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W OODMAWGAZINEORKING Classic Shaker Side Table Mortise and Tenon: Make Solid Joints with 1 , 1 Bit & No Jigs The Secret to Sharper : Sharpen Less Perfect Drawers Using One Table Set-up Worth Buying And Those to Avoid Brushing : Is it Worth the Stink? Better, Flatter Panels

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0 714 86 0 1 355 6 AUTUMN 2004 “You will find something more in than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.” Contents — Saint Bernard (1090 - 1153), French abbot

1 On the Level 6 Mortises & Tenons 16 Simple Shaker The joy of woodworking actually has little to do For Tables End Table with the act of working . This strong and so-called “advanced” joint Good woodworking is the product of the right is just a clever combination of and joinery and the right design. This table teaches 2 Letters grooves. We show you how to cut mortises and the fundamentals of both. Questions, comments and wisdom from tenons with one tool, one bit and no jigs. readers, experts and our staff. 22 Gluing Up Flat Panels 11 Sharpen a Most projects have at least one panel. Stop the 4 Shortcuts The secret to sharpening is making every stroke slippery, sliding madness and learn the best Tricks and tips to help make your woodworking count. Focus less on rubbing the tool on a way to create fl at ones perfectly, every time. simpler and more accurate. stone and more on observing your results. 24 Simple & Fast 15 -edge Chisels Rabbeted Drawers We put fi ve common chisels through a series of Cut every single joint for a drawer with one tests. Three of the tools are OK. Two we simply simple setup on your . cannot recommend. 28 Drawer Primer: Sliding-lid Box Take our super-quick drawer-making technique for a test drive by building this box. The sliding lid makes it ideal for holding candles or chisels. 30 Brushing Lacquer SHORTCUTS,SHORTCUTS, PAGEPAGE 4 Lacquer dries fast, is forgiving and creates a beautiful topcoat. Find out how to get all the benefi ts without spending a fortune buying fancy spray equipment. 32 End Grain: Lyptus This new hybrid wood was bred in Brazil to compete with cherry and . Is it worth working? Check out our results.

DRAWERDRAWER PRIMER:PRIMER: SLIDING-LIDSLIDING-LID BOX,BOX, PAGEPAGE 2828

BEVEL-EDGE CHISELS, PAGE 15 BRUSHING LACQUER, PAGE 30 END GRAIN: LYPTUS, PAGE 32 OODMAWOGAZINRKINE W Autumn 2004 G On the Level woodworking-magazine.com Editorial Offi ces 513-531-2690 EDITOR & PUBLISHER ■ Steve Shanesy ext. 1238, [email protected] ART DIRECTOR ■ Linda Watts ext. 1396, [email protected] ■ The Process is the Prize EXECUTIVE EDITOR Christopher Schwarz ext. 1407, [email protected] SENIOR EDITOR ■ David Thiel ext. 1255, [email protected] If I asked you what made a piece of music sound you break down the physical skills required to MANAGING EDITOR ■ Kara Gebhart great, chances are you’d respond by saying it’s the build a project into individual steps, they’re often ext. 1348, [email protected] notes. But that’s only partially correct. The spac- rather simple. Instead, the frustration the novice ASSOCIATE EDITOR ■ Michael A. Rabkin ext. 1327, [email protected] es, or time between the notes, are equally (some feels comes from the lack of experience in mak- ILLUSTRATOR ■ Matt Bantly would even say more) important. The same suc- ing good decisions about how to go about com- PHOTOGRAPHER ■ Al Parrish cession of notes played with more or less time pleting a task successfully. The frustrations and CIRCULATIONTION between them would produce a totally different resulting insecurity lead to a lack of confi dence Group Circulation Manager ■ Mark Fleetwood song. Odds are, it would sound awful. that comes from navigating unfamiliar territo- PRODUCTION So what does this have to do with woodwork- ry. A series of less-than-good choices makes for Vice President ■ Barbara Schmitz ing? Glad you asked. a bad day in the shop. Publication Production Manager ■ Vicki Whitford Production Coordinator ■ Brian Courter Let me apply the music question to the craft of That’s partially why beginners rush to com- F+W PUBLICATIONS, INC. woodworking. What makes woodworking so en- plete projects. They focus on the end project, not William F. Reilly ■ Chairman joyable? There must be something to this activi- the process. For these reasons, the beginner’s fi n- Stephen J. Kent ■ President ty, because at least a million people in the Unit- ished project often looks amateurish. Novices Mark F. Arnett ■ Executive Vice President & CFO ed States and Canada say they are woodworkers. lack the ability to understand the importance F+W PUBLICATIONS, INC. MAGAZINE DIVISION If you asked them, I bet of the means to achieve David Hoguet ■ Group Head Colleen Cannon ■ Senior Vice President their responses would a desirable end. They Newsstand Distribution: Curtis Circulation Co., be something like: “I “It’s good to have an end to journey “don’t know enough to 730 River Road, New Milford, NJ 07646 enjoy making things, know they don’t know,” You can order our fi rst issue for $7 ($9 Canada; $11 other foreign). using my hands.” Once toward; but it is the journey as the expression goes. This includes shipping and handling. Send check or money order to: Woodworking Magazine Spring 2004 Issue, F+W Publications again, I believe this is that matters, in the end.” That’s why many peo- Products, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990, or call 800-258-0929. only partially correct. ple think patience is the Please specify Woodworking Magazine, Spring 2004 issue. — Ursula K. Le Guin (1929 – ) The mere act of hardest thing to learn IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE novelist, poet, essayist Safety is your responsibility. Manufacturers place safety making things may not about woodworking. devices on their equipment for a reason. In many photos you be all that enjoyable. Alternately, consid- see in Woodworking Magazine, thesethese havehave beenbeen removedremoved toto provide clarity. In some cases we’ll use an awkward body But combine that act (the musical notes) with er the confi dent, experienced woodworker. He position so you can better see what’s being demonstrated. Don’t copy us. Think about each procedure you’re going to all the thinking required to perform the act cor- calls on experience to direct the work as he moves perform beforehand. Safety First! rectly (the spaces of time between the notes) and seamlessly through each task. He makes the right you have the essence of what makes woodwork- choices, anticipates problems, knows how and Highly Recommended ing so enjoyable. when to go slow, be patient and get it just right Though some people prefer new tools, Let me elaborate. The actual doing – say, the because he knows not doing so will create other therethere iiss ggreatreat mmeriterit iinn ppurchasingurchasing vintagevintage cutting of a board or the gluing of parts – if done problems down the road. The experienced wood- chiselschisels – iiff yyouou kknownow wwhathat ttoo bbuy.uy. PPremiumremium repetitiously for hours on end wouldn’t be enjoy- worker focuses on the process of doing the work. socketsocket chiselschisels areare stillstill wwidelyidely aavailablevailable aatt able at all. Have you ever made 20 or 30 of the As he works through each step, he spends little fl eeaa mmarketsarkets andand throughthrough eBay,eBay, andand cancan same thing? It can get old very fast. It’s the brain- time thinking about the completed project. costcost fromfrom $2$2 toto $25$25 apiece.apiece. WithWith somesome ex-ex- work that puts the joy in woodworking. For the experienced woodworker and those ceptions,ceptions, tthesehese chiselschisels aarere betterbetter thanthan newnew Consider all the thinking required, the prob- on their way to becoming one, the day of en- ones. The steel holds a better edge, the lems to be solved and decisions to be made, on lightenment comes with two realizations: First, handleshandles fi t yyourour hhandand betterbetter andand thethe bevelsbevels even the simplest project. What joint should I that you just spent hours in the shop and it seems onon tthehe ssidesides aarere groundground muchmuch smallersmaller soso youyou use? Is that joint the best choice? How do I make like minutes. And second, you feel relaxed, even can easily sneak into corners. We’ve had immense success with the fol- the joint? Is that the best way to make it? Hun- refreshed, after hours of hard labor. The joy of lowing vintage (and now-vanished) mod- dreds of choices must be sifted through, consid- woodworking is simply being engaged in doing els: Witherby, Swan (shown), E.A. Berg and ered, decided on and executed in even simple it. The completed project is but a nice souvenir old Buck Brothers socket chisels. projects. Larger projects require thousands of of time well spent. WM Avoid buying rusty ones, especially if thought processes before your efforts come to a there is pitting on the face of the tool. The successful conclusion. handles should feel good when paring and A major reason novice woodworkers expe- chopping. Most of all, look for chisels that rience tremendous frustration is not so much were used as a chisel – not as a pry bar. from a lack of skill. It really isn’t hard to cut a Beat-up chisels are diffi cult to restore. board to a specifi ed size, to rout an edge profi le Steve Shanesy – Christopher Schwarz or glue a couple of parts together. In fact, when Editor & Publisher

woodworking-magazine.com ■ 1 Letters

Questions About Guards and like the way it looks. If the magazine is to address you stack your . Your top layer should be Oil/ Blends the “why,” it would have been nice to explain why the same as your bottom layer (fl at, scrap lum- the wipe-on are superior. ber). On top of that add some weights, and a tarp Your article on rabbets (“Cut Accurate and Clean Tom Ryan or a piece of . It’s OK if you don’t com- Rabbets,” Spring 2004) raises one question in State College, Pennsylvania pletely protect the sides – you mainly want to en- my mind. Near the end of the article, you state Tom, sure water doesn’t seep through the top. “I also like being able to use our overarm guard You raise a good point about showing the guard in Finally, consider where you keep your lumber during the cut.” I’m thinking of getting an over- use. Because we mentioned that it could be used, pile. You want air running parallel to the stickers arm guard so I can protect myself when making we should have showed it. Check out the illustra- through the stack, so position your pile to take ad- cuts, but I don’t see how you use it for a rab- tions at left. An overarm guard cantilevers over vantage of the direction of the prevailing winds. bet. Looking at the pictures on page 10, I won- the table and hovers over the blade. Because you This strategy will help remove the high humidity der where the guard goes. I’d like to see some of can adjust it left and right (plus up and down) you created by moisture escaping the lumber. the “how to” photos showing an operation being can make it work with our rabbeting technique, For more information, read R. Bruce Hoadley’s done with a guard, even if it means putting in an which uses a dado stack and a sacrifi cial . “Understanding Wood” (The Taunton Press). extra photograph or two. Stock guards won’t work because the saw’s split- – Kara Gebhart, managing editor Also, in the article on wipe-on fi nishes (“Un- ter will block the work. derstanding Wipe-on Finishes,” Spring 2004), it As to the article on varnish, I’m sure we’ll be seems the author takes for granted that varnish addressing this issue in the future. We are hesitant is the best fi nish. For example, for projects like to use oil fi nishes and oil/varnish blends. These the Shaker Hanging Cabinet, which will never be typically offer little protection to the wood and OverlappingOverlapping hholesoles subjected to the punishment a dining tabletop re- must be maintained over time – even if the pieces create mortise ceives, I’ve used an oil/varnish blend because I aren’t subjected to much handling. Oil/varnish blends typically have little binder to them, so they are only marginally better than a straight linseed Vacuum tube collects oil fi nish. There is nothing inherently wrong with chips and dust an oil/varnish fi nish, however. If you’re pleased with the way it’s working for you, then defi nitely don’t change what you’re doing. – Christopher Schwarz, executive editor Press as a ? Other than convenience, does a mortising ma- How Should I Store Lumber? chine have any advantages over using a mortis- ing attachment in a drill press? I build outdoor projects using pressure- Ian Calvert treated (mostly 1x4, 1x6 and 2x4). What is Winston-Salem, North Carolina your recommendation for storing fresh lumber so Ian, it can dry quickly? I also want to minimize warp- The mortising attachment sold for drill presses is ing and cupping. I have tried various things, such a somewhat dubious accessory for all but the oc- as stacking with stickers between the boards and casional mortising task. A dedicated mortising clamping, with fair success, but I still have a few machine is based on a metal arbor press, which problems. I realize some of this is to be expected, transfers the downward force of the machine’s but I would like to improve my success rate. lever much more effi ciently than the plunging OverarmOverarm bladeblade guardguard Jim Reeves action of a drill press. is adjustable Guard is necessary because Whitehouse, Texas With a drill press attachment, you’re turning splitter will interfere with Jim, the handles of the machine for several revolu- or dado This is a common problem, so we talked to some tions, and it’s hard work. Also, if you do a lot of experts for some advice: Always stack lumber that mortising with your drill press, this will put a lot requires drying horizontally and at least 18"off the of wear and tear on the machine. ground. Your fi rst layer in the stack should be rea- If I didn’t have the money for a mortising ma- sonably fl at scrap pieces of similar size to the rest chine, I’d simply purchase a good set of Forstner of the pile. On top of that, put down alternating lay- bits and make all my mortises in my drill press by ers of 1x stickers and lumber. Use plenty of stickers overlapping holes. This works well. and keep them uniformly vertical to each other as – Christopher Schwarz, executive editor

2 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004 The Right Way to Clean A Question about Plywood Gunked-up Saw Blades I just picked up a copy of Woodworking Magazine Regarding using oven cleaner to clean the gunk (Spring 2004) and had to share my enthusiasm. off saw blades (“Letters,” Spring 2004), a more I get every woodworking magazine out there but benign and equally effective product is Greased yours shows a quality missing from the rest. I was Lightning Orange Blast kitchen cleaner, distribut- particularly taken by the articles and your “Let- ed by A&M Cleaning Products of Clemson, S.C. ters” section. Your style is engaging, clear and in- (greased-lightning.com). It is one of several simi- teresting. In each instance, I came away feeling lar products I found on the shelves at the supermar- Stack dado like defi nitive information was transmitted and ket. I once tried an oven cleaner on my saw blade. that I truly learned something of value to me. It was so strong, the stamped serial number was the One comment on the “Glossary” (Editor’s note: only thing it didn’t remove from the blade. Our interactive, newly expanded glossary ap- Ron Culbertson pears online at woodworking-magazine.com): Myrtle Creek, Oregon Shim Your defi nition of Baltic birch seems to equate Ron, Dado is adjusted by stacking it with Finnish birch. I’ve read in several places Oven cleaners can be caustic. Handling blades blades to the correct width that this plywood is made with a different glue (or bits) that are being cleaned this way that makes it suitable for outdoor use, a subtle but should be done with care to avoid an eye injury signifi cant difference. or skin irritation. Citrus cleaners, such as the one Joe Piccolino you mention, can be effective and are not as harsh Delmar, New York if they come in contact with skin. Still another op- Joe, tion is an overnight soak in kerosene. We contacted There are differences between the two , one of the biggest manufacturers of carbide in the but it’s not the glue. To clear up the confusion, world, Leitz Tooling Systems Inc., and learned that we talked with Luke Wolstenholme, president of all these cleaning approaches are acceptable and Wolstenholme International, a Boulder, Colo.- will not harm the carbide itself. We also learned based company that has been importing Baltic that on an industrial level, Leitz uses ultrasonic birch to this country for 12 years. waves to remove pitch from tooling. Baltic and Finnish birch are both high-quality Steve Shanesy, editor & publisher Wobble dado plywoods made from veneer plies of equal thick- nesses. The plies are thinner than those in most domestic plywoods, and therefore there are more Additional 6" Rule Sources layers. Add the fact that these plywoods don’t have Regarding “Almost-perfect 6" Rulers” (Spring voids and are generally inexpensive and you can see why they are desirable materials. Wolsten- 2004): These 6" rules are generally based on ma- Dado is cut by the rotating angled blade chinist’s rules, which come in many patterns. holme says although Baltic birch (imported from Buying them through woodworking tool suppli- Russia) is made in 4' x 8', 5' x 8' and 5' x 10' sheets, ers isn’t the best approach. People should buy Differences in Dado Sets 90 percent of it is sold in 5' x 5' sheets. Finnish birch (from Finland) is available in other sizes, but 90 them through companies that sell to machinists, What is the difference between a stack dado and percent of it is sold in 4' x 8' sheets. where you can get a far wider variety of widths, an adjustable (also called a “wobble”) dado? Is Both types of plywood are available with either thicknesses and measurement patterns, often at one safer or more exact than the other? interior- or exterior-grade adhesive. Typically, lower prices. Two good possibilities to check out David Eccles 4' x 8' sheets are used in construction, so those are McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com) and via the Internet are made with glue suitable for exterior use, while Enco (use-enco.com). Good brands to consid- David, 5' x 5' sheets are used for furniture projects, so er besides the pair you recommend (Starrett and There are two kinds of dado sets, and both are those are made with glue suitable for interior use. Shinwa) are Brown & Sharpe and Mitutoyo. “adjustable,” meaning you can alter the width of Perhaps this has led to the assumption that Finnish Also, the last time I looked in my hardware the dado. A stack dado consists of several blades birch is always made with glue suitable for outdoor store, conventional tapered wood were that you stack on the arbor until you get to the de- use. In most cases it is – but not always. WM still available in steel and hot-dipped galvanized sired width. The outside blades are simply outer – Kara Gebhart, managing editor steel (“Screws,” Spring 2004). Perhaps the hard- blades, while the inside blades are called “chip- ware stores near you no longer carry them, but pers.” There also are shims that allow you to make this isn’t true everywhere. small changes in width, as small as a few thou- Bill Houghton sandths of an inch. HOW TO CONTACT US Sebastopol, California The other kind of is a “wobble” dado. Send your comments and questions via This is a one-blade system. By turning a knob at e-mail to [email protected], or by the center you can adjust how much the blade will regular mail to Woodworking Magazine, “Only those who have the patience to do wobble as it rotates. The more it wobbles, the wider Letters, 4700 E. Galbraith Road, simple things perfectly ever acquire the the dado cut. This tooling, though generally less Cincinnati, OH 45236. Please include your expensive, leaves a cut that is unacceptable for complete mailing address and daytime skill to do difficult things easily.” all but the roughest of woodworking. You should phone number. All letters become — Friedrich Von Schiller (1759 – 1805) choose a stack dado when building furniture. property of Woodworking Magazine. dramatist, essayist and poet – Christopher Schwarz, executive editor

woodworking-magazine.com ■ 3 Shortcuts

Two Finger Tricks for Drilling and Sawing Straight No More Broken 3 Place index fi nger on top of blade, Like most turners, I use a ⁄8" glued into a pointing in direction of cut small block of wood when turning bottle stop- pers. The dowel provides a handy way to hold the work in a standard drill chuck in the head stock. Point index fi nger The problem was, I would sometimes break the in line with drill bit TryTry toto useuse dowel when turning, ruining the work. I guessed Use middle fi nger fullfull lengthlength ofof bladeblade that one of the reasons the dowel was breaking to operate trigger was because of the small area of contact in the chuck on the dowel itself. Remembering I had an 3 A sharp can be a precision instrument old ⁄8" split-sleeve router collet, I tried inserting with just a little practice. Here are three tips I was the dowel in the collet, then the collet in the drill taught that make all cut straighter and faster. chuck. Now the dowel was supported all around One: Similar to the shortcut shown at left, always by a steel sleeve. Since adding the collet to my set- hold the saw with your index fi nger extended out, up, I haven’t broken a dowel yet. pointing down the blade. This greatly improves Steve Shanesy, editor & publisher For fi rst-time (or even experienced) drill users, it your control. (This advice is true for many tools, can be diffi cult to drill a straight hole every time. actually). Two: Use very little downward pressure 3 Your eyes can trick you. Therefore, it’s best to let when sawing. Let the saw do the work. If you press ⁄8" routerrouter colletcollet givesgives your brain and body take over. When using your the saw down as you cut, it will wander off the line. fullfull supportsupport drill, lay your index finger along the barrel of Three: Woodworkers tend to use the teeth only in the drill (in line with the bit), then use your mid- the middle of the saw. As you are cutting, pretend dle fi nger to pull the trigger. Essentially, you’re that the saw is longer than it actually is. This will using your index fi nger to point the way you want trick you into making longer strokes. Your saw to drill. This technique will allow your body to will cut faster and the teeth will stay sharp longer point straight every time. because you are using more of them. SleeveSleeve placedplaced intointo David Thiel, senior editor Christopher Schwarz, executive editor drill chuck on lathe

Fixing Gaps in Joints ’s Guard a Source of Error This is an often-forgotten ’s trick. When will remove the imperfections between the two Recently in our shop here at Woodworking Mag- you have two parts of a joint that won’t close mating parts and the joint will go together tightly. azine, we were having trouble getting our jointer tightly, there is a simple solution. First put the joint This works with many joints including half-laps, to machine an edge that was 90° to the face of the together and apply enough or hand pres- miters, mortise-and-tenons and scarf joints. board. At fi rst we thought our machinist sure to keep the parts in place. Take a fi ne-tooth David Fleming had gone out of true, but that wasn’t the case. No saw (a Japanese fl ush-cutting saw is ideal) and saw Cobden, Ontario matter how much we tweaked the fence, all the between the two parts of the joint. The small kerf edges were off a couple of degrees. PartsParts don’tdon’t meetmeet Then one day it dawned on me: The jointer’s at clean line spring-loaded guard was slapping the machine’s Clamp workpiece fence after each pass. The guard wasn’t hitting to benchtop the fence hard, but it was enough to throw off the angle setting – no matter how tightly we locked the fence down. Here’s how to see if you have this UseUse workpieceworkpiece problem: Set your jointer’s fence to 90° and allow asas guideguide the spring-loaded guard to strike the fence. Then whenwhen cuttingcutting check the angle of the fence again. Joint tight after thethe ccutut atat tthehe jjointoint The solution is simple: Set the tension on the guard so that it doesn’t slap the fence after each board passes over the machine’s cutterhead. Ad- just the tension until the guard swings to cover the cutterhead, but doesn’t strike the fence. Christopher Schwarz, executive editor

4 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004 Avoid Injuries Using Your Drill Press for Threaded Inserts can be dangerous tools. One of the Threaded inserts have machine- threads on most common injuries occurs when your hands the inside of the barrel. Wood-screw threads are slip and the corner of the blade catches you. I once on the outside. These inserts are great for many was shown how to easily avoid this injury by sim- jigs and furniture projects. But after drilling your ply grinding off the two sharp corners where the appropriately sized hole in the wood for the insert, blade ends. It’s the fi rst thing you should do after it can be diffi cult to drive the insert straight into you buy your drawknife. the wood with the standard screwdriver approach. First, thread Christopher Schwarz, executive editor So use your drill press instead. Insert a machine- nut onto threaded bolt (or length of threaded rod) into the press insert with an appropriately sized nut stopped against the insert. Then chuck the threaded rod into your drill press’s chuck and turn the chuck by hand (don’t turn the motor on) to install the insert straight and accurately into your hole. David Thiel, senior editor Then thread insert Line up insert with hole, onto bolt or then screw it to correct threaded rod depth by hand

File off sharp corner of blade Sharpening Curved Blades Sanding Wooden Knobs Many woodworkers struggle when it comes to If you’ve ever purchased wooden knobs for a proj- Fraction/Decimal Chart sharpening the curved blades of drawknives, in- ect, you know that sometimes they can be less shaves, and even shallow gouges. Here’s a than perfect. Some have tear-out from the lathe; Ever need a quick chart that can help you convert reliable way to make your edges better. Chuck a others are poorly sanded at the factory. To make fractions to decimals and back again? Well, we’re sanding drum in your variable-speed drill. The my wooden knobs look as good as the rest of my here to help. Check this out: curvature of the tool determines how large a di- project, I wrap the knob’s post or mounting dow- ameter sanding drum you need. Use a bigger drum el in electrical tape and chuck that in a variable- FRACTION DECIMAL FRACTION DECIMAL 1 ⁄4 1 33 (1 ") for wide-bladed tools and smaller diameters speed drill or drill press. It’s an instant mini-lathe. ⁄6464 0 0.016.016 ⁄6464 0.5160.516 1 17 for the smaller scale stuff. Use #120-grit paper to With a piece of in one hand and the ⁄3232 0.0310.031 ⁄3232 0.5310.531 3 35 start sharpening. You can switch grits if you need drill in the other, I can quickly sand the knob to ⁄6464 0.047 ⁄6464 0 0.547.547 1 9 a really keen edge. Once you refresh the edge with any grit. WM ⁄1616 0.0630.063 ⁄1616 0.5630.563 5 37 the sandpaper, it’s simple work to fi nish it up with Christopher Schwarz, executive editor ⁄6464 0.0780.078 ⁄6464 0.5780.578 3 19 a small curved slipstone. ⁄3232 0 0.094.094 ⁄3232 0 0.594.594 7 39 Christopher Schwarz, executive editor ⁄6464 0 0.109.109 ⁄6464 0.6090.609 Wrap post in 1 5 ⁄8 0.1250.125 ⁄8 0.6250.625 electrical tape 9 41 ⁄6464 0.1410.141 ⁄6464 0.6410.641 5 21 ⁄3232 0.1560.156 ⁄3232 0.6560.656 11 43 ⁄6464 0.1720.172 ⁄6464 0 0.672.672 3 11 ⁄1616 0.1880.188 ⁄1616 0.6880.688 13 45 ⁄6464 0.2030.203 ⁄6464 0 0.703.703 7 23 ⁄3232 0 0.219.219 ⁄3232 0 0.719.719 15 47 ⁄6464 0.2340.234 ⁄6464 0 0.734.734 Hold piece of sandpaper in 1 3 ⁄4 0.250.25 ⁄4 0.750.75 one hand and drill in other 17 49 ⁄6464 0 0.266.266 ⁄6464 0 0.766.766 9 25 ⁄3232 0 0.281.281 ⁄3232 0.7810.781 19 51 ⁄6464 0.2970.297 ⁄6464 0.7970.797 5 13 ⁄1616 0 0.313.313 ⁄1616 0 0.813.813 21 53 ⁄6464 0.3280.328 ⁄6464 0.8280.828 11 27 ⁄3232 0 0.344.344 ⁄3232 0.8440.844 23 55 ⁄6464 0 0.359.359 ⁄6464 0.8590.859 Use large SEND US YOUR SHORTCUT 3 7 ⁄8 0 0.375.375 ⁄8 0 0.875.875 drumdrum forfor toolstools withwith 25 57 widewide curvaturecurvature We will send you $25 for each Shortcut ⁄6464 0 0.391.391 ⁄6464 0.8910.891 13 29 we print. Send your Shortcut via e-mail ⁄3232 0 0.406.406 ⁄3232 0.9060.906 27 59 to [email protected], or by ⁄6464 0.4220.422 ⁄6464 0 0.922.922 UseUse different-sizeddifferent-sized 7 15 drumsdrums basedbased onon regular mail to Woodworking Magazine, ⁄1616 0 0.438.438 ⁄1616 0 0.938.938 29 61 tool diameter Shortcuts, 4700 E. Galbraith Road, ⁄6464 0.4530.453 ⁄5454 0 0.953.953 15 31 Cincinnati, OH 45236. Please include ⁄3232 0 0.469.469 ⁄3232 0.9690.969 31 63 your mailing address and daytime phone ⁄6464 0 0.484.484 ⁄6464 0 0.984.984 1 number. All Shortcuts become property ⁄2 0 0.5.5 1 1 of Woodworking Magazine. Michael Rabkin, associate editor

woodworking-magazine.com ■ 5 Mortises & Tenons for Tables

We found that all you need to cut this stout joint is a router, a router table and a single inexpensive bit.

To avoidavoid cuttingcutting mortise-and-tenonmortise-and-tenon joints,joints, manymany woodworkers opt to build their projects using sim- pler rabbets, dados and grooves instead. What many of them fail to realize is that the mortise- and-tenon joint is nothing more than a clever com- bination of rabbets and grooves. The mortise is just a stopped . And the tenon is just a piece of wood that has been rabbeted on at least one (but usually four) of its faces. So the real challenge for the woodworker who sets out to make this joint for the fi rst time is ac- tually a set of three manageable tasks: ■ Choosing the right tools. ■ Setting up the tools for accurate results. ■ Choosing a project to practice on.

Why Build a Table? Without a doubt, the best project to learn how to make a mortise-and-tenon joint on is a table. The typical table has – at most – eight joints to cut. (Compare that to a Morris chair, where you can easily have 75 joints or more.) Fitting a mortise-and-tenon joint for a table is more forgiving than fi tting the same joint for even a simple square picture frame. With a frame, PARRISHAL BY PHOTO you need to fi t the horizontal members (called rails) between the vertical members (called stiles) at the top and bottom of the frame. There can The Tenacious Tenon long-grain surfaces, they mate with end-grain sur- be quite a bit of fi ddling to get the rails closed Each part of the tenon has a job to do. Once you faces in the mortise, which makes a poor joint. In- tightly against the stiles at both places. know this, you’ll also know how the joint can be stead, the job of the edge cheek is to resist racking With a small table, each assembly of two legs modifi ed or tweaked and still do its job. forces in the assembly. The better the fi t between and one apron is simpler – you have to fi t the joint All tenons have four cheeks. The wider cheeks the edge cheek and the mortise, the less likely only at the top of the legs. There is indeed some are face cheeks and the narrower ones are edge your project will wobble, even if the glue joint at fi ddling when you put these assemblies together cheeks. The face cheeks are the backbone of the the face cheek becomes compromised. into the completed table base, but because the work joint. They are the long-grain gluing surface that Tenons also have shoulders. This part of the is done in stages, it’s more manageable. mates with the long-grain surface in the wall of joint – which literally looks like a shoulder – can Also, the mortise-and-tenon joint for a small the mortise. The better the fi t between the face be on one to four of the edges of the tenon. The table can be much simpler to execute than the cheeks and the mortise, the stronger your glue job of the shoulder is mostly cosmetic: It hides mortise-and-tenon joint for a frame or . To joint ultimately will be. any sloppiness in the mortise opening. It also can understand why this is true, you fi rst need a les- The edge cheeks don’t provide much gluing be pared in various ways to hide other defects of son in basic tenon anatomy. strength at all. Though the edge cheeks are also the joint. For example, if you sanded your mor-

6 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004 tised piece too much and crowned the surface, the shoulder can be chiseled up near the cheek to Edge eliminate any gap that might appear between the Cheeks Face shoulder joint’s pieces. The shoulder is therefore necessary Face shoulder cheek only on surfaces that show on the fi nal project. Edge There’s something else to consider when mak- cheek ing shoulders: If you make them too wide, you can introduce two problems to your joint. First, bigger shoulders means you have smaller cheeks, which reduces the overall strength of the joint. Second, a large shoulder will allow the tenoned board to cup or bow slightly at its edges. Big shoul- ders can, over time, result in a joint that isn’t fl ush like it was the day you made it. Shoulders Fewer Shoulders Make it Easier With all these parts to keep track of, it’s no wonder that some woodworkers shy away from this joint. The anatomy of a typical The shoulders cover up any inaccuracy in the mortises of these But tenons for tables can be simpler than tenons tenon with four shoulders. bare-faced tenons with simple shoulders. for other assemblies. Here’s why: The tenons for tables need fewer shoulders. Really, only one face of the apron shows in a table. You defi nitely don’t this joint with hand tools requires an investment need a shoulder on the inside of the apron. in tools (tenon saw, carcase saw, mortising chis- A shoulder at the bottom of the apron is op- el and shoulder ) and practice time. While tional, though a very small one is easy to fi t and there is pleasure in cutting this joint by hand, it prevents the apron from cupping. can be frustrating at fi rst. (See “Cutting this Joint And here’s the real kicker – you don’t need a with Hand Tools” on page 8.) shoulder at the top of the apron. In fact, I’d argue There is an easier way. I argue that you can that eliminating it can make a better joint for two do all the mortise-and-tenon joinery for a sim- A 3 reasons: First, because the tenon is almost the ple table with a router, a router table and a ⁄8"- full width of the apron, it keeps your apron from diameter straight bit. All three items are common cupping or bowing. This is especially important equipment in even the most bare-bones shop. in a table because a cupped apron can push the In a nutshell, here’s how it’s done: First mill tabletop up in places, spoiling its fl atness. Second, your mortises in the legs. Set up the straight bit B it makes the mortise easy to cut. Essentially the in your router table and set the fence to center the mortise is stopped only at one end. As you’ll see cut on the width of the leg. Cut the mortise out shortly, this allows you to make this joint with- in several passes, increasing the height of the bit out a lot of equipment. with each pass. You’ll need a stop on the outfeed When tenons are closer to the outside of the Of course, the logical objection to a joint like side of the router table’s fence to stop the mortise aprons, as in example “B” above, they can have this is that if the mortise is open on one end then in the same location. extra length, compared to the tenons in example the table won’t resist racking. I argue that a prop- To cut the tenons, keep that same bit in your “A” that are centered on the aprons. erly fi tted tabletop takes the place of that mor- router table and use a miter (or a scrap of tise wall, constraining the tenon’s edge cheek wood) to guide the apron into the bit, cutting a cut on. This makes a balanced joint: half of it is and keeping it from racking. And, as you’ll see rabbet on each end. Adjust the height of the bit tenon and the other half is shoulder. 1 later, you can easily reinforce this joint with a until the tenon fi ts perfectly in its mortise. But some woodworkers use ⁄4"-thick tenons 3 3 well-placed peg for added insurance. The heart of this method is the ⁄8"-diameter on ⁄4" stock. For this particular technique, I think 3 1 straight bit. Why ⁄8"? There are several reasons. that’s a mistake. Straight bits that are ⁄4" diameter Choosing Your Tools Aprons for small tables are typically going to be are fragile; even quality ones will snap easily if 3 One big objection to mortise-and-tenon join- made using ⁄4"-thick wood, and tenons as a rule you put too much pressure on them. Similarly, a 1 ery is the specialized tools you need to make it. are supposed to be half as thick as the stock they’re beefy ⁄2"-diameter straight bit is also a bad idea. Benchtop mortising machines cost $200; a kit You could use one, but then your mortise starts to that allows your drill press to serve as a makeshift get so wide that its walls can become more frag- mortiser costs about $70 (assuming you have a ile, especially in a small table’s delicate legs. I’d 1 drill press). An option is to cut your mortises with “Any intelligent fool can make things save the ⁄2" bit for joints for bigger proj- a plunge router and a shopmade or commercial bigger, more complex, and more ects, such as dining tables. ($75 or so). But these jigs take time and money The router doesn’t have to be fancy – even a and aren’t necessary for this particular joint. violent. It takes a touch of genius – low-powered single-speed tool will do this job For cutting the tenons, you could buy a com- and a lot of courage – to move with relative ease. And the router table doesn’t mercial jig, build a tenoning jig or get a dado stack have to be expensive, either. Any table with an ($85 for starters) to do the job on the table saw. in the opposite direction.” adjustable fence will do – even a shop-made ver- Still other woodworkers insist on cutting the — E.F. Schumacher (1911 - 1977) sion with a simple plywood table and a straight joint by hand. I do a lot of handwork, but making author of “Small is Beautiful” scrap of solid wood for the fence.

woodworking-magazine.com ■ 7 Make the Mortises Cutting This Joint with Hand Tools The fi rst step is to mill the mortises on the ends of the legs. Set up your router table so the bit projects 1 ⁄4" above the table. Position the fence so the cut will be centered on the end of the leg. You prob- ably won’t hit this dimension the fi rst time, so be sure you practice on test pieces. Clamp a stop piece (a scrap piece is fi ne) to your fence so your mortises will end at the same place. Where you clamp the stop is determined by the width of your aprons. For example, if your Bottom of mortise aprons are 4" wide, I’d position the stop so that the 7 Edge of mortise mortise is 3 ⁄8" long. This will give you a small 1 ⁄8" shoulder at the bottom of the apron. Take some scrap that is the exact size as your To cut a mortise by hand, use a chisel that’s the table leg and mill a test mortise. Push the leg exact width of your desired mortise. Work from the center out with the face of the tool pointed into the bit with steady pressure. If the bit burns, toward the center of the mortise (left). I sliced you’re going too slowly; if it chatters, you’re go- open this joint during the process (above) so you ing too fast. Check your results. To determine if can see how you chop out a “V” in the center and the mortise is centered on the leg, use calipers then chop to the ends. and check the length with a ruler. With your setup just right, you can mill the mortises. First mill all the mortises with the bit 1 set to ⁄4" high. Then increase the height of the bit 1 to ⁄2" and perform the same operation on all the 3 legs. Finally, raise the bit to ⁄4" (if that’s your fi nal height) and make the last pass. In my book, a 1"- deep mortise would be preferable, but not every project will allow it. The small side table project 3 in this issue uses a ⁄8"-deep mortise.

Time to Try the Tenons Making the matching tenons is surprisingly sim- ple work using the same router-table setup. Set 1 the height of your bit to ⁄8" and adjust the fence so that the diameter of the bit plus the distance between the bit and fence equals the length of 3 To cut the tenons, saw the cheeks diagonally Once you make the fi rst diagonal cut, turn the your tenon. For example, to cut a ⁄4"-long tenon, 3 with the piece held in your vice. Seeing two work around and saw straight down. The fi rst position the fence so that the ⁄8"-diameter bit is 3 sides simultaneously increases your accuracy. cut guides your second cut. ⁄8" away from the fence. Get some scrap that’s the same thickness as your aprons and cut a test tenon. You can use a miter gauge to guide the work, but a simple square back-up block works just as well – and it reduc- es tear-out as the bit exits the cut. Make the test cut in at least three passes. Start at the end of the tenon and work to the shoulder. This is the safest way to make the cut because you cannot get any wood jammed between the bit and the fence. Check the length of your tenon and adjust your fence. With the length set, mill the edge shoul- ders on the bottom edge of the apron. Next, make the fi rst cut on the face cheek on all the aprons. Do this using the same procedure you followed for the edge cheeks. With that cut 3 complete, raise the bit very close to ⁄1616" high and make another pass on all your tenons. Your ten- ons should almost fi t in the mortises. Getting a perfect fi t is just a matter of taking The next step is to saw the shoulders. Mark the location of your shoulder with a chisel and the time to nudge the router bit up until the ten- straightedge. This cut will guide your saw. With the shoulders cut, trim them with a ons fi t in the mortises you cut. What’s a perfect (shown above) until the tenon fi ts the mortise. fi t? You should be able to fi t the tenon in its mor-

8 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004 Mark your start and stop points on a piece of tape

Stop

To cut the mortise with the router, fi rst mark out The stop determines the length of the mortise. Don’t forget to include the diameter of the bit when the location on the end of a leg and line up the bit determining where the stop should go. Try to get it as close as you can when making a test cut. with your layout lines as best you can. tise using just hand pressure. If you have to use a , it’s too tight. If the tenon drops into the mortise and wiggles, it’s too loose. If the tenon is too tight, don’t force it. You’ll destroy a fragile leg. If it’s too loose, you’re going to have to beef up your tenon a bit. The best way to do this is to glue hand-plane shavings (for small adjustments) or thicker scraps (for large errors) to the tenon. Once this extra wood is glued in place, you might have to mill down the tenon a bit again. Take your time when cutting your tenons – a little extra care saves you a lot of grief. When the tenons slide home in their mortises, you’re close to completing the joint. Now it’s just Mill the mortises in several passes to avoid a matter of squaring the rounded end of the mor- stressing the bit. With your stop and fence in tise and either mitering or notching the tenons so place, the work proceeds quickly. they fi t together, if necessary. One option to deal with the point where the Getting the tenons to fi t with each other is sim- tenons meet is to miter the end of the tenons. ple work with a . Really, there is noth- ing diffi cult about this cut, and even if you mess it up it will never show. If you like, you can cut wide of your line and then pare to your layout line using a chisel. In small tables (and many large ones), it’s typ- ical for the two mortises in a leg to meet at the center. This is easy to deal with; you’ll just have to modify your tenons a bit to make them fit. There are two generally good solutions: You can miter the end of each tenon to fi t, or you can cut notches on the ends so they interlock, as shown in the illustrations at right. Walls Both solutions are simple work with a saw. You don’t need a perfect fi t inside the leg because it will never show. But they are both good ways to A dial caliper ensures that you will have less get some experience cutting with a hand saw or fussing when you fi t your joints. A perfectly making a couple of miters. centered mortise will result in a table base that is When your joint is ready to assemble, here square and not a parallelogram. Check the two are a couple of tips: Don’t try to assemble your mortise walls. When they are equal in thickness, If you don’t want to miter the tenons, you can cut table base all at once. Glue up one side and your mortise is centered. notches in the ends so they interlock.

woodworking-magazine.com ■ 9 The tenon length is determined by the diameter Your test set-up is perfect for milling the single After the second pass, your tenons should be only of the bit and its distance from the fence. Use a edge shoulder. Make this cut with the apron on a hair off. Make this cut on a piece of scrap fi rst to ruler to get this setting close. Make a test cut and edge guided by a back-up block or a miter gauge. ensure you don’t overshoot your mark. adjust the fi t so it’s perfect. then the other. Then glue those two assemblies Reinforcements center my pegs on the length of the tenon. together. It takes more time, but there are fewer Finally, I think it’s a good idea to reinforce table Put a little glue in the hole and drive the peg in joints to keep an eye on as the glue begins to set tenons using a wooden peg driven through the with a hammer. As the peg hits bottom, the ham- up. The glue-up procedure also reinforces the leg. But don’t peg your joints until the glue is set mer will make a different sound when it strikes sometimes-fragile mortise wall created by this up. If you don’t want the peg to show, you can peg the peg. Stop hammering. Any more hits could mortising technique. the joint from inside the table base. split the peg. As you’ll see, this procedure lets you Be sure to do a dry fi t. If the tenon won’t seat all No matter where you put the peg, the proce- put a square peg in a round hole. The corners of the way into its mortise, shorten your tenon until dure is the same. Cut some pegs on your table saw; the peg bite into the surrounding wood to keep it 1 it does. If there is a gap at the outside shoulder, try I like square stuff that’s a hair bigger than ⁄4" x from twisting out. Finally, trim the peg fl ush (or 1 paring away some of the end grain of the shoulder ⁄4". I don’t use manufactured dowels because they almost fl ush) using a chisel, a gouge or a fl ush- at the corner where it meets the cheek – but don’t are inconsistent in size. Sharpen one end of your cutting saw, as shown below. chisel the edge of the shoulder that shows. square peg in a pencil sharpener and crosscut it to With this simplifi ed version of the mortise- During glue-up, add glue on the mortise walls 1" long. With a knife, trim off a good deal of the and-tenon joint mastered, you can see how a cou- only. Don’t glue on the shoulder and don’t worry pointiest part of the end you sharpened. ple of extra cuts can change it. Keep practicing 1 about gluing the edge cheeks or the mortise’s bot- Take a drill with a ⁄4" brad-point bit and drill this joint and before you know it, that Arts & tom. If you get glue there, that’s fi ne, but mostly the hole for the peg. The hole should be deep Crafts bed or Morris chair will look like you want to get the maximum amount of contact enough to pass all the way through the tenon but an easier (or at least doable) job. WM between the face cheeks and the mortise wall. not pass through the entire leg. Usually I like to — Christopher Schwarz

Rounded corner left by router

Scrap guides the chisel

The best way to square the end of a mortise is with a chisel that is the exact width of your mortise. This joint will be concealed by the If you’ve never pegged a joint before, give it a try on one of your test joints. It’s actually simple and tenon shoulder, so it doesn’t have to be pretty. straightforward work. This extra effort will add strength to your table base.

10 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004 Sharpen a Chisel

Here’s the secret: The less you sharpen, the keener your tool’s edges will become.

Therehere areare ttwowo tthingshings yyouou mmustust llearnearn ttoo ggetet yyourour chisels sharp enough for woodworking. The fi rst is easy. Your cutting edge is the in- tersection of two planes: the bevel and the face of the tool. As the metal is abraded, the point where those two planes intersect becomes fi ner, sharper and more durable. The ultimate goal of sharpening is to make that point of intersection as small as possible. The smaller that point of in- tersection, the sharper your edge will be. The second thing isn’t as obvious. Good sharp- ening is more about learning to observe your progress than it is about rubbing a tool on a sharp- ening stone. Ultimately, a good sharpener spends little time rubbing the tool and more time mak- ing every stroke count. If this sounds odd, think for a minute about how you viewed furniture before you started woodworking. Most non-woodworkers can see a piece of furniture as a whole form. But it takes training to see the individual details (such as recognizing inset that have perfect reveals all around) and to know what they mean (which is good craftsmanship). As your woodworking skills develop, your eye becomes more discrim- inating. At that point, creating fi ne furniture has more to do with seeing the details than with rip- ping lumber on a table saw. With sharpening, you must develop your eye to know what a good edge looks and feels like. Once you know what sharp is and how to get there, your edges will get better every time you sharpen. And you’ll spend less time at the stones. Ultimately, it should take you only fi ve minutes to bring a dull edge back to perfection. ALPARRISH PHOTOBY

The Right Sharpening Kit Buying the right equipment is important. Some ■ A coarse waterstone (#800- or #1,000-grit) hands-on instruction, most beginners will strug- systems are slow (oilstones), some need more for shaping the tool’s secondary bevel. gle needlessly learning freehand technique. Pro- maintenance (waterstones) and some have pe- ■ A fi ne waterstone (#6,000- or #8,000-grit) ducing your fi rst keen edge will take far more culiarities (such as the tendency of sandpaper to for polishing the secondary bevel and face. practice. And your progress will be slower. The round over an edge). I have used every system, ■ An inexpensive side-clamp honing guide. honing guide allows you to succeed on your fi rst and after years of experimenting and sharpening This list is a bit unusual because of what I’ve or second try. And once you know what sharp is, hundreds of edges, I’ve settled on a hybrid system included and what some may say is missing. The you can then choose to use the guide or not. that consists primarily of the following: honing guide is a bit controversial, but it’s the The second reason the above list is radical is ■ A DMT diamond stone for removing metal key to early success. Many excellent craftsmen because there is no medium-grit stone between quickly and truing my other sharpening stones dispense with these “training wheels” and insist coarse and fi ne. British craftsman and teacher (dmtsharp.com or 800-666-4368). beginners sharpen without it. However, without David Charlesworth recently convinced me that

woodworking-magazine.com ■ 11 the medium-grit stone was unnecessary. After will wander up or down, depending on whether this burr cannot be overstated. Your edge might sharpening about 100 edges his way, observing the face is convex or concave. When you attempt look nice and shiny, but unless you created a burr them with a 30x jeweler’s loupe and putting them to clean up a routed corner or remove waste be- on the face of the chisel on your coarsest stone, to work, I’m convinced he’s correct. A fi ne-grit tween dovetails, you will have diffi culty steering your edge isn’t sharp. The photos below discuss waterstone cuts fast enough to polish your edge and the tool straight for the same reason. how and where to look for this burr. remove the scratches left by the coarse-grit stone. You should also remember that the face of the In addition to the above equipment, I recom- tool is half of your cutting edge. If left unpolished, The Act: Brief but Bountiful mend a Tupperware-like container to store your your edge will be less durable. Why? Pretend that As you follow the photos that illustrate the steps stones (a $6 expense), a spray bottle to mist water your hand is a chisel and the spaces between your to sharpening, keep these things in mind: on your stones, a plastic non-skid mat from the fi ngers are scratches in the metal left by grinding Honing the chisel does not require a lot of housewares department to contain your mess, on a coarse stone. If you jabbed someone with strokes on the stone. In fact, the more back-and- some oil, a small square and some rags. your fi ngers stretched out and spread apart (sim- forth motions you make, the more likely you are ilar to an edge with deep scratches), you’d prob- to put pressure in the wrong place or dish your Know Your Chisel ably break your hand. But if you brought your waterstone unnecessarily. Before you can sharpen a chisel, you must know fi ngers together into a fi st (similar to an edge Here is another trick I learned from Charles- your goal. Chisels are somewhat Zen-like tools. with smaller and shallower scratches), your hand worth: When honing on the waterstones, start Though they are the simplest woodworking de- would endure the punch pretty well. with about six strokes. Then observe the edge vices, properly setting them up is tricky. The second important thing to know is that the carefully by eye and rub your fi nger up to the The fi rst thing to understand is the function of cutting edge must be 90° to the sides of the tool. edge of the face to feel for the burr. If you don’t the face of the chisel. The face is the fl at, unbev- A skewed edge will tend to wander in a cut. feel the burr but it looks like you’re sharpening eled side of the blade. For a chisel to work cor- Third, the bevel of the tool must be evenly pol- the bevel, switch to a coarser stone and try again rectly, this surface must be fl at. If you polish only ished at the cutting edge. The best way to deter- until you can defi nitely feel the burr. near the cutting edge (a tempting time-saver) the mine if you are truly sharpening at the cutting When you can feel the burr and the scratch pat- chisel won’t cut true. When you guide your chisel edge is the emergence of a “burr” on the face of tern is consistent, move to the next fi ner grit. on one surface to pare a mating surface, the tool the tool during sharpening. The importance of One mistake beginners make is that they use

STAGE 1: Preparing the Face The face of a chisel needs to be fl attened and polished only once if you As you fl atten the face, be mindful never to lift the chisel’s handle during do it right. Before fl attening the face, remove protective lacquer from the this operation. If you do, you will grind a curve into your tool’s face that blade with lacquer thinner (you may need to soak some tools overnight). will be diffi cult to ever straighten out.

More work needed here

Plunge Move forward

Flattening begins on the diamond stone. I use The scratches should The second stroke (used with all chisels) is to After 20 strokes of the DMT’s extra-coarse stone for this, which is run left to right on the plunge the chisel back and forth on the stone. plunging motion, the #220-grit. I use mineral spirits as a lubricant. face of the chisel after After each plunge, move the chisel forward a scratches should look 1 The fi rst type of stroke is used for ⁄2" chisels this stroke. This chisel little bit on the stone. Note that with narrow vertical. Repeat these 1 3 and wider. Rub the face against the stone as is getting there, but it chisels ( ⁄8"- ⁄8") this is the only stroke possi- strokes until the fi rst shown, keeping the face fl at against the stone. needs more work. ble when fl attening the face. (The fi rst type of 3" of the chisel’s face Start with 20 strokes and check your work. stroke will round over the edges of the face.) shows a consistent scratch pattern. Then repeat these strokes on the coarse #325- grit diamond stone, then the coarse and fi ne waterstones. Here is a picture of the polished face of the tool refl ecting the surface of the diamond sharpening stone. Ultimately, this is what your face should look like: a mirror along most of the face of the tool. There will be some small scratches from polishing, but these are OK.

12 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004 “The carpenter is not the best who in the bottom of the sink. Place the waterstone on The best time to sharpen a tool is before edge the diamond stone and rub the waterstone forward failure occurs. A chipped and ragged edge takes makes more chips than all the rest.” and back. Cock the waterstone left 30° and rub it considerable time to renew, but an edge that is — Arthur Guiterman (1871 - 1943) back and forth. Then cock the waterstone right still at the working-dull stage can be honed very humorist, poet and journalist 30° and do the same. Repeat these three motions quickly. So if you sharpen your edges before over and over. If you are not sure if your stone they’re destroyed, you’ll have more sharpening is fl at after a minute or so, try scrawling a pen- sessions, but they’ll be brief. too much pressure when honing the bevel. Ex- cil line on the waterstone and rubbing it on the If all this makes your brain hurt, you’re not cessive pressure wears the stone unevenly and diamond stone. If you can still see pencil lines, alone. Sharpening challenges even the best wood- can result in the edge being sharpened more in you have more fl attening to do. workers. My advice is to sharpen regularly and one place than in others. Just use enough pres- your tool’s edges will improve over time. I fi nd sure to keep the chisel and honing guide under Sharpen Regularly this true even after 15 years of sharpening. control. Let the stone do the work. Here’s the real brain teaser about sharpening to Recently I dug out a 2"-wide (a very Another big mistake beginners make is not consider: The more you sharpen your tools, the large chisel) from my toolbox that I use infre- truing their waterstones regularly. If your sharp- less time you’ll spend sharpening. quently. When I’d put the tool away a few years ening session isn’t proceeding as planned or your This is true because of the way an edge tool ago it was sharp. But when I examined the edge results don’t look like they’re supposed to, the degenerates. A freshly sharpened tool starts out recently I saw that the tool needed honing. The culprit is almost always the stones. Waterstones with an extremely keen edge. After just a little edge hadn’t changed a bit in three years, but my cut fast but wear fast – usually by “dishing out” bit of work, the edge quickly degenerates to what defi nition of what is sharp sure had. in the middle of the stone. You need to fl atten I like to call a state of “working dull.” The edge So I sharpened up the slick, put the tool to use them regularly. I fl atten mine with the diamond isn’t as sharp as it can be, but it’s sharp enough and put the sharp tool back in the toolbox. And I stone after honing three tools. It takes just a few for the task. Then the edge degenerates slowly, if bet the next time I get the tool out I’ll hone it fi rst minutes and pays big rewards. it’s not abused. The last stage of an edge is what I again. Good sharpening, like good woodwork- I fl atten my stones in the sink under a slow but call “edge failure” – this is where the edge gives ing, is a continuously moving target. steady stream of water. Place the diamond stone up and becomes chipped and ragged. —Christopher Schwarz

STAGE 2: Grinding the Primary Bevel 1 1 3 Shaping the primary bevel is done on the coarse diamond stone. The experimenting: Grind the primary bevel of your ⁄8", ⁄4" and ⁄8" angle of the bevel will affect the toughness of the edge (higher angles chisels at 30° – these tools are used mostly for light chopping and need 1 such as 30° are more durable) and the ease of cutting (lower angles such the edge durability. Keep your ⁄2" chisel at 25° – it’s an all-around 3 as 20° cut more easily). Most chisels come from the factory with the do-anything size. And grind your ⁄4" and 1" chisel at 20° because the bevel ground at 25°. Here’s my recommendation after years of wider tools are used mostly for paring.

After a couple of cycles of grinding, the primary bevel should look scratched and you should feel a burr on the face, which is what my index fi nger is feeling for here. Keep work- ing until you feel the burr. Once you feel the burr, you can move on to honing.

Set the chisel in the honing guide. The angle of Unlike honing, grinding involves lots of strokes. the bevel is determined by how far out the tool Keep even pressure on the tool and move it projects from the honing guide. I mark these forward and back on the diamond stone. Check measurements on my bench to speed sharp- your work after every 20 or 30 strokes. If you’re ening (they work for all the side-clamp guides not sure where the sharpening is occurring on I’m aware of). For a 30° bevel, set the chisel so the edge, it with a permanent marker and 1 1 ⁄4" projects from the guide. For a 25° bevel, take a stroke or two. That will point out where the 5 set the chisel so 1 ⁄8" projects from the guide. chisel is contacting the stone. Also, check your 1 For a 20° bevel, set the chisel so 2 ⁄8” projects. work with a small square to ensure you are This is a chisel ready for honing. You can see grinding a square edge. the 30° bevel created on the diamond stone.

woodworking-magazine.com ■ 13 STAGE 3: Honing the Secondary Bevel STAGE 4: Polishing the To hone the secondary bevel, you want to sharpen only at the cutting edge – sharpening the SecondarySecondary BevelBevel entire bevel is a waste of time. So you need to shift your tool in the guide a bit so only the The motions are the same for polishing as leading edge contacts the stone. I usually shift the tool back 1⁄4" in the guide; this adds a 2° they are for honing. Keep the tool in the or 3° secondary bevel. This works with all makes and models of the side-clamping guide that same position in the guide and place it on I’m aware of. the waterstone. Some polishing stones require you to fi rst build up a slurry with a second little stone, called a Nagura. Add a little water and rub the Nagura on the polishing stone until a thin fi lm of slurry appears over the entire surface of the waterstone. Now you are ready to polish.

First loosen the screw on the guide and shift Second, place the guide on your coarse the tool backwards. I mark this second setting waterstone at the far end. Place even pressure Place the guide on the far end of the stone on my bench, which speeds my sharpening. on the chisel and pull the guide toward you in and roll it toward you. Repeat this motion Retighten the guide’s screw. a smooth motion. Roll the guide forward using fi ve more times and examine your edge. almost no pressure. Repeat this motion fi ve more times and then examine your edge.

Secondary bevel

The edge should look like a mirror all the Burr way across. You should not be able to feel a burr on the face of the chisel, but it’s there. Your secondary bevel should appear as a The burr is almost impossible to photograph series of fi ne scratches in a narrow band at the because it is so small, but we got lucky here. cutting edge. Feel for the burr. If you can’t The small wire lying across the bevel of the tool feel it, repeat the six strokes on the coarse is indeed the burr, which detached from the waterstone. When you can feel the burr and face when I pushed my thumb against it. Now the scratches appear consistent on the you know how small the burr is. secondary bevel, move to the next step.

You must remove the burr before proceeding to polishing. Use your polishing waterstone. When removing the sizable burr left by the coarse waterstone, you want to take care because the burr can score the stone. Press Remove the burr from the face of the the face lightly against the polishing stone and chisel. Remove the chisel from the guide, push forward. Repeat this a couple of times place it face-down on the polishing stone and increase the pressure slightly. When the and push it forward once. Rubbing back and burr is gone, you can move to polishing. forth will scratch the face needlessly. WM

14 ■ woodworking magazine Autumn 2004 Bevel-edge Chisels ’S R E P K I A H M C T E E U N S L I E B N L B A I S A M Y Y E C E L S E Y T L oror aanyny oonene project,project, a setset ofof chiselschisels ccanan bbee uusedsed L P B R F N F H R A A A S O R T to pare, chop, scrape, clean up, clean out or (even A M S C S though you shouldn’t) open cans. In short, it is a must-have in the toolbox. Owning a good fi rst set is invaluable, but choosing that set can be hard. Our Four Tests Conclusions A chisel should be easy to set up, endure a fair First we set up each tool, lapping the back until it In the end, we determined none of these tools is amount of abuse before it needs to be rehoned was fl at, then honing the bevel to a razor-sharp, perfect. But three will get the job done comfort- and feel comfortable in your hand – even after 30° edge. (Typically you would use a 25° bevel on ably without requiring hours of set-up time: The 1 you’ve chopped out a dozen dovetails. You also a ⁄2" chisel, but 30° is better for chopping.) Ashley Iles is balanced, quick to set up and held need to pay attention to a chisel’s side , as Next, we tested edge retention. We drove each its edge reasonably well; the Marples is inexpen- shown below. (Smaller is better for cleaning out chisel with a mallet 20 times into a piece of ash, sive and performed adequately in every test; and tight joints.) So we put fi ve common, reasonably then inspected each cutting edge under a raking the Sorby held its edge very well and is a beauti- 1 priced ⁄2" chisels through a series of tests to help light with a jeweler’s loupe. We then pared a piece ful tool. All earn our “Recommended” rating, but you select a good fi rst set. of cherry’s end grain with each chisel. We re- none can be called “Highly Recommended.” The peated this routine until the tool required rehoning, Ashley Iles’ and Marples’ edges could have held at which point it was removed from the test. up longer, and the Sorby, which some editors said To test the ergonomics of each tool, fi ve editors was uncomfortable, took too long to set up. used the tools in different applications. The size of We can’t recommend the Craftsman and Stan- our hands vary widely, so the results vary, too. ley chisels. Their bevels are too big for cutting into 3 ⁄32" side bevel Finally, we tested hardness on the Rockwell the tight corners of dovetails, they’re a chore to set “C” scale using an industrial hardness tester at up and they’re uncomfortable to use – especially The side bevel on the Craftsman (above) is too big the University of Cincinnati’s College of Applied when your hands get sweaty. The word to describe 3 at the tip (it’s ⁄3232") to clean out dovetail joints. The Sciences. David Conrad, the director of the Cer- these isn’t inexpensive – it’s cheap. WM 1 Sorby’s ⁄3232" side bevel is much better. tifi cate Program, performed this test. – Kara Gebhart

Bevel-edge Chisels

BRAND PRICE* HANDLE LENGTH SETUP EDGE ERGONOMICS BLADE CONTACT TIME RETENTION HARDNESS** Recommended

1 Ashley Iles $83.25/ Bubinga 7 ⁄2" Easiest Edge looked fantastic Short, smooth handle 59/32*** 800-426-4613 or set of 4 throughout; paring ideal for chopping and toolsforworkingwood.com increasingly diffi cult; comfortable for paring 3rd most durable

1 1 1 Marples $42.50/ Plastic 10 ⁄4" Adequate Paring increasingly more Handle orients easily in 60 ⁄2/60 ⁄2 800-871-8158 or Blue Chip set of 5 diffi cult after a few rounds; hand; some editors leevalley.com 4th most durable suggest cutting plastic seam off for best results

3 Sorby $144.90/ Boxwood 10 ⁄8" Longer than Edge looked awful with Results mixed; some 59/59 800-225-1153 or Cabinetmaker’s set of 4 acceptable deep nicks and crumbling editors suggest woodcraft.com across; pared very well; breaking octagonal 2nd most durable edges for best results Not Recommended

1 Craftsman $19.99/ Plastic 9 ⁄4" Unacceptable Most durable Results mixed; plastic 60/60 800-377-7414 or set of 3 slippery when hands craftsman.com get sweaty

3 1 Stanley $14.46/ Plastic 7 ⁄4" Unacceptable Edge immediately showed Similar to Ashley Iles; 58/58 ⁄2 Available at most set of 3 big nick and crumbling; plastic slippery when home-supply stores least durable hands get sweaty 3 *Prices as of publication deadline. **From Rockwell “C” scale. First number is hardness of metal measured ⁄4" up from cutting edge. Second number is hardness 1 measured 1 ⁄2" up from cutting edge. ***Great difference indicates steel near cutting edge has been hardened and steel near handle has been tempered.

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