s a close look at the notches in the top that hold the pins on the globe.

40 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 10" 14 1/2"

1" " 1" 16 / 5"

5 #10 biscuits #10 biscuits 5 " 2

R 10 R 7" / 1 4" 1/ 1 / 3 4 " Table (2) Top (4) 3 29 /4" 7 1 3 /8" /8"

7 /4" 2" " 4 /

Outline of stretcher 1 " 2 / 1 1 3 /8" " Outline of top 2 /

dowel 1 Leg (4) 3/4" 18" 1/8"

1 3/4" " " 4 / 4

/ Outline of leg 1

1 3/4"

1 8"

" / chamfer 2 / " 1 2 / 1 1 2" 3 2 /8"dowel R 1" 3 Reverse orientation of /4" cutout on second stretcher " 4 / 1/2" 1 Stretcher (2) Stretcher end

The legs are formed from 2 x a simple half lap. The ends of the than setting up my router and a 1 2 stock. Although the ⁄2" x 2" through-tenons are chamfered at jig for the operation, I chucked 1 through-mortises were made on a 45° angle. I then pegged each a ⁄4" Forstner bit into my drill 3 1 the legs with a straightforward tenon using ⁄8" cherry dowels press, made a ⁄4"-deep hole that 1 23 series of cuts with a ⁄2" mortising through ⁄64" holes after slight- was tangent to the inner edge, , the through-tenons re- ly tapering the ends of the dow- and squared up the bore with a quired some attention to detail. els. With the holding power of sharp . See the photo After cutting the tenons on the contemporary glues, they’re only at left for details. ends of the legs to fit the mortis- for show anyway. Because cherry darkens quick- es, I determined that a 14° bevel Speaking of show, the corbels ly enough through oxidation and 1 would give me an ⁄8"-high py- that “support” the top are struc- exposure to ultraviolet rays, I used ramidal top. The tenon is sized turally unnecessary to this proj- a clear wipe-on oil finish to em- 1 to allow for an ⁄8" vertical rise ect. Visually, however, they’re the phasize the contrast between the above the top before transition- icing on the cake. Glue them in end grain of the through-tenons 9" ing into the slopes. I like the look, place and clamp them up. and pegs and the face grain of the and it’s more forgiving than try- To mount the globe on the legs and top. If you’ve got ’em, 1 ing to align four pyramid bases stand, you need to cut two ⁄4"- you might as well flaunt ’em. PW 1 exactly with the tabletop. long x ⁄4"-deep notches in the Half scale - enlarge 200% The stretchers are joined with inner edge of the ring. Rather SUPPLIES ARTS & CRAFTS GLOBE STAND Popular Woodworking readers can order this 12" antique globe NO. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) MATERIAL T W L for $70 (a 10 percent discount) 3 5 1 ❏ 4 Top pieces ⁄4 5 ⁄16 14 ⁄2 Cherry plus shipping (and sales tax if 3 ❏ 2 Table pieces ⁄4 5 10 Cherry you live in Ohio). 1 1 3 ❏ 4 Legs 1 ⁄2 1 ⁄2 29 ⁄4 Cherry 3 1 Contact: ❏ 2 Stretchers ⁄4 2 ⁄2 18 Cherry 3 7 The Map Store ❏ 4 Corbels ⁄4 ⁄8 9 Cherry 5821 Karric Square Drive Dublin, OH 43017 Corbel (4) 614-792-6277

www.popwood.com 41 While there are many quali- 1 ty plunge routers with big 2 ⁄2- PREMIUM MID-SIZE and 3-horsepower motors, their bulkiness has made them more the choice for exclusive use in router tables. For finesse, free- hand use (or as a router table 1 router) the 1 ⁄2 to 2 hp plunge routers fit the bill with a light PLUNGE touch and versatility. The four premium routers we’ve tested here go a step fur- ther by offering extreme preci- sion with their micro-adjustment mechanisms. Most garden-vari- ROUTERS ety plunge routers have a turret depth stop with an adjustable rod Versatile, precise hen you’re shopping it’s manageable in size, highly ad- to set the depth of your cut. These for the one router justable and maneuverable when premium routers add a fine ad- and powerful, Wyou’ll use all the time, it’s out of your router table. For justment feature to this system, go straight for the mid-sized plunge the most part, these routers are which increases the ease of ad- these routers router. It’s powerful enough for designed to excel in router tables justability exponentially. are perfect for a most of the large profile bits, yet and hand-held operations. There are other mid-sized plunge routers available, but we single-router shop. by David Thiel excluded plunge routers that would 1 Comments or questions? Contact David at 513-531-2690 ext. 255 or accept only ⁄4"-shank bits. While [email protected]. these tools are useful, we think Through-the-column dust collection

Micro- that if you’re going to buy a ma- adjustment chine with this much flexibility knob and and power, it should accept bits scale 1 with a ⁄2" shank. Additionally, we didn’t test the Craftsman’s mid-size premi- um plunge router because it’s being redesigned and will be significantly different from what’s in stores now. We’ll bring you information on this new router in a future issue.

Seven Important Features Premium plunge routers have a lot of features, and what’s im- Collection portant is how all these work to- hood to gether to make a router that is a improve efficiency pleasure to use or just a pain. The most important features are the motor performance, the ease of Dust collection is critical when using a hand-held router.The The micro-adjust depth setting on the Porter-Cable adjusts to 1 adjusting the tool, the ease of the DeWalt has a unique collection system that pulls dust from ⁄128” and allows the router to be adjusted up and down when plunging action, the feel of the within the base and then up through the plunge column.The the plunge lock is engaged.The Bosch uses a similar “lock- tool in use, the switch, and the Porter-Cable router also pulls dust through the base, but the ing” adjustment, while the DeWalt and Makita use a set-and- tool’s ability to accept accessories vacuum port is on the base itself. repeat adjustment system, which is not as sophisticated. such as template guides and vac- uum hoses. Another feature is the “no load” in the chart) and dur- The DeWalt and Porter-Cable We were less impressed with self-releasing collet. ing the cuts (listed as “load”). routers had built-in dust collec- the Makita RP1101. While the Rather than have the bit drop The boards were fed by hand tion features, pulling dust through motor performed well and plunged out after applying the “break- at a typical speed for this proce- the base of the router. The Bosch smoothly, it fell short in features loose” pressure, these collets have dure. Because we weren’t able to router comes equipped with a dust and carries the heftiest price tag a secondary stopping point that control the feed rate perfectly, hood that connects to the base in the test. Also disappointing requires minimal pressure to re- the information in the chart on and the Makita essentially offers was the Porter-Cable 7529, which lease the bit, making it easier to the following page is of a wider no on-board dust collection. had a flawed micro-adjust mech- remove the bit without danger of range than we would have pre- Another useful accessory are anism, and it suffered from poor damaging it. ferred, but we’ve reported the av- template guides. The DeWalt, motor performance. Many of these features are sub- erages from several cuts. Makita and Porter-Cable routers 3 jective, but the opinions in this As to how easy it was to plunge all accept a standard 1 ⁄16"-di- article are from woodworkers who each tool, we rigged up some sim- ameter Porter-Cable guide. With BIT SPEED have decades of experience with ple free weights in a sling under the DeWalt and Porter-Cable you One of the features of all these routers and still use them on a the router to allow us to deter- need to screw in a provided in- routers is variable speed. daily basis. The motor perform- mine the weight necessary to ini- sert to use the template guides. Adjusting the revolutions per ance and the plunging action were tiate the plunge action, and the On the Makita, the template minute allows different diameter able to be more objectively tracked. weight necessary to completely guides attach right to the base. router bits to perform their best. compress the plunge spring. By The Bosch router requires a pro- In general, the larger the bit How We Tested Each Tool adding this information to our prietary guide set from Bosch. diameter, the slower the speed. For performance, we mounted a personal opinions of the plung- This makes the motor labor less 1 and increases the life of the router new ⁄2"-diameter straight bit ing action for each router, we then Conclusion: DeWalt and the bit. (carbide-tipped Viper bits from ranked each tool. We recommend the DeWalt Oldham) in each router and DW621 as the best premium mid- Diameter Speed (rpm) 1 1 mounted each in a router table. Accessories sized plunge router. In close sec- ⁄16" - ⁄2" 22K + 1 1 1 1 We cut multiple ⁄4" x ⁄2" Dust collection and the ability ond is the Bosch 1613AEVS, ⁄2" - 1 ⁄8" 14K - 18K 1 1 in red oak and monitored the rpm to accept template guides were which has the superior micro-ad- 1 ⁄8" - 2 ⁄2" 12K - 14K 1 and amperage draw before the two of the major accessories that just mechanism and is the best 2 ⁄2" and up 8K - 12K cuts (these results are listed as we took into consideration. tool for use in a router table. Photo by Al Parrish. Photo by

www.popwood.com 43 BOSCH 1613AEVS: AN OLDER DESIGN, BUT STILL PRECISE, QUIET AND POWERFUL Without question, we voted this router the winner in than holding the plunging lever back with the “precision” category.The Bosch’s micro-adjust your thumb.The router accepts only system engages quickly and provides finesse in Bosch template guides, and the included .004" increments. Of the routers tested, only this dust collection insert doesn’t work as well tool and the Porter-Cable were easy to work with in as the DeWalt and Porter-Cable systems. a router table, with the Bosch having the superior Overall, the Bosch router was a close height-adjustment system.The motor performance second in our test. Despite the age of this also was good, with a small drop in rpm under load machine, this router continues to perform and the least noise in the test.The eight-position and even excel over its younger counterparts by turret offers multiple adjustable depth settings.A many measures. Priced at $200, it’s our preference couple drawbacks include a return spring that was in the category if you plan to use it in a router table. tighter than we prefer, which made it harder to start For more information, contact Bosch at and complete the plunge motion. Plus, there is no 877-267-2499 or www.boschtools.com. way to lock the plunging mechanism open other

DEWALT DW621: SIMPLE AND STOUT WITH GREAT DUST COLLECTION The European-style DW621 turned a lot of heads the router did not excel was its micro-adjust mecha- when it was introduced six years ago, and its fea- nism.The micro-adjust requires you to set the bit flat tures continue to make it our preference for hand- to the work surface, then dial in the cutting held plunge operations.The dust-collection system depth on the depth stop.This system works, keeps things clean without getting in the way of but it pales in efficiency compared to the your work.The DW621 feels the most compact of Bosch and Porter-Cable systems.Also, en- any of the routers tested, but the motor still per- gaging the trigger on the handle requires forms well (it was, however, the loudest in the test). some practice.We also felt that base was a The DeWalt is the only router tested that doesn’t use little small and provided less support than we would a lever to release and lock the plunge mechanism. prefer. Overall, the DW621 is a strong, versatile You simply turn the left handle to engage the router with some excellent features and only a little smooth operating and responsive plunging mecha- room for improvement.A winner. nism.This mechanism also allows the plunge action For more information, contact DeWalt at 800- to stay unlocked for easier setup. One area where 433-9258 or www.dewalt.com.

MAKITA RP1101: SUPERB MOTOR, BUT LACKING ELSEWHERE The RP1101 essentially is Makita’s fixed-base router diameter opening, the router is significantly limited motor in a plunge base.The router provided good in the size bits that can be used with the stock base. performance under load and had a good, responsive While the opening size does allow use of the plunge spring, but the tool fell short elsewhere.The standard template guide, we think that top-mounted switch provided decent switch access offering an adapter plate (as the com- during router table operations, but during hand-held petition does) is the better option.The use it’s necessary to release one hand while reach- router makes no provision for dust ing for the switch, a less-than-ideal arrangement. collection of any kind.The quality motor It’s the only router in the test that required two does offer external brushes for extended motor life, wrenches to change the bit, making bit changes and this is the strongest feature on this router.While more cumbersome.The micro-adjust system is the RP1101 is a gutsy router, it’s priced higher than similar to the DeWalt’s, requiring set-and-adjust the competition and seems overpriced for the fiddling.While simple and accurate, it’s unrefined features you get. compared to the Bosch and Porter-Cable.The round For more information, contact Makita at 800- 1 base provides stable support, but with a 1 ⁄8"- 462-5482 or www.makita.com.

44 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 PORTER-CABLE 7529: A GOOD IDEA WITH TWO MAJOR SHORTCOMINGS This router should have been a strong contender, but turn on the machine using either the switch on the it fell short in a couple important areas.While top or on the handle.This makes the router offering a good micro-adjust mechanism once easier to use in a router table.The collet engaged, it has the most complicated and time- lock made bit changing on this model consuming method to engage and disengage the easy, and the wide-diameter base mechanism. Once engaged, the micro-adjust was opening allowed room for huge bits. smooth and precise.The second disappointment was While an adequate router, its shortcom- the motor’s performance.The motor bogged down ings in the motor and micro-adjustment setup make more easily than the other tools in our test.The it hard to recommend it compared to the competi- 7529 does offer through-the-base dust collection, tion.When you take into consideration the $20 but it is far less convenient than DeWalt’s.The price difference between it and the Bosch and plunge spring was tight, making the router less DeWalt routers, the Porter-Cable slips even further. responsive in plunging action.We were pleased with For more information, contact Porter-Cable at the dual switches on the 7529, which allow you to 800-487-8665 or www.porter-cable.com. PW

Premium Mid-sized Plunge Routers

BOSCH DEWALT MAKITA PORTER-CABLE 1613AEVS DW621 RP1101 7529 Street Price $200 $200 $240 $220 Motor Amps stated 12 10 11 12 Amps no load/load 5.1/9.3 5.5/9.2 3.5/10.8 4.4/8.1 RPM stated 11-22K 8-24K 8-24K 10-23K RPM no load/load 21.6K/19.1K 27.1K/22.1K 23.8K/21.1K 21.5K/16.3K Base 11 1 3 1 Diameter 6 ⁄16"6⁄2"5⁄4"6⁄2" 1 9 1 1 Opening size 2 ⁄16"2⁄16"1⁄8"3⁄2" Shape D Double-D Round D Template guide Bosch PC, w/insert PC PC, w/insert 1 3 1 Edge guide centers 4" 3 ⁄4"2⁄8"4⁄2" Dust collection w/adapt. thru-base NA thru-base Collet Self-releasing? Yes Yes No Yes Spindle lock? Yes Yes No Yes Bit changing ease (1-5) 4.2 4.2 2.8 4 Plunge Performance Micro-adjust quality (1-5) 4.8 3.9 2.6 1.4 Plunge control method Lever Handle/twist Lever Lever Weight to start plunge (lbs.) 9# 6# 4# 4# Weight to complete plunge (lbs.) 29# 17# 17# 30# Plunge smoothness (1-5) 3.6 4 4.2 4 Plunge lock ease (1-5) 3.6 4.6 3.6 4 1 1 19 1 Max plunge depth 2 ⁄4"2⁄8"2⁄32"2⁄2" Depth-stop method 8-pos. turret 3-pos. turret 3-pos. turret 3-pos. turret Router Table Performance Height-adjust method Precision knob Turret stop Turret stop Precision knob Height-adjust smoothness Tight Good Tight Good Switch location Handle Handle Top Top or Handle Overall Switch type Trigger Trigger Toggle Thumb trigger, toggle Ease of switch (1-5) 4.6 4.8 2.8 3.5 db* 84db 104db 88db 91db Weight 9.7 lbs 10 lbs 9.3 lbs 9.3 lbs Ergonomics (1-5) 3.6 4.2 3.4 3.6 Cord length, material 9', P 8',R 9',R 10',R Warranty 1 yr 1 yr 1 yr 1 yr Key: On the 1-5 scale, 1=unacceptable, 5=excellent. P = plastic; R = rubber; * Decibels measured at 24" away from the router.

www.popwood.com 45 TapeTape MeasuresMeasures Don’t take this tool for granted. The right kind of tape is essential to accurate woodworking. Photo by Al Parrish. Photo by

46 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 oo often we woodwork- If you measure results at the table Now check the tape to make it retract at full speed. When you ers are lazy when it comes saw with your tape (as opposed to sure it measures inside and out- get near the end, slow it down be- Tto our tape measures. We a ruler or calipers) this is critical. side measurements the same. fore letting the hook hit the case. use one designed more for car- Don’t buy the first tape off the Crosscut a piece of scrap and meas- These 13 tapes were the most pentry or a tape with dimension rack. The quality of the printing ure its length with your tape. Next, common ones for sale at 10 stores lines that look like they were on the tapes can vary from tape clamp a couple smaller pieces in Kentucky and Ohio. After our drawn on with a crayon. Or we to tape. Look through several and of scrap to either end of that board evaluation, a couple rose to the never check the accuracy of the pick the one with the finest lines. and measure the distance between top. Our “Editor’s Choice” award tool against a . “Standout” also is important. those smaller pieces. The meas- goes to the Lufkin 12' 2312. The If you’ve ever been vexed by Standout is how far the tape will urements should be the same. If markings were excellent, and the a cabinet back that didn’t fit like extend from its case before buck- not, tweak the hook some more. case felt right in our hands. The you expected or a door that did- ling under its own weight. We To keep your tape reading as “Best Buy” in the bunch is Stanley’s n’t fit its opening, check your tape. recommend 48" of standout for accurately as possible, never let 12' 33-312 PowerLock tape. PW Small errors really can add up woodworking, so buy a tape with 3 with an inaccurate tape measure. a ⁄4"-wide blade. They’re also by Christopher Schwarz 1⁄ more durable than 2" tapes. Comments or questions? Contact Chris at 513-531-2690 ext. 407 or In the Store [email protected]. First, of course, you need to buy In the Shop the right tool. When you buy a When you get home, check your tape measure for woodworking, tape against your combination HOW TAPES ARE MADE here’s what’s important: Select square – the benchmark of accu- Tape measures are a technical challenge to manufacture – especially the a tape that is either 12' or 16' long racy in most shops. Use a knife tape part. Many tapes are made using a technique usually called “flexi- at most. It’s rare you’ll ever need to strike a line about 6" in on a graphic” printing, according to industry officials at Stanley and Lufkin. more than that in the shop. Make piece of scrap using your square. Essentially there is a long rubber pad that’s the length of the tape that 1 sure the tape you select has ⁄32nd Then check that with your tape. is secured to a metal backing band, which prevents the rubber from markings on the first 12" of tape. If they don’t agree, use your pli- stretching or distorting.The rubber pad is inked and it transfers the ers to bend the hook at the end marks to the metal tape. Some tapes, usually shorter ones, are made slightly until they agree. using a rubber pad that is not backed by a metal band. Engineers insist that inaccurate tape measures are virtually unheard of these days, unless the tape is cut too long or too short.

13 Commonly Available Tape Measures

STREET TAPE 32NDS CLARITY OF COMFORT INCHES OF LOCKING TAPE PRICE WIDTH (IN.) (Y OR N) MARKINGS (1-5) IN HAND (1-5) STANDOUT METHOD FINISH 3 Centerpoint 16' $15 ⁄4 No 2 2 49 TS G 1 Companion 12' 39375 7 ⁄2 Yes 4.6 4 40 LL M 1 Craftsman 12' 39698 9 ⁄2 Yes 4.3 4.6 41 TS M 1 Lufkin 12' HV1012 7 ⁄2 Yes 4 3 35 TS SG 3 Lufkin 12' 2312 10.50 ⁄4 Yes 4.6 4 58 TS SG 3 Lufkin 16' HV1316 9 ⁄4 Yes 4.6 3.6 55 TS SG 3 Stanley 12' PowerLock 33-312 7.50 ⁄4 Yes 4 4 69 TS G 3 Stanley 16' LeverLock 30-986 7.50 ⁄4 Yes 3 2.6 65 LL G 1 Stanley 16' FatMax 33-716 15 1 ⁄4 No 2 1.6 130 TS G 3 Stanley 16' MaxSteel 33-692 10.50 ⁄4 Yes 2 4.6 70 TS G 1 Starrett 12' Tru-Lok 10 ⁄2 Yes 3.6 3.6 40 TS M 1 Task Force 12' 99933 4 ⁄2 No 2.3 2.6 45 TS G 1 WorkForce 12' 848-539 3 ⁄2 No 2.3 2.6 42 TS G Key:TS= thumb switch; LL= lever lock; G= glossy; SG = semigloss; M= matte; On the 1-5 scale: 1=unacceptable, 5=excellent.Winners are labeled in red.

www.popwood.com 47 y first glimpse of a can set the whole thing on end, Bessey K-body clamp and your glue-up will stand up- Mwas on PBS’s “The right on the outside edge of the New Yankee Workshop.” Like jaw. This frees up space on your many viewers, I said: “I need some assembly bench and allows you of those!” A few phone calls later, to keep working. we were well on our way to pop- ulating the Popular Woodworking Details of the Test shop with our new-found loves. To test the clamps, we simply put That was about six years ago, them to use. You may note that and we’ve been surprised that while we’ve included the report- there’s been little competition in ed clamping pressure for each this category. Then, last year, clamp, we haven’t compared or Gross Stabil introduced an im- discussed this feature in the in- proved version of its parallel-jaw dividual comments. Truth be told, clamp, and Jorgensen introduced too much clamping pressure will a new line of this same style. Both starve a glue joint. Suffice to say are aimed at Bessey. With three that all three of the models have different parallel-jaw clamps in more than enough pressure to stores, we decided it was time perform any clamping task. to put ’em all in the shop to see Our first clamping test was glu- how they stacked up. ing up a simple, two-piece flat panel. The pieces were positioned Why Buy These Clamps? to the inside of the jaws, lying on First, what’s a parallel-jaw clamp? the bar. We looked for flex in the Unlike traditional bar or pipe bars, as well as bowing in the pan- clamps, the parallel-jaw clamp els during this test. has a flat and wide jaw surface Next, we glued-up similar flat that exerts even pressure along panels with the pieces lifted off the length of the jaw. The even the bar, held at the very tips of pressure starts all the way at the the jaws, unsupported by the bar. back of the jaw, against the bar, We used this test to look for bow- Parallel-jawParallel-jaw and continues out to the end of ing in the panel, and for any gap- ping at the joint caused by out- of-parallel pressure. For a third glue-up, we cut two 1 ⁄2"-thick x 3" x 8" pieces of wood and clamped them end-to-end with the width of the pieces run- CLAMPSCLAMPS ning the length of the jaws. We the jaw mouth. This makes glu- again checked for bowing and ing up flat panels a cinch. You gapping at the glue joint. can rest the panel on the bar, pro- One last test concerned dura- These clamps aren’t cheap, viding a flat, supported glue-up bility. We dropped the clamps so you should make sure you’re getting surface. It also means you can three times from workbench height glue up a box and put even pres- to see if any damage occurred to the most for your money. sure along the edge of the joint, the jaws. Finally, to test the dura- rather than at just one point. bility in extreme shop conditions Another advantage of all these (or compressing years of use into clamps is they rest flat on your a few minutes) we struck the most by David Thiel assembly table as you glue up a vulnerable corners of each jaw Comments or questions? Contact David at 513-531-2690 panel – no rolling or tipping. And with an 18 oz. hammer three times ext. 255 or [email protected]. once your panel is clamped, you with mixed results.

48 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 2 GROSS STABIL PC CLAMP The hammer damage can be seen on the corner of the upper protective pad (pulled Also made in Germany, the Gross toothed bar.The handle on the PC2 is loose on purpose) and on the corner of the Stabil PC2 clamp is the company’s 1⁄ 3⁄ wood, measuring 1 8" x 4 4", with a lower protective pad.The upper jaw shows the 1 2 second (and more successful) intro- spindle length of 2 ⁄2".The PC is missing corner – essentially inconsequential duction into the parallel-jaw clamp available in nine lengths from 12" to Damage damage (left). category.The PC2 clamp uses a high- 100".The maximum clamping pres- tempered steel I-beam bar that looks sure reported by the company is The Gross Stabil’s clamping pressure is exerted a lot like the Bessey’s; but on the PC2, 1,100 pounds.The jaw face measures by the lower arm angling against the toothed 3 1 the teeth on the bar are on only the 1 ⁄4" x 3 ⁄2", and a 48" clamps sells bar (below).While generally the same ap- leading edge of the bar, not on all for about $45. proach as the Bessey, the interior surface of three faceted edges.The jaws on the The clamp performed well in all the lower jaw support is malleable iron and likely not as durable as the hardened set PC2 are essentially injection-molded three of our clamping tests, exhibiting screws in the Bessey clamp. high-density plastic forms that are similar bar-flex in the end-of-jaw 1 reinforced internally with ⁄4"-thick position as on the Bessey clamp.The steel bars.The jaws have softer jaw moved easily with little assis- plastic, slip-on pads that are easily tance, and it caught quickly when we removable and replaceable. allowed it to free fall – indicating Lower The PC2’s head can be removed quick operation with less chance of arm and turned around so you can use the pinching your hand. clamp as a spreader.This requires The Gross Stabil performed best using the outside surface of the top of all three competitors for durability. Protective pad jaw and it isn’t all that easy to do. The drop test showed no significant Gross Stabil officials say that a next- damage. During the hammer test we Reinforcing generation design will have a fast- knocked the corner off one of the bars release mechanism and a lip on the protective pads, but when we re- top jaw so you can move the protec- moved the pad and continued to tive pad to the outside. abuse the jaw we were able to knock 1 The locking mechanism on the off just an ⁄8" piece of lip, leaving the PC2 uses slip pressure from the clamp in good shape and operable. malleable iron lower arm against the This clamp is tough.

BESSEY K-BODY CLAMP The K-body clamp was introduced in The Bessey offered good perform- 1985 and has experienced only minor ance in all three clamping positions. It changes since then. Made in showed less bar flex in the end-of- Jaw Germany, the clamp consists of a bar jaw clamping position than any of the that is a hardened I-beam, a head other clamps in the test. However, the made from sheet steel and jaw mech- K-body’s short spindle travel makes it anisms made from cast steel.The necessary to readjust the clamp jaws are covered with a high-density position more frequently. plastic.The clutch mechanism (which The K-body held up without flaw provides the pressure for clamping) to the drop test. In the hammer test uses the binding pressure of the jaw we cracked both high-density plastic body against the bar.This is supple- covers after three whacks, but the Hardened mented by teeth on three facets on cracks occurred along the sides of the steel screws Striking both long edges of the bar and re- covers, not on the jaw face. So the damage placeable hardened steel screws clamp was still usable. mounted to the inside surface of the When we let the clamp head free- The two small set screws (backed out for jaw body.The wooden handles meas- slide down the bar, it moved rapidly viewing) are hardened steel.When screwed 1 1 1 into place they provide excellent holding ure 1 ⁄8" x 4 ⁄2", with about 1 ⁄4" of before stopping.This poses a poten- power against the toothed bar from opposing spindle length.The K-body is avail- tial for pinching your hands. In mov- corners (above). able in eight lengths from 12" to 98". ing the head along the length of the The stated maximum clamping pres- bar, the teeth affected the smooth- sure is 1,100 pounds.The jaw faces ness of the travel, but this is a trade The damage from the hammer blow is obvious 1 3 on both jaws (right).Again, while I probably measure 1 ⁄2" x 3 ⁄8" each, and a 50" off for the quick grabbing capability wouldn’t continue using this clamp, the jaw clamp costs about $44. of this well-made clamp. faces still are intact.

www.popwood.com 49 ADJUSTABLE CLAMP’S CABINET MASTER CLAMP This is the newest entry into the the sliding jaw to be turned around to parallel-jaw arena. Made in the use the clamp as a spreader.An United States by Adjustable Clamping additional (and planned) benefit of Co. under the Jorgensen name, the the quick-release mechanism allows bar appeared to be of softer steel it to be used as a “kick stand” at the than the other two clamps, formed end of the clamp.This keeps the into a figure-eight shaped cross- clamp from tipping when using section. No teeth are cut into the bar. longer clamps for a shorter applica- The heads are stamped steel pieces tion, where the weight of the bars covered in plastic covers, which are lifts one jaw off the table. peened in position on the underlying As with the other clamps, the steel structure.The locking mecha- Cabinet Master handled the clamping nism works similar to that found in tests well.The bar flexed more than the traditional Pony clamps from its competitors in the end-of-jaw The Jorgensen’s multi-plate clamping mecha- Adjustable, with four individual clamping procedure, but this still nism is similar to the traditional mechanism stamped steel plates angled against didn’t gap the glue joint. on a Pony clamp.Though it’s hard to see, the the bar and held in position by a The heads moved smoothly during plates are supported by a small V-shaped piece of spring steel.When clamped clamping, but reinstalling the head spring plate (above). tightly, the steel plates bite into the after removal for spreader functions bar, making its own teeth.The handle required careful alignment.The clamp on the Jorgensen Cabinet Master is performed well during the free-fall 3 1 maple, measures 1 ⁄8" x 4 ⁄4" and has test, protecting your hand. 3 a spindle length of 1 ⁄4".The clamp is The Cabinet Master didn’t fare so available in six lengths from 12" to well for durability.The plastic covers Damage 48".The maximum clamping pressure on the jaw mechanisms are brittle, reported by the company is 1,000 and while they showed no damage 7⁄ pounds.The jaw measures 1 8" x 4", during the drop test, both jaws shat- Here you can see the results of the hammer and a 48" clamp sells for about $41. tered dramatically when struck once test (right).While the Bessey clamp has a There is a quick-release mecha- with a hammer, revealing the internal similar covering shield , the material on the nism at the end of the bar to allow steel and making the clamp unusable. Bessey withstood more abuse.

Conclusion As for the durability factor, similarly (within $4 of one an- with more features than the Bessey. During our real-world testing, all we were disappointed in the other), so price isn’t a factor in Both perform well, and if you can three of the clamps performed Jorgensen clamp. While the abuse announcing a winner. Because of find one brand a few dollars cheap- well for routine clamping proce- applied during testing was a lit- durability factors, we’re unable er than the other, buy the less ex- dures. The softer, non-toothed tle unusual, it wasn’t outside the to give honors to Jorgensen. pensive one. But in an even price bar on the Jorgensen Cabinet realm of possibility in a workshop. Between the Gross Stabil and match, the nod goes to the Gross Master holds well, despite mate- The Bessey clamp’s cracked plas- Bessey, we consider the Gross Stabil for durability, versatility rial differences, but long-term tic also was somewhat disap- Stabil to be a well-made clamp and features. PW testing will determine if this caus- pointing, but it didn’t make the es any problems. Though we had clamps unusable, and in fact we some minor concerns on the wear continue to use similarly dam- potential in the Gross Stabil’s aged clamps in our shop years after CONTACT INFORMATION lower arm, this basic clamp de- the damage. The Gross Stabil per- Bessey K-body Clamps sign has been used by the com- formance was impressive. Not 800-828-1004 or www.jamesmorton.com pany successfully for years. The only did the replaceable pad hold 2 Bessey’s clamping mechanism up fairly well, but the nearly in- Gross Stabil PC Clamps 517-279-8040 or www.grossstabil.com is well-designed with good ma- destructible performance on the terials and has already stood the inner jaw was very comforting. Adjustable Clamp’s Cabinet Master Clamps test of time in our shop. The clamps all are priced very 312-666-0640 or www.adjustableclamp.com

50 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 America’s Forrest Saw Blades Best Since 1946! “You Can Count On Us For Quality, Performance, and Dependability!”

"When we established Forrest We make them of high corrosion-resistant C-4 carbide to provide the Manufacturing over 55 years ago, we longest possible life between sharpenings. We also hand-straighten them committed our company to providing the for perfect flatness and an astonishing +/- .001" runout that gives you peak very best products and services possible. performance. And Forrest blades feature exceptional perimeter concentric- ity and super fine tooth grind to ensure the highest quality edges. "Since then, demanding craftsmen have come to rely on us for the finest quality "Our exclusive guarantee is another reason to have complete confidence in blades and dados. They also count on us the products we offer! Purchase any Forrest blade or dado and use it for the best in-factory sharpening avail- for up to 30 days. If you are not completely satisfied for any reason, able anywhere. return it for a full refund. There's never any risk to you. You have my word on it!" "Forrest saw blades eliminate or reduce splintering, scratching, and tearouts. Jim Forrest, President Woodworker II New! Customized Woodworker II ALL PURPOSE – table saws Sale 10% Off 15% Off For the advanced table saw operator. Sale 10% Off 15% Off and portable circular saws. Price First Blade Second Blade Ideal for joinery and special uses! Price First Blade Second Blade 12" x 40T x 1" $129 $116 $110 10" x 40T (1/8" K) #1 grind for square cut box 10" x 40T (1/8" or 3/32" K) $119 $107 $101 joints. $130 $117 $111 10" x 30T (1/8" or 3/32" K) $ 99 $ 89 $ 84 8 1/4" x 40T (3/32" K)* $ 99 $ 89 $ 84 10" x 40T (1/8" K) #6 grind for near flat bottom, easy feed. $130 $117 $111 8" x 40T (3/32" K) $ 99 $ 89 $ 84 7 1/4" x 30T (3/32" K) $ 89 $ 62 $ 59 10" x 40T (1/8" K) grind. Specify angle & left or right points. 5 3/8"x40Tx10mm (5/64" K)** $ 89 $ 80 $ 76 See Fine WW12/01. $130 $117 $111 Also available: 14”x40Tx1” • 14”x30Tx1” • 12”x30Tx1” • 9”x40T • 9”x30T • 10" x 40T (5/64" K) Ultra thin kerf for precision 8”x30T(3/32”K) • 6”x40T(3/32”K). Call for prices. work. Use stiffener plate. $139 $125 $118 The 10”x40T earned the Editor’s Choice for the best performance regardless 10" x 20T (1/8" K) Fast feed rip for thick hardwood of price. American Woodworker April 1998, pp 68-69. without burning, but finish is *For Sears & Makita **For DeWalt Cordless Portables not smooth like WWII. $ 94 $ 85 $ 80

Dado-King Chop Master You get flat-bottomed grooves and no splintering–even when Specially designed for sliding compound Sale 10% Off 15% Off crosscutting oak plys and melamine. This award-winning set miter, miter-chop, and radial saws. Price First Blade Second Blade comes with six 4-tooth chippers (including 3/32” chipper), two 24- 7 1/2" x 60T x 5/8" Makita Cordless Slide $105 $ 95 $ 89 NEW! tooth outside blades plus shims. Cuts 1/8” to 29/32” grooves. 8 1/2" x 60T x 5/8" Hitachi, DeWalt, Ryobi. Sale 10% Off 15% Off FREE 10” Blade Runner Freud TR125 $119 $107 $101 Price First Set Second Set carrying case. 10" x 80T x 5/8" Delta, Bosch, Hitachi, Makita, $21 Ryobi, AEG & all $139 $125 $118 6" set $269 $242 $229 value! Protects and holds 12" x 80T x 1" Delta, Hitachi, Makita, B&D, 8" set $289 $260 $245 up to 10 blades. Ships Sears & all $149 $134 $127 10" set $349 $314 $297 with 6”, 8”, or 10” Dado sets. 15" x 100T x 1" Makita, Ryobi $199 $179 $169 12" set $449 $404 $382 Included free with your order! Also available: 8 1/4" x 60T • 6 1/2" x 40T • 9" x 80T • 14" x 100T. Call for prices. Duraline HI A/T Woodworker I Cuts melamine perfectly. 220mm & 300mm available. Designed for radial arm or Sale 10% Off 15% Off Our best plywood blade. Sale 10% Off 15% Off tablesaws–fine crosscut. Price First Blade Second Blade Price First Blade Second Blade 7 1/4", 8", 8 1/4" x 60T $109 $ 98 $ 93 10" x 80T (1/8" or 3/32" K) $159 $143 $135 10" x 60T $129 $116 $110 12" x 80T x 1" (1/8” K) $181 $163 $154 12" x 60T $139 $125 $118 14"x100Tx1" • 14"x80Tx1" • 16”x100Tx1” • 8" • 7 1/4" and others. Call for prices. Also available: 9” x 60T • 14” x 60T. Call for prices. Two Easy Ways to Order Call toll-free Visit our internet store $15 OFF* OUR EXPERT BLADE SHARPENING! 1-800-733-7111 OR stores.yahoo.com/forrestman Don’t take a chance with micro-chipped edges on your expensive wood! (In NJ, 973-473-5236) Our in-factory sharpening preserves the life and performance of all types Fax 973-471-3333 of carbide blades. In fact, Forrest Manufacturing represents the industry Se habla español standard for fine quality sharpening. We process most orders in 3 to 5 Western Canada: Call Sharp Tech, Inc. days, and we’ll give you $15 IN DISCOUNT COUPONS* with your next 877-228-0908 • Fax 403-225-3767 order for any blade or dado you own! (Please include return UPS of $7 + Other Canadian sales: Call CMR – Ron DON’T SEE $1 for each additional blade.) Collier 800-229-4814 • Fax 989-684-0402 WHAT YOU NEED? Call us for other blades and Forrest Manufacturing dampener discs! Company FREE SHIPPING– 457 River Road All Orders Over $275 Clifton, NJ 07014 Other orders, please add: Saw blade – $7 • Dado – *3 coupons at $5 each, use 1 coupon per blade. © 2002 Forrest Manufacturing Company, Inc. $9 • Stiffener – $3 CIRCLE NO. 126 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD.

Shaker Press Cupboard

Once used to help press linens, this beautiful Shaker reproduction serves as a showplace for any collection of china or pottery.

hen I first discovered this cupboard in Now mark the layout of the mortises on the legs. John Kassay’s “The Book of Shaker Because the sides and back are wide pieces of solid WFurniture” (University of Massachusetts wood, you should use a double tenon to accom- Press), it jumped from the pages and begged me to modate seasonal wood movement. Next cut the 1 build it. The original version that I built featured ⁄4"-thick mortises on the legs. a blind-door cupboard, but a friend at a furniture Don’t forget to cut the mortises in the top and show suggested I build it with glass doors. I followed lower rails and back piece to receive the two rail sup- her advice, and what a difference it made. ports and the two drawer runners. This piece originated in the Pleasant Hill, If you’re using a hollow-chisel mortiser, use the Ky., Shaker community in the late 1800s. It’s called step method of cutting mortises – skip every other a press cupboard because its flat, sturdy construc- cut and return to clean out the sections between tion helped to press the linens stacked neatly in- after reaching the end of each mortise. This will side. With the addition of the glass doors, this piece prevent excessive wear on your chisel. becomes a showplace for any treasured collection. Now cut your tenons on the table saw. I use a shop-made tenon jig, but a commercial jig will Lower Section First do fine. Test the fit of the pieces of the lower case. To begin, mill the parts for the lower case accord- If everything works, proceed to finish sand your ing to the cutting list. Then turn the legs using the parts, and glue and assemble the lower section. First diagram provided. If you’re not a turner, I recom- glue the front and back sub-assemblies, then fin- mend you taper the legs on the two inside edges in- ish by assembling the side pieces. Remember to in- stead. The taper should begin 1" below the lower stall the rail support pieces at this stage. front rail and sides, and the legs should taper to Next, notch the drawer runners so they fit around 15 ⁄16" square at the floor. the legs. Glue them into the mortises you cut in

by Glen Huey Excerpted from “Fine Furniture for a Lifetime” copyright © 2002 by Glen Huey. Used with permission of Popular Woodworking Books, an imprint of F&W Publications Inc. Visit your local bookseller

Photos by Al Parrish. Photos by or call 800-289-0963 to obtain your copy.

www.popwood.com 53 CC 1/4"-deep by 3/4"-wide stopped dados U T

Q 3 BB 41 /4"

S V EE 7/16"-deep by 3/4"-wide for back 25 1/2"

P DD Y

15 1/2" 1/2" core box bit X plate groove

1 3/8" 1 1/4" T 1/2"-deep by 3/8"- W R wide rabbet for glass Z AA

1/8" D 1/4" J

C 1 1/4"

H

3/4" F G Leg mortise & tenon detail E B

M L

A

GG K N

1 square = 1" 1 square = 1/2"

Leg detail Crown moulding detail Illustrations by Len Churchill.

54 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 the lower front rail and nail them the stops with a screw and glue Before I glued the drawer parts together, to the rear of the back leg. Nail each to the back leg (see the photo I ran the bottom edge of my drawer front the drawer guides to the runners, on the next page). over the jointer with the fence set at a 5° angle and the machine set to make a flush to the leg blocks. Next remove the drawer, then 1 ⁄16"-deep cut.This creates a slight bevel Next build the drawer. The lay out and drill holes in the legs that allows the drawer to close without drawer front is flush with the face and through the case’s tenons for the bottom edge catching on the lower of the cupboard. You can see the the square pegs. Set the pegs and front rail. layout of the hand-cut dovetails cut them flush with the case. at right. I used half-blind dove- Now glue up the boards you’ll tails at the front and through- need for the top of the lower sec- dovetails at the back. The solid- tion. To attach it, I used shop- wood bottom is a raised panel that made wooden clips. I used a bis- fits into grooves in the sides and cuit joiner to cut the recess in the drawer front. sides, back and top front rail to Once you’ve built the draw- accept the clips. er, slide it into the lower section and align the drawer front with Upper Section Next

the case front. Then measure and To begin the cupboard’s upper Step photos by Glen Huey. cut the stops for the drawer. Attach section, cut your sides and shelves Here you can see the layout of the hand-cut dovetails used to build the drawer.

SHAKER PRESS CUPBOARD NO. LET. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) MATERIAL COMMENTS TWL Lower Section Case Pieces 7 7 1 ❏ 4 A Legs 1 ⁄8 1 ⁄8 34 ⁄4 Primary wood 3 1 1 ❏ 2 B Sides ⁄4 11 17 ⁄4 Primary wood 1 ⁄4" TBE 3 1 1 ❏ 1 C Back ⁄4 11 42 ⁄4 Secondary wood 1 ⁄4" TBE 3 1 1 1 ❏ 1 D Top front rail ⁄4 1 ⁄4 42 ⁄4 Primary wood 1 ⁄4" TBE 3 1 1 1 ❏ 1 E Lower front rail ⁄4 1 ⁄4 42 ⁄4 Primary wood 1 ⁄4" TBE 3 1 1 ❏ 2 F Rail supports ⁄4 218⁄8 Secondary wood ⁄2" TBE 3 1 3 1 ❏ 2 G Drawer runners ⁄4 2 ⁄8 17 ⁄8 Secondary wood ⁄2" TOE 1 13 5 ❏ 2 H Drawer guides ⁄2 ⁄16 14 ⁄8 Secondary wood 3 1 ❏ 1J Top ⁄4 20 47 ⁄2 Primary wood 7 3 5 ❏ 1 K Drawer front ⁄8 8 ⁄8 39 ⁄8 Primary wood 1 1 1 ❏ 2 L Drawer sides ⁄2 8 ⁄4 15 ⁄2 Secondary wood 1 1 5 ❏ 1 M Drawer back ⁄2 8 ⁄4 39 ⁄8 Secondary wood 5 1 ❏ 1 N Drawer bottom ⁄8 15 ⁄2 39 Secondary wood ❏ 2 GG Wooden knobs 2 Primary wood Upper Section Case Pieces 3 ❏ 2 P Sides ⁄4 12 45 Primary wood 3 1 ❏ 1 Q Top front case rail ⁄4 5 ⁄2 39 Primary wood 3 3 ❏ 1 R Bottom front case rail ⁄4 1 ⁄4 39 Primary wood 3 1 3 ❏ 4 S Top, bottom & shelves ⁄4 11 ⁄4 37 ⁄4 Primary wood 3 1 ❏ 3 T Door stiles ⁄4 337⁄2 Primary wood 3 1 1 ❏ 1 U Door stiles ⁄4 3 ⁄4 37 ⁄2 Primary wood 3 3 1 ❏ 2 V Upper door rails ⁄4 3 ⁄4 16 Primary wood 1 ⁄4" TBE 3 1 1 ❏ 2 W Lower door rails ⁄4 4 ⁄2 16 Primary wood 1 ⁄4" TBE 1 3 ❏ 4 X Exterior door grills ⁄4 ⁄4 30 Primary wood 1 1 ❏ 4 Y Interior door pieces ⁄4 ⁄2 30 Primary wood 5 1 ❏ 2 Z Bottom moulding ⁄8 1 ⁄2 16 Primary wood 5 1 ❏ 1 AA Bottom moulding ⁄8 1 ⁄2 42 Primary wood 3 ❏ 2 BB Crown moulding ⁄4 4 16 Primary wood 3 ❏ 1 CC Crown moulding ⁄4 4 42 Primary wood 5 3 1 ❏ 1 DD Back boards ⁄8 38 ⁄8 42 ⁄2 Primary wood made in many pieces 3 1 ❏ 1 EE Fixed door catch ⁄4 13⁄4 Secondary wood 1 ❏ 2 FF Wooden knobs 1 ⁄4 Primary wood TBE=tenon both ends;TOE=tenon one end; Primary wood=maple; secondary wood=poplar

www.popwood.com 55 Here’s what the door stiles look like after cutting the rabbet for the glass.

After you’ve built the drawer, slide it into the lower section and align the drawer front with the case front. Measure and cut stops for the drawer, then attach them with a screw and glue to the back leg as shown here.

This is how the tenoned ends look after you complete all the cuts.

Gang all the door stiles for the job and do the layout work in one step.This will increase your accuracy.

1 to size. Lay out and cut the ⁄4" x When the glue is dry, add the 3 ⁄4"-deep dados for the shelves – square pegs through the sides and use the diagram to lay out your into the shelves as you did to the Create a half- by marking the location on the latched door and creating a dados. Note that these are stopped lower section. matching rabbet on the other door. dados that don’t extend through the front of the sides. Also, cut Simple Mullioned Doors edge. Then finish the tenons by allow the rabbet to overlap onto 7 3 the ⁄16" x ⁄4" rabbet for the back- For the doors, lay out and cut the completing the necessary cheek the opposite door’s stile. boards. Notch the front corners mortises on the stiles. Because cuts. Test fit all of the pieces and Mark the overlap on the op- of the shelves so they fit in the these are glass-pane doors, cut a then assemble the door frames. posite door and cut a matching 3 1 stopped dado cuts. ⁄8" x ⁄2" rabbet on the interiors Now rout the mortises for the rabbet to produce the half-lap 1 Next, using a ⁄2" core box bit of all eight door pieces. door hinges and install the hinges. joint shown above. chucked in a router and another Now cut the rails to finished Hang the doors. Now cut down Next, with the doors installed, shelf as a , cut a plate size and get ready to cut the tenons the door stiles so they overlap mark the location of the top and 5 groove into the back of the lower on both ends. This tenon fits ⁄16" in the center. Remember to bottom of each shelf on the door three shelves that’s approximately around the rabbet in the stiles. keep the stiles the same width. stiles. This will properly place the 1 1 ⁄4" from the back edge. Make Here’s how to make it: Set your One of these doors will open glass dividers on the door so they 1 sure to begin and end the cut just table saw’s blade height to ⁄4" and with a latching knob, and the conceal the shelves when the doors 3 shy of the shelf ends. define the tenons’ shoulders on other one will open using a re- are shut. Also mark for a ⁄4"-wide Finish sand the shelves and the face sides of the rails. lease inside the cupboard. Remove vertical divider on the edge of the 3 the insides of the sides, then glue Next, move the fence ⁄8" clos- the door that will have the latch- two rails of each door. 3 3 1 the unit together. Check for er to the blade and define the ing knob and cut a ⁄8" x ⁄8" rab- Now cut the long strips of ⁄4" 1 squareness by measuring the case shoulders on the back of the rails bet on the back side of its interi- x ⁄2" material for the interior di- 1 3 diagonally from corner to corner. as well as the shoulder on the or stile. Reinstall this door and viders and the ⁄4" x ⁄4" strips for

56 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 the exterior glass dividers. With front case rails a bit longer than Keep your table saw settings Then dowel the front corners as the door face down, fit and glue required, sand the insides and glue the same and cut the angle on the you did on the crown moulding. the interior horizontal pieces, al- them to the sides of the upper unit. bottom moulding for the upper Cut the half-lap joints on the lowing them to rest on the lip After the glue dries, drill and section. Sand both mouldings, long edges of the back boards. created by the rabbet cut on the install square pegs through these progressing to 180-grit sandpaper. Then finish sand the pieces. inside of the door. rails. (By allowing the glue to dry, Sand the outside of the case On the door without a knob, Flip the door so it’s face up, you reduce the risk of the wood to 180 grit, then fit the crown install the catch. Using a biscuit 1 and fit the long vertical exterior splitting at the joint.) Cut the moulding to the case and attach joiner, cut a ⁄4" slot in the bot- piece into the center of the open- extra length flush to the case. it with reproduction finish nails tom of the second shelf to accept ing. Glue this to the two previ- Now make the crown mould- for an authentic look. Dowel the the catch shown below. After fin- ously installed pieces. These three ing according to the illustration. top edge of the crown moulding ishing, align the catch with the 1 pieces form the basis of the open- Set the blade of your table saw to from the side into the front piece slot and install with a No. 8 x 1 ⁄4" ing for the glass. 40° and make the first cut with and sand it smooth. slot-head wood screw. Then make Cut, fit and install the re- the board face against the fence. Align the bottom moulding a latch (also called a turn) for the maining pieces necessary to com- The fence is set on the left side with the inside of the front and other door. It will latch against plete the door. Then repeat the of the blade. Then, set the fence sides of the case. Make the 45° its neighbor’s stile. procedure on the other door. to the right side of the blade, and cuts at the front corners, square I used a reddish aniline dye to lay the face flat on the table saw cut the back corners and attach finish this piece. After the dye- 1 Finishing Touches in order to cut the complemen- with No. 8 x 1 ⁄4" slot-head wood job is complete, attach the top to When the glue in the upper unit tary angle on the opposite edge screws into the sides. Glue and the lower case using wooden clips is dry, mill the top and bottom of the board, achieving 90°. screw the moulding to the front. and apply your protective top coat. I selected lacquer as the cup- board’s finish. Nail the backboards into place using reproduction nails, then in- stall the glass in the doors. On this cupboard, I used Bendheim’s light restoration glass (for more This is the catch for the door without a information, visit the company’s 1 knob. It turns into a ⁄4" slot in the web site at www.bendheim.com). bottom of the second shelf that you cut PW using a biscuit joiner.

HARDWARE The exterior glass dividers form the basis of the door’s glass grid.The interior AND SUPPLIES horizontal pieces rest on the lip created by the rabbet cut on the door pieces.The 1 exterior vertical piece is fitted into the center of the opening and glued to the two Door hinges, 2 pairs, 2 ⁄2" in length 1 horizontal pieces. Slot-head wood screws, No. 8 x 1 ⁄4" 1 1 ⁄2" shingle nails for backboards 1 1 ⁄2" fine finish nails for mouldings

This is what the latching knob looks like.

This case is unusual in that you install the top and bottom case rails after assem- bling the case.They are applied to the front edge of the sides. Cut them long, glue Use water putty for installing glass panes into the doors.Water putty gives a yel- them in place and trim them to fit. lowed look that simulates age. I use Durham’s Rock Hard Water Putty.

www.popwood.com 57 RES ave you ever planed a thick board to create a Hthin one? Each pass through the planer leaves you feeling guilty as you reduce a beau- tiful plank to a pile of shavings. You could’ve resawn the board instead and dramatically reduced the amount of waste. Resawing is the process of ripping a board through its thickness. It’s a great way to extend your lumber budg- et when building diminutive chests, spice boxes, tea caddies or other scaled-down projects. But that’s not the only use for re- sawing; you can even resaw a fig- ured plank into veneer to create matching drawer fronts. Despite what you may have heard, re- sawing isn’t difficult, but it does require that you carefully prepare by selecting the right blade and fine tuning your band saw. Read on and I’ll go through the process, step-by-step.

Choosing the Best Blade Successful resawing depends on having the best blade for the job. In fact, almost any band saw will accurately resaw when equipped with the right blade; yet the finest of band saws will spoil your prized board if equipped with the wrong blade. When making a selection, begin by choosing the blade width for your band saw.

Blade Width Conventional wisdom says it’s best to use a wide blade when resaw- ing. This is true only if your band Photo by Al Parrish. Photo by

58 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 SAWING WITH THE BAND SAW

Here’s how to choose the right blade, set up your saw and make the cut. Follow these simple instructions and soon you’ll be slicing wood as thin as you please.

saw will adequately tension a wide in contact with the stock at any al dramatically affects the life ground after brazing to the blade. blade. The problem is that the av- given time, the more friction that’s of the blade. Contrary to popu- Although you’re sure to get stick- erage 14" band saw just can’t muster created at the tooth tip, causing lar belief, the heat is generated er shock the first time you price the force required to properly ten- overheating. Even worse, the by friction at the tooth tip, not a carbide blade, just remember 3 sion a ⁄4"-wide blade. So the best blade may buckle and bow dur- by the blade guides. If you’ve ever that they’re more economical in choice of blades is one your band ing the cut, distorting in the kerf used a cabinet scraper to smooth the long run. As a rule, even saw can tension. I’ve gotten great and spoiling the stock. a board, you know how quickly though a carbide blade will cost 3 1 results resawing with ⁄8" and ⁄2" To reduce vibration and in- the edge heats up and burns your 10 times more than a steel blade, blades. Although this seems small crease the smoothness of the cut, thumbs. The same phenomenon it will typically hold its edge 25 for resawing, a narrow blade under manufacturers of band saw blades occurs at the cutting edge of a times longer. sufficient tension performs much have begun to offer variable-pitch band-saw blade. So don’t expect better than a wide blade with too blades. As the name implies, the to keep the blade significantly Tooth Type little tension. pitch of a variable-pitch blade cooler by switching to a different Flip through the pages of a cat- changes repeatedly along the type of guide. Instead, use the alog and you’ll see that band saw Selecting the Best Pitch length of the blade. This unique money to purchase a better blade. blades are available in three tooth Pitch is the number of teeth per tooth design limits the intensity Unfortunately, ordinary car- types: regular, skip and hook. inch (TPI). Fine-pitch blades, of vibrations, resulting in a bon-steel band saw blades quick- those with a greater number of smoother surface that requires ly lose their temper and conse- My favorite blade is 3 teeth, are the best choice for less cleanup. This is obviously a quently their edge when subjected this Lenox ⁄8"-wide smooth cuts in relatively thin plus, especially when you are band to the heat from resawing. Carbide, variable-pitch blade. It has a 2/3 variable- stock (less than 2"). In contrast, sawing veneer. when compared to carbon steel, tooth-pitch hook coarse-pitch blades, those with has much greater heat resistance tooth that is carbide- fewer teeth, are your best bet for Tooth Material and will retain its sharp edge much tipped. It cuts resawing. It works like this: Behind The teeth of a band-saw blade longer. As an added benefit, car- smoothly and aggres- each tooth is a space called a gul- are subjected to tremendous heat bide-tipped band saw blades leave sively and lasts a long time. For more let. The gullets do the work of and stress when resawing. the surface smoother, too. That’s information on this hauling the out of the Choosing the best tooth materi- because the teeth are precisely blade, go to kerf as the stock is cut. If the blade www.lenoxsaw.com pitch is too fine, the small gullets by Lonnie Bird or call 800-628-8810. quickly fill with sawdust and cut- Lonnie Bird (www.lonniebird.com) is author of “The Bandsaw Book” ting slows dramatically. Also, the (The Taunton Press). He builds period furniture and conducts woodworking greater number of teeth that are seminars in Dandrige, Tennessee.

www.popwood.com 59 Blades with regular teeth are the gullets, but the hook-tooth de- Tuning Your Saw Adjusting the Guides most common, and they’re the sign has a positive-rake angle that Once you’ve selected the best Remember: The type of guide best choice for cutting smooth cuts aggressively, yet smoothly. blade, you’re ready to tune the you’re using isn’t nearly as im- contours in stock less than 2" In fact, a hook-tooth blade is band saw for top performance. portant as having them correct- thick. But because of the great so aggressive that it will almost Begin by backing off the guides ly adjusted. Through the years number of teeth, a regular-tooth feed itself during the cut. and mounting the blade. Then I’ve used a variety of different blade is a poor choice for resaw- So what’s the bottom line on adjust the blade tracking and ten- guides and have found that all of ing. Remember: Too many teeth blades for resawing? The best sion. One of the most confus- them perform well when proper- 3 in contact with the stock caus- choice I’ve found is a ⁄8"-wide ing aspects of tuning your band ly adjusted. And making the ad- es greater friction and overheat- variable-pitch blade from Lenox. saw in preparation for resawing justment is easy. Let’s begin with ing. A better choice for resawing It has a 2/3 variable-tooth pitch is finding the best blade tension. the thrust wheel, which is the is the skip-tooth blade. hook tooth that is carbide tipped. Some woodworkers pluck the technical name for the guide be- As the name implies, skip- This blade cuts both smoothly blade and listen to the tone while hind the blade. tooth blades have fewer teeth and aggressively, and the carbide- others push the blade sideways The thrust wheel counteracts and larger gullets than regular- tipped teeth will hold their edge and check the amount of deflec- the forces of feeding the stock tooth blades – every other tooth for a long time. If this blade is just tion. To clear the air, I spoke with to prevent the blade from being is skipped or omitted. This places more than you’re willing to spend, several blade manufacturers to pushed off of the wheels. When fewer teeth in contact with the then check out the Wood Slicer get their recommendations. Here’s correctly adjusted (about .003" stock; as a result, the feed rate from Highland Hardware (800- what I found: behind the blade) it spins only is faster, the large gullets of the 241-6748). It’s also a variable- To resist the bending stress during cutting and will coast to a blade effectively carry away the pitch hook-tooth blade. And al- during resawing, band-saw blades stop when the saw is running idle. sawdust from the kerf and the though the steel teeth won’t last require tremendous tension. In The guides that flank the blade runs cooler. as long as carbide, it’s a good value, fact, blade manufacturers rec- blade help prevent sideways de- But, by far, the best choice for especially if you don’t resaw often. ommend 12,000 psi for carbon- flection during cutting. Like the resawing is the hook-tooth blade. Also, because of its thin kerf, it’s steel blades and twice that for thrust wheel, they should be ad- Like skip-tooth blades, hook- a great choice when slicing ve- blades made from spring steel (car- justed close to the blade, ap- tooth blades have large teeth and neer from expensive stock. bide-tipped blades have a spring- proximately .003", but not touch- steel body). Unfortunately, many ing. A dollar bill makes a con- 14" band saws simply won’t ten- venient when set- sion a wide blade beyond about ting the guides. However, if your 10,000 psi. Despite this, you can band saw is equipped with bear- still get great results if you equip ing guides, they can be adjusted your saw with a narrow blade. To to contact the blade, but the con- prevent the blade from flexing in stant spinning will cause them the cut, I tension the blade until to wear faster, and I’ve noticed the tension spring is fully com- no notable improvement in the pressed, and then back it off slight- quality of the cut. ly. After resawing, I release the tension to relieve the stress on Set Up the Fence Next the saw’s components. With the guides and table ad- justed, turn your attention to set- Square the Table ting up the fence. Unlike a table Once the blade is tensioned, the saw’s fence, setting up a band saw next step is to square the table to fence requires much more care. the blade. To accurately slice thin That’s because most band-saw sheets of veneer, the table must blades suffer from a phenomenon be positioned 90° to the blade. called drift. This simply means You can check this by resting a that they won’t cut parallel to the square against the blade. For great- edge of the table. Although some Set your fence for the drift of the blade.Take a piece of wood that’s the length of est accuracy, position a lamp be- woodworkers may advocate a short your band saw’s table and scribe a line parallel to one edge. Now cut along that line, hind the square; the light will re- convex fence to compensate for compensating for the drift of the blade to get a straight cut.When you reach the middle of the board, turn off the saw. Leave the board at the angle you had to turn it veal any gap between the blade drift, this type of fence requires to get a straight cut. Now measure that angle with a or sliding T-bevel. and the square. If necessary, ad- that you concentrate on a layout When you clamp your resaw fence to the table, set it to this angle. just the table until it is square. line and make continual adjust-

60 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 With the point ments to the feed angle as you’re make your own fence (see illus- fence installed on sawing. It’s much easier to use a tration below). To increase the the resaw fence straight fence and set it up to com- accuracy of resawing, I construct you can easily saw pensate for the drift of the blade. a tall fence that gives better sup- matching curves, Here’s how to do it: On a scrap of port to wide stock. A pair of small such as this back rail for a chair. stock approximately the length bar clamps works to secure the of the saw table, mark a line that fence to the table. is parallel to the board’s edge. Next, band saw to the layout line Making the Cut and stop at the midpoint of the With the set-up and adjustments board and turn off the saw. You complete, making the cut is easy. will have naturally compensated But first make certain that the for the drift as you followed the face of the stock is free of warp layout line; now simply set the or twist so that it rests firmly fence to correspond with the angle against the fence while sawing. of the layout stock. Because most It may be necessary to flatten the band-saw fences lock parallel to board with a jointer or plane. the edge of the table, it’s best to The best feed rate for resawing is slow and steady. Overfeeding can a stick with a blunt point that is cause the gullets to fill quickly, temporarily fastened to my shop- causing the blade to stall and made fence with a couple of screws. 14" shudder. To avoid overfeeding, To use the fence, I clamp it to the stay attuned to the sounds and table of the band saw with the vibrations of your band saw as point adjacent to the saw teeth. you make your cut. The position is important; the 6" When sawing veneer, I smooth distance from the point to the the face of the stock after each teeth should equal the final stock pass. This provides a smooth sur- thickness plus a slight allowance face for gluing the veneer to the for cleanup with the . substrate. As you reach the end Before you begin sawing, scribe of the stock, use a push stick to a line on the edge of the stock complete the cut. with a that fol- Front lows the convex curve. To make Point for resawing Resawing Curves the cut, position the stock against curves attaches Resawing is also a great way to the point and follow the line of with screws create wide, curved panels, such the curve. The point will allow as parts for chairs. The challenge you to easily maneuver the stock Resaw Fence is to keep the convex and con- while keeping the thickness con- cave surfaces parallel. Here’s how sistent throughout the cut. I do it: I begin with careful lay- Finally, it’s a good idea to use out of the curve on the edge of dust collection when resawing. the stock. Next, I resaw the curve Otherwise you’ll be working in and follow the line closely. a choking cloud of fine dust. If Afterwards I smooth away the your band saw isn’t equipped with band saw marks and irregulari- a dust port, it’s not difficult to rig ties in the contour with a flat-bot- one up. The most efficient place- tomed spokeshave. Set it for a ment of a port is under the table light shaving and cut “downhill” directly below the throat plate. to avoid tearout. Even so, it’s impossible to cap- The next step is to resaw the ture all the dust; I’ve found that concave curve. To resaw the con- a second port in the lower part Back cave face parallel to the convex of the saw’s cabinet greatly in- face, I equip my band saw with a creases the effectiveness of the point fence. The fence is simple: dust collection. PW

www.popwood.com 61 S

62 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 choolDROP-LID Desk

he typical response I get from some- side pieces or taper any legs yet, and hold off Build this one when I tell them I build furni- on cutting the bottom to finished size until T ture using only hand tools and tra- the sides and legs are assembled and you can antiqued desk ditional woodworking methods is something cut it to fit exactly. This is one of the hand like, “That must take a long time.” tool mindsets: Cut pieces to fit instead of cut- using traditional My typical response to them is that while ting them to pre-defined specifications. hand-tool it may take a little longer, it doesn’t take as Because there are slight variances in hand- long as one might think; and besides, I like made joinery, this allows you to make strong, techniques. the process as much as the product. You see, well-fitted joints that look good, too. to really enjoy traditional hand tool wood- You’ll probably be working, you have to enjoy the work as much Mortises and Tenons surprised by how as what you build. I may not have built this Once all the parts are cut to their starting desk in a weekend, but who cares? I sure en- sizes, including the extra length on the legs, easy it really is. joyed every weekend that I spent on it. start by cutting the mortises in the legs and There are other mindsets that go along the tenons on the sides, front and back. See with traditional woodworking. This desk the article on how to cut this traditional joint illustrates some of those. One thing you have using traditional tools on the following page. to deal with is the inevitable imperfections The double tenons that go into the back legs of hand-cut joints. You need to accommo- receive special attention. Trim the lower date them instead of cursing them. Armed tenon of each pair so it’s a shade narrower with the right approach, you can build some- than its mortise. When the back and sides thing that looks great and is solid, even if your expand and contract with changing humidity, joints don’t stand up to a test. the lower tenons will accommodate the wood Usually, those of us in the hand tool clos- movement without splitting. For this to work, et have to read the router- and biscuit-based you must glue only the top tenon of each articles and interpret how to build something pair. The lower tenon still is pegged to hold our own way. This time, the tables are turned. it in place, but no glue is applied in the joint. Those of you with the plugs in your hands Now dry fit the sides and legs together who want to build this desk should be able and see how it looks when it’s standing. to translate what I’m describing into your Chances are that the legs are not all exact- powered up perspective. Or, you could put ly parallel. You can tell this by sight and by down the plug and give this a whirl. I won’t measuring the distances between them, one tell anybody on you. to the next and diagonally. Not to worry, As you prepare the stock for each piece there are parallel legs waiting to be rescued in the cut list, be sure and note that some of from within those crooked ones by tapering the parts are cut to finished size as you move them on all four sides. along. The dimensions listed are the finished For each leg, first measure and mark the sizes. Some need to be cut larger at first, and center point at the top of the leg on each those have been noted in the cutting list. side that faces out. Then use a plumb line to For instance, don’t cut the tenons on the find the plumb center on the bottom of the

by Dale Lucas Using traditional tools and techniques, Dale Lucas recreates 18th and 19th century furniture from his shop, which is located somewhere in times past. Photo by French Studios,Photo by French Inc.Village. Historic to Ushers Ferry Thanks

www.popwood.com 63 If your legs aren’t parallel (a tails don’t show that much when desk over and now you can bore common problem for begin- the project is finished. from underneath, through the ners doing hand work), use a Normally the decision on back at an angle for the pocket plumb line as described in the story to make things true. where to put the pins and where screws. I used a spoon bit in a At the bottom of the leg, mark to put the tails depends on the brace, as it’s a champ at boring the true center. Repeat this direction that stresses are applied angled holes. You start it straight process on the other side of to the joint. For instance, when into the wood, and then gradu- the leg that faces out. the front of a drawer is dovetailed ally move to the desired angle as to the sides, the pins are cut in you bore. Once the stopped pock- the front and the tails are cut in et is bored this way, then you use the sides. That way, glue or no a standard to bore the glue, the joint will hold when the screw clearance holes through front of the drawer is pulled. the pocket and pilot holes into In the case of the trim for the the top piece. A screw in the mid- top of this desk, there are really dle of the back and one up through no stresses applied, so you can put each back leg should do it. your pins wherever you like. I happened to put mine on the sides Assembly with the tails cut in the back. It’s time to glue the main box to Once the trim and top are ready the legs. First glue and clamp the for assembly, hold off on gluing sides to the legs (don’t forget to them until the end because this leave the lower tenons on the back is the most fragile part of the desk. and sides dry to allow for wood Gluing them now risks damage movement). Then put the bottom 3 leg on each of those two sides. ing bottom. I cut the groove ⁄8" when you assemble the desk. in place without glue and glue the The bottom of each leg is 1" square, up from the bottom edge. With front and back pieces to the side 1 so mark a line that is ⁄2" out on the sides and legs dry-assembled, Spoon Bits assemblies. Screw the top in place. either side of your two center measure the opening and add to Drill Pocket Holes The mortise-and-tenon joints 1 points. Using a square, carry those about ⁄4" all around to make the The last thing to do before glu- in each leg are pegged for strength, lines to the opposite face of the bottom fit into the grooves. Now ing the sides to the legs is to bore and those lower ones aren’t going leg. Connect those lines to the “raise” the edges of the bottom the pocket screw holes that will anywhere, with or without glue. point where your taper will begin, using a hand plane. attach the top to the back legs A great old way to make these which is 1" below the point where Once you have the panel and back piece. nice and tight is to peg them using the sides, front and back meet the raised, use a to cut First clamp the sides and back a “drawbore tenon” method. It’s legs. Plane to those lines on all notches in its four corners so the to the legs without the bottom a great traditional technique, and four sides and you will wind up bottom will wrap around the legs. and then clamp the top to the though we don’t have space to with four parallel legs. The bottom should fit snugly, but sides where it belongs. Turn the cover it here, you can read about While you have the sides and not too tight. This will allow the legs dry fitted together, mark the sides to fit closely to the legs when One of my favorite old front legs for final trimming at the you assemble the desk. tools is a Stanley #45 top. Mark the leg where the top from the early 1900s.This makes quick work and edge of the side meets it. Using a Turn to the Top Piece fanciful shavings when sliding bevel, transfer that angle of Once you have the small top piece plowing the grooves for 1 the side to the legs and cut it with cut and planed to size, plow ⁄4"- the floating bottom. 3 a fine-tooth crosscut or back saw. wide x ⁄16"-deep grooves and dados to hold the three top trim Raised-panel Bottom pieces in place. I joined the cor- The next step is to fit the - ners of the trim with dovetails, ing bottom. This is like a classic but then I enjoy the process so drawer bottom that lets humidi- the extra work was fun for me. If ty have its way without causing you want to try your first hand- 3 breakage. First plow a ⁄8"-wide x cut dovetails, these particular 1 ⁄4"-deep groove in the sides, front ones are pretty forgiving because and back pieces to hold the float- the stock is thin and the dove-

64 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 CUTTING MORTISE- One of the most common and versatile joints in traditional woodworking is the mortise and AND-TENON JOINTS tenon. It's been around for a few millennia and has many variations. Here are the basics on how to do it by hand for this particular project. For more on mortises and tenons in general, BY HAND check out the books listed at the end of this article.

Two Alignment Tricks As with any joint, layout is important. Mark it right, and you stand a better chance of cutting it right.Tools for this are a marking-mortising gauge and square. Set the mortising gauge to the width of your tenon with the fence of the gauge set to the width of the shoulder. Use it to mark both the tenon and the mortise for the breadboard ends. For the mortises in the legs, adjust the gauge 3 fence so that the mortise is ⁄8"from the outside of 3 Because the width of your chisel determines To lay out your mortise, use your mortising the leg while the breadboard ends are ⁄16" from the edge. Set the thickness of the mortise to the the thickness of your tenon and the size of gauge and the tenon itself to mark the loca- thickness of the tenon. Use a square to mark off your mortise, use the chisel to set up your tion of the mortise on your stock. 3⁄ the width of the mortises and tenons. layout tools. Here I’m using my 8" chisel and my mortising gauge to set up the cuts for my tenons.

Backsaw the Tenon Once marked out, use a to cut the tenon. A simple way to wind up with crisp edges on the shoulders is to use a knife or chisel to cut a small V-groove along the line left by the marking gauge. The scored line left by the gauge forms one side of the groove while you make the other side with the knife.This provides a starting point for the saw just below the surface of the wood, in just the right alignment. Don't bother trimming the tenon until you get the matching mortises chopped out. Then trim either the tenon or the mortise as To make clean tenon shoulders, cut a V-groove Cut just shy of the waste side of the line.Then needed until they fit. along the cutting gauge line. Start your back- chamfer the edges of the tenon using a chisel, saw in this groove and your shoulders will which will make assembly easier. have a clean edge. Cut the tenon with a small back saw or dovetail saw.

Chop the Mortise The most important thing is to make the mortise perpendicular to the face of the stock. Failure on this point is the root of all sorts of joint evil. Unless you have an eye for this type of alignment, check your chopping angle periodically with a square set next to your work piece. If you're new to chopping mortises by hand, then think of this as chipping more than chopping. Take out the wood that fills your mortise-to-be one layer of chips at a time. Make the chips by making a series of chisel cuts from one end of the mortise to the other.Then carefully remove the chips with the chisel. Repeat the chip making and chip removing until you are at the desired depth. Chop a series of cuts across the mortise from When chopping a mortise, pause once in a One tip for making clean finished ends of the 1 end to end, then clean out the loose chips. while to check your direction with a square. mortise; do your chopping about an ⁄8" in from Repeat this until you reach the desired depth. the ends until the final depth is achieved.Then you can clean those ends up easily.

www.popwood.com 65 to length. When you assemble the lid, glue the full-sized anchor tenons but leave the others dry. Pegging all six tenons will hold everything securely.

Details Now that we’re getting fewer and smaller shavings, we must be near- ly done. The last few steps include marking and mortising the hinges, rounding the edges of the lid, and Before raising your bottom panel’s cross grain, chisel Use a or jack plane to bevel the underside of the down the corners so you won’t split the off the edge as bottom panel. gluing the trim on the top. I paint- you plane. ed the outside of my desk with old-fashioned black enamel paint it in Jeffrey P. Greene’s “American I like to first split these pegs the peg holes in the floating tenons and the inside with a light con- Furniture of the 18th Century” out square, just a little bigger than in the direction of the float. trasting color. As soon as I was (The Taunton Press). the hole. Taper one end of the Once you have the breadboard done painting the outside, I used The other option is to clamp peg with a chisel, gouge or knife ends fitting well on the tenons, with some mineral spir- everything tight during glue up to make it easy to start into the remove them and bevel the upper its and rubbed a few edges and and simply bore the holes for the hole. Leave the square back end edge so it fits against the top. The high spots to give some charac- pegs. Bore into the legs from the a little bigger than the hole so simplest way to lay this out is to ter to my new, old antique. I wiped outside, centered on each tenon when you drive it home, it will set a sliding bevel on the top edge the excess off and let that dry. and bore just a little past the tenon. bite into the wood surrounding of one side and set its blade to the After a day or so, I wiped it with Drive home riven hardwood pegs the hole. Don’t make it too big, front edge of the secured top. a concoction that leaves it with a just far enough to go through the and don’t drive them in too hard, Transfer that angle to each end faint aged brown tint made using: tenon and fill the hole. Later you or you’ll split your hard-earned of your lid (without the bread- 2 oz. burnt umber artist’s oil paint, can trim these flush. I typically legs. When all your joints are boards in place). Connect the an- 2 oz. burnt sienna artist’s oil paint, use oak for the pegs, but what- pegged, remove the clamps and gled ends with lines across the 8 oz. turpentine, 3 oz. boiled lin- 1 ever is on hand will do as long as trim the pegs flush. I do this with underside of the lid and use a jack seed oil and ⁄4 oz. japan drier. it’s hard and straight-grained. a broad sweep gouge. plane to take the edge of the lid After that dried for a couple down to those lines. of days, I added a light coat of Breadboard-end Lid You should wind up with a wax and sat down to enjoy the HELPFUL HAND The next big step is to make the good match between the lid and final product. Hey, while I enjoy TOOL BOOKS lid with its breadboard ends. The the top. When the lid is angled the process more than the prod- mortise-and-tenon joints are made right, put the breadboard ends uct, I still like the product pretty “The Complete Woodworker,” pretty much the same way as the back on, mark them to match the well, too! edited by Bernard E. Jones.This PW is a reprint of an old classic. 10 ones in the legs and sides with edges of the lid and trim the ends Speed Press, copyright 1980. some slight differences. The bread- ISBN 0-89815-022-1. board ends stabilize the lid, but they need to allow for movement DROP-LID SCHOOL DESK “Hand Tools,Their Ways and NO. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) NOTES in the tenons as the lid shrinks T W L Workings” by Aldren A.Watson. 1 and grows with the seasons. 2 Front legs* 2 2 29 ⁄8 Lyons & Burford. Published in 1 To do this, make two of the 2 Back legs 2 2 33 ⁄4 1982 by Norton. Copyright 1982 3 3 1 three tenons a little narrower than 1 Back ⁄4 6 ⁄4 22 ⁄2 1" TBE by Aldren A.Watson. ISBN 1- 3 3 1 their corresponding mortises. 2 Sides ⁄4 6 ⁄4 16 ⁄2 1" TBE 55821-224-8. 3 1 1 Front ⁄4 222⁄2 1" TBE Leave the one closest to the top 3 “Bench Work in Wood” by W. F. 1 Bottom* ⁄4 17 23 full size and use glue in this mor- 3 1 1 M. Goss. I don’t have a copyright 1Top ⁄4 4 ⁄8 25 ⁄4 tise only, as this will anchor the 3 1 1 or ISBN number but the inside 1 Lid ⁄4 16 ⁄4 24 ⁄4 1" TBE lid so you maintain a constant 3 1 1 leaf says "Boston, USA, 2 Breadboard ends* ⁄4 1 ⁄2 16 ⁄4 1 3 1 Published by Ginn & Company, gap all the way across where the 1 Back trim for top ⁄4 2 ⁄16 24 ⁄8 1 3 3 1901." Mine is a reprint that I top and lid meet. 2 Side trim for top ⁄4 2 ⁄16 3 ⁄4 1 1 1 got from Mid-West Tool Another part of this “freedom 18 Pegs for tenons ⁄4 ⁄4 1 ⁄4 Collectors Assn. Inc., of movement act” is to enlarge TBE=tenons both ends; *Finished dimension; cut longer initially www.mwtca.org 1 1/2" 1" 22 1/4" 2" 20 1/2" 2" 3/8" thick tenons with 3/16" shoulders 2"

3/16" " " 4 2 / Pocket screws / 1 1 16 14 2" 2" 2" Breadboard end

Breadboard-end lid Plan-lid

1 1/2" 1 1/2" 3 3/4" 22 1/4"

2" 16 " 1/ 4 4" / 3

" 3/8" overhang 4 / 1 3 4 /8" typical 6 " 8 / 5 2" 2

2" 14 1/2" 2" 2" 20 1/2" 2"

2 3/16" h. back trim let into 1/4" w. x 3/16" d. Dovetails at grooves corners "

4 Hinge 1 4 / / " 1 1 1 /2" " 8 33 / 1 Profile detail 29 " 2 3 8 3 8 / Side board

/ " / " 2" 1 tenons Section 1" detail " " 8 4 / / " 2" 3 1 2 / 1 1 " 2 / 1

Raised bottom panel 1/4" holes for pegs 1" in 3/8" w. x 1/4" d. grooves Profile Elevation

www.popwood.com 67 Achieving the dark reddish-brown finish favored by Gustav Stickley has long been a goal of mine.My reproduction of a No. 332 Morris chair uses the finish- ing methods outlined in this article.The finish I matched it to is on the antique slipper rocker at right. They match quite well, though lighting differences in the photos make the slipper rocker look lighter in color. Arts &Crafts Finish For several years I’ve experimented with ways to get the look of ammonia-fumed oak without the danger. Here’s exactly how to do it.

he best Arts & Crafts an- though you do have to wait a cou- that will collect pigment, as will medium: water, alcohol or an oil- tique I own is a small rock- ple days for things to dry between marks from a smoothing plane. based carrier such as lacquer thin- Ting chair that few visitors each step. However, I assure you In the end, these will detract from ner or toluol. to my house ever notice. Made it’s worth the time. your hard work. We’ve experimented with the by Gustav Stickley’s furniture So once you have the surface alcohol-based dyes (they dry ex- company, the rocker has all the The Secret: Dye Plus Glaze sanded to its final grit (I usually tremely fast, which speeds things hallmarks of a classic period piece: In a nutshell, you dye the oak red go to 180 grit), get out your sand- along), but I’m married to the through-tenons, pegged joints and then put a brown stain over ing block and 220-grit sandpa- water-based products because they and the original rush seat. But it. The trick is choosing the right per. Hand sand the parts of your are much more fade-resistant than that’s not why I like the chair. ingredients and applying them project, being careful to sand with the other two types of dye. I get lost in the finish. The ray correctly. Check the supplies box the grain. It doesn’t take much The downside to the water- flake of the quartersawn oak burns to order all the coloring products effort, just five or six strokes over based dyes is that they raise the red, but the piece as a whole is a you need for this finish. an area. Now remove as much of grain. To combat this problem, I dark chocolate brown. For sev- Sadly, I have to start you off the sanding dust as possible using wipe the entire project down with eral years I’ve tried to replicate by talking about sanding. No mat- a tack cloth or compressed air. a clean wet rag before the final that look without resorting to ter how you prepare your wood hand sanding with 220-grit sand- fuming the oak with ammonia – for finishing (power sanding, plan- Mix the Dye paper. The sandpaper knocks a difficult process in its own right. ing or scraping), you need to pay About four years ago, we were down the nibs raised by the wet Aqueous ammonia is dangerous close attention to the ray flake of turned on to J.E. Moser’s aniline rag. Then, when you apply the to handle, and even Stickley ac- the oak before you start finish- dyes, and we’re hooked. Moser water-based dye, the grain won’t knowledged that he had to stain ing. Random-orbit sanders leave sells three different kinds of dyes, get nearly as fuzzy. some areas of his fumed pieces to little “pig tails” in the ray flake and each dissolves in a different The directions on the dye say even out the color. to mix 1 ounce of powder with 1 After trying lots of products by Christopher Schwarz quart of nearly boiling water. I’ve on the market, I think I’m really Comments or questions? Contact Chris at 513-531-2690 ext. 407 or found this is too strong a color. 1 close. This is a fairly simple process, [email protected]. Try mixing ⁄2 ounce of powder

www.popwood.com 69 Water-based finishing products raise the grain when applied.To combat this, raise Apply the aniline dye liberally with a disposable paint brush, then wipe off the the grain before your final sanding by wiping down the project with a wet rag.The excess with a clean rag.When the dye has dried, it should look this shade of orange. final sanding will cut down the raised grain and nearly eliminate any raised grain Continue cutting your dye with water until you get something in the ball park. when you dye the project. with a quart of water. Let the so- wood in a wide variety of ways. ring it with a paint stick will just Set your drill press to its low- lution cool overnight. Apply it Glaze usually is applied over a wear out your arm. The solids in est speed setting. Let me repeat to a test board and compare it to sealed surface and not on raw wood. this stuff are tough. that: Use your lowest setting. the photograph above. If it’s still That is, it’s added over a sealer I mix glaze using a device for We’re still cleaning up dried glaze too strong, add more water until coat and then topcoated again. stirring paint that you chuck into in our shop from an embarrass- the color is very close. Used this way, glaze can “an- your . Chuck the paint ing accident I had more than three tique” a project by adding years stirrer into your drill press and years ago. Clamp a shop-made Apply the Dye of wear and grime to the recess- raise the table so the stirrer is just spatter shield on top of the can You need a way to apply the dye es in a raised-panel door or it can above (but not touching) the bot- (see the photo at left for what this (a sponge, rag or disposable paint bring out the detail in a carving. tom of the can of glaze. looks like) and mix the glaze for brush) and a clean rag to remove This, however, is not how I a couple hours. You’ll know that the excess. Load the brush, rag or use this product. I use it like a the glaze is thoroughly mixed sponge with the dye and flood one thick-bodied stain. when no solids are resting at the surface of the project, such as the The hardest part of using this bottom of the can. arm or the top or a leg. If you are glaze seems to be purchasing it. stingy with the dye, it might not About five years ago it was made wick into the grain. Immediately by a company called Guardsman. wipe off the excess with your rag. Then a company called Lilly Dye the remaining parts of the bought it. Now my friends at the project. If you get overlap marks paint store say that Valspar man- where you went over a surface a ufactures the product. few times, don’t get worked up. I’ve never seen this brand of Let the dye dry overnight – things glaze for sale in the major wood- will look better in the morning. working catalogs; we’ve always Then, rest assured because the bought ours from a local profes- next processes will hide most of sional paint store (Cincinnati your problems. Color). Recently, I’ve discovered that you can buy it from woodfin- Using Glaze as a Stain ishingsupplies.com in both gal- In my opinion, the real secret lon and quart sizes. Check the weapon in this process is the next supplies box for information. You need to mix the glaze thoroughly before using it. Chuck a paint stirrer step: adding the glaze. Glaze is a Once you get your hands on into your drill press and make a splatter Here’s how you should ball up your product often used by profession- the glaze, you must mix it thor- guard like the one shown here. Set your cheesecloths when applying and al painters and finishers to color oughly before use. In general, stir- drill press to its lowest speed setting. removing glaze.

70 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 Apply the glaze liberally with your cheesecloth. Once it’s applied, allow it to flash It doesn’t take a lot of effort to remove the excess glaze.Wipe the board until you before removing it. get an even tone.

When the glaze is mixed, pre- pare two cheesecloths (available in the paint section of any home center). One applies the glaze, the other removes the excess. After you apply your topcoat, the reds in the oak’s ray flake will pop out of the brown background. Fold the cheesecloths so they fit in your hand and there are no edges or seams where you are ap- plying or wiping off the glaze. red, the grain lines will be brown. Topcoat Protects the Glaze After your first sealer coat, Buy some heavy-duty gloves – After a few minutes, the glaze will Hands down, your best option is sand between coats and add as I prefer the thick orange ones you start to set up and the overall color to spray on lacquer or shellac. If many coats as you usually do to can buy at home center stores. will look very dull. Don’t be con- you don’t have a spray system and a project. When I spray lacquer, Glaze is difficult to remove from cerned, the topcoat will bring out the project is small, use spray lac- I usually use three thin coats. PW your skin and you really shouldn’t all the color again. quer in aerosol cans. You can buy be dipping your hands in it. Repeat this process until you’re it at home center stores. Look for Dip your first cheesecloth in done staining the entire project. a product that states it dries in 30 SUPPLIES the glaze and apply it liberally to When you’re done, it’s a good minutes – most likely it’s lacquer. a surface of your project. The stuff idea to examine your project close- If your project is large and you Woodworker’s Supply is practically opaque, so your proj- ly for drips, runs or overlap marks. don’t have a spray system, use the 800-645-9292 www.woodworker.com ect should look almost black. Now These are easily remedied because aerosol lacquer to spray a sealer start working on the next big sur- glaze is reversible. Just get out coat of lacquer on the project J.E. Moser’s Golden Amber face while you let the first area your cheesecloth that was used to lock in the glaze. Then top- Maple water-based aniline dye. dry a bit. You want the glaze to to apply the glaze and go over it coat that with a brushed-on • 1 oz., item #W14901, $4.85 “flash,” which is when the wet again. Keep messing with it until finish you’re comfortable with. • 4 oz., item #W14904, $12 sheen of the glaze starts to turn it looks right. I don’t recommend applying • 8 oz., item #W14908, $20.50 dull. It usually takes about 10 or Allow the glaze to dry the sealer coat over the glaze with Woodfinishingsupplies.com 15 minutes, depending on the overnight. Even after 24 hours, a rag, and don’t use an oil finish. 507-280-6515 temperature and humidity. you still can manipulate the glaze You need a film finish to protect www.woodfinishingsupplies.com Once your glaze flashes, take a bit. Before you add a sealer coat the glaze. And though I’ve never Lilly Professional Glaze, choose your second cheesecloth and begin to your project, get a clean cheese- ragged on a sealer coat over glaze, the color “warm brown” removing the excess glaze. Wipe cloth and look again for any areas several people who have tried this • quart, item #WL6100-25, gently (but not gingerly) and you’ll that appear muddy or have runs. method say that the rubbing ac- $9.95 see the true color of your project By rubbing lightly with a cheese- tion wipes the glaze around and • gallon, item #WL6100-1, appear. The ray flake will look cloth you still can fix things. makes a true mess of things. $31.59

www.popwood.com 71 CLASSIFIEDS

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72 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 ADVERTISER INDEX

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www.popwood.com 73 FLEXNER ON FINISHING The Case for Shellac Long neglected by woodworkers in favor of oil and finishes, this gift from the insect world is a great finish for home woodworkers. Here’s why.

oday, shellac is the most under-appre- Tciated of all finishes, but this hasn’t al- ways been the case. Until the 1920s, when lacquer was introduced, shellac was the pri- mary finish used in furniture factories and small woodworking shops. It continued to be the favored finish of professionals finish- ing interior wood trim and floors, and of hob- byists finishing everything, including furni- ture, until the 1950s and 60s. Then polyurethane and “wiping” varnish (varnish thinned about half with paint thin- ner and often mislabeled “tung oil”) were in- troduced and widely promoted. Beginning in the 1970s, blends of linseed oil and var- nish, like Watco Danish Oil, were promot- ed in magazines for their ease of use. Instead of defending shellac during this period, suppliers retreated to the position that shellac was a good sealer for stains and knots. They also allowed shellac to get an exaggerated reputation for weak water re- sistance, and they increased its stated “shelf life” from one year to three years. (Shellac slowly deteriorates after it’s dissolved in al- cohol. After about a year it no longer hard- ens well enough or is water-resistant enough to be used as a complete finish on most fur- niture and cabinet surfaces. Always use shel- lac within a year of when it was dissolved.) Now shellac is rarely used as a finish ex- cept by high-end antique refinishers (which ought to tell you something). This is terri- bly unfortunate, because shellac still is one of the best finish choices for most wood- working and refinishing projects.

What is Shellac?

Shellac is a natural resin secreted by insects Al Parrish. Photos by called lac bugs, which attach themselves Shellac is preferred by high-end refinishers and is a good finish for home woodworkers because it dries quickly, to certain trees native to India and Southeast builds well and is easily reversed if disaster strikes. Asia. Suppliers buy the resin and sell it as flakes, or dissolve it in alcohol and package add warmth to wood. Most old furniture and ness of a pickling stain or the natural color the solution in cans for you to purchase. woodwork was finished with orange shellac. of light woods such as maple, birch and poplar. Natural shellac is orange (amber) in color Bleached shellac (sold as “white” or “clear”) You can mix orange and bleached shellac to and is your best choice when you want to is best when you want to maintain the white- achieve an in-between color.

76 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 SHELLAC PROS AND CONS Advantages: • Much more water- and scratch-resistant Natural shellac contains about 5 percent you can thin shellac, but you may have to than oil or oil/varnish-blends, which cure wax and will produce excellent results; but apply more coats to get the build you want. too soft to be built up on wood. dewaxed shellac, whether pre-dissolved or in Apply as many coats as necessary to achieve • Better dust-free results than varnish or flake form, is more water-resistant. You can the look you want. Each new coat dissolves polyurethane, which cure very slowly. remove wax from regular shellac by letting it into the existing coat, so there’s no need to settle and then decanting the liquid. sand between coats except to remove dust • Less polluting, less of a health hazard and Shellac is a very old finish, so it has an nibs or other flaws. To see flaws like runs and less smelly than varnish, polyurethane or old measuring system based on the con- sags before they dry in the film, arrange your lacquer. cept of “pound cut.” One pound of shellac work so you can see a reflected light in the • Easier to apply and richer-looking than flakes dissolved in one gallon of alcohol equals area you’re finishing. Then brush out the water-based finishes. a one-pound cut. Two pounds in one gallon flaws before they dry. • Easier to clean (with ammonia and water) is a two-pound cut; one pound in a quart is If the humidity is high, or if there’s too than all other finishes. a four-pound cut; and so on. much water in the alcohol you’ve used to The shellac you buy at the paint store is thin your shellac, it may turn milky-white. Disadvantages: almost always a three-pound cut, which is This is called “blushing” and is caused by • Not water- or scratch-resistant enough very thick for brushing or spraying. Thin this moisture settling in the finish. Wait for a for surfaces such as kitchen cabinets shellac by half with denatured alcohol (shel- drier day, use a purer alcohol or both. You and tables that take a beating. lac thinner) and make adjustments from usually can remove existing blushing in the • Available only in gloss sheen. there to reach the thickness, or pound cut, finish by applying alcohol on a dry day or by you feel most comfortable working with. rubbing with an , such as a Scotch- • Tends to ridge at the edges To obtain maximum freshness and thus Brite pad or steel wool. of brush strokes. maximum hardness and water resistance, use If, at any time, you create problems you • Slowly deteriorates after being denatured alcohol to dissolve your own shel- can’t remove without creating greater prob- dissolved in alcohol. lac from flakes, which are available from lems, strip the finish with alcohol or paint many woodworking suppliers. Start with a stripper and begin again. In between coats two-pound cut, and adjust from there. you can store your brush by hanging it in a flat backing block, then rub it to the sheen jar of alcohol, or you can clean it easily by you want using Scotch-Brite pads, fine steel Applying Shellac washing it in a half-and-half mixture of house- wool or abrasive compounds like pumice and To brush shellac, remember that alcohol hold ammonia and water. You can reclaim rottenstone. If the rubbed finish shows fin- evaporates rapidly, so you must work fast. brushes with hardened shellac by soaking in ger marks easily, apply paste wax or an oily Use a good quality natural- or synthetic-bris- either solution. furniture polish. PW tle brush, or a foam brush, and brush in long When you have applied the desired num- strokes in the direction of the grain if at all ber of coats (three is minimum in most cases), Bob Flexner is author of “Understanding Wood possible. Work fast enough on your project you can leave the finish as is. Or you can level Finishing” and a contributing editor to Popular to keep a “wet edge,” and wait until the next it using 320-grit and finer sandpaper and a Woodworking. coat to fill in any missed places if the shel- lac becomes tacky. Spraying shellac is no different than spray- To ensure maximum ing other finishes. Just as thinning shellac hardness and water reduces brush marks during brushing, thin- resistance, make your own shellac by dissolving ning reduces orange peel while spraying. shellac flakes in dena- However you apply the shellac, allow the tured alcohol.The brown first coat to dry about two hours, then sand container in the middle is a light-proof collapsible with gray, 320-grit stearated (self-lubricated) container (usually used sandpaper just enough to remove dust nibs for photographic chemi- and raised grain. Use a light touch to reduce cals) that’s great for sandpaper clogging and to avoid sanding storing shellac. through the finish. Remove the dust and apply a second coat. Add more alcohol to the shellac if you’re get- ting severe brush marks or orange peel, or if air bubbles are drying in the film. The alco- hol will slow the drying and allow the bub- bles to pop out. There is no limit to the amount

www.popwood.com 77 During the course of the year we run numerous tool reviews and tool tests.We also field many phone PAST TOOL calls from readers who missed the issue with the review of the tool they’re looking to buy right now. To provide you with the best information to help you make your next purchasing decision, we’ve REVIEWS gathered brief information and comments about the tools covered during the past year. Many of these full articles are available in back issues that can be purchased at www.popularwoodworking.com.

February 2001, Issue #120 Review of Portable Planers Best New Tools of 2001: Editor’s Choice to: DeWalt DW733 Bosch 1617EVSPK router kit. Fein RT-1800 Plunge Router and Ridgid TP1300. Makita RF1101KIT router kit. Performance: 5, Value: 4 Best Buy to: Delta 22-560. Bridgewood TSC-10CL contractor saw. “The excellent performance of this router...makes the Clifton bench planes. money well spent for any commercial application, as June 2001, Issue #122 Craftsman #27994 corded drill. well as for the demanding home woodworker.” Powermatic 719A Mortiser Craftsman laser miter saw. Delta 40-680 20" Scroll Saw Performance: 4, Value: 4 Porter-Cable 9290 cordless router. Performance: 4, Value: 3 “...(A) machine that is everything a home wood- Bench Dog MLF360 miter gauge. “...(W)e found this to be a smooth, powerful and easy- worker could ever need, and an inexpensive Delta 22-580 2-speed planer. to-use saw. It has the feel of a stationary machine rather alternative for the professional shop.” Grizzly G9900 dial protractor. than a benchtop model and performed very well.” Powermatic 719A mortiser. Lee Valley Folding Dozuki Saw Milwaukee BodyGrip router. Grizzly G9900 Dial Protractor Performance: 4, Value: 4 Performance: 5, Value: 4 Veritas low-angle spokeshave. “For the luxury of having a fine-cutting Dozuki 1 Lie-Nielsen 60 ⁄2R rabbet block plane. “If you work with angles in your shop (and who handy at all times, this is a great buy.” doesn’t) this protractor will save you hours of Shop Fox W1671 mortiser. swearing and prevent lots of mistakes.” Clifton Bench Planes Triton Multi-stand. Performance: 5, Value: 4 Rockler’s Sur-Loc Miter Gauge “Yes, you need one. Yes, you can afford it...it’s February 2002, Issue #126 1⁄ Performance: 3 2, Value: 4 worth every bit of the $200.” “Though the Sur-Loc is more accurate (than standard Makita BO6030 & BO6040 Sanders miter gauges), you’ll want the adjustability of your Hitachi FDS10DVA Cordless Drill Kit Performance: 4, Value: 4 old miter gauge when cutting compound miters... Passed the Endurance Test. “Both of these sanders are a pleasure to use and 1 are strong performers.” needing angles in ⁄2° increments.” Review of Biscuit Joiners Advantage Quick Grip Clamps Editor’s Choice to: Porter-Cable 557 Type 2. DeWalt D51238K Brad Nailer Performance: 4, Value: 3 Best Buy to: Freud JS102 and Makita 3901. Performance: 4, Value: 2 “The Advantage clamps merge a one-handed clamp “DeWalt has entered the (brad nailer) race with design with an F-style threaded screw design, resulting August 2001, Issue #123 a good tool with smart options.” 1 in an easy-to-use clamp with good holding power.” Veritas #4 ⁄2 Smoothing Plane Delta 22-580 Two-Speed Planer 1 Hitachi FDS 12VA Drill/Driver kit Performance: 3 ⁄2, Value: 4 Performance: 5, Value: 3 1 “Once fettled, it’s a good plane. Though the design “This is a well-equipped and versatile planer that is Performance: 3 ⁄2, Value: 5 “...(O)ne of the lowest priced 12-volt cordless has yet to be proven, the price is less...so it’s worth priced a little high, but offers a lot for the money.” out there...features all over the place....” a look.” Ridgid EB4424 Belt Spindle Sander Fein’s Multimaster Sander Craftsman #27994 Corded Drill Passed the Endurance Test. Passed the Endurance Test. Performance: 4, Value: 4 Review of Contractor Table Saws “Craftsman got smart and has introduced a corded Editor’s Choice to: Delta 36-426, Jet JWTS-10PF Review of Combination Squares drill that is the best of both (corded and cordless) Editor’s Choice to: Starrett C434-12-R. and Powermatic 64A. worlds.” Best Buy to: Bridgewood TSC-10CL. Review of Low-angle Block Planes Bosch RA1200 Router Table 1 Editor’s Choice to: Lie-Nielsen 60 ⁄2. Performance: 4, Value: 3 April 2002, Issue #127 Best Buy to: Veritas 05P22.01. “...Bosch thought of a lot of things to make this a HTC Multi-fence Systems Review of Bevel-edge useful router table...while it’s got lots of nice features, Performance: 5, Value: 4 Editor’s Choice to: Ashley Isles, E.C.E., Marples Blue the $350 price tag makes us think again about the “Without a doubt, the HTC fence improves on Chip and Two Cherries/Hirsch. economy of making our own.” Biesemeyer’s highly successful design.” Best Buy to: Craftsman, Marples Blue Chip, Stanley Review of Benchtop Mortisers Bosch 1619EVS Plunge Router and Woodworker’s Supply. 1 1 Editor’s Choice to: Multico PM12. Performance: 4 ⁄2, Value: 3 ⁄2 Best Buys to: Bridgewood HM-11 and Grizzly G3183. April 2001, Issue #121 “...(W)e feel the features and the performance of this tool justify the price, and make this a valuable tool.” Bench Dog RT100 Router Table December 2001, Issue #125 Passed Endurance Test. Milwaukee BodyGrip Router Porter-Cable 9290 Cordless Router Performance: 5, Value: 5 Bridgewood TSC-10CL Contractor Saw Performance: 5, Value: 4 “...(A) nicely appointed, well-crafted router that is Performance: 4, Value: 5 “...(T)he tool is a little pricey, but we like it. It ...easy to adjust when in a table.” “...I rate the TSC-10CL as a great saw for the performs well and is amazingly convenient.” Stanley ZAG Folding Workbench price...this saw isn’t missing much.” 2 Gross Stabil PC Clamps Performance: 4, Value: 4 Vaughan Mini-bear Pull Saw Performance: 5, Value: 3 “This handy accessory makes a versatile and useful Performance: 4, Value: 4 “This clamp feels good, operates well, has improved addition to any home workshop.” “...(O)ne of the least expensive...on the market.” versatility and is priced to compete.” Grizzly G1023S Cabinet Saw Woodcraft Drill Sargent Hold Down Tool Dock Modular Workshop 1 Passed the Endurance Test. Performance: 4, Value: 3 Performance: 3 ⁄2, Value: 3 “While I found this fixture a great addition to the “...(A) nice system that offers lots of good ideas Review of #5 Jack Planes drill press, the $90 price tag made me think twice for anyone looking to set up shop with little fuss Editor’s Choice: Lie-Nielsen. about its value.” and mess.” Best Buy to: Stanley Type 11 (vintage).

78 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 Illustrated by Bob Rech CAPTION THE CARTOON [email protected] Increase Workshop #54 Efficiency!

This newly-revised detailed instruction book by Bill Stankus pools the knowledge and expert We Now Take E-mail Entries! advice of hundreds of woodworkers into one Submit your captions for this cartoon by e-mailing them to [email protected] step-by-step guidebook to help you create the (be sure to put “Cartoon Caption #54” as the subject of your e-mail). Or send it to us safest and most efficient workshop possible. on a postcard: Popular Woodworking, Cartoon Caption #54, 1507 Dana Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45207 by August 15. Winners will be More than 100 color photographs and a wide chosen by the editorial staff. range of floor plans will help you choose the The winner will receive the new Freud FJ85 Jigsaw with arrangement that best fits your workshop— Electronic Cruise Control. This variable speed, 6-amp, whether it’s in a closet,basement or garage.And orbital jigsaw offers toolless blade change and the cruise detailed instructions with a focus on safety take control keeps the blade speed constant under different the guesswork out of planning your perfect shop. loads to provide a finer, faster cut. The runners-up each win a one-year subscription to Popular Woodworking. Order your copy of How to Design and Build Your Ideal Woodshop today! #70522-K/$27.99/128p/ pb/275 color images Available at your favorite bookseller or directly from the publisher using the Order Form below. #52 ORDER FORM YES! Please send me ____ copy(ies) of How to Design and Build Your Ideal Woodshop (#70522-K) $27.99 each SUBTOTAL: $ ______In the U.S.please add $3.95 shipping and handling for the first book, $1.95 for each additional book.In Ohio and New York,please add applicable state tax. In Canada,add US$5.00 shipping and handling for the first book,US$3.00 for each additional book,and 7% GST. Payment in U.S.funds must accompany order. TOTAL: $ ______■ Check or money order enclosed -or- ■ Charge my ■VISA ■ MC ■ AmEx Acct.#______Expiration date ______“Nick, the pointy things seem to help!” Signature______Name______Rusty Cheek, of Rockford, Ohio, is the winner of our Cartoon Contest from the Address______February issue and recipient of the Freud jigsaw. The following runners-up each City______receive a one-year subscription to Popular Woodworking: State/Prov.______ZIP/PC______“What’s this? The ‘Texas Handsaw Massacre’?” Send to: Popular Woodworking Books Dawanas King, Kernersville, North Carolina PO Box 9274 “You know Nick, now my saw kind of reminds me of you: not the sharpest tool in Central Islip,NY 11722-9274 the shed!” Elizabeth White, Santa Barbara, California ZAD02PW For more information or “Now I’ve seen everything…a , a ripcut saw and a no-cut saw.” to order by Credit Card visit Gary , Wenatchee, Washington www.popularwoodworking.com/store/books or call toll free 1-800-221-5831

www.popwood.com 79 OUT OF THE WOODWORK Snakes, Scrap Wood and Justice How I rid my shop of scraps and the highways of a questionable driver – all in a weekend.

unk. Call it something else, but in the end, The little truck looked like Ja rose by any other name takes up just as a rental car from the Beirut air- much room in your shop. What might start port. With favorable winds it could as a petite box of cutoffs invariably grows, almost achieve freeway speeds – a until it threatens the security of your table safety feature considering the brakes saw, workbench and neighboring counties. worked on only one side. As woodworkers, we view this heap as a After four hours of backbreaking labor, symbol of prowess – a reminder of the great the “junk” was loaded. Scraps burgeoned from things we have built and the foundation of the bed, dangled over the sides and drooped greater things to come. We shape it, mold down to nearly reach the ground. The truck A dense hail of profanity filled the air it, pluck choice morsels from it – but under was reminiscent of a burro laden for the Grand as he emerged from his car. He paused briefly no circumstances will we discard it. Wives, Canyon – a 70-year-old, half-blind burro with to gasp for air and to grab cans that contin- on the other hand, view our collection with a hang nail and a case of hemorrhoids. I drove ued to fall to the ground, stuffing them back detachment. While it may be an eyesore, as off to an uncertain destiny. in through the window. long as they can walk by without risking I completed the 15-mile trek to the mu- I wished for a moment that I’d brought major injury, they will tolerate it. But just nicipal dump in 2 hours and 17 minutes, a the shotgun…or the snake. let one snake crawl out from under it and… personal best for this vehicle. The smell of By the time the police arrived his eyes I was first alerted to the “situation” as my rotting upholstery slowly gave way to the sweet were red with rage and he was roaring in- wife sat on the shop steps, enjoying her morn- aroma of the landfill as I cut across two lanes comprehensibly, punctuating each “state- ing cigar. It began with a shriek, followed by of traffic to make a wide right turn. Alarmed ment” by slamming his hand down on the a gasp and heavy footsteps, then the all-too- by the squeal of tires and the sound of all hell hood. But as with all hurricanes, he even- familiar sound of a shotgun being cocked. I breaking loose behind me, I stood on the brakes tually ran out of wind. And, as the officer ap- peeked through the screen door to see Helga and the truck rolled to a gradual halt. proached us, he threw open his car door to leveling a 12 gauge at the base of my table The culprit was an El Camino that had leave and the empty cans tumbled to the saw – I shrieked and then gasped. lost its payload of aluminum cans while try- ground around him. Only traveling salesmen or a snake could ing to enter the recycling facility. Clearly he This gave the uniformed representative evoke such a response. After a tense hostage was just another lead-footed maniac who pause. “Have you been drinking, sir?” negotiation, she surrendered her weapon and had tried to take the turn too fast. In typical For the first time that afternoon, he was ran inside to defend the children. I relo- old man fashion, I raised my hand to my speechless, so I decided I would help him, cated the unwanted guest to the neighbor’s mouth, giving the international signal for, “He told me he’d only had one.” And with yard and swaggered inside, the intrepid de- “How much have you had to drink?” He that I jumped back in the truck and headed fender of both house and shop. returned a different universal gesture, indi- home, not waiting for the inevitable “tests “That CRAP has got to GO! TODAY!!!” cating he’d only had “one” – I doubted that of manual dexterity” and the “Breathalyzer.” she says. Now, any of you who have been as I left him to reclaim his cargo. To be sure, I didn’t make any new friends that married longer than 45 minutes know that I backed into the depot and, owing to its day, but I did clear out the garage, elimi- the way a woman says something is much weak suspension, the junk practically un- nate a nest of snakes, satisfy my wife and more important than what is actually said. loaded itself. The hardest part was ensuring maybe – just maybe – I made the road a safer Based solely on her tone, it was clear my that no part of the truck was inadvertently place for all of us. PW weekend would be spent shoveling out my discarded. I swept down the bed and was Walt Akers is actively creating more hiding shop. I began the odyssey by borrowing my ready to go. It was then that the El Camino places for wayward reptiles in his workshop in brother John’s pickup. pulled in behind me. Seaford, Virginia.

80 POPULAR WOODWORKING June 2002 More power.More capacity.

Introducing the NEW FEIN Turbo III Portable Vac. TurboIII Dust Extractor TurboIII The new 9-77-25 makes dust-free sanding and wet/dry cleanup easy and practi- cal. The perfect size for big jobs, the Turbo III features 14.5 gallon capacity, an automatic on-off switch and a three-second hose-cleaning delay. The powerful two-stage motor offers bypass cooling to prevent electrical damage and prolong the life of the motor. And with 10% more suction power than the Turbo II, it can run two 6” or one 8” Random Orbit Sander. For more information and the name of a local dealer, visit us at www.feinus.com or call 1-800 441-9878. Finishing is just the beginning. Fein Power Tools, Inc. 1030 Alcon Street Pittsburgh, PA 15220

CIRCLE NO. 105 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. Fein INDUSTRIAL 2-1/4 H.P. ROUTER KIT KIT INCLUDES FIXED BASE ROUTER, PLUNGE BASE & ACCESSORIES Powerful 2-1/4 H.P.(11 AMP) Makita Made Motor Makita Sub-Base Accepts Industry Standard Template Guides Accessories Included: 1/2'' and 1/4'' Collets, Dust Nozzle Assembly, Straight Guide, Clear Sub-Base,Wrenches and Plastic Tool Case Electronic speed control with soft start provides smooth start-ups and maintains constant speed under load

Variable speed control dial (8,000 - 24,000 RPM) to match the speed to the application

Cam-lock lever for fast,easy and secure depth adjustment

Conveniently located plunge lock lever for efficient operation

Model RF1101KIT For more info, call 1-800-4MAKITA or visit www.makitatools.com

EVERYTHING YOU NEEDPWA-1101-F MA-0855-01.M19 CIRCLE NO. 129 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD.