10 Secret FINISH FORMULAS Revealed APRIL 2007 ISSUE #161 Learn How. Discover Why. Build Better. COMPLETE PLANS INSIDE Easiest Barrister Bookcase 13 Steps to an American Classic The Right Way to Fix Your Chairs How the Pros Repair Loose Joints Sensible Sharpening No Fussy Jigs or Magic Stones Required US $5.99 Ways to Tame CAN $7.99 25 Your Wood Stash 04 0 FnL1 04 0120 01 JUYrVyBQdWJsaWNhdGlvbnMsIEluYyAo 02 SW9sYSBkaXZpc2lvbikPR3JlZ29yeSBL 03cnVlZ2VyAEVTLm8EMTAuNAI4MAExBVVQ 04Qy1BDDA3NDQ3MDAxMzU1NgA= 74470 01355 6 popularwoodworking.com Display until May 1, 2007 Customize Your Bandsaw Lee Valley Now Has Carter Bandsaw Accessories Designed to improve bandsaw performance through more effective guidance, proper E tensioning or superior tracking, Carter accessories are easy to install and well Learn How ■ Discover Why ■ Build Better made with high-quality materials throughout contentsIN EVERY ISSUE – hardened steel, anodized aluminum, and heavy-duty sealed bearings. Made in USA. 20 Simple, Off-the-rack A Saw Sled TRICKS OF THE TRADE Using some clever aluminum extrusions from the E. Blade Quick-Release engineering world, you can easily build a versatile Leaving a bandsaw blade table saw sled. Plus tips on ripping small work, and A. Urethane Bandsaw Tires under tension adding dust collection to your lathe. Worn or dirty tires can cause poor blade tracking. can speed its These urethane tires resist damage from debris demise. Releasing E and stay pliable after long use, providing a tension between work 28 Festool’s Domino DF 500 Q smooth contact surface for the blade. Sized to sessions prevents blade 20 TOOL TEST 7 /8" wide, the tires need no trimming, adhesives fatigue and reduces wear to the Festool’s newest tool cuts mortises anywhere with wheel bearings, tires and tension spring. or tricky maneuvers to install. Sold individually ease and precision. It will change the way you build for the two most common wheel sizes. Retrofitted to most 14" bandsaws* in 86N50.12 12" Bandsaw Tire, ea. $21.50 about an hour, this simple rack-and- your projects, but is it worth its price tag? Plus: A new 28 86N50.14 14" Bandsaw Tire, ea. $23.50 pinion mechanism lowers and raises the upper wheel, lightweight lithium-ion drill/driver from Makita and releasing or tensioning the blade at the flip of a lever. a pinner from Grex. An intermediate position makes alignment easier when changing blades. All-steel construction with a large, B easy-to-grip phenolic knob. B 86N50.00 Bandsaw Quick-Release $149.00 32 18th-century Stock Preparation *Including Delta, Jet, General, Sears, Ridgid®, and Grizzly. ARTS & MYSTERIES It’s folly to attempt to create micrometer-perfect boards F. Cobra Coil™ using traditional methods. Here’s a practical guide to Tensioning Spring preparing rough lumber for furniture making with a blend A robust spring lets you properly of hand tools and ingenuity. B. Bandsaw Tire Brush tension a wide by Adam Cherubini A simple, effective retrofit to any 14" bandsaw, this blade to minimize polyester-bristle brush runs against the lower tire to wandering when remove dust and debris, for longer tire life and better re-sawing. This 36 Simple Shaker Shelves blade tracking. Aluminum mounting bracket included. spring, made from I CAN DO THAT 86N50.02 Bandsaw Tire Brush $5.95 treated chrome F Practice your pocket-hole skills and learn some new tricks vanadium steel, has greater fatigue 32 as you make this sweet creamery shelf adaptation. C D resistance and by Megan Fitzpatrick & Glen D. Huey tensioning capacity than standard springs (up to 15,000 psi vs. 8000 to 10,000 psi). Installs in a few 7 3 minutes. At /16" inside diameter (just under /4" O.D.) 82 Tiny Goblets 36 9 by 2 /16" long, it fits many 14" bandsaws (Delta, Jet, AT THE LATHE General, etc.) and most imports. Learn the right moves to make goblets with a captured ring 86N50.01 Cobra Coil™ $19.95 Narrow Blade Stabilizers C on the stem. They are impressive – and great practice. These stabilizers help saw sharp curves G. Bandsaw Guide Sets by Judy Ditmer without binding. In place of the upper For accurate cuts, blade guides should prevent lateral guide, with the lower guide disengaged, motion, twisting, and deflection. These upper and lower they capture the blade so it can pivot, guide sets provide support at three points (behind and Beaded Face Frames and prevent lateral or backwards shift. on each side of the blade) above and below the 90 1 POWER-TOOL JOINERY For blades /4" wide or less, they have Table removed table. Steel and aluminum with sealed industrial- 1 How to add attractive (and functional) beads to the interior anodized aluminum bodies with hardened steel wheels and for clarity. grade bearings, they work with blades /8" to 1" heavy-duty bearings. The standard model installs easily on G wide. Side bearings are more durable than rub edges of your cabinetry’s face frames. most 14" bandsaws (Delta, Jet, Ridgid®, Sears, Grizzly, etc.); blocks, preventing frequent guide adjustments, by Bill Hylton the other is for use with the Carter blade guides at right. and they reduce friction, prolonging blade life. Invaluable for intricately curved work. Installation and adjustments are quick and easy. C. 86N50.03 Standard Stabilizer $69.50 86N50.30 Guides for Delta 14" (round shaft) $145.00 G Number 161, April 2007. Popular Woodworking (ISSN 0884-8823,USPS 752-250) is published 7 times a year in February, D. 86N50.04 Carter Stabilizer $69.50 86N50.31 Guides for Jet 14" $145.00 April, June, August, October, November and December by F+W Publications Inc. Editorial and advertising offices are located at 4700 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236; tel.: 513-531-2222. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs and artwork should include ample postage on a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE); otherwise they will not be returned. Subscription rates: A year’s subscription (7 issues) is $19.96; outside of U.S. add $7/year ■ Canada Publications Mail Agreement No. 40025316. Canadian return address: 2835 Kew Drive, Windsor, ON N8T 3B7 ■ Copyright 2007 by Popular Woodworking. For more details, or to request our free 264-page woodworking tools catalog, call or visit us online. 82 Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send all address changes to Popular 90 1-800-683-8170 Woodworking, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235 Canada GST Reg. # R122594716 ■ Produced and printed in the U.S.A. www.leevalley.com popularwoodworking.com 3 PROJECTS, TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES 38 Sensible Sharpening How to sharpen any edge tool with the absolute minimum investment in materials. by Michael Dunbar 45 Material Storage on THE Cover woodworkinG essentials Placing and storing your tools is one challenge, but Even if you are a begin- then you have to find room for your wood, plywood, ning woodworker, you screws, glues and finishing materials. Here’s help. 38 can build these stack- by Scott Gibson able barrister bookcases. Build a single set or build a roomful for your law 53 Longworth Chuck practice. Turning the base of a bowl can require some serious effort (one method uses 48 hex screws!). We revive an unfinished 20-year- Cover photo by Al Parrish old design for a scroll chuck that is simple to make and use. by Garrett Lambert 56 Easiest Barrister Bookcases After several brainstorming sessions, we came up with a simple, sturdy and speedy way to build these classic stackable bookcases. Even the doors are easy. depArtMents by Glen D. Huey 53 10 Out on a Limb Fix the chairs, tear down the curtains 64 Regluing 12 Letters Doweled Chairs Mail from readers and answers to After repairing thousands of wobbly chairs, Bob your woodworking Flexner has put together this practical guide to fixing questions one of the most common household problems. by Bob Flexner 96 Out of the Woodwork Persimmon golf clubs 70 Finishing Formulas provide satisfying How often have you read: Stain and topcoat your thwack project and you’re done? Too many times. Here are by Don Weber the precise recipes Senior Editor Glen D. Huey uses in finishing classic American furniture. by Glen D. Huey 64 78 Furniture of the Pleasant Hill Shakers We take the first look at a book filled with history and never- before seen shop drawings of furniture from the Pleasant Hill Shaker community in Kentucky. by Glen D. Huey 70 6 POPULAR WOODWORKING April 2007 popularwoodworking.com ® April 2007, Vol. 27, No. 2 popularwoodworking.com Editorial Offices 513-531-2690 Publisher & Group Editorial Director Online Tools Steve Shanesy Editor Christopher Schwarz ext. 1407 • [email protected] You Could Win a 10" Cabinet Saw from Steel City Toolworks Art Director Linda Watts ext. 1396 • [email protected] You’ll be eligible to win a Steel City Tool- fence, a heavy-duty 3hp capacitor motor, Senior Editor Robert W. Lang works 10" Deluxe Titanium Table Saw, just three-belt drive system and more. ext. 1327 • [email protected] for answering a few questions about the saw And to be honest, we’re kinda jealous Senior Editor Glen D. Huey at our web site! In addition to the unique – this is beefier than the 35601 saw we tested ext. 1293 • [email protected] patent-pending titanium nitrite top, this in our shop (February 2007, issue #160). We Managing Editor Megan Fitzpatrick ext. 1348 • [email protected] model (35630) includes a 50" industrial liked that one: The table was flat, the fence Photographer Al Parrish was parallel and easy to use and assembly was quick and easy. Contributing Editors Adam Cherubini, Nick Engler, Bob Flexner, To enter, visit our web site Don McConnell, Troy Sexton at popularwoodworking.com and click on the contest link to F+W PUBLICATIONS INC.