VOL. 15
NOTES FROM THE SHOP
NO. 86
No. 86
April, 1993
Edilor Don~lklB. Peschke Managing Editor Douglas L. Hicks Assistant Editors James NI. Dolan Philip A. Totten JonathAn Creative Director
GltrbiSOIi
"red Kn\Iicek.
AJ11:>il'cctOJ' RodStoakes
Senior tllusuators Oavid Krcyling Chris GlowacJd
Illustrators Dirkver Steeg
Cjnda !Shnmbaugh
Pholographer C",yola EnglAnd
Design DIR!CI()t Ken k\luukel Senior Designer .hl'n Hale Svee Designer Kent \Velsh Shop Manager Steve CUrtis
Circulation Director Subscription i\1anager Cil'cnlalionAnalyst Newsstand Salas
Liz- Bredeson San~y Baurn Rod Cain Kent.~ 8uckton
PUBLISIiING SKRVICES
Associate edilOr Gordon C. Caippe Robert H. Whitmer Jllusrraror Mark I:tigdon CORPORATE SERVICES Comroucr Paul E. A<;counling taunt TIl()lIias Bookkeeping Julianne Spears Informalion5Qv.Mgr. Joyce Moore Netwod: Administrator Douglas M. Udster Adfninistl1uive ASSts. Cheryl A Scotl $1'.Graphic AniSI
Cr.,·
Julia r-i.sh Receptionist JeanneJohnson
BuildingMainlenance
Ken Criffilh Archie Kmuse
WOODSIW'l'HMMLOROER Marketing Director Robert Murry Art Dir(:ctor ("'indy Jacksen
CatalogProdUCISM$I'. Bob Baker
Project Supphes linda Jones
TechnicalSuppa" Jdf Janes Sysu::ntS OpCl'1IIOr
I,.indn i\'1orro\v
Rec¢pliOllist 'Ke'i Lee CUsr@~f.ERSERVICE Jennie Enos (Supr.),JellniferMurphy.
loy Johnsen. SaraKeno. Ami Blansaen.
AnnaCox.ChriSLo SfllPPING DEPARThI'ENT Jerry Carson (Supervisor), Gloria Sheehan, DonnieMcVey. Ghuck cartson, Sylviacarey WOODSMJTII STORE Dave tarsen (Manager). WendeU Stooe. VICki 'Edwnrds. Dominic Bazrocco. S_
2
Johnson
EDITOR'S
COLUMN
Sawdust S
hOl'llYafter we approved the working drawings for the Slant Front Desk for this issue, Iasked Steve Curqs. our shop manager, to pickup the lumber. As usually happens at this point. Steve got this eager look in his eyES-lhen disappeared with DIecompany truck. A few hours later Steve reappeared with a load of wood. "Not just any wood." he pointed out. ''Native Iowa Cherry." II was some of the most beautiful cherry I've seen. Ten-foot-long boards. 6" to 1(1' wide. Very little sapwood. Perfect lor the desk. Where did hefind thisgreatwood?Seems he knows a fellowwho runsa little sawmill. And Stevehasaknack for showing upwhen the best Stock comes out oftbe kiln. Okay. Don. but ldorrt live iu lowa.and l dont know 3Jt)' sawye.s. How ranl·get Ill)' projeetsto look as mce as your desk'f Althoul\" the wood is important. what you do WIth it is more important. You can make a lot of good things happen depending.onhowyou match andlayounhepieces, ORA.L\'PA'ITERN,~APPEARANCE. W hen
picking out wood for a project, I look for pieces with similar color and grain patterns. 1 may have to go through a whole stack of boards before Ivechosen the ones to use. Occasionally, I'vefound lWO boards from the same tree -they have the same color and grain I,attem. Ifglued up together, the panel will lave a consistent appearance. When gluing up panels. I try to hide the jointsby matchingthegrain patterns. Nothingwill emphasize 311 edge-gluedjoim more than a piece with straight grain next to a piece with figured grain. CHooSlNG P1ECES. Selectingthe stockis only halfd,e battle. You also have to decide which pieces come out of which boards. I concentrate on the most visible ones. On rhe desk. the appearance of tile door and drawer fronts W3$ the most imponant part ofthe Pfojecl. So I started by laying out those parts on the best wood. There are also sn~111details that really add to a projecl. I wanted Ihe grau. to run /ICI'OSscertam parts of the desk. [;ookattbe g,'ain paltem on the drawers of the pigeonhole'unit (page 24-). All dlrec drawerfrollts were cut fi·OO1 one long section of stock. And D.e pieces for the ogee bracket feet (page 26) are cut so the grain wraps right around .he corner.
Woodsmith
Sometimes it's bard to keep all these pieces ot:ganized when it comes time for assembly. But close attention to details makesthe difference between anice project andarrulybeaunfulpieceoffurnirure. CtmlNG DI.·\GRAMS. This is all good theory, but it gers a little triCkYto present in a cuning diagram in Woodsmish. We dom knew whanhewoed will look like thai VOU bring home from the lumberyard. Wi'ere arerheknots? Sapwood? Warp? So the.cuuiug diagrams are often ideal. You COI1Ie1 gettbe pieces out of the boards specified,Butyouprobablywontwanrto. Cherry. forexample, canbaveasmucb as 3tY'A> sapwood. Soyau'li probablywamroeut thatour and use it foranourer project where color isn't as important. By the lime YOII finish cutting out the maier defects. you won't get all the pieces 0111 of •he boards. So what do you do? I alwa% buy a few extra boards so that r end up with (he pieces 1 want, If 1\11 taking the time 10 build an heirloom project, i~s worth it to spend an extra .wenty or thirty bucks. NEW FACES. Just about the time Sieve waspickil~upthechcrry, Bob Bakcrcamc into my ottice. He was applying for a new position. Catalog Products Manager. Within two minutes I discovered that no. only was he a Woodsmitl: subscriber. but he also bad a small portable sawmill, (l immediately had all kinds ofvisions of'geuing 0uI' OW11cherry logsan.d Bob cuuing them.) Anyway. Bob told me that his sawmill is powered by a puil-sicn Volkswagen engine and could cut through 4-foOIdiameter, 1S. foot4ong 10gii. f figured that anybody who could keep ihar thing going should be able to keep lip wiDlIhe products in eur catalog, Shortly after 60b started work, Cind¥ Jackson. the Art Direcror ofourmail order
[email protected] WoolIslltlllt 8110/),pointed our another ofhis quali6calions- hewas "0I1tstanding Shop Student" when she graduated from highschool with him. And then It occured to me that somehow orother I forgot t9 illtroduceher3S a "New Face" wheu 51le stalted here over a year ago. I(s Cindy's job to lilY o.)t the catalog pag.esand oversee it$ production.
umraThOlilas hasalSQreotntlyjoined 11$ a~an accountant. She will help keep tnlCkof how 1spend Dlemoney. (Sbe'has her work cut oul for her.)_---...
No. 86
A
LOOK
INSIDE
Contents 1Tips & Technjques
1
f4l Six
tips from fellow woodworkers.
. L:U J} Pipe Clamp Spreader. 2) Squaring a Saw Blade. 3) Ustng Biscuits to Glue Breadboard Ends. 4) Routing Large Half-Rounds. Plus Quick Tips.
ICountry Coat Rack 1 Gluing 1-.
Up Panels
,;__.=:....~
1
Coat Rack &,Shelj
page 6
f6l This Coal Rack is like a closet Oil the ~ wall. II holds outdoor items right where they're needed-Ileal' the door.
1
f11l For some projects, solid wood panels are a better choice tha,nplywood.
__J. ~
We discuss the best ways to select wood, match grain, and assemble apanel.
I Shop Notes L...
111411)2) Hidden Tall Fencefor the Router Table. Compartment Behind a
___J
_-"-
Drawer. 3) RouterEdge Guide.
I.'------------'. Slant Front Desk
11161 Solid cherry construction makes this Slant Front Desk an heirioom
I.'--"'----------' Ogee Bracket Feet
11261 make You don't have to be a sculptor to decorative feet. Step-by-step
1 Sharp
Teeth
.I-:.._.!...
project. Inside is (J handy pigeonhole unit with drawers. dividers, and a shelf
instructions reduce
it to a Series ofcave, curve, and smoothing operations.
11301 Aofaclose-up look at the business end crosscut blade. PIllS, how to rec-
...I
ognize a well-sharpened carbide tooth.
I Sources L...
No. 86
11311 Hardware and supplies needed/or the projects this Issue,
___J.
!II
Woodsmith
Slant Front Desk
page 16 3
FRO
M
FELLOW
WOODWORKERS
Tips & Techniques PIPE CLAMP SPREADER • Recently 1 reglued a failed joint in an old dresser. I didn't want to take apart and reglue all the joints - just the tailed one. But holding the joint open and squeezing the glue in at the same time was a problem, 1 didn't have enough bands. To solve this, J carneupwith a
way
(0
apply an even, outward
force Onthe failedjoint. I used a pipe clamp - out not in rhe usual way. FilS!remove both the tail and the head of the clamp from the pipe. Tben reinstall them backwards, on the pipe, see Fig. I. When reinstalling the head,
SQUARING A SAW BLADE
screw the pipe about halfway into the threads, see Fig. la. Then, to provide-a runner for
the jaw on the head, you'll need an extra 8"loog threaded piece of pipe. Screwrhis piece into the remaining threads of the bead. To open the joint, position the clamp near the failed joint, sec
BREADBOARD
Fig. 2.. to..s you turn the handle, you'll beableto precisely control the amount of distance between the head and tail 10 open the joint. (Note: You'll have to slide the handle back and forth duril)geach rum to clear the pipe.) WiUardF. Leii
ENDS & BISCUITS
• Most woodworkers know to expose the sawblade, see Fig. • Over time, end caps (somehowto check if a table saw blade 2. Using an accurate combinatimes called "breadboard ends') is 90" to the table, see Fig. I. Bur lion square, extend the blade of have a tendency to break free the method I use is a little differ- the square below the surface of from glued- up blanks. This is ent, and'alinle more accurate. due to t he expansion SAd eonthe table saw, see Fis. 2. First, adjust the saw blade to Now when checking the saw traction of conflicting wood the height neeessaryto cut your blade, I'm able to use the entire grains glued to each other. Bnr a workpiece. (I make this adjust- surface of tbe saw blade. This method I use with biscuits alment first because the angle of produces a more accurate read- lows the wood to expand and the blade.may change slightly as ing than the other method. contract. see Fig. I. it's raised and lowered.) Adam COlLtt/I Instead of gluing (III the bisThen remove t he insert plate Santa MOllica. (.(llijOmia cuits in, I only glue the inner-
most biscuits (usually one or two). Also, 1 only apply glue along the joint line ncar the
glued·in biscuits. The other biscuits are allowed to Ooal.And, to keep these from shifting, l soaktheminhot water for 15minutes so tbey can swell. Then after they're dry (about an hour), push them into the slots, Keith J.;ukaszek Hamtmmck, Michigall
1
GlI.£CEltTER BISCUIT ONLY --
4
Woodsmith
No. 86
ROU~INGLARGE HALF-ROUNDS
,
I
• Recently I made a new banisterandhandrait foraset ofstairs in my home. I wanted the top edge of both to have a marching rounded profile. But figuringOut a way to shape a large balf-round (in my case, a profile with a 1W' radius) without a shaper was quite a challenge. To do it.Icame upwith atech-
The carriage consists of two support blocks shaped like the front ofa Marine Corps Quonset hur, See Fig. I.These are coonected by stabilize", that ride along the sides of the workpiece. Apair of end caps made ofMasonite prevent the router from slipping off the support blocks. When cutting the notches in nique using a router, a straight the suppon blocks andend caps, Cut them to fit over the workbittand ajig Ibuilt, see photo. hejig has two main sections; piece you're going to rout. You a carnage and a platform. The want tile carriage to fit over the carrialle fits snugly over the workpiece snugly, see Fig. 2. The platform consists of a workpiece, And the platform pivbase plate that's screwed '0 the orson top ofthecamage,
router, see Fig. I. And screwed to the base plate ace two arched pivot blocks that ride on the carriage support blocks. To use the jig, first set the depth of the birso it restson the workpiece, see Fig. 2. Then, staning at one end, rout along the length of the workpiece. (During each pass, hold the rouier at a consistent angle.) Once you've reached the end,
pivot tbe platform slightly and roui back towards the opposite end, see Fig. 2. Repeat this until all the waste has been removed. Afierboth comers have been rounded, clean up the profile with a cabinet scraper and sandpaper. (Witb thejig built, inook me about an hour to complete a six foot length ofhandrail:)
Dave Ender
Rochester, Millllesota
1
2"x4"
CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY EHO CAPS (1/4" MASONfTE,
tN YOUR TIPS Ifyou would liketoshare an original tip or idea,just send i. to Wood$mith,'fipsandTechniques, 2200 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, low\l50312. We will pay (upon publication) $25 to $100. depending on the published length of the up.Please include an explanation. a photo or skereh (we'll draw. newone), and. daytime telephone number, in case we have some questions. SEND
QUICK TIPS MECHANICAL
1\ t
PENCILS
• Next time you're laying out hand-cut dovetails (or any other type of layout work). try using a mechanical drafting pencil insteadofa traditional No.2 pencil or carpenter's pencil. You'll find the thinner JaYOIIl lines a mechanic. I pencil produces are easier to follow if you want to cut tight fittingjoints.
No. 86
The mechanical pencil r use takes lead that is only .5mm in diameter. And whenever it needs to be sharpened, alII have todoispressthepush-buttonfor a fresh tip. You can purchasemechanical drafting pencils with lead refills for under SIO at most office supply stores.
SECURING SETSCREWS
• Thesetscrewsin mytablesaw and router table msens used to vibrate out of position. To keep them from moving, [ removed
and wrapped each one in plumber's tape. Since then. the setscrews have stayed put and the inserts have remained level.
William O. Bartl(ll' Sail Antonio. Texas
Woodsmith
Steven II. HI/I'd),
Mary8lJi1k, Wasltillg/()II
5