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0 74808 01355 5 Display until August 17, 2015 Make & Use a Scratch Stock for Moulding WorldMags.net PURVEYORS OF FINE MACHINERY®, SINCE 1983! 10" HYBRID with RIVING KNIFE • Motor: 2 HP, 120V/240V, single-phase, prewired to 120V • Amps: 15A at 120V, 7.5A at 240V FREE 10" CARBIDE- • Precision-ground cast iron table TIPPED BLADE 1 with wings measures: 40 ⁄2" W x 27" D 3 • Table height: 35 ⁄8" 4" DUST PORT 1 • Footprint: 21" L x 19 ⁄2" W CAST IRON TRUNNIONS 3092372 5 • Arbor: ⁄8" • Arbor speed: 3450 RPM 1 1 • Capacity: 3 ⁄4" @ 90°, 2 ⁄4" @ 45° EASY-GLIDE SYSTEM • Rip capacity: 30" right, 15" left 1 3 1 QUICK-RELEASE BLADE • Overall size: 57 ⁄4" W x 35 ⁄8" H x 37 ⁄2" D GUARD ASSEMBLY • Approx. shipping weight: 348 lbs. $ $ 00 99 G0771 $79500 INTRODUCTORY PRICE 675 shipping lower 48 states 10" CONTRACTOR-STYLE TABLE SAW 10" LEFT-TILTING TABLE with RIVING KNIFE with RIVING KNIFE

1 • Motor: 1 /2 HP, 110V/220V, single- • Motor: 3 HP or 5 HP, 240V, single-phase phase, prewired to 110V, 11.5A/5.7A • Precision-ground cast iron table • Precision-ground cast iron table size with wings: 27" x 48" with wings 5 • Arbor: ⁄8" 1 • Table size: 25 ⁄4" x 40" • Arbor: 5/8" 5 177335 • Cutting capacity: 25 ⁄8" R, 8" L • Arbor speed: 4000 RPM 1 • Max. depth of cut: 3" @ 90º, 2 ⁄8" @ 45º 1 1 • Capacity: 3 /8" @ 90°, 2 /4" @ 45° • Approx. shipping weight: 550 lbs. • Rip capacity: 30" R, 12" L • Approx. shipping weight: 208 lbs. 175370

FREE 10" CARBIDE-TIPPED $ 00 $ 00 BLADE 1375 1295 $99 G1023RLW 3 HP $150 $ 00 $ 00 shipping $ 00 $ 00 shipping G0732 795 SALE 650 lower 48 states G1023RLWX 5 HP 1395 1325 lower 48 states

G O O 6" 10" CABINET TABLE SAW W • Motor: 3 HP, 220V, single-phase A • Motor: 1 HP, 120V, single-phase, 13A (G0452) 1 • Precision-ground cast iron table or 1 /2 HP, 120V/240V, single-phase, 15A/7.5A, 3 • Table size with extension: 27" x 74 ⁄4" prewired 120V (G0452Z) 5 1 • Arbor: ⁄8" • Arbor speed: 4300 RPM • Max. stock width: 6" • Max. depth of cut: ⁄8" 1 3 1 • Capacity: 3 ⁄8" @ 90º, 2 ⁄16" @ 45º • Max. rabbeting capacity: ⁄2" 1 • Rip capacity: 50" R, 12" L • Table size: 7 ⁄2" x 46" 13 1 • Max. width: ⁄16" • Cutterhead diameter: 2 ⁄2", Speed: 4800 RPM • Approx. shipping • Fence adjustment stops at ± 45° & 90° • Approx. shipping weight: 268 lbs. FREE PAIR 208624 weight: 557 lbs. OF SAFETY 3 HP LEESON® 4 KNIFE CUTTERHEAD PUSH BLOCKS! MOTOR! G0452 $55000 $52500 232857 $ SPIRAL CUTTERHEAD $ 150 79 BUILT-IN $ 00 $ 00 shipping $ 00 $ 00 shipping G0691 1595 1495 lower 48 states G0452Z 850 825 lower 48 states MOBILE BASE! 8" JOINTERS 12" /PLANER FREE PAIR • Motor: 3 HP, 220V, single-phase, TEFC, 15A OF SAFETY with SPIRAL CUTTERHEAD NEW 1 PUSH BLOCKS! END-MOUNTED • Precision-ground cast iron table size: 9" x 72 ⁄2" • Motor: 5 HP, 220V, single-phase FENCE 1 • Max. depth of cut: ⁄8" 1 • Jointer table size: 14" x 59 ⁄2" 1 • Max. rabbeting depth: ⁄2" 1 • Cutterhead dia.: 3 ⁄8" • Cutterhead dia.: 3" • Cutterhead speed: 5034 RPM 208624 • Cutterhead speed: 4800 RPM 1 • Max. jointer depth of cut: ⁄8" • Cuts per minute: • Max. width of cut: 12" 20,000 (G0656P), 21,400 (G0656PX) • Planer feed rate: 22 FPM • Approx. shipping weight: 500 lbs. 1 BUILT-IN • Max. planer depth of cut: ⁄8" MOBILE BASE! 4 KNIFE CUTTERHEAD • Max. planer cutting height: 8" $ 00 1 1 G0656P $82500 795 • Planer table size: 12 ⁄4"x23⁄8" • Approx. shipping weight: 704 lbs. SPIRAL CUTTERHEAD $150 $150 $ 00 $ 00 shipping $ 00 $ 00 shipping G0656PX 1250 1195 lower 48 states G0634XP 2395 2350 lower 48 states

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PLANER/MOULDER 15" PLANERS with STAND • Motor: 3 HP, 240V, single-phase, 15A • Motor: 2 HP, 230V, single-phase, • Precision-ground cast iron table size: 10.8A, 3450 RPM 15" x 20" PRECISION-GROUND 3 • Precision-ground cast iron table • Min. stock thickness: ⁄16" CAST IRON BED AND 1 7 INFEED & OUTFEED measures 14 /8” x 10” x /16” • Min. stock length: 8" TABLES 1 • Max. planing width: 7” • Max. cutting depth: ⁄8" 1 • Max. planing height: 7 /2” • Feed rate: 16 & 30 FPM • Cuts per minute: 14,000 • Cutterhead speed: 4800 RPM 208624 • 2 HSS knives • Approx. shipping weight: 666 lbs. BUILT-IN • Approx. shipping 3 KNIFE CUTTERHEAD MOBILE BASE! weight: 324 lbs. G0453P $0$107500 177335 $99 SPIRAL CUTTERHEAD $150 $ $ 00 shipping $0$ 00 shipping W1812 SALE 1525 lower 48 states G0453PX 1695 lower 48 states 20" PLANERS 12 SPEED HEAVY-DUTY • Motor: 5 HP, 240V, single-phase 14" FLOOR PRESS • Max. cutting width: 20" • Min. stock length: 8" 3 4 1 • Motor: ⁄ HP, 110V, single-phase • Swing: 14" • Max. cutting depth: ⁄8" 1 5 3 • Drill chuck: ⁄64"– ⁄8" • Drilling capacity: ⁄4" steel • Feed rate: 16 FPM & 20 FPM 1 4 31 • Spindle taper: MT#2 • Spindle travel: 3 ⁄ " • Cutterhead diameter: ⁄8", Speed: 4800 RPM • Speeds: 140, 260, 320, 380, 480, 540, 980, 1160, • Number of knives: 4 HSS 3 1 1510, 1650, 2180, 3050 RPM • Collar size: 2.595" • Table size: 20" x 25 ⁄4" (20" x 55 ⁄2" with extension) 1 1 7 • Precision-ground cast iron table • Overall dimensions: 55 ⁄2"L x 39 ⁄2"Wx45⁄8"H 3 • Table size: 11 ⁄8" • Approx. shipping weight: 932 lbs. BUILT-IN • Table swing: 360º MOBILE BASE! INCLUDES BUILT-IN LIGHT (BULB NOT INCLUDED) 4 KNIFE CUTTERHEAD • Table tilts: 90º left & right $ $ 00 • Overall height: 64" G0454 1650 • Approx. shipping weight: 171 lbs. SPIRAL CUTTERHEAD $179 $79 $0$ 00 shipping $ $ 00 shipping G0454Z 2495 208624 lower 48 states G7944 355 lower 48 states

1 2 HP DUST COLLECTOR 1 ⁄2 HP CYCLONE with 2.5 MICRON BAG DUST COLLECTOR 247570 1 • Motor: 2 HP, 240V, single-phase, 3450 RPM, 9A • Motor: 1 ⁄2 HP, 110V/220V, single-phase, • 6" inlet w/removable “Y” fitting w/two 4" openings TEFC, 3450 RPM 3 • Air suction capacity: 775 CFM • Impeller: 12 ⁄4" aluminum 1 1 • Static pressure at rated CFM: 1.80" • Portable base size: 21 ⁄4"x33⁄2" • Bag volume: 5.7 cubic feet • Intake port: 6" with included 5" ONLY optional port 68" • Height (with bags inflated): 78" 1 TALL! 1 • Impeller: 13 ⁄2" • Bag size: 19 ⁄2" x 33" (2) • Air suction capacity: 1550 CFM • Height: 68" FULLY MOBILE • Built-in remote control switch WITH BUILT-IN • Maximum static pressure: 11" FREE! CASTERS • Standard bag filtration: 2.5 Micron 2-STAGE CYLONE SEPARATOR • Approx. shipping weight: 210 lbs. W1049 - A $34.25 VALUE • Approx. shipping weight: 122 lbs. G0703P MADE IN AN $79 $79 $ $ 00 ISO 9001 shipping $ $ 00 shipping G1029Z2P 325 FACTORY! lower 48 states 825 lower 48 states

ULTIMATE 14" 30TH ANNIVERSARY 17" 17" HEAVY-DUTY BANDSAW • Motor: 1 HP, 110V/220V, HEAVY-DUTY BANDSAW • Motor: 2 HP, 110V/220V, prewired single-phase, TEFC, 11A/5.5A to 220V, single-phase, TEFC • Precision-ground cast iron • Motor: 2 HP, 110V/220V, single-phase, • Precision-ground cast iron tablesize:14"sq. TEFC, prewired 220V • RPM: 1725 table size: 17" sq. • Tabletilt:45ºR,15ºL • Amps: 20A at 110V, 10A at 220V • Tabletilt:45ºR,10ºL 1 1 • Cutting capacity/throat: 13 /2" • Precision-ground cast iron table • Cutting capacity/throat: 16 /4" 1 252923 2 MADE IN AN ISO 1 • Max. cutting height: 6" size: 17” x 17” x 1 ⁄ ” thick • Max. cutting height: 12 /8" 1 1 1 3 9001 FACTORY! 1 1 • Blade size: 92 /2"–93 /2"L(/8"– /4"W) • Table tilt: 10° left, 45° right • Blade size: 131 /2"L(/8"–1" W) 1 • Blade speeds: 1500 & 3200 FPM • Floor-to-table height: 37 ⁄2” • Blade speeds: 1700 & 3500 FPM 1 • Approx. shipping weight: 196 lbs. • Cutting capacity/throat: 16 ⁄4” left • Quick-release blade tension lever 1 • Blade size: 131 ⁄2” long • Approx. shipping weight: 346 lbs. • Approx. shipping weight: 342 lbs. MADE IN AN ISO 9001 Free!e G0513P FACTORY! shipping Free! $0 G0555P lower 48 states G0513ANV shipping lower 48 states $99 $ 00 $ $ 00 $ 00 shipping ONLY 545 875 875 lower 48 states

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c2_1508_PWM_FPAds.indd c3 5/12/15 2:46 PM CONTENTSWorldMags.netAUGUST 2015

29 40 46

FEATURES

22 Traveling 34 Build a 46 Furniture Chest ‘Birdcage’ Restoration Historic proportions and details combine for Build this clever traditional mechanism that Drawer, veneer and fi nish problems are a chest that’s large enough for almost all the allows tabletops to tilt and rotate. common in old casework; fi nd out how to fi x tools you need – but small enough to haul. BY ALFRED SHARP these problems to give old pieces new life. BY CHRISTOPHER SCHWARZ BY BOB FLEXNER ONLINE u Folding Secrets ONLINE u Free Model Read about how furniture makers of the past ONLINE u Stick to It Download a free SketchUp model of this designed ways for tables to fold. Discover fi ve tips for regluing furniture with practical, portable chest. popularwoodworking.com/aug15 hot hide glue in a restoration project. popularwoodworking.com/aug15 popularwoodworking.com/aug15

40 18th-century 29 Shop-made Reflections 50 Steam Powered Saw Vise Learn how to make and use a scratch stock A steam box built with PVC pipe, a radiator hose and a few bits of hardware will get you A few off-the-shelf components and a to stick custom moulding as you build this started in the world of bending . weekend are all you need to build a solid saw classic looking glass. BY MICHAEL DUNBAR vise that rivals anything you can buy. BY JOSHUA KLEIN BY JASON THIGPEN u ONLINE Start from Scratch ONLINE u u Chair Design ONLINE Stay Sharp Watchthisfreevideodemonstratingthe Not all curves are created equal – fi nd out Read this free article on the tools and proper techniques for using a scratch stock. what makes a Windsor work. techniques to keep your saws sharp. popularwoodworking.com/aug15 popularwoodworking.com/aug15 popularwoodworking.com/aug15

34 WorldMags.net COVER PHOTO BY AL PARRISH; SAW VISE PHOTO BY JASON THIGPEN; MIRROR PHOTO BY JOSHUA KLEIN; ■ RESTORING FURNITURE PHOTO BY BOB FLEXNER; ‘BIRDCAGE’ PHOTO BY ALFRED SHARP popularwoodworking.com 3

03_1508_PWM_TOC.indd 3 5/13/15 1:02 PM CONTENTSWorldMags.netAUGUST 2015

12 14 58

REGULARS

6 Will Work 14 Kreg Precision 58 Indispensable For Shelter Table Mortise OUT ON A LIMB TOOL TEST &Tenon BY MEGAN FITZPATRICK BY THE EDITORS ARTS & MYSTERIES

ONLINE u Tool Test Archives BY PETER FOLLANSBEE What’s the Best We have many tool reviews available for free 8 on our web site. Slope for a popularwoodworking.com/tools 60 Contemporary Dovetail? Side Table LETTERS ICANDOTHAT FROM OUR READERS 18 TheSoup-can BY MEGAN FITZPATRICK Curve DESIGN MATTERS ‘Attractive’ Working 12 BY GEORGE R. WALKER 64 Rest for a Memory Combination END GRAIN Square BY SHAWN NICHOLS TRICKS OF THE TRADE

FROM OUR READERS

ONLINE u More Tricks Read and watch some of our favorite tricks. popularwoodworking.com/tricks

Number 219 August 2015. Popular Woodworking Magazine (ISSN 0884-8823,USPS 752-250) is published 7 times a year, February, April, June, August, October, November and December, which may include an occasional special, combined or expanded issue that may count as two issues, by F+W Media. Editorial and advertising offices are located at 8469 Blue Ash Road, Suite #100, Cincinnati, OH 45236. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs and artwork should include ample postage on a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE); otherwise they will not be returned. Subscription rates: A year’s sub- scription (7 issues) is $24.95; outside of the U.S. add $7/year ■ Canada Publications Mail Agreement No. 40025316. Canadian return address: 2835 Kew Drive, Windsor, ON N8T 3B7 ■ Copyright 2015 by Popular Woodworking Magazine. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send all address changes to Popular Woodworking Magazine, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235 Canada 60 GST Reg. # R132594716 ■ Produced and printed in the U.S.A. WorldMags.net ILLUSTR ATION BY MARY JANE FAVORITE; ROUTER TABLE PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER SCHWARZ; ■ 4 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 MORTISE & TENON PHOTO BY PETER FOLLANSBEE; SIDE TABLE PHOTO BY AL PARRISH

03_1508_PWM_TOC.indd 4 5/13/15 1:02 PM WorldMags.net

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c2_1508_PWM_FPAds.indd 5 5/12/15 2:44 PM OUT ONWorldMags.net A LIMB BY MEGAN FITZPATRICK, EDITOR AUGUST 2015, VOL.35, NO. 4 popularwoodworking.com Will Work for Shelter EDITORIAL OFFICES 513-531-2690 GROUP PUBLISHER ■ Jamie Markle [email protected], x11452

n mid-April, I signed over the deed to match the few remaining original GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR & on the 1895 house I bought in No- pieces. Repairing and replacing win- EDITOR ■ Megan Fitzpatrick vember 2001, which I began rehab- dow and door casings. Installing miles megan.fi [email protected], x11348 bing just weeks later. I “fi nished” it at of shoe moulding. Crown moulding. SENIOR ART DIRECTOR ■ Daniel T. Pessell I [email protected], x11596 about 8 a.m. on April 15, 2015 (the day I tried – for want of a proper shop SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR ■ Michael Wallace of closing) – but I didn’t really fi nish; space – to sell the house in 2013. No [email protected], x11407 one never does in an old house. I simply takers. Turns out, viewers liked the CONTRIBUTING EDITORS ■ handed over the keys. kitchen no more than did I. Bob Flexner, Christopher Schwarz, But in between buying and selling, So it all came back to where I st arted. Steve Shanesy I learned a lot. I ripped out the kitchen. I ran new PHOTOGRAPHER ■ Al Parrish The fi rst woodworking project – and electric and repaired plaster, installed PROJECT ILLUSTRATOR ■ Donna R. Hill I use the term “wood- a new subfl oor and fl oor, ONLINE CONTENT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER ■ David Thiel working” loosely – was put in some new plumb- [email protected], x11255 to remove the kitchen ing (because I broke a ONLINE CONTENT DEVELOPER ■ Jacob Motz doors and drawer fronts, pipe – oops) and built [email protected], x11005 plug the old screw holes, cabinets with inset CONTENT EDITOR, BOOKS ■ Scott Francis then before replac- doors and drawers, and [email protected], x11327 ing the dingy 1980s custom-fi tted furniture F+W MEDIA, INC. hardware. I never liked pieces and thresholds. CHAIRMAN & CEO ■ David Nussbaum that kitchen – though I love that new kitch- COO & CFO ■ James Ogle ■ white paint went a long en. But 18 months after I PRESIDENT Sara Domville CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER ■ Chad Phelps way in mitigating the ripped out the fi rst cabi- SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, ugly on the formerly net, and fi ve hours after OPERATIONS ■ Phil Graham ■ brown, termite-barf absolutely everything VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS Stacie Berger cabinets. in the kitchen was de- ADVERTISING All through the first and second clared complete, it no longer belonged VICE PRESIDENT, SALES ■ Dave Davel ■ floors, I tore out what seemed like to me. ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Don Schroder 331 N. Arch St., Allentown, PA 18104 acres of nasty Kelly green carpet (and I was sad to say goodbye, but I’m ea- TEL. 610-821-4425; FAX. 610-821-7884 truly terrifying padding) to reveal the ger to fi nd a new old place – with space [email protected] ADVERTISING SALES original fl oors. Then I learned how suitable for a proper shop – on which to ■ COORDINATOR Connie Kostrzewa to use a router to cut and fi t plugs for start renovations (and this time with a TEL. 715-445-4612 x13883 knotholes. I hired someone to sand and far less steep learning curve). [email protected] apply the fi nish – and I still would today. In the meantime I’m renting a NEWSSTAND But the second-fl oor hall and study friend’s home that is currently on the For newsstand sales, contact Scott T. Hill: fl oors couldn’t be salvaged, so I t aught market. While 99.9 percent of my tools [email protected] myself to install new fl oor- are at the offi ce (along w it h my personal SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES: ing atop the pine. bench and tool chest), my miter box is Subscription inquiries, orders and address changes can be I tackled the main bathroom as my affi xed to the small table I set up in my made at popular woodworking.com (click on “Customer Ser v ice”). Or by mail: Popular Woodworking Magazine, next major project, tearing it down to fr iend’s dining room. Part of t he cost of P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. Or call 386- the studs and subfloor, and refram- my (quite reasonable) rent is to inst all 246-3369. Include your address with all inquiries. Allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery. ing one wall. By that time – 2007 – I’d miles of shoe moulding. If the house NEWSSTAND DISTRIBUTION: learned a bit more about making furni- sells before I close on my next one, I’ll Curtis Circulation Co., 730 River Road, New Milford, NJ ture – and that ruined me for rough car- have to move again. 07646. PHONE: 201-634-7400. FAX: 201-634-7499. 1 BACK ISSUES are available. Call 800-258- 0929 for pric- pentry. What the heck is ⁄4" “heavy?” Is there a word for a peripatetic ing or visit shopwoodworking.com. Send check or money Is that 5⁄16"? Or is it 11⁄32"? Yes and yes. moulding installer? order to: Popular Woodworking Magazine Back Issues, F+W Products, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990. Please specify That wall is framed to 32nds. (Yes, I Have miter box; will travel. PWM publication, month and year. know I wasted a lot of time with that.) Copyright ©2015 by F+W, A Content + eCommerce Company. All rights Then came many small jobs: mak- reserved. Popular Woodworking Magazine ing and fi tting 8"-wide base moulding is a registered trademark of F+W, A WorldMags.net Content + eCommerce Company. ■ 6 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 PHOTO BY THE AUTHOR

06_1508_PWM_OOL.indd 6 5/13/15 1:15 PM WorldMags.net

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06_1508_PWM_OOL.indd 7 5/13/15 1:15 PM LETTERSWorldMags.net FROM OUR READERS What’s the Best Slope for a Dovetail?

s there a reason to use a different Charles Hayward, a well-known As far as spacing, well, some folks pre- slope for dovetails based on spacing, mid-20th-century woodworking author- fer pins and tails of close to equal size (a depth or other factors? If so, how ity and author, recommends 12° for coarse very strong joint); others prefer wide tails Idoes one determine this? work, and 7° or 10° for decorative work and narrow pins (also a strong joint, but Francis Stanisci, (with no mention of vs. hard- not as much so). It’s in large part a matter Milton-Freewater, Oregon ). of aesthetics (and the size of your ). Francis, In the 1902 book “Modern Practical Roy Underhill has this to say about it: The answer is yes – but the rationale de- Joinery,” George Ellis recommends 10° “For a heavy chest, you could make pends on who you ask. for all dovetails. them (the pins and tails) equal in size, Just about everyone who cuts dovetails Contemporary dovetail guru Rob Cos- but even when equal spacing would be with any regularity has a favorite angle man uses 10° for softwoods and 8.5° for stronger, a chest looks far better when the based on aesthetics or something they . pins are about half as wide as the boards once read about the “right” dovetail angle. Frank Klausz – who uses his eyeballs are thick, and the tails are about three Or, they lay out dovetails with a jig, and and experience for layout – says his are times as wide as the pins. are locked into the jig’s angle or angles. anywhere from 10° to 15°. “By this guideline, the thickness of the But a look at the historical record (and “The Practical Woodworker,” edited wood determines how many tails and pins at historical examples) shows there is no by Bernard Jones, reads: “…the angle will fi t within a given width. For 3⁄4"-thick, one right angle (and not much at all is said desired by the worker, which should not 11"-wide boards, this comes to eight dove- about spacing). be less than 10° or more than 15°.” tails separated by seven pins, bounded by a half-pin on each end.” (From “The Woodwright’s Guide: Working Wood with 7° Wedge and Edge,” (UNC Press)). So while this might not help you choose No ‘right’ angles. The your angle or spacing, perhaps it at least historical record (and shows that no matter what your choice, modern experts) offers you’ll likely fi nd authoritative support a variety of choices for your decision. (and reasons) for dove- Megan Fitzpatrick, editor tail angles and spacing.

10° 14°

Oak & Blotching #150, #180 and #220 grit and it doesn’t even with a conditioner, it will some- I respect Bob Flexner’s experience and matter; some pieces blotch when times blotch. I have used all kinds of ex pert ise. I disagree w it h him, however, stained. I have even tried thinning stains, but some blotches. about one particular statement he made the stain for the fi rst coat, but it really Martin Hauer, in the April 2015 issue (#217). doesn’t make a difference. via e-mail Bob states that oak does not blotch. Sanding out a blotchy spot doesn’t Martin, I’ve made many projects from red oak, yield great results, either. Oak has spots First, it doesn’t matter how many grits you especially fl at-sawn. I have sanded to that are more porous than others and, sand through; it matters that you sand out WorldMags.net CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 ■ 8 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 ILLUSTRATION BY MARY JANE FAVORITE

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08_1508_PWM_Letters.indd 9 5/14/15 10:10 AM LETTERS WorldMags.netCONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 all the mill marks (from jointers, planers Sam Maloof did some elegant desks etc.) with the coarsest grit. Then sand to with rounded edges; California Round- fi ner and fi ner scratches with fi ner grits. over took the idea way, way past its logi- We all sand differe ntly, but in my opin- cal conclusion. But many of the pieces ion, you are beginning with too fi ne a grit. were indeed fi nished by charring. I can often get away with beginning my Bill Houghton, Highly Recommended sanding with #150 grit on factory pre- Sebastopol, California My hands are incredibly dry, and work- sanded veneered or MDF, but Bill, ing in the shop around lots of on solid wood that I have milled myself, I I did not know that either! I’m probably exacerbates the problem – particularly in almost always begin with #100 gr it, the n too young to remember it, too...but that’s the winter. So I’ve tried just about every sand up to #150 or #180. no excuse (I know Chippendale, after all). cream, lotion, balm and treatment on the market. You may not be removing the mill I’m having a hard time fi nding pictures, While none of them is a magic bullet, marks at all unless you are sanding for a but I’ll keep digging. Thanks for introduc- the best I’ve found (that doesn’t smell like very long time with the #150 grit. ing me to a new style. a perfume counter) is O’Keefe’s Working Second, the term “blotch” is usually Megan Fitzpatrick, editor Hands. It’s a thick paste in the container, used in a negative way to imply ugliness, but let some sit in your hands for a few minutes and body heat softens it enough and that is how I was using the term. Wal- Paint Transfer Concern to rub in. Plus, there’s no oily residue. nut and mahogany blotch, but most people I’ve almost completed my — Megan Fitzpatrick fi nd that blotching attractive. and I want to paint the base with milk Curly , curly cherry and rarer paint. I know Megan Fitzpatrick did the curly oak also blotch, but this blotching same on her LVL bench. I’m worried is valued as well. Other than curly oak, the paint will mar anything I in I can’t recall seeing blotchy oak in well- the leg vise. Has this been a problem? Customer Service How can I contact customer service with questions prepared wood. Ron Guritzky, regarding my subscription, including a lost or damaged issue? The woods known for ugly blotching are via e-mail Visit popularwoodworking.com/customerservice. Or write softwoods such as pine and fi ne-grained Ron, to Popular Woodworking Magazine, P.O. Box 421751, Palm Coast, FL 32142-1751. Or, if you prefer the telephone, woods such as cherry, and maple. It did at fi rst, but after a few weeks, there call 1-877-860-9140 (U.S. & Canada), 386-246-3369 (International) and a customer service representative will As I pointed out in another place in the was no paint transfer (milk paint dries be happy to help you. article, if you followed the manufactur- really hard, but not right away). Also, you When does my subscription expire? The date of your subscription expiration appears on your ers’ directions for using a “conditioner,” could line both sides of the vise – the jaw magazine mailing label, above your name. The date you won’t get good results. So applying and where it meets the leg – with leather. indicates the last issue in your subscription. Can I get back issues of Popular Woodworking this product as manufacturers instruct I did that on my Roubo bench. Magazine? Back issues are available while supplies last. Visit wouldn’t be effective, whate ver the cause Or one more option for you: My tool popularwoodworking.com/backissues. Or if you know the exact month and year of the issue you want, call our of the blotching in your oak. chest is also painted with milk paint, but I customer service department toll-free at 855-840-5118 Bob Flexner, contributing editor top-coated it with satin lacquer. Nothing to order. PWM What if I want more information about the projects or has rubbed off. tools I read about in Popular Woodworking Magazine? Megan Fitzpatrick, editor For all editorial questions, please write to Popular Remember Roundover Style? Woodworking Magazine, 8469 Blue Ash Road, Suite 100, In his article on charred fi nishing in Cincinnati, OH 45236. Or send an e-mail to the April 2015 issue (#217), Seth Gould [email protected]. ON INE EXTRAS Does Popular Woodworking Magazine offer group said he was “hard-pressed to fi nd main- discounts? Group discounts are available by special arrangement with stream examples of burnt wood…as a Letters & Comments the publisher. For more details, send an e-mail to Debbie fi nishing technique.” At popularwoodworking.com/letters you’ll Paolello at [email protected] or call 513- find reader questions and comments, as 531-2690 x11296. Perhaps he’s young enough, or far well as our editors’ responses. Our Privacy Promise to You enough from California, not to have We make portions of our customer list available to carefully experienced the California Round- We want to hear from you. screened companies that offer products and services we Popular Woodworking Magazine welcomes believe you may enjoy. If you do not want to receive offers over style of the 1970s; but charred and and/or information, please let us know by contacting us at: comments from readers. Published cor- List Manager, F+W Media, Inc. deeply w ire-br ushed soft wood fi nishes respondence may be edited for length or 10151 Carver Road, Suite 200 Blue Ash, OH 45242 were common on this style. style. All published letters become the prop- California Roundover was a classic erty of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Safety Note Send your questions and comments Safety is your responsibility. Manufacturers place safety example of the old saying, “give a child devices on their equipment for a reason. In many photos a hammer, and everything he fi nds will [email protected],or you see in Popular Woodworking Magazine, these have by mail to 8469 Blue Ash Road, Suite 100, been removed to provide clarity. In some cases we’ll use an be a nail” – just replace “hammer” w it h awkward body position so you can better see what’s being Cincinnati, OH 45236. demonstrated. Don’t copy us. Think about each procedure “router and a roundover bit.” you’re going to perform beforehand. WorldMags.net ■ 10 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 PHOTO BY MEGAN FITZPATRICK

08_1508_PWM_Letters.indd 10 5/13/15 1:35 PM WorldMags.net 79,*0:065 >66+>69205.:8<(9,:

All our woodworking squares feature a The 641 Square, like its big brother 1281, also Our squares’ handle design The 3⁄4" thick handle easily stands on edge so you notch on the inside corner of the handle sports a 3⁄4" thick handle allowing it to stand on includes a lip so they can can check and adjust assemblies hands-free. The so you can mark your pencil line all the edge. You can check machine setups with both rest on the work unaided. 1281 Square features handy finger holes for a firm way to the edge of your stock. hands free to make adjustments. This handy The cheeks register against grip when checking stock. little square is small enough to tuck into your the stock for precisely shop apron pocket. square layout work.

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c2_1508_PWM_FPAds.indd 11 5/12/15 2:44 PM TRICKS OF THE TRADE EDITED BY MEGAN FITZPATRICK THE WINNER:WorldMags.net Finishing Before Glue-up I had a mortise-and-tenon project on ‘Attractive’ Rest for a which I wanted to finish the parts before assembly. But fi nish can con- taminate the bare wood of the joinery surfaces and prevent a good glue bond. I applied masking tape to the tenons, ome high-end combination Simply attach a 3⁄8"-diameter rare- of course. But the 1⁄4"-wide mortises squares have a built-in lip or tab earth magnet to the head. It allows were difficult to tape off. Instead, I for the purpose of resting the t he square to re st in place, no hand s cut lengths of 1⁄4"-thick plywood and Stool hands-free on a piece of wood. needed. tapped them into the mortises, leaving But because most common combina- Charles Mak, them proud at the top so I could easily tion squares lack this handy feature, I Calgary, Alberta pull them out after the fi nish dried. developed this inexpensive solution. With the tape removed from the tenons and the plywood pulled out of Combination square themortises,Ihadnice,cleansurfaces for the glue joints. Another plus is the finish allows glue squeeze-out from the joinery to be easily wiped away with a damp rag. Robert S. Grisso, Salem, Virginia

On-hand Straightedge A straightedge is handy in every shop, but I don’t think you need to spend Workpiece money on a machinist’s straightedge. Instead, use your jointer (or Rare-earth magnet whatever your longest plane is) as a straightedge. These 22"- to 24"-long tools are more than accurate enough for woodworking. For the greatest accuracy, take a reading of a surface with the tool on the corner between the sidewall and the Keep the Correct Allen Rice Bags as Base Stabilizers sole – you’ll easily be able to see where Wrench Always at Hand Some machinery, such as dust collec- the low and high spots are. Every in my shop requires torsandbandsaws,aresomewhattop- Christopher Schwarz, an Allen wrench for adjusting or re- heavy and can be a little tippy Fort Mitchell, Kentucky moving components. The problem is, To help overcome this slight nui- each one is a different size, and some sance, try placing a sand- or gravel- are metric while others are Imperial. I filled rice or bean bag on the base. used to spend a lot of time finding and Thesetypeofbagsareusuallylined Welding Pencil on Dark Wood trying various Allen wrenches before with plastic, which keeps the small If you have trouble seeing layout lines fi nding the one that fit. grainsofsandfromescaping,andthey on dark wood, stop by the welding sup- Finally, I gotsmartandgluedarare- have strong, durable handles. plie s area of your local home center and earth magnet, with the appropriate Ihavealsofoundthesesand-or pick up a welder’s pencil or t wo. The se Allen wrench attached, to each tool. gravel-filled bags to be very useful in silver pencils show up great on walnut, End of problem. large flat glue-ups to press seams level. and the like. Bill Wells, Fr. Chrysanthos Agiogregorities, Derek Olson, Olympia, Washington Etna, California La Crosse, Wisconsin WorldMags.net ■ 12 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARY JANE FAVORITE

12_1508_PWM_Tricks.indd 12 5/13/15 1:39 PM WorldMags.net Avoid Frustration While While sanding the edging fl ush, as Sanding Thin Veneer the line begins to fade it’s time to move I have been using 3⁄4"-thick birch ply- on. This trick has saved me a lot of do- wood with an applied maple edge to overs and frustration. make some wonderfully grained con- Elliott Sheffi eld, ference tables and workstations – but Boise, Idaho there is one issue I have had to learn to deal with. Maple edge With the fi nish veneer on ply wood products getting so thin these days, it is easy to sand through the fi rst layer and ruin the look of the top, creating Finished a “do-over.” I hate do-overs. plywood top After installing the maple just a fi n- gernail proud of the plywood, I make a #2 pencil line 1⁄4" in from the maple edge on the plywood top. ONLINE EXTRAS For links to all online extras, go to: ■ popularwoodworking.com/aug15 as Scraper spokeshave, this equates to a 70° to 75° TRICKS ONLINE: We post tricks from the past On Curved Surfaces cutting angle, which will produce zero and fi lm videos of some Tricks of the Trade Card scrapers work poorly on curved tear-out in virtually any wood. in use in our shop. They’re available online, surfaceswithtear-out;theytendtoride So work w it h a pair of spoke shave s: free. Visit popularwoodworking.com/tricks the low spots created by deep tears. To one set up -down for shaping and to read and watch. overcome this problem, I always work stock removal, the other with its blade Our products are available online at: withapairofspokeshaves.Thetrick bevel-up for a light, tear-out-free fi nish- ■ ShopWoodworking.com is that one of the should ing cut. PWM Cash and prizes have its blade flipped bevel-up, adding Joe Powers, for your tricks and tips! 25°to30°tothecuttingangle. Palo Alto, California Each issue we publish woodworking tips Every spokeshave I’ve used will al- from our readers. Next issue’s winner low you to flip the blade. On a typical receives a $250 gift certifi cate from Lee Val- ley Tools, good for any item in the catalog or on the web site (leevalley.com). (The tools pictured below are for illustration only and are not part of the prize.) Runners-up each receive a check for $50 to $100. When submitting a trick, include your mailing address and phone number. All accepted entries become the High-angle 70°+ property of Popular Woodworking spokeshave for cutting smoothing angle Magazine. Send your trick by e-mail to [email protected], or mail it to Tricks of the Trade, Popular Woodworking Magazine, 8469 Blue Ash Road, Suite 100, Cincinnati, OH 45236.

Typical 45° spokeshave cutting for shaping angle

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12_1508_PWM_Tricks.indd 13 5/13/15 1:40 PM TOOL TESTWorldMags.net BY THE STAFF Kreg Precision Router Table Simple micro-adjust feature and a solid base make this one a contender.

ome router tables have gotten so complex and expensive that they actually rival a decent shaper. I’ve Salways preferred simple router tables, so I was curious to assemble and use the new Kreg Precision Router Table. Like most Kreg products, the parts are well-made, nicely fi nished and fi t toget her w it h litt le fussing. In part icu- lar, the base is made from heav y, well- fi nished steel. And the 1"-thick tabletop is smooth and fl at. All the components bolt together, so I recommend you add a little thread-locking fl uid to the nuts and bolts to keep the base solid through years of use (router tables tend to vi- brate a bit). Let’s start by looking at the tabletop. Heavy-duty. The steel base of the Kreg router It’s made from a high-pressure lami- table helps it stay put when you are running nate over an MDF core. To keep the heavy stock, one of its many advantages over top from sagging under the weight of benchtop units. Plus, the simple micro-adjust a heavy router (or lift), Kreg includes feature allows you to make tiny changes with surprising and measurable ease. two heavy folded steel supports below that stiffen the top. The included 3⁄8"-thick insert plate an included tool. Finally, there is an that problem, or perhaps a little rosin is made from phenolic and stayed fl at aluminum T-track at the front of the on the threads of the machine screw when I hung a heavy 13⁄4 horsepower table so you can use a sled or that locks everything. router on it. The insert plate needs to other shop-made accessories that use One of the nicest features of the be drilled and counterbored for your a miter bar. fence is its micro-adjust knob. Nor- particular router, or you can ask Kreg to One of those accessories is the in- mally, these are too complex to be effec- do it for you. The plate is leveled to the cluded router table fence. Surprisingly, tive. The Kreg is ingenious, dead-nuts t abletop w it h eight Allen-head screws it locks like a T-square fence for a table simple and doesn’t get in the way when and secured with four machine screws. saw on the right-hand side of the table. it’s not needed. The fence also includes The router table comes with three Then you lock the left end of the fence a decent dust-collection port, a guard plastic throat inserts that have differ- with a toggle. This system allows the to keep your fi ngers intact and the alu- ent openings for large and small bits. fence to stay parallel to the miter slot, minum T-track on its top so you can They lock and unlock cleverly with which is handy for cope cuts. add a variety of stops and accessories, The T-square fence moves smoothly such as featherboards. and allows you to square it – both to At $499, you would be hard-pressed Precision Router Table the miter slot and to ensure the fence to build a router table this nice without Kreg ■ kregtool.com or 800-447-8638 is 90° to the table (a nice touch). One some serious scavenging for parts. So ■ of my few beefs with the fence is the if you want a table that is simple, well- Street price from $499

■ toggle clamp on the left end. After set- made and gets you to the part where BLOG If you don’t want to own a router ting it to lock nicely, it would loosen you are making furniture (not shop table, check out this solution. up after a couple of operations on the appliances), the Kreg is real contender. Price correct at time of publication. router table. An F-style clamp can fi x — Christopher Schwarz WorldMags.net CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 ■ 14 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR

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14_1508_PWM_ToolTest.indd 15 5/13/15 1:44 PM TOOL TESTWorldMags.net CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 Texas Heritage Woodworks Auger Bit Roll I’ve been looking for a long time for the roll from Texas Her it age Woodwork s. perfect storage and transport solution It is extremely well-made, with dou- for my auger bits. For a while, they were ble-stitched seams and hand-peened, wrapped in kitchen towels – less than copper-riveted stress points (the four ideal. I have two of my grandfather’s corners of every pocket), and a supple old canvas tool rolls, but t hey bot h have leather tie that wraps around the roll holes in them where pointy bits have to keep everything in place. poked through over the decades. I have The roll has 15 full-size pockets that a couple leather ones, which work fi ne, accommodate a full set of standard au- but are somewhat heavy and bulky. And ger bits, and fi ve small pockets for other I have one sailcloth one I sewed myself brace accessories such as spoon bits (it works, but it is embarrassingly ugly; and driver tips. sewing is not among my talents). With the pockets fully loaded, it But, I recently bought (at full price, rolls up to a snug 31⁄2" or so in diameter, of course) a waxed canvas auger bit which fi ts nicely in the second tray of my tool chest (or in a drawer). a more than fair price for something Like all Texas Heritage Woodworks that is well-made, maker-made and Auger Bit Roll products, the auger bit rolls are made by will keep my bits protected for years Texas Heritage ■ txheritage.net the company’s owner, Jason Thigpen, to come. In fact, I like the auger bit Street price ■ $85 who recently turned his hobby into a roll so much that I’m about to place an ■ full-time job. order for a tool roll as well, to hold a BLOG Read about the company’s tool roll. Yes, at $85 it is a little spendy, but set of chisels. Price correct at time of publication. given the workmanship, I think that’s — Megan Fitzpatrick Trend Diamond Whetstone Honing & Polishing Kit To be frank, I’m not a fan of sharpening grit (50 micron) for occasional grind- hand tools using diamond systems be- ing; the other is #1,000 grit (10 micron) cause I don’t fi nd the fi nal edge as ideal for daily honing chores. The stone is as one produced on oilstones or water- lubricated by a light petroleum-based stones. That said, the new Trend Dia- oil (included) that keeps the stone free mond Honing & Polishing kit (DWS/ of rust and swarf. Plus, you get an eraser KIT/B) gets so many things bang-on for cleaning the stone. correct that it is worth recommending The second important part of the for beginners. system is a honing guide and angle- For starters, for a $200 investment, setting jig. This side-clamp guide you get everything – everything – you is worlds away better than a typical need to grind, hone and polish tools. Eclipse guide. It clamps tools up to There’s nothing else to buy. 21⁄2" wide securely, but has two fl aws. The heart of the system is a two- It runs on a wide 21⁄2" roller, which is duce as durable an edge because of t he sided diamond plate. One side is #300 great for straight edges, but prevents remaining deep diamond scratches. you from cambering bench plane irons. You also get an instructional DVD Honing & Polishing Kit Second, it won’t hold a blade for a No. and handy carrying case. In all, it’s a Trend ■ trend-uk.com or 877-918-7363 8 and some odd-shaped tools. But all- good product for people who work in ■ in-all, it’s great for beginners. the fi eld or are just starting out. As you Street price from $200

■ Also included is a leather strop with become more skilled, you’ll want to add BLOG What do sharpening scratches look honing compound for a fi nal polish. fi ner stones to the system to chase after like? Check it out in this blog post. Stropping a diamond edge will improve edges that produce perfect surfaces. PWM Price correct at time of publication. its cutting action, but it doesn’t pro- — CS WorldMags.net ■ 16 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 PHOTOS BY AL PARRISH

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14_1508_PWM_ToolTest.indd 17 5/13/15 1:44 PM DESIGNWorldMags.net MATTERS BY GEORGE R. WALKER The Soup-can Curve We’ve all done it – but speed does have disadvantages.

e might admire a graceful curve in nature without understanding what lends itW a sense of spring and vitality. Small details can often make the difference between a curve that sings and one that just seems to plod along. If you’re like me, you may have reached for a coffee cup or soup can to trace a curve to guide a saw cut. For a smaller arc, we might fi sh out a nickel; for a larger arc, we grab a bucket or paint can to trace. One woodworker shared with me that she used a circular drip pan from a water heater to trace an arc. This method has one primary advantage t hat cannot be discounted – speed. Just grab that coffee cup off the shelf (being careful not to spill), trace a pencil line It’s fast, but ... If speed is your need, a soup can provides a quick template to trace a curve on that bracket foot. But is there a better way? around the rim and go. Yet all arcs traced from a soup can are Rites of spring. not equal. There are a few subtle points A View Askew The arc on top that lend a natural and organic feel to It makes no difference what tool you is defined by a a curve. Once you understand this, it’s use, an arc is just a portion of a circle square and has a a bit of a curse. You’ll spot an awkward and it doesn’t matter whether you trace mechanical feel mechanical-looking curve and think the rim of a garbage-can lid or draw it to it. The other two have a bit to yourself, “soup-can curve.” with a . of spring. Note I prefer a compass layout for two they both fall important reasons. It can be adjusted short of either to any size arc, and, more important, connecting true a compass layout helps ensure that the vertical or true horizontal. arc has an organic feel to it, and is not static and mechanical looking. Just how do we avoid a curve that seems forced or artifi cial? First, it’s important to realize a few from a straight vertical and fl ows into things our eyes naturally key on. We a true horizontal. This tends to look all have an awareness of when things static and mechanical, or “soup can.” are plumb and level. A slightly tilted Another way to visualize it is that an picture on a wall can drive us batty. arc that springs tangent from vertical Even when we’ve used a carpenter’s and fl ows tangent into horizontal is de- level, we still step back and confi rm it fi ned by a square – the height is equal to Lively curves. Nature is our model. It is with our eye. the width or extension. Perhaps that’s replete with curves that effortlessly carry the When it comes to curves, our eye will what lends it the mechanical feel. eye and have a sense of life. pick up on any curve that springs up If you observe curves springing from WorldMags.net CONTINUED ON PAGE 20 ■ 18 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 PHOTOS & DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOR

18_1508_PWM_DesignMatters.indd 18 5/13/15 1:47 PM SHOP FOX® machines are WorldMags.netSINCE 1989! backed by a 2 Year Warranty! TRACK SAW 14" BANDSAW PLANER MOULDER with Stand • Motor: 120V, 9A, 1100 watt, 5500 RPM • Motor: 1 HP, 110V/220V • Motor: 2 HP, 240V, single-phase, 1 • Blade diameter: 160mm (6 ⁄4") • Precision-ground cast iron table 10.8A, 3450 RPM 1 • Cutting capacity: size: 14" x 14" x1 ⁄2" • Precision-ground cast iron table 31 7 1 1 7 With track:1 ⁄32" @ 90°, 1 ⁄16" @ 45° • Blade size: 93 ⁄2" size: 14 ⁄8" x 10" x ⁄16" 5 5 1 3 Without track: 2 ⁄32" @ 90°, 1 ⁄8" @ 45° (⁄8" to ⁄4" wide) • Max planing width: 7" 1 • Cutting capacity 13 ⁄2" (throat) • Max planing height: 1 • Cast iron frame and wheels 7 ⁄2" ter • Ball bearing blade guides • Cuts per minute: nd • Includes fence and miter 14,000 • 2 HSS knives

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c2_1508_PWM_FPAds.indd 19 5/12/15 2:45 PM DESIGN MATTERSWorldMags.net CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18 nature, you will note that they often to fi nd that “Goldilocks” arc that feels spr ing slight ly askew of t r ue vert ical or just right. Given end just shy of horizontal. Take a look An arc where the height-to-width radius at the curves in mouldings on tradi- ratio is closer together, say four parts tional furniture. If you observe closely, high to five parts wide, will have a you will notice the height of the curve strong, compact sense to it. Increas- compared to its width is not the same, ing the difference, say three parts high Fulcrum thus it is not defi ned by a square. to fi ve parts wide, will result in a more To create a lively looking curve, you gradual, gentle arc. want something that appears to spring Once you have established the be- in motion and fl ow upward. It’s OK to ginning and ending points, you need have a curve spring from vertical, but to locate a fulcrum point to draw your it will have more lift if it ends just shy arc with a compass. of horizontal. Here is a simple method for locat- Fulcrum Conversely, a curve can fl ow into ing an unknown fulcrum when all you a horizontal line, but it will feel more know is where the curve begins and organic if it begins slightly askew from ends. vertical. The key is to not begin at ver- First, understand that any two dif- tical and end at horizontal with the ferent radii on a given arc will intersect same curve. atthecenter,orfulcrumpoint.Soall Given radius youhavetodotofindafulcrumisto Find the fulcrum. The given radius springs Practical Layout Strategies find two different radius lines. from the end where the arc runs tangent to First, establish thestartingandending To locate a fulcrum for an arc that vertical or horizontal. Use the end points points of an arc by asking: what is the springs up from straight vertical, you marked by arrows to draw a pair of intersect- curve’s function? Do you want it to tie alreadyhaveoneradiuslinegiven.Just ing arcs. Connect the intersections with a seamlessly into a horizontal line like extendahorizontallinefromthespring line and extend it. Where it crosses the given radius is the fulcrum. the cutout that spans a cabinet base? point or beginning point and know In that case, you might spring it up that the fulcrum will lie somewhere slightly askew from vertical, then let along that line. andradiuslines)inyourinnereye.The it fl ow tangent to a horizontal. This arc Tolocateasecondradius,openyour ability to visualize is one of the keys to will be shorter in height than width. compass wide and use the beginning making better design decisions. Or, is this curve meant to carry andendpointsofyourcurvetodraw So send that empty soup can to the the eye upward like a large cove in a twooverlappingarcs.Alinedrawn recycle bin. PWM crown moulding? That curve springs through where those arcs overlap is tangent to vertical, but ends just shy of your second radius. Where it touches George is the author of two design DVDs horizontal and will be taller in height the given radius is your new fulcrum. (Lie-Nielsen Toolworks) and writer of the Design Matters blog. than width. You can experiment with Use the same method to find the ful- different height-to-widthcombinations crum for a curve that terminates at horizontal, but in that case, the given radius is a vertical line dropping from ONLINE EXTRAS the termination point. For links to all these online extras, go to: ■ popularwoodworking.com/aug15 Sharpen Your Inner Eye BLOG: Read more from George R. Walker on OK,Iadmitthatonceyouunderstand his Design Matters blog. how to avoid a static-looking curve, IN OUR STORE: George R. Walker’s DVDs. you can use that knowledge to trace a Our products are available online at: gracefularcwithjustasoupcan.But ■ ShopWoodworking.com thereareotherreasonsbesidethesize About This Column Lift the gaze. The limitations of the can. Design Matters dives into large arc in this cove By actually taking your hands and the basics of proportions, moulding is taller in forms, contrast and compo- height than it is wide; eyes through these simple geometric sition to give you the skill to tackle furniture this helps the eye fl ow layouts,youwillbegintovisualizethe design challenges with confidence. upward. arcanditshiddenstructure(focalpoint WorldMags.net 20 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

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18_1508_PWM_DesignMatters.indd 21 5/13/15 1:48 PM WorldMags.netTraveling

Tool ChestBY CHRISTOPHER SCHWARZ

Historic proportions and details are still the best.

WorldMags.net 22 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

22_1508_PWM_ToolChest.indd 22 5/13/15 1:53 PM ince I started woodworking in about 1993, I’ve stored my tools in almost everyWorldMags.net way imaginable S– from plastic buckets to wall cabinets, racks and a variety of tool chests. After exploring each of these meth- od s, I kept coming back to a t radit ional tool chest because I have not found a better way to protect and organize my tools. I also appreciate the fi nite capac- ity of a tool chest – it forces me to think Ease the entry. Beveling the interior corners hard before buy ing an addit ional tool. The gang’s all here. When cutting through- of the tail boards makes assembly easier. And During most visits to the tool store dovetails, I gang-cut the tail boards to save you are much less likely to damage your tails time and effort. when driving them into the pins. I conclude: If it doesn’t fi t in the chest, I probably don’t need it. fairly tough and can easily be trans- such as pine. The parts that will see The Right Chest Size ported to schools. When I build tool heavy wear are oak. We’ll discuss the Tool chests are built in a number of chests for customers, this is far and interior fi ttings after we get the carcase fairly standard sizes that are based on away the most requested size. complete. the sizes of typical tools and the limits of our bodies. How it’s Built Make the Shell Large fl oor chests are usually about The carcase is dovetailed together – the Join the corners of the carcase with 24" x 24" x 40" and are designed to hold strongest joint available. The bottom through-dovetails – six dovetails at full-size saws and large jointer planes, boards are, however, nailed onto the each corner are suitable for a chest which can be longer than 30". These carcase so they are easily replaced if this size. Smooth the inside faces of chests also hold a full set of moulding they rot. Speaking of rot, the entire the boards and assemble the carcase. planes, bench planes and all the small chest sits on two oak “rot strips” Once the glue is dry, level the joints tools needed to make any piece of furni- screwed to the bottom boards, keep- and remove the tool marks from the ture. These chests are diffi cult to move ing the chest off a wet fl oor. case’s exterior. alone, which is a disadvantage if you The bottom and top skirts on this Now fetch the pine bottom boards. are by yourself, but is an advantage if chest are mitered and nailed to the car- The grain should run from front to someone is trying to steal your chest case. I typically dovetail the skirts at back in the chest (for strength), and (the thief needs an accomplice). the corners, but a well-made miter can the long edges of the boards should Medium-size chests are just big survive just fi ne. have some sort of joint to accommodate enough to hold panel saws and smaller The lid is a thick panel that is sur- wood movement. I used the tongue- metal jointer planes – about 18" x 18" rounded by a dust seal on three sides; and- joint. Then I cut a 3⁄16" x 30" – and can be picked up by one the seal pieces are dovetailed at the on the tongue boards as decoration. person. It’s an ideal size for someone corners because this area of a tool chest Attach the bottom boards to the who works alone, has to move the chest takes heaps of abuse. carcase with 6d headed nails – I used on occasion and doesn’t require a full Most of the carcase is made from cut clouts. Be sure to leave some room set of moulding planes. a lightweight and inexpensive wood between the boards for expansion and This medium-size chest can hold a remarkable amount of tools – two panel saws, three , the three standard bench planes, a plane, plow and all fi t on its fl oor. The two sliding trays and rack hold everything else you (should) need. Smaller chests – the third size – were usually used for site work or by “gent le- men” woodworkers who had a small kit of tools. The medium-size chest in this ar- Groove your bottom, then tongue it. I use ticle is ideal for someone getting started Long sleeves. Sleeve the assembled carcase a tongue-and-groove plane to cut the joints in woodworking with a small shop and over your benchtop to make it easy to level on the long edges of the bottom boards. This a budding kit of tools. It’s easy to build, the front and back of the chest. plane cuts both the male and female bits. WorldMags.net LEAD PHOTO BY AL PARRISH; STEP PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR; ■ ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAN PESSELL FROM THE AUTHOR’S MODEL popularwoodworking.com 23

22_1508_PWM_ToolChest.indd 23 5/13/15 1:54 PM contraction. Trim the bottom boards fl ush with the carcase. WorldMags.netThe last bit on the shell is to attach the rot strips to the underside of the bottom boards. I use water-resistant white oak and attach it to the bottom with waterproof glue and brass screws. After fi nishing, I oil and wax these rot strips to make them repel water.

Resist rot. Either make your rot strips impervi- Tweaked. If your carcase isn’t square, clamp ous to water (plastic would work, too), or Mitered Skirting across the long diagonal to pull it square while make them so they will rot off immediately The bottom skirt protects the carcase you nail on the bottom boards. by using pine and iron nails. Either way works. from kicks and bumps. The top skirt

29" 181⁄2"

13⁄8" 15⁄8"

6" 21⁄2"

163⁄8" 12"

31⁄4"

171⁄2" 4" 3⁄4" 13⁄8" 19" ELEVATION PROFILE

161⁄2"

7" 1⁄2 3 7 " 2 ⁄4" 1 1 5 ⁄2" ⁄4" thick 7"

3 1 ⁄4 5 ⁄2" " 1 ⁄2" thick 7 53⁄4" ⁄8"-thick spacer 7 ⁄8" 61⁄2" 7⁄8" thick 55⁄8" 4" 1 7 ⁄4 3 ⁄8 5 " 5 ⁄4" "

5 3 2 ⁄8" 5 ⁄8"

7⁄8"

INTERIOR FITTINGS WorldMags.net 24 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

22_1508_PWM_ToolChest.indd 24 5/13/15 1:54 PM helps seal the interior from dust and protects the lid’s dust seal. The skirting Traveling Tool Chest NO. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) MATERIAL 1⁄2 is "-thick stuffWorldMags.net that wraps around T W L theentirecarcaseandismiteredatthe ❏ 2 Front/back 3⁄4 147⁄8 28 Pine corners. ❏ 2 Ends 3⁄4 147⁄8 18 Pine Before cutting the miters, however, ❏ 5⁄ cut any moulding or . These are 1 Bottom* 8 28 18 Pine ❏ 3 3 1 notjustdecorative–a90°corneris 2 Rot strips ⁄4 1⁄8 17 ⁄2 Oak ❏ 1 1 fragile and will quickly splinter off in 2 Bottom skirt, front/back ⁄2 3⁄4 29 Pine ❏ 1 1 theshop.Iuseda3⁄8"squareovoloon 2 Bottom skirt, ends ⁄2 3⁄4 19 Pine ❏ 1 5 thebottomskirt.Thetopskirthasa1⁄8" 2 Top skirt, front/back ⁄2 1⁄8 29 Pine ❏ beadonitstopedgeanda30°bevelon 2 Top skirt, ends 1⁄2 15⁄8 19 Pine ❏ the bottom edge. 2 Chest lifts 11⁄4 13⁄4 12 Oak ❏ Now attach the skirting to the car- 1 Lid panel 7⁄8 181⁄16 283⁄8 Pine** ❏ case.Imitermouldingwithamiter 1 Dust seal, front 1⁄2 11⁄2 29 Pine ❏ box, which I find more accurate than 2 Dust seal, ends 1⁄2 11⁄2 19 Pine power equipment. All the miters here were assembled right from the saw. INTERIOR FITTINGS ❏ That’s not because I’m awesome; it’s 2 Bottom runners 7⁄8 7⁄8 161⁄2 Oak ❏ becauseamiterboxallowsyoutoput 2 Middle runners 1⁄2 51⁄2 161⁄2 Oak ❏ asawtoothrightonaknifeline. 2 Top runners 1⁄4 23⁄4 161⁄2 Oak Glue and nail the skirting to the BOTTOM TRAY carcase – don’t forget to apply glue to ❏ 2 Front/back 1⁄2 51⁄8 253⁄8 Pine ❏ 2 Ends 1⁄2 51⁄8 8 Pine ❏ 1 Bottom 1⁄4 8 251⁄2 Oak

TOP TRAY ❏ 2 Front/back 1⁄2 21⁄2 257⁄8 Pine ❏ 2 Ends 1⁄2 21⁄2 8 Pine ❏ 1 Bottom 1⁄4 8 26 Oak

TOOL HOLDERS ❏ 1 Panel-saw till 7⁄8 25⁄8 53⁄4 Oak ❏ 2 tills 7⁄8 4 53⁄4 Oak ❏ 1 Rack, front piece 1⁄4 3⁄4 251⁄2 Oak ❏ 4 Rack spacers 5⁄8 3⁄4 1 Oak

Completely stuck. Mould the entire stick *Made from multiple boards; **Plywood if making a lid of wood before cutting it apart for mitering. This ensures the moulding will match at the corners. Yes, clamp. Glue the short grain of each miter and clamp it at the corners. The glue will have more strength this way.

Miters all around. I begin mitering at one front corner of the chest. I get that joint per- fect, then I make my way around the carcase. WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 25

22_1508_PWM_ToolChest.indd 25 5/13/15 1:54 PM the miters themselves. Then clamp the corners while the glue dries. At 257⁄8" this point I wouldWorldMags.net typically work on thelidanditsdustseal.Butbecause 21⁄2" JameelAbrahamwasworkingonthelid panel(you’llseethatarticleinthenext 26" issueofthismagazine),Ifittedoutthe 8" 1⁄4" interiorwithtrays,sawtillsandarack.

The Interior 253⁄8" The arrangement shown in this chest is typical and works well. On the floor

ofthechestaretwosmallsawtills– 51⁄8" oneforbacksawsandtheotherfortwo panelsaws.Ilikethesetillsbecause they take up little space. 251⁄2" 1⁄4 Floating above the floor are two slid- 8" " ing trays – one deep and one shallow. Thedeeptrayisforbulkytoolssuch asthebraceandbit,plusanythingina TRAYS toolroll.Thetoptrayisforallthesmall toolsyouuseeveryday–layouttools, a , a , hammer and The walls of the trays are made from by first making a spacer board from wax, for example. pine. The bottoms and the runners they somescrapthatis51⁄4" wide (see photo slide on are made from oak to resist atleft).Iusethatasatemporaryshelf wear. to hold the lower runners in position On the back wall of the chest is a while I glue and nail them. simple rack for holding chisels and After the lower runners are in- other small or handled tools – dividers, stalled, remove the spacer and install combination squares and screwdrivers. the runners above, also with nails and glue.Icutasmallbeadonthetopedge Install the Runners of each to protect the corner from dam- The sliding trays run on oak runners age and to up the interior a bit. that are affi xed to the inside of the car- case. There are three layers of runners Build the Trays for the two trays, all of different thick- Thetraysaredovetailedatthecorners This high. The 51⁄4"-wide spacer acts as a nesses and widths so that the trays can andeachhasathinoakbottomthatis shelf when installing the runner above it. The be pulled up and out of the carcase. nailedon.Theinterestingdetailhereis 51⁄4" height is critical for holding standard The lowest runners are installed that the finished trays are 1⁄8"smaller bench planes below the bottom tray. 51⁄4" from the fl oor of the chest – that than the bottoms are long. In other gives your bench planes the headroom words, the bottoms are 1⁄16" proud on they need. I install these lower runners either end of the assembled trays.

SUPP I S Tremont Nail Co. tremontnail.com or 800-835-0121 1 ■ 6d clout nails #CT6, $12.71 (1 lb. box) Peter Ross, Blacksmith peterrossblacksmith.com, 919-663-3309 or [email protected] 2 ■ Chest hinges Smooth-sliding bottom. The bottom boards ■ are the only part that touches the runners. So Proud bottom. Here you can see how the 1 Crab lock shoot them to perfect length until you get the bottom protrudes from the end of the tray, Call for pricing. sliding action you want with zero racking. making the tray a cinch to fi t. WorldMags.net 26 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

22_1508_PWM_ToolChest.indd 26 5/13/15 1:54 PM WorldMags.net

Loading up. The backsaw till offers more protection than the panel-saw till because backsaws are more fragile.

Chest Lifts While you should carry your chest by holding its bottom (or put it on a Rack at the back. This simple rack can hold a Quick saw till. Kerf the block of wood for the cart), the lifts help you get the chest variety of tools. My other favorite form of rack saws, then shape the block so it looks nice into position or to balance your load. 1 is a board that is poked with ⁄2"-diameter (top). Then screw it to the side of the carcase Each lift is made from a single piece of holes on 11⁄8" centers. and to a bottom board (bottom). oak that looks like a dog’s bone when you begin. You turn down the center This detail makes the trays easy to back wall is made from scrap bit s of oak to make a handle. Then shape the ends fi t. You only have to get the bottoms that I glued together, then screwed onto of the “bone” to make them look nice. to slide smoothly on the runners. The the back wall with No. 8 x 11⁄4" screws. I used a simple curve. trays never touch the runners or inter- The saw till for the panel saws is The proper way to attach the lifts is fere with the sliding action. simply one piece of oak with two kerfs to screw them in place from both the So fi t the bottom boards so they are cut into it. One kerf is for the crosscut outside and the inside of the chest. The a close but smooth fi t on the runners. saw and the second for the . This screws from the outside pass through Now dovetail and assemble the till holds the saws at their tips. The the narrow ends of the lifts. The screws trays. Then nail or screw the bottoms weight of the handle and the teeth at on. If you need to use multiple boards the heel of the saw prevents the tools for the bottoms, shiplap the joints at from whipping around in the chest. their mating edges. The till for the backsaws is made and attached in the same manner. The only Racks & Tills difference is that there are two blocks I like simple racks and tills for my of wood and three kerfs in each for the chests because that leaves more room dovetail, carcase and tenon saw. This to arrange the tools. The rack on the till is at the back of the chest.

Turn the bone. The center section of the dog Screwed either way. Affi x the lifts bone is turned down to 1" diameter. Then the bone. Then shape the ends of the lifts. This with stout #8 screws from both the remove the piece from the lathe. shape leaves plenty of meat for the screws to bite into. inside and outside of the carcase. WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 27

22_1508_PWM_ToolChest.indd 27 5/13/15 1:55 PM from the inside are driven into the thick “There’d be as many as 60 cabinet part near the handle. makers in some of these rooms and WorldMags.netthey all had these chests all paint- The Lid ed black and if you opened them If you are skipping the marquetry up, oh inside would be veneered panel, make the lid from a and all the trays in mahogany with that doesn’t move much, such as one lids on them. Beautiful.” of the white . And glue it up from — from “Memories of Waring & Gillow several pieces of quartersawn or rift- of Lancaster. An Oral History by Gillow sawn stock to further reduce seasonal Craftsmen 1928 to 1962,” by Pauline Bell movement. Aftercuttingthepaneltosize–it’s a bit larger than the rim of the carcase Iattachthesealusingacombina- Keyholed. The only tough part about install- –attachittothecarcasewithhinges. tion of glue and nails. Glue and nail ing a crab lock is cutting a well-placed and With the lid in its final position, you thefrontedgeofthedustsealtothe crisp keyhole. I bore the hole for the round thencanbuildthedustsealaroundit lid. To attach the “returns” along the part of the key. Then I cut the remainder with a . to create a perfect fit. endsofthechest,useglueandnails Afterbuildingabout20ofthese along the front 4" of the lid. Then use chests,Ihavefoundabetterwayto nails alone for the rest. This fastening The Best Finish make the dust seal fit. I rabbet each method allows the top to move. Almost all traditional tool chests were piece until that piece fits perfectly flush To keep the chest secure, I installed painted.Itisthemostdurableandeasy- with the top skirt and the top edge of atraditionalcrablock–ablacksmith- to-renew finish. You can use any paint the lid. I can adjust this fit in tiny incre- made lock built for chests that allows youlike–milkpaint,oilpaintorlatex. ments with a . for some wood movement. They are Painttheoutsideofthechest,butleave Then,onceallthreepiecesofthe easy to install because they are surface- theinsideofthechestbare–orusea dust seal fit perfectly, I dovetail them mountedtotheinsideofthechest.And coat of wax alone if you like. together at the corners. they are gorgeous. Ifyouinsistonafilmfinishforthe inside, use shellac. Please avoid oils – Rabbet the seal. The they will stink forever. rabbet on this piece Once your chest is complete, my of the dust seal allows final caution is to avoid bringing it into you to sneak up on the perfect fi t all around. yourhouse.Manychestslikethisbegin theirlivesintendingtoholdtoolsbut somehowendupatthefootofthebed stuffed with blankets and doilies. A sad situation, indeed. PWM

Christopher is the editor at Lost Art Press and is the author of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest.”

ON INE EXTRAS For links to all online extras, go to: ■ popularwoodworking.com/aug15 Rabbeted dovetails. This joinery looks a VIDEO: Take a short video tour of the chest. little involved, but it’s BLOG: Read more about making “dog bone” actually simple. Begin chest lifts. by cutting a tail on the seal, then show it to its BLOG: Read about a commercial crab lock. mate. You’ll then know PLAN: Download a free SketchUp model of what to do. the traveling tool chest.

TO BUY: “Build a Traditional Tool Chest in Two Days,” a video by Christopher Schwarz available on DVD or as a digital download. Our products are available online at: ■ ShopWoodworking.com WorldMags.net 28 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

22_1508_PWM_ToolChest.indd 28 5/13/15 1:55 PM WorldMags.net

Shop-made Saw Vise B YJASONTHIGPEN CombineCombinewood,leatherandsteel wood, leather and steel for a new take on an old tool.

f you sharpen your own handsaws, rehab, I began to design my own saw threads-per-inch Acme-threaded screw a proper saw vise is an essential vise. The result is a vise that not only and wing nut. Acme thread is capable tool. The jaws on a saw vise clamp has a classic look, it is a workhorse that of applying a great deal of force, and down tightly on the saw plate, has greatly surpassed the performance the threads won’t gall, strip or weaken holding it securely as you file each of any other vise I’ve tried, new or old. over time. Itooth. A well-built saw vise will absorb All you need to make it are a few off- I used this combination with great vibration and chatter, resulting in faster the-shelf components and a weekend. success on a Moxon vise I built during fi ling, longer fi le life and better re sult s. You can use any hardwood you like, the past year. The wing-nut assembly There are a handful of new in provided it’s straight-grained rift-sawn can be easily made if you have acce ss to production today and vintage versions or quartersawn material. For this vise, a welder. If not, buddy up with a local are plentiful. Vintage versions are great, I used some hard maple and white oak welder and have him or her fabricate but damage and wear can pose prob- scraps. one for you. It’s simple and straight- lems. The clamping mechanisms on a forward. lot of old vises are a weak spot, either Clamping Mechanism Using a hacksaw, cut a 41⁄2" length broken or worn past the point of use. This shop-made saw vise excels due to a of threaded rod. Weld a nut on one After months of searching for a well- few key features that all work together. end, creating the threaded post. For made unit that wouldn’t require a lot of The heart of the system is the 5⁄8", eight the wing nut, cut two 21⁄4"-long pieces WorldMags.net ■ PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR; ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAN PESSELL FROM THE AUTHOR’S MODEL popularwoodworking.com 29

29_1508_PWM_SawVise2.indd 29 5/13/15 2:03 PM rotate the workpiece and make a pass adding slope to my gullets if needed. on the other long edge. Incrementally Mark a 1⁄4" fl at along the jaw face, WorldMags.netmove the fence away with each succes- then two bevels on the edges. Then sive pass until the recess is complete. mark and drill 11⁄2"-diameter holes for Change to a rip blade, then rip the the inside corners of the jaw cutaway. piece in half. You are left with two jaws Rough out the on the band that are 4" x 18", and each has a 1"-wide saw; clean up t he cut s w it h handplane s. “grip” at the top. The goal is to remove as much “vi- The jaws are shaped to work w it h t he sual” weight from the vise as possible saws in my arsenal. I prepared a tem- while retaining its mass and strength plate for the jaws using posterboard, where needed (similar to the concept Ready for welding. I chuck the handles in then placed each saw I own on it to behind Windsor chair seats). my drill press and buff them to a sheen using simulate the actual fi ling position. Once the bevels are done, cut the progressively fi ner grits of . After I marked where the handles interfere jaws to shape at the band saw, then welding, I apply gun bluing. with the vise jaws, then used those clean up the cuts using a combination marks to dictate the shape of the jaws. of , fi les and scrapers. of 1⁄2" rod. One end needs to be fl at, Using a combination of drafting tem- while the other gets a bevel of around plates, I sketched out a shape that is Leg Prep 25°. (I’ve found 25° is just the right angle both pleasing and functional. The tops The legs are built from 6/4 hard maple to provide a solid grip while remaining and backsides of each jaw are angled and are cut to a fi nal width of 4". I ma- low profi le.) A simple wooden jig holds so I can get up close with my saw fi les, chine all of the components to almost the components in place while they are welded together. Then apply a coat of gun bluing to the hardware, followed by a few coats of 3-in-1 oil. (Editor’s note: McMaster-Carr sells “Acme Handle Nuts” if you wish to buy rather than make a handle.)

Jaw Prep I used a single piece of 8" x 18" 8/4 rift- Shape shifter. A custom template for your vise jaws allows you to play with a multitude sawn white oak for the jaws, ripping the of shapes and confi gurations. Find one that piece in half after the following steps. accommodates all of your saws while leaving My longest backsaw is 16" long and mass in the center where it’s needed. my largest handsaw is 28" long. The 18" jaw length of the saw vise allows me to sharpen every backsaw I own without repositioning them. My handsaws only have to be reposit ioned once. Only t he top 1" section of the jaws will contact Quick work. Hogging out the excess using a the saw plate. stacked dado set is the most effi cient stock removal method to create the jaw’s recess. To accommodate the thicker back on a backsaw, cut a 1⁄4"-deep recess in all but the top 1" of each jaw. This is best accomplished with a stacked dado set on the table saw. With the fence set 1" from the blade, make your init ial pass on t he jaw, t hen

“...There are still some honest men Inside corners who are not scared to use hand of jaw cutaway tools, who can sharpen a saw, plane, or ...” Cleaning time. I use a high-angle smoothing —L. Francis Herreshoff (1890-1972), plane to clean up all of the jaw surfaces after Less is more. Removing material on the out- Boat & submarine designer & builder rough shaping. The 60° tool works well on side of the jaws makes it easier to fi le, allowing white oak, leaving behind a glassy surface. you to add slope to your gullets if so desired. WorldMags.net 30 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

29_1508_PWM_SawVise2.indd 30 5/13/15 2:03 PM Saw Vise 1" 18" NO. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) MATERIAL COMMENTS 4" WorldMags.netT W L ❏ 2 Jaws 2 4 18 White oak ❏ 3" 9⁄16 1 Front leg 11⁄2 4 21 Maple TOE* " shoulder ❏ 1 Back leg 11⁄2 4 13 Maple TOE* 5⁄8" ❏ 3⁄4 1 Hinge 1⁄2 1 4 White oak 1 "

*TOE = Tenon one end 3" 2"

final dimension a few weeks prior to assembled later, but fi rst cut the joinery 13" thebuildtoallowthemtoacclimateto and drill for the hardware 5⁄8 Centered the shop. Then, using winding sticks The leg tenons are " thick, 3" wide on tenon and handplanes, I fine-tune each one and 2" long. I offset my tenons toward 4" before cutting the joinery. Square stock the outside, using a 9⁄16" interior shoul- 1" is vital to this build. der to keep a fl ush surface on the inside 21" of the jaws. Joinery Prep Flush the legs at the top, clamp them 1⁄2" Toaccommodate the massive force that together, then mark and drill a pilothole, Hinge, 1" up can be applied by the Acme screw, I located on center 3" from the shoulder, from bottom decided on a drawbored mortise-and- for alignment. Now on the front of the tenonjointbetweeneachlegandits front leg, drill a shallow 13⁄8"-diameter corresponding jaw. The parts will be recess to house the washer.

4" 11⁄2" EXPLODED VIEW

SUPP IES Enco use-enco.com or 800-873-3626 ■ 5 Straight & square. After roughing out the stock and letting it acclimate, I check for twist using a 1 Acme threaded rod, ⁄8"-8, 36" set of winding sticks. I square the stock using handplanes before laying out the joinery. #408-0202, $10.53 2 ■ Acme threaded nuts, 5⁄8"-8 #407-2202, $2.56 each 1 ■ Extra thick washer, 5⁄16" #319-8049, $1.24 each McMaster-Carr mcmaster.com or (330) 995-5500 1 ■ 1⁄4"-20 fl at-head socket cap screw - 23⁄4" long #91253A558, $9.50/pack of 10 1 ■ 1⁄4"-20 brass threaded insert #90016A029, $11.97/pack of 25 1 ■ 12" length, 1⁄2" steel rod #8920K155, $3.32 each Tandy Leather Supply Plumb the depths. I hog out most of the tandyleatherfactory.com mortise waste on the underside of the jaws ■ Moxon moxie. Using a Moxon-style vise to using a 5⁄8" Forstner bit at the drill press, then 1 1"-wide x 50"-long cowhide strip elevate the work, I cut the tenons by hand. use a wide chisel to clean up the edges and 4526-05, $16.99 (Use your excess Acme thread to make one of corners. The valleys created by the bit make a Prices correct at time of publication. these devices; you won’t regret it.) good guide to create plumb walls. WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 31

29_1508_PWM_SawVise2.indd 31 5/18/15 10:23 AM AD USTING TH VIS AWS hen firstWorldMags.net setting up your saw vise, the jaws need Consistent alignment. Two Al- to be adjusted for the whole assembly to work len-head screws pass through correctly.W Ideally, any saw that is inserted into the vise the hinge assembly and screw into threaded brass inserts. I will be held in place without pressure from the screw. like to mark the orientation Theendsofbothjawsshouldmakecontactatall of my hinge; it helps keep the times. It is this contact that holds the saw in place while jaw alignment consistent if you you fine-tune the position of the teeth. This is where the have to disassemble and reas- beauty of the leather-clad hinge is realized. The leather semble the vise. compresses, allowing you adjust the contact between the jaws by tightening or loosening the two screws. No-headache tension. By Use an Allen wrench to slowly tighten each screw tightening each screw, you can until the corresponding end of the hinge makes contact. increase the tension on each There should still be a gap of at least 1⁄16"inthemiddle end of the jaws’ spring joint. of both jaws; this will close up when the Acme screw is Snug the screws down until a tightened. standard handsaw can be sup- ported without any assistance If the contact between the jaws changes over time, from the wing nut. Adjust the use the screws to adjust it until it a saw can be supported. hinge as needed for seasonal —JT changes and wear.

On the inside surface of the back leg, Leather Hinge The last bit of drilling is for the two drilla 5⁄8"-deep, 1"-diameter hole, then Thejawsonasawvisedon’tneedto 1⁄4" through-holes in the hinge (the trimitwithchiselstoformasix-sided open up a lot to work effectively, be- leather won’t hurt the bit). mortisetohousethecapturednutfor causemostsawplatesarelessthan the wing-nut assembly. .040"thick.Ahingethatopensfar- Compound Spring Joint Now drill 5⁄8"-diameter through ther just adds potential for slop to be The fi nal and most important feature holes in each leg for the threaded Acme introduced. of this saw vise is what I’ve dubbed rod. By using a 1⁄2"x1"x4"“hinge”of a “compound spring joint.” This is a white oak with leather strips glued spring joint on both the vertical and to each side, the jaws can be opened horizontal planes of the jaw. You’re enoughtoslipasawinwhileintroduc- likely familiar with the concept of a ing a clamping force that holds the saw spring joint when gluing panels; the in place, even with the Acme screw concept works the same here. I like loose. This allows you to fine-tune the to add both spring joints as the fi nal positionofasawbeforefinaltightening. step in shaping the jaws. A lot of mate- Thisforcecanbeadjustedusingtwo rial has been removed from the jaws hingemountingscrews(see“Adjusting the Vise Jaws” above). Forthosescrews,drilltwo1⁄4"coun- tersunkthrough-holesfrom thefrontof the long leg, located 91⁄2"upfromthe bottomofthelonglegand1"inoneach side. Now clamp the legs together with the inside faces touching, and mark the inside face of the short leg for the threaded-insert hole locations (11⁄2" from the bottom of the leg). Thoughthepackagingsaystousea 3⁄8" bit for the threaded-insert mortise, Depressing work. Using a block plane, start formingthelateralspringjointbytakingafew I prefer a 25⁄64" bit; the tolerances are Nut housing. To house the nut on the light passes in the middle, working your way threaded rod, chop out a mortise on the back too tight with the smaller bit. to the edges with each pass. The resulting of the rear leg. A 1" Forstner bit removes most Drill mortises, and place the thread- depression should be approximately 1⁄16" of the waste; a chisel takes care of the rest. ed inserts in them. when complete. WorldMags.net 32 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

29_1508_PWM_SawVise2.indd 32 5/13/15 2:04 PM at this point, so some movement is to be expected. Check the jawWorldMags.net faces for square and fi ne-tune as needed. Use a block plane to create the ver- tical spring joint. Taper the jaw face inward by a few degree s, st art ing at t he top and working down. When the Acme 5 screw is tightened, the initial contact is Classic joinery. A ⁄8" dowel is used to draw- Plastic fantastic. Using plastic wrap is a great at the top of the jaws. As you tighten, the bore the joint. I used an offset of approxi- way to hold the leather strips in place where 1 legs will bow slightly inward causing mately ⁄32"; hardwoods don’t require a lot. traditional clamps won’t work. The angles on 5 the jaws to ever-so-slightly pull in as Using the ⁄8"-diameter dowel greatly reduces the jaw make any normal clamping setup dif- the odds of it splitting while being hammered well. That results in a solid 1" contact fi cult. Because a lot of pressure isn’t needed home. for this application, plastic wrap is ideal. area along the length of the vise. For the lateral spring joint, start in Make it safe. The 90° t he middle of each jaw; t ake light passe s corners on the oak and work your way to the ends. The jaws can be sharp and fi nal concavity should be right at 1⁄16" dangerous. Adding a in the middle. is made easier It is imperative that you don’t alter by securing the leg to your benchtop, allow- the vertical spring joint while planing ing the jaw to overhang. the lateral one. This gives you access When the Acme screw is tightened for easy shaping. and the spring joints close up, the re- sulting grip on the saw plate is amazing.

Final Assembly Once t he jaws have been shaped, spread a liberal layer of glue into the mortise, applying heat or moisture to the hide Once the vise is securely mounted, insert the tenon and drive that 5⁄8" dow- glue, then plane the top of the jaws slip in a saw, carefully adjust the tooth- el home. The joint should be rock-solid smooth and glue a new strip of wood line, clamp down on the wing nut and and ready for a century or more of use. on top. After blending the new piece in get to sharpening. After trimming and flushing the with the existing jaw, glue the leather Withapropersawvisesuchasthis dowels, it’s time to add the leather strips back on and get back to sharpening. one, keeping your saws sharp is easier to the jaws and complete fi nal shaping. You can replace the jaw faces the than ever before. PWM Gluing leat her st r ips to each jaw face same way, reintroducing new spring not only increases the grip strength, it joints as you do. Jason owns Texas Heritage Woodworks also protects your saws from damage. A few coats of boiled linseed oil fol- in Cedar Park, Texas. Liquid hide glue and plastic wrap make lowed by a 50/50 blend of beeswax and quick work of the leather install. paraffi n are my go-to fi nish for shop After the glue sits overnight, remove tools. I use a polissoir to apply the wax the plastic wrap and add the fi nish- and burnish the wood. The Acme screw ON IN XTRAS For links to all online extras, go to: ing touches to the jaws. I like to cut a will benefi t as well from the same wax ■ chamfer on all edges using a , mixture – a few dabs on the threads will popularwoodworking.com/aug15 rasp and spokeshave. The chamfer not keep them operating smoothly. WEB SITE: Visit Jason Thigpen’s Texas Heritage only add s v isual intere st to t he piece, it Woodworks web site for high-quality tool rolls, shop aprons and more. also makes the vise more user-friendly. Using the Saw Vise The longer front leg on the saw vise ARTICLE: “Saw Filing – A Beginner’s Primer,” free at vintagesaws.com. Care & Maintenance allows it to be secured several ways to The beauty of a wooden saw vise is its your benchtop – it can be gripped in a TO BUY: “Super-tune Your Backsaw with Matt Cianci,” available as a DVD or download. ability to be maintained. Like a wooden face vise or leg vise. If you have an apron handplane, a wooden saw vise can be around your bench, a couple of dog hole s IN OUR STORE: “Handsaw Essentials,” by Christopher Schwarz, in hardcover or PDF tuned and repaired as atmospheric and holdfasts can hold it in place. download. conditions and wear dictate. The additional contact area created Our products are available online at: If the top of the jaws get beat up over by the longer leg helps stabilize the vise ■ ShopWoodworking.com time, you can remove the leather by during use. WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 33

29_1508_PWM_SawVise2.indd 33 5/13/15 2:04 PM fancy grain of the fi ne, wide, single- board tops. This was the very height of WorldMags.netelegance during the Queen Anne and Chippendale periods. Though a birdcage mechanism looks complicated, it can be easily accom- plished using typical woodworking Build a skills, as long as the proper order of procedures is adhered to. This proj- ect is a great example of the virtues of “working to your work,” or letting the previous step defi ne the next step, BY ALFRED SHARP and gauging the fi t of adjacent pieces ‘B irdcage’ directly off one another rather than re- lying on complicated layout and precise measurements. There is some of that of course, but mistakes and misalign- ments can be minimized by progres- sively moving from one logical activity to the next. So let’s begin. I’m making a pedestal for a rather large and fancy scalloped- edge table, but the dimensions illus- trated here can be scaled up or down for different sizes and styles. A birdcage assembly consists of eight parts, not counting hardware – the upper and lower plates, four balus- ters (or spindles), a notched “washer” and a wedge-key. It all spins on a main spindle (hence the name) which is part of the table’s pedestal. And in typical 18th-century fashion, the mechanism is made from the same primary wood as the table – in this case, mahogany.

Upper & Lower Plates The structure of a birdcage consists of an upper and lower plate connected by This clever & traditional wooden mechanism four spindles, or balusters. The plates start with a rough blank approximately allows tabletops to tilt and rotate. 1" x 81⁄4" x 20". Joint the blank fl at, then plane it to 13⁄16" thick. Edge-joint and uring the fi rst third of the 18th undignifi ed reaching for the teapot, rip it to 8" wide. Square one end and century, tea drinking first sugar, cream or pastries. crosscut one piece exactly 8" long; this became a popular pastime in Moreover, until the last third of the will be the lower plate. Crosscut the Dfashionable homes in England and its 1700s, furniture in homes was cus- remainder to 91⁄2" long; this will be colonies, hence the appearance of a new tomarily pushed up to the walls when the upper plate. Center the lower plate furniture form – the tea table. not in use, leaving the middle of the on the upper plate, grain aligned, and Besides the “gee-whiz” factor of a room open for multiple activities. A scribe the extents of the lower plate tilting and rotating fi xture for the fi nest round, rotating tea table that would onto the upper plate. Leave 13⁄16" x tables, the “birdcage” mechanism that also tilt to a vertical position could 13⁄16" x 3⁄4"-long “spigots” on either end facilitated that movement had practical be handily situated in a corner of the of one edge of the upper plate. These applications. These tables could rotate, room to not only save space, but show will become the hinges on which the allowing hostess and guests to avoid off the elaborately carved rim and the tabletop tilts. WorldMags.net ■ 34 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR; ILLUSTRATIONS BY DONNA R. HILL FROM THE AUTHOR’S DRAWINGS

34_1508_PWM_BirdcageMech.indd 34 5/13/15 2:16 PM WorldMags.net

Drilled & marked. After fi nding the center Two blocks. Match the upper and lower point on the exposed faces of the taped-to- Four corners. Drill through the top plate in plates to one another, but leave enough on gether top and bottom, drill a 13⁄4"-diameter the package and into the bottom one, stop- what will become the top plate for two hole through the bottom and into the top; the ping 1⁄4" from the press table (in other words, 13 ⁄16" x 13 ⁄16" x 3⁄4"-long “spigots.” bit should stop 3⁄8" above the table. drill 13⁄8"-deep holes).

Carefully band-saw away the waste table). Be sure to mark the hinge edge nish the surface of the spigots, making on the upper plate, leaving the spigot of the lower plate for later registration. them more durable for the life of the on each side of one end of the upper This ensures that everything will line tilting movements. blank. The grain of the wood should up per fect ly when it’s t ime to assemble Radius the top arris of the upper be in the plane of the spigots. Clean up the cage. plate from one spigot to the other (I use the sawn ends of the upper plate and Set up a 5⁄8" bit in the drill press a block plane); this will create clear- align it carefully with the lower plate, and stop the bit’s travel 1⁄4" from the ance for the top to tilt from horizontal making sure the grain of both pieces machine’s table to vertical. is also aligned. Then fi x the two plates Turn the package over so that the top Now you’ll need to lay out and mor- fl ush together with tape along their face is up. Drill a 5⁄8" hole in each cor- tise for a latch that locks the table in the edges. Label the top surface of the up- ner of the package on the prick points horizontal position. There are several per plate and the bottom surface of the (stopping 1⁄4" from the table). types of latches available, but a proper lower plate. Undo the two-panel package and one should include a keeper to hold Locate the center of the lower plate radius the bottom arris of the lower w it h diagonals; pr ick w it h an awl. Tur n plate, either with a roundover bit in the package over, establish diagonals the router, a block plane or a mould- on the top of the upper plate (excluding ing plane. the spigots), and locate prick points 1" Locate t he center of each spigot end in on each diagonal. on the upper plate, scribe a 13⁄16"-di- Set up a 13⁄4" Forstner bit in the drill ameter circle, then nick the four spigot press and limit the bit’s travel 3⁄8" from arrises fl ush with the dominant edges. the machine’s table. Place the two-part Round the spigots using a chisel. package on the drill press, bottom-up, Drill a 13⁄16" hole in a scrap piece to and drill a 13⁄4" hole in the dead center test the fi t. It’s good to be a little tight of the package (stopping 3⁄8" from the here at fi rst because the fi tting will bur-

Latch mortise. You’ll need a latch to keep Scribe, then shape. After marking a centered things in place; the one you choose should 13 ⁄16" circle on each spigot, use a chisel to Plane work. I use a block plane to round over have a keeper for the tongue. Mortise that nick the baselines, then pare each one round. the edge between the spigots. into the top face of the upper plate. WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 35

34_1508_PWM_BirdcageMech.indd 35 5/13/15 2:16 PM Upper plate is 13⁄16" x 8" x 91⁄2"; two spigots become 3⁄4" WorldMags.nethinges

13⁄16"

5⁄8" Rounded to hinge R C Grain direction L

1 7⁄16" 13⁄16" 1 ⁄8" 3⁄8"

13⁄4" 8" Hinge spigot 1 4 ⁄2" 27⁄8"

5⁄8" 1 1 13⁄16" ⁄2" 3 ⁄8"

5⁄8"

1" 8" TOP PLATE PLAN Lower plate is 13⁄16" x 8" x 8"

ELEVATION

11⁄4"13⁄4"

WEDGE KEY

the latch tongue. The keeper needs Measure the actual bit used to drill to be mortised into the top face of the the center hole in the plates, and turn upper plate, on the arris opposite the carefully to that diameter. Use a test hinge end. First measure and mortise- block to check the fi t. Strive for a snug in t he edge lip. Then posit ion and scr ibe fi t with the skew, and a square shoul- around the face lip of the keeper. In my der where the birdcage will ride on case, I have the stylish curves to deal the lower plate (if it’s out of square, with, so I use carving gouges to chop that results in rapid wear on the plate). the edges of the mortise. Then work to the fi nal free-spinning fi t with sandpaper. There shouldn’t be Main Spindle any excess wobble. Next, turn the 13⁄4"-diameter x 41⁄16"- long main spindle on which the entire The Washer birdcage spins at the top of the table’s A notched decorative “washer” and pedestal. Turn only the spindle sec- key hold the birdcage firmly to the tion of the blank, as it will be handy main spindle. Typically, the washer to have t he end s remain square for t he was turned from a single piece of wood. following steps. I have departed from this tradition a Use the tip of a large skew chisel to bit because the short grain in such nick the arrises on the spinning blank Nick & turn. After nicking the arris corners, a piece is quite vulnerable to break- fi rst, then clean the spindle area round. turn the spindle round. age. Instead, I laminate three layers of WorldMags.net 36 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

34_1508_PWM_BirdcageMech.indd 36 5/13/15 2:16 PM WorldMags.net

Washer mount. Put a scrap face plate on your lathe’s head stock and apply double-sided tape Strive for perfection. Use a test block to fi t to secure the washer blank. Use the tailstock to locate the center of the blank, then advance the the tenon. It should be just snug enough to tailstock to secure the blank to the tape. Now place a caul between the blank and tailstock to spin freely, and be perfectly square to the press the blank fi rmly in place. bottom of the shoulder – check it with an adjustable square.

wood to make a 5⁄8"-thick x 31⁄8"-square plywood sandwich. The grain of the middle layer must be oriented 90° to the grain of the two outside layers. Locate the center of the laminated blank. Fix a scrap-wood face plate to the lathe spindle and apply double-sided tape. Using the tailstock and the center point, place the blank onto the taped face plate. Put a stout caul between the Edge treatment. After turning the washer Now drill. Using the same 13⁄4" Forstner bit blank and the tailstock, then tighten blank round, use a skew and gouges to shape you used to drill the hole in the top and bot- the edge to your liking. tom plates, drill a through-hole in the washer. the tailstock for a few minutes to fi rmly attach the blank. Remove the caul, but keep the tail- tion on page 36 are what matter – the bottom. This dimension will mark the stock engaged for the next steps as 13⁄4" represents the diameter of the lower mortise location for the key. a safety precaution. Turn the blank spindle. The exact angle of the wedge I use a mortising machine to make round, then turn a decorative pattern is unimportant – it just needs to be the slot for the wedge key. So that the on t he edge of t he blank. Be sure to leave straight along the top, and not too grain doesn’t bust out on the bottom a fairly wide land at the top of the blank. abrupt. side of the spindle as the bit exits, you’ll Now affi x a drill chuck to the tail- Measure the height of the line clos- need a sacrifi cial block to support the stock and, using the same drill bit as est to the smaller end of the wedge. cut. First, fi nd the closest match to the you used to drill the center hole in the Transfer this dimension to the main curvature of the spindle on a French- plates, drill through the washer. spindle, measuring out from the pre- curved scraper, and mark those extents Sand, separate the blank from the viously marked location of the notch on the scraper. Then use the scraper face plate, then lay out a 5⁄16"-wide notch for the “key” centered across the top of the washer. Saw and chisel the notch into the washer to about one-half depth, making sure the bottom of the notch is parallel to t he bottom of t he washer.

Key Mortise Place the lower plate on the main spin- Key notch dle, then drop on the notched washer. Mark the location of the bottom of the notch on the spindle. Fashion a wedge key out of stock Key mark. With the lower plate and washer in Slot layout. Using the measurements pulled 5 thicknessed to a fat ⁄16". The dimen- place on the spindle, mark the bottom of the from the key, mark the location on the spindle sions shown in the Wedge Key illustra- notch for the key. for the key slot. WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 37

34_1508_PWM_BirdcageMech.indd 37 5/13/15 2:17 PM face of the key will fully engage the mortise shoulder. Clean up any irregu- WorldMags.netlarities in the walls of the mortise. At this point, the key should still be a little too thick to fi t into the 5⁄16" mortise – so carefully plane and sand the sides until you get a snug fi t. Fit the lower plate, the washer and the key and test for ease of rotation. Arc marks. A curved scraper can be marked to establish the curve of the spindle. Then use the Be content at this point if it’s still a scraper to scrape a spindle-support trough in a piece of scrap. little stiff; that’s better, because fi nish- planing the plate will make it a little thinner, and you don’t want anything to wobble in the end. You can now go ahead and turn the pedestal below the lower plate, and dovetail it for the table’s legs.

Balusters Now it’s time to turn the four small balusters that connect the upper and lower plates. You can turn two spindles Plunge cut. After aligning the bit to the center Key angle. Use a chisel to cut the slope for on one blank without experiencing of the blank and supporting the spindle in the the wedge key’s slot, angling down from the any serious chatter; two 1" x 1" x 10" scrap’s trough, drill the mortise. wider side of the mortise. blanks will do the job. Lay out the 11⁄8"-long top tenons on either end of the blank, along with a little excess for the lathe centers. The baluster portion is 27⁄8" long. Finally, mark 1⁄2" tenons for the lower plate. Leave space at the juncture of the two lower tenons to allow you to cut them to fi nal length once they’re off the lathe. The most typical baluster pattern is shown in the Elevation illustration on page 36, but you needn’t match it. Carefully nick the portions of the turnings that remain square so as not Key fi t. Plane or sand the sides of the wedge Fit to turn. Test-fi t the lower plate, washer to shatter the fi ne arrises (just as you key to not only a nice fi nish, but to a good, and key and give it a spin (it should be a tight did when turning the spindle). Turn the snug fi t in the key mortise. fi t at this point). baluster profi les. Strive to get a good match from piece to piece, but don’t get to make a shallow concave trough in mortise between the two scribed lines. too OCD about it; a close examination a block of scrap wood thick enough to Now measure the height of the of most originals shows a surprising bridge the gap between the spindle and wedge key at the higher side of your amount of discrepancy between dif- the mortise table. 13⁄4" mark. Scribe that measurement on ferent turnings on the same piece of Trim the block to just snug under the the spindle above the mortise. Extend furniture. spindle to support it. Mark the center on the lines formed by the walls of the Turn the tenon portions to a close the square shoulder of the pedestal blank mortise up to this mark on one side of 5⁄8"-diameter. Mark the cut-off points and line up the mortise bit. Drill the the spindle. on the tenons and separate the pieces Carefully chisel in from this upper- using either a band saw or backsaw. “Nothing is hard, some things just most mark on one side of the spindle, The tenons in the upper plate will be take longer than others.” angling down to the top end of the wedged. So center and square a layout —Jim Ipekjian, mortise on the other side. line atop the long tenons and saw to 1 cabinetmaker Use a square fi le to refi ne this sloped about ⁄4" above the baluster shoulder. shoulder so that the upper angled sur- It is import ant t hat t his ker f be paral- WorldMags.net 38 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

34_1508_PWM_BirdcageMech.indd 38 5/13/15 2:17 PM 1 1 1 ⁄2" ⁄2" 1 WorldMags.net1 ⁄8"+ 27⁄8" 27⁄8" 1 ⁄8"+

Kerf. Saw a kerf for a wedge to about 1⁄4" above the tenon shoulder. One blank; two balusters. This 1" x 1" x 10" blank will yield two balusters.

Balanced balusters. Strive to have the turn- ings match, but 18th-century examples prove they needn’t be exact. The tenons, however, 5 must be ⁄8" diameter for a good fi t.

lelandperpendiculartothesquaresec- Square the balusters to the lower plate. tions of the baluster. Why? The wedge Put the assembly onto the main spindle mustbeinsertedperpendiculartothe to ensure everything will go together Wedge. After assembling the mechanism, grainoftheupperplate,sothatdriving as it should and still spin. glue and insert the wedges perpendicular to the grain of the upper plate. it in won’t split the plate’s grain. And Apply glue to the appropriate sur- becausethebalustersmustbesquare faces of the balusters and upper plate, totheperimetersoftheplates,thekerf and assemble and clamp everything elongated screw slots at their ends to must also be. into place. Again, make sure the wedge allow for wood movement in the top.) Nowstainandfinishthebalusters kerfs in the baluster tenons are perpen- When it’s time to finally assemble andtheinnersurfacesoftheplates– diculartothegrainoftheupperplate. allthecomponents,rubalittlebees- becauseitwouldbedifficulttodoafter Drive appropriately sized wedges into wax on the main spindle and shoulder, thebirdcageisassembled.Besureto the kerfs of the tenons. thebottomofthewasher,aroundthe tapeupthetenonsandtemporarilyplug When the glue is dry, trim the up- main spindle holes in top and bottom the holes so the finish won’t interfere pertenonsandfinishthetopofthe platesandonthehingespigots.Don’t with the glue joints later. birdcage. put wax on the wedge key or its slot. Thehingespigotsfitinto13⁄16"holes Everythingshouldworksmoothlyand Assembly & Hinge that just verge into the edges of cross- look very smart. To put the birdcage mechanism to- grain battens that will be installed on Nowcongratulateyourselfonajob gether, first glue the balusters into the the bottom of the tabletop. well-done. PWM lowerplate.Usearelativelyslow-setting Thisallowsthetoptositflatonthe glue, and make sure the kerfs in the top of the birdcage. Locate the holes to Alf is an award-winning furniture maker who lives balusters’ tops are perpendicular to center the birdcage under your top. (Of and works in Woodbury, Tenn. See more of his work the grain of the plates. course, the battens will need to have alfredsharp.com.

ON IN XTRAS For links to all online extras, go to: ■ popularwoodworking.com/aug15

WEB SITE: See more of the author’s work on his site at alfredsharp.com.

IN OUR STORE: “Create a Newport Tea Table with Alf Sharp” a start to-finish video that teaches to build a classic Goddard and Townsend piece. Our products are available online at: Hinges. The hinge spigots are fi t into 13 ⁄16" holes drilled into battens that will attach to the under- ■ ShopWoodworking.com side of the tabletop. WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 39

34_1508_PWM_BirdcageMech.indd 39 5/13/15 2:17 PM WorldMags.net18th-century

Refl ectionsBY JOSHUA KLEIN Make a classic mahogany looking glass by hand.

ven before the days of Facebook and selfies, Americans were undeniably conscious of self- Eimage. In both Europe and America, the 18th-century genteel elite kept spe- cialized accessories for maintaining appearance. Among the most important of these was a refl ective mirror. Because these “looking glasses” were typically heavily ornamented with elaborate fret- work and gilded carvings, the look- ing glass itself has become an icon of refi nement. This looking glass is based on a piece sold at Skinner Auctioneers in 2014. What drew me to t his example in particular is that it is a vernacular ex- pression of a form often punctuated by excessive ornamentation. It’s charming because it reveals the maker’s obvious awareness of high-style fashion but intentional artistic restraint.

Traditional Construction Traditionally, mouldings were stuck in long lengths (8' or more) with mould- ing planes, then miters were cut along the length to ensure consistency of the profi les at the corners. A s much as we all may appreciate t he effi ciency of wooden moulding planes, not every woodworker has access to properly tuned ones. But is there an- other way to cut custom profi les simply, effi ciently and inexpensively? There is: Just scratch them. Using a scratch stock is a straightfor- ward method for making elegant cus- WorldMags.net ■ 40 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR; ILLUSTRATIONS BY DONNA R. HILL FROM THE AUTHOR’S DRAWINGS

40_1508_PWM_Mirror.indd 40 5/13/15 2:27 PM WorldMags.net

Fading in. It’s hard to start the profi le on the very edge so I just A true start. Holding your stock secure, true Tilt into it. By leaning the top of the scratch stock forward, fade it in. As you progress, the and square is essential to get the frame to the cut magically becomes smooth. If you’re bouncing off pencil marks will be scraped come together right. your tracks, slow down and tilt forward more. away.

Four sticks. With the moulding shaped and the four pieces ripped from the board, plane them all to fi nal dimensions.

tom moulding profiles without fancy your body down its length. It helps to Doe’s foot tools. I trace out the profile onto a cutter tiltthescratchstockforwardbecauseit blank (a piece of an old handsaw blade) tends to produce a smoother and more Stand tall. Instead of attempting to plane the with a fine-point Sharpie. Then it takes controllable cut that way. rabbet with the profi le down, turn it on its only a couple minutes of file work to The first passes work better when outer edge. It seems counterintuitive but it works like a charm. shape the profile (keeping a square only moderate downward pressure is edge will help in use). Some folks use applied. Continue scratching until you slipstones to fi nish shaping the profi le see the profi le begin to emerge through Planing on small, short stock but, because we’re using this scratch the penciled hatch marks. When the like this can be a little tricky. The key is stock on long grain that is tame, I have pencil is gone, you’re done in that spot. to st and t he piece s up on end so t hat you not found that extra sharpening step Short passes are not a problem for have enough clearance to your bench- to be necessary. the initial scratching; it’s for only the top for the planing. Because of the consistency of the last few that you need to make full- Because you will be exerting side- profi le, the primary benefi t of scratch- length passes with the cutter. ways pressure with the plane’s fence, ing moulding is that it is possible to With the moulding scratched (feel you will also fi nd a notched batten (also utilize short offcuts for this project. free to touch it up w it h #180 gr it if need- known as a “doe’s foot”) to prevent lat- Start by planing a square edge onto ed), use a marking gauge to establish eral movement a boon. an overlong (and wide) piece of ma- a line for the thickness of the frame With the rabbets cut, turn your at- hogany. It’s impossible to get a good- pieces and rip the piece free. tention to the miters. I used my miter looking profi le at the ends; the extra Once the pieces are scratched and box for this, but you could use a shop- length allows you to fade the profi le ripped, place them profi le side down made miter box or even cut freehand in and out. The extra width makes it and plane them to fi nal thickness. (A to lines laid out with a bevel gauge. easy to hold the work fi rmly in a vise. toothed planing stop provides excellent Because I used my miter box, the accu- Draw hatched pencil marks across workholding for this.) rate miter was easily cleaned freehand the surface. w it h my smoot hing plane. This met hod Now, holding the fence of the scratch Rabbets & Miters is easiest if the plane is placed on its stock up tight against the stock, slowly The next step is to plane the rabbets in side to the bench and the sawn miter begin pushing the cutter away from which the mirrored glass will be set. is brought to the iron. WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 41

40_1508_PWM_Mirror.indd 41 5/13/15 2:28 PM Glue the Frame the mitered joint, then press the pieces saw, then pare them fl ush with a chisel. Forget fancy jigs. You don’t even need together. Depending on the ambient Though the glued should clamps to glue theWorldMags.net frame. All you need is temperature, I w ill hold t hem w it h fi n- hold up for a long time, it never hurts a little hot hide glue. One of the reasons ger pressure for two to fi ve minutes (I to have the splines as backup. I love hot hide glue is its self-clamping use 192-gram-strength glue). Once the property. In my conservation studio, fi rst corner is glued, you can move to I routinely exploit this quality when the next. But move the frame gently – The elegant fretwork on period look- attaching tiny broken fragments that the glue is still drying. ing glasses was often constructed of would be near impossible to clamp. I If something goes awry, use warm a fi gured mahogany veneer glued to merely hold the pieces in place for a water and take the frame apart to reglue a secondary wood such as pine. So I few minutes until the glue gels. As it it. (That’s another beauty of hide glue: followed that practice. dries, it pulls the pieces together. The infi nite repairability.) I resawed and planed the pine to same technique applies here. The next day, saw a kerf into each thickness, selected my veneer piece, To assemble t he frame, glue one cor- corner and glue in splines from veneer then hammer-veneered the crest veneer ner at a time, working your way around. stock. After that glue is dry, cut the to its substrate. Apply the hot hide glue to each side of splines close to the surface with a back- Hammer veneering is based on the same self-clamping property of hot hide glue exploited for the miters. Ap-

1⁄4" thick 37⁄8"

Glue block

Hold tight. With nothing more than fi nger 1⁄4 17 " pressure pushing the joint together, hot hide 1⁄4" rabbet glue will hold the miter joint tight as it dries. 133⁄8"

Glue blocks

1 3⁄4" thick 1 ⁄16"

11⁄16" 91⁄4" Check, please. Don’t neglect to check for square along the way. It’s easier to adjust 3D PROFILE ELEVATION things while the glue is still tacky.

18th-century Looking Glass NO. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) MATERIAL COMMENTS TWL ❏ 2Top/bottom 3⁄4 11⁄16 91⁄4 Mahogany Final size* ❏ 2Sides 3⁄4 11⁄16 133⁄8 Mahogany Final size* ❏ 1 Crest substrate 1⁄4 37⁄8 91⁄4 Pine Final size* ❏ 1Crestveneer 1⁄16 37⁄8 91⁄4 Mahogany Final size*

*Useoverlong&overwidestock;cuttheframepiecestofinalwidth&lengthafter Extra insurance. Adding splines in the corners sticking moulding of mitered frames is an historic fail-safe in case the glued miter ever lets go. WorldMags.net 42 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

40_1508_PWM_Mirror.indd 42 5/13/15 2:28 PM ply glue to both the substrate and the Sometimes the glue pulls so hard it veneer, then press them together with will actually cause the substrate to cup. a veneer hammer.WorldMags.net The tool functions To counteract this, I place the heart side just like a squeegee, squeezing out the of the pine toward the veneer. This typi- excess glue while pressing the pieces cally works well, but the use of veneer together. The tack of the glue helps to of period thickness (1⁄16" or thicker) pull each piece together. After a couple allows for a small amount of planing minutes of “squeegeeing,” the veneer to regain fl atness if needed. canbelefttodry. After allowing the veneer to dry Posterboard pattern. I made this posterboard pattern by pulling dimensions off a photo- PATT RN TRANSF R graph of the original. Dividers are handy for transferring key dimensions. here are many fancy ways folks have come up with to enlarge and transfer a pattern. The simplest and most enjoyable way I’ve found is Tto search for the proportions with my dividers and transfer them to a piece of posterboard of the final width and height. Historic furniture (yes, even vernacular pieces!) was usually designed using classical proportions. This system may sound intimidating but it’s so easy to use because it’s nothing more than finding simple whole-number ratios. That’s why I say it’s enjoy- able. Besides, how deep will your understanding of the piece be if you just traced a template someone else (or some copy machine) made for you? Taking the few minutes to investigate the logic of the design not only informs you of what the artisan envisioned, but it also teaches you to design. Thisisacaseofthe“giveamanafishversusteachamantofish”proverb. Start hunting for the dimensions by drawing a box around the fretwork inyourpicture.(Itisonlynecessarytodoone-half.)Firstoff,spotthehigh andlowspotsaswellasanypeaks.Youwillfindthatthesekeyareasinthe design are likely going to be laid out in some whole-number ratio. You will notice the bottom of the inside of the scroll lines up exactly in the center of the box you’ve drawn around it. Also, the spurs on the side peak exactly one-quarter of the way up from the bottom. Asyoudefinethesekeypoints,transferthemtoyourposterboardtem- plate. Pretty soon you will begin to see the road map for the lines emerge. After you have mapped as many places as you can find, it’s just a matter of connecting the dots. With a little practice and an eraser, freehanding the curving lines between points Bird’s mouth. An L-shaped jig with a notch is not difficult, especially if you in the top surface for the saw blade makes it pencil in grid lines. When all is easy to saw out the scrolls of the crest, with drawn, carefully cut both sides out plenty of support for the work. Because the together. —JK bird’s mouth is designed to clamp in a vise, it’s easy to adjust the height as needed.

Box it in. Start by cutting a piece of poster- board to the exact width and height of the fretwork. Because the design is symmetri- cal, you can then fold the paper in half lengthwise. You will only be drawing one Glue block half of the design. This way, if your cutting is a little off somewhere, everything is still Dividing lines. Drawing in these propor- perfectly symmetrical. Don’t waste your tions makes seeing the logic of the design Crest support. The crest is not very thick, so time drawing this design twice. a whole lot easier. adding a glue block on the back is wise. Make sure to taper it on the top and sides so it’s inconspicuous. WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 43

40_1508_PWM_Mirror.indd 43 5/13/15 2:28 PM time at all. I think the majority of the fi nishing time on this project was some- WorldMags.netwhere around 20 minutes split between two sessions. Because of alcohol’s fast evaporation rate, multiple layers can be applied one right after the other. I loved the beautifully rich color of the crest veneer (it is new old stock), so I shellacked the crest a couple times to use it as a reference for the color of the rest of the piece. To begin working up the color on the frame and the edges of the fretwork, Beautiful old color. This new old stock ve- apply with a rag TransTint dyes mixed neer has an incredible depth of color not seen in alcohol. In order to give the color an on most mahogany available today. authentic-looking depth, it is important to layer colors on a little at a time. A little at a time. Add your layers of dye I ended up using Medium Brown, a little bit at a time. It’s impossible to get a Reddish Brown, Van Dyke Brown and convincing color in one fell swoop. a touch of Honey Amber, each applied individually in a dilute concentration. overnight, transfer the crest pattern, glue it to the frame. I made a triangular As you apply each layer, you can then cut it out with a on glue block to attach to the back for ad- subtly shift your “brown” to the red side a bird’s-mouth fixture. Cut right on ditional support. of the spectrum with Reddish Brown or the line. Because there typically was shift it the opposite direction (green) not a lot of clean-up done on period 200 Years in 20 Minutes with Van Dyke Brown. fretwork, leaving saw marks is period- The fi nish is fun. With a combination After about 15 to 25 back-to-back appropriate. of shellac, dyes, pigments and paste layers of color, I gent ly padded on shel- Attaching the crest to the frame is wax, 200 years of grime and patina lac. This, of course, can lift the color – so easy: Plane it fl at on the bottom and can be convincingly mimicked in no don’t re-pad an area until it’s dry to the touch (only a few minutes). When you Muddy it up. By using are confi dent that the color is locked earth pigments over in you can apply more shellac until the the shellac, the grain pad begins to drag. becomes partially obscured. This goes a At this point, stop and let it dry a long way in mimicking bit. After an hour or t wo, give it a quick years of grime. scuff-sand w it h a maroon Scotch-Br ite sanding pad to cut some of the dust nibs. Then it’s back to padding. With the finish a little tacky, I dropped burnt umber powdered-earth pigment into the creases of the mould- ing. Don’t worry about being too per-

The tools of the trade. Just a few simple tools SUPP I S and materials make Homestead Finishing Products quick work of matching homesteadfi nishingproducts.com or the frame to the crest. 216-631-5309 1 ■ Shellac Flat #7080, $17.95 (16 oz.) 1-4 ■ TransTint liquid dye(s) $18.50 each, 2-oz. bottle 1 ■ Antiquax paste wax #2045, $18.95 Prices correct at time of publication. WorldMags.net 44 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

40_1508_PWM_Mirror.indd 44 5/13/15 2:29 PM snickety here, because you can always “Let us be grateful to the mirror store to cut your ow n. It’s simple enough wipe mistakes off with alcohol. for revealing to us our appearance to score your line and snap it off. Pad shellac overWorldMags.net the pigment to lock only.” The glass is held in the rabbets with it in. By this point you should have —Samuel Butler (1835-1902), glue blocks. To hang the mirror, attach lots of layers of colors, pigment in the English author picture-frame wire (I wrapped it around creases and all the shellac completed. slotted screws). If it looks too monochromatic during This project is a great introduction the coloring process, you can carefully out. I use Homestead Finishing’s Shel- to working with hand tools because it’s wipe layers off with alcohol. I almost lac Flat – an addit ive t hat cut s dow n on not big or complicated. It could easily always do this in the coloring process. the sheen – for this job. After an hour, be made in a weekend and it makes an It really helps the fi nal look. you can safely rub the shellac to sheen. elegant handmade gift for a loved one After letting it sit overnight, gently I used “natural” Antiquax paste wax – and it refl ects well on your skill. PWM level the fi nish w ith a maroon Scotch- mixed with burnt umber pigment, ap- Brite pad, then wipe down the dust plied with Liberon #0000 steel wool. Joshua is a furniture conservator and period furniture with a cloth and then with your bare The thing I love about Antiquax is that maker who lives and works in Brooklin, Maine. palm (it’s way better than tack rags). I can buff it to sheen after only a minute The next step is, I think, the key. or two. Other waxes I’ve tried seem to Too often in faux-patinated pieces, low t ake a lot longer to ha ze before buffi ng. spots and partially fi lled pores are left with a higher gloss than the surround- Add Glass & Hang ing areas. This is the opposite of what For the mirror, I used a small piece of we fi nd on truly antique pieces, because salvaged 19th-century material. You the dirt and grime in these places is al- can purchase 1⁄8"-thick glass and have ways duller than the surrounding areas. it cut to si ze from glass suppliers. Or – if To simulate this, brush on a fi nal you feel up to the task – you can buy a coat of matte shellac before rubbing glass-cutting tool from any hardware

Blocked in. Apply a glue block in the rabbet Matte it down. Using an artist’s brush, coat Rub it up. With Liberon steel wool and wax, on each of the four sides to hold the glass in the sanded surface with matte shellac. As the rub the sheen back up. Excess wax is trapped place. alcohol evaporates, you will see the sheen in the pores, simulating years of grime. A soft, dull in only a minute or two. clean cloth buffs it up to a mellow shine. ON IN XTRAS For links to all online extras, go to: An authentic look. ■ popularwoodworking.com/aug15 The sawn edges of the fretwork and the deep, BLOG: Read Joshua Klein’s blog to find out variegated color are the more about his work (and coastal Maine) at details that make this workbenchdiary.com. looking glass appear PLAN: Download a free SketchUp model of 200 years old. this project.

WEB SITE: Visit the author’s furniture restora- tion web site at kleinrestoration.com.

IN OUR STORE: “Building an 18th-century ,” a video by Bill Anderson. Our products are available online at: ■ ShopWoodworking.com WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 45

40_1508_PWM_Mirror.indd 45 5/13/15 2:29 PM WorldMags.net Furniture Restoration BY BOB FLEXNER Learn how to repair typical damage.

Waiting for renewal. This Empire chest-of-drawers looks bad now, but you can easily repair the damage.

hirty-fi ve years ago, I traded $125 Alas, more than 30 years had to go worth of work for the mid-19th- by before the motivation to tackle the century Empire chest-of-draw- project presented itself – the desire of Ters pictured here. You could argue that my daughter-in-law to have the fully I paid too much, because the amount of restored chest-of-drawers. work involved in restoring it was con- The problems were typical for Em- siderable, but it was an impulse trade pire chests-of-drawers, or for any old and I could see that the chest would be veneered chest-of-drawers for that beautiful when fully restored. matter. Veneer was missing in several dozen places, and the drawers didn’t slide well because of wear to both the bottoms of the drawer sides and the runners the drawers slide on. In addition, the shellac fi nish was so badly crazed that it almost totally hid the beautiful wood underneath. In this article I’ll show you how to make the repairs. But fi rst, a word about animal hide glue.

Animal Hide Glue Almost all furniture glued up before the 1950s was glued with animal hide glue. This is glue made by soaking and cooking animal hides to remove the protein, or collagen, which becomes the glue. Many types of hides can be used, but cowhides are the most common. The great virtue of this glue for fur- niture re storers is t hat it is much easier to deal with than modern glues and adhesives. Joints are usually fairly easy to t ake apart by dissolv ing t he hide glue

Renewal. Repaired veneer and drawers, and a new shellac fi nish, give this piece new life. WorldMags.net ■ 46 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR

46_1508_PWM_FurnitureRestoration.indd 46 5/13/15 2:42 PM WorldMags.net

Worn drawer runner

Remove the runners. The runners in this chest-of-drawers were nailed and glued with animal hide glue. They were easy to remove by fi rst removing the nails, then crystalliz- ing the glue bond by inserting denatured alcohol. Finally, Clean separation. In most cases, the runners popped applying pressure with a chisel separated the bond. off clean.

Runners, nails & tools. Here are the removed Worn drawer runner. Drawer runners, the runners and nails, strips of wood that drawers slide on, typically together with the tools become hollowed out after many years of I used. use. They should be replaced.

with hot water or steam, though using denatured alcohol to crystallize the glue is much easier and is t he met hod I use. Once t he glue is cr yst alli zed, joint s can be knocked apart with a mallet, and veneer or wood st r ips can be separated to ran in the same direction. Neverthe- In the fi rst case, the easy repair is with pressure from a dull chisel. less, with the aid of some alcohol, I was to turn the drawer upside down on a The glue is t hen easy to remove from able to pop off the runners. workbench and clamp a 3⁄4" plywood the surfaces by washing it with hot or MDF panel, cut to the approximate water. This need s to be done to achieve Drawer Sides interior size of the drawer bottom, to “clean wood” before regluing with any There are two typical levels of dam- the drawer and the workbench. modern adhesive, and it’s usually a age to the bottoms of the drawer sides. Set a straight 1⁄2" router bit to the good idea even with hide glue. The easiest to repair is simple concave maximum depth of the concave wear To read more about using hot animal wear. The more diffi cult problem oc- and slide the router along the clamped hide glue, see the online extras at the curs when the drawer sides split at the panel to remove enough of the wood end of this article. groove the drawer bottom slides into. to create a fl at surface to glue to. Stop

Drawer Runners Worn drawer sides. I’ve seen all sorts of repairs tried to fi x Like the runners, the problems with drawer runners, but bottoms of the drawer sides also wear concave nothing works as well as removing after many years of the them and replacing them with new drawers sliding in and wood, or the same wood turned upside out of a chest. down (to preserve the original wood). The runners in this chest were nailed and glued, so I had to remove the nails fi rst. The glue bonds were still strong because the grain of the runners and the structural rails they were glued WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 47

46_1508_PWM_FurnitureRestoration.indd 47 5/13/15 2:42 PM Flatten the wear. As on the substrate and clamp on the re- long as the wear to the placement veneer. I used hot hide glue, drawer side hasn’t cutWorldMags.net but you could use any adhesive. Finally, into the groove into which the drawer bot- trim the patched veneer if necessary. tom slides, or split the wood, the easy way to Finishing build out the wood is This chest-of-drawers was originally to fi rst fl atten the wear fi nished with shellac, which was used with a router and 1⁄2" straight bit using the jig on almost all furniture from the 1820s setup shown here. to the 1920s. As you can see from the “before” picture on the fi rst page, this fi nish was in very bad shape. To strip the old shellac, you can use any , but for fl at surfaces I like laying out cloths or paper tow- els, then wetting them with denatured alcohol. After a few minutes, it’s usu- ally easy to simply w ipe off t he shellac. This avoids complications with many strippers, including having to remove all the residue wax in some, or having to dry out the very slow-evaporating solvents in others. For the new fi nish, keep in mind that high-performance fi nishes such as polyurethane and catalyzed fi nishes will be very diffi cult to strip in the fu- ture without damaging the wood. Oil and wax aren’t good choices in my mind because they are too thin to create the proper appearance, nor do they offer much protection. Glue on new. With the bottom of the drawer side perfectly fl at, it’s easy to glue on new wood, Shellac or lacquer would be best, followed by trimming it with a handplane so the drawer slides easily on the new runners. but shellac has the downside of being available only in gloss sheen. To make the router just short of the drawer front Veneer it satin to create an “old” look, you have and use a chisel to remove the fi nal The veneer on t his che st is r ich Cuban to rub it out with an such as piece of wood. Finally, glue on strips mahogany with a tighter pore structure steel wool, and this leaves noticeable of wood to rebuild the sides and trim than mahogany commonly available scratches. to size with a handplane. today. It is also double or triple the But the chest was originally fi nished If the damage has penetrated the thickness of modern 1⁄32" veneer. with shellac, and my daughter-in-law groove, or if the wood has split at the One of the primary lessons furni- likes gloss, so shellac is appropriate. groove, the best repair is to remove ture restorers learn early on is: Never Had the chest still been in my shop, the drawer sides, cut off the damaged throw anything away. And indeed, I would have sprayed the shellac. But part, glue on replacement wood, and I had saved some old solid pieces of I had taken it to my daughter-in-law recut the groove for the drawer bottom. Cuban mahogany. These matched the by this time, so I brushed the shellac, color and texture of the existing veneer sanding between coats and thinning perfectly, which made the fi nishing each new coat more to reduce brush “When we build, let us think that process much easier. marks almost entirely. we build forever. Let it not be for The easiest way to patch missing So after three decades on hold, my present delight nor for present use veneer is to make straight cuts with bartered chest became a great gift. I’d alone. Let it be such work as our the grain at the edge of the damage call that an excellent trade. PWM descendants will thank us for.“ using a box knife or a chisel. Then fi t —John Ruskin (1819-1900) Bob is the author of “Flexner on Finishing,” “Wood artist, scientist, environmentalist, replacement veneer, also with straight Finishing 101” and “Understanding .” philosopher, critic cuts, into the voids. Wash off the deteriorated hide glue WorldMags.net 48 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

46_1508_PWM_FurnitureRestoration.indd 48 5/13/15 2:43 PM WorldMags.net

Crystallize hide glue. Veneer glued on with Separate the veneer. With the hide glue Build out substrate. Often the drawers have animal hide glue is usually easy to crystallize crystallized, it’s usually easy to separate the worn into the front rail of the chest so that the by inserting alcohol under the veneer. I fi nd a veneer from the substrate using a chisel. To wear has to be built out before the veneer can syringe to be useful for directing the alcohol. avoid cutting into the substrate and losing be replaced. Here, I’m using a chisel to cut a control, I prefer that the chisel be dull. fl at surface for the patch to be glued on to.

Trim the patch. The patch should be left proud, then trimmed level with the substrate. Clamp the patch. Thick veneer is actu- ally very easy to work with. It can often be clamped without using a backing board.

Trim the veneer. Because the veneer used on this chest-of-drawers was considerably thicker than modern veneer, I used solid wood for the patches. Then I trimmed each patch level with a handplane.

ON IN XTRAS For links to all online extras, go to: ■ popularwoodworking.com/aug15

ARTICLE: Dive into the details of hide glue with Bob Flexner.

ARTICLES: You’ll find many free finishing Veneer patch. There was nothing to do about articles on our web site. Dovetailed end grain. The glue bond of the the weakness of the bonds to end grain. It’s veneer at the edges of the drawer fronts was the nature of the way these dovetails were IN OUR STORE: “Flexner on Finishing” – 12 weak because of the large percentage of end cut. So I trimmed pieces of solid wood with years of columns illustrated with beautiful grain in the dovetail tails. Some of the veneer a closely matching grain pattern perfectly full-color images and updated, and “Wood had popped off, leaving ragged edges. So I straight on one edge with a block plane, then Finishing 101.” cut a straight line with the grain using a box glued them into place, butted tightly against Our products are available online at: knife just inside the damage and removed the the existing veneer. After the glue dried, I ■ ShopWoodworking.com waste with alcohol and a chisel. trimmed the excess. WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 49

46_1508_PWM_FurnitureRestoration.indd 49 5/13/15 2:43 PM SteamWorldMags.net

PoweredBY MICHAEL DUNBAR Successful wood bending with heat and water is more art than science.

ong ago, some caveman made a curious discovery: Wood becomes pliable when it is both Lhot and wet, allowing it to be bent to a desired shape that it retains when dry. Ever since, woodworkers have been bending the stuff. Bending, like carving and turning furniture parts, does not usually cre- ate a fi nished object. It is a technique you incorporate into your work, and is a skill worth developing because it makes you much more versatile. As you are about to learn, bending wood is more of an art than a science. Bending is used by lots of wood- Tension & Compression working trades, including boatbuild- You will better understand bending if ing and cooperage. It is most closely you are aware of what happens during associated, however, with common the process. Look at wood under mag- chairs – ladderbacks, “Fancies” and nifi cation and you will notice its simi- Unfortunately, a bending strap is Windsors – because every one of these larity to a sponge. If you wet a sponge, not always practical and I am forced forms incorporates bent parts. But I’ve you can squeeze it a lot. However, it to bend some parts without support. used bent parts for all sorts of other does not stretch nearly as much. If getting wood hot and wet was all projects, too, ranging from a coat rack When plasticized, wood is also ca- that mattered, bending it would be to a steering wheel for an antique car. pable of being squeezed, but like the a lot easier and far less complicated. Wood is capable of being bent – a sponge, it does not stretch well. As However, you do face a number of con- state known as plasticized – when it wood bends, its thickness contains a straints. Accept the hard reality that is both hot and wet. Those conditions neutral line. The wood inside that line bending is an art; failure is sometimes are reached at 180° Fahrenheit and is in compression (being squeezed); unavoidable. The best you can do is to 25-percent moisture content. the wood outside the line is in tension achieve a sustainable success rate. The The old guys boiled their parts in a (being stretched). following will help you avoid failure as metal trough called a chairmaker’s cop- This is why bendings most com- much as possible. per. Boiling water in a long container monly fail on the outside surface. is awkward, and fi shing out the parts Whenever possible, I use a bending Species & Sources is r isky. That is why I prefer steaming, strap, a metal strip as long as the part Wood selection is paramount. Some and rely on an effi cient and easy-to- with stop blocks on each end. In use, species bend better than others and build steam box (see “PVC Steam Box,” the bending strap becomes the neutral choosing the wrong wood for the job page 52). line, so all the wood is in compression. is an invitation to disappointment. A WorldMags.net ■ 50 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR

50_1508_PWM_SteamBending.indd 50 5/13/15 2:49 PM “The better class of workmen would rather part with the clothes WorldMags.netoff their backs and the beds from under them, than make away with their tools.” —Henry Mayhew in The Morning Chronicle, July 11, 1850

cay. Then I stand the stock upright in an unheated area so air can circulate Partial bends. Crest rails, such as the various through it and allow it to air-dry. designs shown above, are partial bends, Stock stored this way will remain which are likely to be successful in a range of suitable for bending indefinitely. I fre- species. (Note: It’s easier to do any carving or shaping while the wood is fl at, then bend it.) quently bend riven-then-ripped air- dried stock that is several years old.

Complete bends. When attempting more Prep & Forms severe bends, such as these back bows for Before bending, you need to shape the various types of Windsor chairs, choose a part.Thereisalwaysariskofbreaking, species such as oak or ash that, ideally, is split so when making a complete bend, I and air-dried, and has no grain runout. invest the minimum amount of effort possible, putting off the finish work species suitable for one shape of bend Logs, Riving & Storage untilaftertheparthasdried. will not work for another. So, the shape I rive the wood my students and I use Partialbends,suchascrestrails, of the bend and suitable species are inchairmaking.Rivingisaprocessof areanotherstory–particularlywhen linked. controlled splitting. It begins with a Idivideshapesintotwocategories: visittothelogyardwhereIselectmy partial bend (crest or slat) and complete logs based on their straightness and bend(asackback’sU-shapedarmsand absence of defects. bows,andtwo-planecontinuousarms). When asked what I look for in a log, I Many species will yield a successful respond “telephone poles.”However, it partialbend.Completebendsarefar isfarmoreinvolved.Decadesofexperi- more demanding and require the best encehastaughtmewhichlogswillmost bendingwoods,suchasoakorash. likely split open into straight bolts – yet Yourwoodsourceisasimportantas I still receive the occasional unpleas- thespecies–youwantmaterialwith ant surprise. uniformstrengthalongtheentirebend. Oncealoghasbeenopened,Isplit Split pieces. Riven logs (in this case, red oak) That’s unlikely to be found at the thehalvesintoquarters,theneighths. yield pieces that are split along the grain line, typical lumberyard, where the wood Finally,Icleaveoffthepith.Theendof with no runout. isalmostalwayssawn,andthusweak- an eighth of a log is pie-shaped, so this ened by grain runout. (Avoid runout means I remove the pointy piece of the byusingwoodwherethesamelayers pie. This is the oldest part of the tree, ofannualgrowthrunfromendtoend.) laid down when it was a sapling. The Plus, lumberyards most often of- pith usually contains small branches feronlykiln-driedstock;thedrying that broke off long ago. process drops the moisture level in the An eighth-log minus its pith is light wood below 15 percent, which sets the enough to carry to my resaw band saw lignum so it will not soften and allow with its 3" blade. Following the grain, the wood to compress. Iriptheeighthintobendingstock– Ihavemadepartialbendsfromkiln- pieces with the grain running from driedwoodbysoakingthepartuntil oneendtotheother. it is waterlogged. I will attempt this, Adeliveryoffourlogsyieldsme Ripped & ready. After riving the stock into however, only if I have no alternative, enoughstockforacoupleofyears. eighths, I use a 3" resaw blade to follow the andIselectmymaterialcarefully,only However, it must be prepared all at grain line and rip the pieces into bending using straight-grained wood. once, because left in the log it will de- stock, then leave it to air dry. WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 51

50_1508_PWM_SteamBending.indd 51 5/13/15 2:49 PM PVC ST AM BOX y steam boxWorldMags.net does such a good job that I have not improved it Min years. It is assembled with easy- to-fi nd, off-the-shelf materials. There are two things I think you want in a steam box: impervious- ness and good insulation. If made of wood, the box will have to satu- rate before it can begin plasticizing Bolts your parts. If made of metal, much oftheheatradiatesintotheair rather than doing its intended job. Also, you risk burning yourself if youbumpthetube. I use Schedule 80 PVC Drain- Waste-Vent pipe because it has bothofmyrequiredproperties. Being plastic, it is impervious. Once you have steam, the box goes immediately to work. It is such a good insulator that when the setup is running full tilt, I with a threaded cleanout. If you use your box only occa- can comfortably hold my hand on the box, even though sionally, test caps are fi ne on both ends. live steam is a mere 3⁄8"awayontheinsideofthepipe. The steam is generated in a boiler (I use a galvanized To hold the large number of parts a class bends in an steel utility can) sitting on a propane burner – the kind afternoon, I have two steam boxes made of 6" pipe. Most used for cooking crawdads or deep-frying turkeys. I do of you will likely find 4" pipe ample – and a lot cheaper. not use an electric heater, because these will not produce Myboxesare6'long,whichisalengthsufficientto a vigorous, roiling boil. Steaming wood is a case where accommodate continuous-arm and settee parts. bigger is better and less is not more. IcutthePVCintotwo3'sectionsandjoinedthem The PVC tube is pierced by four evenly spaced stain- withaTfitting.Withthisconfiguration,thesteamisintro- less steel bolts. The bolts serve as a rack and hold the ducedinthemiddleandflowsevenlyinbothdirections.I parts in the top half of the tube, up in live steam. If you connect the boiler spout to the fitting with a radiator hose don’t use stainless, cover the bolts with fl exible plastic and seal one end of the box with a test cap and the other tubing. This will prevent them from marking the wood. I drilled two 1⁄2" vent holes on the bottom of the tube a short distance from the ends, but far enough in to avoid being covered by the test caps. With copious steam and somewhat tight fi ttings, the tube will develop a bit of pressure, causing plumes of water vapor to shoot down- ward from these vents. These plumes tell me at a glance when the box is operating at full tilt. When explaining the box to students, I liken it to a table saw. Both are very effective, but both are dangerous – and you must shut off both before making any fi xes. In operation, the tube is full of steam that will scald as fast as a table saw will take off a fi nger. Remember, steam rises. So when you open the tube, “up” is the direc- tion the steam is instantly heading. To avoid burns, pull the cap straight off. Then use tongs to remove parts and approach with your hand from below the opening, never above. Do not try to fi sh out a part that is beyond easy Excellent insulator. The PVC pipe provides such good insulation reach of the tongs. that snow remains on top in the winter even when the steam setup Close the tube by putting the cap’s bottom edge in is going at full power. place, then the top. — MD WorldMags.net 52 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

50_1508_PWM_SteamBending.indd 52 5/13/15 2:50 PM WorldMags.net

Press. Partial bends are done in a two-part press, with pressure supplied by a vise. Each half matches the shape I wish to accomplish.

A little help. With two people working, and a strap providing the Forms. For complete bends, I use a form that matches the shape I wish neutral line to keep all the wood in compression, a steamed piece can to accomplish. The block at the top of each holds a wedge in place. be bent around a form all at once.

using riven stock – because they rarely To overcome that excitement, I ad- That said, you don’t want to stop for fail in bending. vise my students before beginning, a cup of coffee on your way from the In Windsors, crest rails often have “Speed is your enemy.” While they steam box to the bending form. carved volutes in their projecting ends, work, I repeatedly warn them to slow calledears.Volutesareeasiertocarve down. Bending must be done gradu- The Bad News: Failures whilethecrestisflatbecausethestock ally, because unlike a sponge, wood If a bend is going to fail, it will happen can be clamped securely. compresses more slowly. Rushing the in one of four ways. The most common Partial bends are accomplished in a job will result in more breakage. A com- is a delamination; the part separates two-partpressmadetoyieldthedesired plete bend can take up to 45 seconds along the grain. curve.Isecurethepress’stwohalvesin (less for a partial bend). Second most-common is roll up, avise,sobendingisaseasyasturning where the piece bends as desired, ahandle.Whendone,Isecurethepress but doesn’t remain fl at in the proper in a clamp so it can be removed to free plane. This occurs when bending a up the vise for the next bend. part against its narrow dimension. (It Eachchairstylehasitsownform, happens in classes most often in sack- and they are not usually interchange- back arm rails.) able. My bending forms for complete bendsallhave acenter blockthatallows the piece to be secured at its midpoint with a wedge. Workingalone,Ibendeachside independently. If I have a helper, we bend both ends at once. Bending is an amazing process to watch. We think of wood as hard and rigid, but right before your eyes it magically changes Delamination & roll up. A delamination failure (left) – where the part separates along the grain – shape. It is even more exciting to be is common. A roll up failure (above) refers to the piece not remaining fl at in the proper plane as it the person doing the bend. dries. Notice how it lifts off the surface at the top right. WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 53

50_1508_PWM_SteamBending.indd 53 5/13/15 2:50 PM WorldMags.net

Tension & compression. In tension shear (left), the fi bers simply tear during bending. A compression failure (right) – where fi bers wrinkle instead of bend – typi- cally occurs on an inside curve. Stacks of arms. A continuous-arm chair back (bent in two planes) needs to stay on the bending form for three days, so the forms are stacked in a drying room equipped with a heater. Tension shear is the third-most com- mon. Here, the wood fi bers tear like a piece of cloth. drying our other bends. The space stays pieces?Woodisplasticizedbymaking Finally, instead of compressing, at90°year-round,makingitaneffective it both hot and wet. In steam, it gets hot wood will sometimes collapse in kiln.Duringthesummer,weincrease fast. And if it is already wet – that is, it a compression failure. The result is theroom’s“oomph”byaddingadehu- hasahighmoisturecontentasdoesour reminiscent of ribbon candy. midifierandaheatlamp.Ourbentparts rivenbendingstock–itisreadytocome I seldom have the luxury of choosing are ready to use in two to three days. outoftheboxinabout20minutesand the day I will bend. We do it Monday You can determine on sight when a puttouseonaformorpress. of every class, because the wood has bent part is completely dry because it Whileyoudon’tneedtoworryabout to be dry so we can use it later in the takes a compression set. Rather than over-steaming, you can under-steam. week. I am forced to ignore the reality springingback,thebendclosesslightly. And with steam-bending in your of good bending days vs. bad. There is Astringthatwastautwhenthepartwas woodworking arsenal, you’ll never a marked difference, and when blessed removed from the form will droop. A again have to worry about getting past with a favorable day, we have far fewer continuous-armbendthatwastightly flat. PWM problems. securedtoitsformwillloosen;the On a bad day we can lose 15 percent, clamp will fall off a press. Mike is the founder of The Windsor Institute, a school while good days frequently achieve So, with all that in mind, how long in Hampton, N.H. He’s been teaching folks how to 100-percent success. The good-ver- does it take to go from dry stock to bent make Windsor chairs since 1980. sus-bad-day phenomenon is counter- intuit ive. To bend, wood has to be wet, ON INE EXTRAS but days that are gray and drizzly are For links to all online extras, go to: the bad ones. Crystal-clear, dry, low- ■ popularwoodworking.com/aug15 humidity days are best. WEB SITE: Read more about the author’s school at thewindsorinstitute.com.

Drying Time VIDEO: Watch Mike Dunbar explain bowsaw A successful bend has to dry before it ergonomics. can be used. Once cool to the touch, ARTICLE: “The Best Oak Money Can’t Buy,“ a complete bend in a single plane can by Peter Follansbee. be removed from the form and its ends IN OUR STORE: “Make a Windsor Chair with tied with string. A double-plane bend (a Mike Dunbar.” continuous arm) has to dry on its form, Strung up. Once a piece is cool to the touch, TO BUY: “Restoring, Tuning & Using Classic and a partial bend remains in its press. a single-plane bend can be tied in place with a string and removed from the form. Notice Woodworking Tools,” by Mike Dunbar. I have a special kiln for continuous- that the string shown here is loose; the wood Our products are available online at: arm forms because they are awkward continued to compress after it was removed ■ ShopWoodworking.com to stack. We use our furnace room for from the form. WorldMags.net 54 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015

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Knew Concepts 21 60 knewconcepts.com Woodworker’s Supply 21 54 woodworker.com Lee Valley 7 28 leevalley.com WorldMags.netWoodworking in America Show 55 — woodworkinginamerica.com popularwoodworking.com ■ 57 ARTS &WorldMags.net MYSTERIES BY PETER FOLLANSBEE Indispensable Mortise & Tenon Drawbore it for a joint that will last centuries.

once had a visitor to my shop remark that he’d like to see a book about all the types of joints that I use. I told Ihim it’d be a pretty short book: One page for the rabbet joints I use in boxes and drawers, and another for the . I never really learned to cut dovetails until I’d been a furniture maker for more than 20 years. But I lean toward fanaticism and, early on, 17th-century joiners’ work capt ivated me completely. And it was there that I learned just how many places you could use the mortise- and-tenon joint. It’s a joint that can take you from the cradle to the grave, almost. House frames and the wainscoting around the Built to last. The section cut above of walls. Cabinet doors in the kitchen. a drawbored mortise-and-tenon joint Cradles, chairs, tables, chests and cup- shows how the peg snakes through an boards. Stools. Benches. offset to pull together the mortise and You can picture most any piece of the tenon. At right is a 17th-century peg, from a Braintree, Mass., joined chest. furniture in the stile-and-rail format. Drawers are the exception; I’ve never heard of, and wouldn’t want to see, a sometimes called “Bible boxes” – a term Windsors, too, use a round mor- drawer made with mortises and tenons. I despise. There was a period term for tise and tenon. I’ve formed these with Hence the rabbet. While some are these items that was quite straightfor- Forstner bits, spoon bits, auger bits and dovetailed, most 17th-century drawers ward: a “box.” more. All of them worked. Turned ten- in English work are just rabbeted and They are almost always rabbeted, ons, shaved tenons, even whittled. The fi xed with nails. It’s not the showiest usually secured with iron nails through heart of the ladderback’s mortise and technique, but if a drawer lasts 350-plus each corner, and use no glue. A small tenon is the wet/dry joint – a super-dry years, is it really poor construction? percentage used rabbets that were glued tenon in a mortise that still contains and pinned; square pegs in round holes moisture. Shrinking mortise, swelling Square Pegs, Round Holes make a tight fi t. tenon – it works like a charm. The oak boxes I make are based on Rarely, you fi nd boxes like this with The tapered, round mortise and studies of period examples. These are dovetailed corners. You’re more likely tenon used in a Windsor chair seat- to fi nd period boxes that feature nailed to-leg joint is another nifty item. Bore butt joints than dovetailed examples. the mortise, ream it, then turn a tapered They’re out there, but they’re quite tenon. Sit on it and presto! Tighter and unusual. tighter it goes. Mostly these are still split and wedged from above, sort of a Wet/Dry Joint belt-and-suspenders approach. As a chairmaker, the round mortise A box. In the 17th-century-style work I do, and tenon was the fi rst joint I learned Joint for a Lifetime boxes aren’t typically dovetailed. They’re rab- in detail. How many ladderback chairs But bored mortises and shaved or beted, then nailed. have been made on this earth? A lot. turned tenons won’t get you a chest WorldMags.net ■ 58 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR

58_1508_PWM_A&M.indd 58 5/13/15 3:01 PM WorldMags.net or cupboard. When I began to study ings. That was actually where I fi rst joinery, I saw that the rectangular mor- learned about drawbored joinery. tise and tenon was the entire basis for the craft. Dovetails? Meh I had made mortise-and-tenon joints Dovetails, of course, have their place, before this; some of my earliest non- and now they are a sort of gold standard period, non-chair works were book- for . I think the em- cases that used through mortise and phasis on t he “per fect ly cut” dovet ail is tenons, fastened with a wedge. more a reaction against machine-made Later, I employed these again in our work than any measure of a craftsper- bedstead – not a traditional 17th-cen- son’s abilities. tury technique unless you’re building Roy Underhill has remarked that a Dutch barn. I even remember once the is incredibly strong in or twice making fox-wedged joints. one direction, but can come loose in the But my favorite is the drawbored ver- other. Maybe that’s why 17th-century sion. Even beginners can make joints versions of the joint are often nailed Nailed tails. While they are rare, there are that will last a lifetime with this tech- through the tails into the end grain of a few surviving examples of 17th-century nique. You need a couple of chisels, a the pin board. The belt-and-suspenders dovetails. But most feature nails through the tail board. backsaw, a mortise gauge, and a brace method of dovetailing: Leave nothing and bit – all basic tools that most shops to chance. have, or should have. I did come around, and I learned to Champion Joint And you need practice. For my cut dovetails. I’ve made lots of boxes But for versatility, the mortise-and- joints, I use no glue, but tapered wood- with that method, either just for the tenon joint is unbeatable. Whenever en pins to hold it together. I’ve used fun of it, or so I could delve into other I turn someone on to their fi rst joint, the same format, but slightly different disciplines beyond the English period it’s always the drawbored mortise and techniques in timber-framing build- joinery that is my specialty. tenon. The good ones are hooked right away. Then, 25 years later, if they’re DRAWBORE A JOINT still interested, they can fi ddle with dovetails. PWM

Peter has been involved in traditional craft since 1980. Read more from him on spoon carving, period tools and more at pfollansbee.wordpress.com.

ONLINE EXTRAS For links to all online extras, go to: ■ popularwoodworking.com/aug15

BLOG: Read Peter Follansbee’s blog.

Mark. Use an awl to mark the hole location TO BUY: “17th Century New England Carving: on the tenon. Then remove the tenon and Carving the S-Scroll” (Lie-Nielsen). Fit. First, show the tenon to its mortise. offset the center point about 1⁄8" toward the shoulder, and drill. IN OUR STORE: “The Arts & Mysteries of Hand Tools” on CD. About this Column “Arts & Mysteries” refers to the contract between an apprentice and master – the 18th-century master was contractually obligated to teach appren- tices trade secrets of a given craft (and the apprentice was expected to preserve those “mysteries”). Our products are available online at: Pinned. Use a drawbore pin to test-fi t the Pegged. Now drive a peg (preferably of riven ■ ShopWoodworking.com joint after drilling the holes in the tenon. oak) into each hole. WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 59

58_1508_PWM_A&M.indd 59 5/13/15 3:02 PM I CAN DOWorldMags.net THAT BY MEGAN FITZPATRICK Contemporary Side Table Simply change the ‘drawer’ and fi nish to change the look of this easy piece.

he first step in building this contemporary side table is to go shopping for the basket that Tserves as a drawer – then adjust the plans as necessary to fi t your choice. The one shown here is an 11"-deep, 7"-tall, 17"-long sea grass basket from Organized Living – but a basket, tray or cloth tote of many sizes and shapes would work (and you can easily change the style of the project with your “draw- er” and fi nish choice). The key thing is that your basket/ tray/tote not be deeper than 111⁄4", which is the actual width of 1x12 – the widest dimensional lumber available at the home center. So, with my basket selected, I headed to the home center for No. 1 white pine. This project is dirt-simple and, in- cluding the $24 basket, cost less than $100. It took just a couple of hours to shop, build and apply the fi nish – yet I’ve seen similar projects in various catalogs and stores priced anywhere from $200 to $600. I know it’s easy to fall into t he t rap of saw, or if yours won’t make an 111⁄4"- books and the like. My basket is also 7" “I could just build that,” then never get wide cut, you can easily use a circular – but I wanted a little room at the top to around to it – but with this side table, saw, running it along a straightedge to be able to easily reach in to pull it out, there’s simply no excuse. keep the cut square. so that took an 8" opening. Hold off on cutting the top to length After I marked the shelf locations, I Stock Layout until you’ve assembled the base. showed the basket to the side to make The shelves, sides and top are all the full Now lay out the shelf locations. I sure it would fi t. Trust, but verify. 111⁄4" width of the 1x12 stock, so all you decided on a 7" opening at the top for Before moving on, sand the sides and need to do is cut the pieces to length. shelve s to #150 gr it or more to remove I started with the shelves, so I mill mark s. (You can probably get away marked then cut one 18"-long piece at w it h stopping at #120 gr it if you’re going the , and used it to mark the to paint your side table.) length of the other so they’d match. Then I did the same with the 271⁄4"-long Grab Your Drill sides. After making your cuts, confi rm The joinery is simply two pocket screws the parts match their partners; if they’re on the underside of each end of both off even a little, stack them fl ush at one shelves. But because this was all mov- end, then trim them simultaneously Matched sets. Measure, mark, then cut the ing along far too quickly, I decided to at the miter saw. They need to match. fi rst shelf and use it to lay out the length of the add a dash of fuss (t wo minute s’ wort h) Note that if you don’t have a miter second shelf. Do the same for the two sides. by measuring and marking locations WorldMags.net CONTINUED ON PAGE 63 ■ 60 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 LEAD PHOTO BY AL PARRISH; STEP PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR; ILLUSTRATION BY DAN PESSELL FROM THE AUTHOR’S MODEL

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c2_1508_PWM_FPAds.indd 62 5/15/15 11:58 AM I CAN DOWorldMags.net THAT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 60 for the pocket screws before drilling. I hope the cats and bugs are impressed by the perfect symmetry that no person will ever see. The only (slightly) tricky thing Eschew ‘Frenching.’ A nail set helps you avoid about using pocket screws for assembly inadvertently marring is makingsureyourpartsstayperfectly (“Frenching”) the aligned as you drive the screws. But tabletop as you drive clamp a thick, straight piece of wood the nails slightly below along thelayoutline(andtothebot- the surface. tom of the Workmate to keep the side from shifting), and the challenge is overcome. You’ll also see in the picture Contemporary Side Table Easy driving. A block clamped NO. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) MATERIAL at rightthatI’veanotherclamppulling in place to the layout lines makes TWL the shelf to the block – that’s because it simple to hold the shelves ❏ 2Sides 3⁄4 111⁄4 271⁄4 Pine the shelf boards developed a slight perfectly in place as you drive the ❏ 3 1 but noticeable warp after I cut them pocket screws. (Note: Because 2 Shelves ⁄4 11 ⁄4 18 Pine ❏ 3 1 1 to length; the clamp pulled the warp I’m using pine, a softwood, I used 1Top ⁄4 11 ⁄4 19 ⁄2 Pine coarse-thread screws.) out to make the shelves nice and level. After you drive the pocket screws on one side, flip the piece on top of the removeanymillandburnmarksfrom everything),letitsitforaboutfivemin- second side and again clamp the block the saw blade. Then – if like me, you’re utes, then wipe off the excess with a to your layout lines to keep things in persnickety – use your combination clean rag. place as you finish assembling the base. square to mark a line 3⁄8"inalongeach Waitforthestaintodry(itcantake Butbeforeyoutightentheclamps, end,andmarknaillocationssymmetri- as long as 12 hours), then apply a top- grab a 12" combination square and cally along that line, then align the top coat (I used a satin polyurethane). After confi rmthatthesetupisindeedsquare. withthebaseanddrillpilotholesfor it dries, slide your basket in place, and Oncethebaseisalltogether,setit 6d finish nails. voilá – an easy contemporary side table on the ground and confirm the length Driveeachnailsoit’salmostflush forlittlecashandlittletime,butwith for thetop.Yep–inthiscase,191⁄2"as to the surface, then use a nail set for a lot of style. PWM planned. But you never know. the final hammering of each to sink Cutthetoptolengthatthemitersaw the heads slightly below the top and Megan is the editor of this magazine. She can be and useasandingblockontheendsto not damage the wood. reached at megan.fi[email protected].

19 1⁄2" The Finishing Steps ON INE EXTRAS Sandthetoptothesamegritasyou For links to all online extras, go to: did the sides and shelves, check the ■ popularwoodworking.com/aug15 entire build to make sure everything is 7" PLAN: Download a free SketchUp model of smoothtoyoursatisfaction,thenease the “Contemporary Side Table.” all the edges with sandpaper. ARTICLES: Allofthe“ICanDoThat”articles Now break out the stain or paint. I are free online. choseagelstain(inhickory)because 8" Our products are available online at: gel stain basically sits on top of the ■ 28" ShopWoodworking.com surface and thus tends to blotch less on pine than a penetrating stain. And About This Column 18" it’s the consistency of pudding, so it OurICanDoThatcolumnand videoshowfeatureprojects doesn’tdripandrun.Italsoimpartsa that can be completed by any deeper color than penetrating stain… woodworker with a modest (but decent) kit which is why some people don’t like oftoolsinlessthantwodaysofshoptime, it – it obscures the grain more than a using materials from any home center. Visit traditional stain. PopularWoodworking.com/ICanDoThat to 3⁄4" watch the videos featuring host Chad Stan- Afterdonninggloves,ragonacoat ton, and to download the free tool manual. ELEVATION (nottoothick–butsufficienttocover WorldMags.net popularwoodworking.com ■ 63

60_1508_PWM_ICDT.indd 63 5/13/15 3:06 PM END GRAINWorldMags.net BY SHAWN NICHOLS Working Memory Rebuilding a toy chest is a connection to the past and the future.

do not stem from woodworking lineage, at least not the kind you hear about. My dad wasn’t overly Ihandy.Whilegrowingup,Irecallmost thingseitherwentunfixedor someone elsewascalledtoremedythesituation. My grandfather worked as a mainte- nancemanfixingthisorthat.Generally speakingthough,grandpawasmoreof afrugalDIYerthanafinecraftsman. Nonetheless, their hearts were al- ways in the right place and sometime in the early 1970s, they both set forth to cobble together a toy chest for my siblings. Over the years, the chest held action figures, dolls, baseball cards and most likely someone’s illegal stash. It moved from the bedroom to the base- ment sometime in the late ’90s. There it sat until recently. fi rst time. New and old in- Whilevisitingmymom,sheasked tertwined at each step in me if I could reconfigure the toy chest the process. In my mind, I withanewlidandsaferhardware. could see their smiles and I Thisway,mytwolittlegirlscoulduse appreciated their guidance itwhentheycametograndma’shouse. on this build. Imademywayintothebasementand, The chest is back in use at withonelook,becameawashinchild- the old homestead. Currently, it hood memories. store s lot s of pink and pur ple, but AsItooksecondandthirdglances, girls. Working with this piece conjured one day it might house an anarchist’s I was able to see the piece with a wood- up unexpected memories, questions tools or grandma’s blankets – or maybe worker’s eyes. I noticed the construc- and connections. it will just be a place to set down a well- tiontechniques:less-than-perfectcase Not to get lost in metaphysics, but it’s de ser ved dr ink. I look at it fondly each miters, screws, wood putty and heart. as though I could feel my dad’s hands time I visit: a vestige of a life cut short How did they cut these long case throughtheboards.Itcreatedanunan- and a legacy I promise to pass on. PWM miters?Didtheyfillthesescrewholes ticipatedcomfort,becauseInolonger with plugs? They didn’t have a table cantouchthosehands. Shawn lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife and two saworaplugcutter,didthey? Mydadwasbothafarmeratheart young daughters. When not using his spare time to build furniture, he’s thinking about it. Over the course of several months andbytrade.AsmuchasIrejectedthe I rebuilt the chest. I disassembled the simplicity of his ways as a teen, I rejoice structure, discarded the ugly plywood in them now. ON INE EXTRAS top, and planed down the boards to Iscoredsomereclaimedwormy For links to all online extras, go to: discover a beautiful pine bottom and for the new top. I broke down ■ popularwoodworking.com/aug15

maple sides. theseoldboardsbyhandusinggrand- TWITTER: Follow us on Twitter @pweditors. More importantly, I was able to cre- pa’s recently restored (by me) Disston Our products are available online at: ate linkages between my aging grand- D-8. I experimented with breadboard ■ ShopWoodworking.com father,mydeceasedfatherandmylittle ends,milkpaintandcutnailsforthe WorldMags.net ■ 64 POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE August 2015 PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR

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