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NO. 63
NOTES FROM THE SHOP
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$3.50
No.63
EDITOR'S
June, 1989
COLUMN
Sawdust Ed~or Donald B. Peschke Design Oireclor Ted Kralicek ManagingEd~or Douglas L Hicks _ Editors Douglas M. Lidster Kent A. Bucklon Terry J. Strohman ProjeclDesigner Ken Munkel TechmcallllUSlratorsDavid KreylJng Cary Chrlstensen RodStoakes Chris Glowacki· CustomerSeMce Sandy Baum, Mgr. Jackie Stroud PatKoob Lisa Thompson PlOjecISupplies Leslie Ann Gearhart Computer Operalioos Ken MIner Adminisb'ativeAssts. Cheryl Scott Jean Carey BuildingMaintenance Archie Krause
WOODSMITH STORES ~ratiohs Steve Krohmer MarketingManager Steve Dozier StoreManagers: SI. Loois, MO Jon Behrle 8erI
ecember) by Woodsmith Publishing Co., 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines,IA50312. Woodsmlfh is a registated trademark of Woodsmith Publishing Co. @Copyrlght; 1989 by Woo(jsmijh Publishing Co. All R.ightsAesetVed. SubscrIptIons: One year (6 Issues) $12.95, Two Years (12 issues) m.9S. Canada and Foreign:lIdd $2 per year, U.S. funds only. Single c;opy price, $3.50. Second Class Postage Paid at Des Moines, Iowa. Postmaster: Send change of address to Woodsmllh, Box 491. MI. MOrris,lL 61054. SUBSCRIPTION QUESTIONS? Call 800435·0715 (IL tesidents: 800-892-(753). 7:30 AMto 8:30 PM, CST, weekdays. BACK ISSUES: For a booklet ck!scribing back issues, send 10address above. SAMPLE COPY: We willsend a free sampie copy of Woodsmith to anyooe. JUSt send us his/her name ari!l address.
2
I
f someone suggesled to me that we ought to build a toolbox as a project in Wood.~mith,Iwould immediately think of one of those wooden cases with all the drawers in it- an engineer's case. But the toolbox we're showing in (his issue isrnore like the metal boxes designed to hold automotive tools or fishing gear. 'Vhy this style? 'Vhy not the big case? This proiectdidn'tstartout as a project for Woodsmitl~ It started as a solution to a rather simple problem. Ted (our design director) needed a small case to carry some tools around. He likes to use someofhisown hand tools in the Woodsmithshop when building projects for the magazine. But he also needs them in his shop at home, too. So he built a toolbox that would hold his jaek plane, a block plane, some lavoritechisels (a beal up one (or hacking around, and a set of good paring chisels), and an assortment of other hand tools. Okay, Don, what's the point of this story? The point is that 1had to do some thinking about basic practicality. The fancy ell' giueer's case (that T've always wanted to build) is not very practical (or storing woodworking 1001s. While the metal toolboxes (that! don'tparticularlylike) are much more practical. \Vhal ultimately changed my mind was thefactthauhetoolbox Ted built for himself was made out of y," maple aildjoloed with box joints. It look on a completely different look and feel than the metal boxes, even though the basic shape is the same. When Ifirst saw it, my reaction was, thls looks pretty neat. But as my practical mood returned, I wondered if a toolbox made of thin wood would hold up for long. Ted's has now lasted more than a year with more and more tools crammed into it all the time. Is it practical? Yes. Am I surjlrise
Now that I'm on the subject of thin lumber, it's time to say that in the past wl1ve often avoided projects SPecifically because they requirethin lumber. Irs noteasyto buy at lumberyards or even specialitystores. It's even harder to make it yourself - if you don't have a thickness planer. So itwas time to corne up with some.alternatives. The traditional method is to resaw thicker lumber Into thin pieees and use a hand plane 10 smooth it to final thickness, Since Ilike using hand planes, this is the method I'd choose. That is, except when planing maple (as r needed for the toolbox). Talk about aerobic exercise - hand planing even small pieces of maple wiUget the or heart pumping. ltonly took a few boards before I wanted • way to leta motor do the work.Therouter jig we came up with (shown on page 13) works great. Even though you have to make a lot of passes over the sun ace, it comes out fairlYsmooth. And it cleans up quickly with a hand scraper and a little sanding. Am Igetting '
creates aspectacular effect NEW FACES. 1 usually try to mention new
people joining us here at Wood~mith.Al· though Terry Strohman isn't new to Wood8Jn,itlt~he now has a new responsibility. For UIO~past few issues Terry has been handling the Sources page, and in the process, learning the way we go about putting together an issue of Woodsmith. \Vith this issue, Iasked Terry to contribute more by writing one of the 'project articles, He was delighted to help.and we've all benefited by having one more source of knowledge. Nro-T ISSUE.The August issue of Woo4''''Iith (No. 64) will be mailed during the week-of August 28,1989.
No. 63
.-
FRO
•
FELLOW
M
WOODWORKERS
Tips & Techniques ROUTER BIT HOLDER
C·CLAMP TABLE
When mounting a router bil.you shank. To do this only takes don't want the bit to "bottom three hands: one to hold the bit out" in the collet. TIle problem up, and the other two to tighten has todo with tbe transition fillet the collet with two wrenches. that's between the cutting bead Or, you can slip a rubber O· and the shank On most router ring around the shank of the bit bits. IT the shan k of the bit The O·ring willhold the bitatthe correct height above the collet, O·RING HOLDS BIT and then you'll have both hands WHllI TIGHTENING free to tighten down the bit Ipicked upsome ofthese rubber O-rings for about 20 cents apiece at a local hardware store. (For a V4" shank you'D need to otIo.- __ -1/4"·OJA. OR use a V." O-ring and tor a 'h" 1<'lt"·DrA. O-RING shank use a lh" O·ring.) J llstroU drops all the way down, the col- the O·ring onto the shank until let will grab around the Iilletand it's about a ~" from the transinot the whole shank. tion fillet So, you raise the bit up a little, MeivinE·vc.'(s until the collet only contacts the Meridian, Idaha
SANDPAPER CUnlNG
JIG
piece in po-sition. I created a simple '):>oar ..man's" clamp.
ClAMPS CAN GO IN ANO OUT ANOWORK IN ANY DIRECTION
cer OUT WASTE: 1'hisidea uses or~ IN SHAPE OF OVAL dinary Celampsthat U~ fit through oval windows in the ply· ~ wood, see drawing. y_ To CUI the ovals, DRfU TWO HOW 5IOE BY SIO£ mark areas on the table lop where you would most likely clamp pieces. To use the table, slip a Cclamp My role ofthumb for measur- through the ovaland then tighten ing the width of the oval is to your workpiece to the table. measure the width of the neck Mike Ft().n~wli on the Cclamp, then add 1". NiagataFa/is. Ne» York
a
6~
Trying to cut uniform pieces of glued ontoonecomer
•
sandpaper for an orbital sander is a hassle. To make it easier, I built a sandpaper cutting jig. The base of the jig is a square of plywood with V-grcoves routed at measured widths to glide a shop knife. To make the base. , cut a piece of :j!4"·tllick plywood 10 12" x 12". Next, determine how many piecesor sandllaper you can get out of one sbeet for your sander. The standard size of a sheet of sandpaper is 9" x 11". Most orb .. tal sanders use 1/30fa shee~114 of a sheet, or even 1/6 of a sheet. Once you know thesheet size, layout the position of the cut lines on the topotthe base. Since there are two ~"·wide stops
113 OR 1/6 SI%£
Slims
No. 63
later. start ~" from one edge. Now rout v-grooves ~" deep along the layout lines to serve as a cutting trough for the )mife. Then Iadded two strips atone corner to Iorm a stop for the sandpaper, see drawing. Since the stop gets in the way of the knife blade, I cut a kerf through the stop with a hand saw, aligningthekerfs with the V·grooves. To use the sheet cutter, place a couple of sheets of sandpaper upside down on the base with a comer against the stops. Now cut through the sheets. Move tbe just-cut edge against the stops and repeat the cut
r have an extra "workbench" To get the length, add 2" to made out of a piece of plywood the width of the oval. Now that sits on tOp of two old layout the ovals at the locasawhorses. I use this bench tion marks on the table. Drill for all types of work, especially boles at both ends of the sanding. But while sanding. the ovals and cut between the workpiecetendstoslidearound. two holes with a sabre saw. To hold the work- r.MAJ(=<' "'ov"A1S=;;.IG""'N"O"'U"O;;:H"'SO"""------,
GLUING EDGING
PANEL RAnLE
In Woodsmitlt No. 62 there's a To allow for expansion when
technique on how to clamp thin making raised panels, 1usually edging to plywood using a cut the panel a little narrower. clamping board with a rounded Sometimes, though, the panel edge. This works fine, but Ihad will rattle inside the grooves of problemskeeping long thioedg· the frame. iDg strips from sliding while To fix this problem. I cut narclamping and glling. row stripso( seli-sticking foam insulation tape (Vs"·thick). When the tape is stuck to the bottom of the groove in the frame, it keeps the panel from rattling. and also allows room for expansion. insulation tape can be found in most hardware stores. To keep edging from sliding, George Seifert drive thin brads about every 12" a:l'egHilUm"ul Shoreview, Minl1£sota. Beale AF B, Califlln!irJ, along the edge of the plywood SEND IN YOUR TIPS and snip them off so a point protrudes, Then apply glue to the If you'd like (0 share a tip strip and align it with the edge. with others, sendin your idea Press the strip against the first to Woodsmith, 'l'ps & Techbrad point, then repeatdown the niques, 2200GrandAve., Des length of the edge. (N0te:.Edging Moines, Iowa 50312. strips must be thicker than the We pay $15 for accepted length of the protruding pointa) tips. Please send an exptanaNow clamp the strip in place. tion and a sketch it needed David Warren (we'll draw a new one). A1a.tinez, C(.lifon,ia Woodsmith
3
FEATURE
PROJECT
Bookshelf This bookshelf is easy w build, easy to knock down, and it's sturdy. So, why should that be surprising? It's all done without using permanent joinery or hardware w hold the shelves to the end frames .
T
he primary design feature of this bookshelf is one you can't see. There's no hardware. In fact. there's no permanent joinery holding U1C shelves to the end frames. It all "knocks down" because the shelves can be lilted right of( the end frames. The shelves rest 011 dowels in the end frames.This makes Ute whole unit easy to knock down by just lifting the shelve.olHhe end dowels. Okay, that makes it easy. but it can't be very SIUrdy, right? Well.the sturdiness comes fi'omstilfeners tharare added to the back edJ{csof the shelves. These stiffeners are cut to fit tight between the end frames to prevent racking (sideo.-aysmovemenO.ThcyaJsoserveotherpurposes. They keep the shelves from bowing under weight. and they work weDas back stops for books so they don't slide oflfhe back edge, ~t<\I1lRJAl.S.1 used ~. "-thick redoak to build the sheI\-es and the end frames of the bookshelf. I also used oak dowels in the end frames to match the other il'UIS of UtC bookshel( (If you can't find oak dowels. any hardwood dowelswill work)
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SUEI.\'ES, One of the linlt considerations when buy· ing the lumber for" prciect like this is getting stock that's wide enough (or the shelves (9\11!" wide). AI· though that might be the easiest approach. it may not be the best. Wide stock tends to warp easily. Since the shelves in this bookshelf are not mounted into dadoes in the end trames, they are particularly susceptible 10 warp as time goes 011. I prefer to glue up a couple of narrower strips 10 make each shelf. The different grain patterns in eacb strip will help prevent warp. We've shown the CUlling Diagram with this approach oflwo strips for one shelf. RADIUSCOIt"ERS. There's One feature on the end frames that's typical on a lot o( furniture projectsa radius is cut on each corner to soften it. To cut these radii. I used a method that produces a uniform radius on every corner. Check out this procedure in the tip box on page 7. FlNISII, I finished this bookshelf using two coats of satin polyurethane varnish, sanding lightly between eacb coal.
Woodsmith
No. 63
EXPLODED VIEW STIF~ER
E
44\1'4·
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SHElF
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SUPPORTDOWEL
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OVERAll DIMENSIONS: 36',,"H x 47'h'W x 13.,,"D
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DIAGRAM
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MATERIALS LIST E
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LVA?WA7/v~AW&wyffff~;V~
E
I SUPPLIES
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0 0
0
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Stiles(~) 3/. X 2· 36~ Rcolls(4) 2· 131~ SheltSup, Dowels (lOH~ x 10% Shelves(3) ~.x9~-47~ ShelfStltteners(3) o/.x3~- 44V.
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~." x $\l'Je , 96 (3.6 ad. Ft.loch)
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A B C o E
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STilE A
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STilE
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SH£lF~ENER ~
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,
W-OlA. WOOD PLUG
SHELF/DOWEL
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~?:::SHELF
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SHELF STIF~NER
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STIFFENER
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CORNER/STIFFENER
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LUMBER • (S.5Boord ft. 'It.'·fhIGk.solid red ook Olhercholcesmlght be birch o(maple • 4 -1hrge II, oaJ(dowel rods. 'I.!·-dlo.. or other 'h',dlo. d0wel rods
HARDWARE • 15·18x l'fhwoodscrews
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[::::',,:::"T"":::::":=:' ~~~i~i~~:.':~' .~~, ",~.::.,:::::*ffX~~:] .. ~'.'DS
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No. 63
Woodsmith
FINISH
• vorntsh: Two coots> ot sat1n polvurefhone.sond i%l"ttv between coots
5
STILES AND RAILS This bookshelf is laps, see relatively easy to buitd-there are only two end frames and three shelves. I started by making the two end frames. Begin by ripping four stiles (A) and (our rails (a) all to a uniform width of 2". Then cut the stiles 36Yl" long and the rails I3..!" long. Shop Note: I also went ahead and cut some extra pieces thatl used fortestcutting the joints Onthe end frame. £1'10lAPS. Afterculting thestilesand rails to size, they're joined with end laps to form the end frames. (For more on cutting end
the article on page 20.) ROUNDOVEREl)GJ;S. Before assembling the frame, Irounded over the inside edges of the stiles (A) using a Vs" round-over bit in the router, see Fig. 1.These edges can't be rcundedafter the frame is assembled because thedowelswillbe in thew'!)', referoo Fig. 5. 1'0 keep [rom routing into the joints on the stiles, I made pencil marks 2!fz" from each end for stop marks, see Fig. 1. LAYOUfHOl.£S.Afterrowlding the edges, Ilaid out reference marks to drill a series of holes down the inside edge of the stiles to mount the shelf.support dowels (C).. To get tile marks aligned onallfour stiles, stack them on edge so the ends are flush, then clamp them together. see Fig. 2. Now make marks across the edges, starting 6IA"
from one end, then every 6". refer to the Exploded View on page 5. CENTER BIT. Before drilling the boles, I centered the bitoo the thickness of the stile. To center the bit, insert a \12" brad-point bit into the chuck, then clamp a 2x4 on the drill press table for a fence, see.Fig. 3. Now put the outside face of a stile against the fence. With the drill press oft, lower the bil so the bit'.s point makes a mark in the wood. Flip the stile around, so the olber face is against the.fence and lower the bit again. If Ibe point on the bit doesn'l exactly enter the first mark. adjust the fence and try again until you only make one mark DRIU. ROl.£S. After the bit is centered. drill five holes:V4" deep into the inside edge of each stile (A).
3
MARK AC.A:O$S
sruss
AU. WITH SQUAR.E
KEEP ~EHDSflU$H
END FRAME ASSEMBLY After drilling holes foe Ibe support dowels (C), 1started to assemble the end frames. SllEl.I' SUPPORT OOIllEI.$. First, I cut the sbel(supportdowels (C) to length. Til determine the length. measure tile distance between the shoulders of Ihe rails (9Vl"), see Fig. 4. Then add In this measurement the depths of two holes in Ihestiles. Noweut len W'-dia. dowels VII'less than Ibis lotal so they won't bottom out.
4
STIli
to pull the shoulders tigh~as shown in Fig. In length. insert them between two stiles. 5. Once the shoulders are tight, [ added a (Make sure the Jap joints on the stiles face Cclamp on each comer to squeeze the end the same direction, see FIg. 4.) laps together. ASS£MllLY.1'0 complete the assembly of RADIUS.After the glue dries. I cut a 1" the end frame. lay the stile assembly flat radius on all comers. refer to the tip box on across two pipe clamps so the end laps face the opposite page. up, see Fig. 5.Nextapply glueto the end laps ROUNDOVER.After cutting the radius on Ibe rails (B) and clamp them to the end comers. finish rounding over the inside and lapson thestiles (A) usingthreepipeclarnps outside edges of the end frame. see Fig. Sa. INSERT DOIIIELS.After cufting Ule dowels
FIRST: fNS£Rt
SH.ELFSUPPORT DOWfl5INTO snLlS ......~ __
5
RAIL
•
FOURTH: TlGHTfN c..clAMPS ATCORNfRS
NOTE:
SHELF SUPPORT DOWELS
FOR DOWll
L£NGTH ADD DISTANCE BETWE£N
c
SHOULD£RS
PLUSHOL! OE'PTKS
9'AI"
NOTE: SECOND:
ADD GLUE
FINISH '11" R,OUND·OV£:R ON INSIDE END FRAME
to LAP JOINts
6
Woodsmith
No. 63
SHELVES
;
After the end frames are finished, work ~~ can begin on the three adjustable .~~ shelves (D). To preveotthe shelves from warping, I edge~~ glued two boards together to make a shelf blank 11" wide by 4S" long. COTTO SIZE. After the glue dries, cut the shelves to a finished length of 47I1z". To determinethewidth, measure the distance between the inside edges of the end frames. Then cut the shelves-vis" less to
• •
allow for expansion/contraction. DADOES.After cuttingthe shelves to width, I cui dadoes on the bottom 01each shelf to fit over the shelf support dowels (C). Set the fence I\'3" from tbeinsideofa Vi'·wide dado blade. see FIg. 7. Now sneak up on the final depth of the dado by raising the blade and making a pass on a scrap piece unlil a shelf support dowel 618 flush with the bottom olthe shelf. Once set, cutdadoes on the bottom (ace atboth ends olall three shelves. RADIUS AND 1
RADIUS CUnlNG One of the best ways to round consi'ilt'flt comers is with a template and flush-trim router bit. Make the template by cuuingn piece of Masonite S" square. Then use 11 compass to layout a 1" radius on one comer. Cutthe radius oversize, and c~lI·r· fulllIclcanlO the lineusinga disc sander. To use the template, stick ildown on a comer of tbe workpiece using doublesided carper tape. Now set the height of a flush-trim bit so the bcaring rides only on the template. Cut the radius in several passes, until the bearingridescompletely around the radius oithe template.
FLUSH TRIM alT ON ROUTtR TABLE
r-
8CUTsnffENER
~
TO ~rrnGHT BEtWEEN
--
DRILL IlOlJlS. Next, to Jastenthe stiffeners FASTllNSJ11't"ENER.l'
hole and SCrewthe stiffener down with a No. S x 1" Fh woodscrew. After fastening. move the spacer block to the otherend of the shelf and repeat the procedure. "PLUGs.Withall the screws down tight, I glued o/s"-dia.wood plugs into the counterbored holes In the stiffeners. and then trimmed them flush.
9 10useAUGN ~~' \~. ",.x S.ACE, BLOCK STIffENER
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END FRAMES
•
IS COMP\.fT1!
ASSEMBLY To keep the shelves from bowing and to prevent tbe whole bookshelf from racking. 1 added stiffeners (E) to the back edge of each shelf, see Fig. S. CUTTOSIZil. Start by ripping enough.stock 3W'wide to make three stiffeners. To determine the final length. assemble the bookshelf, and measure the distance between the end frames along the shelves. Cut the stiff· eners to length by starting a little long. then sneak up on the finished length. Check Ihe fil between the end frames after each cut until you geta snug fi(. ROUND EDGES. After cutting the stiffeners, round over the edges and ends, see Fig. Sa.
•
MAKE SEVERAl
PASSES UN11l RAbluS
'h" UP frOM SHElf
a.
SPACER ~"·DIA. 8lOC~'. WOOD PlUG
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SHElf
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'OUNOOVER All EDGESON STIffENER WItH I,..,. ROUNIX)VER BIT
No. 63
lOP SHElf
LAY UNIT FACE~OWN
a.
Woodsmith
7
S HOP
PROJECT
Chisel Case This case protects your favoTite chisels and doubles as a working chisel stand. Instead of complicated joinery> this project relies on a precise fit and understanding the natural movement of wood.
I
have afondness for unique containers. That's why [am intrigued with this project Ilnotonlyholdsand protects the chisels, it's also a working display box. The fact that we used Ihis box for chisels doesn't mean that it wouldn't work eQually well fur a set of knives, or by removing the dividers, it could hold a special book or house the family album. END GRAIN. Since the tolerances on this case are very tighl, I hac)to pal' close attention to the movement of the wood as it expands and contracts (with seasonal changes in humidity). To prevent problems with the wood splitting, thegrain of all the pieces should run in the same direction. IVbileitmayseem like a lotofextra work to deal with all of the end grain pieees.the resultis wellworth it.All of the grain in the case runs in the same direction, almostas ilthecase were hollowed ourofa single piece of wood. By doing this, any movement in the case that
8
should occur will not open any of the joints or cause cracks to develop. JOINERY. Wbile thejoinery in this project is notcomplicated, precise fits are very important. For most pieces. Precommend they be cut oversized, and then trimmed to fil. WOOD. When choosing wood for the case. try to lise hardwoods that have been kiln dried. No matter how carefully the case is constructed, using wood with a high moisture content willcause problems. 1 built this case out of walnut. The bandies on the chisels are light colored and the dark background makes them stand out. Walnut is stable and relatively easy 10work with. PINISH. After completing the case, Ihe interior and the exterior were fiojshed with three coats of handrubbed tung on. If you feel you need a more durable finish, polyurethane willoffer more protection.
WoodSll.lith
No. 63
EXPLODED VIEW
MATERIALS LIST TRAY
LID PANEL
A EndBlocl
8 Cose Dlvtders(7) C Bottom Pon~ (1) D Chlseillesfs (6)
<:ASE DMDER
•
I~.9lj.· 'AI '1.xl~·1)'1. '1ax 91;,· 12~ ~.xll;.·\.'.1
UP E LidPonel ( I) F Ud SkIes (2) G Ud-stiftener(I)
•
CUnlNG
\I.x911.·12').1 !l4x2·12'n :v., x 9'14· if2
DIAGRAM
1/4" X 31}2" ._36" (.9 Sq. Ft.)
1118111 F
LID SIDE
'/"":It 5" • 38'" (1.3 Sq. Ft. Each)
I
c
IcW*id
lelel ~ .. " 1(
I
BOTTOM PANEL
~I S" . 16" (.6 ad. Ft.)
A,O,G
I
SUPPLIES LUMBER • 3.5 sq. ft. !I.··thlck walnut • .6 Boord It. '!I.'·thick walnut
& FINISH • (2) No. 12X1'I.' Rhoross woodscrews HARDWARE • TungoD • Postewox
CROSS SECTION
LAY OUT THE END BLOCKS
•
I started work on Ole chisel case by determining thewidth oftheendblocluJ(A). The width depends Onthree things: the width of your widest chisel, the number of chisels. and the thickness of the tray dividers. DETERMININGTHE WlDTIJ. Measure the widest part ofyour largest chisel, add I'll" for clearance, and thiswill be the widtn of each tray section. (The largest chisel in my set is 1Va" wide. so each tray section is 1V." wide.) Once you know the size of each section. you can multiply that figure times the num-
1
FIRST:(DG' GLU(1WO ~" x $" .•• 80AROS, CUT OfF
o· PJECE.I
THEN RIP TO 91j,,"
berofchiselsyou have. 0 havesixchiselsso 6xlV."-7\i!t'.) Also, determine the total thickness of the kay dividers. (Since) used seven V."·thick dividers the total thickness of all of the dividers is 1:V.".) Now, add the total width of the tray sections (7W~and the total thickness of the dividers (1~") to get the total width (9V,") of the case tray (and the end blocks). END BLOCKS. To make theend blocks W, I edge-glued enough :v.1"'thickstock to fonn
a blank 10" wide by S" long, see Fig.L When the glue is dry, him both ends and then cut 0« a 6"·long piece, leaving a l'lfs" piece, see Step 1. (Save the short piece for later use.) Now. rip the 6'~longpiece to the finished width for your end blocks (9V.',). To get the thickness needed for the end blocks,cutthe6"·longpiecesinhalfandglue these two pieces together face-to-face to form a block.see Step2. After the glue dries, Gutthis block to getlwo end blocks (II) 9\1.4" wide by 'I/il" long, Step 3.
SECOND: CUT.· PIECEIN HAlf,
THIRD: CUTTO FO!
THEN STACK AND GLUE TOG-tmER
END BlOCKS '4" lONG
NOTlGRAJN PAmRNANP
END BLOCKS
JOINTUNES
10· ;tOUGH DIMENSION
No. 63
\Y/ oodsmith
9
CUnlNG
THE GROOVES
Aiter making the end blocks, 114" tabbets and grooves are cut to hold the case divider(B).(Cut the rabbets and grooves to match the actual thickness of the dividers.) SET'IH.EDADO BUIDE. Begin by setting the saw to cut a 11." x V." rabbet. To do this, attach a wooden fence to your table saw rip fence, see Fig. 2.1 also used a wooden extension on my miter gauge. The extension sup. ports the piece and helps prevent chipout, Now set the rip fence (0 act as a stop and CUI a rabbet on both ends of the end blocks (A). see Fig. 2. Note: These rabbets (and the grooves LhaHollow)must be cut into end grain on the end blocks (Al.
DIVIDERS & BOnOM With the end blocks (A) completed you can begin work on the case dividers (B):Startby ripping V4" stock for th e dividers to width, RIP TO WID'I1'I. To determine the width of the dividers, measure the tJlicknes$ (height) of the end blocks (A) and rip the dividers to that width. (In my case that measurement was 1¥.i".) DE1ERMlNETHE L£NGI'H. After the pieces have been ripped to width, Icut all of the dividers to the correct length for my chisels. To determine this length, measure your longest chisel and add %". (The extra :V." allows for the V4" grooves in the end blocks (A) and a V4" of clearance within the case.) lAYING OlTl'1lI£ ARC. After the dividers (B) have been cutto length, layoulashallow arc to allow clearance to pick up the chisel. Begin by laying out the arc on one of the dividers. To do this, mark points 1%" in from each end of the divider along the top edge, see Fig. 4. To draw the are, tape the dividerto ascrap piece of plywood and drive a couple of nails alongside the two marks on the divider, see Fig. 4. Then bend a piece of posterboard insidethenailsandadjusttheapexofthearc so it's \4" from the opposite edge of the divider. Then draw the arc. CIJl11'NG THE ARC. Next stack all of the dividers with uie arc on top and wrap the stack with masking tape, making sure that theedgesandendsareflusb. see Fig. 5.Now cutdose tothe layout linewith the bandsaw, and then sand up to the line using a drum
10
CIJl11'NG THE GROOVES. After
the rabbets are cut. divide the space between the rabbets into six equal spaces (or the number of chisels in your set) with a \4" groove between them. see Fig. 3. Now move the table
saw fence so that it acts as a stop for your next cut. AftercuUing the first groove, tum thepieceendforendandcutanothergroove before moving thefence. Repeat this procedure uotil all of the grooves are cut.
PANEL sander or a sanding block. ASSEMBLY. After the dividers have been sanded. fitaod glue them into the grooves in the end blocks, see Fig. 6. (Make sure that this assembly is square and that it sits fla~) II0'IT0MJ>.~£t.. After the dividers (B) are glued inlC)lheend blocks (A), you can make the bottom panel (C). Start by edge-gluing enough V."-Ulick stock to make the bottom panel. see Shop
FLUSH END BLOCK ANO DIVIDERS
6
Notes, page 12.TIle finished size of the bottom panel is the same as the outside dimensions ot the tray that you just glued up, see Fig. 7. (Our divider tray measured 9l1.," x
12¥.!".)
Now glue the bottom panel (C) 10 the divider tray. Use glue sparingly to avoid squeeze out. Make Sure the edges of the bottom panel (C) are flush with the sides of the tray dividers (B) and the end blocks (A).
CU180rrOM
7
PANELTOffT
©
BOTTOM PANEL
NOTE:
D~VIDER
AUGN
ASSEMBlY MUST 8! SQUAR,E
Gl,ur 6OTToM PANn TO DIVIDERS
fLUSH ON All $IOf,S
AND tND 8LOCK
Woodsmith
No. 63
LID ASSEMBLY After the lJ'ay as-
• •
sembly is complete you can begin OJ) tile lid panel (E). Start by gluing up enough stock to make a panel that's V4" wider and 1" longer than the tray. After it dries, rip the panel Vt6"wider than the tray. ASSEMBLEme POCKJo:T.Next, to form the pocket and lid top, cut the panel into two parts, see Fig. 8. To determine the length of Olepocket.measure from the end ofthe tray, to where the arc begins Onthe divider. Then ada ~"to allow for trimming.
Now set your saw blade at 30' and cut a piece off the panel that's the length you just determined, see Fig. Sa. Next, place the short piece on tile case so the long beveled point is touching the arc. Now mark and trim the end Ilusb, see Fig. 9. UDSIDES, To make thelid sides (F).start by measuring the thickness (height) of the case. Then rip two pieces ofll4" stock to that measurement (2") and cut them to the same length as the case, see Fig.9, After the lid sides (I') are cut, fasten them to the tray with double-sided carpet tape. RINGE SCIlliWS. With the sides in place you can drill the holes for the hinge screws. First, drill a ~3"counterbore, VI6"deel,>and 2>\'4- TO THE LONG POINT OF TI-I£ BEVEL
9
~" from tile bottom end. See Fig. 10.Then, drill a Va" pilot hole through the lid sides (F) and into the end blocks (A). see FIg. 10. Now remove tile carpet tapeand enlarge the hole in the lid sides (F) to ~". Before screwing the lid sides (I') to the case tray, place a 1'.i2" shim behind each lid side (1'). Now tighten down a No. 12 roundhead screw until the bottom ofthescrewslot is Bush with the lid sides (1'), see Fig. lOa. ASSEMBLE'l'liE UD. Next. fit the remainingpartofthe lidbetween the sides, and trim the end flush with the lOP of the case, see Fig. 9. Then glue the panel '0 the lid sides (I') only. When theglueisdry.file the screw heads flush, see Fig. lOa. Gl.U£ MOVA6LE SIDES TO TOP PANEL ONlY
LID ",'r-, PANEL
LONG
PO,m
StT SAW SlADE TO 30·
DONor
a. POCKET PANEL
-
GLUE SlOES TO POCKET PANEl
_;--
TOOL RESTS AND LID STIFFENER
•
Once the lid is completed, round over the sides (VS"round-over) and ends ~II roundover). refer to Fig. 12.Then you can begin on the chisel rests (D) and lid stiffener (G). ROtJJ1NC THE EOGE, Using the cut-off left over from making the end blocks (A) (refer
•
to Fig, 1). use a %" round-over bit and rout a bullnose on both ends. see Fig. 113. CUT TO FIT. Nter tile bu llnoses are complete. cut off two ~"·Iong pieces, see Fig. ll. Now, cut the chisel rests (0) to fit between thecase dividers (8) .and cutthelid
12
CHISEL REST CUT TOFfT 8,£TWEI;N CASE DIVIDERS
stiffener (G) 10 fit between the lid sides (1'). see Fig. 12, Finally. glue Ole pieces in as shown in the Cross Section on page 9, FINGER REOESS. The last step is to file a ~"·wide finger recess in the bottom end to make a lip for opening the lid. See Fig. 12. UD Sl,FFENER
cer TO
FfT
G BETWEEN UD $IO[S
D
NOTE: ROIIND OVER(NDS AND EDGES WITH CASE C.LOSED
No. 63
Woodsmirh
11
TIPS
SOME
FRO
M
OUR
SHOP
Shop Notes BOOK MATCHING • Wben making the Chisel Case on page 8, J used a technique called book matching to create the mirror image grain pattern on the lid. Book matching refers to how apiece ofstock is cut and glued back together. GRAIN I'ATl'ERN. To create a book-matched panel, select a piece of wood that has some figure to it Ilook for an interesting burl or a swirling grain pat-
tern. Make sure that the pattern goes all the way through the piece. (lfitdcesn'tgo through.It may not book rnatch.) RESAWI'IECE. Now,resawthe piece ioto two parts of equal thickness. I prefer to resaw on the band saw because the kerfis smaller, and lbe two pieces tend to match up a liute better. However, resawingcan be done on the table saw. see page 22,
1
PLANE IN DIRECTION OF
AAAOWS IEfOR.£ _ ...... G1.UING UP
SlDfGRAlN POINTS TO BACK OF 80ARD
OPEN TIlE BOOK. Afler resaw-
ing, put the two halves back together as if the piece had never been cut Now stand them 00 edge and opeo the lWO pieces as if you were opening a book. The spine of this "book" becomes the matched joint. Note: Open the book (rom the lOP edge, then try opening' (rom the bottornedge. Eitherway, the pieceswiUbe bookmatched, but the grain pattern will be different. Choose the one with the most interesting pattern, PtANJNGl'ROBLEM, Although matched lumbergives you interesting patterns, itcan bedifficutt 10 plane smooth. The problem is that after the two pieces are glued together, the grain of the pieces runs in opposite directions, see Fig. L If you plane both pieces of the panel in the same direction, tbe grain might
.By ?'esa'I.inglumber, and then ed{le-joining thepieces b~kW· get/win a book-maich; you get a patter" ,qitha mirror imaqe. tear out on one half of the panel. TIle solution is to plane each piece before you edge-glue. Then carefully align the pieces when gluing SO you onlyhave to sand the panel after it dries.
EDGE-GLUING THIN STOCK • On the Chisel Case Ineeded to edge-glue Ir.i" stock to form the lid and the bottom panels. Edge-gluingthin stock with pipe clamps can be a problem, As you tighten the clamp, the pressure is applied in line with the screw on the clamp head, which is usually centered about :v." above the pipe.This pursueeven pressure on the joinl and the pieces won't lie flat If you apply too much pressure the pieces might spring apart So, in order to edge-glue thin pieces, I use a technique that musicaliostrumentmakersuse. PREPARE STOCI(. To use this method, first make sure the two edgesfittogetherwithoutgaps. This is important since you won't be applying enough pressure to close any gaps. WORK Now, place the ON twoPI,YWOOD. pieces edge-toedge on a flat work surface. (I
12
use a piece of plywood.) Also, pieces to be glued are t(J"~hi?lg, place apiece ofwax paper under see Fig. L the pieces
1
SPACER
FIRST: DR,vt
~::_:::;:~~~::;:
NAILS
ALONG EOGEOF
I
ONE PUCE
2
\VEIGH DOWNTOP. Next slide the spacer out and lay another strip of wax paper on top of the joint line. Now lay a board on top of the wax paper and stack a heavy object (I used a brick) on top of the board. Make sure the (WO pieces are laying flat, and let the glue dry. After the glue dries. remove the nailsfrom one side before taking the panel up, PUU OUT SPACER ANO __
AP}>I.YWEfGHT ABOV[JOINT
THIRD: DRIVENAILS
'TO;;;:;;,::,_-,,:~AllONGfOG'
OF 0"'"
PIECE
l~~~~~~~~;;~~ NAlLS
Woodsmith
No. 63
r
HAND PLANING THIN STOCK • If you resaw stock on • band
saw, you'refaced with thetaskof smoothing the rough-sawn surface. On small pieces I use a hand plane. But i~s difficult to plane a consi8tent thickness across the entire piece. I've found irs worth the time to make a jig that helps stop the plane at the correct thickness, (Note: FlI"St,I resaw the workpiece about VI&" over the final thickness. see page 22.)
tMIONG TIlEJtG. To make the jig. start by cutting a plywood base, see Fig. 1. Then rip two guide strips to the final thickness you want for tbe workpiece. Now place the resawn workpiece on the base and tack the strips about 1" from each edge of the workpiece. (To keep from damaging the plane, set the brads below the surface.) Next, to keep the workpiece from moving while planing, tack
2
down thin stop blocks (I use 1/8" Masonite) in front and in backofthe workpiece. Also, 5ta couple of thin spacer blocks between the workpiece and the guide strips. USINGTHE JIG. After the jig is built, you can begin planing. I stan with the plane held at an angle so the heel of the plane bangs over one of the guide strips, see Fig. 2. Continue to plane until the heel of the plane PLANE-AT
GUIDE STRIPS
SLIGHT ANGLE"
"bottomsout" on therightguide
strip and the toe bottoms out on the left guide strip. If the workpiece is so wide that the plane can't bridge across both guide strips, that's okay. Ai; long as you start with the heel overoneguide strip, the toe of the plane will finally rest On the far guide strip as you work across the piece. ONE MORE THING. There's one other thing Ishould menlion here. [said that the final thickness of the workpiece will be the same as the thickness of the guide strips. That's not exactly true.
Since the cutting edge of the blade sticks out slightly below thesoJeofthe plane, thefinished thickness ofyour workpiecewiJI actually be a hair thinner than the strips. If your thickness bas to be6xact, slightly increase the thickness of the strips to compensate for the blade depth.
PLANING WITH A ROUTER • Besides planing tbin stock with a hand plane. I've also used a router, making repeat.passes. To do this, I made a two-part jig, see Fig. 2. The 6rst part is a base to hold the workpiece. The second part is a wing attached to the router that slides Onthe base. BASE.To make the base. cut a rectangle from :jI~"plywood a little longer than the length of the workpiece, and about 3" wider than your workpiece. Next. to raise the router up off the workpiece, I glued rails along the edges of the base. Cut the rails 14"wider (higher) than the thickness of the workpiece. SUDING WING.After making the base, I cut out a wing to replace the plastic base on the router. To make the wing, rip a piece of \14" Masonite 2" wider than therouter'splasticbase.As
No. 63
fortbelength, cut iuwiceaslong as the width of the jig's bM8. Now screw the wing to the router using the Original base plale as a drilling guide. Also, 10keep the bit from routing into the rails, 1 glued stop blocks to the bottom of the wing near the ends. see Fig. 1.
1
USING111EJIG. After bulldiog the jig. you're ready to plane.
the bit about Ya"·deep and rout the Start by sticking the workpiece workpiecewitl1 the grain. (Rout· down on thejig base with double- ing across the grain may create sided carpel tape, see Fig. 2. swirls on the face.) Then make mE art, Next, mount anyflat· another pass to "plane" the bottom bil in the router. Aiter stock to final thickness. If there SOmelesting, !found a:l4" or JI,!". are any swirls left on the surface, dia straighrbit worked the best, 1use a SCraperto clean them off. '/4" MASONnt WlNG
2
MULTIPU: PASSES. Set
MAKEMumPLf PASSES WITH
THEORAIN
USE ROUTt~
aASEAS TEMPLAn TO LOCAlE scaEWHOl£S
\Voodsmirh
~ ~~~~STOP FaOM. CUnlNG INTO RAILS
13
FEATURE
PROJECT
Toolbox How do you make a toolbox that's both strong and lightweight? Our solution was to use thin maple and join it with box joints. We also added a unique laminated handle on top.
T
here are two main considerations in designing a toolbox:strength and weight It has to be strong enough to stand up to heavy use. but lightenough so it isn't a burden to carryaround, REINFORCEMENTS. The solution was to build the toolbox b'om thin stock (V,"). but reinforce tbeweak spots. For example, the top panel of the lid is made from V4" stock that's backed with another pieceot'V4" stock. This backing locks the angled lid pieces togetherand provides a If.!11 base to attach the handle. see the Cross Section on the opposite page. The bottom of the case is cut from V4" plywoodand mounted into ~" grooves. To keep the lip below the grooves from breaking out. 1added angled trim strips, JOINERY. I decided to use boxjoints for this project. lithe pins and slots match perfectly, there's plenty of gluing surfaces and that creates a strong joint. The boxjoints are also smallenough (Vi" x V.'~ that they can be cut on either a table saw or a router table. (In Woodsntitk No. 42 we showed how to make an
14
adjustable box joint jig for either the table saw or the router table.) HANDLE. The handle is probably the most unusual part of this project, The easy way to make a handle is to cut itoutofa piece of~" stock, But there would be weak spots at the upper corners where the grain cuts directly across the corner . Instead, I laminated the handlefrom three pieces oj V." stock. The grain on the middle piece runs at right angles to the face pieces. Likeplywood, this-strengthens the piece in both directions. WOOD.r built the toolbox from hard maple. It's strong and will last for years. (nun lumber may be difficultto obtain,seeTaikingShopand Sources, pages 23 and 24.) Maplecan chip out when planinl1.(For fips on planing, see Shop Notes, page 12.) Poplar or red gum wouldalso be good choices. They'renotasstrong '
Woodsmith
No. 63
MAIERIALS
EXPLODED VIEW
-
OVERALL DIMENSIONS,
CASE
PIVOT
81/4uH x 16"L x 8"0
LISI
BLOCKS
A Front/Bock (2)
'I4J<4!14-16
8 Ends(2)
V.x4V.,8 'I. x7~. XHW. ~x !I"15~ !I'. x 1M - 7'1. V.x I- 15'1.2
C BoHom(I)' TOP
D Stm, Fr/Il!< Trim (2) E Stm, End Trim(2) F HingeCleat< 1) G Fr,Tray ledge (I)
® ANGLID SIO£
• UD FRONT
I'< x 1V4 - 15'1.2 I'< x 1\1.- 7'1.
H EndTrayled~(2)
UD
•
1 Frant/Boc!< (2)
~ x I~- 16
J EndS(2)
V.x3-8 ~ x3·16
K Mgled Sldef(2) L TopO) M TopBocking(l~
'I4x4",,-16 'I. X 4'1.2- 15l-2
N Hinge Cleat (1)
V.x I'll. - 15'1.2
(1)
V.x8-6(5pes.)
o Box Handle TRAY
'I. x 1% - 14'~. Q EndS(2) V.x I'll.- 6"V,. R BoHom(I)' '14X 6¥. x 14''1,. S Handle (I) iI.1 x 2 iii- 147/,e • These pieces are V" plywood,
P Front/Bock (2)
CUnlNG 1,1.... x
DIAGRAM
5·· 33" 11.15Sq. Ft. Eoch) A
A
e
e
CROSS SECIION
M p p
l
6 K A
o o
•,
E
,/ ANGlED IAC1
J
~
S
~ .. x 3· . 3-3" (.7 Sq. Ft.)
TOGETHER
I
,, CATCH
•
®--
REMO¥AIl!
,
'eRA.
,,
ONE 24.x
"
I
H
H
24" PIECE OF 1/." PLYWOOD
FOR CASt AND TRAY BonoMS
,
•
s
ALSOREQUIRlD: (c, R)
SUPPLIES
r
lowm
I
F
PIANO HINGE
LUMBER • 7 SquGre H. V.' solid maple • 0.7 Square H. '11"solid mol'll6 • 24' x 24' ple€e Y4' maple 0( blreh ply.
COMpARTMENT CAPACITY: 3'/ ...·Dx7!t'J-w'" 1511;2"L
HARDWARE· "
ANGLID
c
RE.INFORCfiMENT STRIP
• 1 Brossplonohlnge(P/'6'X 13') • 1Bressbox cctcn with screws • 6 No. 6 X :Vd' ro~ndhead WOOdSCl8WS , See page 24 for kfflnfaClTlotlen
FINISH • Varnlsh: Solin polyur.efhone
No, 63
Woodsmith
15
CASE 1began work on the the bottom edge of each piece and worked B01TOM.Next, cut an !,t"·deep groove for toolbox by making up. (The waste atthe topwili be cutoff later.) the II." plywood bottom (C) On all four ~'? the case. Start by The case end pieces (B) start with a pin at pieces. Position the groove so it cuts ~ cutting a C8$e front the bottom edge and the case front/back through the first pin (en the case front) up and back (both A) pieces (A) start with a slot. see Fig. la. from the bottom, see Fig. 1. and two ends (8) Procedural Note: l'I'hile the jil(' is set up, After the groove is cut in all four pieces, .........._ from II." stock to a you may alsowantto cutthe box joints on the cut the plywood bottom (C) to fit. rough width of 5". lid and tray pieces (see pages 17 and IS). ASSJ;AWLY. To clamp the case together, I see FIg. 1.Then cut CtrM'OWlDTFJ. Aftercuttingthe box joints, used band clamps and scrap clamping the front and back pieces (A) 16" long and I trimmed down the case pieces to final blocks, see Fig. 2. Position the blocks just dIe ends (8) S"long. width. First rip the case end (B) so the cut beyond the joints at each comer. To keep Procedural Note: Wbileyou'reselup, you aligns with the top edge of the ni,!lk pin up the top of the case square. Islipped a scrap can also cut the lid pieces so they're the trom the bottom, see Fig. 1. Then cut the piece of plywood into the case. exact same lengths, see opposite P'llle. casefront and back (A) to this same width. PWG HOLE. After the case is assembled, BOX JOINI'S. Alter the pieces are cut to Note: Ifyour dado blade cuts eccuctly II."· there's still a little void in theends where the size. you can cut II." box joints on the ends wide slots, then these pieces will be 4114" bottom groove COmes through one of the of all four pieces. see Fig. 1. wide. The important thing is to cui the box joinl pins. To fill it, I glued in a wedge\'Ibeo cutting the box joints J started at pieces so they end with a fuji pin or slot shaped plug and cut it off flush, see Fig. 2a. '6"
1
Tf
Ts. 41'' 1
WASTE
TOP lOGE
@
NOTE:
CASE FRONT/BACK
ALLSTOCk
(CUTtwO)
2 ~
SCRAPPLYWOOD ---
K£EPS CASE SQUARE
@ BonOM PLYWOOD
:V.~~~T~H~IC~K~~~::::~==~:=~~~~~~~ '--cur
~
a.
80TTOM GROOVE ...... D£.EP
CAS. ~
F~f
@~
@K
rTf
rn CUT
@
EDGE
(CUTtwO)
TOP CASE END '_t)~~~=l '=========:===!i
CUTGROOVE
AT
THROUGH FIRST PIN
N;':"
-l
8"
~
T5" 4r"t
'l
OFF FLUSH
ClAMP
TRIM STRIPS, HINGE CLEAT, TRAY LEDGE Alter the case is dry. I turned it over and the inside.Toprovide a screw surface for the added trim strips (D and E) to the bottom. Jid hinge. I mounted a hinge cJeat(F) to the '11U1II ~"IRIPS.To make the angled strips, inside back of the case. see Fig. 4. rip a 45' bevel on a piece of ~II stock. Then Cut the hinge cleat 1" wide and to length set the blade to 90' and rip the angled.strips to fit inside the case. Then glue the cleat in off the waste side otthe blade. place so the top edge isllush wilh the top of Next, miter the strips to length and glue the case back. see Fig. 40. them in place, see Fig. 3. TIlAY LEOGE. To support the removable HINGE CLEAT. Alter the trim is in place, I tool tray. [glued !"·wide tray ledge slrips turned the case over and started to work on (0 and R) inside the case on the front and
3 ~_J
THIRD:
@)
4
fRONT/BACK TRIM
~C~::®-
fiRST: (UTHING£
® h. ~
.
,_
~.J'~
END~~ TRIM 1/ .
__.,¥:J,.
;_...,
a.
TOFJT
NOT~-'"
4::.:.......
45' ANGLE
CASE
l·j '"''r-)
'"!:." -I-_.~ ~"4 ~ •
t
ClEAT TO
FIT 8ACK
jy
P1.YWO IIOTTOM
TRIM STRJ:
MITE. CORNERS"
.j-.
1-...
OD OFCAS(
MntR
_
'Ii'_'-
p- ~ _
I....
~
I!--
.~
~
®
~
I
-L,3
END TRAY LEDGE «UTtwO)
~_R~EI?.~
Woodsmitb
;....-
1'\ ...."..
a.
~GlUEfLUSH
01 END
.
mAY LEDGES
.
""ONT
'"Il
UPSIDEDOWN
16
both ends. These strips are made by cutting a \(1"odeeprabbet ¥4" wide on one edge of a piece of W'·thiek stock, see Fig. 4b. Then miter both ends of the fronl Iray ledge (G) to fit inside the front of the case. see FIg. 4. On the end tray ledges (H), miter the front end. but let the back end butt up against the binge cleat (F). Now. glue the strips in so the top edges are 114"above thetopofthecase, seeFig. 4b.
TO fiT (NJ)$ OF CASE
.t
,"
Ll
CLEAT
HINGE
CASE BACK
~ FRONT TRAY LEDGE SECOND: MITER FRONT UbG£ TO FIT INSIDE CASE
TltAY_/ --., _ I""" . ILlDGE CASt SIJ)E--" ;
No. 63
LID FRAME
•
Tbe basic case is complete at tbis point. Next, YOucan build the lid. Beein 0"'· by cu tling the lid front and back pieces (I) l:jl~"wide and the same length as lhe case (16"), see Fig. 5.Then cut two lid ends(J) 3" wide and to length to match the case (8'~. BOX JOJ.l(lS. Wi!h the pieces cut to size, you can cut the box joints. Once again. start from the bottom edges. see F'1g. 5. Note: Only two slots are cui in the front/back pieces so there's room to bevel the top edges later, refer to Fig. 6. CUT O,FFANGus. After the box joints are complete, cut a 45' angle off the top comers of the end pieces 0), see Fig. S. To do this. make the cutso the angle aligns with the top outside comer otthe second pin. see Fig. Sa. ClITOFFFRONT/IlACJ(. Next. dry assemble tile lid pieces. Where the angled comer you just cut 00 the end piece meets the front piece. make a mark, see Fig. 6.111eo rip the front/back pieces at22lfl· so the Sh01'tpoinl of the angle ends at the mark. ASsEMBLY. Now glue thesefour lid pieces together. To hold them square. Iplaced them on the.assembled case. see Fig. 7.
r-5~---------------------------------------------------'
1.
UD FRONT/BACK (CUTTWO)
All STOCK 'I.. "THICK
,-------------------------,
1~ .."
I'i'\
0
ROUGH
1------------1.NOTE:
Q.
C
UD ENDS
o
·1f
COTTO
UOEND
MAtCH CASE
-r
FRONT/lACK PIKES r_-r,,-IC_UT_TW_O_:.I.....,,-ry-FT" STARTWmI A PiN. THEN cur TWO SLOTS 3·
0
CUT45' ~L£ ....,~-TOAUGN
CUT45"
ANGL£S OFF
WITH COftNrR
CORNERS
CUlTO MATCH CASE
7
MARKWHERi IND MflTS fRONT/BACK. THEN RIPUD fRONT/BACK
AT22.,.,'
UD
CLAMPING
FRONT/BACK
LID TOP
•
•
Once the lldframeassembly is dry, you can cui the top pieces. The top ismade outoftwo angled sides (K) and one lid top (L). ANGI,.EDS!l)J;:S.1 started bycultingthetwo angled sides (K), see Fig. 8. Rip one edge of each piece at a 22lf'l angle to a rough width of 3lfl".To determine the final width. hold the piece in place and mark ihe point where the angled comer on the lid end (I) meets the angled side piece (K). Now rip the pieces to width (at 22V:0 on the pencil mark and cut them to length. TOP. Once ihe angled pieces are glued down, the top piece (L) fils in like a keystone, see Fig. 9. Firstcut one edge at 221't. Then sneak upon theother edge untilitfits, BACKING. Next, I reinforced ihe topwith a backing piece ("1), see Fig. 10. To make this piece, firstcutit to length to fitinside the lid. Then rip the edges at 45' and glue it in. HINGe ClE'\T. To provide a screwing surface for the hinge, Imounted a hioge cleat (N) on the back insideofthe lid. seeFig. 10. Rip one edge at 45', and cut the other edge flush with the bottom of the lid. see Fig. lOa. CHA\fFER. Wilh the cleat glued in. rout a chamfer around the i"si4e'ellge of the lid front and ends to make the lid fit easier on the case, You may also have to bevel the outside of the tray ledges, refer to Fig. 4b.
No. 63
8
• ANGLED
WASn
END VIEW
9
L
SIDE
22~'
LID TOP
UVEL
SECOND: CUT 22'h"
'EVl1SO
2'\0'
W10TH
MA'~ES ANGLE ONEND
lEVa. ~r~...
®
ANGLED SIDES
NOTE: CUTUD TOP TO
,n
OPfN~NG BnwtE'N ANGlED SIDES
®
10
UD HINGE CLEAT
CUT OFF FWSH WITH
Q.
ct:;t==='=O=TT",O.,M,::Of=U::D=::j \
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® UD HINGE CLfAT
"'.
(NAMEIR
®
TOP SACKING
".--
NOTE:
""--~
LtD UPSIDE
®
TOP BACKING
4S' ANGLE
"
DOWN
Wooosmith
17
HINGE Afterthe lid is completed. it's attached to the case with a piano hinge. CUTIlNG TI:IESINGE. Istarted by cutting a 1Vlslt·widepiano hinge to length. To determine the length, three things should beconsidered: the length mustbeshonerthan the case; both ends should be cut at knuckle joint lines; and the distance from the end of the hinge to the first screw hole should be uniform on both ends. In my case. I cut the hinge 13"long. see Fig. 11. mNGE~IORl1SE. Aftercuttingthe hinge to length, you can cut a matching mortise in
11
I-.J
me lid. Begin by laying out themortiseso it's centered on the back of the lid. Irouted the mortise with a straighl bil on the router table, see Fig. 11. Raise the bit so the height of the bit equals the thickness of the hinge. seeFig. 11a. To routthemortise, move the lid back and forth over the bit routing completely through the lid back (I) and the hinge cleat (N). r stopped short of Ute end lines and cleaned up to the lines using a chisel. After the mortise is complete. you ~'a11 mount the piano hinge. see box at right.
Ot$TANCf FROM SCREW HOLEto (ND OF HINGE SHOULD
AFTER. ROUTlHO,
aEUNIFORM
a,
Cl£AN UP TO
AT 80TH
LAYOUTUNf
ENOS
HINGE MOUNTING To mount tile hinge, Istarted by Sllrewiug one hinge leaf to the mortise in the lid. Then. stick a narrow strip of doublesided carpet !ape on Ilte top back edge of the case. Now. set the lid on top of the case so it's in the dosed position. Next, carefully open the lid a little ways, reach inside, and press the binge leaf down tight against the carpet tape. Then open the lid all the way and put a block of wood under the lid 10support it. Now driU holes for the hinge screws by driUing through the holes in the hinge leaf and righl on through the carpet tape. seedrawing. Fil\ally. remove the!ape and screw the leaf down tight. ¥.n.
WRHCtiJHL
J.
PIANO HINGE
DRilL 8IT
CARm
TAPE
CUT HINGE
ATKNUCKU JOlNT UNE
CASE
(
-. ,
Uo
TRAY ,.------,
Sometimes irs handy
After the pieces are CUl to to just carry a tray size. you can cut the box joints. The procefilled with tools in- dure is the same as the case - start at the stead ofa whole tool- bottom of each piece and work up. box. So I included a Theil rip the pieces to width so you end up removable tool tray. with four full pins on the front/back pieces. CUT PI ECES. To BO'ITOM. Next, cut a groove for Ute botmake the tool tray. tom on all the pieces. Then cut the plywood '---l start by cutting a tray tray bottom (R) to fit between the grooves. front and back (both P) and two ends (Q) IISSEMB~Y.The procedureforassembting from V4" stock to a rough width of 2", see the tray is the same as the case. Be sure to Fig. 12. To determine the le,ngtb of these plug the holes made by the bottom groove. pieces, measure the distance between the RANDLS.To make the tray handle (S). I tray ledgesioside the toolbox and then sub- used 1Il" stock. First, cut the handle to a tract V's" (so the tray fits comfortably). finished width ofilf.!", see Fig. 12.'Illen cut BOX JOINTS.
13
12 I--....Jv•• ..L
"" '>!;J TRAY FRONT / BACK
(CUT IWO)
it to length to fit inside the tray. To form the grip, first drill Lwo1"holes 1" down from the top edge. see Fig. 12. Then cut between the holes with a sabre saw. Now, cut angled sections out 01 the top COmers of the handle. see Fig. 12. Then round over the inside of the grip and the LOp edges with a V." round-over bit. see Fig. 13a, AITACII IIJ\NDL£. After the edges are rounded, T glued the handle to Ute inside bottom of the tray, see Fig. 13. To strengthen thejoint, drill a Va" hole through the end of the liay and into the handle, see Fig. 13b. Then glue a short length of 14i" dowel into Ute hole and trim itnush.
a,
GLUEHANDl£ TO BOTrOM
"'T ,;-.' •2"
'I'l" CENTtR HANOU: ON TRAY
.OTTO~jWA$" GROOV£
Ih· DEEP
b.
'- __
18
Woodsmith
GLUEINPWG;
THeN CUTOFF FlUSH
No. 63
HANDLE The last part to make is the handle (0) and the two blocks that hold the handle to the lid. HANDLE BLANK.
• •
Start by laminating a blank from three pieces of ~" stock, see Fig.l4. Cuttbe three pieees3" wideand 6" long. Then cut one of the pieces in half. Now tum the two half pieces so the grain runs alright angles to Ihe6"·long pieces and "sandwich" (glue) the half pieces between the long pieces. After the glue dries, rip the blank down to 2" wide for the handle and save the waste piece/or the pivot blocks. Before cutting the shape ofthe handle, I trimmed the blank to 5\12" long and rounded over the bottom edges with a 'Va" round-over bit, see Fig. l~. INSIDE Cln·OUT. Next, to form the inside corners of the handle, drill two :¥ol"-dia. holes, llla"from each end, see Fig. IS. Then layout thelllsideedges oCtbe handle. Before cutting out the handle, Idrilled %2"·dia. boles in the ends of the handle to hold pivot pins, see Fig. 153. CUTOUT SRAPE. Next, cut out the inside edgesoftliehandlewith a band saw, sec Fig. 16.To finish the shape, trim 45' angles off the top comers. ROUND OVER EDGES. To make the handle morecomfortable to grip, Irounded overthe top edge and the inside edges, see Fjg.17. PIVOT BLOCKS. After the handle is complete, Imade the pivot blocks from the strip cut off the handle blank. Start by cutting the strip:v,," wide, and then cut 45' angles off the top comers, see Fig. 18. Next, drill two pilot holes near each end to accept the mounting screws. Then cut the lll.l"long pivot blocks offboth ends of the strip. PfNS, The handle is held to the pivot blocks with pinsmadefrom No.sscrews. To do this, start by drilling a %2"·dia. hole centered on the inside end of each pivot block. see Fig. t~.Next, tighten a No.6 x :V," screw into the hole leaving \I," of the shankshowing. Thenculoffthescrew head. MOtlNTlNG 11U! HANDLE. To mount the handle, first center the handle and pivot blocks on the topofthe toolbox. Leave about V16" between the handle and each block to prevent binding, see Fig. ZOa. Now, to locate the screw holes, tip the blocks on their sides and draw lines down from the two holes in the blocks onto the lid, see Fig. 20. After drilling shank holes at these points, tighten the pivot blocks down to the lid with roundhead wood screws, CATCH. To complete the toolbox, 1 centered a catch on the front of the toolbox and screwed it down, see Fig. 21. Then file off the screws on the inside of the lid.
No. 63
14
SECOND:
FIRST:CUT'lHREE ,,
T
,
~
,
.'
\
, @
6"
CUT ONE PIECE IN HALf
'.-----'
PIECES TO SJzr
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I
11-3·-1 B ,
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J
I
•
I
I I·
OURTH • RIPOFF 2"
HANDLE PIECES V4" THICK
WIDEHANDlf
At15TOCK
8LANK
BOX HANDLE
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a, TODRIU HOLE AT 90', HOLD
BLANK FLAT ON DRill PRE.S5 WITHClAI.\P
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FOft SMEJ'Y,
17 4$' ANGLE
EDGES
18
NOTE:
PIVOT
SOfTEN All fDGES
BLOCKS
OF PIVOT BLOCKS
AND HAND1.E
NOTE: CUT 45' ANGLES OFF COftNERS
21
BOX CATCH CENTttlCA1CH ON TOOLBOX
FILE Off SClEWS fLUSH wn'H INSIDE' OF ue
o UD
Woodsmirh
19
WOODWORKING
TECHNIQUE
Joinery: Half Laps T
here's a common belief that cutting a hall lap is easy, certainly much easier than cutting a mortise and tenon joint But you're actually cutUnl( IwOtenone to form a half lap (or end lapas it's called when itjoin$ the ends of two boards), The tenons you're cutting are bare-faced tenons, That is, there's only one shoulderthe other face is "bare" (no shoulder). And. just as with tenons, there are two ways to go about cutting a half lap. One method is to use a dado blade to make multiple passes on the end ota workpiece, see below. The other method involves two CUIS:a shoulder cut. and then aface cut that's made with the aid of a tenon jig, see opposite page. Which iseasier?Which producesa better joint?The quality of the joint is based on two things: its ability to hold together under stress, and its overall appearance.
The second method (using the tenon jig) wins in both cases. The adjoining faces of the half laps are much smoother using this method. The smooth surfaces provide a stronger glue joint, and produce a cleaner appearance around the edges of the joint But the other method (making multiple passes over a dado blade) has. faster set-up time. And its quality is nOIall that bad. Both methods begin by cutting the workpieces to size. Typically you're cutting stiles (vertical pieces) and rails (horizontal pieces). Rip all the pieces to 6naJ widthfirst, Then, cut them 10 length. Then no mailer what method you use, youll also need some test pieces. The object is to cut two half laps in the test pieces that are exactly one-half the thickness of the stock. \Vith both methods, this is achieved through trial and error - by gradually sneaking up on the cuts on the test pieces.
a good lap jOint, tile "'tta/uwe to be exactly o'IJ!-ltalf lite thickneS8 of the 8t{)ck,and lite fa.cos slunt/d iJ
MULTIPLE PASS METHOD • One of the fastest ways to set up for cutUnghalflap joints is to make multiple passes oyer a dado blade. SET RIP FENCE. To set up the cut. mount a dado blade in the saw. Then I use the rip fence as a stOplOestablish theposition oCthe shoulder on the workpiece. Use one of the mating pieces as a gauge to adjust the fence until the edge of the workpiece is aJigned with the outside edge of the dado blade. see Fig. 1. SETVIiP11l OF cur. Next, set the heightof the dado blade so it'sa tittle 1688 than balflbe thickness of the workpiece.
MUI;nPIJl PA<;SF_~.Now
irs a matter of making test cuts to sneak up on the final depth of cut. While guiding the test piece with the mltergauge, make thefirstcutwith theend of the piece against the rip fenee. see rig. 2. This establishes the shoulder. Then continue 10 remove the rest of the material out to the end of the piece. QUAllIY OF cur. The only problem is the quality of the cut surface. Theoutside blades on most stack dado sets have beveled teeth. The points of these teeth CUIa hair deeper than the square-cut teeth on the chipper blades, see Fig. 2. The result is that you get
a series of small V·shaped kerfs on the face ofthc cuts that show on the edges. How do you gel rid of the V-cuts? Alter making the initial passes,Ihold the cut face over the dado blade and slide it rigbtto left, while moving it forward and back v.ith the aid of the milergaUJ(e. see Fig. 3.The points of the beveled teeth "plane" down the surface so it's smooth. To complete the joint_make passeson the ends of two test pieces and check the fit.Then gradually raise the blade (deepen' ing the cut) until the outside surfaces of the pieces are flUSh.see fiR. 4.
.-------:7""-,.,..---,
CH[CKrIT enW£lN CUTS UNTIL FWSH
'1.$lCUT
INTlaMfDtATf
----
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GAUGE AND USf f[NC(AS STOP
FJNA1 CUT
Mount a dado blade and Whe" a dtuto set Toremovethe V-cut3,slide MakerepeaUdpa8811Sover 1 86tUlAfettce a stop. Use 2 the bevel teeth Ut8 3 the 1Uo"kpiece right and 4 ilIA) ella of two test pieces. a 1Uorlcpi£ce10 set the distance side blades make small V'Mlts left over blade1Uhilepushillg it Theil check Ulilfit ""tiltJliI outi8 IUled,
bet1UeenUwfenu and blade.
20
Ott
intheface ofUw hal/lap.
..
Old·
fonoarda,uf,back. Woodsmith
8ide surfaces arej!lIsh.
No. 63
CUnlNG
•
•
END LAPS WITH A TENON JIG
• TIle best way to get smooth surfaces on the mating faces of an end lap joint is to use a tenon jig. This not only produces a joint with a better appearance, but the smooth faces provide a stronger gluing surface. SHOlILDER ClJI'. To cut anend lap with this method, first you have to make a shoulder cut. This sets the length of thejointfrom the end oithe workpiece to the shoulder line. To make the shoulder cut on the stiles. use a rail to settherip fence asa stop. Setthe fence so the distancebetween the fence and the outside edge of the blade equals the width of the rail, seeFig. 5. Next, I raise the blade so it's about ),Iu;" less than llalf the thickness of the stock. (l
I,
set up the cut like this so the points of the blade don't cut too deep into the workpiece, refer to Fig. 5. Since it's easy to set the cut too deep, I set the initial cuts too shallow and clean up the cut later.) Now make a shoulder cut in all the rails
and stiles. And also make shoulder cuts in a couple of test pieces. TENON JIG. TIle face cut is made with the aid of a teoon jig. First, raise the blade so it cuts into theshouldercut,see Fig. 6. Isetthe blade a hair less than the top surface of the shoulder cut so the points 01 the teeth don't make a V-cut in the shoulder. Now mount a test piece in the jig, see Fig. 7. Adjust the rip fenceso the jig is inposition
I
I
. \
FENCE
l6£toW
$HOULO£R
II jI
'1'1I\ •I
Ii
KtJ:P nETH
D
to make a face cut that's a little more than one-half the thickness of the stock, Then I sneak up on this settin~. To check the progress, you have to make the same cut in two test pieces, and then hold them together. Gradually sneak up onthe fit, moving the fence (and jig) a hair at a time until the outside surfacesof the two test pieces arellush, refer to Fig. 4. When the testpiecesfit, make the face cuts on the stiles and rails. (U.'MOVECORNER.Sincetheinitialsettiogs on both the shouldercut and the fare cut are less than the length and height of the end lap, there will be a little corner at the shoulder of the end lap. Use a sharp chisel to cut this corner out, see FIg. 8. FIRST" ....
HOLO WORKPIECE TIGHT A_GAINST TtNONJIG
DOWN ON--,.<... SHOULDER
I
lU ';
l~s,~~, L
,/
TO CENTER OF SAW K£ItF
SECOND: CUTour
NOTE: KtfP CHfSEt
I
sorroa FLAT
,---WASTE
AGAINST FACE
,
r
Set fence to cut should",' For the face set the Hold tJl6 1IJol'k,Jiecein the TJI6 seUinU8 described: in 5 equal to lo,'dth of ,-ail. Set 6 height of the blade so fl•• 7 te>«))~jig. Tilen grad,w.llll 8 Steps 5 and 61oo'v6aSIII.aU blade Iwight 1/16'ieee tJIIJ" )lIJlf highest paint nu« half- move the fence ""til the blade eon,er 1:,~tll6siloulder flwt'8re· Cllt,
([bollt
tite tJlukilwss oftltestock.
TENON CUnlNG • Thejig Iuse to make the face cut for an end lap is the same one used for culling tenons, Its whole purpose is to hold the workpiece vertical as it's guided through the blade. The jig is designed to straddle the rip fence. This holds it.D position and also providesawayloadjustitsposition in relation to Ule blade, CIJI'PlECES. The jig consists of two faces held together with crosspieces. There'salso avertical stop at the end of the jig. To make the jig, first rip two cross pieces to width to match the thickness of your rip fence, This width is fairly critical be· cause you want a good friction fit agalnst the fence when the face pieces are added. if the pieces are a hair too
No. 63
wa:g into the shmuel",' Cllt.
clds halfthe
thitkne;;.~.
mooed. with 0. ""isel.
JIG narrow, the jig will bind on the
ripfence.
and test tile fit over the fence. Then add shims if necessary, VIlJmCALSTOP. 'Vhen tltejig slides easily but firmly. add a vertical stop On the back end.
If the cross pieces are too wide, thejigwill be looseon the fence. 111eo irs difficult to adjust when sneaking up on the face cut. TENON CunlNGJIO SlUMS. How do you get it perf(!Ct?I Uyto getthe pieces righton the money. J;lutifl'moff,ltryto err by making them tOO narrow. Then 1 shim out With paper or old piayingcards. ADO FACES. Aner cutting the cross pieces, cut the face pieces about 6" by JIG SHOUlD 8£ fRictiON m 12". Screw all these OVEtt FtNCE pieces together
Woodsmith
As this stop is added, make sure it's vlJrlictt/ to the saw table. The only other caution is to make sure the screws are above the path of the bJade.
NOTE: CUT ALL PIECESFROM ¥....PLYWOOD
• s
CROSS PI(C[S
VERTICAL STOP MUST Be 90' C)
MATCH FENCE
TOTA811
THICI(NESS
LO(AtE SCREWS ABOVE 8LADEPATH
FACE PIECE
21
TECHNIQUE
WOODWORKING
Resawing S
imply put, resawing is cutting thick boards into thinner boards. While the methods may differ, resawing can be done on atable saw ora band saw (see boxbelow), TABLE SAW, If the piece is less than 2" wide. it can be cut in one pass on a table saw with a rip blade. However, if the piece is wider than 2", you will have to cut it from both sides. (Note: \Vith a 10" blade, the maximum depth of cut is about 3". This means the stock can't be wider than 6",) THEFENeJ>, The first step in resawing is to mount a high fence on the table saw. Iuse a 6" high auxiliary fence that is screwed to the rip fence, see Fig. L This fence helps prevenrthe stock from tilting and makes il easier 10 steady the piece as i~s being cut. ROUGH cur, After I'veattached the high fence to the rip fence, I resaw in two steps. First, I raise the blade 11-2"above the table
1
2
SCREWAUXlUARY fENCE T\ RJ':..:E.'Nct:
Notes, page 13), or you can make a final cleaning passon the tabJesaw.seeStep 5. To makethe finalpasson thetablesaw.I switch to a SO-toothcombination blade, Before making the cui, set up a featherboard SO it'siustahead of the blade, see Fig. 3.Thefeatherboard will keep the stock tight against the fence. Now adiust the fence to trim to the final thickness. Then raise the blade V16" higher than the mid point of the piece so that lbe finish cuts can be completed intwo passes, \Vhen you're making the final cuts, push the piece through with steady pressure and without hesitating. This will help prevent burning and leaves a smoother .finishon the face. After the first pass has been made, Uip the piece and make the final cut, Finally, if there are still any burns 01' saw marks,l remove them with a scraper.
and set the saw fence to resaw the stock V16" thicker than the final thickness Iwant. Note:Jfyou'recutUog through dense lurnber, you may to have reduce the heigh Iof your firstcut, Usinga push stick, feed thestock through the blade while holding it tighl against the fence, see Fig. 1. Then tum the piece over and make a second pass on the opposite edge, seeSteps 1 and 2 in Fig. 2. Try to cut through the stock in as few passes as possible, If the piece requires more than two cuts, raise the blade in 1" increments and CUlthe piece on both edges before raising the blade again, see Step 3. FlNlSHTHICKNES$. After cutting thepiece in balf (Step 4), you have a couple of options to get a smoother finish and remove any bum marks. You can hand plane the piece down (J) a finished thickness (see Shop fl,;IP P1Et£ AND MAKE THE
CqMBINATtQN
SlCOND PASS
1~ 2
•
3
8L.AJ)E USEO FOR~
ANAL CUTS
3
4
5
/
r·
SET BLAD. H"GHT ~o ) / '\5.lEAH UP THE FACE~
/
~" IN!)!!o,S.'!'S ....·"""'"'1
BAND SAW METHOD • Ifpossible, I prefer to resaw on a band saw.There's less kerf waste and no danger of kickback, Before cutting, make sure your hand saw is tuned up. The blade sbould be sharp and .set 90- to the table. (For more On setting up a band saw. see Woodsmith,No, 51.) Begin by mounting the widest blade your sawwill take, To keep the blade from bOwing,setthe blade guides so they are slightly above the stock. finally, check that the blade is tensioned properly. REs.~W,GUll)E. There's a tendency for the blade on a band $W to drift (pull to one side) while resawing. To compensateforthisand to haveagauge
22
for consistent cuts, I use a simple shop-made guide as a fence, see Fig. 1. (Note: If the blade C01!tinWlUy drifts or if you're resowing a number of long boards, set up an angled
clamp the guide to the table. With the guide in place, you can begin cutrtng. Push the boardtightagainsttheguide, U you see the piece start to drill off the line, simply swing the
tail end of the piece in that direction and continue to push the .stock through the blade. The radius on the end of the guide allows you to swing the piecewithoutbinding.
r1~~~~~~~~
see If'ood&mWI, No, 51.) if-...: fence. For more information, Theguidelorreeawingshort I \. piecesismadefromascrap2x4 clamped on edge on the band sawtable.Cutaslightradiuson the end of the 2x4, see detail. ClTI'UN£. Before resawing, mark a cut line on the edge of the workpiece, with a pencil and a combination square. I :;; . MAKlNGTHEClTI'. Now. line ~~ up the mark with the band saw I_!:'ov, blade. Move the guide against I'U one side of the board, then FOR DfU'"
17 _
Woodsmi[h
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.'~~"~~!D£
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CUT
a.
SUGHT
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._
V
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/~
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"
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GUID£
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Na.63
-
COMMENTS
AND
QUESTIONS
Talking Shop THIN LUMBER
-
• Two of the projects in this issue, the Tool Box and the Chisel Case, use thin (Y4") stock. That's something that you're not likely to find at your local lumberyard. 1lllCKNESS PtANER.11!e easiest solution is to use a thickness planer to surface the lumber to exactly the tllickness you want. Okay. let's be realistic. The cost of a planer is difficult {or most home-shop woodworkers to justify - with one exception. A few years ago, ~yobi introduced a tight-weight 10" pI-but don'twanltospendthousandsof dollars. ()1'H)1RMtm'lOD$. Although a thickness planer is a great machine to havela a shop,formany home woodworkers the extra
$400 is still a little beyond their shop budget. So on page 13, we've described a couple of inexpensive techniques{or"plarting" resawn lumber. One ofthemethods uses a traditional hand plane.lhe other is a low-tech jig that employs a router to do all the planing, If hand planing seems like too much work. there's a simple alternative - get someone else to do it. \Ve checked around and found that some local cabinet or millwork shops will plane your stock down to V4" or lesss, The going rate for shop time in our area isabout$30to $40 per hour, and most shops have a minimum chargeofS15 to $20.
A thfchneJlspiamer'i$ one oJthe easiest method» [or plMlinu
is the AP·10
lsunber ',nooth and
finish dmQII to as thin as 1/$' thick on l(J'·wide stock,
to a con·
sistemthicklress. Piduredhere
ing hardwoods. It's actually a measure of vol"m-¬ . (For more information on board feel refer to Woodi,..",itl1 No. 61). The standard practice, when figuring board feet, is that any thickness less than 1" is still Iigured asifitwerea full1" thick. When dealing with thin lumber, Uliscall get a little confusing. It means that a V.1"·thick board could be listed as having the same number of board feet /lOlwd feet, as a ~4··thick board that's the Note: Board feet is the standard unit of measure when buy- same width and length - even 8UY1NGTHIN UIM8ER.The
Jinal alternative is to buy thin lumber through the mail which can be expensive. (For a list oj mail order sources for thin lumber, see page 24.) Before placing an order. you should know a couple things about how thin lumber is usually specified, SQUARE~llErVS. BOARD rssr. First, lumber under ~4"thick is usually sold in square feet. not
pla'le,' f,"om
Ryobi. It produce» a· smooth.
though the V." board actually has less ~'017'meof lumber in it.
To eliminate the confusion. the standard practice is to list thin lumber as a surface dimension (square (ee!). rather Ihan board feet WIDTHS AND
LENGTHS.
Another thing should be noted about thin lumber. It's oftensold only in random widths and lengths. So you should order extra lumber to allow for possible edge·gluing, and to compensate for short pieces.
GLUE SHELF LIFE • r8 there a short siUJ/f lifefor
Doyle, of Franklin's Chemical glue like there is for some fin· Research Lab. "We advertise a is/rtSsueho» s/rel/(u;? minimum of one ,ear. That Wayne Boyd would be from the time the conDenver, Colorado sumer buys it, So, in reality. by the time tile glue is used itcould Since we use Titebond brand be 18 months or more from the glue most of the time in the date of manufacture. lVoorhmith shop. I decided to That is subject to storage concall Franklin Chemical. theman- ditions. Hightemperatureshortufacturer oiTitebond, to see if I ens storage tile. If it's frozen and could lind the answer. thawed 10 or 12 times, that "S)lelf life On Titebond and would shorten it. Butlight(ultra· most of the otheryellow glues is violet rays) doesn't have a negavague,' explained Dennis tive effect Onit.'
No. 63
ROIVdoyou know ita bottleof glue may havereactied its timit? -Ii the glue starts to thicken or get very grabby, that's usually indicative of the [act irs on its way out, It won't change color." Will it separate ifit's bad? "No. Tf there is a little bit of liquid separation at the top or a dark line around the top. it can be stirred back together. As long as you can stir it back in so it looks good, it is good." In the ran of 1988, Franklin Chemical began putting expira-
Woodsmirh
tion dates 011 all bottles of Titebond (exceplgallons). If a glue bottle isn't labelled, you should date it yourself - especially if you're buying a large quantity. After I've had a bottle Jor a year. I start to get suspicious, Also, it's best to buy from a dealer who sells a lot of glue. You'll have a better chance of getting afresher stock of glue. One other thing. I try to keep the lid or cap on Utebottle to prevent the glue from getting a skim layer.
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SUPPLIES
PROJECT
Sources THIN LUMBER There are several sources for thin lumber and we have listed a fewofthematthe right, Lookfor the code TL after !be address. TOOLBOX TIle hardware that we used on the Toolbox isavallable through Woodsmith Project Supplies or from one of the catalog sources listed at the right (see codeTB). We are also offering all the thin lumber needed to build the Toolbox. TIle lumber is all kilndried hard maple. except the plywood which is IA" birch. All of the maple has been suo lace sanded on both sides andall the edges are cut square. Since tbe lumber is cut to special specifications. we are ineluding a new cutting diagram.
Toolbox Hardware .763·100Toolbox KiL. $5.95 (1) 1V!6" x 13" Brass Piano Fnngewith Brass Screws. (1) Box Catch wi!b Screws. (6) #6 x :y." Rh BrassScrews.
Toolbox Thin Stock • 763·200TIlin Stock .. $34.95 (12.)5" x 17"Pieces, 1A"·thick (2) 3Y'Z"x17"Pieces, W"·(hjck. (2) 8" x 17" Sheets of '4" Birch Plywood.
ORDER INFORMATION BY MAIL To order by mail. use the form on the protective cover of this issue or write your order on a piece ofpaper, andsend it with your check or money order (please include$1.50 shipping charge with each order). lA. residents add 4% sales tax. Send order to: \Voodsmitb ProjeclSuppUes P.O. 80,,1.0350 Des "foines, IA50306
BY PHONE For Caster service use our Toll Free order line. Phone orders can be placed Mon. thru Fri., 8:30 ·4:30 CST. Before you call please fiIIout the order form completely, VJSA or MC orders only.
1-800-444-7002 AU"", ~ (06 """"./or dIllivery
Note; PriWl8u,bje~J to Cli«tlQ6
uft"" 1111811
CATALOGS TIUJ folwlui'YIg
eo,Upa91ft'$!Vlt'6
Si1}l-tW)' ha.rdt{l(1r6 or 81(.ppliea.
Pka.6 re!er to tlt.'r catalog lDhe" OJv/mtlg.
Albert Constantine 2050 Eastchester Rd. BrOIL",NY 10461 TL, T8
Bob .Morgan Woodwor!Qng 1123 Bardstown Rd. Louisville, KY 40204 TL Craftsman Wood Service 1735 \V. Cortland cc Addison.lL60101 TL, TB The Woodworkers' Store 21801 Industrial Boulevard Rogers. MN 55374 TL,TB
PROJECT SUPPLY UPDATE Woodsmith Project Supplies is now offering new hardware options for the two heirloom projects shown here.
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BLANKET CHEST
UNGERIE DRESSER
Woodsmith Project Supplies now has hardware for the Blanket Chest that we featured in Woodsmitk No. 32. The kits include your choice of pulls (see photo) and. all the necessary hardware for the project ·732·100 Kit BCA $59.95 ·732·200 Kit BGB S59.95 ·732·300 Kit BCC SS9.9S All of the above kits include: (2) 2" x 3" Solid Brass Hinges (1) Full Mortise Chest Lock (1) Satin Brass Lid Support This lid support features an adjustable tensioning rod that lets you fine tune the amount of resistancenecessarytokeepthe lid in position, It also keeps the lid from slamming shut. If you would like to purchase either the lid supporter the pulls individually. specify the followingorder numbers: .732·104 Lid Support. $22.95 ·732·101 Pull BeA. $4.95 ea. ·732·201 Pull BCB. $4.95 ea. ·464· 753 Pull sec. $4.95 ea.
Woodsmith Project Supplies also hasthree hardware kits for the Lingerie Dresser in Wood, smith No. 53. Each kit contains your choice otdrawer pulls (see photo) and all the hardware to complete the project. ·753·110 Kit LOA 539.95 .753·120 Kit LOB $39.95 .753·130 Kit WC $24.95 Allthree ofthese kitsalsocontain the following: (7) plastic retaining buttons (used for the drawer stops). (20) feel of self·adhering plastic glide strip for the drawer slides, If you need extra parts or would like to use this hardware 00 another project, we are offer· ing the drawer pulls and the glide strip individually. (The glide strip comes in 10 foot lengths only.) ·753·112GlideStrip ..... $4.95 .464-753 PuliLDA. $4.95 ea. ·464-722 Pull LDB. $4.95 ea. ·753·13i Pull LOC. $1.25 ea.
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Woodsmith
No. 63
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