contents WOODamagazine June/July2002, lssue 142

PRO JECTS 14 sanding-discorganizer Createsimple storage that helps you install random-orbitdiscs quicklyand easily. 42 ultimatetool chest Show off your woodworkingskills while pro- vidinga home for your favoritehand tools. 58 grand-entrancegarden gate Let this invitingstructure welcome guests to your backyardliving spaces. u good-neighborfence Spice up borderswith a builder-friendly designthat featuresdurable plastic lattice. 74 heirloom hope chest Learnbasic frame-and-panel construction whenyou make this handsome project. 86 space-saving built-ins :V w Addstyle and storage to interiorwalls with ',-t*nq*w' thisbetween-the-studs remedy. gl kids' horseshoe set Puton yourgame face and make somethinggeared for outdoorfun.

IQUES

38 signyour work in brass Showpride and class in yourhandcrafted projectswith shop-made nameplates. 52 guide to clear finishes Getthe lowdownon topcoatchoices, 94 includingapplication.

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FFFYT -*-- Lrltll r|a':r I .. 1 i ffi Itt;l tltrl Cover Photograph:Baldwin Photography rlfll: contents June/July2002, lssue 142

TOOLS AND MATERIALS

16 what makesa greatbrush Discoverwhat finish brushes work best for differenttopcoats and why. 18 price-busting dovetail jigs Checkout two newrouter accessories that combineease of usewith a greatprice. 70 tool test stowablesawhorses Seewhich of the 12tested models lead the packin featuresand versatility. 80 tool test routerlifts Quicklyadjust bit heightin table-mounted routers with one of these eight accessories. 98 productsthat perform Checkout the world's first cordless router, and beefup yourrouter table with a shaper-gpefence.

20 wherewill the wood comefrom? Findout the supplystatus of softwoodsand hardwoodsworldwide. 50 updateon treatedlumber Thedays are numbered for woodwith chromatedcopper arsenate. Catch up on the latestdevelopments.

D E PA R T M E N T S

6 editor'sangle 10 short cuts 12 talkingback Better Homes and Gardensa WOODa magazine (ISSN-0743-894X) is published seven times a year in 22 shoptips March, May, June/July, September,October, November, and December by Meredith Corporation, 1716 Locust St., Des Moines, IA 50309-3023.Periodicals postage paid at Des Moines, Iowa, and additional mail- ing offices. Better Homes and Gardenstrademark registered in Canadaand Australia. Marca Registradaen frl askWOOD MExico.ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION PRICES: [].S. anOits possessions,$28; Canada, $41; dther coun- tries,$49. CanadaPost Publications Mail SalesAgreement No. 40069223.Canadian BN 123482887 RT. 112 what'sahead in our nextissue CANADIAN RETURN ADDRESS: Better Homes and Gardens WOOD mas.azine.2744 Edna Street. Windsor. Ontario.N8Y lV2. POSTMASTER: Sendaddress chanses to Better Hbmesand GardensWOOD magazine,P.O. Box 37439,Boone, IA 50037-0439.

4 WOOD magazine June/july 2002 trtrtrffiiiti@ June/July2002 . Vol.19, N0.4 . lssueNo. 142 Editor-in-ChiefBltL KRIER editortsanste ExecutiveEditor JIM HARROLO ManagingEditor MARLEN KEMMEI FeaturesEditor DAVE STONE ProductsEditor DAVE CAMPBELL ProtectsEditor JAN HALE SVEC ProjectsEditor OWEN DUVALL TechniquesEditor JIM P0LLOCK Wafkirng the r r-alL SeniorDesign Editor KEVIN B0Y[E DesignEditor JEFF MERTZ MasterCraftsman CHARLES l. HEDLUND What, exactly,are readerslike Production/0fficeManager MARGARET Ct()SNER tfiAc AdministrativeAssistant SHERYL MUNY0N yourselflooking for in a wood- lllustratorsLORNA J()HNSON, ROXANNE LeM0lNE, TIMCAHILL. MIKE MITTERME]ER working magazine?At ContributingPhotographer MARTY BAIDWIN TechnicalConsultants RICH ER|GHT, JEFF HALI, WOODwe givethat ques- PHILTIPG()()DWIN. GARRY SMITH ContributingCraftsman JIM HEAVEY tion a lot of thoughtevery ProofreadersJIM SANDERS. BARBARA KLEIN ArtDirector TIM ALEXANDER AssociateArtDirector KARL EHLERS day.Fortunately, thousands AssistantArt Director CHERYT A. CIBULA of you havesupplied us with PublisherMABK HAGEN Advertising0tfice: 333 N, Michigan Ave., Suite 1500, answersthrough letters, e-mails, Chicago,lL60601 Phone: 312853-2890 Fax 312580-7906 Salesand Marketing Assistant. IARA KALLAL and face-to-facemeetings. Here's Fromnow on, you'llfind this sealin MailResponse Manager CAR0LYN DAKIS issue WOODmagazine. lt AccountExecutive R()N G()tMINAS every of AccountExecutive NEIL KIRBY how we planto liveup to your servesas a reminderof our centralmis- AccountExecutive J0HN TH0RNBURGH sion:to serveyou with a woodworking Detroit,Phone: 248/356-1149 Fax: 248/356-8930 highexpectations. magazineof unparalledquality. AccountExecutive PAT T0MLINS0N Northeast, Phone: 21 2/55 1-7043 Fax: 2121 551 -7 192 Southeasl:Lagomarsino, Dempsey & Dennis, Inc. as you devoteyour full energyand How do we deliver this quality differ- 2951Piedmont Rd., NE, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30305 Fr, Phone:404/261-5400 Fax: 4041261-5404 talentsto everyproject that comes out ence?It's not easy,and it's not cheap,but I GroupMarketing Director CATHY E.SMITH d-fyour shop,our staffprides itself on there'sno gettingaround it: We haveto SeniorMarketing Services Manager ALEXANDER D.CLARKSON Phone:212/55'l -7090 Fax: 2121551-7192 putting our very besteffort into eachissue build everyproject, painstakingly prove SeniorPromotion Desioner SARAH DlBELTA of WOOD magazine.We makeno bones everydimension, redesign and rebuild GrouoPublisher STEPHEN B. LEVINS0N aboutwanting to bring you a woodwork- projectsif necessary,then double-or AssociateBusiness Director CRAIG FEAR ing publicationthat is absolutely triple-checkevery depil. We verify the SeniorProduct Manager RICK GR()W AdvertisingOperations Manager PAT HENDEBSH0TT unmatchedin every way. effectivenessand safetyof every wood- ConsumerMarketing Director KATHI PRIEN To achievethat, we haveto do a lot working techniquehere in our shopby an ConsumerMarketino Manaoer DAVE H0N0LD morethan produce easy-to-read and in-housestaff of designers,builders, and VicePresidenVPublishing Director WILLIAM R. REED insightful afticles,complete with great writers.Each staffertakes ownership of MEREDITHPUBTISHING GROUP photosand detailed illustrations. What we every article he is involved with, and PresidentSTEPHEN M.LACY MagazineGroup President JERRY KAPLAN striveto do, morethan anything, is cap- proudlyplaces his nameat the endof each GrouoSales MICHAEL BR0WNSTEIN ture your unreservedconfidence in the story.When it comesto tools,we never CreativeServices ETLEN DETATHOUDER BusinessDevelooment TINA GE0RGE()U accuracyand achievability of everything write up a productuntil it provesitself ManufacturingBRUCE HEST0N you seein the magazine.Itis this level of worthy of a placein your shopby passing ConsumerMarketing KARLA JEFFRIES confidence,we believe,that creates a our intensivetests first. Financeand Administration MAX RUNCIMAN ,lUleredfth quality differenceamong woodworking It's calledwalking the walk, notjust I co^"o^o,'o" publicationsin today'smarketplace. talkingthe talk. Of course,I want you to WlttlAMT. KERR, President and Chief Executive Officer E.T.MEREDITH lll. Chairman ofthe Executive Committee We considerit essentialthat you can tell me how well we're succeeding.Just oCopyrightMeredith Corporation 2002 build a projectfromWOOD withoutfear drop me a letter at the editorialmailing All rightsreserved. Printed in theU.S.A. Customer Service Information: For service on your sub- thatyou'll be slowedby errorsor stymied addressat ight, or send scription, including change of address, contact us at www.woodmagazine.com./service or call 8001374-9663. by missingsteps. You canput your trust an e-mail to me at wood- Subscription mailing address: Better Homes and Gardens WOOD magazine,P.O. Box 37439, Boone. IA 50037-0439. fully in the techniquesand tips shown [email protected]. Pleaseenclose your addresslabel from a recentissue. Editorial here,knowing that you won't wastemate- mailing address:The Editor, WOOD magazine, l7 I 6 Locust Street,GA310, Des Moines,IA 50309-3023.For questions rials or time. And, we want you to march on editorial,questions about how to reachan advertiser,or to olace an advertisementin our masazine call 800/374-9663. into tool retailerswith the unwaveringcer- To order back issuescall 8fi)/346-9d63.Article reprints, send$5 taintythat you'll get a goodbuy basedon per article (no phoneorders), include issueand nameofarticle, to WOOD Article Reprint Service, P.O. Box 349, Kalona, tA the recommendationsin our tool reviews. E^!Ay^;uv52247.checkor monevorder madeoavable to WOOD maeazine. to tP,t

WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 \gvfirc^rt I wrrur I

::6ry short cuts Newsand notes from the woodworking world

A rnahogany Iook-alike rnakes

#ffiffi .,., its debrrt Ftsff.1*";.tt'. *,n,. Any woodworkerwho haspurchased the Weyerhaeuser's new premiumhardwood Honduras mahogany hybrid hardwood Lyptus servesas a less-costlysubstitute has experiencedsticker shock firsthand. for mahogany. We found it for over $5 a board foot at our local lumberyard.Recognizing the With the productbeing so new, some needfor a lower-pricedsubstitute, indus- dealersmay not know of it. And while its try giant Weyerhaeuserrecently intro- intendeduse includes furniture, cabinets, duceda comparableproduct that sellsfor and architecturalmillwork, Weyerhaeuser around$4 a boardfoot. has not yet manufactureda Lyptus- Called Lyptus, a hybrid of Eucalyptus veneeredplywood to support the hard- grandis andEuc alyptus urophylla, this wood end of the business. hardwoodgrows in mammothsustained- forestplantations in Brazil, as pictured at right. Harvestedin just 10 to 12 years,Lyptus is then brought into the U.S. and Canadaand sold on a special-order basisthrough lumber retailers carrying Weyerhaeuserproducts. You can purchaseit surfacedon four sides (S4S)in4l4 and5/4 thicknesses,and in ran- dom lengthsand widths. HTnvDREDSoF RourERs ONTTNE Girrc batteries a safe retirement Thanks to the nonprofit, public-ser- nqp DeWALT IndustrialTools. RBRC *ra sD( vice organization Rechargeable tofilrol'd|!.a. hasinstalled collection boxes, above, bt[aLl {ha BatteryRecycling Corporation hf|) in panicipatingHome Depot ww u to o lcrib, arn azo n, c ont (RBRC), you now havean environ- storesin the U.S. and Canada. mentallyfriendly way to disposeof f% Also. countlessother retail- Ca[lfor your FREETool Crib catalog all your worn-out rechargeablebatter- ers, suchas hardwarestores, ies. Theseinclude cells from portable havejoined in the campaign. 1:8oo-635-5:,40 power tools, laptop computers,cell To find the collection outlet phones,and camcorders. nearestyou, call 800/8-BAT- Toos & Henowanr Partneringwith The Home Depot, TERY or log onto amazon.com.and receivingassistance from www.rbrc.org. WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 ,qsBrE.;t r*

#t--* talkin Ourbulletin board for letters,comments, and timely updates

More parnel desigrrs offer rtetll

tales to tell for the storybook larnp "Hideout" wood- We wantedto let you workers Carolyn Barnes (top) and knowthat we are now Andy Mihok helped offeringmore laser-cut kids build birdhous- es during a junior sidepanels-26 new woodworker's day. designsplus your originalfour-for the Mentoring works great for "StorybookLamp" you kids and the kids-at-heart featuredin issue135, In referenceto BillKrier's editor's letter September2001. The on mentoring(issue 139), I am writing newpanels include on behalfof a groupof woodworkers morewith kids'story- who residein "TheHideout," a 3,200- bookthemes, as wellas homerecreational community located in somegeared more the PoconoMountains of Pennsylvania. towardgrown-ups. We nowhave over 100 men and Theseinclude the womenin ourwoodworking club. Last sailboatand patriotic- summerwe heldthe grandopening of a themedpanels shown new36x80' woodshop facility. aI right. We alsosponsored our firstjunior- -Mike andJoan Driscoll, woodworker'sday, invitingkids of the DricoProducts,lnc. community,ages 8 through12. We had two sessions,each attendedby For ntoreinfonrntiott 20 children.Each junior woodworker aboutthe new panel receiveda shopapron (made by our designsand theirprices, ladiesauxiliary), safety glasses, and call Drico Procluctsat pre-cutwood for a birdhouse.The kids 888/s77-32s7. workedat centerswith club members untiltheir projects were complete. "TheHideout" woodworkers are trying to promoteinterest in woodworkingto everyonein ourcommunity. We're Titebond II gets a new lease on shelf life planningto holdanother junior wood- I wouldlike to respondto a reference coupledwith extensivecustomer worker'sday sometime this summer. madeabout the shelflife of Titebondll feedback,gives us ampleevidence and -KennethWenz. Lake Ariel. Pa. gluein the article"Double take on wood- ' resoundingconfidence that the shelf working"in issue137, November 2001, , lifeof Titebondll extendswell beyond Write Us! of WOODmagazine. six months. Doyou have comments, criticisms, sugges- On page82, RoberlMeier is quite We are very conseruativein our tions,0r maybe even a complimentspecifically relatingto anarticle that appeared in W00h complimentaryof Titebondll, but his publishedshelf life of 12 months. magazine?Please write to: opinionthat the glue"must be fresh" Experienceshows that the product TalkingBack and that it "getsold in six monthsand i maintainsits integrityand bonding W00Dmagazine losessome strength,"concerns me. characteristicsfor a substantiallylonger 1716Locust St., GA-310 Titebondll has beenon the marketfor periodof time. DesMoines, lA 5G109-3023 10 yearsand millionsof gallonshave -Mark Schroeder,Marketing Manager, ore-mail us at [email protected] beensold. Our comprehensivetesting, Frankl i n International )ue to the volumeof lettersand e-mails we receive,we canrespond to andpublish only greatest 12 WOOD magazine lune/July 2002 thoseof the interestto ourreaders. great ideas for your shop

sandirrgrdisc orgrurizer A simple system to keep abrasive discs flat and at the ready for quick mounting

ver been frustrated trying to align the holesin a sandingdisc with the holes in a random- orbit sander'spad? If so, then you'll appreciatethis simple storageand organizing system designedby WOODo readerand professionalwoodworker Tom Frazier. This fixture storesthree grits of 5" hook-andJoopdiscs on shortpieces of dowel that index with the holes in the sander,mak- ing alignment foolproof. To use the organizer,place the STEP 1 sandingdiscs over the dowels grit side Tape disc in place, down. Then just pressthe sanderonto the STEP2 Drills/s"holes and mark hole 3/+" centerpoints. dowels for surefire alignment. Each deep throughhardboard cap and into base. sectionholds about a dozendiscs. A cap keepsthem flat and clean. Building a disc dispenseris easy.Cut a 1131c' baseto the size shown from scrap7+" stock.(Tom usedMDF becauseit stays 1/+"hardboard cap flat.) Then rout the top edgeswith a V+" round-over bit. Next, cut a tA" hardboard -\ 51/2" --..- -\,- 3/s"holes cap, center it on the base,and temporarily tapeit in place. s/ro" Chamfer to 1/a"round-over Mounting the dowels accuratelyis no diameter. problem. Use a sandingdisc as a guide, 3/e" and follow the three stepsshown in the dowel 1" long drawing at right. Whether your sander STEP3 accepts5-hole or 8-holediscs, three dow- Gluedowels into holes. els hotd eachdisc securelyin place.|l

Written by David Stone Project design: Tom Frazier lllustration:Roxanne LeMoine; Tim Gahill Photograph:Baldwin Photography 3/+"MDF base

14 WOOD magazlne June{uly 2002 Chiselshape workshop sawy Dividers Epoxy Metal ferrule / r, a bnrsh r witfr greatness Brushes may look alike, but they're not all equal. Choose wisely, then handle them with care.

III henyou applya clearfinish, Whenyou're done applying a coatof Tapered T f f bristles are Itlt your brushmakes a differ- finish,brush out asmuch finish as possi- strong, but U U ence.A cheap,throwaway ble ontopaper or a pieceof scrap.Put on capable of modelcan cause problems, while a quality protectivegloves, soak the bristlesin the laying down a smooth finish. brushthat suitsyour parlicularfinish will appropriatesolvent, and work it in with Flaggedends helpyou achievefirst-class results. You'll your fingers.If you usedthe brushwith also help spendmore up front, but that'snot a deci- vamish,clean it with mineralspirits, then finish flow out evenly. sivefactor; take care of it properly,and a lacquerthinner. If you appliedlacquer, goodbrush will lastmuch longer than a cleanwith lacquerthinner. A shellacbrush shownin PhotoA. Rinseout thesoap, cheapone. benefitsfrom a bathin ammoniaand hot thenspin the brushto removethe water. The photoabove provides a cutaway water.Use waterto cleanout water-based Beforeit driescompletely, place the brush view of a finishingbrush made by the finishes.When the bristles feel clean, in its originalcardboard jacket, or wrap it Elder& Jenkscompany, brushmakers shakethe brushto removemost of the sol- with paperfrom a grocerybag, as in since1793. The bristles are set into a vent,or holdthe handle between your Photo B, to keepthe bristlesstraight and slightlyconvex base of epoxy,then palmsand rub your handsto spinit. clean.The next time you needit, your trimmedto completethe chiselshape. Finally,no matterwhich solvent you brushwill be as-9ood as new. *

Doubledividers give the bristlesextra startedwith, finish cleaningthe brushwith Photographs: Baldwin Photography support.They alsocreate reservoirs that soap(shampoo works well) andwater, as lllustration: Roxanne LeMoine holda smallamount of finish.feedine the brushas you useit. F Whenyou applyvarnish or brushing lacquer,opt for a "Chinabristle" brush madewith hog hairsfrom China.These bristles,as shownin the drawingabove right,havea naturaltaper that provides strengthwhile puningmore bristles in contactwith the surface.Their "flagged" endshold more finish than pointed ones, anddispense it moreevenly. For water-basedfinishes, use synthetic bristles.Nylon bristlesare softer and more flexiblethan polyester, or you canbuy a combinationof thetwo. Goldennylon givesgreat results with shellac.Some syn- theticbristles also are tapered and flagged. Onceyou havea top-notchbrush, keep Use the appropriate solvent to clean Cut your paper long enough so you can your brush after each use, then complete fold it back to the ferrule without bend- it in workingorder. It takesonly a couple the job with soap and water. Work the ing the bristles.Wrap it tightly,fold it, of minutesto cleanand store it properly. latherinto the bristles.then rinse. then hold it in placewith a rubber band.

16 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 tool buyers' update

FgsOO Pins and Tails jigs deliver through dovetails for the price of a half-blind jig.

Adjusting the fit of thejoint is pretty straightforward:Cut a testjoint by tem- ltt*ri:ruffi:.porarily mountingthe templateto the aboutthe price of dinner and a movie for fence,using the elongatedscrew slots. two, you can cut precisethrough dovetails Then shift the templateforward or back to with the Pins and Tails Traditional adjustthe fit. In our tests,we achieveda Through-DovetailJigs from MLCS. perfecrfitting joint on our third test cut. Thesetemplates came on the marketjust We then locked in that fit with a pair of We werecareful to markthe wasteareas to as our review of through-dovetailjigs screwsin round holeson the template. makesure that we routedaway the sock- (August2001, issue 134) hit the news- ets,not the pins. stand.Although they borrow many of the Any downside? betterattributes of thejigs in that test,Pins Although many of the templatesin our doesn'tinclude the /+"-longs/4"-diameter and Tails jigs ($80 each)cost only about recenttest make7o dovetails,these tem- guidebushing required to makethe cuts. half as much as the least-expensivemodel platescut 14otails. It's a strongjoint, but Our jigs didn't comewith setupand originally reviewed. the steeperangle makes the tips of the operatinginstructions, but we foundthem tails more proneto breakage.As the bit in an onlineinstruction book. The setup Irnitation is flattery exitedthe cut, severalof the tails in our procedureis clearlydescribed, although In setupand operation,the Pins and Tails red-oaktest pieces lost a small chip at the the directionsfor actuallycutting the jigs resemblethe Keller 2401.You mount very tip. dovetailswere vague. At our suggestion, the templateto a 21/e"-thickwoodenfence MLCS sellstwo jigs: Model 8701 Bill Goldmanof MLCS saidthe company that you provide. (We resawed,then (shownabove) comes with %"-shankbits, would immediatelybeef up the operating planeddown, a4x4 cedarpost to make and cuts zA"taTls on lVt" centers;model instructionsand include a copy with every this odd-sizefence.) After clampingyour 8702makes l" dovetails2" on-center. Pinsand Tails templateshipped.S stockto the fenceand routing the tails, You can also get eithermodel with Vc"- Writtenby Dave Gampbellwith Dave Henderson you usethe tails to mark the pin board. shankbits insteadof Vz".The $80 price Photographs:Baldwin Photography Becausethe Pins and Tails iigs usea 7s" guidebushing insteadof a bearing-guided PERFORMANCE I I CAPACITIES FATINGS(4) bit, you can't simplyalign the tt l"/ l^r pin side of the templateto g thosemarks, as you can with l,l theKeller 2401.After we m/ {l lil lFlsr !l* l>l I 'l madeour first set of pin cuts, i lgli we found we could usethe tFljlslf l: actualcut in the fenceto align the templatefor future cuts,as shownin the insetphoto. As u"*/*g ill€lililFl t/e" 3t,n 1lz' N/A 7 lt" N/A 15"- 1 G G u 90 F6ffdays T $80 870'l AL G ffi you fffr with the Keller 2401, can ## MLCS 7 manuallyvary the pin spacing 8702 AL G 1lz" N/A la" N/A tto z I GG u 90 days T $80 by cutting pins and tails one at For specifications on other types of tools, click on I NOTES: "Tool Comp?4sons" at www.woodma!@ a time. 1'(AL) Aruminum 3' +' e*':ellent 5. (G) Guidebushing o 3ilfi,i310"?".l1,1,i1, I no rd 6. (T) Taiwan 2. (G) Guidebushing worx"pieces. G 1U fui | production. For more information,call 800/533-9298or visitwww.mlcswoodworking.com. I 7. Pricescurrent at time of article's wide world of wood n$"frffibd corne frorn? As the world's population grows, demand for wood increases.Can global forests provide it? Here'sa brief look at today's reserves,and a peek into the future.

conomistsand other researchers counffies, where that take a hard look at the world wood is usedfor and the pressureson it most cooking and heating often tie their projectionsto population (fuelwood).Cunently, 56 percentof the In thesecommercial forests, annual growth. As the populationexpands, it world's consumedwood seessuch usage. growth exceedsharvest and lossesto automatically demandsmore of the The rest (44 percent)becomes lumber, insectsand diseaseby 33 percent.In world's naturalresources, and that paper,and engineeredwood products. fact, the U.S. has 30 percentmore includeswood. The following facts and timber volume now than 50 years ago. figures offer a glimpse at what the future Will there be enough wood Combined, the U.S. and Canadapro- holds for this remarkableresource. to meet demand? duce 40 percent of the world's wood. Although the needfor fuelwood will Given current statisticsand future How much wood increasein developingcountries, projections,analysts believe that any do people use? demandfor wood productsalso will wood-supply crisis will occur in devel- As of April 2000,the United States' increasein developedcquntries. For oping countries.That's becauseforests population was 282,421,906. It's instance.in the United States,the aver- there decreasedby 494 million acres calculatedthat in this nation that ranks age home size is now 2,120 squarefeet between1980 and 1995.But in the as the world's largestconsumer of (up 600 squarefeet since 1971).That sameperiod, developed-worldforests wood products,each person uses in home size requires 15,000board feet of increasedby 49.4 million acres. someway the equivalentof 960 board lumber and other wood products. At this point, predictorssee no trouble feet of wood annually.That translates Thanldrlly, forestsaccount for one-third meeting the demandfor wood in devel- into a 36"-diameterlog about 32'long. of the U.S.-about 737 million acres. oped countries.That outlook assumes And the U.S. populationgrows by Commercial forests (where trees are har- that the forest productsindustry about2.5 million annually. vested for further processing)make up continuesits ongoing efforts to reduce In the next 50 years,the United 490 million acresof that.Individuals own sawmill waste and increaserecovery Nations expectsthe world population to 59 percentof the commercialforests. The in manufacturing and that everyone expandfrom 5.95 billion to 9.36 billion. government owns 27 percent, while the recyclesmore paper and paperboard. Most growth will occur in developing forest industry owns the last 14 percent. Two other factors help meet demand. First, tree plantations in the United States,Canada, Ausffalia, New Zealand, Hardwoods,the woodworker'schoice Indonesia,and SouthAmerica produce Globalwood and foreststatistics don't differentiate between hardwoods and soft- wood productsat sustainablerates. woods.To them,it's alljust wood.As a woodworker,though, your usualpreference Second,commercial forests keep getting likelyincludes hardwoods, such as maple,oak, and walnut. That's where the more efficient. In the U.S., alone,forest- HardwoodForest Foundation comes in. They trackthem. And the futurelooks good: industry land (again,just 14 percentof . Hardwoodforests cover about269 millionacres in the UnitedStates, mostly commercial forests) producesone third River. eastof the Mississippi of the annualharvest.tl . Today,there's 102 percentmore hardwoodgrowing than in 1950.Projections show that by 2040,hardwood volume will expandby another70 percent. Written by Peter J. Stephano . Hardwoodforests annually grow 80 percentmore than is harvested,lost to lllustration:Brian Jensen fire,insects, and diseasecombined. Sources: Temperate Forest Foundation, The Hardwood Forest Foundation

20 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 sho ti mnner Helpingyou work faster,smarter,and safer

When the aero- spaceindustry went a little soft around1989, Dan Wallace,then a 20- year veteranof that field, lookedfor a fallbackcareer. So, our Top ShopTip winnerpursued with vigor something he'd just dabbledin previously: woodworking. Fortunately,Dan survivedthe aero- spaceslump (he now has33 yearsin at Boeing),and he becamea darnedgooc woodworker,too, completinghundreds of projectsfor both himself and paying customers.These days, Dan andhis wife arerestoring their Craftsman-style home,and he's pursuingyet another vocation:becoming a deacon. Matre a brrndle before cutting f For submitting a pile of parts this issue's Top Sincethe time I builtthe SweetDreams andextension temporarily attached to Shop Tip, al left, , Dan Wallace gauge, Cradlein WOODamagazine issue 85 i my tablesaw'smiter I crosscut wins a Delta 6" for the arrivalof our daughterTerra, I've the entirebundle of blanksuntil I had *'@ jointer (37-195). i Attaboy, Dan! madefour more for friends.Although i enoughspacers for the cradle. project, Wrapped get eachwas a veryrewarding the ' in thismanner, I less onlypart I didn'tlike was cuttingall I tear-outbecause the blanksback each thoseslat spacers-68 for eachcradle! i otherup. And, I don'tneed to worry getting So,for the lastcradle I built,I cut sev- i aboutindividual spacers kicked erallong spacer blanks to widthand i backat me by the blade.As a bonus,I thickness,then wrapped them with plas- i canquickly count bundles instead of Tell us how you've solveda workshop tic stretch-bandingfilm (sometimes l spacersto knowwhen I'm done. dilemma,and we'll sendyou $75 if we called"flat twine"). Using a narrowsbd -DanWallace, Lomita, Calif. print your solution.And, if we choose ' your tip asthe Top ShopTip, you'll See if this prrshblock tip floats alsowin a tool worth at least$250. years, Overthe I'vefound that most of i Sendyour besttips, along with pho- pushblocks jointers the thatcome with i tos or illustrationsand your daytime and shapersprovide little grip on the i telephonenumber, to: Shop Tips, stock.Instead, I usea coupleof molded . WOODaMagazinerlT16 Locust St., sponge-rubberfloats, such as Goldblatt , GA-310,Des Moines,IA 50309- partno. 03295 (call 866/465-3252), that . 3023.You canalso e-mail tips to seemto holdon to the woodbetter than i shoptips@ woodmagazine.com, or pushblocks. ordinary The broadalu- i postthem on our Top ShopTip discus- minumbases on thesemasonry tools i sion group at www.woodonline.com. won'tdamage a cutterif hit,and they i Becausewe try to publishonly origi- keepmy handswell away from the cut- i nal tips,please send your tips only to jointer tersof a or shaper. i WOOD magazine.Sorry, but we can't -John Crouse,Wolcott, N.Y. i return your materials. Cotttirtued ort lxtge 27

22 WOOD magazine June/July 2002 shop tips Gonueil

Block self-centers Level.headed idea yourRouter holes in dorltlel ends hits the brrllts eye into the most Whilebuilding a birdfeeder recently, I I lovedthe Garden Footbridge project in neededto centera holein the endof a WOOb magazineissue 133, but lcame pl€Gise tool in 1" dowel.The centeringblock I cameup upwith an easier way to drillthe spindle youf shop with to do the job accuratelyworks with threedifferent dowel diameters, and is RovnnSnop shownbelow. b --Ql v E/A!/JN, w o o d w o ? k r n st T o o t s - I startedby markingthree straight indexlines across a 1x13/qx9"hardwood ) Patentedsplit table design, scrap,Using a t/q"brad-point bit in a use your cutter vertically or horizontally for safety and versatility self-centeringdoweling jig, I pokeda > Crossfeed adjustment dimplein the blockat eachline. I then System calculares and keeps bored1/2",3/4', and 1" holeswith Forstner track of tedious measurements for vou bitsat eachof the marks,respectively. > Control the movementof Finally,I cut a saw kerfwhere shown so your cutt€f position in the blockexpands to acceptdowels, and increments as small as l/54" can be clampedto holdthem solidly. To drilla t/q"hole in the end of a 1" dowel,for example,I firstinsert the dowelin the 1" holein thecentering block.Next, I clampthe centeringblock in thedoweling jig, aligning the index lineswith the jig's t/+"-hole index marks, and drillthe dowel.

I -]scar Eli.Milaca. Minn. :

holes.I boughta bull's-eyelevel at the hardwarestore for under$3. then affixed it to the buttof my drillusing a blobof windowputty. The keyto makingthis tip workis to calibratethe level.To do this,I clamped a3/ax5"bolt into my vise,as shown below,using a levelto makesure it was perfectlyplumb. (lf yourvise's jaw faces aren'tplumb, you mayneed to shim themor the baseof the vise.) Next,I chuckedthe threadedend of the boltinto my drill,and mountedthe

bull's-eyelevel. The windowputty b y --+eru4Jtn< w o o d w o r k t n s To o r 5 " allowedme to shiftthe leveluntil the > More precise andeaSi€f to usethan bubblewas centeredprecisely in the a traditional jointer bull'seye. > Create invisible ioints tne entirc -Dick Brown,MitchelL Ore., lengthand thickness ofyour workpiece viaW00D )NLINE@ > Easily cut sheet materials to size, perfect fitting dados,rabbets, Continued on page 28 and more > Use with a router or circular saw wrnrw.woodonline. corn 27 N010 shop tips

Srnooth rorrgh Soap dish ttraLes ioints with a r,vedge tiny glrre-ups tidY Here'sa trickl've used over the years Almostall of the woodworkingI do is to improvethe appearanceof less-than- segmentedturnings, and I useall man- perfectedge-to-edge joints. The keyto nerof methodsto applyglue to the seg- successis a "featherwedge," a scrapof ments-brush,roller bottle, and of the samespecies as the workPiece, course,my fingeron occasion.For small beveledabout 3o on bothsides. After pieces,I liketo use my soap-dish-and- applyingglue to the slot,gently tap the spongeapplicator. wedgein place,and wait until the glue driesbefore sanding. -Chuc| Hedlund,W00Do magazine shop manager

The applicatorconsists of a covered soapdish and a spongecut to fit inside it. In bothlong edges of the sponge,I cut smallglue "wells," where shown in the drawingabove. ;;;;.r-.ilv flatten Beforefilling the applicatorwith glue, dorrl6ls for flrilting wet the spongewith water and wring it Whendrilling a seriesof in-lineholes out.Place the spongeinto the soapdish, alonga dowel,even a slightroll of the applyglue to the top of the sponge,and dowelmisaligns the holes.To simplify let it soakthrough, continuing until you the task,I tapethe dowelto a guide get glueall the waythrough the sponge. boardthe sameheight as the dowel's Finally,fill the wellson bothsides with diameter,as shownin the drawing glueuntil it is almostlevel with the top of below.With the guideboard held the sponge. againstthe fence,the dowelcan't It takesa littlepractice to get just the rotate. rightamount of glueon the workpiece. -MaryWing, Kingfield, Maine Butafter experimenting with the length of time the workpiececontacts the sponge,the amountof pressureused, andthe motionof the pieceduring appli- cation,you'll soon wonder how you got alongwithout your soap-dish applicator. At the endof thejob, simply replace the lid and stowthe dish. -Bob Uding,Homosassa SPrings, Fla.

For more great Shop Tips, look for boxeslike this one nestledamong the otherarticles in this issue.

WOOD rnagazine June{uly 2002 askwood Answerstoyour questions from letters,e-mails, and W00D ONL|NEo

Make straight edges withorrt a iointer joint ff I'mtrying to a straight workpieceso that the routerbase rides Y edgeon a Pieceof oakfor a againstthe straightedgeand the bit lightly kitchentabletop, but the boardis too contactsthe narowest spot on the work- long,heavy, and awkward for good piece. Make sure the bit extendsslightly resultson my jointer.What's a better pastthe bottom face of your workpiece, wayto producea smoothsurface for and you're readyto go. A trvo-flute,spi- edge-gluing? ral-cut bit will give you the smoothestsur- -Mike Payeur,yia W00D 0NLINE face. Or, if you prefer, clamp the straight- edgeundemeath the workpiecewithin %" Mike, a router outfitted with a of its edge,install a flush-nim bit in your straightbit will do thejob quite router, and allow the pilot bearing to ride nicely. For a long straightedge,just use againstthe sfraightedge.A large-diameter the factory edge of a sheetof medium- bearing works better than a small one. density fiberboard or hardwoodply- If your workpiecehas a significantbow wood. Mark that edge,rip a piece about in it, cut it as straightas possiblebefore 8" wide to eliminateflexing, and you you startjointing. Using the narrowest havean 8' piecethat, in our experience width for a measurement,snap a chalk here in the WOODo workshop,is always line the length of the board. Cut to that perfectly straight. line with a circular saw,bandsaw, or jig- Placeyour workpieceso that its edge saw,then finish thejob with your router slightly overhangsyour workbench. as describedabove. Locateyour straightedgeon top of the -{/00D magazine

Continued on page i4 l ask wood I Rails, stilesr and wood rnovernent Allow for wood I it absorbsand releases moisture, but the 1|f I knowyou're supposed to movement on glue'uPs percentageof changeisn't greatenough Y avoidcross'grain tabletops and i beciauseof woodmovement, but what : to affecttypical rails andstiles. which other large pieces,but don't , areabout 2" wide. Kelly Mehler,who aboutrail and stile assemblies? How worry about rails widecan the rail be without creating , makessolid-wood furniture in Berea, and stiles.Small movementproblems? : Kentucky,says that the movementof piecesdon't move enough to -Phil : woodusually won't causetrouble in Peterson,viaW00D 0NLINE createproblems. ; rails lessthan 6" in width. In addition, The shortanswer is, don't wolry . yellow gluehas some "give" in it even too muchabout it, Phil. All wood : aftercuring, which allowsfor a bit of sli-shtgaps at expandsand contracts across the grainas i movement,and Kelly likesto leavevery each edge of a tenon (not on the cheeks)to pro- vide still more breathinsroom. For pieces that are wider than the norlrl, note that a plainsawnboard will move about twice as much as a quaftersawn board of the samespecies. And, among the most popular fumitr.rrewoods, plain- sawn white oak moves significantly more than red oak. cherry, or walnut. and twice as much as mahogany. If you want to delve even more deeply into the subject.follow Kelly Mehler's example."As a fumituremaker working only in solid wood, I have to krtou'how wood will behave,"Kelly says."I can't go by hearsay." So he ref-ersto the kind of data that you find in Urderstcurlirtg Woocl,by R.Bruce Hoadley (availabletor $21.96 throu-ehAmazon.com). There you'll find a table listing shrinkagevalues for most of the woods you'll ever use,and a formula for calculating the effects of shrinkin-eand swelling. -W00Do magazine

Quartersawn Wood movement 1/q"--+' 10" -I

*%;6*tu4 hed oak

Plainsawn WooOmovement Y2 J Quartersawnlumber, identifiable by its nearlyvertical end grain,shrinks and swells much less than Plainsawn. Cotttirtttecl ort puge .)6

WOOD rnagazine June/JulY 2002

Circle No. 895 ask wood

30-PieceProfessional Set 5-PieceGove Set Which is better, lncludes: 1/2"Shank Rouler Bits red oak or urhite? 5 Straighlbits 1/4'R,3/8"8, 1/2'R, | wantto builda wallunit out of 3 Dovetails tllnn 518"R'3/4"R f| 3 GoreBox f ${9 oak.The local building suPPlY 3 GoveBits WL-2015 OURPRICE OlltY set \| 6 Roundovers stoieonly has red oak. Should I drive 2 FlushTrim 5-PieceRoundnose (Core Box)Set an extrahour to checkout whiteoak? '. 1 PanelBil ,,.re!r. 1/2"Shank Rouler Bils "':, *.,,1 2 Roman0gee !*""r*r** 1/2" $hankROUtef EilS -Phil Peterson,Crown Point,lnd. 2 SlotCutters ,tll?d 3/8"0,1/2"0, 3/4"0, 1"0,1-112"02 1 "V" Groove 1 Ghamfer ${9 1 BevelTrimBit ;ib** ouRpRtcE orry ser $ll}9 WL-2010 OuRPRICE OllLV set 13-PieceDovetail Set rlllS nrn 15-Piece1/2" Shank Set lncludes: Chamfer ffirrd;Jif5iixg1ii:"''. Cove- lER,3/A'R,1/4'R ${9 Roundover- WL-2014 OURPRICE Olltv srt 1fr',R,3/r'R,1/4',R RomanOgee - , 1/fR r 6-PieceBullnose $et SlraightBils - = 3/4'R,1EB,1/4'R 'ttt** * ;t;-;;*i:',-;Ird Roundover- I rf l13 nrnr o/a"0,3/c"0,r"o 1tP',B,3/8n,1/4'R $89 1/2"Dovetail WL-2013OUR PRICE OxtV set wL-2022 1/?'Roundovet $59 1"GLFlush Trim OURPRICE 0XLY set Rabbet8il 3-PieceCabinet Door Set rll00 You didn'tsay what styleyou're 15-Piece1/4" Shank Set * tt>* l'-fi;i'1'f,['lll'3i,31*r,,,-Til: ' '-!-.|':;* :i:,t 2 3/4"0gee Panel Baiser using.Arts andCrafts or mission sameas WL-2022 except 1/4" shank $65 style,for example,might requirequar- s59 WL-2019OUR PRICE 0llLV set WL-2021 OURPRICE 0lltY set tersawnwhite oak. This type of cut in 5-PieceMoulding Set white oak has a stunningray flake and is 5-PieceCabinet Door $et rfl?? wn 12"Shank Router Bits quiteeye-catching. I've built several lncludesr 3/4"Bore Shaper Cutler n rrf ?3nn piecesfrom this typeof wood,and all 6ffiU,1-pcBail & Stile{Roman Ogee} $99 wonderfully.Most white 4 5/8"Panel Raiser (Ogee) WL-2011 OURPRICE 0tltV set haveturned out 0oorLip oak has a high contentof tannic acid, GlueJoint DrawerLoeker and can be darkenedwith ammoniaby a ,-6-S" $l processcalled fuming, which alsois WL-1505 OURPRIGE 0lltY ?9 set somethingto consider. -Bobert Phillips,San Antonio, Texas 6-PieceGabinel Door $el lncludes: 2-pcRail& Stile (Roman0gee) 5-PieceCarbide- 2 3/4"D Panel The grain on red oak is more Raiser(0gee) TippedForslner Bit $et open.When I usered oak, I like DoorLip 3/8"Shank lot OrillPress to fill the grain with thinnedwood putty. .ff', :orors,Sllijl'ij,", 35mm,1 114",1, 314",618" fnl$,mftfr. $l ilrt s39 If I don'r,stain will fill the grainand will wl-zozo ouCinrcE oiltv f 9 set wL-2018 URPRICE oxtY set take much longerto dry completely,a 5-PieceDovetail $et must beforeyou put on your clearfinish. Grassicarsetrfl30 t€€ TffiA fl;filll' 1/2"Shank Rouler Bits White oak seemsharder than red and has 2 Classical- 5i32"R & 1i4"R,1 Wavy g"- 112" straightergrain. 2 0gee- 5f32"R& 1/4"R,1 Filel 14'- 3/8',112",318,314', - EITTfr -DaveLehnerL Milford, 1hio 2 Roman0gee 5/32'R& 1/4"R : rf30 nn (1i2"Shank Rouler Bils) $19 wL-2016 OURPRICE 0iltY $99 set WL-2017OUR PRICE OttY set Got a clrrestion? W00DLINE's0uality Bits and lf you'relooking for an answer to a woodworking Gutlersleature: question,write to AskW00D, 1716 Locust St., . ToughMicro-Grain Garbide WOODLINEARIZONA, lnc. GA310, Des Moines, lA 50309-3023or sendus P.O. Box 298 . Temeculq, CA 92593 r EuroAnli-Kickback Design ane-mailat askwood@mdp,com. Forimmedi- . Super-slickNon-stick linish ArcatRouler Eits & ShaprCatters! atefeedback from your fellow woodworkers, post 8esl 9ehctlon.., 8e el hl ae . SuperLow Pdces yourquestion on one of ourdiscussion groups at 0rderToll Free your Checlrour website lor www.woodonline.com. Gel FHEE newproducls: calalogand see our 1.800-472.6950 www.woodbits.com greatselection ol Mostilems in slock r All maiorcredil catds accepted Eitsand Culters Sama-dayshipping!! . Shipping$3.75/$100 + $4.75 36 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 develop your shop skills

srgn-yourO Ill7Ofll- in bmss You donntneed artistic talent to etch a nifty nameplate.What you need is ferric chloride.

ou'vejust built a finepiece of furniture,you're proud of it, and you wantto put yourname on it. You could grab an ink pen and sign your autographor buy a custom-madebrand- ing iron, but we have anothersuggestion. Let us show you how to createa maker's mark that will add a distinctive touch of quality to your best projects. brass,copper, and other soft'metals.We woodworking projects, and printed the With a sheetof brassand readily avail- like this one becauseit's effective, anyone results on fransparencyfiltn. able chemicals,you can producetruly can learn to do it, and the resultslook great. Make your design in the standard handsomenameplates in an endlessvari- You'll needa small,brass sheet of what- black-on-white format, then print it out ety of designs.Personalize them however ever thicknessyou prefer. We used brass as a reversednegative. That meansthe let- you please.For example,you might about.05" thick, which is availableat ters are printed backwards,all letters and chooseyour initials, your nulme,or the hobby storesand somehome centers,and objects are clear, and the backgroundis nameof your business,and spruceit up is easyto work with. You'll alsoneed black. Becausethe imageis reversed,the with the image of a woodworking tool or ftansparencyfilm, available at office sup- printed side will go againstthe brassdur- any shapethat snikes your fancy. ply stores;access to a printer; photo emul- ing the next step.This gives you the sion, which is carriedby art stores(we sharpestpossible results. Itts easy to learn usedHunt SpeedballScreen hinting A raised lip around the backgroundadds We pickedup theprocess from Ron Photo Emulsion); ferric chloride etchant, a nice framing effect for most designs. Coleman,a woodworkerin Columbus, availableat our local Radio Shackin a 16- Make the lip at least one full point wide. Ohio. It's onlv one of ouncebottle for $3.49;a small paneof Set your printer for ffansparencyfilm, many ways to etch glassin any thickness;a plastic or glass and load it with film that's made for print- ffay; and a 300-wattlight bulb. ers. Print it out and check for crisp edges Smallerbulbs will do thejob, too, and denseblack areas. but the processtakes longer. Put a fine jeweler's bladein your scroll- Artwork holds the key to a saw, and cut the brassstghtly bigger than nice nameplate,and it's easy the imageyou've created.Or, if you know to produce with a computer, you're going to want severalnameplates, clip-art software, and a laser- savetime by printing them on one piece jet or ink-jet printer. We located of film, and size the brassto match. F,g woodworking imageson our soft- Now, clean the brassthoroughly with ware, blendedthem with lettering to water and 400-grit wet/dry sandpaper. makedesigns that look good on our Hold the workpiece by the edges,to keep

WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 oily fingerprints off the flat surface.Dry it Porcelainsocket with a lint-free towel.

See wlrat develops Putting an image onto the surfaceof brass is similar to developinga photographon paper.As in a photo darkroom,you'll work in subduedlighting. Following the manufacturer'sdirections, mix the two-partphoto emulsion.Brush an even,fairly thick layer onto the brass. Placethe workpiecein a drawerand let it dry in darknessfor an hour. Check it for a uniform, hole-freecoating. Now, let's makethe exposure.Place the brasson a flat surface,put the transparen- cy film on top so that it readscorrectly, and lay a cleanpane of glasson the film. Brasssheet Positionyour light bulb, equippedwith a reflector,about 12 inchesabove the glass. We useda 300-wattbulb that cost about $5, and madethe reflectorby cuuing a hole in an aluminumpie pan, as shownin the form of a chemical-proof"resist." Set tacts,such as skin and clothes,and etches the drawing,right. the brassaside for an hour to dry and to most metals,including stainlesssteel. Turn on the light and let it shine on the let the resistharden. Put the brasssheet in the ffay, then pour workpiecefor 45 minutes.Ultraviolet in enoughferric chloride to cover it. You light from the bulb will reachthe emul- Moue sorne rnetal can acceleratethe processslightly if you sion throughthe clear areasand causeit to You don't want to etch the back of the wann the fenic chlorideto about 100" F. harden.The emulsionunder the black nameplate,so sealit with packingtape. before starting to etch. Agitate the liquid areaswill remain soft enoughto washoff. Or, you can apply a coat of clear lacquer by rocking the ray gently in every direc- Take the brassto a sink, and rinse it in on the back. Now, it's time for the fenic tion. We found that nearly constant room temperafuretap water, as shown in chloride.Wear old clothes,rubber gloves, motion producesthe bestresults. As you Photo A. The uncuredareas will wash and safetyglasses. This brown liquid per- keep the ferric chloride moving, it eats away,leaving the desiredimage behind in manently stainsjust about anything it con- into the brassand washesaway the residueat the sametime. The process Rinseoff all of the photoemulsion after Somepatience is requiredfor the actual an adequateexposure to light. Usea soft etching.You'll start to see resultsquick- moves even faster when you brush the brush,if necessary,but be carefulnot to ly, though,as darklines of sedimentflow surfaceoccasionally with an inexpensive damagethe hardenedresist. awayfrom the unprotectedareas. paint brush,as shownin Photo B. Stay at it for about 45 minutes. Check the nameplateoccasionally by lifting it out of ttre ferric chloride with your gloved handsor plastictongs. When the etching looks right, remove the nameplateand rinse it with water.Be sureto follow the directions on the containerto disposeof the usedfenic chloride. Remove the tape from the back and edges,or cleanthe brasswith lacquerthin- ner if you usedlacquer. Wash the face of the workpiece with bleach to remove the photo resist,or simply peel it off. Cut out the nameplateswith a jeweler's bladeon Continued on page 40

39 develop your shoP Skills your scrollsaw, as shown in Photo C, and or log on to www.woodmatters.comto file or sandthe edgessmooth. order item number J-3492, a 2-ouncebot- tle of brassdarkening solution, for $1.75, Ghoose a background plus shipping and handling. Brass looks great with no embellishment, If you'd rather have someother color, but a dark or rich color makesa sfriking spray the entire face of the nameplatewith backgroundfor your design.For a nicely the appropriateenamel paint. After the weatheredlook, we brushedon a coating paint dries, or after you've rinsed off the of brassdarkening solution, and rinsed it darkening solution, place a sheetof 600- offwith water about a minute later. You grit, wet/dry sandpaperon a flat surface, can buy this solution from Chesapeake such as the glassyou used above.Lay the With a very fine jeweler'sblade in our good lighting,we were Woodworkers Sales.Call 800/287-4012, nameplateface-down on the sandpaper scrollsaw,and ableto cut out our round nameplates smoothlyand accurately.

and rub it lightly, as shown in Photo D, to remove the paint from the raised areas. Roll a piece of tape, sticky side out, and put it on the back of the nameplateif you find the brassslipping away from you. Work slowly and carefully, to avoid removing color from the recessedilreas. For a higher polish, repeatthe sanding processwith 1,000-gntpaper. When you're satisfiedwith the nameplate's appearance,dry it off, and coat it with clear lacquer to prevent tarnishing.

Tape 600-gritweUdry sandpaper onto the pieceof glass usedearlier. A rolled-up piece of tape on the back of the name- platekeeps your fingerfrom slipping.

We made our nameplatesto alVq" diam- "ffi eter, matching the size of a Forsfirerbit. ff waitingfor a finishto dry Ijust won'tfly - wehave just ttre right product for Drill a shallow hole in the bottom orback you- ZAR@UITM Oil-BasedInterior Polyurettrane. of a project, apply epoxy, and fit the nameplateinto place. Or, include blank ZARLIIRA provides a beautiful,smooth finish in iust spacesin yo.grdesign, where yorr candrill d houts.ZAR's extremely durable formula makes it holes for small, brassscrews.ll- idealfor highusage areas, such as floors, cabineB, furnitureand doors. Photographs: D.E. Smith Photography; Baldwin Photography TARUIIP.A,ilrc fastestwny to abeaunfulfinish! Foro freebrochure ond deoler neorest you, coll l-8@-272-3235 or visilwww.ugl.com 40 WOOD rnagazlne June{uly 2002 Your best tools deserve a top-drawer stor-agebox. protected Fu"ry woodworkerhas sometreasured tools that deservethe ultimatein storage. f _They mayinclude a markinggauge that belonged to yourgreat-grandfather or a set of carving flgouges you purchasedthis morning. Whatever their vintage, precision tools and sharpedges will last longerand work betterwhen protected.The felt-linedtrays of our Arts and Craftsdesign meet that need.And the removabletool tote letsfrequently used tools travel first-class.

42 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 l- I

271/2' #8 x 2" F.H.wood screw %0"chamfers along 7sz"countersunk hole centered in a I edgesand end t/2"-sqLlaremortise 1/4" deep I 7a"rabbet t/a" deep I alongtop and backedge \ 1/2,'

7e" dadoes s/sz" hole, I t/a" deep countersunk i #8x11/z'F.H. wood screw

#Bx 2" F.H.' wood screw through 5/gz" hole, 17', countersunk on outside 2" 1/1G" chamfers

-- #8x 2" F.H. --E 25Aa t-,+_€ E cnncnse 221/2" ) r,r"" 7sz"countersunk hole centered in a tZ"-squaremortise t/q" deep

Begin r rith the sides Drtll sAz"countersunk holes centered Cut thetwo glueblocks (B), andglue Note: Throughoutthis project, sand all in the raiVdrawer runner rabbet and and clamp them to the front inside theparts to 220 grit beforeassembly. dadoes of each side, where shown on facesof the sides(A), where shown on Edge-joina t/+x14x36"blank for the Drawing 1. Drawing1. sides(A). With the glue dry, sandit smooth, and cut the sides to the size Make the rernainirrg shownin the MaterialsList. Garcase cotmponents Installa 7s" dadoblade in your table- Plane -7+"stock to s/s"thick for the saw,and cut the dadoesand rabbets, rails (C) and the drawerrunners (D). wheredimensioned on Drawing1. Note Checkthe stock'sfit in the dadoesin the that the sidesare mirror imagesof each sides(A). Cut the partsto size. other,not identical. Chuck a chamfering bit in your Mark the ends and midpoint of the table-mountedrouter, and ront Vro" curved cutout at the bottom of each chamfersaround each rail's front edge. side(A). Flex a thin stripof wood to con- Keep this router-tablesetup for cham- nect the three points of eachcurve, and fering other parts. mark the curve with a pencil. Bandsaw Planeenough lumber to s/a"thick to just to the wasteside of the line, then edge-joinas/exl4x24" blank for the sandto the line as shownin PhotoA. bottom (E). With the glue dry, cut the Mark the centersof the two square bottom to size. Rout t/t6" chamfers mortiseson the outsideface of each aroundthe front edge. side (A). The mortisesare centeredon Cut four tAxlt/qx57/s"blanks for the the width of the dadoesfor the bottom corbels(F). Make four photocopies (E). Removemost of the wastewith a th." of the full-size corbel in the WOOD Forstnerbit, thensquare the cornerswith PATTERNSoinsert in the centerof the y':2" Make a custom sanding block by stick- a chisel. Drill a countersunkhole ing adhesive-backed120-grit sandpaper magazine,and use spray adhesive to centeredin eachof the mortises. to a piece of the curve's waste. adherethem to theblanks. Bandsaw and www.woodonline.corn 43 craftsman's tool chest - 1/ra" 37r, chamfer on back edge sandthe corbelsto the patternline. Rout t/ro" chamfersalong the edges, where shown on the pattern. Edge-joinazAxl6x29" blankfor the top (G). With the glue dry, cut it to sizeand sandit smooth.Rout %0"cham- fers along the edgesand ends.Drill and chisel square mortises, and drill cen- teredholes, where shown on Drawing1. , Cut a VzxVzxl}"blank for the plugs (H). Sand %0" chamfers around each end. Use a fine-toothedhandsaw to cut a 3h"-longplug from eachend of HM the blank. Repeat the chamfering and 3" cuttinguntil you haveeight plugs. Cut a t/qx2x23"blank for the apron (D, and set it aside. It will be trimmed to finished size after the car- r#J caseis assembled.

Make the bacl: Cut the outer stiles (J), inner stiles E encr MEWEDFRoM rNsrDE) l'llI (K), top rail (L), and bottom rail =| f (M) 'i to size. Install a V4" dado blade in your satisfiedwith the fit, cut tenonson the Glue and clamp togetherthe back, 'tablesaw,and cut centeredgrooves endsof the inner stiles(K), top rail (L), positioningthe edgesof the inner in one edge of parts J, L, and M, and andbottom rail (M). stiles(K) 3%" from the outer stiles(J). both edgesof part K. : Referring to Drawing 2, mark the Secureeach panel with a dropof gluein Install a 3/8"dado blade in your cutout on the lower edgeof the bot- the upper and lower rail grooves,cen- ' tablesaw,and adjust it to cut Vq" tom rail. As with the cutout in the sides tered on the width of eachpanel. Make deep.Screw an auxiliary extensionto (A), cut and sandit to shape. certain that the assemblyis squareand your tablesaw'smiter gauge.Clamp a , .. Resaw t/q"-thick stock, then edge- flat. Rip a Vqx3/8xI0"strip for the fillers stopblock to the extensionto control ..,' 'join and plane a Vqxlox26" blank (P), and cut them to length. Glue them the cuts. Using a test piece the same for the centerpanel (N) and outer pan- into the grooves, where shown on thicknessas the stiles and rails, form els (O). Cut the panelstq size.To allow Drawing2. a 3/s"-long tenon. Test the fit in the for wood movement,the panelsare t/o" . Install a 5/8" dado blade in vour stile and rail grooves, and make any shorterand Ve"narrower than the maxi- ... tablesaw,and cut a3/s"-deepg.oout necessaryadjustments. When you are mum groove-to-groovedimensions. in the inside face of the back. where shown on Drawing 1. Rout Vro" cham- fers on the outside back edges of the outerstiles (J) andbottom rail (M).

Horry to crrt a Assernble the carcase perfectly centered r Apply glue to the vertical rabbetsat grooue , the rear inner edgeof eachside (A), It's easy to make a perfectlycen- and clamp the back in place, aligning tered groove in the edge of a the dadoesand groove that receive the board.Set your rip fence by care- bottom (E). Slide the bomominto posi- ful measurement,then makea test tion, check that its front edge is VB" groove in scrapwoodthat matches proud of the front edges of the sides, the thicknessof your stock.Turn andclamp it in place.Using the holesin off the saw, and put the opposite the squarecounterbores as guides,drill face of the scrapwoodagainst the pilot holesand drive in the screws. fence.lf the bladealigns perfectly . ., To position the no-mortisehinges with the groovejust cut, you're ' on the bottom (E), measurethe centered.lf the bladedoesn't line dis- up, as shown at right,adjust your tancebetween the sides(A), and cut a z/qxlvz" fence,and repeatthe test with a piece of scrapwood to this new pieceof scrap. length.(Ours is 22V2".)Tape the large

44 WOOD magazine june{uly 2002 To poEition th€ hing€s on the bottom (E), tape thelr large leaves Wilh the back panel glued and clamped betuveenthe sideg and to a spacar, Apply double.lac€d tap€ to the small leaves. P]€ss lhe bottom sct€wed in place, drill piloi holes, and drive in l'|e them in plac€, ksaping the apacer flush wlth the sldes' edgea. screws that fasten the rails. leaf of each hinge 2Vro"from each end Following the sameprocedure you used Our opening is 8/zx22Vz". If yours is of the scrapwood, and apply double- for the sides and back, mark, saw, and different, make the necessary adjust- faced tape to the other leaf, as shown in sandthe cutout to shape. ments to the door parts. Cut the outer Photo B. Position the scrapwoodflush ffiTurn the carcaseassembly upside stiles (Q), rails (R), and inner stiles (S) with the front edges of the sides, and lJdown on your workbench,and glue to size. Referring to Drawing3 and fol- pressdown, adheringthe double-faced the apron (I) to the bottom (E) and the lowing the sameprocedure you usedfor tapedleaves to the bottom's front edge. glue blocks (B). While the carcaseis the back assembly,cut the grooves and Pivot the scrapwoodforward, exposing still upside down, glue the corbels (F) tenonsin the door parts. t/c"-thick the hinge leaves.Drill pilot holes, and into place, where shown on Drawing1. $Resaw stock, then edge- removethe hinges. The front corbels hide the rail-screw trjoin and plane a %xlDxl2" blank $ Position the rails (C) in the dadoes heads.Apply glue only t

www.woodonline.corn 45 craftsman's tool chest HOWTO CUT t/2"counterbore A LOCK.RABBETJOINT @ t/+"deep with a '': 5/aq"hole t/2" deep centeredinside ',ll,ll 12[=*.;q a.

1/q" - 71"l- ll 1"* m !-'' *u:'T-Tf FRONT ---l/ Zero-clearance insert andclamp the door togetherin the same ance insert for your tablesaw when manneras the back. Make surethe door making the cuts in Step 1. Drill holes STEP l: Cut centered grooves in both ends of the fronts and backs. is flat and square.With the glue dry, for the drawer pulls, where shown on drill a centeredpull hole in the top rail, Drawing5. and setthe door aside. Cut the bottoms (Y) to size, and Cut a zAxzAxI}"blank for the stops dry-assemblethe drawersto check (V). Referring to Drawing4, drill the fit of the parts, Glue and clamp counterboresand pilot holes %" from together the drawers, making certain each end, then cut the stops to size. they are flat and square. Screwthe magnetcups in place,but do not insertthe magnets.Glue the stopsto Graft a handy tool tote the undersideof the lower rail (C). Plane/+" stock to t/2"thick for the whereshown. sides(Z), ends(AA), divider(BB), and brackets(CC). Cut the sides,ends, Make a 1lair of drawers and divider to size. Cut the groove in Plane 7+" stock to t/2"thick for the the sidesand endsfor the bottom (EE), part (W) STEP 2: Remove of the inside lip drawer fronts/backs and the whereshown on Drawing7. of the grooves just cut. drawersides (X). Cut the partsto size. Cut a t/+" groove V+" deep in parts W andX for the drawerbottom (Y), where shownon Drawing5. Form the lock-rabbetjoint shownin Drawing 5a by following the four- stepsequence shown in Drawing6. Use a t/qx6x6" follower block to prevent chip-out and to steadythe narrow parts when makine the cuts.Use a zero-clear-

t/+"grooves 1/4"deep t/+"from edge STEP 3: Cut t/e"-deeprabbets in the ends of the drawer sides.

s/sz" hole centeredin width

STEP 4: Cut a /e" saw kerf to form the interlocking notch.

46 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 Cut the rabbets in the ends of the adhesive.Drill the sZ"holes. and scroll- divider, and drive in the copper nails. sides (Z), the dado at the midpoint saw and sand the brackets to shape. Insert the handle (DD) through the of eachend (AA), and the handlenotch- Rout the Vro" chamfers,where shown holes in the brackets,drill pilot holes, es in the divider (BB), where shown on on the pattern. and drive in the nails. Set the handle Drawing7. Rout Vte"chamfers on these ,:: Cut the handle (DD) from a length assemblyaside. parts where shown. of 3A" oak dowel, and sanda rAo" ,-. Cut the bottom (EE) to size. Glue ,Cut "' ' VzxlVzx\Vz"blanks for the chamferat eachend. and clamp the sidesand endsto the brackets(CC). Make two copies of Slip the brackets (CC) into the bottom, then drill nail pilot holes in the the bracket on the pattern insert, and notches in the divider (BB). Drill corners, where shown on Drawing 7. adhere them to the blanks with spray pilot holes through the brackets and Drive in the nails.

Stalr tuned to learn horr to rnake custom tool holdels Are you pumpedup to buildthis project? Well, get goingon it now, becausein %o"chamfers issue 144 we'll show you how to make tool- Erore protectingcustom drawer inserts. 1" coppernail

r/q" gloove t/q" deep /a" from edge t/z" tabbet t/q" deep t/ro" chamfers s/aq"hole 1"copper nail

1OYz' t/z" dado tA" deep

1" coppernail 7oq"hofe 3/4"deep %o"chamfers www.woodonline.com 47 craftsman's tool chest

Now appfy the finish and asserrrble Apply the stain. (We used Zar A.sides 3/q' 17', EQO Salem Maple.) With the stain dry, B glueblocks s/qu 3/c' 2u Q0 brush on two coats of satin poly- C rails s/a' 2u 22s/c' Q0 urethane,lightly sanding with 220-grit D drawerrunners 5/s' 1" 101/q'O0 sandpaperafter the first coat. \ E.bottom s/au 127/a'22Vq' EQO Fastenthe pulls with their machine F corbels 3/qo 1Vt' 57/a' Q0 screws.Align the escutcheons,as Posterboard G-top 3/c' 15' 271/z' EQO shownon Drawings3 and5. Using the (back) l/zu 1/zo holesin the escutcheonsas guides,drill H-plugs vs' Q0 pilot holes for the escutcheonpins. V+u 2' 221/z' Q0 Drive in the pins. Screw the hingesto the bottom (E), J outerstiles o0 and flip them open.Pull the chestto K innerstiles lqu 2' 12t/q' Q0 the edge of your workbench.With the L toprail Vc' 2' 19Vz' 00 door held straight down, position the M bottomrail 3/q' 3" 191/2' Q0 the inside dimensionsof the draw- hinge leaves on its bottom edge. than N-centeroanel 1/q' 91/a' 12%0"EQO Centeringthe door on its opening,drill ers and tote. Apply double-facedtape to 0*outeroanels 1/qu 33/q' 12%0" Q0 pilot holesand drive in the screws. the bottom of the poster board around P- fillers QO Press magnets into the cups. To its perimeter. Cut fabric 2" larger rn position the screwsthat act as catch length and width than the posterboard. strikes, stick #6xVz" flathead wood We used green felt. Center the poster Q outerstiles 83/s' QO screwsto the centersof the magnets. board,top down, on the fabric, and trim R rails Vqu 2u 19i/s" Q0 Press the door against them, marking the corners,where shownon Drawing8. S innerstiles lcu 2' 51/B' Q0 their positions.Drill countersunkpilot Fold the fabric onto the tape. Placethe T-center oanel 1/q' 9" 5/ro" EQO holesand drive in the screws. liners in the drawersand tote. Slide the U.outer panels 1/t, 35/a' 51Aa" QO To line the bottom of the drawers divider assemblyinto the dadoesin the V-stops 3/tu 3/q' 1n Q0 and the tote, cut pieces of poster tote's ends.Drill pilot holes,and drive tl in lensth and width in the coppernails. cl board %" smaller W fronts/backs l/zu 1t5/rc" 22t/ta" QO X sides 1/zu |1s/$tt 121/stt Q0 crrtting diagrarn Y bottoms 117/8"211sA6" oP

22', @ @@ Z sides Q0 AAends 1/zu 2' 101/z' Q0 3/qx51/2x72" Oak (3 needed) BBdivider i/z' 1s/s' 21r/z' Q0 CC-brackets 1/z' 11/2', 5o Q0 DDhandle %"-diam. 61/4' W0 3/ax51/z x 96" Oak EEbottom t/cu 101/2, 21t/2', OP -Partsinitially cut oversize. See the instructions. MaterialsKey: EQO-edge-joined quartersawn white oak,Q0luartersawn white oak, OP-oak plywood, 3/qx51/zx 96" Oak WO-whiteoak dowel. Supplies:#4xt/2" tlalhead wood screws (2), #8x1t/z' flatheadwood screws (6), #8x2'flathead wood screws (14), @ @ @ #6xt/zflathead wood screws (2), 22x28" poster board (2), fabric. 3/qx 51/zx 96" Oak double-facedtape, BuyingGuide Hardware.%"tapered ring pulls no. 01A63.01 , $1.70 ea. (5);2xt%0" plain-end no-mortise hinges no. 00H51.02, 3/qx51/zx 96" Oak (2 needed) $.70ea. (2\',t/e" rare-earth magnets n0.99K32.03, $.43 ea.(2); magnet cups no.99K32.52, $.45 ea. (2); 1" cop- perrose-head boat nails no. 91230.03, $9.50 for a 1'lb, box.Lee Valley Tools, P.0. Box 1780, Ogdensburg, NY 3/tx 36" White oak dowel 13669.Call800/871-8158, orgo to www.leevalley,com. "Resawand/or plane to the thickness shownin the MaterialsList. Writtenby RobertJ. Settichwith KentWelsh Projectdesign: Kent Welsh lllustrations:Mike Mittermeier; Lorna Johnson Photographs:Baldwin Photography 1/qx 24 x 48" Oak plywood

48 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 Itts of,tcial: Irumber treated with Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) won't be available afier the year 2003.Vl/hatchemicals will take its place?Will they cost extra? And what should you do with CCA structures Jroualrready have?

t's hard to deny the advantagesof pressure-treated lumber fo1 back- yard decks, play sets, and other outdoor structures.Its low cost, avail- ability, strength,and durability, even in direct contact with the ground, make it a good material for building lasting outdoor projects. These days, about 90 percent of the treatedwood sold for residentialuse gets its protection from chromated copper arsenate(CCA). See the sidebarat right for more about how CCA works. contaminate soil or groundwater or be In recent months, arguments over the ingestedby peopleand animals:(Arsenic safetyof CCA haveheated up. The result can't be absorbedthrough the skin.) was an agreement between manufacfur- Manufacturers and the EPA consider ers and the United StatesEnvironmental the amounts too small to cause undue hotection Agency (EPA) to phase out risk. Opponents of CCA, such as the CCA lumber as a residential-useproduct Environmental Working Group, say that by no later than December3I,2W3. significantrisks exist, especiallyfor chil- dren playing on treated structures. TIre problerrls Whichever side of the argumentyou're Fears with CCA center around the on, evidenceof illness or deathsdirectly arsenic component. Classified by the attributable to CCA exposure seemsin EPA as a resfficted-usepesticide and a short supply. hazardous material, arsenic is also a known carcinogen, but has long been Upcorning options deemedsafe in this application. With CCA going away, what alterna- We now know that some arsenic tives do you have for building lasting Pos.siblehealth risks, especially for children, associated with arsenic in leachesback out of treated wood over outdoor wood structures?See the chart CCA-treated wood have led to new time. Exactly how much leachesout is a at the top of the following page for a products treated with safer chemicals. hot debate. Regardless,the arsenic can quick overview of options.

50 WOOD magazine lune{uly 2002 GGA lrrrrrber use and handling gcrideHnes CCApine excellenl excellent green gray low excellent IVote:The EPA hasn't yet established guidelines forACQ orcopper-azole, Fornow, we suggest following the same ACQpine excellent excellent green gray moderate limited- guidelinesasthose established forCCA lumber. CopperAzole pine excellent excellent green brownish moderate limited- Use Site Precarrtions Cedar good fair tan gray moderate good .Cleanup and disposeof all sawdust Redwood excellent good brown gray high limited-- and constructiondebris. .Do not use treatedwood wherethe Cypress good fair tan gray moderate limited-- preservativemay becomea component -Avai labilitywill improve as manufacturers/retailers switchproducts. of foodor animalfeed. Prohibited uses **Moreprominent insome parts of country: redwood on West Coast, cypress in south and southeast includeuse of mulchfrom recycled IVofe;You may see copper-azole lumber listed as copper boron azole (CBA). New formulations won't arsenic-treatedwood, cuttingboards, containborates, though, because they are water soluble and offer only short{erm protection. countertops, animal bedding, and structuresor containersfor storingani- mal feed or humanfood. The naturally resistant woods come promising. In standard industry tests, .Use only treatedwood that is visibly from slow-growing trees. Readily- both perform with effectivenesssimilar clean and free of surfaceresidue for available,fast-growing southern yellow to CCA. Expect to see lumber treated patios,decks, and walkwaysto avoid pine, therefore,likely will remain with the these chemicals showing up on overexposureto excesschemicals. wood of choicefor outdooruse. But two store shelvessoon. Dependingon con- .Do not use treatedwood for portionsof newer, safer chemicalswill be used to sumer demand,you still may see CCA beehiveswhich may come into contact treatit insteadof CCA. productson shelves,too. with honey. Amine Copper Quat (ACQ) cunently .Do not use treatedwood where it may gets the most pressas an alternative.It Gan you live witlr directlyor indirectlycontact drinking relieson copperas a main ingredient,but eristing GGA lrrrnber? water,except for uses involvinginciden- replacesarsenic and chromium with solu- Do fears of arsenicexposure mean you tal contact,such as docks and bridges. tions of ammonia.None of thesechemi- should tear down CCA-lumber struc- Handling Precarrtions calsare known or suspectedcarcinogens. tures you've already built? No, says .Disposeof treatedwood by ordinary ACQ-treated lumber looks similar to everyonebut the more-extremegroups. trashcollection. Never burn treated CCA, with a slightly morebrown color. The majority of leaching seems to wood in open fires or in stoves,fire- ACQ-treated products, currently sold occurwithin the first year,so older struc- places,or residentialboilers. The smoke under the Preserve and Preserve Plus turesaren't of much concern.However, and ashes may containtoxic chemicals. names,have been around for aboutseven if you want to add an extra measureof .Avoidfrequent or prolongedinhalation years,mainly on a special-orderbasis. As protection,the EPA recommendssealing of sawdustfrom treatedwood. When ACQ lumber moves to regular stock, CCA lumber every y€ar or two with sawing,sanding, and machiningtreated look for prices 10-25percent higher than eitherexterior-grade polyurethane finish wood,wear a dust mask.Whenever currentCCA prices.This increasestems or exteriorpaint. possible,perform these operationsout- from the highercost of the chemicals. What about newly built CCA struc- doorsto avoidindoor accumulations of Copper-azolerepresents the newest tures,or thoseyou haveunder way? Even airbornesawdust from treatedwood. .When power-sawing chemical.Used in Japanand Europefor amid current concerns, manufacturers and machining, wear gogglesto protectyour eyes from some time, it has been producedin the stand behind the safety of CCA-treated flyingparticles. United Statesfor abouta year. lumber. They stress following the use .Wear gloveswhen workingwith treated Like ACQ, copper-azolecontains no andhandling guidelines, at right. wood. Wash exposedareas thoroughly EPA-listedhazardous chemicals, or any The guidelines hold importancebecause beforeeating, drinking, using the known or suspectedcarcinogens. In fact, manufacturers often ship CCA-treated restroom,or usingtobacco products. azole is used to treat swimming pools lumber to retailers right after treatment, .Becausepreseruatives or sawdustmay and commercially-grownfruit. with little time for drying. Liquid may accumulateon clothes,they shouldbe Copperin the mix gives this lumber a even pool around screw heads as you launderedbefore reuse. Wash work greenishtint similarto ACQ or tradition- drive them, or seepfrom the ends of cut clothesseparately from other clothing. al CCA lumber, but copper-azolewill boards.After you build a structurewith weather to a brownish tone insteadof CCA lumber, allow it to dry for several gray.At leastfor the time To learrr rrrore, being,copper- weeksbefore applying finish or paint.In visit these Web sites: azole lumber will be marketed only the meantime, wash your hands, and www.ccasafetyi nfo. com underthe Wolman's NaturalSelectname especially children's hands,thoroughly www.prese rvedwood.com at a price percent JF about 15-20 higher after contactwith fresh CCA lumber. www.epa.gov than equivalentCCA products. Writtenby David Stone www.fpl.fs.fed.us Though ACQ and copper-azoleboth Photographs:Baldwin Photography; Arch www.natu ralselect.com have a short track record. thev look Wood Protection, Inc. www.treatedwood.com

51 FINAL INSTALLMENT OF A START.TO.FINISHSERIES We discrrssed rpood pr€pars. tion in issrre 139 and staining in issrre 14O; now itts tirne for the final step in finishing your proiects-applyilrg a clear topcoat.Yorrtll rnake tlre wood look great while pto. tecting it frorm spills, heat, dirt, scratches, and wear.

For an easy FF*_<' finish, try oil iE ; Sufirll5lde Oil-based finishes are the : boiled most widely availableof the linseedoil consumerfinishing products, and by far the easiest to apply.Simply wipe on a gen- erouscoat. as shownin Photo A, let it soakin for severalminutes, wipe off the excess,and let it dry. Unfortunately,no true oil finish offers much in the wav of water or heat resis- tance.But it doesa tenific job of bringing out the color and grain characteristicsof the wood. Add protection with a topcoat that builds a film on the surface-such as lacquer t7 i:J ,,."t.'. or varnish-and you have the ?,,:, rw#'" / rr'. bestof both worlds. /,; Boiledlinseed, tung, and soya arethe mostcommon oils usedin finish- ing. Boiled linseedand tung serve as straightoil finishesand soya appearsas an ingredientin otherfinishes.

Oil ptrrs viarnish gives a hand-rrrbbed look Blend oil, varnish,and thinner, and you have a "Danish oil," ffiF \ "tung oil finish," "antique oil i eps.tl finish,"or almostanvthins else i.-'{*1S.,'

*:;r*l.l{**fff*iffi;'Tfiffir these products revials few, 11 i any, differencesamong them. To determinewhether a given productis an oiUvarnishmix or a wiping varnish- a finish we'll discussshort- ly-follow the procedure shownin PhotoB. You easilycan createyour own oil/varnish mix with equalparts of boiled linseed oil. thinner. and varnish.

WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 b\ Alter this ratio to suit your - E'EET) tastes.If you increasethe 0$il$ oil, you slow down the dry- ortHr{tsll ing time. If you increasethe varnish,you make the mix more resistant to water, heat, and abuse. If you increasethe thinner, the mix penetrates betterand driesfaster, but requiresmore coatsto provideprotection. Some commercial oil/varnish mixes containan addedcolor. Or, you can tint any of the clear oil/varnish mixes by addingoil-based stain or a compatible dye. Be awarethat if you add a stain to eithera commercialproduct or your own recipe, you're adding oil, too. Adjust your ratio accordingly. Oil/varnishmixes do not providea high degreeof protection,and can't give you a glossyfinish, but they'reeasy to apply and repair. A couple of coats of an '*, oil/varnishmix followed by a pastewax ,i ourtop choices for oil finishing are boiled linseed oil and tung oil, but remember coatproduces a wonderful,hand-rubbed, +,',that they won't stand up to harduse. Both give wood a "glow,"and are somewhat satinappearance. amber.0ver time, linseed will darken and/or amber more than tung. Linseed offers a Apply an oil/varnishmix like a true oil glossierappearance and builds far better and easier than tung. finish. Flood it on. let it soak in. then Tungoil is clearer and more water-resistant than linseed oil. However, it costs more, make sure to wipe off any excess.On driesmore slowly, and tends to turn white as you build coats, some woods, especially large-pored Youalso can buy linseed and tung thatthe makers have speciessuch as oak, this finish tendsto oils alteredchemically by "bleed back" and pool on the surface. heatingthem to hightemperatures inan oxygen-free environment. They're identified Keep wiping to removethese spots until withthe word "polymerized" 0nthe label. Polymerized oilsdry faster, cure much harder, the finish has dried. Left untouched,the anddevelop more water resistance. Because oftheir faster drying characteristics, poly- excessfinish skins over and producesa merizedoils are difficult to applyto a largesurface. They build well but tend to crack. scalyeffect; then you'll haveto sandthe finish back or removeit completely. Oil/varnishmixes dry slowly,especial- ly in high humidity.Don't build themup beyondtwo coats. You can repair most surface damage with sandpaperand more oil/varnishmix. If the surfacehas been waxed, remove the wax with mineral spiritsbefore you apply anotheroiVvarnish coat.

Illarnish: The king of durabitity Varnish reigns as the mostresistant and durable film finish among those '.+d",i'{::oucan'talways rely 0n the label to tell you what kind of finish is insidethe con- that are generally avail- *ru tainer.For example, "tung oil" shows up 0n the label of various finishes that may or able to the home wood- maynot contain tung oil as an ingredient. And many products with "0i1" in their name worker. Manufacturers actuallyare varnishes that have been thinned with mineral spirits, making them easy to combine oil and resin. wipeon. The biggest area of confusion comes in whetherproduct cook the mixture, and producea finish- determining a isan ing materialthat's very tolerantof heat oil/varnishmix 0r a wipingvarnish, To test, pour a bitof the finish on a pieceof glass, and water.However, all varnishfinishes andlet it dryovernight. lf it appearswrinkled, like the one at left,il'san 0il/varnish prod- are difficult to repair. uct.lf it driessmooth, it's a wipingvarnish. continued

rYrvw. woo do nline. corn 53 guide to finishing: part 3

Depending on the type of youbrush on var- oil and the resin, varnish f I f,hen varies in color from clear to a W nish,use a good-quality deep amber.Most varnishes brush.Buy a Chinabristle with combinean alkyd resin with a chiselshape and split ends. oil-either linseedor one of (Seethe article on page l6tor the lessexpensive oils, suchas soya.The moreabout brushes.) amountof oil in the varnishdetermines You'llencounter two major its hardness."Long oil" varnishes,such problemsinbrushing-brush as spar varnish, contain a high percent- This high contentmakes marksand bubbles. Most brush age of oil. oil the varnish more flexible and able to going marksresult from back withstandthe rigors of weather.A "short overthe surface too often. Most oil" varnish, such as those labeled for varnishstarts to skinover very interior use, tends to be harder. This soonafter it hitsthe surface, makes it more susceptibleto chipping, andfurther brushing creates but allows for a glossiersurface. flaws.Bubbles come from a You can buy varnish in many forms. varietyof sources, including a The only difference between a polyurethaneand any other kind of var- poor-qualitybrush and careless nish is the addition of a bit of brushinghabits. Also, don't cre- polyurethane resin. This resin makes atebubbles by shaking the can; the varnish slightly more stirits contents gently. scratch-resistant. lf youstill have trouble, thin Brushingis the most com- thevarnish so the bubbles have mon methodof applying var- timeto popbefore the varnish nish, but it takes practice to do atop-flightjob. SeePhoto G dries.Start with about 10 per- for the tips you need. centnaphtha and gradually When you brush on varnish, gently increasethe ratio, if needed, scrape the surface between coats to * remove any bumps. Take the blade from a utility knife, hold it nearly vertically your and towelsor the cotton between forefinger and thumb, ffiaOer keep the pressurelight. & clothfrom a T-shirtworks Buff down the surface with gray wonderfullyforapplying a wip- Scotch-Brite,0000 steel wool, or 320- ingvarnish. Wipe on each coat grit sandpaperbefore applying your final quickly,as if youwere wiping coat.This may soundlike a lot of work, downa tabletopwith water. but it really isn't. None of the stepstakes Don'tgo back over the surface very long. It's the waiting betweensteps oryou'll drag the varnish and that takestime. It's a pleasureto applyvarnish by wip- createlines. lf yousee that you ing it on, but this works best with the misseda spot, ignore it. You'll addition of thinner to the varnish.You getit onthe next coat. Allow the can buy a wiping varnish, like the one varnishto dryfor a coupleof we're using in Photo D, or make your hours,then test it witha touch own by mixing equal parts of varnish ofyour finger. lf you don't leave and thinner. Naphthamakes a good thin- a print,it's ready for another ner because it dries faster and clearer than mineral spirits. coat,Apply at leastsix addition- You can sprayvarnish, but al coatsof wipingvarnish for you'll run into somesignif- addeddepth. Allow the finish to icant drawbacks.Whatever dryovernight, then scrape it your spray method, the gentlywith a utilityknife blade overspraywinds up every- beforeapplying the final coat, where.Because varnish is a

WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 slow-drying product, it becomesa dust magnet,and can soon createa crust on everythingin your garageor workshop. However, you'll find that varnish in an aerosolspray can does come in handy for small projects. A few companiesmake a gel varnish, a thick product designedto be wiped on. It is strictly a surfacefilm and offers little penetration.Gel varnishesare sus- ceptible to chipping and very difficult to reparr.

Professionals s [:tr,la like lacqrrer Furniture manufacturers and woodworkingpros chooselac- quer for most of their finishing work. It dries quickly, saving valuable production time. Lacquerpresents problems for ,' the homewoodworker. howev- argeprojects, orfrequent use of lacquer,might lead you to investin a sprayingset- :' er. The volatile fumes are unhealthyto :up,including a high-volume, low-pressure (HVLP) gun like the one shown here. breathe,and also pose a risk of fire or Alwayswear a vapormask when spraying lacquer, and never spray where there is any explosion. You need adequateventila- riskof explosion. And remember, you can spray small p@ects with a handy,inexpensive tion while applying most finishes, and aerosolcan of lacquer. this requirement becomes even more Don'tbother sanding between coats of lacquer,unless you find rough spots. Each coat critical when you uselacquer. willsoften the preceding coat and create an excellent bond. Most lacquer turns amber Most lacquer gives the best results when sprayed (see overtime, much like varnish. Lacquer offers a reasonabledegree of durability and resis- Photo E). Brushing lacquers tanceto heat,water, and cleaners. lt's easy t0 repairbecause a fresh coat dissolves into contain additivesto retard the theexisting coat. drying speed. Youcan buy lacquer in a fewcolors, 0r tint it yourselfwith a varietyof colorants, includingdyes. The hardness of lacquer makes it idealfor rubbing out with fine abra- continued sivesto a mirrorlikefinish.

' , aturalshellac is orange-brown, butyou tr :' havechoices when it comesto the refined product.Darker shellac, such as buttonlac and -.-.'-:'l*=. seedlac,does a wonderfuljob of replicating antiquefinishes. Here you see the difference in c0l0rbetween amber (orange) shellac, 0n the left,and clear shellac, on the right. Orange, or amber,shellac adds a wonderfultone to darker w00ds,such as walnut. Clear shellac adds almostno color and yellows very little over time. Shellaccan be sprayed, brushed, orwiped on. Becauseit dries fairly rapidly, spraying works well.You can buy shellac as flakes 0r as a pre- mixedliquid. The premixes tend to be about a 3- poundcut, which describes a ratio of 3 pounds of flakesper gallon of alcohol.A thinner1-pound cutmakes all forms of application easier, but requiresmore coats to achievethe same result asa heaviercut. t finishi part

Test the rnrater-base before you dive in Water-basedfinishes, such as the one we're tintins in Photo G, possessmuch dif- ferent strengths and weak- nessesthan the oil-basedfin- ishes.The situationconstant- ly changes,as manufacturers modify their oil-based products to be more environmentally friendly, and reformulate water-based finishes to stand up better to heat, water, and clean- ers. As a result, oil-based finishes are becomin-eslower to dry and more diffi- cult to apply, while water-basedfinishes becomeeasier to apply. Apply water-basedfinish with a spray -qun or aerosol can. if possible. Some water-based finishes are formulated to be applied with a brush-check the label to make sure. If it's suitablefor brush- ing, you also can wipe it on. Most water-basedfinishes are acrylic ffie mixtures. Some of them also contain f youneed a finishthat adds n0 c0l0r to the w00d, consider water-base. However, polyurethane resin, added to make the thisclearness also presents a disadvantage. Apply a clearcoat t0 a darkw00d 0r a finish more scratch-resistant.These woodthat has been stained dark, and it acquiresa washed-out appearance. Theamber additives also tend to make the water- based finish somewhat opaque and quality0f some oil-based finishes brings out the color and grain characteristics better slightly blue. just inthese cases. You can overcome the washed-out look of water-base byadding a Water-based finishes exhibit extreme touchof color to the finish, as shown here, Dyes and universal tinting colorants work sensitivity to heat and hr.rmidityduring wellfor this procedure. Don't add much. ltjust takes a touch. application.High humidity can cause a white haze known as "blush," and can Don't forget shellacl Once mixed. shellac .startsto deterio- slow the dryin-e time. If the blush does itts safe and torrgh rate. and finally reachesa point where it not go away, you'll have to strip the fin- won't dry. You can't predict when that ish and start over. fl$f"'il,f';'i,:','l,iJl-Er will happen.Some premixes claim a 3- Heat speedsdrying and rnakesapplica- basedflnish. Shellac comes year lif'e span,which startson the day the tion tougher. During hot weather, take :i$t'ffij from the secretionsof the *mlf5 shellac is rnixed by the manufacturer. care not to overwork the finish. Water- lac bug. These secretionsare The can could sit on a shelf somewhere based finishes are tough to strip, and a resin that's forrned into for most or all of that time. so check the tend to be sensitive to certain cleaners. flakes and then dissolvedin date on the bottorn of the can to seeeither Also, you'11have a hard time removin.q alcohol. Dif1erent ,gradesproduce differ- the manufacturing date or the 3-year white rings causedby water. ent colors; seethe examplesin Photo F. expiration date. Tltis conclucle.sour series on the busit's Shellacranks as the most environmen- For the most dependableresults, buy of Jirtishirtg, but keep wutchirtg.for infor- tally fiiendly of the finishin-uproducts. shellacin flake form. mix the flakeswith tttcttiott ot1 tnore udt,ctnc'edmethocls. Itt Manufacturersuse the resin to coat can- denaturedalcohol to make the amount our ttert.firti.sltirtgarticle, vte'll give ,-ou dies, -elossypills. and even f ruit. It you need.and disposeof any that's left the cletail.gon hovvto rub out u finish.lF reigned as the finish of choice prior to over when you're done finishing your the del'eloprnentof lacqr.rer.If you find a project. This may seem wasteful. but the Writtenby Jim Kullwith Jim Pollock Photographs:D.E. Smith Photography; Baldwin fihn finish on furniture madc before most expensivefinish is one that Photography about 1920. it's probably shellac. The .::!** has to be removed becauseit is old aiegFn. survival of sr"rchfurniture. with the orig- and will not drV. mn -\fl inal finish still intact.proves the dLrriibil- ilHffc If youdo sauesome shellac, or L#I fluthor l(ull also j,Rfi:.l GEilffi fim ity of shellac. However, it offbrs rela- " havea premixedcan, test it before tively poor resistanceto water. alcohol, qd# youcommit to itsuse. Put a coaton ,t:W ffiffii:T;l:,1"'J;T:Y'* heat.and cleanersthat contain alkali. somescrap to seehow well it dries. "',e&Yf www.woodonline.com Web site. #I ffi

56 WOOD rnagazine lunelluly 2002 @f;ry Lr{#n$ t a ", l'' I ':, V I l't>l

I i H; n; il ttSttl !lIxl

fiffiE

Build an inviting approach to yotrr backyard with this arbored garden gate.

58 WOOD magazine lunelluly 2002 othing adds more to the allure (and privacy) of your backyard "secret garden" than a stately garden gate. For this project, we bor- rowed the constructionof the overhead Trimposts here. arbor from the pergola in the previous 10dgalvanized issueof WOODv magazine,and the look finishnail of the shingled posts from the railing \r, t planterbox columnsalso in that issue. Miteredends Build this gate along with the fence on Top edge of 15'bevel page 64, or as an additionto your exist- blockingis ing fence.Either way, walking into your 67s/q"above ground. ->- 131/2" backyardwill neverbe the same. 7ez"shank hole. countersunk - Note: Mountthe_hinge blocking@ onty Plant a pair of posts 3" deck screw e^finOe-siOe gt7o,2t 91_tf Once you determine your gate's 7h r_'l:{riql,llq location,dig two 10"-diameterholes I hingeblocking withthe edgesof with their centers503/q" apart. The article the horizontal "Be a post master"on page66 of issue blocking(F) on the I sideof the-post l4l showsyou how to accuratelylocate I that is in the and temporarily brace your posts. To directionof the properlysupport the gate,the postsmust gate'sswing. extendat least36" belowgrade. Because I 66" of the frost line in our location,our posts extend 42" below grade. Check with your local building code enforcement official.Dig holesdeep enough to allow for a 6" layer of gravelat the bottom for drainage,where shown on Drawing1. With the gravelin place,position two / 6x6xl2' (5Vzx5Vz"actual) pressure- ( 6d treated posts (A) in the holes, plumb them, and brace them in place. Make surethat the 45l+" distancebetween the 6d galvanized postsis uniform top to bottom.Set them commonnail in concrete,as shown on Drawing1. Note: Our gate is 38t/2"wide. Whenthe Bottomedge of blocking posts are boxedand trinmtedthere will is 1" aboveground. be 3h" gaps betweenthe gate and the posts'corner battens (K, L). When the concretehardens, remove the bracing from the posts.To trim Slopetop away the poststo finishedheight, make a mark from post. 953/+"up from gradeon onepost. Using a E posrPosmoN AND straightboard and a level, transferthis top SURROUNDASSEMBLY rr_a mark to the other post.Measure the offset 1O,'-dia.hole (hingeside shown) on your porlablecircular saw between the edgeof its baseand the blade.Measure i1_Concrete this offsetdistance down from the marked [E SURROUNDTR IM top line, and draw a level line aroundall four sidesof eachpost. Temporarily nail a Bladetilted Fence 15'from short board to one side of the first post vertical-- with its top edgeat this lower line. Setting o your circularsaw to its maximumdepth, use the board to guide your saw as you make the cut. In this manner,work your 11/z' o way aroundthe post's other three sides. 13/4' Finish cutting through the post with a Gravel

handsaw.Repeat this procedureon the l{.: '" otherpost, making them even in height. i-, 1s51ss3\/----t S www.woodonline.com 59 garden gate

Cut the crossjoists (E) to the length is for a left-tiltingtablesaw. Note:Jig shown Materials List. Form the end Fora right-tiltingtablesaw, build the mirror in the imageof thisjig. cutouts, shown on Drawing 5, in the 3/ax1x8" B"'a same manner as those in the main joists. stock Turn the crossjoists upside down on 1/zx1x8" 3/qx2xB" 4d galvanized a pair of sawhorses,and clamp them stock stock finishnail together with their ends and top edges 2':.f B' flush. Using a square,draw lines across 1 the parts' bottom edges for the lt/2"- Fitsover wide notches, where dimensioned on 3/+x4"'-l l Drawing 5. Adjust your portable circular auxiliary I saw to cut ztA" deep. Guided by a fenceon t tablesaw. straightedgeclamped to the cross joists, pl make two cuts to define the notches' eeveluc sides.Then cut a seriesof closely spaced kerfs through the waste between these two cuts. Finally, clean out the notches with a I " chisel. Check the fit of your I %" stock in the notch. For good appear- ance and easy assembly, you'll want a shownon Drawing5. Jigsawclose to the close, but not tight, fit. lines. Chuck a flush-trim bit in your Note: Check the actual dintension of handheldrouter. Clamping the template vour 6x6 posts. The spaces befween the to eachpart to guidethe bit, rout the final notches in the cross joists (E) ntust profile. For smooth routing, rout from matclt tltis ditrtensiort. the cutout's "heel" to the part's end. Sand all your arbor parts with 120- Chucka %" round-overbit in yourrouter grit sandpaper. Prime the parts, (to matchthe joists' factoryedges), and including the top 36" of the posts, with an rout the end profiles' edges.Drill the exterior-grade latex primer. Take special 3/t"holes where shown. care to coat the end srain and the notches. A beveljig that runs on an auxiliary counterbored fence makes beveling the cap tops safe and accurate. I unnxlNcTEMPLATE t/a"hardboard

For the post caps, starl by cutting R=31/2" two I t/zx\t/zx5%" blanks for the cap tops (B) and two tAx4Vx4r/l" cap bases (C). Bevel the I %"-thick cap tops, where shown on Drawing 3. To make these cuts, we built the auxiliary fence and bevel jig shown on Drawing 2. Use dou- ble-faced tape to hold the cap top blanks to the jig. Cut one face, rotate the blank 90", cut, and repeat until all four bevels t/a" are cut, as shown in Photo A. Glue and Rout round-oversalong these edges afterthe end profilesare shaped. nail the cap bases, centered, to the cap tops, using an exterior glue and 4d gal- vanized finish nails. Sand the cap bevels 251/2" to 120 grit. Drill countersunk shank holes through the caps where shown. Apply construction adhesive, position $ rorsvcRossJotsr LAYour the caps,and drive in the screws. 1" counterbores1/2" deep with a R=31/2" Grrt the par{s 7e"hole centered inside for the overlread arbor Cut themain joists (D) to the length in theMaterials List. Makethe mark- ing/trimming template shown on Drawing4, and use it to mark the 3t/2"- radiuscutouts on the parts'ends, where

60 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 t/e"round-over routed on backafter arc is cut

/e" round-overrouted after arc is cut R=481/+" I I 151/q' 4',

61/2" II

Ornamental qate thumb I I 57', [atch 68" I

1t/2"deck screw I P 51/z' I 51/z 8" ornamentalgate T T-hinge

381/z' GATEEXPLODED VIEW 61/z' E /a" round-overs

381/z'

@ wrrloowrRlM 2" deckscrew 1t/2"deck screw 7sz"shank hole, countersunk rsunk ( I \t Clamp together seven Cut the brace (R) to the length --l 7sz"shank hole, countersunk slats (O) edge to edge, shown in the Materials List. Lay it facedown, positioning the diagonallyacross the assemblywith its long portion of one of the top end at the hinge side.Mark and cut 161/2" cut slats in the center. the end angles,as shown on Drawing6. Make sure the bottom ends Drill countersunkshank holes, and glue I 11/z' are flush and the assembly and screwthe bracein place. '/2 is square. Insert the short Cut the window cleats(S) to size, \l -:1 portion of the center slat, apply glue, and nail them in place \t=\ 3'\ l l leaving a 5t/2"-long space galvanized 3Tl,l,''- aroundthe window with 3d 1/z' I 11/z' for the window, where box nails. shown on Drawing 6. glue tZ" notches 3/s"deep 3/q" 1 1/z' Apply to the rails, stiles,brace, 1 1/z' t/2 Measure the width of the andcleats. Clamp the remainingslats assembly for the exact in place with the cut slat in the center. length of the rails (P), and Using a thin wood strip bentto the curve When the primer dries,lightly sandwith cut them to this length.Cut the stiles(Q) shownon Drawing6, mark the door'stop 220-git sandpaper.Finish the partswith to the lengthin the MaterialsList. arc. Drill countersunkshank holes in the two coatsof exteriorlatex paint. Glue andclamp the bottomrail (P) in slats where shown. Drive in the screws place.(We usedpolyurethane glue.) and removethe clamps.Cut the top arc Brrild a strrrdy gate Drill countersunkshank holes, centered with a jigsaw, and sandit smooth.Rout Cut 1x6 boards (%x5t/2")to length on therail's width andon eachslat, where %" round-overson both edges. for the slats(O). Chuck a %" round- shownon Drawing6. Drive in the screws. Cut the long and short window trim overbit in your handheldrouter, and rout Glue, clamp, drill, and screw the stiles (T, U) to size. Install a t/2" dado their outside ends and edges.Pick out (Q), thenthe top rail (P), in place.When bladein your tablesaw,and raise it to cut two center slats,and crosscutthem for drilling the shank holes in the top rail, 7s" deep.Attach an auxiliaryextension to the window, 15V4"from the top end, onceagain center each hole on a slat,but your miter gaugeand, form the notches, whereshown on Drawing6. drill them 1" from the rail's bottomedee. where shownon Drawing6a. Apply glue

www.woodonline.com 61 garden gate deckscrew I F-o" to the joints, and assemblethe trim. Wittt q=${S%0" shankhole, countersunk the glue dry, drill countersunkshank holes, *n*gf and screw the tim in place around the r gate'swindow. __4 @ erime the gate with exterior acrylic f,l s/a" primer, taking careto fully coat lag screw lJlatex 4" long the end grain. Finish with two coats of acrylic latex paint. 3/a"washer Now prrt it all together joists I Clamp the main (D) to the 1"counterbore * posts, where shown on Drawing 7. t/2"deep with a 7a" Check the joists for level front-to-back holecentered inside and side-to-side.Using the counterbored holes in the joists as guides, drill pilot \ holes into the posts. Slip washerson the ) 6d galvanized lag screws,and drive them in. finishnail llYlace the cross joists (E), where 6r shown on Drawing 7. The notchesin the crossjoists fit over the main joists. Drill countersunk shank holes through the cross joists at each notch. Drive 4" deck screwsthrough the crossjoists into the mainjoists.

Box and trirn the posts I From pressure-treated2x4stock, cut * the horizontal and hinge blocking (F, G) to size. Fasten the blocking to the postswith 3" deck screws,where shown on Drawing 1. Install the hinge blocking (G) on only the hinge-side post, flush with the corner that is in the direction of the gate'sswing. S From pressure-treatedplywood, cut tEr the surroundsides (H) to size. Using construction adhesive and 6d common lVz" clearance galvanized nails, attach the sides to the betweenbottom of blocking. Keep the top edles of the gate and ground sidesand the top blocking flush. E FINALASSEMBLY t/+xl3/qxl4Vz" QCut eight pieces of tJcedar for the trim base(I), and eight IVzx4xl4/2" pieces of cedar for the beveledtrim (J). Glue and clamp blanks Appfy the shingles Note: The le"-thick l8"-long fiber- 7/tox3/+X30" for the surround trim (VJ), keeping one I Rip two blanks for the cementshingles that cover the columns edgeof the assemblyflush, as shown on I starterstrips (M). From theseblanks, comein 6", 8", and 12" widths.Because Drawing 1a. Use an exterior glue. (We cut pieces to fit around the bottom of the between-the-battenswidth of our used polyurethaneglue.) With the glue each post surround. Nail them in place sidesis 7", we usedonly 8"-wide shingles. dry, cut the bevels,where shown. with 4d galvanizedbox nails. Q Fasten the shingles with a couple the surround trim (VJ) to Using an inexpensive7r/q" carbide- tfdabs of consffuction adhesive and *tillMiter-cut !) nt around the tops of the surrounds. &r tipped blade in your tablesaw, trim lVc" roofrng nails, maintaining the 6" Gluing the cornerstogether, nail the sur- l8"-long fiber-cement shingles (N) to exposure, where shown on Drawing 7. round ffim to the blocking (F) with 10d width, then cut the lengths in half, mak- Keep the course lines even all around galvanizedfinish nails. ing 8tsAo"-longshingles. You'Il get two eachpost box. Becausenothing overlaps f Cut the narrow battens(K) and wide 8r%o"-longshingles out of each18"-long the top course,trim these shinglesto 6" tJbattens (L) to size. Nail them to the one, so for the 88 shinglesneeded, you'Il before nailing them in place. cornOrsof the post surrounds with 6d have to purchaseat least 44 of the 18"- Note: If a fence is to be attached to the galvanizedfinish nails, where shown on long shingles.See the Buying Guide for gate post surroundsr lou may want to Drawing7. fiber-cementshingle information. attach it before applying the shingles.

62 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 Then fit the shingles around the fence members.Thefence we built (shownin the 2"deck screws; 1t/2" deck screws; 1tla" deck screws; %"lag screws 4" long (8); %" flat washers (8); %0" lag openingphoto) isfeatured on page64. screws4" long (4); S" ornamental gate T-hinges (2); A-posts 51/z' 51/z' t ":1iCaulk thejoint betweenthe surround ornamentalgate thumb latch; exterior glue; construction . .trim (VJ) and the post. Fill any nail B captops 11/z' 51/z' 51/z' adhesive;caulk; exterior wood filler; sandpaper; exterior holes.Prime and paint the shingles,bat- C caobases Vq' 41/z' 41/2' primer;exterior paint; wood shims, For the beveljig: 3/ax8x8"plywood, tens,and trim. Touch up the paint on the %x1x8"stock, %x2x8" stock, and 1/zx1x8"stock. For the marking/trimming jig:rhxir/+x9s/a" posts and arbor where needed. D mainjoists 11/z' 51/z' 761/c' c hardboardsni s/4ve/4v$t/4"stock. E crossjoists 51/z' 251/z' C BuyingGuide Hang the gate, arrd Fiber-cementshingles. For Hardie Shingleside youtre linished 31/z' HeritageSingle Shingle product and dealer inlormation, . Position the gate betweenthe shin- callJames Hardie Building Products, 8001942-7343, or G hingeblocking 11/z' 31/2"125Aa" 'i4.gledpost surrounds,flush with the goto www.jameshardie.com/shingleside.htm. H sides 91/q' 66/+' PP cornerbattens, as shown on Drawing 7. l* trimbase Vq' 13/4' 131/z' C Raiseit lVz" off the ground with scrap- Writtenby Jan Svecwith Kevin Boyle wood blocks, and insert shims between J- beveledtrim 11/z' 4' 131/z' C Projectdesign: Kevin Boyle; James R. Downing the gate and the corner battens so the K narrowbattens Vq' 11/z' 66" lllustrations:Roxanne LeMoine; Kim Downing; gapsat both sidesare equal. L widebattens 3/c' 21/q' 66' LornaJohnson Photographs:Baldwin Photography .::'p,Position the hinges, where shown M-starterstrips ;,.,o.tOn DraWing7, and mark the sCrew N.shingles f4 FC locations.(We used black-painted8" ornamentalgate T-hinges, available at 0 slats vqu 51/2' 68' c hardware stores and home centers.) P rails 3/qu 51/2' 38V2- C Drill pilot holes, and fasten the hinges Q stiles Vqu 51/2' 57' C to the gate, then the post surround,as R*brace Vqu 51/2' 65' C shown in Photo C. Use the lVz"-long s/qo lag screwsprovided with the hinges to S windowcleats 6Y4" C fastenthe hinge to the gate,but use 4"- T shortwindow trim Yzu 3/q' 131/2' C long lag screwsfor fastening into the U longwindow trim lz' 3/qu 161/2' C -Parts post surround.Locate the T-endsof initiallycut oversize. See the instructions, the hinges so the pilot holes for the 4" tlengthvaries. See the instructions. lag screwsgo through the cornerbatten MaterialsKey: PT-pressure{reated lumber, C-cedar, and side into the hinge blocking (G). PP-pressure-treatedplywood, FC-fiber-cement shingles. '"t'.iRemove the shims and blocking. Supplies:Gravel; concrete mix (approximately 3 cubic ';,.;'Install the latch according to the feet);3d galvanized box nails; 4d galvanized box nails; galvanized galvanized First, mount the hinge's strap on the instructionsthat come with it. (We used 4d finishnails; 6d finishnails; 10dgalvanized finish nails; 6d galvanized common nails; gate.Then, using the holes in the hinge's an ornamental gate thumb latch that 1tl+"roofing nails; 4" deck screws (16); 3" deck screws; T as guides, drill pilot holes in the sur- matchesthe hinges.)JF round and drive in the lag screws. crltting diagrarnr

5/zxSVzx144"P lumber(6x6x12') (2 needed)

g/qx 71hx 144" Cedar (1x8x1 2')

s/+x 7Yax 144" Cedar (1xSxl 2') 11/2x51/2x96"

s/+x 7th x 144"Cedar (1x8x12') 11/2x51/2x96" o 3/ax51/2x72"Cedar (1x6x6') (14 needed) 11/zx51/zx 96" Cedar(2x6x8') (2 needed)

s/qx 51/zx 96" Cedar(1x6x8') 11/zx 31/zx 96" Pressure-treatedlumber (2x4x8') o 3/qx51/zx 120" Cedar (1x6x10') 1t/zx3t/zx 120"Pressure-treated lumber (2x4x10') (2 needed)

s/qxSt/z x 96" Cedar ('lx6x8') 1t/zx 5r/zx 120"Cedar (2x6x10') www.woodonline.com 63 t ilI lGilEtttff :ilItllrl IIItlltfl lllllltffi r t t Simpleto build, I I t I 9"", yetstriking in tltlll appearance, ltrfll l* thisfence makes theperfect backdropfor yourflower gardensand landscaping. Forease of maintenance, weused molded plasticlattice thatnever needspainting. I a \ t It looks great from either side!

64 WOOD rnagazine JunerJuly 2002 4" deck screw

,L I exnloDEDvrEW I 3" deck screw

'/2 \ r*" deckscrew f--_ I

5/ge"shank holes, countersunk

t/+"chamfers 35" /a" COV€S

Slopetop away t/2" hole from oost. for drainage

10"-diameterhole

11/z'!

Depthof holemust 51/z' be at least24" tor support.Local frost 331/z' leveldetermines ) tinal dept\-./ -'' / 401/z' 4d galvanizedfinish nail 2t/2"deck screw_1-J rl 2" deckscrew Miteredends Compacteddirt backfill 7sz"shank hole, countersunk YK{ Gravel

n this article, we'll show you how to Plant a ror r of posts fence, the posts extend at least 24" tnto set posts and make a basic fence Dig 1O"-diameterholes along your the ground. Because of the frost line in panel, which you can size to meet f'ence line with their centers 40th." our location, our posts extend 42" below your needs. To offset your fence at an apart. The article "Be a post master" on grade. Dig holes deep enough to allow angle greater than 90o, as shown at lefi, page 66 of issue 141 shows you how to for a 6" layer of gravel at the bottom for see the instructions in "Building an off- accurately locate and temporarily brace drainage,where shown on Drawing 1. set panel" on page 67. Betore you start your posts. If you don't have this issue Add the post's height above ground building your fence, check out the side- and wish to obtain the article, see the (5934") to its depth below _eround, bar "Planning your installation," below. Buying Guide. To properly support the and buy 6x6 (5t/zx5r/2" actual) pressure-

Planning your installation Beforeyou set a postin the ground,you must Withthe positionof yourfence line determined, mark the determinewhether there are undergroundutili- post locationswith stakesdriven into the ground.Our posts tieswhere you intendto dig.Contact your local measure401/z' center-to-center. Chances are that your utilitiesto havesomeone come out and mark situationwill not accommodatean evennumber of these the locationsof gas,phone, and electricallines. increments.So adjustthe posts'center-to-center distance to You'llalso have to knowhow far intothe makeall the fencepanels the samesize. lf you makea groundposts must extend to keepthem from paneldifferent from ours,work with the repeatof the lattice heavingwhen the groundfreezes. And, for gridso it willshow evenly at bothsides when installed in its fencesthat follow a propertyline, find out about frame.Count the numberof postsand fence panels you any setbackrequirements. Your local building need.The MaterialsList and Cutting Diagram show one post codeofficial can helpyou withthese answers. lf andthe partsfor one of ourfence panels. Multiply these you knowthe locationof your lot cornerstakes, lay out your quantitiesby the numberof postsand panels you need.lf fencealong a stringstretched between them. Don't know yourpost spacing is differentfrom ours, make the necessary whereyour lot cornersare? Hirea surveyorto markthem. adjustmentsto the lengthsof partsD, E, F, l, andJ. www,woodonline.com 65 good-neighbor fence FryffiTX

Blade tilted 8" from vertical

line betweenthese marks. (Mason's line, bottom rail (F). With the tablesawblade availableat hardwarestores, lumberyards, tilted 8o, bevel-rip the cap rail, where and home centers, can be sffetched very shown on Drawing 2. Set the cap and tightly without breaking to give you the bottom rails aside. post Checkthe on adjacentsides for line possible.) Check your Tape the lattice rails (E) together plumb.Fasten 2x4 bracesto the stakes straightest $ and the post with screws. sfring line with a level, and make any &r with their ends flush. Lay out the adjusfrnents necessary. Mark the posts notch locations, where shown on treatedposts of the next standardlength. and nim them to finished height using the Drawing 1. Install a 3/q"dado blade in For example, if your posts extend 24" method explained in the article "Grand your tablesaw, and raise it to cut l3/q" below ground, use 8'-long posts. If they Enffance" on page 58. If your fence is on deep. Using the miter gauge fitted with extend 42", buy 10' ones. Position the a slope, seethe sidebar"Stepping down a an auxiliary extension to reduce chip- posts(A) in the holes,plumb them in two slope,"below. out, cut the lVz"-wide notches,making at directions, and brace them in place, as Make a cap (B/C) for each post, as least two passesover the blade. Check 'fI shown in Photo A. Make sure that the explained on page 60 of the article the fit of your 2x4 stock. For good distancebetween the posts is 35" from "Grand Entrance." Set them aside. appearanceand easy assembly, the fit top to bottom. should be close,but not too tight. (G) to length, and QIf your fence is on level ground, Make the panel parils Cut the uprights tJmake a mark 593/q"up from the I From 2x4 stock, cut four lengths for repeat the above procedure to form their ground on the end posts. Stretch a string I ttre cap rail (D), lattice rails (E), and mating notches.Select one of the lattice

Stepping dorrln a slope Not everyfence is on flat ground,and differenttypes of STEP3 Markcutlines on posts. fenceshandle slooes differ- intermediate ently.Some of them,like a simplevertical board fence, STEP5 InstallfencePanels. easilytake slopesin stride. STEP 1 Mark heighton Stringersthat followthe slope the posts at the are attachedto the posts.The top and bottom STEP4 Trimposts of the slope. positionof each individual squareat board is adjustedas it is markedheight. attachedto the stringersso the fencejust flows down the slope.But fenceswith discrete rectangularpanels like ours must "stairstep"down the slope.This fence will easily accommodatea slopethat Maximum12" drop dropsno morethan 12" from post to post betweenposts. Once your postsare set, the five-step drawing,rghf, showsyou how to markyour postsat the properheight, and whereto positionthe fencepanels.

66 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 rails (E) as the lower one,and drill cen- heldrouter, and rout coveson theplates' Finishing rilow tered drain holes, where shown on edges,where shown on Drawing1. saves tirne later Drawings1 and 3. (The lattice stops, Cut eight '1Axlx24"blanks for the Sandall the partsto 120 grit. Prime appliedlater, form a channelthat would latticestops (I). Installa chamferbit the post capsand all the panelparts, trap wateron the bottom latticerail.) in your table-mountedrouter, and cut /+" including the lattice stop blanks, with Cut the mountingplates (H) to size. chamferson the edges.where shown on exterior acrylic latex primer. Double- Chuck a t/+" cove bit in your hand- Drawing3. primethe notchesand all endgrain.

Brritding an offset parnel Note: Our fencemakes an angledjog, as shownin the opening photo on page 64.Although an unusualsituation, we found this offset handy in solving a tricky landscapingproblem. Should you find yourself in a similarpickle, here's how to handle it. Step I Afterbracing the postsin theirholes and trimming them to finishedlength, cut a 2x4longenough to layacross the tops E orrser PANELASSEMBLY of the posts,where shown on Drawing4. Usinga pieceof s/c"- thickstock to representthe mountingplates (H), mark 3" deck cutlines ( 8'bevels on the undersideof the 2x4,where shown on Drawing5. Miter- \ cutthe 2x4to length.Trim the pointsof the miteredends, where 7se"shank trote, I I shownon Drawing6. Usingthis 2x4 as a template,mark and countersunk trimthree more rail blanks. Set one asidefor the bottomrail (F). Step 2 Referringto Drawing2, bevelthe top of one blankfor the cap rail(D). Lay out the notchlocations on two blanksfor the latticerails (E), whereshown on Drawing6. Cut the notches, thendrill drain holes in one,where shown on Drawings3 and7. Step 3 Formthe uprights(G), mounting plates (H), and lattice stops(l) in the same manneras for a standardpanel. Sand, paint,and assemble the angled panel, as shownon Drawing7. Measureand cut the latticestops and latticeinsefi to fit. Step 4 Finally,as you workyour way alongthe fencefastening the panelsin place,simply screw the angledpanel to itsposts.

MARKINGTHE RAIL

Alignthe 2x4 Markthe withthese bottomface postcorners. ol the 2x4 at bothends.

3"deck screw I f E orrserRAILS t'/2 1 1/z' 51/2"-1 r- I - l-s't" Markedangle /> 31/z' \1 Notchesin onlylattice rails@ 8" bbvelson part@only www.woodonline.com 67 good-neighbor fence

With the primerdry, lightly sandall of therails and uprights, where shown on With all thepanels fastened in place, the parlsagain with 120-gritsandpa- Drawing3. Setthe other four stopsaside. recheck the posts with a level for per.Give all theparts two finishcoats of Cut a piece of plastic lattice 1/s" plumb.Backfill the postholes with ditt. exterioracrylic latex paint. shorterin length and width than the Put in 3" to 6" layers,thoroughly tamp- panel-frameopening for the lattice (J), ing the loosedirt in placebefore adding Prrt it all together and position it against the nailed-in more. A short length of 2x4 makes a Assemble the lattice rails (E) and the stops.(We useda moldedplastic lattice good tamper.Stop backfilling about 3" uprights (G), interlocking their from Tuff-Bilt Products.See the Buying below groundlevel. notches,as shown on Drawing 1. Clamp Guide.) Nail the secondset of lattice Prime andpaint the posts,fully coat- the mounting plates (H) to the ends of stopsin place. ing the top end grain.Painting down the rails with the rails centered on the Startingat oneend of the fence,slide a coupleof inchesbelow ground level plates' width, where shown. Drill coun- a completedpanel betweenthe first will give your paintjob a finishedlook tersunk shank holes through the plates, two posts,and clamp it in place.(You when the last 3" of eachhole is back- and drive screws into the rails. may have to reposition the temporary filled. With the paint dry, finish backfill- Slide the cap rail (D) and bottom rail bracing.)The tops of themounting plates ing and tampingthe holes. (F) into place between the mounting (H) are 2" down from the tops of the Drill countersunkpilot holesthrough plates. Drill countersunk shank holes posts,where shown on Drawing1. (The the post caps. Apply construction through the rails, and drive screws into sidebaron p(rge66 showswhere to posi- adhesive,and screw the caps in place. the uprights. Drill countersunk shank tion the panelsbetween posts stepping Touch up the paint whereneeded. JF holes through the mounting plates, and down a slope.)Drill countersunkshank drive screws into the cap and bottom rails. holesthrough the mountingplates, and Writtenby Jan Svec with Kevin Boyle Proyectdesign: Kevin Boyle;James R. Downing Miter-cut the lattice stops (I) to fit screwthe panelin place.Work your way lllustrations:Roxanne LeMoine; Kim Downing; inside the lattice frame. Paint the along the fence line, fasteningthe com- Lorna Johnson miters. Nail the first set of four stops in pletedpanels in place,and repositioning Photographs:Baldwin Photography place, setting them in 7s" from the edges the bracingas you go. rmaterials list cuttirrg diagrrarm @ A*posts 51/z' 51/z' t PT tt B captops 11/z' 51/z' 51/z' ++ (6x6xt) 3/tu 51/zx 51/zxf" Pressure{reatedlumber fLengthdepends C capbases 41/2, 41/2" tt on depthof frost @ line.See the D caprail 11/z' 31/2" 331/z' C instructions. E latticerails 11/z' 31/z' 331/z' C 1t/zx St/zx 96" Cedar (2xOxB') F bottomrail 11/z' 31/2', 331/2', C c G uprights 11/2" 31/2', 371/2', c 3/qx 51/zx 96" Cedar (1x6x8') H mountingplates 3/t' 4t/z' 43" l. latticestops 3/tu 1u 231/2" C 1/q, 11/2x31/zx 120" Cedar (2x4x10') J lattice 233/a'233/a' MP tlengthdepends on depth of frost line. See the instructions. 11/2x31/zx1 Cedar(2x4x10') ttQuantitiesdepend on total fence length. -Partsinitially cut oversize. See the instructions. 3/qx31/zx 96" Cedar (1x4x8') fulaterials:PT-pressure-treated lumber, C-cedar, MP-moldedplastic lattice. NTTTTIT !TTTTTTTTTIIITffTTITTT rNnrnrr trtrtrtrtrtrtrITITTTTtrTTTTItrT $upplies:Gravel, 2" deck screws, 2t/2" deck screws, 3" NCTITtrtr TDNTTE!TTTITIDTTTTTTtrT deckscrews, 4"deck screws, 4d galvanized finish nails, TDTTTII TTTTTTTI!TTTTTITTTTTTT primer,paint, construction adhesive. TTTtrTNf trTTNDtrTNtrtrTTTTTTTXTTTtr NTTtrTTI TItrTTtrTNTtrTtrtrtrTX!XTTTT BuyingGuide trtrtrtrtrrr trtrI!trtrtrtrItrtrTtrTDNT!Ttrtrtr Plasticlattice, Tuff-Bilt isjust one of several brands of NTTNNTI trtrtrTTNtrtrItrIfITD!T!TDTX plasticlattice now commonly available atlocal home cen- TftrtrtrNTtrItrTtrTTtrtrT]tr[TtrtrTNtrtrTtrTT ters,lumberyards, andlawn and garden centers. Plastic ITtrtrtrDtrtrIT!trDtrtrtrI]TItrtrTTT!TITTtr latticetypically comes in 4x8' sheets and is available in TtrTITTtrTTTTtrtrtrTTI]ITtrItrTTTTTTIT severaldifferent oatterns and colors. TTtrTTTTITTTTTTTI!]TTITTtrTfTTTTT lssue141 article. The article "Be a postmaste/'is avail- !IT!TTTITIITTTtrTT!IIIITTT!TITtrtr ableby purchasing either the entire back issue or just a trtrtrTtrtrtrtrtrTITTtrTTtrTTtrtrtrNID!TITTtr trtrtrTTItrtrIITI!TTTTTTTTNTITTT!TTT reprintofthe arlicle. To order, call Schlabaugh andSons, TTTTTITIT!!T!trTTNTTTtrTTTItrT!I!! 800/346-9663.Forthe back issue, request issue no. 141, $6.95ppd. For the article reprint, request "Be a post t/ax 48 x 96" Plasticlattice master,"issue 141, pages 66 and 67, $5,00 ppd.

68 WOOD rnagazine June/July 2002 very woodworker's shop should haveat leastone pair of sawhorses. By themselves,they support sheet goods and boardsfor cutting into manage- able pieces.Or, throw a scrapof plywood acrossa pairof horsesand instantly create an extra worksurface.Some height-adjustable sawhorseseven convert into handy infeed andoutfeed tables. The problemwith shop-builthorses is that they take up a fair amount of floor space even when not in use.That's why we like today's commercial sawhorsesthat weigh little and knock down to a fraction of their in-usesize for easystorage. Big-time capac- ities come in these small packages,with most of the testedsawhorses rated to hold 1,000pounds or more per pair.

Horrl r re put the tlrorses throrrgh their paces If the sawhorsesdidn't alreadyhave a wood- en beam,we attachedone-a length of pine iesiJt ' --l r- \ .--l F UJ)5) 2x4, in most cases-and beganour testing. (This sacrificial beam protects both the I horse and your saw from cut-throughdam- age.)To testfor stability,we draggeda sheet of 3/q"plywood everywhich way we could atopeach pair of horses,much as you might do when positioninga sheetbefore cutting. Next, we placedmore than 600 poundsof weight on eachpair and looked for any sag in the legsor beams.Finally, we spentsev- eralweeks usins the sawhorsesin andout of , the shop to get better acquaintedwith eachproduct's features.

Two rnethods of downsizing Stowablesawhorses "get small" in one of two ways:Most breakdown or fold so that they basicallybecome flat versionsof their set-up selves (thin, but wide); the others havecollapsible legs that swing up andstore insidethe beam. We foundno advantagesor disadvantagesto eitherstyle when it comes to sag,stability, or weightcapacity. Fold-flat sawhorsesset up in a heartbeat, andcan hangon a wall for storage,as shown at left, or standunder one end of your bench. Collapsiblesawhorses take an extra couple of setupsteps, but break down into a com- pact packagethat can be tucked away on a shelf or in the trunk of the car.

WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 IVloUrrfing fi rrrod thebeann In most cases,attaching the sacrificial lroofc atttndlrrc beamis a simplematter of driving a coupleof screwsthrough the horse's irrftis rrge beam into a 2x4. We foundthree noteworthyexceptions to this rule,as ,,F, shown below. c4*j "* *''." Ilote-ArHorse TS-5O1 FultonCorporation Gfyde & Dale's 321OO In some ways, the TS-501 is twice the 800/390-5303,www.clydeanddales.com sawhorsethe TS-21 is-twice the load The box tubing of the Clyde & Dale's These lightweight leg sets can't splay, limit; twice the weight; twice the price. Sawhorses fits a 2x4 like a glove, but because they're manufactured as a Its 14-gauge,stamped-steel construction leaves the metal exposed to a saw blade. fnstead, we cut a kerf in a 2x6 (abovel lo single,heart-shaped loop of tubular alu- reduces the twisting tendency of the provide cut-through protection. minum. That's a big reasonwhy Clyde beam, and accountsfor the weight dif- & Dale's Sawhorseshave the highest ference, but builrin carrying handles weight-capacityrating in the test (3,000 makelugging the pair easier. poundsper pair). The TS-501 is one of only three test- You provide your own woodenbeam, ed sawhorseswhere the beamcan be set and that presentsadvantages and a dis- to different heights, but we found it the advantage.On the plus side, you can most cumbersometo change,as shown make the horsespractically any length in the "Beam up, Scotty" section,on the you want. And, you can adjust the next page. And those legs must be height of the horsesby using different returned to their lowest height before widths of 2x lumber. To store the folding and storing, or they won't fit sawhorses,merely slip the leg sets off insidethe beam. the ends of the beam.The leg setsnest togethernicely for storage,but you still have to store the beams separately.

The vaguely X-shaped "Smart Grooves" fit snugly over the ends of the Stanley Adjustable Sawhorse's plastic beam. The 2x4 sacrificial beam friction-fits into the notches on edge (as shown abovel, or flat, using the top notches. Malerick GeneseeMetal, 71 6/968-6000 www.geneseemetal.com HandyHorse TS-21 The highlight of this tubular-steelsaw- FultonCorporation, 800/252-0002 horse is its infinitely height-adjustable www.fultoncorp.com beam, which meansyou can set it for Made entirely of stamped 2}-gauge tablesawinfeed or outfeed support,or as galvanizedsteel, the TS-21 is by far the an extension to your workbench or lightestof all the collapsiblesawhorses, assemblytable. But the downsides-a weighing only 20 poundsper pair. But $140 per-pair price tag and a mere the thin steeltended to cut into our hands 500-pound load rating-outweigh that Storehorse's V-shaped "Sawbucks" when we carried the horses by their benefit, in our opinion. For storage,the accept a 2x4 or 2xG sacrificial beam laid ends.The TS-21 also flexed and twisted leg sets rotate 90o to fold against the flat. However,the fit isn't snug to either the sawhorse or the wooden beam, so along its beamuntil we addeda sacrifi- beam, making the sawhorsesflat but the beam slides in the Sawbucks, and cial2x4. about20" longer storedthan when set up. the Sawbucks slide on the sawhorse. wwrv.woodonline.com 71 stowable sawhorsgs Bearrr u11Scolily For maximumversatility, we likea sawhorsewith a height-adjustablebeam. Three tested horses have such capability but, as shownbelow, they vary in theirease ot uss.

GOOD: Ghanging the beam height of the BETTER: With no fixed increments, BEST: When folded flat, you can lift or Tote-A-Horse TS-501 requires removing a Maverick's beam can be set literally any- lower the Stanley's beam in 1" incre- wing nut, carriage bolt, and the bottom where from 28" to 38" high. You first ments. Opening the horse to its in-use portion of each leg. Replace the leg bot- release the knurled locking knob, then a position locks in the beam height. At full tom in a new set of 4"-spaced locking clutch (like that on a pipe clamp), and height, the load limit is reduced from slots, then replace the nut and bolt. adjust one end at a time. 1,000to 800 pounds per pair.

Fulton TS-501for "heaviesthorse" hon- tion, but releasing them requires a tair ors (at 38 pounds per pair), and proved amountof force, and might be difficult if rock solid in our tests. Spring-loaded you have limited hand strength. ball catcheskeep the legs locked in both set-up and storedmodes. If there were a "best accessorized" award, StableMate would win that, too. Add enough options, and you can turn it Ilort.A-Mate into a full-blown mitersaw stand, com- HTCProducts, 800/62 4-2027 plete with workpiece. supports and HTC's tubular-steelPort-A-Mate is the wheels. Choose from the 35"-tall only sawhorsethat comes with a wood- SH-4236-2. or the 29" SH-4230-2 (for en (2x6) beam, so we didn't needto add about $10 lessper pair). one. Becauseof the scissors-stylelegs, Stantelr trdfr*atile Sewhorce you could bolt a pair of thesesawhorses The StanleyWorks, 888/628-4455 to a sheetof plywood to createan easy- www.thestan leyworks.com to-fold temporary table. Or, add HTC's Although made entirely of plastic, these optional mitersaw platform, and you horses didn't sag or deflect any more have a solid, stowable, mitersaw stand. than the metal horses in our test. Port-A-Mate comes in two heights: The Besides being height adjustable, the HP-328-2 stands 26" tall. and the Stanley Adjustable Sawhorse adjusts HP-333-2.33". widthwise as well: Pull on one end of the beam, and both ends extend out to as Rrrgged Brrddy much as 4'7" wide-a perfect width for fblding Icgs cutting sheetgoods. Target Precision,31 01527 -7844 Ingenious "Smart Grooves" allow you Like the Clyde & Dale's sawhorses, to instantly add or remove a sacrificial Rugged Buddy doesn't come with a beam.(See the middle photo onthe pre- beam,but eachleg set's mountingplate vious page.) Flip thesepieces over and attaches to a 2x4 laid flat, or bolts the V-groove holdsdowel, pipe, or even StableMate beneatha tabletopfor a temporarytable. dimensional lumber for cutting-as fowa Manufacturing,8OOl882-4422 Rubber feet provided good purchaseon long as it's at least29" long (the length www.stablemateonIi ne.com our concretetest flooi, making it one of of the beam). We just wish there were One of our favorites, this 16-gauge,gal- the more stable sawhorsesin the test. on-board storage for the Smart vanized-steel sawhorse edges out the The legs lock when in the set-uporienta- Grooves:They're easyto misplace.

72 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 LEGS I IPERFORMANCERAT|NGS(s)

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I t< s lf l;1,, I ta P"* )t9, ,li v%i g"€ lf ; /oar/se/d/se/#/f/t s /s/g"s /{ 321*s00 [-%%#333/n* 2731q T CLYDE& DALE'S 3,000 N/A 8x28x36 G N/A G Life U 6 $80 HandyHorse TS-21 291|t 321/z GS 24 /:e 1,000 NiA 8x321/2x12 G G NiA Life U 20 28 FULTON Tote-A-HorseTS-501 25-40 38 SS 1831t SS 2,000 IVA 4x38x5 G G GG Life U 37 o3 ss GENESEEMETAL Maverick 28-38 32 251/z TS 500 h 5x52x27 G G G G GG M. RS Life U 30 140 HTC Port-A-Mate HP-328-2 33 z#lq W 1911cTS 1,000 P I x293/q x 37 G N/A GG Life U 30 78 IOWA MANUFACTURING StableMateSH-4236-2 35 421/q GS 251/z GS 1,000 P I NI/A G C, E, R, SB, W lyr U 38 80 'l.9plq STANLEY Adjustable Sawhorse 30-37 23-4i P P 1,O00' P 5 x291lzx 32 G 6 yrs I 14 50

XL 30 30 P 171/c P 1,000 N/A 4x30x31 lVA G H,P,S lyr U 20 40

STOREHORSE XT 36 30 P 20 t-A 1,000 t{/A 4x30x38 IVA G H,P,S lyr U 26 50 Series ll 3O3/q 27 P 17112 P 1,000 N/A 4x28x30 IVA G H,P 1yl U 18 30 TARGET PRECISION Rugged Buddy 34112" 241/z SS 2,000 R 7 x241lzx33 G N/A G G M 2 yrs U 12 35 WOODCRAFT SUPPLY Portable Saw Horses 313/a 39112 SS 15 SS 1,500 R 31/zx391lzxst/, I G G N/A 1y( T 60 G omer rypes or roo,r, oif | "Tool Comparlsons" at www.reoodmall.com.",,"* I Not including sacrificialbeam. 3. (cs) Galvanized steel Suppliedwith attachedsacrificial beam. 8. (Lile) Lifetimewarranty against tactory defects. () With 2xO beam (P) Plastic C) With 2x beam (PA) Plastic with tubular-aluminum reinforcement (C) Tool-mountingclamps (ss)Stamoed steel (E) Extension wings 9. (U) United States (r) Tubularaluminum (H) Hobby top (l) lsrael z- (-) Beam provided by user. (TS) Tubular steel (M) Mitersaw platform (T) Taiwan (w) Wood (P) Power strip (R) Work supports 4. Rating from manufaclurer. 10. Prices current at time of article's production, (RS) Roller supports and do not include shipping where applicable. (-) Limit reduced to 800 lb. at full height (S) Sawbucks Excellent (SB) Shelf brackets ! @ o*o ffi rair (W) Wheel kit

/\ When was the last time you carried two sawhorses in one hand? Woodcraft's Portable Saw Horses snap together Storehorse Portalrte Saw Horses when stored to keep the other hand free. The LehighGroup, 800/523-9382 WoodcraftSupply, 800/225-1 153 www.lehighgroup.com www.woodcraft.com Wlrich horse is right Although similar to the Stanley Made of heavy-gauge steel, these for yorrr horrse? Adjustable Sawhorse in construction, sawhorsesare among our favorites, in Three models tripped our trigger: Iowa capacity, stability, and stowability, largepart becausethey storethe smallest Manufacturing'sStableMate lives up to Storehorselacks the versatilityand reli- of all the modelsin the test. Like other its name, offering self-storinglegs in a able sacrificial-beam-mountingsystem. collapsiblehorses, the legsfold up inside ruggedbody, with few moving partsand Still, even if you cut into the plastic the beam.Then, both beamslock togeth- plenty of add-on options. Need some- beam cap, you wouldn't damageyour er into one densebut portablepackage thing that storesa little smallerand is a tools or hurt the integrity of the horse. (see photo, above right) for maximum little more portable? Try Woodcraft's On two models-the XT and SeriesII- mobility. Though compact, a pair of PortableSaw Horses.On the otherhand. the removablebeam cap hasa V-groove PortableSaw Horsesprovides 1,500 lb. Stanley's flat-folding Adjustable Sawr for cutting small or round stock. of load capacity. horsecombines versatility, light weight, and height adjustability into an easily manageablesawhorse.ll

Writtenby Dave Gampbellwith PhillipGoodwin Photographs:Baldwin Photography www.woodonline.corn 73 ? $ ns k# & €x

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74 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 ',fi ookingfor a handsome,func- From 8/4 walnut, cut the legs (A) to tionalproject that won't overtax '& the size listed in the Materials List andset aside. You make legs yourwoodworking alsocan the skills? by laminating three 3/+"-thickboards and Here'sone, and it makesa wonderful surface-planingto the listed dimensions. storageor hopechest. You'll find the ffiFrom 5/4 walnut,planed to 1" thick, constructionof this piecestrictly &*wcut the sidetop rails (B), sidebottom (C), (D), straightfonruard,with groove-and-tenon rails stiles front/backtop rails (E), front/back bottom rails (F), jointsyou cut with onlya tablesaw. front/backcleats (G), sidecleats (H), and Blankets,toys, or familykeepsakes will top cleats(I) to the sizeslisted. 3/s" neverhave a morebeautiful home. ffi Cut a notch in both ends of the tosside cleats (H), where shown on Drawing1a. 3/q" Start with the carcase ,,rt;Lay out and cut a radiuson the parils and to1l cleats "',ii endsof thetop cleats(I), whereshown Note: For the best fitting joints, on Drawing1. Then rout a %" round-over surface-planeat the same time all on the outeredges of the cleats. materials that require the samefin- ffiTo form the Vz"-thickside panels (J) ishedthickness. +j'f and front/back panels (K), first cut

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2 \ ) Veneerlamination #8 x 11/z'F.H. linescentered on outside l-- wood screws face of each panel lEl cunr NorcHDETAIL rvrvrv. wo odo nline. com treasured chest " for part@ " forpart @

Widthmust match thicknessof laminated panels. E cnoovE-AND-TENoNJoINERY Widthof grooves mustmatch width of laminatedpanels. 201/z'

Tenonwidth must match 3/a'i. thicknessof laminatedpanels.

15t/q"for paftO part 391/q"tor @

(D), front/back top rails (E), and rails (F), whereshown Paper pattern and 1/4"hardboard front/backbottom templatefor markingthe leg profile on Drawing3, to receivethe panelsand stile tenons,follow the sameprocess that you usedfor adjustingthe fenceposition /+"-thick cherry plywood to the sizes of each panel facing the outside of the for the legs (A) exceptuse a scrapthat is listed. (You'll need to double the quanti- chest. Then, glue and clamp the panel the samethickness as the rails for your ty in the Materials List.) For the best setsback to back. test piece.Then, cut the groovesin the appearance, cut the panels so that the rails.where shown. veneer lamination line will be in the cen- Machine tlre details Now, to form the /s"-long tenonson ter of each panel, where shown on on tlre carcase parils the endsof the rails (B, C, E, F) and Drawing 1. Determine which panels- To cut thegrooves in thelegs (A) to stiles(D), where shown on Drawing3, when placed side by side-offer the best receivethe side panels (J), front/back begin by attachingan auxiliary fenceto overall look, and which can be joined panels(K), and the tenonsof the rails, your tablesawmiter gaugeto avoid chip- back to back. You'll want the best face installa3/s" dado blade in your tablesaw. out, and also attach a stopblockto the Adjust it to cut Vzz"deeper than the 3/s" fence.Adjust the heightof your /s" dado depth shown on Drawing2 to allow for blade to t/q" and set the stopblock 7s" glue squeeze-outand to ensurethat the from the side of the blade, as shown in rail tenons do not bottom out in the Photo A. Using a scrapthat is the same grooves.Using a scrapthe samethick- thicknessas the rails and stiles,cut one ness as the legs for a test cut, position end of the piece,turn it over, and cut it your tablesaw fence so that the dado againto form a tenon.Tesrfit the tenon bladewill cut a groovethat is just shy of in the leg groove.Adjust theblade height beingcentered in the scrap.Make thecut, and test-cut,as necessary,until you get turn the piece around,and make another the properfit of the tenon.Then, cut the cut to widen the groove.Test-fit a panel tenonson the endsof all of the rails. in the groove.Adjust the fenceand repeat Lay out the arch in the side bottom the test cut, as necessary,until the panel rails (C) and front/backbottom rails fits in the groove. Then, cut the two (F), whereshown on Drawings4 and 5. Cut the tenons on the rails and stiles groovesin eachleg. Referto the shop tip, An easyway to lay using a stopblock,as shown, to ensure To cut the grooves in the side top out smooth arches.Now, bandsawthe a consistent tenon length. rails (B), sidebottom rails (C), stiles archesand sandto removesaw marks.

76 WOOD magazine JuneiJuly 2002 Goodsides facing out

Q.Q1/,tl \ ]\r Veneerlamination on line centeredon outsicside @i - face of each panelrel @ @ sroePANEL Io (outsideface shown) I Goodsides @It 15r/o'tt= SI S @

<:i Va"

fl rnorurAND BAcK eANEL 1115/ta" (outsideface shown) Panelsare laminated=-\lJ fromtwo thicknesses o1-\ l20t/z'

(D), the front/back top rails (E), rhe front/back bottom rails (F), and front/backpanels (K). SeeDrawing 5. To keepthe stilesevenly spaced, use mask- l ing tape to mark their locationson the face of the rails. Checkfor square; Veneerlamination line centered then, on outsideface of each panel glueup andclamp. Unclamp and sand all the panel

-\___--P | \ ..- assemblies.Then, place each assem- 7a"round- Panels \ / are laminated bly outsideface down and, referencing L]LI I overs from two thicknesses of r/a"plywood. Chuck a %" round-over bit in your Drawings1 and 6, measurel3/+" down | | router, and rout the three outer edges from the top edgeof the sidebottom rails le" round-overs tt and all bottom edges of the legs (A), (C) alongall bottomedges andfront/back bouom rails (F) for the where shown on Drawing 4. locationof the top edgeof the sidecleats (H) andfront/back cleats (G). Because rhe Let the assertrbly begin front/backcleats (G) fit berweenthe side To form eachside of the chest,first cleats(H) when the panelassemblies are Gornplete the legs dry-assemblethe legs (A), side top joined together,you must center the Cut thefiller srrips(L), whichfill rails(B), sidebottom rails (C), stiles(D), front/backcleats (G) on the rails, where the bottom of the grooves in the andside panels (J). See Drawing 4. Check shownin thedrawings. legs (A). Cut the strips slightly proud for correctfit and for square.Then, glue With the cleatscorrectly positioned 3/s" of thick. up and clampeach side-panel assembly. on the rails, drill pilot and counter- Glue and clamp the filler srrips(L) in To form the front and back panel sunk shankholes through the cleatsinto the (A), legs where shown on assemblies,dry-assemble the stiles therails, where shown on Drawings1 and6. Drawing 2. When the glue is dry, sand the strips flush with the legs. To cut the curves in the bottom of the legs (A), first make a photocopy of the leg full-size pattern in the WOOD An easy way to lay out PATTERNSa inserl. Then, usin-e spray smootr arches adhesive, adhere the pattern to a piece of Markarches of nearlyany lengthor /+" hardboard to make a template. Cut curvatureusing this simplemethod. $ Clamp and sand the hardboard to the pattern line. threestopblocks to the work- piece,two at the endsof the archand Using the template, lay out the one at its middle(this block should come curves on each leg (the curves are on to a point)as shown.Rip a r/e"-thick the two sides with the grooves). fairingstrip of wood,position it Bandsaw and sand the curves to the lay- betweenthe blocks,and markthe arch. out lines.

www.woodonline. corn 77 treasured chest Tirne to top it off Cut enoughrZ"-thick random-width walnutboards for the top (P). Cut the boardsso that when placededge to edge they exceedthe top's finishedwidth and LID SECTIONDETAIL lengthby 1". Joint the edgesof the boards;then S/au t/e" found- overs glue and clamp them to form the top, 1rtr keeping it as flat as possible.Remove any squeeze-out.When the glue is dry, cut the top (P) to the sizelisted. ./q"cove Set up your router with a Vz" round- 4' 201/2" over bit, and rout the perimeterof the i; top (P) on its bottomside, where shown on Drawings1 and6a. Switch to anVs"round- over bit, androut the perimeterof the top on its faceside, where shown. Sand smooth. Positionthe cleats(I) on the bottom E sroesEcroN vrEW face of the top (P), where shownon Drawing 1, and drill pilot and counter- sunk shankholes through the cleatsinto the top for #8.xlVz" flathead wood screws.Remove the cleats. To allow for expansionand contrac- Then, attachthe cleatsto the rails with the lengths 1" longer to allow for the tion of the top, drill a 3/s"counterbore glue and#9xlt/z" flatheadwood screws. endsto be miter-cutlater. s/s"deep in the bottom of the cleatsin the On a flat surface,glue andclamp the Chuck a Vq" cove bit in your table- two outerscrew holes (see the Shop Tip, end-panelassemblies to the front- mounted router and rout a Vq" cove below /e/). Now, screw (no glue) the and back-panelassemblies to form the along the outer bottom edgeof all of the cleatsto the top. chest.Check for square. trim pieces,where shown on Drawings1 From 34" cherry plywood, cut the and6a. Switchto aVs"round-over bit and Attach the lid bottom (M) to the size listed. Then rout the top outeredge of all of the pieces. to the chest form the 7s" notch in the corners,where Miter-cut all of the trim piecesto the To locate the positions for the no- shownon Drawing1b. finished length. Then, position the mortise hinges, first make the hinge Place the bottom (M) on the cleats front/back top trim (N) and side top trim locatingjig, shown on Drawing7. With anddrill pilot andcountersunk shank (O) on the chest, where shown on the top (P) face down, position the jig on holesthrough the cleatsinto the bottom, Drawing 1, so that the outer edgeof the the back edgeof the top (as viewed from where shown on Drawings 1 and 6. trim overhangs the legs (A) by 3/8", the back) flush with its right end. Placea Attach the bottom to the cleats with where shown on Drawing6a. Glue and hinge in the opening in the centerof the #8xIVz" flatheadwood screws. clamp the trim in place. jig with the banel up (to keep the hinge Drill pilot and countersunkshank flat for marking) andagainst the jig. Mark Now add the trirn holes through the front/back and the locationsfor the hinge screwsin the From z/+"-thtck walnut, cut the side trim into the rails, where shown small leaf part of the hinge. Now, move front/backtop trim (N) and side top on Drawing 1, and drive the #8xIVz" thejig and hinge to the left end of the top, trim (O) to the sizeslisted exceptmake brassflathead wood screws. flush with the edgeof the top, and again mark the screw hole locations in the hinge. Drill pilot holes in the marked tlT?illt t l locations,and attachthe hingesto the top Low-tech trick gwes solid-rpood with#Sxs/a"flathead wood screws. panels room to rnone To locatethe hinge positionson the There'sno gettingaround it: wood con- back top trim (N) of the chest,see tractsand expandswith changesin sea- PhotoB for set-up.With the top (P) posi- sonalhumidity. lf you don'tallow for that tioned as shown and the top centered movement,wide panelsof solidwood will end-to-end with the chest. mark the bow, whenyou cup,or split.So, screw screw locationson the trim. Attach the cleatsto solid panels,counterbore the hingesto the trim with #Sxs/s"flathead screw holesin the cleat as shown.That allowsthe screwto move back and forth wood screwsin pilot holes. as the panelmoves. Never glue cleats to To install the flap stay, cut the filler wide,solid-wood panels. block (Q) (or two blocksif you want

78 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 When the glue is dry, securethe block by Install the hardwareand start fillins driving a screwin the centerinto a pilot the chest.i hole.Attach the flap stayto theblock and Writtenby Owen Duvall to the top (P), where shown,by driving Projectdesign: Kent Welsh screwsinto pilot holes. lllustrations:Roxanne LeMoine; Lorna Johnson Photographs:Baldwin Photography; Sand and linish it rrp Douglas E. Smith Remove the flap stay and hinges. Finish-sandthe entire chest with rrraterials list 220-grit sandpaper. Apply a clear finish of your choice, sandingbetween coats and removing A legs 13/t', 13/t', 201/z^ W dustwith a tack cloth. We suggestusing B sidetop rails 1' 21/qu 15t/q' W a penetratingoil, suchas Watco Danish C sidebottom rails 1u 4u 151/q' W To locatethe hingepositions on the backtop trim (N),set the cheston 11/2"- Oil, for the chestportion to highlight the D stiles 1u 2Vz' 12' highsupport blocks (we used 2x4s). grain and enhance the colors of the E fronVbacktop rails 1" 21/q'39t/e' W Positionthe top (P)as shown. woods.For thetop, we recommendaZar F fronUback polyurethanefinish to provide more bottomrails I 4' 39Y4' W to install a secondflap stay) from t/2"- durable protection for this piece. G fronVbackcleats 1' 1 371/4' W thick walnut to the size listed. (We Because multiple coats of satin H sidecleats 1' 1" 151/q' W installedone flap stay and found this to polyurethanehave a potential to cloud I topcleats 1 1" 13r/z' W be adequate.However, if you preferaddi- the finish, we recommendthat you first J sidepanels 1/2, 611A6t1115A6" LCP 4 tional resistanceto lid closurefor safety apply two coats of high-gloss K fronVbackpanels 1/z' 87A6"1115/16" LCP 8 reasons,install the additionalflap stay.) polyurethanefollowed by a final coat of L- fillerstrips s/e' 1/z' 3u W Glue and clamp the block to the sidetop satin polyurethane.Sand and remove M bottom 3/q' 15Vt' 391/t" CP rail (B), where shown on Drawing 6. dustbetween all coats. N-fronVback top trim s/+" 21/t' 42Vq' W 0-sidetop trim 3/qu 21/q, 183/q' W 3/qxs/qx 13" stock P-top 3/q' 20' 44', EW Q fillerblock 1/z' 2Vq' 2t/t' W 2" dadoes .Pads initiallycut oversize. See the instructions. t/q"deep 3 x 1" no-mortisehinoe MaterialsKey: W-walnut, CP-cherry plywood, EW-edge-joinedwalnut, LOP-laminated /e' cherry ply- w000. Supplies:#8x1t/z" flathead wood screws, #8x1%" brass flatheadwood screws, #SxTa" flathead wood scfewS, /+" hardboard,spray adhesive, glue, clear finish. 13" 3" BuyingGuide Hardware.3x1" no-mortise hinges no. 00H51.04, $2.50 perpair; flap stay no. 00U06.01, $11.90 per stay. Order E nrruce-LocATtNGJtc fromLee Valley, 12 East River St., Ogdensburg, NY 13669,call800/871-8158, orgo to www.leevalley.com.

1/2"dado s/ro"deep 3/qx51/ex 96" Walnut crrtting P P diagra,rrr 3/qx51/zx 96" Walnut (2 needed) @

13/qx 51/zx 48" Walnut 3/qx 24 x 48" Cherryplywood

*Plane 11Aax71/qx96"Walnut or resawto thickness (5/4 stock planed to 1" thick.) listedin the MaterialsList.

1%ax 91/qx 96"Walnut (5/4 stock planed to 1" thick.) l/qx 48 x 96" Cherryplywood www.woodonline.com 79 r./I

@ tt. I

Need a lift? We shop-test eight mechanisms that prornise to raise ylour table-rnounted router with precision and contrenience.

hen Canadian machinist Darrin Smith introducedthe JessEm Rout-R-Lift to the woodworkingworld in 1999,he brought the router table one step closer to the spindleshaper that inspiredit. By drop- ping a crankinto a hole in the lift's insert plate, woodworkerscould now change the cutting height of a routerbit without fumbling around underneath the table. Since then, other manufacturershave come up with their own through-the- tabletop router lifts. But such conve- niencedoesn't come cheap-you'll pay S90-$360for a routerlift. Are they worth it? That dependson your situation. If you're starting from scratch,you could easily spend$800 on a commerciallymade router table, mid- size router, and a lift. That's more than you might spendon a shaperwith simi- lar power and capabilities.But if you Readersttop 5 We askedwoodworkers on our Web site,www.woodonline.com, whatthey want to knowmost about router lifts. Here's what they toldus: 1. Will it fit my router? 2. Will it fit in my router table? 3. How quickly and accuratelycan I set the bit's height? 4. How easy is it to change bits? 5. Can I still use my router for handheldtasks? We answerthese questionsstarting on the oppositepage.

WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 already have a table, router, and bits, adding a lift could be as simple as mounting your router to an insert plate and dropping it in.

Garrging success: Hour we tested the lifts Any good router keeps the bit perpen- dicular to its base, but do these lifts maintain that perpendicularity through- out their full elevationrange? Using a precision-ground race shaft in the mountedrouter's collet, as shownoppo- site,we found that they do. To test the accuracy of the height- adjustment mechanism, we raised and lowered the router to specific heightsby counting turns of the crank, then measur- ing the actual cutting depth. Next, we routed100'of Vz"-deepdado in plywood, and measured the difference in depth from the start to the end of the cut. After this messytest, we examinedeach lift for Adapter collars make midsize routers fit the ProLift Ni28, Mast-R-Lift, and Precision dust-relateddifficulties. Finally, we used Router Lift (PRL), shown above. The Prolift Al13 fits these routers out of the box. eachlift in our daily shopduties for more than a month to give us a good feel for Cable, using optional adapterslike that Once set, all of the lifts held their how easyit is to changebits, remove and shown above. Plungelift currently ground well, varying less than /oc" after remount the router to the table. and use mounts to only five plunge routers,with routing 100'of dado.The BenchDog lifts the fine-adjustmentscales. more promisedin the future. have a thumbscrewlock on the carriage 2. Will it fit in my router table? That for holding the height, but we didn't find Arrswers to your lfrtes- dependson the size of your existing them any more or lessaccurate in this test tions aborrt router lifts insert plate, so check the Insert Plate than the modelswithout a lock. L WiA il fit my router? The model-by- Sizes chart, below left. It your current Speakingof locks, you'll have to deal model summaries,beginning onthe next insert is smaller, you can enlarge the with the router's own plunge lock if you page, give more specifics,but here'sthe hole to fit. Half of the lifts provide use Router Raizer or Plungelift. If your scoopin a nutshell:Virtually any popu- insert-platelevelers; the'rest, you'11 have plungerouter locks on release,such as on lar fixed-base or plunge router will to shim yourself. Porter-Cableplunge routers, you'll have mount to Rout-R-Lift or XACTA-Lift. On the other hand, if you have a cast- to reach under the table to hold the lock And Router Raizer works with most iron or steel tabletop, machining an openwhile you adjustthe lift from above, plungerouters. openingto acceptthe insert plate isn't an negatingone of the lifts' key benefits. The rest of the lifts are fairly finicky option.Your only choicein suchcases is All of the insert-basedlifts havea fine- about their partners.Three of the fixed- Router Raizer, which works with any adjustmentscale, but only the Bench base-onlylifts are designedfor a Porter- router table you can drill a hole through. Dogs and the Precision Router Lift Cable75I8, but will alsoaccept midsize 3. How quickly and accurately can I set scalescan be "zeroed" to your bit height routers from Bosch, Makita, and Porter- the bit's height? That dependson how to measureonly the changein height. many crank turns it takes to raise the bit. (See the chart, at right.) The more turns required,the easi- er it is to make fine adjustments; the fewer turns, the less time it takesto make large changes. Except for Router Raizer and 11/+" x14Vq" both Woodpecker lifts, all of the

11{q" x14Yc" lifts have an anti-backlashmecha- nism. (SeeDealing with Backlash ROUTER ROUTER TECHNOLOGIES on the next page.) With this, you TECHNOLOGIES 9rA"xllVt' can adjust for wear between the leadscrew 9lt" x11Ve" and the carriage-a big plus if you'll usethe lift a lot.

www.woodonline.com router-lifts I On the fixed-base-only lifts, nrning a few screws loosens the motor clamp enough to remove it and remount it in the router's original base. However, with XACTA-Lift and Rout-R-Lift, plan on dedicating a router to the table. Why? Becauseto revert to handheld,you must frst remove the carriage plate from the cariage, then the router from the car- riage, and finally the universal mounting plate from the router. It's cumbersome. A lift.bv-lift look at the tesled rnodels Crankingthe BenchDogProLift Ni28 to Bench Dog Prolift Af13 full heightmakes bit changingeasy 800f786-8902,www. benchdog.com from abovethe table. Outof thebox, fifs; Bosch 1617/1618, 4. How easy is it to change bits? After DeWaltDW610, Porter-Cable 690. Mfh removing the reducer ring, if used, the adapter($16), fits: Makita RF1100/1 101. fixed-base-only models allow you to Instead of a hex-shankedcrank to turn raise the collet abovethe table, as shown the leadscrew,the all-aluminum Prolift e/r6" O-ringsinside the BenchDog fine- above, for easy bit changes.Changing Al13 usesa deep-well socket (pro- adjustmentscale hold the socketshaft bits on the rest of the modelsis aboutthe vided), so you don't have to keep track firmly, yet allow you to zerothe scaleto sameas changingbits in the sametable- of a specialtool to use the lift. The fine- the index markon the insertplate. mountedrouter without a lift. adjusfinent scale fits over the socket, as 5. Can I still use rny router for hand- shownabove right. moves the router fast, but to raise the col- heldtasks? Sure,but somelifts make the To accommodateslight variations in let through the tabletop, you must first switch easier than others. Reverting to router-motor diameters that could cause removethe reducerring,which is secured handheld use with Router Raizer is as the carriage to bind on its guide posts, to the insert with three socket-headAllen simple as dismounting the router from you calibratethe poststo fit your router. screws.And, becausethe insert plate is your table-the device stays on the And the cariage has cooling fins to dis- designedto fit Bench Dog's router table router and functions even handheld. sipatemotor heat. (with its integral plateJeveling mecha- Plungelift requires reinstalling the We like almost everything about this nism), this plate has no levelers. plunge router's depth-stoprod. lift except bit changing. The leadscrew continued Deding wfth Backlash Backlashis the amountths lsadscrewturns before the lift startsto movewhen changing diroctions, and it's a factof life in leadscrew-drivenmachin€s like these lifts. (Your tabl€saw's height- and bevel-adjustmentcranks also have some back- lash.)Let's say you needto raisethe bit .010",bul you accidentallyraise it .012'.lf there's.001' of backlashin the sys- tem,turning the crankback down to .010'will only lowerthe bit to .011'.(fhs first .001"is lostto backlash.)To compen- sate,turn the crankdown to a few thousandthsbslow the .010"mark, then back up to .010".

How we measured backlashl Aftercalibrating the heightof a gaugepin (inthe routercollet) to "0"on thefine-adjustment scale(Step 1), we raisedthe routerat leastone-half turn of the crank(Step 2). We thenturned the crankback to "0"(Step 3), where the dial indicatorshows the amount of backlash.

82 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 Ups and Dorrltrs of the Tested Lifts Althoughwe tested eight router lifts, we found that they operatedin the four ways shown herc. FIXED.BASED.ROUTER.ONLY LIFTS UNIVERSALLIFTS Bench Dog Prolift Al13 (shown)and Prolift Ni28, JessEmRout-R-Lift JessEmMast-R-Lift, and WoodpeckerPrecision Router Lift and Jet XACTA-Lift

The four fixed-base-onlylifts operate in essentially the same Universal lifts-the nearly identical JessEm Rout-R-Liftand Jet way: Remove the router's base and mount the motor to the car- XACTA-Lift-accept virtually any router, fixed- or plunge-base, riage. Both Bench Dog units use direct drive (as shown here). because the router mounts, base and all, to the carriage plate. Mast-R-Liftuses a belt and pulleys to link the crankshaft to the This additional thickness can limit the cutting depth, depending leadscrew; Precision Router Lift uses a chain and sprockets. on the router.

PLUNGE-ROUTER.ONLY LI FTS RouterTechnologies Router Raizer WoodpeckerplungeLift

Crankshaft

Top drive

The plunge-router'onlymodels-Router Raizer(ret4 and Plungelift (rtghtF-relyon your router'sbuilt-in posts to guidethe router throughits up-and-downtravel, making them only as accurateas the routeryou us; them with. (Thefixei-base-oily and universal designsvlrtually eliminate the routerfrom the accuracyequalion because lha elevationactlon h;ppens outsldethe router.)

www.woodonline.com router-lifts Bench Dog Protift Ni28 Our first impressionwhen we pulled the comes predrilled for all of the routers Outof thebox, fifs: Porter-Cable 7518. Mast-R-Lift out of the box was, "Wow, listed. Unfortunately,it doesn't hold a Withadapter ($20} fifs; Bosch 1617/1618, that's pretty." Its beautyisn't just skin candle to Mast-R-Lift (although they DeWaltDW610, Porter-Cable 690, Makita deep,though, as this lift's perforrnance both share the same under-the-insert- RF1100/1 101 . backedup that impressionin spades. plateleveling system). The beefy Prolift Ni 28 is the cast-iron Although similar to the Prolift 4'113, You can't raisethe collet high enough versionof the A113, with a one-piece Mast-R-Lift improveson that modelin a to changebits from above, but a finger carriage casting and a nickel-plated coupleof ways.First, removing a reduc- hole helps when removing the lift to insert plate that should last a lifetime. er ring to change bits requires only a changebits. And, the insert plate is about This thing is so massive,it comeswith simple flick of the wrist using a spanner twice the size of the other lifts' plates- an aluminum-channelstiffener to keep wrench that comeswith the lift. something to consider if you have a your tabletopfrom saggingunder its 34- Secondly, Mast-R-Lift's insert plate miter slot in your existingrouter table. pound weight (not includingrouter). has a leveling system for flushing the The heavyweight reducer rings stay plateto your tabletop.However, the lev- Jet XAGTA-Lift put without being fastenedto the insert elersadjust from the bottom, so we spent 8OOI 27 4-6848, www. j ettooI s. co m plate in most cases.But on the unit we a fair amount of trial-and-error time Outof thebox, flfs: Same models as tested, they stood as much as .007" installingand adjustingit. Mast-R-Lift's JessEmRout-R-Lift. proud of the plate,catching on stock as 3"-tall crank easily clears most router- This lift is virtually identical to the we worked. Bench Dog's Norston tablefences. JessEm Rout-R-Lift with a couple of Fontainesuspects that our plate's rabbet notableexceptions. First, it comeswith a may not have been machined deep JessEm Rout-R-Lift nice aluminum fence, shown opposite; enough,adding, "We've sold hundreds Out of the box, flfs; Bosch 1450, 1604, and the insertplate lacks levelers. of theseunits without a singlecomplaint. 1611 , 1613,1617; Craftsman 3- and4-hole If there's a problem, call us and we'll bases;DeWalt DW610, DW615, DW621, Router Technologies makeit right." DW624,DW625; Elu 2721, 3337-9; Freud Router Raizer FT2000;Hitachi M12V TR12; Makita 866/266-1293, www.routertechnologies.com JessErnMast-R-Lift 1100/1 101 series, 3600, 3621, 36128; all R2100 kit fits: Craftsman27505,27506, 800/436-6799,www. jessem.com Milwaukee;Porter-Cable 100, 518, 520, 27510,27511;DeWalt DW625; Elu 3337, Out of the box, flfs; Poder-Cable7518. 536, 690 series,7518/19, 7538/39; Ryobi 3338, 3339; Freud FT2000,FT2000E; With adapter ($20),flfs; Bosch 1617/1618, 180,500/501,RE-600. HitachiM12V TR12; Makita 36128R, DeWaltDW610, Porter-Cable 690, Makita Rout-R-Lift fits more routers than any 36128, 3612Q:Porter-Cable 693, 6931 RF1100/'1 101. other in the test, and its mounting plate base,7529, 7538,7539; Ryobi RE600.

ACCESSORTES INSERTPLATE CARRIAGE IPERFORMANCERATTNGS (3 (7 6'/ | eo F 'l',I4tll s I tEti l& Pt* bYl /s o b"l;=7"f P" v/F 7€ td s /F IU' '12 rc ProLiftAll3s"nffiAL 3s/e 2,25la AL ffio-/8 /r/r/f#/s/'t'u s A,G,P,Z fr2 U 12 $280 BENCHDOG ProLlft Ni28 t/l 1lz 33/q 2,25/a cl 0.0025 G A,G,P,Z 2 U 34 370

Mast-R-Lift AL 21lsz 3s/a 11lz AL 31lz 0.0020 G G S A,R 2 14 270 JESSEM Rout-R-Lift AL "/ 16 35/a 11/z AL 2slrc 0.0050 G GG R z 13 200 '14 JET XACTA.LiTt AL 35/e 11lz AL 2slrs 0.0050 G G G F,S R 2 280

ROUTER Router Raizer N/A 23ll NUA N/A G' N/A GG 2 U u.c 90 TECHNOLOG!ES

sla lEn PlungeLift AL 35le 1, 1elro,21lz AL 0.0010 G G G S c,z LIFE U 4.5 WOODPECKER Precision Router Lift AL -ta 3s/e 1, 131.o,21lz AL 431rc 0.0010 GIG u S A,C,Z LIFE U 14 ZJU For specltlcatlonson other types ol tools, cltck onl NOTES: I | "Tool Comparlsons"at www.woodmg!,9otrJ 7. (A) Adaotercollar for mid-sizefixed-base routers (C) 1. (AL) Aluminum 8. Canada lExcellent @cooo !rair (c) Extended-heightcrank (U) UnitedStates (ct) Cast lron (F) Router-tablefence (s) Steel 4. Accuracydependent on plungerouter used. (G) port f) Freehand.routing.guard.withdust-collection 9 prices (P) Porter-Cableguide-bushing adapter currentat time of z. (.) May vary depending 5. (-) Scalecannot be zeroed. (R) on routerused. Reducer-rinsiet :;::"- Afff;i"r;i#tiibffil' (-) Backlashadjustment provided. (s) glllil9^tili:lrreehand routins 6. (z) zero-ctearancetnsen wnereipprciore.'

84 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 change routers. Plungelift's carriage iron Bench Dog Prolift Ni28 is as tough replacesthe router's depth-stoprod, so and accuratea lift asyou'll find, bringing returning to handheld mode requires near-shaperqualities to the router table. reinstalling the rod. But for $100less,we'd opt for JessEm's As for the insert plate, we like the eight Mast-R-Lift. We think it's worth the set-screw levelers that adjust from the savings unless you're in a professional top of the plate. And, a pair of spring- cabinet shop. loadedball bearingsin adjacentedges of If you're on a budget and already own the plate provide a comfortably snug fit a plunge router, go with Router Raizer in its table opening. (if it fits your router). You'll still be able to use your router for handheld tasks Woodpecker with a minumum of hassle.i Precision Router Lift (PRf,) Outof thebox, flts; Porter-Cable 7518. Written by Dave Gampbellwith Garry Smith lllustrations:Tim Cahill Withadapter ($30), fits: Bosch1617/1618, Photographs:Baldwin Photography Porter-Cable690, Makita RF1 100/1 101 . PRL's insert plate has the sameattribut- Visit vuuurw.r,uoodrnall- corrl es we liked in its brother,the Plungelift. to talk aborrt rorrter lifts And, like the other fixed-base-onlylifts, with otlner rrroodworkers. you can raise the router collet above the table for changingbits. But we down- XACTA-Lift's fencefeatures movable graded both Woodpecker lifts' ratings medium-densityfiberboard (MDF) faces, for bit-changingease because of the 32- The lift within: a bit guard,and dust-collectionport. turns-per-inchrequired to raisethe collet Milwaukeets new R2200kit fits: Bosch 1617/18, 1619; Fein through the insert plate. fixed-base router RT1800;Makita RP1 100/01 and When routing with the bit partially RF1100/01 plunge base. captured in the fence, as shown below, lf you don't alreadyhave a routerto Fitting most plunge routers on the mar- we found that the crank handle hits the table-mount,consider Milwaukee's ket today, Router Raizer is the only test- fence. You can purchasean optional 8"- 5615-20($155), shown below.lts leadscrew ed lift priced under$100. With no insert high crankrod for $15. built-in depth adjuster can be accessedthrough the base plate,it works in almost any router table. and turnedwith an ordinaryspeed Installing Router Raizer can take a ffirich lifts rise to the wrenchand socket,making it a couple of hours, and in some cases to1r of the pacL? good candidatefor table-mounting. requires dissasembly, removal, and/or Becausemost lifts fit specific models, Currently,this routeris a single- drilling of the router's parts. Before you you may simply have to choosea lift that speedmachine, but Milwaukee's buy, we recommendyou visit the manu- fits your router. Undoubtedly, the cast- Chris Berg says a variable-speed facturer's Web site to preview the versionis due out "laterthis year."

With no fine-adjustment scale, the cutting height, then tweak it by trial and effor. But the 16 turns-per- inch leadscrew strikes a nice com- promise between adjustment speed and fine-tuning.

Woodpecker Plungelift SOO752-0725, www.wood pec k.com Five separate lifts, fitting: DeWalt DW625,Freud FT2000, Hitachi M12V Makita3612C, Porter-Cable 7539. Comingsoon.'Bosch 1613, 1615, 1619,DeWalt DW621. Each Plungelift fits only one model of router, so it mounts to that router quickly and easily. However, once you've invested in the lift, you probably won't want to PRL's crank handle extends past the bit open- ing's center line and bumps the fence.

85

Greate a plan that srrits you* space We designedour adaptablebuilt-ins around two box sizes-a 14"-high "short"box and a 28"-high"tall" box-to accommodatedifferent wall areas, storageneeds, and looks.Typical installation areas for theseunits include a slopingstairwell wall (openingphoto, left), a dormerarea (drawing, right), or a kneewall(drawing, below). The widthof our boxesis 14",which allows themto fit betweencommon wall stud spacing of 16"on center.lf the spacingbetween your studs is not 16"on center,don't worry. Simply adjustthe widthof yourboxes and sizethe otherparts as necessaryto fit the space.

Beforestarting this project,make sure for safety'ssake that there are no electricaloutlets in the walland that the wall cavitiesare free of wateror gas pipes,air ducts,and pass-throughwiring. For a staircasewall instal- lation,also check the locationof the stairstringer to see if it will interfere with a cabinet.lf so, you may be ableto avoidthe interferenceby locating the cabinetscloser to the floor.(We set oursat 8" above.)

Aftercompleting your inspection,prepare a sketchof your layoutto deter- minethe numberof shortand tall boxesthat you needand yourtotal materialrequirements for the project.Now, get readyto transforman "ordinary"wall intoa hardworkingstorage masterpiece.

Dorrner installation Transform unused space in a dormer area into useful storage with these units. This drawing shows two tall boxes with shelves and doors installed in the dead space betweensidewalls.

Gain storage and good looks by installing units in a kneewall. This drawing shows two tall Kneewall boxes with shelves and doors located next to two short boxes installation (stacked) with drawers.

Lay orrt and prepate Using a level and a straightedge, the box openings draw a line on the wall for the Refer to "Create a plan that suits location of the bottom of the boxes. your space," above, for general lay- From this line, measureup a distance With the box locations out suidelines. equal to the height of the boxesplus marked on Locateyour wall studsusing a mag- Vt", and draw a line for the top of the wall, cut netic or electronicstud finder or by eachbox opening.The added Vq"wrll out the open- driving a 6d finish nail into the wall at give you room to maneuver and ings with a drywallsaw. variouspoints. Your studsshould be 16" adjust the boxes. The gaps will be on center,leaving approximatelyI4Vz" coveredby trim. of spacebetween them. Draw the outline Using a drywall saw, cut out the of the studson the wall. openingsfor the boxes.See Photo A.

87 space-saving built-ins #17x 1"naiI 7/ad"pilol hole 1" deep -l t- 7se"shank hole, countersunk

f- #8 x 1s/q"F.H. - wood screw

Spoonshelf support 8" I

TALL BOX tI

-\

#8 x 13/q'F.H. woodscrew

#17x 1"nail

E cnncAsEs SHORTBOX

Drawer-slide locations 7se"shank hole, countersunk

113/+" \ #8x13/q'F.H. wood screw

Make the box parils edging pieces(D, E, F) to fit all of the attach them to the back of the short and assernble mating box panels. Then, glue and boxeswith #17x1" nails,where shown. From 3/+"oak plywood, cut the box clamp the edging to the panels,where Note: Wefound it easiestto finish the boxes tops and bottoms (A), short sides shownon Drawing1. and the bacl

88 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 of a long side panel againstthe top ed_ee sides (I) and front and back pieces (J) to 1/zx 3/qx 3/2" stock and a long edge, and drill the first row of the sizeslisted. holes.Then. repositionthe ji_ea-qainst the From /+" plywood, cut the drawer /+" grooves 1/4"deep opposite lon,eed-ee of the panel and drill bottoms (K) to size. the secondrow of holes. Repeatthis pro- Referring to Drawings 3 and 3a, cut cedure on all lon-esides (C). the t/t" gl'oove in the sides (I) and Referrin,q to Drawing 1. assemble front and bzrckpieces (J) to receive the and clamp up the fbur tall boxes drawer bottoms (K). Using the same using a top and bottom (A) and two lon-e setllp, cut the two t/t" dadoes in the sides (C) for each. After checking fbr drawer sides (I) to receive the rabbeted square,drill pilot and coLlntersunkshank ends of the drawer front and back (J). holes through the lon-e side panels into Referring to Drawing 3b, attach an the top and bottom panelsfbr the screws, auxiliary fence to your tablesaw fence where shown. Drive the screws. and position the fence adjacentto your /+" Frotn t/1" plywood, cut the long dado blade. Now. cut the rabbets in the backs (H) to the size listed, and ends of the drawer fionts and backs (J). attach them to the back of the tall boxes Dry-assemble the drawers (I, J, K), with #l7x I " nails. where shown. and check that the parts fit together correctly. Then. -elue and clamp the Next, rnake the dranltlers drawer assemblies,checking for square. From %"-thick stock of your choice From /+"-thick oak. cut the drawer (we used poplar), cut the drawer faces (L) to the size listed.

t/q" dado t/q" deep 1/q"from back edge t/+"grooves t/+" deep t/q" Irom bottom edge 1/q"dado 1/4"deep 1/q"trom front edge 1 tZ" rabbets 51/2" )

1t/2" machine / I SCTEW --l I {, - ,/r'Jn43t7o'--] #8 x 1" F.H.wood screw

7sz"shank hole, countersunk on insideface, and mating7/aq" pilol hole %" deep E Hole-DRTLLTNGJrc E onnwen

DRAWERJOINT DADO DETAIL

+f ,.r$ @

To drill uniformly spacedshelf support t/+"dado blade holes in the box long side panels,use a hole-drillingjig and a depth stop.

www.woodonline. corn 89 space-saving built-ins -"-1t Placea drawerface on the front (D of i a drawerassembly, and centerit side- f-tT to-side and top-to-bottomwith the front. Clampthe faceto the drawer,making sure that the face does not move. Now, drill four pilot and countersunkshank holes throughthe drawer front into the face for the mounting screws,where shown on Drawing3. Drive the screws.Also, in the centerof the drawerface, drill a sAz"hole for the knob attachmentscrew (you will needa lr/t"-long machinescrew) through the face and the drawer front. Install the knob. Assemble the drawer faces and tl knobsto the other drawers. 6 Positionthe drawerslides against the sides(I), flush to their front and bot- tom edges.Attach the slides using the screwssupplied with the slides.Discon- 22134a nect the outer part of the slidesfrom the drawer-mountedpaft, and attach these pieces to the short box sides, where shownon Drawing1.

Swing over to the doors From 3A"-thickoak,cut the door stiles (M) andrails (N) to the sizeslisted. Cut the 2"-wide mating half laps on the ends of the stiles (M) and rails 1/ex 83/qx 22s/q" glass (N), whereshown on Drawing4. Glue and clamp up the door frames, ooon checkingfor square. E Rout a V+"rabbet3/s" deep around the back insideedges of the door for the glass and vertical and horizontal glass stops (O, P), where shown. To prevent holes in the back of the door stiles (M) mounting plates,make surethat the front tear-out,cut the rabbet depth in three for the 107' hinges, where shown on face of the door frame is flush with the passes,removing t/s" of material with Drawing 4. Install the cup part of the front of the box edging (D, F) and that eachpass. Square the cornersof the rab- hingesin the door stiles.Install the mat- there is an equal reveal all around. betswith a chisel. ing hingeclip mountingplates inside the Removethe door frames after mounting. Chucka l3/s"(35mm) Forstner bit in tall boxesas directedin the manufactur- To form the vertical and horizontal your drill, and bore the two Vz"-deep er's instructions.When locatine the glass stops (O, P), shown on Drawing 4, thickness-planea Vzx2x68" oak blank to Vq".With a t/s"round-over bit chucked in your table-mounted router, rout the two long edges of the An ounce of pre\rcntion.,. blank; then, rip a V+"-wide strip from To preventbending brads and possibly each side of the blank. Repeat this splittinga glassstop when attachingthe processto make a third strip. Each strip thin,hard-oak stops to the door,predrill makesall of the glassstops for one door. ! holesin the stops.Simply cut the head Now, miter-cut the strips to make the off a brad,and use the remainingpiece glassstops fit the openingsin the backof as a drillbit to borethe holes.Also, to the doors. or possiblybreaking avoid scratching Note: We the doors before we the glasswhen nailingthe stops,put a finished glass piece poster installedthe glassand stops. of cardboardor board on t/sx83Ax223/q" top of the glassand flushagainst the Placea piece of glass stops.This will protectthe glass from in a door opening.Secure the glass hammerslips. by installing glass stops (O, P) using #l9xVz" wire brads.(See the Shop Tip,

90 WOOD rnagazine June{uly 2002 oppositepage.) Repeat this procedure : Using the same alignment process, for the remainingdoors. installthe remainingboxes. Between .' Drill a 5/zz"hole through the door adjacentboxes, also check that the dis- , stiles(M), whereshown on Drawing tance between the outer edges of the 4, for the knob. Attach all knobs usins boxes (ours was 2") remains constant the screwsprovided. from top to bottom.This also showsthat ' 'From tA"-thick oak, cut the door the boxesare plumb. stops(Q) to size.Glue andclamp the stopsto the top (A) and long side (C) of Add the trirn the tall boxes,in the corneropposite the Note: Wefinished the trim beforeinstalling door-hingeside of the box, whereshown it, and touched it up after installation, on Drawing 1. Position the stop back wherenecessary. from the front of the edging(D, F) a dis- ' tanceequal to the thicknessof the door to the size listed. Also. from Vz"- plus a rubber bumper (an adhesive- backedbumper of your choice).

Tirne for the shelves ' From 3A" plywood, cut the shelves ' (R) to the sizelisted. To make the box plumb in its wall open- '' . From 3/q"-thickoak, cut the shelf ing, insert shims between the box and wall studs. edging(S) to size.Then, glue up and clamp the edging, making it flush with the top front edge of the shelves,where shownon Drawing1. (The edgingover- hangseach shelf s bottom face.) fnstall the boxes Position a box in its wall opening, , . resting it on the bottom of the open- ing. As shown in Photo G, insert shims along the sidesof the box to fiIl the gaps and make it plumb. Also, using a straightedge,check that the front edgeof the box is flush with the faceof the wall. Then, securethe box by driving #9xlt/+" wood screwsthroush the box and shims into the studs. 3/rx

21/z'-/ I I #8 x 13/+"F.H. wood screws

163/+'

13"r ,/

3/^n'-_,/ )/ fl exeloDEDvtEW 2y- t

91 space saving built-ins crrttirng diagraffir rnaterials list

A toosand bottoms 3/q' 113/q'121/z' 0P 12 B shortsides 3/4' 113/q' 14' OP C longsides 3/tu 11Yi' 28' OP D-top and bottom e0glng 3/^' 3/q' 121/z' 12 E-short side edging 3/au 3h' 14', F-long side edging 3h' 3/t' 28" 0 G shortbacks 1/q' 14', 14', OP H longbacks t/n' 14', 28" OP 3/qx71/qx 96" Oak I sides Vz^ 51/z' 11' J frontsand backs 1/z' SVz' 11" Positionall verticaland horizontal trim to feave a't/q"teveal around K bottoms vi 11" 101/z'0P the boxes. L faces 34', 61/a" 125/1a 1/2x91/qx 96" Oak *Plane thick oak. cr-rtthe bottorn horizontal or resawto thicknesslistedin the MaterialsList. M stiles 3/t' 2' 2654a" trirn (U) to size. N rails 3/qu 2' 125/ta" Position the bottortt horizontal (U) of the 0-vertical trim on the underside glassstops 1/qu 1/q, 2213/rc" 0 (T). flLrshwith the back edgeand sill P.horizontal centeredend to end. where shown on glassstops 1/i' 1/q, 813/ro,' Drawing 5. Attach the sill to the bot- Q doorstops 3/i 1u tom with 4d finish nails. Position the sill/trirn assernbly R shelves 3/qu 103/q' 121/t' 0P (T/U) on the wall. centerin-eit 34', e/a S edging 1u 121/q' 0 end to end with the outer boxes and x 48 x 96" Oak plywood leaving a t/+" reveal at the top of the T sill a/ tl 1Vq' 681/z' box bottorns(A). Attach the assem- U bottom bly by drivin-e6d finish nailsthrough horizontaltrim Vz' z\i', 67', 0 the tritl into the wall str"rds. V vertrcaltrim Vz' 3" 13', 0 verti- From %"-thick oak. cut the 1/zu nil 6trr n W verticaltrim J'IV cal trirn pieces (V. W. X, Y) to X verticaltrim 1/z' 3" 41', 0 the sizeslisted. Y vedicaltrim 1/zu ?( EEt n Place the vertical trim (V) in trim 1/z' 21/z' 163/t' 0 position. where shown on 3/ax 48 x 96" Oak plywood Z toohorizontal t/2" Drawing 5, leaving a t/+" reveal on AA toohorizontal trim 21/z' 201/z' 0 .Parts the left side of the short box. Attach initiallycut oversize. See the instructions. the trim to the front of the box using MaterialsKey: OP-oak plywood, O-oak, C-choice of 6d finish nails. Now. place vertical nnnler nr manlo trim (W) in position between the Supplies:%" hardboard, #8x1" flathead wood screws, short box and adjacenttall box, leav- #8x1s/q"flathead wood screws, 1/2" machine screws, #18x1/2"wire brads, #17x1' nails, t/6v$zfuvllt/a" glass (3), ing a /+" reveal on both boxes, and 4dand 6d finish nails. wood shims, adhesive'backed nail in place. rubberbumpers, glue, stain, clear finish. From %"-thick oak. ct-ttthe toP 1/qx 48 x 96" Oak plywood BuyingGuide horizontal trirn pieces (2. AA) Hardware.107" hinges no. 8075T1650,$2.22 each(6); to size. Nour, finish rrp hingemounting clips no. 8175H919, $1.54 each (6); 10' Ref-erring to Drawing 5 and to Finish-sand all areas not previously Jull-extensiondrawer slides no. KV8400 810, $10.22 Photo D, position a top horizon- sanded with 220-grrt sandpaper. pair(4 pair); 7a" spoon shelf suppotls (nickel) no. H828C25, eachbox of 20 (2)',11h" polished tal trim piece (Z) above the short box Remove dust with a tack cloth. $3.00 chromeknobs no, A04271 26with 1" screws, $1.96 Apply a stain of your choice (we used and nail to the front of the box. each(7). Order from Woodworke/s Hardware, POBox Following the sante process. Minwax Golden Oak), and protect with 180,Sauk Rapids, MN 56379, call 800/383-0130, or install the remainin-evettical trirn a satin polyurethane finish. Sand and goto www.wwhardware.com. pieces(X, Y) and top horizontal trirn remove dust betweencoats. Writtenby Owen Duvall install the doors, drawers,rubber pieces(2, AA). where shown. Center Finally, Projectdesign: Kevin Boyle the lasttop horizontaltrim piece (AA) bumpers on the door stops(Q). shelf sup- lllustrations:Roxanne LeMoine; Lorna Johnson over the two vefticitl trirn pieces(Y). pofts, and shelves.JF Photographs:Baldwin PhotograPhY

92 WOOD rnagazine June/July 2002 -- - l-- horse

On ufth the shoes I Makefour copiesof the full-size Looking for a project kids will love? This one's a ringer. I horseshoe pattern found in the WOOD PATTERNSo insert. and cut lHoo many kids thesedays don't recognizethe word - -"gu-t" the paper patterns to rough shape.Use I unlessit's precededby "video." With this I horseshoeset, however, today's youngsterscan spray adhesiveto adherethe patternsto a have fun with a throwback to simpler times. The shoesand sheet of Vz" plywood, where shown in stakesare made from light but sffong plywood finished in the GuttingDiagram. bright aniline dyes. Note: We used a special thin-veneer birch plywood that offers high strength and stability. Seethe ShopTip onpage96 for more information. You can substitute standardbirch plywood if you prefer. (A) llCut blanks for the horseshoes to fr rough shapeusing a bandsaw,scroll- saw,or jigsaw. Make your cuts about%0" outside the layout line on the pattern. Q Set threeof the rough-cuthorseshoes tJaside for now. Sand the remaining one up to the line to create the final horseshoeshape. You'Il use it as a tem- plate for the others. affix one of the rough- 'trlllTemporarily cut horseshoes (A), using small pieces of double-facedtape, to the tem- plate shoeyou just sanded.Now chuck a flush-trim bit in your table-mounted router, and trim the rough-cut shoe to match the shape of the template shoe, as shown in Photo A. Repeatthese continued on page 96

Routthe rough-cuthorseshoes to shape usinga flush-trimbit and templatehorse- shoe.Take it slow,and keepa firm grip as you rout aroundthe ends.

94 WOOD magazine June{uly 2002 7s"round-over on allfour edges horseshoes anyone? stepsfor the two remaininghorseshoes. This pattern-routingtechnique is faster than shapingeach horseshoeby hand, andit ensuresthat each of thehorseshoes is an exactduplicate. Now chucka3/rr,"round-over bit into thetable-mounted router, and relieve the edgesof all four horseshoes,where shownin Drawing1. Rip a 2x27" strip from the birch plywood to createthe centercleats s/0"round-over along (B) and end cleats (C). (Though the top and bottomedges cleats are small, the following opera- tions will be much easierand safer if you start with an oversizedpiece.) I HonsESHoE Resawthe piece to t/+"thick, then rip the resawn piece down to create a t/+xt/+x2l" strip. Crosscutthe strip to createfour cen- @srnres tercleats (B) andeight end cleats (C) at the sizesshown. To give the cleats their final shape,adhere a quarter-sheet A horseshoes 1/zu 61%0,, 71/z' BP of 80-grit sandpaperto a flat surfaceand B-center cleats 1/au 1/4' 1y2' BP Laminatetwo t/2"pieces of andends of 1/c, 1/tu sand%0" tapers on the edges C-end cleats 3/t' BP birchplywood all the cleats. D stakes 1" 1" 21', LBP 2 andcut to size. Glue one centercleat (B) and two -Partsinitially cut oversize. See the instructions. end cleats (C) to one face of each I MaterialsKey: BP-birch plywood, LBP-laminated birch 4" horseshoe,where shown on the full-size plywood. horseshoepattern. Supplies:Spray adhesive, exlerior glue, and finish. .l BUYIIIGGUIDE Add the stakes, finish FinnishBirch plywood. Woodcraft no.50Y06, crrtting diagrarm Rip four lx2l" strips from the %"- r/2x24x30",$18.99, Available from your local Woodcraft thick birch plywood.Face-glue two store,or order irom Woodcraft, 560 Airport Industrial strips together using a water-resistant Park,Parkersburg, WV26102. Call 8001225-1153, or adhesiveto create each stake (D), as shoponline at www.woodcraft.com. shownin Drawing2. Anilinedyes. Homestead Transfast water-soluble ani- linedyes, no. 123835 Cardinal Red, $9.50; no. 126305 After the glue sets, remove any ToymakelsBlue, $1 1.50; no. 1 26308 Toymake/s excessand sand the edgessmooth. Green,$11.50. Woodcraft, see above. 3/8" Now rout a round-overon all four Alternateplywoods. For Baltic birch order no. edgesof eachstake. 3008827,t/2x24x30", $11.50, from Schlabaugh & Sons, . Mark a line aroundeach stake 4" up 720 1 4th Street, Kalona, IA 52247: 800/346-9663; from the bottom, where shown in www.schsons.com.Tolocate an ApplePly dealer near you,contact States Industries at800/626-1981; Drawing 2. Then form a point on each www.statesind.com. stakeusing a disc sander.(A rasp,fol- 1/2x24x 30" Birchplywood lowedby sandpaper,also works.) Finish the stakesand horseshoes. You can create pairs of shoes for each of two playersby using different Plprrood with more plies colors. (We chosecolorful red, green, Balticbirch and Finnishbirch plywoods both havea greaternumber of plies and blue aniline dyes. See the Buying than standarddomestic plywood. A 1/z'sheet, for example,has nine plies,as Guidefor more information.)Now apply opposedto the five plies usuallyfound in standardt/2" plywood. These imports a couplecoats of exteriorpolyurethane are made from slow-growing(and thereforetight-grained) birch trees harvested to providelong-lasting protection. lF in the cool Balticregions of Finlandand Russia,Gluing thin, void-free veneers togetherresults in a rigid, neutral-grainedplywood that looks great, even on the edges. Balticbirch, the better-knownof the two, works well for indoor use. Writtenby David Stone with Kevin Boyle Projectdesign: Robert Allen Finnishbirch plywood looks similar, but usesexterior-grade glue, making it suit- lllustrations:Mike Mittermeier;Lorna Johnson ablefor use outdoors.An American-madeversion called ApplePly is also avail- Photographs:Baldwin Photography ablefor indoorprojects. See the BuyingGuide, above, for sources.

96 WOOD magazine June/July 2002 roductsthat erform Thesewoodworking wares passed our shop trials

Garefree cutting with a cordless rorrter Until I testedPorter-Cable's 9290 let, discouragingthe useof %"-shankbits CordlessRouter, I didn't really noticethe to maximizebattery life. (However,this hassleof handlinga router'spower cord. machineis so closelyrelated to the 690 Basedon Porter-Cable'sclassic 690-series seriesthat my 690's Vz"collet, plunge router,the 9290's direct-currentmotor base,and D-handlebase allfit it perfect- runs off a P-C 19.2-voItbattery pack, ly.) And the $279 price tag includesonly which mountsto the top of the motor. one batterypack, which isn't a big prob- Yes, it looks top-heavy,but I was sur- lem if you own otherPorter-Cable 19.2- prisedat how well-balancedthis machine volt tools.If not, you'll cool your heelsfor really is (andquiet, at 78 decibels). an hour while the batteryrecharges. To seehow much work the 9290 could -Testedby Rich Bright do on a singlebattery charge, I went to Porter-Cable9290 work cutting a V2"round-over in red oak. CordlessRouter After 103linear feet of cutting,the battery Performance ***** still had somelife, but the quality of cut Value ***** was beginningto deteriorate.Performing CallPorter-Cable at800/487-8665, orvisit the sametest in pine, I exhaustedthe bat- So, shouldyou buy one?Well, that www.oorter-cable.com. tery after 155 linear feet. depends.T\e9290 comeswith a Vq"col- Continued on page 102

WOOD magazine june{uiy 2002 rilF0RmAil01l WOHTHWRITI}IG FOR # fffsffiesrfmf ffmmr fnnrefmr m $ffmmff#p mf fsrfmnppmfrmrxf Top-qualitycatalogs and brochures from the nation'sleading wood- workingcompanieq the easyuuay for thosewho enioy woadworking to exploreproducb and services that will enhance the entire experience.Before you start your nextproiect, turn to theback of this magazine,complete the order card andreceiue a wealth of ... I]IFORHANOTUTIOHTH WRMTGFITR fegPagpfin products that perform

Shaper-like fence for your router table Although I neverfelt compelledto drop a fenceposition, and every .001" increment panel-raisingbits, I had to add an exfra lot of money on a stationaryshaper, I've is clearly markedon the knobs.I found I pair of threadedinserts to mount the SH-5 alwaysbeen enamored with the precision could effortlesslytweak the fenceto per- farther back on my tabletop. (Threaded and versatilityof a shaperfence. Freud's fection.Setting the SH-5'soutfeed fence a insertsare the preferredmounting method; SH-5Router Table Adjustable Fence little proud of the infeedfence, I useda nonecome with the fencesystem.) Systembrings many shaper-fencefeatures straightbit in my routertable to joint the The 10" spacingof the SH-5 mounting to the router table. edgesof 3A"stock more preciselythan I bolts fits Freud'sBF-3 router table.but is For example,the separateinfeed and canon my jointer. too narrow for most commercialinsert outfeedfences adjust independently with The travel on thesefences is only 7a", plates,which run about 12" wide. For micrometer-styleknobs. Each full turn of and that's fine for probably90Vo of my thosesituations, Freud sells an adapter a knob yields.050" (aboutTu") change of work. But for wider workpiecesor large ($14; with mountingholes 14" on center. With my shopvacuum hooked up to the SH-5'sdust port, I capturedabout 80Vo of the chips produced.That port and a safety guardmount to the cast-aluminumfence body, which provedplenty solid. -Testedby Phillip Goodwin

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FreudSH-5 Router Table AdiustableFence System Performance ***** $109 ****('^( Formore information. callFreud at 800/334-4107. orvisit www.f reudtools.com.

Aborrt orrr testers PhiffipGoodwin is a prognmmer/analystby day.Rich Bright teacheswoodwofing and offier technicat skitts tohigh-*hmlstudenE. futt ae avidwMworkerc.

WOOD rnagazine June{uly 2002 vnhatts ahead inour next issue

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Contrastingwoods and wraparound taperedlegs distinguish this deceivingly easy-to-makeproject.

Bloomingmailbox Whosays your roadside mailbox hasto lookordinary? Make it enhanceyour landscape with

Mix-and-matchmodular storage Buildthis pleasing project in It'sa shelvingsystem! No, it's a diesser!Asideboard! A nightstand! A curio display mahoganyor otherweather- stand!lt's all of these and other furniture forms, depending on howyou assemble its resistantwood, then add a comfy separatepieces using knock-down hardware. cushionfor backyardRand R.

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10"mitercaws Introto knock-downhardware Wetested 10 machinesfor power, Learnhow and when to usehard- accuracy,and convenience. warethat lets you quickly take apart Andwe nowknow which andreassemble furniture, cabinets, modelyoushould buy. andshelving. And-get this-we even cameacross acordless 10"mitersaw. JamesKrenov upfront and personal Oneof themost widely respected woodworkersof our time just retired.Here he shares his best pearlsof furniture-designwisdom.

WOOD magazine June{uly 2002