194 Making furniture Fine Woodworking for kids, p. 54 TAUN TON’S FURNITURE FOR KIDS PERFECT GLUE-UPS BOOKCASE FEDERAL TABLE LEGS SPRAY FINISHING Perfect glue-ups, guaranteed A quick, sturdy bookcase How to make 3 classic table legs Safe, affordable spray finishing Fundamentals: handheld routing November/December 2007 Dec. 2007 No. 194 U.S. $7.99/Canada $8.99 w194FCf.indd 1 9/5/07 4:52:29 PM FW194Adp2.indd 9/7/07 2:40:18 PM pg 2 - (Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK) READER SERVICE NO. 81 FW194Adp3.indd 8/30/07 8:45:57 AM pg 3 - (Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK) READER SERVICE NO. 160 contentsNOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 ISSUE 194 features 36 Get Serious COVER STORY About Clamping Most woodworkers are underclamping their joints BY ROMAN RABIEJ 42 Quick, Sturdy Bookcase Learn to taper sliding dovetails for easier assembly BY MARTIN MILKOVITS 48 Three Federal Legs Power tools speed the process, banding adds style BY JEFF GROSS GREAT JOINT 42 FOR BOOKCASES Cover photo: Michael Pekovich w194CT.indd 4 9/6/07 11:28:30 AM HOW TO USE 78 SKETCHUP up front 6 On the Web 8 Contributors 10 Letters 14 Methods of Work N Cutting thin strips on the tablesaw N Paring pegs with a router 66 22 Tools & Materials DANISH-CORD SEAT N New tools unveiled at AWFS N Flawless finishing brushes N Powermatic planer with helical cutterhead 28 What’s the Difference? White oak vs. red oak 30 Q & A 54 Furniture 66 A Modern Bench N Clean, sharp dovetails Kids Will Love Straightforward joints, N Make a rolling lumber rack Follow your imagination graceful curves, and but don’t lose sight of safety a woven cord seat BY MARK EDMUNDSON BY JEFF MILLER in the back 60 Spray-Gun Choices 74 Using Hand Screws 84 Readers Gallery A fast, flawless finish Time-honored tool costs less than you think is still first choice 90 Fundamentals for a variety of shop tasks Handheld router basics BY MITCHELL KOHANEK BY GARRETT HACK 96 Master Class 78 A Quick Course Carve a rosette in SketchUp 102 A Closer Look Water-based finishes This powerful 3-D drawing program is easy to use—and it’s free 112 How They Did It The back cover explained BY TIM KILLEN Back Cover Beautiful, the hard way 60 CHOOSING A SPRAY GUN FineWoodworking.com w194CT.indd 5 9/6/07 11:28:48 AM onTHIS the MONTH ON FineWoodworking.com web free online extras: W Available October 2 at www.finewoodworking.com/extras EDITOR Asa Christiana VIDEOS ART DIRECTOR Michael Pekovich 8 Questions on Handplanes Philip C. Lowe answers questions from readers about choosing MANAGING EDITOR Mark Schofield handplanes, and demonstrates techniques. MANAGING EDITOR, ONLINE David Heim Make a Danish-Cord Seat ASSOCIATE EDITORS Watch Mark Edmundson (“A Modern Bench”) weave the cord Thomas G. Begnal, Steve Scott, Thomas McKenna, Charlie Reina seat on a bench inspired by a Danish design. ASSISTANT EDITOR Anissa Kapsales NEW ASSISTANT EDITOR, ONLINE Gina Eide Finishing Recipes SENIOR COPY/PRODUCTION EDITORS This new Web department gives step-by-step instructions Elizabeth Healy, Julie Risinit from Fine Woodworking authors. This month: Martin Milkovits ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Kelly J. Dunton (“Quick, Sturdy Bookcase”) on spraying lacquer. ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR John Tetreault BLOG SHOP MANAGER John White Design. Click. Build. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Betsy Engel Visit our blog for more tutorials on designing CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Christian Becksvoort, Gary Rogowski, furniture with free SketchUp Garrett Hack, Roland Johnson, Steve Latta software (“A Quick Course in METHODS OF WORK Jim Richey SketchUp”). PUBLISHER Anatole Burkin plus: MARKETING MANAGER Melissa Robinson O FURNITURE GALLERY ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Christina Glennon O READER TOOL REVIEWS CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Dennis O’Brien O GLUETUBE: VIEWER-CREATED VIDEO “Brazilian Rose” SENIOR SINGLE COPY SALES MANAGER Jay Annis by Russell Garcia-Lechelt Pacifica, Calif. PHOTO: ANDREW E. 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Mailing List: Occasionally we make our subscribers’ names and addresses available to responsible companies whose products or services we feel may be of some interest to you. Most of our subscribers find this to be a helpful way to learn about useful resources and services. If you don’t want us to share your name with other companies, please contact our Customer Ergonomic Service Department at: Working Polish 800-477-8727 & Viewing Inside Flex Shaft Angle Extraordinary Any Tool attachment Patented Precision Tool Guide Ninja See-ThruTM The Taunton Guarantee: available Air-Cooled System System with infinite Technology Keeps Tools Cool If at any time you’re not completely satisfied settings- no jigs needed. with Fast & Easy with Fine Woodworking, you can cancel your Interchangeable disks subscription and receive a full and immediate WITHIN MINUTES refund of the entire subscription price. No questions asked. Before After 1.888.337.1230 US & International Patents Pending WWW.JOOLTOOL.COM Copyright 2007 by The Taunton Press, Inc. No reproduction without permission of The Taunton Press, Inc. READER SERVICE NO. 117 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 7 contributors Ss I NDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS SINCE 1 9 7 5 Mitch Kohanek (“Spray-Gun Choices”) Founders, Paul and Jan Roman has given lectures on finishing all over the President United States and is a consultant for the Suzanne Roman finishing industry. Since 1978, he has been EVP & CFO an instructor for the National Institute of Timothy Rahr Wood Finishing (www.woodfinishing.org) EVP & Publisher, Magazine Group at Dakota County Technical College in Jon Miller Rosemount, Minn. The NIWF offers the SVP, Operations Thomas Luxeder only certified nine-month diploma in Wood SVP, Creative & Editorial Finishing Technology in the United States. Susan Edelman Three of his graduates helped evaluate spray SVP, Technology systems for his article (from left: Kohanek, Jay Hartley Matt Newburg, Dave Smith, and Rick Bean).