eC? 3 : oy SHOP-TESTED CLAMPING TIPS & TECHNIQUES PRES NC TTT Te Ly aa hye} UE Del apes = Sp\S SAU STORAGE 22S %F0-3UIED 5 HARD ule 3 RFECT aie ~~ www.ShopNotes.comIssue 64 July 2002 Pustiswer Donald B, Peschke ‘Torry J. Strohman, Bryan Nelson. ‘Vincent Ancona Cary Christensen Kurt Schultz Roger Reiland ‘Mark Higdon eprron AssociaTE EDITons ART DIRECTOR ‘SR. GRAPHIC DESIGNER SENIOR mLUSTRATORS ‘rte ito Tad eno pr Ken Mii «Spree rap ant Woh Roun mise Pret ‘exe Cre Ht» Shep Crane Cat, Se ‘hs Sone Pappa Crp V2:Deaghal ise rr raga 8 it ‘rope Dg Ch eas» aan Deu Va ‘Se i Edin Bt is” Ssh Sai Dt Sant Ba «Neo Bonu De ‘ag J legs iro. org Aaa oe ‘Sila dle Cie Metney Any Pa Dee fl sonar Paige Rogers Se raphael ‘ty, Hatin Frc © Bly Calcion es Reborn (Gea iat Etete ge el ara Prot Asati ae Wah “pepe ee a et ‘eseettgn tir esterase 25h eee Seah ie See ee “Trage Specials: Tay Clank, Minecti Jomnaan * Nee Media ‘egg Sie ous Web Prine Raat Pry De Di Sua ero intraarea ‘Ady st: Ne De Tee Rp dite Se ‘hs Srp Sn ar, Dba iy pd Reve Cia ‘Sot guano Hin Hos irl Meoaper Dav Lars 6 Aetgr:T Tie ae ‘nour ry Man Gees Kare Mosk Jswer” fer rie a ee en Soba tsar races Se coi tna i a ‘ohana Rote aera ‘Email SbcoNveetcturevtesson : a PRINTED INUS.A. TT Cutoffs ne thing T enjoy about wood: ‘working is being able to use tools, Hand tools or power tools —it doesnt really matter. But the thing 1 like the most is being able to spend some time down in the shop building something that takes a hard-working tool and makesit perform even better thant did before. T guess that’s why T'm so excited about the feature project inthis issue —it'sa shop bul jig for making mor tises with a plunge router Now know making mortises with a plunge router isn't a new idea ‘Woodvworkers have been doing it for years — for good reason. plunge router can be used to cut a perfect, smoothsided mortise in seconds But there's more to making mortises than geting a quick, clean eat. ‘Typically, you want the mortise centered exaaty on the thickness of the workpiece. Then you want to be able to start and stop the mortise pre cisely inthe correct locations. And to top it ll off, you need to be able to ‘Visit other ShopNotee subseribers’ workshops and see photos of the shop prajects they've built. It’s all online at ‘Woodworking Shop Tours on, the ShopNotes web site: wwShopNotes.com We want you to be part of our shop tours! To submit Photos of your favorite ShopNotes projecis or views of ‘your shop, just follow the instruc tions you'l ind on our web site. ‘ShopNotes repeat this process over and over again on several workpicces. ‘This new jig makes it easy to do all of these things and more. For starters, it prevents any side-to-side movement of the router. This means your mortises will be perfectly straight ard parallel with the sides of the workpiece. Asliding platform makes it easy to center the router bit exactly on the thickness of the workpiece, And a couple of easy-to-adjust stops are all it takes to make sure your mortises will be precisely the right Tength, cach and every ime ‘The other thing I like about this jig is how simple and inexpensive it is to build All it tales is a few pieces of plywood, three small clamps, some knobs, and a handful of screws. Ifyou have a plunge router, you'll ‘be amazed at how quickly and accu- rately you can make mortises, Andi you've been thinking about buying a new router, this jig might be the per- fect reason for taking the “plunge.” No. 64Features Wall-Mounted Drill Press Shelf ___6 (Qpen up space on your workbench by moving your aril press {othis handy, val mounted shelé. Then adel an optional storage rack that keeps all your driling accessories close at hand. Fainting a Hammered Finish 12 One ofthe best ways to fish MOF is with paint. Lear how to spray or rol on a “hammered! finish in an afteracn and rll Press Shelf page 6 lve your shop projects a professional-quality look Plunge Router Mortising Jig_____ 14 This shop-madie mortising table lets you rout perfect mortises with a hand-held plunge router. You can set up the table and ‘make identical mortises time after time in loss than a minuto, Hardware Storage Cabinet ______ 22 Al your hardware stored and organized in one spot? With this hardware storage cabinet and a set of plastic storage bins, youl never have to hunt for harcware again. Shop-Built Drawer Dividers ________ 29 Eliminate cluitered drawers forever with a set of custom dividers you can make in your own shop. Cabinet Clamping Tips___________30 Router Mortising Jig Clamping large cabinet projects can be a daunting task — especially if you dont have a lot of clamps. We show you howto clamp a large assembly with just a few clamps. page 14 Departments ikeadere Tips Sse. ae ee, Shop-tested tips to solve common woodworking problems. eoopslall Kae ee a a When it comes to joining pieces of MDF together, a few tos and techniques will ensure quaity results and solid assembses HacNehestiscs. = sea ee ee ad There's an old saying that good things come in small packages. And our festured fool isa perfect example. Soureegtet soe mese ra ee S35) Mail-order sources and supplies to help you complete the projects featured in this issue No. 64 ShopNotes 8fexom source ed a atone Get more wood- working tips free. Wisi us onthe Web at com, auc me nal ory vos TIPS & TECHNIQUES Readers’ Tips witve made and sold the same wood items for fifteen years. In order to speed up the production process, T came up with this ‘method for creating duplicate parts without having to remeasure every "time I need to make a run of a cer- fain part, My trick is to use stop blocks that automaticaly set up the ‘workpiece for the cut I need. I started by making a simple crosscut sled for my table sav. IES nothing more than a piece of ply wood with a fence and a runner ‘Then drilled arow of evenly-spaced holes inthe sled, justin front of the fence, as you seein the drawing. Each stop block i just a lock of wood with a couple of dowel pins slued into holes drilled inthe block (Gee drawing in margin). ‘The hnoless are spaced to match the hole spacing in the sled. Router Circle-Cutting Jig 1 My router didnt come with a circle cutting jg oI decided to make ‘my own out ofa few pieces of hard- ware. T started by making a pivot block from a small piece of wood. A short length of dia. dowels ged info @ hole in the bottom ofthe block to serve asa pivot point. hole died through the center of theblock allowsitto sip over length of dia threaded rod. A couple of nuts and washers secure the bloc to the threaded rod (Gee deta). The end of the rod fits into a hole in the base ofthe roater and is held in place with amachine screw. To use the jig, rst mark out the center ofthe circle you want to cut and drill a shallow, Yitdia. hole for the pivot pin of the jig. Then side the block of the jig along. the 4 Timake a customized stop block for each part that I create, Then T label the slop block so that I know what part itis for and which holes it fits into on the sled. Whenever I need to make more of threaded rod to match the radius of ‘the circle and Jock it in place with ‘the nuts and washers. ‘To rout the circle, drill a starter hole on the edge first, then lower the ShopNotes certain part, I simply grab the par- ticular stop block and mountit to the Se ey er aie pieces will be the same size. Shirley Weismann Rolling Meadows, Ilinois router bit into the hole and rout the circle in multiple passes, lowering the bit!" between each pass. e Jon Keith Wheeling, linois No. 64A Michael Mata, of Plymouth, MA, 1k To avoid tripping over power cords, '& To make a quick rack for small tools or ‘countersinks a magnet into the end of his Emery Aranda, of EICajon, CA, uses eye router bits, Thomas Heyob, of Cornelius, hammer hanale so he doesn't have to bolts and spring-loaded snaps to route OR, uses small sections of ‘egg crate" stick his hand into a pocket full of nails. the cords overhead. light difusers for flourescent light fixture. Thread-Sizing Gauge Tp Siig SOLTS TO DETERMINE tm Over the yeas, Ive managed to Ce Ze s & a Pr ie Ves POERIBEFRERINE accumulate quite an assortment of ruts, bolts, and fasteners of all 83 i > = sizes. Unfortunately, they all seem co —e. & to wind up in one big glass ja, MAIGINOS . « making it almost impossible to find ) ean ‘the size that I need. So I finally Ce decided to sortthem out To identify all the hardware, I made this convenient thread gauge. ES Ne Its just a block of wood with var- ious sizes of bots. The bolts range _Lalso uta couple ofpieces roma onthe wall Now when Irunacross.a in size from #440 to '4'-13. I yardstick and screwed them to the lone bot, machine serew, or nut, n0 marked the thread size right next sides ofthe gauge. A small magnet longer have to try and guess the to each bolt. And in front of each ontheendofthejigholds loosenuts, length or thread size. bolt, I diiled a hole that matches washers, etc. And an eye bolt on the Dana Craig the diameter of the fastener. end allows me to hang the gauge up Norwood, Massachusetts YAROEMCK uso 7 HEEB Ses Howe! thalE rece Your Tape is paging I've always had a problem with tape measures falling off my belt when I move around. The clip on the back of the tape measure just isn't strong encugh So I came up with ‘solution that works much better. Lreplaced the standard clip with a fp from cel phone. (You can pur- chase these at office supply stores.) ‘This clip locks the tape securely in place on my belt but stil allows me to. Temove it quickly and easily. “Altilio Zncchese Conrtice, Ontario Send in Your Shop Ifyou have a unique shop tip, we'd ‘to consider featuring it in one or more of ‘our print or electronic publications We'll pay up to $200 for a tip we pub- Tish, Just write down the tip and mail it ‘to ShopNotes, Attn.: Readers’ Tips, 2200) Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50312. Or FAK it to 5152826741, or send us an email at shopnotes@shopnotes.com. Please include your name, address and daytime phone number in case we have any questions. No. 64 ShopNotes 5Oe Teil and storage rack ree ee tenn fe nose eae iT pe auUca Eton eto ern teary ogy eer ere teens rnc tee ceva {o get your drill press off the top of your bench, without ‘aking up any precious floor space in the shop. But this Se eee moet ra 6 ShopNotes drawer underneath the top offers plenty of storage for Coomera ea enor Ronco cesarean cee reeset as etm nec Coos an ee oon a eae ere none oS rst ce cet eR een Ce nen eee Te Roane ES No. 64 'emoNal sroRace Rack (iB HOLDS RL FREES Bute vison a e DeANER reowpes PRENAPSE Sree FoR oe Br Mor raves, SACRED EES, Tae Deawer mut S EXPLODED VIEW (OVERALL DIMENSIONS: BBW 24D x 40"H, Hardware 7 © (89) #8x2"Fh Woodecrewe Materials + (10) #8x1/K' Fh Woodscrews 2 (6) #82 "Fh Woodecrowe Shelf *@) #8x3Fh Weodecreme A Sides (2) 16x2514-%%MOF J siden 2) 4x23! %moF || 1 Go) ge.tnioh Nachos B Sur-Top (1) 20a 2314-84 MOF Shelve (2) Sax Fle-20!e b| 3 (a) Vata" Lag Screws © Back) 1h 20%e-24 MOF | Shelf Ralls (3) Sirdia.x 20% 41.4) YerWachese D Top Pana (1) 2iiax 23-54 MOF M Hanger trip(l) Sax /-21 Ss abate E top Edging (1) Sexe 78 (h,) Back (1) 21x22" 4Hdod 116) sperenotee F Drawer ortback (2) hn Shi 1 Washers Piet a Note For a complete cuting agra for || <1) stom Pa wiSerme Fi Drawer Bottom ().19x10““a Haba the projec plone tur ta page en) (6° Fa eeonson 1 faleeFrent()— Bientote-saoe —“™ePreen Pe ze 0) Seer Bes wees No. 64 ShopNotes HfSra Shelf ‘There are two main components to this project — the shelf and an optional storage rack, Since the storage rack will it on top of the sheif, Idecidedtobuildtheshetffirst Asyoucansee in Figure 1,theshelf starts out as litle more than an open frame. Whenit’s complete, itll pro- vide a support base forthe top ofthe shelf and also hold a drawer: But for now, you can start by cutting the pieces for this hase to size from 34" MDF (mediumdensity fiberboard). Youll need a par of sides (A), a sub- ‘op (B),andaback (0). Rabbets ~The subtop and back are held in place by rabbets cut on the sides of the base. There's nothing unusual about how these rabbets are made — 1 simply cut them on the table saw using a dado blade. But when laying them out on ‘your workpieces, keep in mind that you wil be making a righthand side and lefthand side. ‘ter cutting the rabbets, you can lay out the profile onthe side pieces, as shown in Figure 1. Then the pro- file can be cut and sanded smooth. ‘As you can see in Figures 1a and 1b, the base is assembled with giue, eke woxiurty woobseKey Saree oe: Sheseo tocar Soe roeack Resiehee Tor view [BA screws, and finish washers. (For more on using screws with MDF, see the article on page 32) Note: If you are painting this project, you might want to paint the pieces before assembling them. And ifyou are using a hammeredsinish ie TEE == HES, SERB oon ShopNotes. 4 te b, SIDEVIEW) 91” ew oussor paint ike I did), you might want to read the article on page 12 frst. ‘Top There's not a whole Tot to ‘making the top ofthe shelf Its just an MDF top panel (D) with some hardwood edging glued around the front and sides (Figure 2), Before adding the edging, hove ‘ever, [set the top panel on my work- bench and positioned my dil press on the panel to mark out the locaton ofthe mounting bots. The drill press should be centered from side to side. And the front of the dill press base should be about an inch away from the front edge of the top panel. Once you've finished marking out all the hole locations, you can go ahead and add the top edging (B). ‘The edging is mitered and giued in place around the top panel. Then the corners are radiused, and the front and side edges are rounded over. ‘Asyou can seein Figure 2, the top is screwed to the base from below. Once this is done, the holes you laid out earlier can be drilled through both the top paneland the subtop. TSP ‘nuts are mounted to the bottom of the sub-op forthe mounting bolts. No. 64‘Youll also need to drill a large hole for the cord near the back of the 6265255 To prevent the edge of this hole from fraying the cord, I rounded over the. inside edge of the hole on both the ‘top and the bottom (Figure 2a). ae ee eee aa washers (Figures 1 and 1a). DRAWER pore Ree amram en ee eee use %{!thick hardwood for the Bier nell cher erat See eae aaa be rabbeted to hold the drawer front erie teee ies B piece to hold a hardboard drawer bottom. Finally, I routed a small roundover on the top, outer edge of After cutting the drawer bottom. (H) to size, the drawer can be assem- bled. I drilled countersunk pilot Be wiceee take glued and screwed them to the drawer front and back, Drawer Slides - The drawer travels on full-extension, metal DRAWER SIDE Gurney ,® / FALSE FRONT REISS) 1° AND eiPES oF DRAWER BACK ay ‘© DRAWER FRONT re BSrOM SW wieoeonRD drawer slides (ee photo below). ‘This allows you to casily reach items at the back of the drawer: And no matter how weighted down the drawer gets with drill bits, it will always open smoothly on the ball-bearing slides. Ifyou've never installed this type of drawer hardware before, don't ‘worry, It’s not dificult, The drawer ShopNotes slides come apart into two pieces One piece is screwed to the side of the base. The other half is screwed to the side of the drawer, as you can see in Figures 3a and 3b. The slides are positioned flush with the bottom edge ofthe drawer. False Front - After the drawer is mounted in the base, you can add the false front (D.Thisisjust a ‘of MOF that has been rounded over fon the front edges. (It also gets painted with the same hammered: finish paint that I used on the base of the shelf) ‘The false front is simply serewed to the front of the drawer. Just make sure that its centered side-to-side in the drawer opening. Drawer Pull - The last step to complete the drawer is to add a drawer pull I just centered this on the front ofthe drawer and serewed itin place (Figures 3 and 3a). «Drawer. The drawer rides on ful extension drawer slides, making it ‘easy to reach itoms at the back:SIDE VIEW | soa weobsete Sra Storage Rack ‘The storage rack is really an optional part of this project — you. don't have to build it at all. But 1 find it t be a handy place to organize all those odd-size acces. sories right next to the drill press, Like the shelf and drawer, the Storage rack is built out of MDE and hardwood. I started by making the two sides (J). These ate cut to size from 34!“thick MDF. Then dadoes arecuton theinside face ofeach side piece to hold the shelves, as shown in Figures 4 and 5. And a rabbet is ccutalong the back edge for the back, In addition to the dadoes for the shelves, youll need to drilla shallow hole above each dado, as shown in. ‘the margin drawing at left. These holes will hold dowels that serve as rails for the shelves, ‘After all the joinery is complete, the upper, front corner of each side is rounded (cadiused), and the outer exiges are rounded over. Shop Note: ‘The back and inside edges are not rounded over. Eh FIGURE Be SHELF RAIL OF bone SPOS cea serafick HARDWOOD) NOTE: cour GurRenrenge px. PRO OSrHeRS Oty 10 OJECT Shelves — ‘There's not much to making the shelves. Each shelf (K) is cut to size from 3/"- thick hardwood. Then the front edges are rounded over. Youll also need to make three shelf rails (1). These rails help to keep small items from vibrating off the shelf when the drill press is, running. 1 simply cut A Guard Rail, Like the guard rail on a highway, these rails to length the shelfrails on this storage rack prevent tems from some %4''dia. hard- from falling off the edges of the shelves. ‘wood dowel stock. Hanger Strip ~The last piece to ‘make before assembling the rack is the hanger strip. This is a narrow piece of wood that runs across the top of the rack and provides a means of attaching it tothe wall, The hanger strip (1 is cut from ‘praick hardwood stock. In Figure 6, a rabbet is being cut along one edge to hold a hardboard back that HANGER STRIP tent ser-1ek HARDWOOD) will be added to the rack Tater: Then in Figure 7, tongues are being cut on the ends of the hanger strip to fit in the rabbets that you cut earlier on the sides of the rack. ‘The two front edges of the strip are rounded over, and then a couple of holes are drilled in the hanger strip {or the serews that will be used to mount the storage rack, a. Site ce pra @ | FRONT VIEW No. 64Assembly ~ The rack is assem bled with glue and screws. First, T assembled the sides, shelves, and rails. The rails are simply glued in place. But the shelves are glued and also screwed in place, using wood screws and finish washers (Figure 4b), The hanger strip is glued and screwed tothe sides from the back. piRst cut 7 Back ~'The last piece to add to Sees ron complete the storage rack is the ~ back (N). This i just a piece of 1" hardboard that is cut to ft in the rab beted opening in back of the rack. It gets screwed in place to the back ledges ofthe shelves. Mounting the Rack ~The rack just sits on top of the shelf. But to keep itfrom moving around, itis also fastened to the wall through the hanger strip, using woodscrews and finish washers. Once itis screwed in place, you can set your drill press on the shelf and fasten it down with a couple of heehead bolts and washers. Fish the cord through the large hole in the top ofthe shelf and plug tin. Now you areall setfor your next drilling task, 4 PETE TT A Tongue Detail Tongues cut on he ‘ends of the har strip fit into the rabbets in the sides of the storage r: ® seer os ae E49 ABI MDF Wenee aur Goraure sce |G orawee sive | C 96° MAPLE No. 64 ShopNotes rtPainting a “Hammered” Finish vue JFoxce probably ‘ © atceaty fatiar with ham meredlfnish paints. For year, they Ihave been used on everything from toolboxes to appliances. They give the surface of an object the look of metal that has been lightly ham ‘mered all over (see inset photo) ‘Typically, hammerednish paints are used on objects made out of ‘metal. But we wanted to achieve that same “hammered” look on the MDP used to build the drill press shelf on Sand Edges. Maka sure the edges of the Masking. To avoid getting paint are smooth by sanding them with surfaces, mask off Me age 6. This meant that ‘we had to take a few extra steps in preparing the project for paint, as youlll see shortly. Hammered-finish paints come in several colors. And you!l find these in both spray cans and quart cans at hardware stores and home centers Locally, I paid about $6 for a spray ‘can and $8 for a quart of paint) ‘Hammered finish paints provide a ‘tough, durable surface — perfect for a shop environment. And unlike the dadoes, 20-grit sandpaper anda sanding block. grooves, and rabbets with masking tape. 2 ShopNotes some specialty finish paints, they are pretty easy to apply. That's because the hammered look is “builtin.” thin seconds of applying the paint, you'll start to see the "hammered! appearance taking affect. Preparation ~ The key to any ‘successful paint job is in the initial preparation ofthe surface. Although MDF takes paint quite well because it is so smooth, it pays to take a few minutes to sand all the edges to remove any saw blade marks. Sanding also removes any “fuzz” or fibers that may be present on the edges of the MDF. Masking Off ~The other thing you'll want to do is mask off the areas that you don’t want painted. This includes any gluing surfaces, like rabbets, grooves, and dadoes. 1 prefer to use a low-tack masking tape ‘0 that the tape is easy to remove alter the painting is finished. No. 64Spray For the most eomitenooking ‘hammered finish, spray paint is the say ogo Is easy to se and mi mizes clean up. Before apps he Paint however, I pried al thes faces The prime help ol he surice of the MD i doe absorb all the paint. This is espe- cially important on the edges, which are more pororsthan he es As you can see in Steps 1 and 2,1 pried the edges fst and then te fees Beane the eles tend 0 soak up a lot of primer, 1 applied three coats to these areas, sanding lightly with 400-grit sandpaper between each coat. ‘Paint — Once the primer is dry, ‘you can apply the paint. Here again, | started with the edges and then ainted the faces (Steps 3 and 4). In order for the hammered effect to work, you have to put on a fairly “wet” coat of paint. This is the only trick to using this paint. You have to ‘spray on a healthy coat, but you don’t an ose tn 8 hc tht runs tsa goodie to praiceons Fie ofsrap fit ‘Second Coat - Once the first coat is dry (10 to 15 minutes), you can spray em 8 szo coat. One Roller Hammered-finish paints can also be rolled on with @ paint roller, This ‘method is a litle more economical, particularly if you have a large sur- face to cover. The steps involved are the same as in spraying the paint. To begin with, Iprimed all the sur- faces, roling on additional coats of primer on the edges. ‘Next, the paint can be applied. To spread the paint out smoothly, Ike {to use either a foam roller or a roller with a short nap. Make sure you load. the roller up before you start rolling ‘on the paint. Just fike with the spray paint, you want {0 put down a sub- Stantial coat. And again, start with the edges and then move on to the faces of the workpiece Gteps 1 and. No. 64 Step 1. Using @ gray primer, spray the edges ofthe MDF ist. Apply at least three coats o seal the edges. ‘Step 3, Once the primer is dry, you ‘can gpray on the hammered finish paint, starting with the edges. thing to be aware of when using hammeredfinish paint is that you have a limited “window” of opportu- nity to recoat. According to the ‘Stop 1. Alter priming the werkpiece, soll the paint onto the edges first, using a short-nap roller 2). Once the first coat is dry, you ean apply a second coat. Safety Note: As with any paint con- taining potentially harmful vapors, ‘you should always wear a respirator ShopNotes Step 2. Because the faces dont absorb the primer as much as the edges, a single coat is fine here. ‘Step 4. In order for the “hammered” finish to work, you have to apply a gonerous coat of paint. directions on the spray can, if you dont apply the second coat within an hour of the first, you should wait 10 days before re-coating. Step 2. Alter covering the edges, roll the paint on the faces, making sure olay down a good, "wet" coat when working with hammered nish paints. And make sure you have plenty of ventilation, regardless of whether you are spraying or rolling ‘on the paint 13liao (Relic a Transform your router into a precision CL aN Aaa AOL u ShopNotes res veeecerte oa Tera icmee an Re a eos Se Sea CR MT machine that is capable of turning Creer ceencraeontc we! presen prekc secur Sesser tonnes Resreceee soe aa ey Ree murano Pete Sere shallow recess. A pair afadjustable tops corral the router and control ster ea mr eer eae eee recs ee eee coat eee oe ee nee See eect sr Ser oC ern ner ens eer eee aoe ne fea a ans ce erat mec crea Caos No. 64TRIE EXPLODED VIEW QE nagons: somsvoss sucwrou—_/ Sve 2oroxatH STINE ARE oe oe = “eu nage ereeeeeres oA Bee Bete Se decnece LACE ore, oct EEN oF WORE AND MORRO / ENE. ee ee | Le ~ Bese, the Mersing dig, go to ‘Noiglerions on mwershopnctes.com. Henge, Woreneces (eEPISSHAGE 20) Materials ‘A Bottom (1) 16.x12-%4 Pywood B tpt) 12x12-5/ Plmood plakdwars © Sides (2) 3x12 =" Pywood + (20) #8 x 1h" Fh Woodscrews Rover Pate () fen7- "i Pmood Ly teins E Router Plate Gulde Strip (1) 1x 9-4 Hardboard + (2) Star Knob (with Yatx5/" threaded otud) F Stopo (2) Bax Alga Hardboard ‘ ar Knobs (with Yet He" 1 @ 6 Fed Pate (1) fex'2-Sh Prwood Hahwneeee ccna H Sliding Plo (1) 12x 12-2% Plmood + ©) Toggle Campo (Ve-Sta-Co No 218-U) 1 Siding Pate Gude erp) 12 Hardhoard + id) #Biieratibodccroe (or opal lamp) No. 64 ShopNotes 15NOTE: Mere ea Base Despite its versatliy, this mor ising jig isnt really all that compl cated to build, Is built almost entirely out of 4" plywood. At the heart ofthe jis @ boxike base that gets clamped down to the top of your workbench, A plate is attached to the top ofthe base. This plate has a wide, shallow recess to hold your router Itcan be adjusted forward and back to accommodate workpieces of varying thicknesses orto create an offset mortise ‘Also attached to the plate are a pair of adjustable stops that allow ‘you to automatically control the Jength of each mortise, Take a look at Figure 1 to get a better idea of ‘what Im talking about Base ~ To build the base of the started by cutting a bottom (4), Atop (B), and two sides (C) from 3," plywood. The dimensions for these parts are shown in Figure 2. ‘To avoid scraping your knuckles on any sharp corners, the front cor- ners ofthe hase are mitered, You can see this in Figure 2 below. And igure 2a shows the short, rounded. notch that is eu at the front of each side piece. (These notches allow you to clamp a stop block to the front of {he jg for mukiple pieces, see p. 20) The base topijust a square piece of plywood. But it has a shallow ‘groove routed down the center, just a i i e em AE ROUTER PLATE GUIDE STRIP. as you see in Figures 3 and 3a. This groove will be used to guide the router plate thats added later. Once the groove is routed, a hole is drilled right in the center and a T:nut is installed in the side opposite the sroove, see Figures 2 and 2. ‘Assembly ~ The base of the fig is simply screwed and glued together. To do this, I clamped all the pieces together frst, without any glue, Then I dellled counter: sunk pilot holes forall the screws sexu wiGobeteh wR SR L@ROUTER OP ee Once this was done, I disassembled the base, applied the glue, and installed the screws. Router Plate - Making the router plate (D) involves a few more steps than the base. The plate starts out 2s a rectangular piece of plywood, as shown in Figure 4 Then 2 1i/"wide by 7Atong. slot is eut near the front edge of the plate for the router bit ‘This opening is centered from side to side on the router plate. I made ShopNotes No. 64this opening by driling a couple Qt ee then cutting out the waste in between with a jig saw. Figure 4a shows the location of this opening. ‘The next step is to create a shallow recess on the top of the plate to hold your router. This recess ‘guides the base of the router in a straight Tine, giving you nice, straight mortises, In order for the router to slide freely, the recess needs to be smooth and flat. So I decided to make the recess on the router table, routing it in several passes with a }/"dia, straight bit ‘As you can see in Figure 4b, the trick here is to size the recess to just fit your router base. And make sure the recess is centered over the router bit opening. Guide Strip - Once the recess for the router is finished, you can rout a groove on the opposite face of the router plate for a guide strip e (Figure 5). This groove is identical to the one you made on the base top earlier (Figure 3), and it runs right dovin the center ofthe router plate. The guide strip (E) isjusta piece of" hardboard. It’s glued into the ‘groove, flush with the back edge of the router plate. Note: The guide strip will stop short of the opening in the plate for the router bit. After gluing the guide strip in place, you'll need to cut a slot in the router plate to allow itto be adjusted back and forth. [did this by drilling a hole at the end of the slot and then. wa atti ee 2s ROUERFLATE ROUTER PLATE ‘cutting out the waste on a band saw, as shown in Figure 6. But you could also rout the slot on a router table. ‘Stops -Thelastpiecestobe added to the base are a pair of stops. Aajusting the stopsin or outwillallow ‘you to set the length of the mortise. ‘These stops (F) are made from "4" hardboard and are sized to fit in the STAR INOB ShopNotes, receasyou cut for the router base, 3s you see in Figure 7. A slot is cat in each stoptoallowitto beadjusted Each stop is held in place with a nob with athreaded stud. The knob threads into.a Tut that is mounted in the bottom ofthe router pat, just 48 you see in Figure 7. In order to keep the Traut flush with the surface ofthe router pate, youl need to drill shallow counterbore before dhiling the hole for the aut. You can see what Tm talking about by ‘aking alook at Figure 7a The router plate simply sits on top ofthe base with the guide srip inthe groove on the base top. Then another knob with a threaded stud is used to hold the router plate in pos- tion, as shown in Figure 1a. At this point, the base ofthe jg is complete, All that is left now is to make the front section ofthe jg that holds the workpiece. VWTTC Frat WeOBSEEY whee S100 SIDE VIEW IS <— ‘Now that the base is complete, you sliding plate can be turned around the piece. These grooves will be can start making the front section of, the jg that holds the workpiece. As you can see in Figure 8, this section is made up of exo plywood plates. A fixed plate is screwed directly to the front of the jig base. And a sliding plate travels up and down (or side to side) in grooves inthe fixed plate. ‘The sliding plate allows you to accommodate different sizes of workpieces. To cut a mortise on the end of a mitered workpiece, the oO FIGURE (60 the pointed end is up). Or you used to help guide the sliding plate can rotate the sliding plate 90° in thats added later. order io cutamortiseontheendofa Like the grooves in the base, 1 workpiece. Toggle clamps attached made these grooves on the router to the sliding plate are used to hold table (Figure 10), The first one is the workpiece in place while the centered on the length of the work: ‘mortise is being routed (See p.21). piece. Then a second groave is cen- Fixed Plate ~ I made the fixed tered on the width of the piece. To plate first. As shown in Figure 9, the center these grooves, I routed them ‘fixed plate (G) isjusta square piece in multiple passes, flipping the work- of plywood with couple of shallow piece between each pass. Figure 10a grooves that cross in the center of shows a detail of the grooves. oe omsiont 4 For worepiece BEREN POSES soon 1 Groove ‘ShopNotes: No. 64ETT ‘The sliding plate will be held in place with a couple of knobs that ‘thread into Tnuts in the fixed piate. But in order to provide a range of adjustments for different sizes of ‘workpieces, I installed four pairs of ‘Trnuts in the fixed plate. You can see the locations for these in Figure 9. After drilling @ hole for each Tout, simply hammer the T- ruts in place from the back of the fixed plate. (The back of the plate is the side without the grooves) Atthis point, the fixed plate can be attached to the base of the jig. Ibis simply serewed in place with eight woodserens, as you seein Figure 8 Sliding Plate - Like the face plate, the sliding plate (H) also starts out as a square piece of ply- ‘wood Figure 11). But the sliding plate is a litle more involved. To start with, a pair of slots are cut on each end of the plate to allow it to stide up andl down (see the photo in the margin). The loca- tion of these slots is shown in Figure 11. The important thing to kkeep in mind is that the spacing between each pair of slots is the same asthe spacing between the bro rows of Puts in the fixed plat. To cut the slots, I drilled a hole at the end of each slot. The T cut away the waste with a band sav. ‘After cutting the slots, a shallow szroove is routed down the center of the sliding plate, This groove is identical to the ones you routed on the fixed plate, It will hold a guide strip that will also fit into. the grooves in the fixed plate No. 64 ‘To hold mitered workpieces, two ofthe comers ofthe Sling plate are mitered at a 45° angle. This is done ona table saw, using the miter gauge and an ausiliary fence, as you see in Figure 12. Clamping a stop block to the ausiiary fence allows you to simply flip the workpiece over to nite the opposite corner. Guide Strip ~The guide strip (1) ‘is nothing more than a piece of 1" hardboard. It’s cut to size and glued into the recess on the sliding plate. “Then after the glue is dry, you ean —~p SuoEsTRPr Hh Boisoy sand or trim the end of the strip fush with the mitered edges ofthe plate, as shown in Figure 13a, Togle Clamps ~ The last step to complete the sliding plate is to add the toggle clamps, see photo in ‘margin, These clamps are used to hold a workpiece down tothe top ofa ‘workbench or other flat surface. (For more on toggle clamps, see Sources on page 35, ‘There are three togele clamps used on this jig. These are simply screwed t0 the sliding plate. If you take a look at Figure 8, you can see where the clamps are posi tioned on the plate. After the toggle clamps are installed, the sliding plate can be added to the fixed plate Itis held in place with a pair of star knobs with threaded studs and a couple of ‘washers, as you can seein Figure & Once the clamp plate is in place, the fig is ready to be put to work. All you need to do is clamp it down to ‘yout workbench. For more informa- tion on using the ig, see page 20. 19 Uae 1 Aajutab, Sci inthe cdg plate allow you to agjust tho Jo freer Size workplaces. fnala toga clamp fal the werkalaoe secursly placeaT Using the Jig Once you try this ig, I think you'll be amazed not only with the results, but at how easy it s to set up and use. ‘There are usta few simple steps. Layout - The first step is to lay out the mortise on your workpiece. Ifyou are making identical mortises fon identical workpieces, you only need to lay out one mortise — once the stops on the jig are adjusted for the frst mortise, the rest will fall into place automatically. Tig Setup - With the jig clamped to your bench, loosen the two knobs on the front face of the jig and bring the sidingplate upto trap theworkpieceagainst the router plate, a5 you see in Step 1. Tighten the Imobs and clamp the work- piece to the jg with thetoggleciamp. Now loosen the knob at the back of the jig and adjust te router plate 90 the A Lightning-Fast Mortises. To rout a mortise, all {you have to dois plunge the bit into the workpiece ‘and move the router over unt it hits the stop. CTT RC OT a Ty To 500 if the router bit is centered on the thick ness of the stock, make a montse na test piece of the same thickness as your workpieces. ‘Now turn the test piece around and rout a second mortise. The two should line up. IF they Gon’, adjust the router plate and wry again. 20 ‘opening is centered over the mortise (see Step 2 and the boxshown atleft). In Step 3, the stops are being adjusted to control the length of the ‘mortise. To do this, place the router in the recess of the jig so the bit is directly over one end of the mortise. Then slide the stop up against the router base and tighten the knob. Now repeat this procedure for the stop atthe other end of the mortise. Routing — At this point, you're ready to start mortising. The mortise is made in a series of passes, removing about 4" of material at a time. Start with therouteragainst the Jefthand stop, turn the router on and saNoMeH WoRePtece plunge it into the workpiece about 14". Move the router to the right until it contacts the opposite stop. Now increase the depth of cut and repeat the process until you reach the full depth of the mortise. Stop Block — Before removing the workpiece from the ig, you may ‘want to clamp a stop block to the front ofthe fg (see Step 4). If you're. making multiple mortises on. th ends of identical workpieces, this ‘will allow you to slide the next work- piece right into place. ‘When you're finished routing all the mortises, you might want to come back with a chisel and square Sandwich the workpiece between the slicing plate and the router plate of the jig. Then ShopNotes tighten down the knobs on the slicing plate and use the toggle clamp fo secure the workpiece. No. 64Tae up the ends of each mortise to match ‘your tenons. Or the shoulders of the tenons can be rounded over later with a rasp or file. One last suggestion. Although you can use an ordinary straight bit {for routing mortises, I find that I get better results using a spiral upcut bit 4 Spiral Upeut Bit. (Gee photo in mangin). With a cevrer | For routing straight bit, the wood chips tend to j/ eke | mortises, a spira pile up inside the mortise, making /)] GRRE: | upeut bis good the bit (and the router) work harder. L choice because it Asspiral upcut bit pulls the chips up Ay With the workpiece in place, plate is centered over the mortise Pulls the chips and out of the mortise as it cuts, 44 move the router plate forward laid out on the workpiece. Then 0 the mortise, leaving you with a cleaner mortise. or back until the opening in the tighten down the knob. giving you a cleaner cut, > eigeeigce Soennieemeses| SECOND: OUT HORNE ier tomer | ‘Adjust the stops in or out to workpiece and rout the mortise in A stop block clamped to tho esiablish the length of the mor-muttiplepasses, removingnormare jig makos the sotup for dpi tise. Then plunge the bit into the than Yofmaterialata time. cata workpieces automatic. Other Features One of the features of this fig is that it can be used to make mortises on the end of a workpiece as well as on the edge, All you have to do is remove the two knobs holding the sliding plate in place and rotate {90° as shown in the first photo at right. Routing a mortise in the end of a work: piece allows you to create a “loose” tenon. joint In this type of join, the mating picces both end up with a mortise. Then a small block of wood (the “tenon’) is cut to ft in the mortises and is glued into place. ‘You can also make a mortise on the end ‘ofa mitered workpiece, which is great for strengthening mitered frames. All you have to do is turn the sling plate around so the pointed end is up. Then set your workpiece against one of the two mitered A Vertical Workpieces. To routa mortise A Mitered Workpleces. For mortising edges of the plate and clamp itin place, see 07 the end of a workpiece, simply rotale mitered workpieces, the sliding plate can the second photo at right. the sliding plate 90° to the base. be turned upside down, No. 64 ShopNotes ahen tcomes to storing hard- ware, its hard to beat the practicality of plastic bins. But the problem then becomes, how do you organize the organizers? This project solves that dilemma. Drawers & Storage Bins ~ As you can see in the photo above, the cabinet is loaded with storage space. Four upper drawers accept a ‘otal of 64 small plastic storage bins. And the two bottom drawers hold a {otal of 12 larger bins, 22 ORCA: ORAL cai ia sized the drawers (and therefore the cabinet) to fit the Akro-Mils storage bins I used (refer to Sources, ‘on page 35). Whether you use these bins or another type, i’s best to have ‘them on hand belore you start to size the drawers and cabinet to fit. ‘Drawer Slides ~ Plastic storage bins aren't the only modern conven- fences in this cabinet. The drawers ride on fullextension slides that allow you to access the entire con- tents of each bin easily. ShopNotes ‘These modern conveniences are “wrapped” in a cabinet with an olde fashioned look that showeases the solid woodworking that goes into building it — stub tenon and groove joinery for the frame and panel sides, and lap joints forthe face frame, Option - Andifyou're looking for a litle more woodworking, you ean build shopmade dividers for ongan- iging the contents of each drawer instead of using the storage bins). Details for this begin on page 29, No. 64SE @ ExrLovep view ‘OVERALL DIMENSIONS: Bwx2aaD aa Frowr FRAME vexnca, Is RABpETED TO, Fir AROUND Sides Shiau oawen, ruuesteysio sures Ataweouniere ESE RANE UNEVEN FLOORS Spee Age stus TERON ANG rage eae rn Peace rane Materials Drawers A Side Stites (4) "xB Ale L Small Fronts/Backs (0) ‘ox Be-1Pe B Side Rails (4) Sux Bie-17 M Smal Sides (8) Vex B/e-29 © Side Panclo (2) 17x BA /n-"lg Pl. N Large Fronta/Backo (4) ‘ax B¥e- 17% D Narrow Front Rails (6) %xT/e-20% 0 Large Sides (4) Vax Ble 23 E Wide Front Rail(N) axBle-20% —-P. Bottoms (6) Tax 22 -'t Py F Front stiles (2) Sax ts Atle @ Small Falae Fria. (4) x45 10% G Vortical Supports (4) 1% 3/4 88% R Lange FaloeFrts.(2) "sx Ble- 10% H Top Supports(2). Saxe 20% 8 Small Side-to-Side Dudra. (20) "x3 - 16% 1 Bottom (1) 205% 23- "ley. T Small Fris-to-Back Didro, (20) "ox 22 J top) 1x28 22%” U Lrg. Side-to-Side Dudre. (10) sx 8-165 K Back (1) 20°/ix 40% Ya Ply. Y Lng. Frt-to-Back Drdrs. (10) Yex8-22 Note: For thi project, youl ned 1 eheet of 4" plymood, 1 sheet of % plywood, 20 54, ft of Mt-thickotack, 20 bd. fe. of x" thick hardwood, 4 bd. Ft. of thick hardwood, and 30 0q, Ft of thick stack or hardboard (forthe optional diidere). + (24) #8 x1" Fh Woodecrews # (4) #8x1/s" Fh Woodscrews + (12) #8.x1/e" Fh Woodscrews + (4) helt FNuts + (A). %e16x 4 Loveler Gildes © (10) #6 x1" Fh Woodecrews + (GPH) 22" Drawor Sideo wlscrows + (0) 4" Deamer Puls wlocrews *# (12) Knobs wiecrews (Optional) + (6) Label Holders wiscrews (Optional) No. 64 ShopNotes 23,A To form the “feat he end of the side stiles, slide them jether and use a ap piece across ends for support Sia i * x A For the “ieet”on the wide rail, a scrap 2 again provides support for the dri bit during the cut. & Sides & Front Forming the shell of the cabinet begins with making a pair of frame and panel sides that join to a face frame, as you can see in Figure 1 ‘These pieces provide the support for adding the top, bottom, and back that are built later. Stiles & Rails ~ Istarted on the sides by cutting the Yshthick hardwood side stiles (A) and rails (B) to final size (Figure 1). Then to ensure that the cabinet would rest firmly on an uneven floor once it was assembled, [created a “foot” at each, corner athe bottom of the cabinet. To do this, [clamped the two stiles together and then used a 11! Forsmer bit to create circular cutouts on the inside corner of each le (ee upper margin photo and Figure 1a), Stub Tenons & Grooves ~ Afier shaping the foot of each stile, you're ready to cut the stub tenon and groove joinery that holds the stiles and rails together. As you can see in Figure 2, the groove for this joint needs to be sized to accept the 1/4" plywood side panel (C). So you'll want to be sure ‘to cut the groove first. ‘There are two things to keep in mind here as you cut the groove. SHOP PROJECT SIDE RAIL rein) ® WIDE RAIL. Greaney Nore: First, the groove needs to match the actual thickness of the 1/:" plywood. (it's usually alittle undersized.) And second, you'll want to make sure the ‘groove is centered on the edge ofthe rails and siles. This makes it easier to cut the tenons to fit Centering the groove isn't as diff SR RaRoNeeS cult as you might think. Instead of using a dado blade set to match the thickness of the plywood, I simply use my regular saw blade, Then to create a centered groove, | start by roughly centering the blade on the ‘workpiece and making a single pass, as illustrated in Figure 2a. Erste cuy SF Sipe Pane SECOND: cur Seno sa FOS ape Sie ShopNotesEET To complete the groove, just fip the workpiece end for end and make a second pass (Figure 2b). A quick ‘tial it of the panel willlet you know if the groove is wide enough, If its not, just nudge the fence abit closer to the blade and make two more passes. Once you have a good fit, you can cut the remaining grooves, Stub Tenon — With the grooves complete, you can cut the tenons on the ends ofthe rails to match Figure 26). Once again, this is just a matter of sneaking up onthe fit Assembly ~ Now thatthe tenons are complete, you can glue the stiles, rails, and panels together to form the s Just be sure to align the lower edge of the bottom rail with the top of the circular cutout in each stile igure 12). Fortipsonassem- bling a frame and panel, refer to page 30. Front Frame ~ At this point, you can let the sides dry and concentrate on the front frame of the cabinet. Like the sides, the face frame is made up of stiles and rails, as shown in Figure 1. But they're held together by lap joints that create openings for the drawers. Rails ~ I started by cutting the rails (D, B) to final size from /'- thick hardwood. Once that’s com plete, you can cut rabbets on the ends of each ral to form half of the Jap pint Figure 3). What'simportant hhereis thatthe shouldertoshoulder distance be identical (18/") on each rail so the size of the drawer open- ings is consistent (Figure 1). At this point you can set the NOTE: career rare narrow rails aside and complete a little shaping work on the wide rail ©) atthe bottom ofthe cabinet. Foot ~ Like the sides of the cabinet, the front frame has a “foot” on each side. But this time, the foot is cut in the bottom rail. ‘To form the circular part of the cutout, I used a technique similar tothe one I used for the sides. You can see this in the lower margin photo on the opposite page. Shape Wide Rail - Completing the foot is just a matter of using a band saw to remove most of the REFERTOTACESO | ShopNotes waste Ggure 4) and then cleaning up the edge witha straightbiton the router table (Figures 4and 4b). Stiles ~ With all the rails com- plete, you're ready fo work on the stiles (F). [found it easiest to start out with an extrawide (A") work: piece (Figure 5). Cutting the lap joints in a single piece ensures they'l be aligned perfectly across each sie. [used the rails to verify the width and depth of each lap joint as I cut them to size (Figures 5, 5a and 5). Then I cut the stiles to final width (194) Assembly ~ Now that the lap joints are complete, you're ready to assemble the front frame (Figure 6). (or a few tips and techniques on assembling the frame with jst a few clamps, refer to page 30) ‘As you assemble the frame, youll notice that the rails don’t extend all the way to the edges of the stiles. Don't worry. Alter the frame is assembled (and the glue is. dry), you'll be cutting rabbets that are even with the ends ofthe rails to accent the sides. 25Sara Top, Bottom & Back ———— a ‘9 © Now that the sides and front frame are complete, you're ready to start assembling the cabinet, as shown in the Overview in Figure 7. Attach Sides ~ However, before you can attach the sides, youl need to cut a rabbet along the back edge of the front frame (Figure 8). ‘There's nothing tricky about cut- ting the rabbet. I used a dado blade and “buried” it in an auxiliary fence attached to the face of my rip fence igure 8a), Then it’sjusta matter of sneaking up on the width of the rabbet so the sides are flush with the ‘outside ofthe frame. Assemble Sides & Frame ~ With the rabbet cut in the front frame, you're ready to attach the sides. To make this easy to do with a limited number of clamps, refer to the article on page 30. Rout Roundover - Once the sides are attached, carefully rest the assembly on its “back” and rout a 1/4" roundover along the front edge, as shown in Figure 9. Besides soft- ‘ening the corner, thisalso makes the joint line along the side less visible. Yertical Supports - Because the cabinet will be very heavy with all the drawers loaded with hard ware, itneeds to be solid. To ensure this, 1 added some “backbone” by installing a set of four vertical sup ports, like the ones you see illus: trated in Figure 10. ‘These supports will be used later to attach the slides for the drawers, Bat they also provide a convenient way to attach the top, bottom, and ‘back of the cabinet as well ‘To ensure the drawer slides line up flush with the inside edge of the drawer openings, the vertical sup ports (G) are made from W-thick stock. And they're cut to length to provide clearance for attaching the top supports and bottom of the VERTICAL SUPPORT cabinet (Figures 10, 10a, and LD. Gluing the front vertical sup- ports in place is just a matter of butting them into the corners, as you can see in Figure 10b. And the vertical supports atthe back of the cabinet are set in to create a “rabbet’ for the back of the cabinet, as shown in Figure 10b, ShopNotesSHOP PROJECT Reon. Honea ce e eee, - @ ‘While I was at it, added a pair of to the bottom of the cabinet. Besides top supports (H) made from %/4'. enclosing the base ofthe cabinet, the thick hardwood (Figure 10). Before bottom provides a mounting point screwing them in place (Figure 10a), fora set of levelers drilled a pair of holes in each sup- After cutting the bottom () to port for attaching the top. size from 1/3" plywood, I drilled two ‘Bottom ~ With the top supports sets of holes, as you can see in in place, you can turn your attention Figures 7, 11, and 11a. One set of holesis used to atlach the bottom to the supports installed earlier, ‘The other set of holes is part of a shop-made leveling system, Since 1 ‘wasn'table to find a set of low-profile levelers that were inexpensive and adjustable, I decided to make my own using a set of Tuts and glides. ‘That took care of the inexpensive and low profile criteria. To make them easily adjustable from inside the cabinet, I cut a slot in the top of each glide (see margin). Once that’s complete, drill the holes for the T- nuts, tap them in place and then thread in the levelers, ‘Top — There are only a couple things leit to complete the cabinet — adding the top and back. I concen: trated on the top frst since it's easier to install without the back attached to the cabinet, ‘Thetop () isjusta 1"-thick panel I glued up from several narrower boards (Figure 12). After the glue dries, you can trim the top to final ize, Then rout a small roundover (7) on all the top and bottom ‘edges except the back, as in Figure 12a. Finally, screw the top in place so its centered side to side and flush at the back (Figure 12a). Back ~ All thats left to do is add the back. The back (K) is a piece of 14" plywood thats sized in width to fit between the sides of the cabinet, And i's cutto length soit’s lush with the lower edge of the bottom. Once the back is cut to size, you can screw itin place (Figures 12 and 12a), 27 slot in the top of lide with a hacksaw creates an adjustable leveler(Holds 16 Small Bins) (Holds 6 Large Bins) 4 e& With the basic cab- inet complete, you can move on to building the drawers that hold the bins used to organize the hhardware (see photo and Figure 1) ‘As I mentioned before, I sized the drawers to accept plastic storage bins (eles to page 35 for Sources). But if you'd rather make your om organ- izing system, check out the shor ‘made dividers onthe opposite page. Drawers ~ The drawers ar built from /sMthick stock. AMier planing your stock down to siz, you can cut the drawer front/backs (L, N) and — sides (M, 0) othe dimensions shown in Figure 13 and the margin foc Whats inporint eres tendup | y SMALL DRAWER DETAIL with 2 ¥/" space on each side of the drawer for installing the fullextension ‘metal drawer slides Figure 13c), Fulk extension slides make t easy to reach the entire contents ofthe drawer: ‘Tongue & Dado Joinery - The joinery forthe drawersis nite simple. A single kerf eatin the ends of each side accept tones eut on the ends of the frootsand hacks Figures 13 and 13a). Before assembling the drawer, ‘you'll need to euta "wide groove | along the bottom edge of all the Y drawer pieces to hold the bottom Nore, 72 —¥. igure 13b). And since it willbe dit ae ficult to do once the drawer is POUREDOES assembled, its best to drill a set of countersunk screw holes in the front for attaching the false fronts. 28 NOTE: ator reonre ace Sack waR@noge: eae Sass a ma _ THIER HdowO0E BOTTOMS Ake Re FLY WOOD 22" FULL eafeNsION DeAWar sive oo DRAWER BOTTOM, (Beye = A ) FALSE FRONT SE ENG) ‘Now you can cut the drawer otto ®) 0 size from 1! phywood. (2! ply: ‘wood! males heany ty botlom for sup- porting a drawer full of hardware) AMter cating a/"fongue around the edges of thebottom to ftthe groove (Figure 136), youcan giue up each drawer: Install Drawers — At this point you're teady to add the sides and install the drawers in the cabinet. Just ‘keep in mind that the goal isto post tion each drawer 1/" above each ral igure 15c). This provides the clear ance ahove the drawer for the bins and hardware. False Fronts ~ All that’s eat this point isto sake the fase fronts (Q, BR) shown in Figure 13 and the margin, A rabbet x iscutaround the edgesof the false fronts to create a lip that overlaps the drawer opening Figure 13e and margit). Then a ‘ie ShopNotes hralebullnose is routed around the out side to ease the edges (Figure 134). Finish - After screwing the false fronts in place, I stained the cabinet with a mix of three table- spoons of Van Dyke brown artist's colors and a quart of linseed oil ‘Then [topped it off with afew coats of wipe-on varnish. Finally, 1 added a pul to each raver Figure 13). But you might also want to consider the brass hard- ‘ware shown below. & A brass label holder (and knobs) makes: iteasy to identiy the contents: of each drawer.Turn the jumbled contents of any drawer into a model of organiza- tion with these shop-built drawer dividers. ‘Drawer ‘You don't need to build an entirecab- five sideioside (S, U) and fronMotack Cut Joints ~ After installing a inet to get organized. Shopbuilt (7; V) dividers to kength to match the dado bade in your table saw to drawer dividers are a great way to inside dimensions of thedrawers match the thickness ofthe dividers, organize the contents of any drawer. Auxiliary Fences ~ Before cat. you can cut a notch at each end of Divider System ~ The dividers ting the joints, I added an auniliary the dividers Figure 2a), Then atter consist of an interlocking system fence to my miter gauge. Besides cutting a centered notch in each (gure 1) that can be made from providing solid support for the piece, you can cut a pair of notches Yslthiok stock or 1/" hardboard. dividers, it prevents chipout on the on each side of the center notch. Regardless of the material, what's hack side as you make the cut. A Note: lonly cut centered notches for important is that all the dividers second ausiliary fence prevents the the large drawers. must be the same thickness to ensure blade from “shaving therip fence. Once all the notches are cut, i's they lock together securely. ‘Then to ensure the joints were cut just a matter of sliding the dividers Size Dividers - To start, cut the identically, I stacked all the same together and slipping the assembly dividers to width (height) to match length pieces for each drawer into the drawer. Then all that’s eft to the distance from the drawer bottom together. After clamping them tothe do is gather up all your boxes of to the top edge of the drawer sides auniliary fence, you can make the hardware and organize each drawer ‘Figure 1). Then for each drawer, cut cuts as shown in Figure 2. to suit your needs, & overview weer, FRONTTO-BACK ir heir MIDE pe Beker) PE Y x Aidt) ayer ne Le sree No. 64N Jin it comes time to W assemble a large carcase (like the Hardware Cabinet on page 22), T never seem to have enough clamps. But the truth is, you don't always need a lot. With just a few clamps, you can use the tips and Vs bLechinigu Cc techniques that follow any time you need to assemble alange project. Preparation ~ Before you start rounding up your clamps, oe of the frst things youl ned i a large, Hat surface to work on. IC's not, youl have to work that much harder to get Ben Tor prompes MEReuKE pAGONALS = Wiitnperes alte POR sau Gea i ed sais al I seeeare see |, | BUI eiincws BUCHAN Hl (te | ol ieee rg) ( ) Souk. | : | Mp eraueemisie ROUNDED CLAMPING BLOCK. || Siento ee Ak cee aa| © = Cae D\ 2) 30 ShopNotes your assembly flat and square. Tike to use my workbench, as you can see in Figure 1. Its a natural assembly area. But that's not always best for large or tall projects. In that case, I lay down a piece of plywood, on my shop floor. ({ use shims to even out any low spots in the floor) Frame & Panel Assembly — ‘Typically, a frame and panel doesn't require alot ofclamps. As a matter of fact, two will usually do the trick. ‘And even though clamping it is a simple task, its still a good idea to spend a little time dry assembling ‘everything to check for problems. One problem you might notice is that the stiles and rails “pop up” abit as you apply clamping pressure. To avoid this problem, you'll want 10 make sure the pressure is centered fon the thickness of the workpiece (Figure 1). To do this, [use rounded clamping blacks the same thickness as the workpieces (Figure 1a). Another area of concern with a frame and panel assembly is, ensuring that it ends up square. Checking for this is easy — just measure diagonally from corner to corner (Figure 1) If these dimensions are the same, the assembly is square, But it's not ‘unusual to be a litle off If that’s the No. 64case dont worry Alittakesto square things up is to shit the clamping Qos sisnty Gee wy. Feces Adie ine assembly that's similar to a frame alr ee rerete cat eects Cree rails Gnd therefore ois) making up the assembly. ‘Trying to glue the entire assembly at once often results in ‘running out of both clamps and time. ‘To take the “pressure” off, I only due one rail time “Tosee how odo this take look at Faure 2 The Key s dry assembling the frame. Besides keeping every- thing aligned and square, it allows yf resoveone ral ata ime, “This makesiteayt appl ue to fae of the ral nd ten pb fackin place Once you've done that, place a pipe clamp across the rail and pail the join ght. Finally, adda clamp across each lap joint to lock the rail in place. Atthis point fsa simple matter to remove the pipe clamp and repeat ‘this process, “leapfrogging” your way. down the frame, And doat worry i soNSLB ERNE No. 64 yout run out of clamps. Just stop and ‘wait forthe glue to dry on the joints you've already done, Then simply startup right where you left off, Bringing It All Together ~The last challenge in assembling a project is bringing all the parts together. ‘As 1 mentioned before, I find it easier to assemble large (or tl) pro} ects on the floor. Besides not having to reach so high above my work: bench, I don't have to worry about moving it off my workbench later. Another challenge is trying to ase square mine BINED GD tes (WPS ROH ShopNotes NOTE: oy asseMeUe worsrieces hhold a number of pieces in position while you work. To give myself a “third hand," used a handscrew asa vide base to hold one (or more) of the pieces in postion, as in Figure 3 When you're only assembling a ‘couple parts (like the single side and frame in Figure 3), its not unusual forthe assembly to “pinch’ together. “To solve this problem, I use a litle trick thatinvolves making a framing” square from a scrap of plywood Figure 3). Once it’s clamped in place it squares up the side and front frame and holds them in position. With all the problems worked out, all that’s lefts to start giuing up the assembly. The idea here is to apoly ‘glue to the joint (see margin for a handy tip) and then get the joint tight With as few clamps as possible. Here again, I “leapirog” from the bottom of the assembly to the top. Starting with a pipe clamp, I bring. the two parts together, Then T use a thar clamp across the two pieces to pull hem tightly together. ‘Clamping the rest ofthe assembly is just a matter of moving the pipe damp up a bit and repeating the process. (You can do this for the ‘other side once the giue dries) AAs you can see, you don't need a shop filed with clamps to assemble a large project. With the tps and tech- niques shown here, success is often justa handful of clamps away. #& 31 i THIRD: caver gonrerisen ir ene cline Wey acre asa resee Ss we A Cleaner Glue-ups. Youll have fess ‘squeeze out c inside of the cabine ityou only spread the glue to the comer af the rabbet.ne of the ‘materials ‘we use around the shop a otis mediun»density fiberboard (MDF). It's fla, stable, and a con tent thickness. MDF also machines ‘well for clean, crisp edges and joints. All these great qualities make it sound like the perfect material. But unfortunately, i'snot quite “perfect.” Unlike other materials, MDF doesn't have grain or plies, which tend to help the screws “grab.” That's not to say you can't use screws with MDE. [use them all the time. But Ive earned a few tricks when itcomes to using them successfully. ‘Screw Type — For years, lassem- bled projects with traditional wood- Fuemawt ‘4 PROBLEMS: © Tapered woodscrew splits MOF near edges and causes bulging on the face of the workpiece. ‘@ Shallow countersinks and over- dhiving screw "ifts” edge of hole. (© Wood fibers “pull” away from bottom workpiece and prevent them from joining together. 32, aaa a Shop Talk ¢ When it comes to assembling MDF projects, the secret to success is choosing and using the right fastener. screws with straight shanks and tapered threads, like the one shown in the left drawing below. Whether I ‘was using them in solid wood or ply- wood, hey worked great. But I had problems using them with MDF. Sometimes the tapered threads on the woodscrew would split the MDF like a piece of fire- ‘wood. And even if the MDF didn't split, often had trouble just drawing the two pieces together tightly without stripping out the threads. To solve these problems, I made a couple changes. First, I switched the type of fastener [ use. And second, spend alittle more time on the technique of drilling and assem- bling the workpieces, ‘CROSS SECTION (© Sheet metal screws and propery sized shank and pilot holes prevent splting and bulging of workpiece. @ Longer screws provide extra hholaing power in MOF. © Countersinks at both ends of shank hole allow screw to pul joint together ighty. ShopNotes Sheet Metal Serew ~ Instead of traditional woodscren, [switched to a sheet metal screw (Gee. right drawing below). Although it doesnt Jook a lot different, Eve had more success using them with MDF. ‘The nice thing about sheet metal screws is theyre not tapered. Since the whole shank straight it isnt as likely to split the workpiece. And the threads are a litle sharper, so they tend to cut into the MDF beter. Technique - As you may have ‘guessed, there's more t the process of joining two pieces of MDF than just switching to a different screw. Its also important to drill wo holes —ashankcholeand apie ‘The shank hole is drilled in the top piece, andthe pilothole is rilled in the bottom piece, as illustrated in Figures Land 3 Drilling the Shank Hole ~The ey to dling the shank hole is to size itso the top piece palls tightly down to the bottom workpiece. For thisto work, you dontwantthe serew threads to grab the top piece a al, “The first thing do is find a drill bit that matches the outside diameter of the threads, lke you see in the detail in Figure 1. This way, the serew will just slip through the hole without any play Figure 3). Countersink — Once you have the shank hole drilled, you ean go ahead and countersink it for the hhead of the screw (Figure 2). Just like the shank hole, is important to propery size the countersink. ‘To determine the correct depth to Akl the countersink, turn the serew upside down and fthe head into the, countersink. The serew will be with the surface when the head just fits into the countersink No. 64QUESTIONS & ANSWERS e st ASST ScEEw Bee war | | wor FESS Bon Be e ae ae, | cia | La, see SB. | “ | feos ee While Tm at it, 1 flip the work just a plain countersink. The box Here again, an easy way to deter- piece over and drill smaller coun- below showsacouple options Tuse. mine the right size bits to hold it up tersink where the shank hole exits Drilling the Pilot Hole ~ With in front of the screw until you find the top piece. So why countersink the countersink complete, al that's one that allows the root to just barely something you don't see? The main lefto dois drilthe plothole (Figure _ show on both sides ofthe bit (Figure reason is it’s easy for the fibers in 3). This anchors the threads of the 3a). Note: Since its hard to find a the bottom workpiece to “lft” up. screw and prevents spliting. brad point bit the right size, I like to ‘Thiskeepsthe top and bottom work- There are two important things to use regular twist bit for pilot holes. pieces from pulling together tightly, remember here. Fist, the pilot hole With the bitsized, you'r ready to as you can see in the far lett drawing needs to be the right diameter. And drill the pilot hole. To ensure the con the opposite paue. Drilling a second, itneedsto be therightdepth. pilot hole is centered properly, 1 small countersink provides a clear- Diameter of Pilot Hole ~ The mark the location using the same ance area forthe fibe pilot hole should be about the same brad point bit T used for the shank for a litle size (or a hair smaller) than the root hole. All you need to do is hold the Ose ‘wo pieces in position (Vike to clamp ‘them any time I can) and give the bit GEES Tey a lie tap or twist to mark the pre- cise centerpoint forthe pilot hole, 28 Instead of countersinking the head ofthe serew in MDP, there area fy, cist Hole - Wik the couple other options: sheet metal screws with finish washers (eftphoto | ieee il held together you cea and drawing) and Confirmat serews (ight photo and drawing). Note: Ff dhe pilot hole. How dep should If still a good idea to countersink the bottom side of the workpiece. it be? In MDF, I drill the pilot hole Finish Washer ~ A Gnsh washer has built in “countersink” and) jut past where the tp ofthe sore provides a wider bearing suriace forthe head ofthe sheetmetalserew | i end up (igure), Phi, it adds a unique look to the project. (We used it on the Wall |)” thie way I don't have to worry ‘Mounted Drill Press Shelf on page 6) about the end of the screw spiting Confirmat Screw ~ A Confrmat sere also has a wide bearing sur face. This keeps t from pulling into the workpiece. And deep, ‘widely-spaced threads won't pullout ofthe workpiece ‘the MDF deep in the hole and “bulging” out the side of the work- as easily, This makes them perfect for knock-down assemblies. piece. Note: For extra holding power, I like to use screws that are Ya! 9/1 longer than T would typi cally use for solid wood or plywood. Final Assembly ~ All that’s left at this point is to screw the pieces together. But there's one last thing. A power drill can easily strip the ‘threads in MDF, ruining al the work that went into sizing everything property. So instead of driving the screw ll the way home under power, Twitch to a screwdriver and “snug up” the screw for a perfect fit. No. 64 ShopNotes 33,Sources | | + Bridge ty Toone Tool Chest Yces a woodworker really need ‘another square? Since Ive been using the Universal Square from, Bridge City Tools, the answer is yes. T've used a similar looking tool for a lot of construction projects. But unlike that tool, this aluminum square is flawlessly machined and hhas just the right features that make ita great tool for woodworking. ‘The Basics — For starters, the square is machined flat with a cove down the center to forma solid base. So I can rest it right next to the saw blade and verity i's set to 90°. And the matte black finish and white let- tering make it very easy to read. (A ‘reat feature for my aging eyes.) Height Gauge - But there's more to the Universal Square than just checking a saw blade for 90° (or 45%). Lean also set the height of 34 the saw blade (or a router bi) because the outside edge hasa scale with !/" incre- ments (Photo A). So setting the right height for something like a dado blade on the first attempt is a piece of cake. Protractor ~ And when laying cout an angle, I don't have to track down my old plastic protractor (Photo B). Along the angled side of ShopNotes Universal is a great description for the capabilities built into this square. the square you'l find divisions in single degree inerements. Centering Rule ~The capabilities don't stop there. ‘The Universal Square also makes finding and laying out the center of ‘workpiece (like the mortise shown in photo C) a simple task, Thickness Gauge - Finally, photo D shows one of the uses J make most frequently — checking’ the thickness of stock when it comes out of the planer. The wide ‘base makes it easy to butt against the workpiece so I can easily read the thickness along the rule next to the open slot. Availability - The Universal ‘Square comes in 3", 4°, and 6" sizes. o choosing just one might be the Diggest problem. (The 6" size is great for guiding a circular saw or jig saw when making acrosscut.) And if you'd like, you can also buy the squares with metric graduations. (See margin for sources). chose the 3" Universal Square. It hhas all the features of the two larger squares, but its small size makes it the perfect tool to carry around in the pocket of your apron. Cost — Depending on the size of the Universal Square, the cost wil range from $33 G") to $56 (6). At first, this may seem a bit extrava~ gant. But considering the Universal Satare takes the place of three or four tools, I think it's worth its. No. 64Drawer Slides (One of the best ways to increase the useable space in a draver isto install them with fullextension drawer sides, like the one shown at right. ‘The secret is a system of tele: scoping steel “channels” that can- tilever the drawer as you open it. ‘These channels ride on ball bearings, so youll get smooth silent operation. And don't worry about sagging. The slides carry loads ranging from 75 to 150 pounds — strong enough for a drawer full oftool or hardware, Brands - We used Accuride slides with a black fnish for our proj ects. Butyou'l find other brands and Sources finishes (white and bright metal) available in lengths ranging from 10" to 28" at home centers, through woodworking catalogs, as well asthe sources listed in the margin, Storage Cabinet Hardware & Bins > I “8 e~ Besides the drawer slides, there are ‘afew other things youl need for the Hardvare Storage Cabinet on page 2 Levelers — For starters, 1 used leveler slides (Part No. 24257) from ‘Rockler (see margin) to make it easy to level the cabinet. Hardware - For the drawers, I used 4" brass sash pulls (upper Jeft) from a local home center. But if you'd like something different, Van Dyke's has brass label holders (Part No. CH-02005501) for ident- fying the contents of each drawer, along with Wdia. brass knobs (Part No. CH-02002542), Plastic Storage Bins - When I desined the cabinet drawers, Isized them specifically for the small (Part No. 30.210) and large (Part No. 30+ 230) Abro-Mils storage bins shown below. Other brands may not fit the drawers exact. These bins (or sim ilar ones) are available from home ‘centers and the sources aright. MAIL ORDER SOURCES Akro-Mils, Ine. 800-253-2167 srralkroilacom Storage Bins McFeeley's 300-143-7937 waveroekier com Drawer Stides, ‘Storage Bins Rockler 800-279-4441 De-Sta-Co Clamps, ‘Draaver Slides, Leveler Glides, Storage Bins MeMaster.Carr 630-833-0300 ‘Drawer Slides, ‘Storage Bins, Toggte Clamps Van Dyke's Restorers 800-558-1234 sworsandykoscom Cabinet Hardware “sumsas-so80 Mortising Jig Hardware__ ass thePlunge Router Morising Fig sourceslisted inthe margin. jie tn” Ptr & Mowe ‘ (page 1) inthis issue, ifs su Knobs - Locking thesliding yer 0p Woodwoing i Onze prising how litle hardware it platforms in place on the Foran fr Woodson, ona Clieds actually takes to bul it. Mortising Jig requires knobs 1 yao wondwortng Clamps - The Key to, gs with wo different" ShopTeusGallerr |Online Coster Servic wag” G0 cesodim: moc” | Seeece three DeStaCo Both ofthe knobs are” Can Download com toggle clamps Part oo alll from CaogatPraea ki, | te ore No. 213-U) that hold GD the Woodsnin ees ris eee the workpiece in place Store (ee + isso as you rout the mortise, margin for number), Woodworking Stes | Tree eeceecd ‘Thepartnumbersyouti_ * OreSlonNes& | sty geae ree @iiier ones) are need for ordering them Naw available from hhome centers, No. 64 ) 1065208 (17/2). ShopNotes are 1065202 7 and WWW.Shopnotes.com | 35eee ple of 19th and early 20th ease Caches ve, erat erect eg rie Pree eleatece Meee Wee eon ae elk espa al Dee ne) ese eam eters eae nc eiCutting Diagram Plunge Router Mortising Jig Se rtywo00 - 40x48" { { { Materials / 4 Bottom (1 16x 122% Plywood Vee a ten | © Sides (2) 3x12-% Plywood i D Router Plate (1) 16x17 -54y Plywood / E Router Plate Guide Step (1) 14.9% Hardboard | F Stops (2) Blax Alley Hardboard G Fixed Plate (1) 12x 12-24 Plywood H Siding Pate (1) 12x 12-54 Plywood 1 Sliding Pite Guide Strip (1) 1x12 1% Hardboard Page 1 of 1 ‘ShopNotes No. 64 ©2002 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.ShopNotes. Cutting Diagram Hardware Storage Cabinet Materials Cabinet A Side Stites (4) by, Ale B Side Railo (4) ee Ble IT © Side Panels (2) 17 34% -"s Phymood D Narrow Front Rails (6) Ax te- 205 Wide Front Ral (1) 5x3 - 205 F Front Stiles (2) Sax PAM 6 Vertical Supports (4) 1x3 39% H Top Supports (2) SaxBih- 20 1 Bottom (1) 20%lex 28 - fe Pynood J top () 1x24 - 22% K Back) 205 40 Plywood Drawers 1 Small Fronte/Backs (8) exBte- Ph MSmall Sideo (8) hxB'le- 25 N Large Fronts/Backs (4) "ax Ihe 1M 0 Large Sides (4) ex Bie -23 P Bottoms (6) 1hyx 22" Plywood Smal False Fronts (4) Sa xF le 19h Large False Fronts (2) Su xOe- 19 5 Small Side-to-Side Dividers (20) ‘tax Ble 17, T Small Front-to-Back Dividers (20) "4x B- 22 U Large Side-to-Side Dividers (10) ax 8-164 V Large Front-to-Back Dividers (10) "nx 8-22 NOTE: Cutting Diagram For Optional Dividers Not Shown Page Lof2 ShopNotesNo.64 ©2002 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.Page 2 of 2 ShopNotes No. 64 ©2002 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.