Raising

Gable Walls
 Publisher:
116 98 Gary M. Katz
garyk@thisiscarpentry.com

Editor:
Roe A. Osborn
Editorial Notes............................... 6 roeo@thisiscarpentry.com

Kickback........................................7 Art Director/Layout coordinator:

David Luyendyk
DesignING Class: Drawing a Volute.....12 davidl@thisiscarpentry.com
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Raising Gable Walls.......................62 Tristan Katz
tristank@thisiscarpentry.com
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8 9

I criticized your magazine last month I subscribed to This is Carpentry art of th e trade
but was very impressed when you got though I guess you are working the Thanks so much for all this help to a "Anyone can do it cheaper, but not ev-
back to me regarding the problems. tech glitches out because I'm unable carpenter who thought that the art eryone can do it better." ~Todd
Now, I must tell you that the magazine to view it online currently. Thanks of the trade was lost to production.
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Please don’t try anything you see in
THISisCarpentry, or any where else for
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B
uilding in general, and carpentry
in particular, are dangerous
businesses. Accidents on
jobsites and in workshops happen
every day, and one mishap can end your
livelihood or your life. On the pages of
THISisCarpentry, we show methods
and practices that we think are safe. But
safety is a very personal concept. What
may feel safe in one situation might not
feel safe in another. And a practice that
certain that you can do it safely.
To work more safe ly:
• Keep all your tools in tip-top shape.
• Keep your mind in tip-top shape.
• Respect all tools, and fear them
a little.
• Never rush your work.
• Always wear protective safety gear.
Enjoy your craft,
but always be careful!
The TIC Staff
See John in action on page 129
 I
worked in finish carpentry and in mill shops. In fact, a 75-year-old But I couldn’t find a living stair-
millwork for quite a while before master named John Mesiti taught builder to teach me everything I need-
I learned that you have to design me woodturning, which got me into ed to know about the trade, so I had to
things before you can build them: the stair building. learn from dead ones: craftsmen who
less confidence I had about each step
of a job, the more important it was to
plan right to the end, before cutting one
piece of wood.

Titlea
Drawing Some time later, I figured out that I
didn’t have to design everything from
scratch—lots of smarter carpenters had

Volute built most of the same stuff before. What

I really had to do was look at their work!
From that experience, I’ve learned that
the correct way to build a house is to
by Jed Dixon
design the handrail first, then design
the stair, and the rest of the house
will follow.
I’m not at all self-taught. I went to
school for woodworking, and I was lucky
to have a superb teacher. And I was
Send your ideas to:
lucky to work for, and with, some really
tristank@
by Author good, experienced, and generous car-
thisiscarpentry.com penters on job sites, and woodworkers
14
left their techniques behind in books;
carpenters who left their work behind
in old homes.
While learning to build stairs, one of
the biggest problems I encountered was
how to make a volute. What is a volute?
Come on! A volute is one of the most
beautiful pieces of wood in a home. It’s
the curved piece on the bottom of the
stair; it’s the spiral, the beginning on
the way up and end on the way down of
every proper stair; a volute is the piece
that supports the bird-
cage of balusters
at the starter
step.
Pronounced Vol-ute, depending on
where you hail from, the word origi-
nates from natural forms, like un-
furling leaves, the shells of mollusks
or gastropods, and ram’s horns. The
spiral volute design appears on fiddle-
heads both of the fern and the violin,
and pairs of volutes decorate the capi-
tals of the Ionic order. Volutes play a
role in the old mystic golden number—
the Fibonacci series—they have a kind
of magic. And for carpenters, volutes
provide a natural termination for lin-
ear molding and handrails.
In fact, if the house is a body, and the
handrail is the main artery, then the
volute is the heart of a home. For hun-
dreds of years volutes have been
a favorite way to start a stair
rail, first because they are
pleasing to the eye and,
second, because they are
John Brown House, Providence, RI
comfortable
to the hand. They lend
a gentle slope to the start
of every stair. Viewed from above, a
volute spirals down into an eye, a fo-
cus, like the place where you drown in
15
a whirlpool, where everything begins
and ends—nothingness.
But I’m going off on a tangent,
as usual, and Gary’s going to get
upset with me. Back to carpentry.
Com m e rcial volutes
Even commercial handrail systems–
available from local lumberyards–
include volutes. They are always the
most expensive parts in the catalogue.
High-end stair part companies of-
fer handsome volutes and attractive
stairs can be built with them. But for
the most part, manufactured volutes
have a few failings:
They aren’t available in a wide range
of species.
They aren’t available in a wide range
of patterns.
Available patterns are not, for the
most part, historically correct.
16 17

require long balusters and tall newels;
a person starting up such a stair must
raise their hand uncomfortably high.
Why carve a volute?
When I started building stairs, all
manufactured parts were made of
beech, and all the old stairs I looked
at were mahogany or walnut. I had to
make rail. And I had to make complex
curved parts. The volute seemed like
the hardest part to make. But it doesn’t
have to be—not if you start with a good
drawing. In fact, a full-size drawing
makes the best template, too.
If you want to build the best stair
possible, if you want to be a real stair
builder, you’re going to have to make

Machine-made volutes are primar- visual termination and starting place

ily designed for just that—to be made
on automatic or semi-automatic ma-
chinery. The curves are kept open so
that rotating cutters can reach into ev-
ery curve, which means the rail never
spirals in on a center—they have no
eye…exactly, they have no vision, they
fail to provide a natural and necessary
for railing.
In addition, for ease of construction,
commercial volutes curve in elevation,
and then curve in plan– they have no
compound curves, which means they
remain level until the second tread A commercial volute with an
and must be set high on every stair. ‘upeasing’ (right) must be installed
For that reason, commercial volutes higher above the starting step than
a volute with a wreath (left).
18
your own rail parts (yes! You’ll have
to learn wood-turning, too, so you can
make your own balusters and newel
posts- but that’s another story). This ar-
ticle will show you how we make volutes
in our shop. We didn’t invent anything
here– the volute in this article could
have been made by a Boston stair build-
er for a brownstone in Beacon hill in
1790, but we will show you a few mod-
ern tricks and techniques that make
things go faster, particularly computer
drafting, and power carving. If you have
good carpentry skills, a shop space with
basic woodworking tools, and an ad-
venturous spirit, carving a volute might
be a good place to jump your finish car-
penter chops up to the next level.
Th e drawi ngs
A volute is really made from two piec-
es: the scroll section, which is the por-
tion of the volute that is level and spi-
rals to an eye, and the wreath section
(a wreath is a stair building term for
any compound curved piece of rail).
I draw the volute full size in both
plan (from the top) and in eleva-
tion (from the side). Then I use these
drawings to make full size patterns of
both pieces. The patterns will go to
the shop and be used to saw out the
blanks and then carved. At the end of
this story, Mike Kennedy will show
you how that’s done.
Be fore you start
Here’s what you need to know before
you start your drawing:
What is the stair rise and run?
What does the rail look like—it’s best
19
to have a section or piece of the rail.
What’s the code on how wide and
high the rail must be?
How wide is the volute? And are you
sure there’s enough room?
Think about the design, too. You
don’t want a volute that ends at the
center too big—like a dinner plate,
or one that ends too small, like a cabi-
net knob.
Layout th e volute
To draw the volute in plan view, I fol-
low the same procedure every time.
I draw the skirt board, second tread,
baluster, and a short section of straight
rail. Then I draw the volute. Next, I
draw the bottom tread, because the
stair is going to be better if the shape
of the bottom tread follows the shape
of the volute. Besides, I’ll need a pat-
tern for the tread and riser too, and
the drawing provides that pattern.
20
Start with the second riser
Here’s a few tips that should help
you better understand the process of
drawing a volute by hand. Watch
the video, read these tips, do both
again, and then practice drawing a
volute yourself.
The first step in drawing the volute is
establishing the edge of the skirt board
and the edge of the second riser. I draw
a baluster where they come together.
The centerline of the handrail goes
through the center of the baluster, and
the inside and outside of the rail are
drawn 1-3/8” parallel to the centerline,
to give a rail which is 2-3/4” wide. Once
these elements are drawn, I measure
downhill 2 in. from the second riser
to draw the first stop line, where the
straight rail meets the curved volute.
I’ve found that 0 to 4 in. will work on
most stairs: I want to design the stair
so that the curve of the bullnose on the
bottom tread follows the curve of the
volute; that way all the balusters will
have the same relation to the bottom
tread as they have to the straight part of
21
the stair. In other words, the face of all
the balusters will be plumb flush with
the face of the skirt and with the riser
of the bullnose tread. If 2 in. doesn’t
work, it doesn’t mean you have to start
all over. You can just redraw the loca-
tion of the riser until the bullnose tread
looks right!
22 23

The width of the volute also has to a real problem! Given enough space, Th e Sh ri n kback volute and a 1 in. shrinkback, my first
relate to the width of the rail; and it most of the time, I’ve found that an 11 A shrinkback is the amount that the radius will be 6 in., and my second ra-
has to fit in the amount of available in. volute works well with a 2 3/4 in. spiral decreases every quarter turn of dius will be 5 in., which adds up to the
space—a narrow hallway wall can pose rail, and a 1 in. shrinkback. the volute. In this case, with an 11 in. total width of the volute, 11 in.
24 25

For every quarter turn, I shrink 1 point—which establishes the end of The forth radius center point is es- the centers have formed a 1-in. square.
in. toward the interior of the volute, each quarter turn. I make this same tablished automatically, it’s the inter- Radius 4 starts at stop line 4, and ends
and each time I also draw a stop line step for radiuses #1, #2, #3, and #4. section of the spring line and the stop up back on stop line 1.
at 90 degrees through the new center line from the #3 radius. At this point,
26 27

For the fifth radius, the shrinkback a nautilus shell. A 1/2 in. shrinkback For the sixth radius, the shrinkback is radius is the center of the 1-in. square;
is 1/2 in. instead of 1 in., otherwise makes the radius 2 1/2 in. also 1/2 in. instead of 1 in. And that com- it’s the center of the eye of the volute;
the spiral won’t close in on itself like pletes the spiral. The center of the last and it’s the center of the volute newel.
28
The scroll section is the level part of
the volute. The pattern for the scroll
section can be taken directly off this
plan view drawing and used to band-
saw a blank out of a piece of wood the
thickness of the rail.
Layout th e wreath
The wreath section is the upper sec-
tion of the volute, which transitions
from raked to level as it turns through
the first 90 degrees. It has a com-
pound curve because it curves in both
plan and elevation. That compound
curve makes it much more difficult to
draw. In fact, it’s even difficult to vi-
sualize. Look at the animation above
and you’ll see the drawing and the two
patterns we’re about to create.
29
We have the plan view of the wreath
from the volute drawing. In order to
make a pattern for cutting the wreath
from a block of wood, I first turn the
scroll section drawing 90 degrees,
so that I can see the elevation of the
30
wreath. You’ll see me turn the draw-
ing in the video, but the Sketchup
drawings included with the text start
with the stair turned horizontally.
Because the wreath turns and
twists, curving in plan and elevation,
I need two drawings, both of which
are drawn in elevation and plan view.
I know this is going to confuse a lot of
readers. When I first learned how to
draw a wreath, the only guide I had
was a drawing in a fifty-year old book.
Learning from that drawing felt like
breaking my own leg over and over
again. It took me the better part of a
week to figure it out the first time.
I’ve been trying to explain this pro-
cess to my friend Gary Katz for ten
years; now he wishes he’d paid better
attention in geometry class! Most of
you will get it much quicker! I’m sure
the video, this additional text, and the
drawings (my thanks to Todd Murdock
31
for the wonderful Sketchup illustra-
tions!), will make it much easier to
understand how to draw this compli-
cated three-dimensional piece. Even
Gary has drawn his own volute now,
and we’re going to make him carve it
next time he visits the shop!
Th e E levations
Because the wreath curves in plan and
elevation, and because we want to get
it out of the smallest piece of expen-
sive and rare mahogany as possible,
we have to visualize the block of wood pattern for the side of
at an angle. That angle is the pitch of the block. I use a com-
the stair! mon shop class tech-
Also, because the wreath curves in nique of drawing the
two planes—it rises up the pitch of the elevation dimensions
stair and it turns 90 degrees with the under the plan view,
spiral—we need to make a pattern for which makes it easy to
both the top and the side of the wreath. carry the dimensions
I always start with an elevation view of from the plan view to
the entire volute, which will give us the the elevation view.
32 33

Pattern and the Top Pattern; we’ll do

the Side Pattern first.

The second line.

Next, draw a horizontal line across
the bottom of the drawing, like I said,
about a foot below the plan view.
That line helps establish the eleva-
tion of the handrail at the pitch of the
stair. Think of that horizontal line as
the run of the stair. Pretty soon, that
line will become the centerline of the
level scroll section.

The center of the handrail.

The first line.
Start by drawing a line down from the
center of the handrail, right where the
scroll section and the wreath section
join (Line A). I find that a 12 in. or 13
in. line usually allows enough room
to draw the whole elevation—the Side
The run of the stair, or the tread, is
10 in. I measure 10 in. from the in-
tersection of line A and the ‘run’ line.
From that point, I measure up the rise
of the stair, which is 7 3/8 in. An el-
evation drawing is really like looking
at the edge of the riser. That’s what
we’re seeing now.
Next, I draw the center line of the
raked handrail by connecting the rise
and run lines at the rake of the stair.After
that, it’s easy to draw the top and bottom
of the raked handrail. The rail is 2 1/4
in. tall, so I place a line 1 1/8 in. above
and 1 1/8 in. below the center line.
The top joint.
To start the top joint, I draw a vertical
line from the plan view down to the
34 35

rail, so I add another 2 in. or 3 in. to
the block; that is line L which becomes
the glue line and the end of the block.
The bottom joint.
Now we need to draw the joint where
the bottom of the wreath meets the
level handrail of the volute. To de-
scribe that joint, I have to establish
both the height and the width of the
handrail. I start by using the first hori-
zontal line I drew, at the bottom of the

elevation view, from the very top of the
volute, where the straight rail meets
the curved rail (see Line B). That line
is really an extension of Stop Line #1,
which is also the 11” line drawn for the
initial spiral of the volute.
Next, I draw a line (K) square to the
handrail so that it intersects line B at
the centerline of the handrail. That’s
the exact location where the wreath
meets the straight rail, and that square
line would make a butt joint. However,
the joint would be clipped slightly on
the outer curve, and besides, I like to
have a little extra wood on the wreath
for carving the curve to the straight
36
drawing—that is the centerline of the
level scroll section. I draw a line 1 1/8
in. above and below that centerline,
establishing the side of the handrail
in elevation.
I layout the width of the hand-
rail the same way, using line A, the
first vertical line I drew, which was
carried down from the volute—the
center of the handrail where the scroll
section meets the wreath section. Be-
cause the handrail is 2 3/4 in. wide,
I draw a line 1 3/8 in. on each side of A.
Those lines are F & G. Now I can trace
a small piece of the handrail, in eleva-
tion, right on to the drawing, in the
rectangle formed between F & G and
the top and bottom of the horizontal
rail. Believe it or not, that end grain
section is the face of the butt joint at
the bottom of the wreath!
The side pattern.
We’ve finished the elevation, now we
37
can use it to make a paper pattern for
the side of the block. We need a piece
of wood thicker than the height of the
2 1/4 in. rail, so I use a piece of 12/4 or
2 3/4 in. thick stock.
To establish the top and bottom of
the 2 3/4 in. block of wood on the ele-
vation, draw a line 1 3/8 in. above and
38
below the centerline of the raked rail
(Lines D & E). To locate the lower end
of the block, draw a line (J) square to
D & E, so that it just misses the bottom
corner of the handrail near the bottom
of line F. Because the top of the block
is already defined by line L (see Side-
Top Views), we now have the side
pattern complete.
The top pattern.
Before starting the Top Pattern, extend
lines F, G, & B to line D. By looking at the
plan view of the volute above, we can tell
that the wreath section is 6 in. wide. The
39
block is already at the pitch of the stair,
so it’s easy to draw the top view at the
same pitch, right above the side view.
I start by measuring 6 in. up from
Line D, and strike Line H, parallel to
40 41

line D. That establishes the width of the lines J & L to line H completes the Next, draw a line 2 3/4 in. from and inner edge of the straight rail (M).
block and the Top Pattern. Extending rectangle of the Top Pattern. parallel to line H—that represents the
42 43

Layout the Ellipses.

Where line B intersects line D is the center point
of both ellipses (P-1). Draw a line (B-1) square
across the top of the pattern, parallel to line L-1.
Line B-1 defines the ends of both the inner and
the outer edge of the ellipse.
Don’t forget we added a couple inches to the
wreath to make it easier for Mike to blend the
wreath and the straight rail. So from line B-1 to
line L-1, the wreath is carved straight.
The intersection of line F and line D (P-2) is the
starting point of the outer ellipse.
The intersection of line G and line D (P-3) is
the starting point of the inner ellipse.
The intersection of line H and line B-1 is P-4.
The intersection of line M and line B-1 is P-5.

Draw th e e lli pses.

I use a trammel with two points and a pencil, and
a small square, to draw the ellipses for the inside
and outside of the rail. You’ll have to watch the
video to see how it’s done, but here’s how to set the
44
trammels—just remember, always set
one of the trammel points on P-1! :
For the outside ellipse, put the pen-
cil on P-4, then set the inner trammel
point on P-1. Next, move the pencil to
P-2, then set the outer trammel point
on P-1. Swing the ellipse with the
points held against the square the way
I do it in the video.
For the inside ellipse set the pencil
on P-5, then set the inner trammel
point on P-1. Next, move the pencil to
P-3 and set the outer trammel point
on P-1. Again, swing the ellipse with
the points held against the square the
way I do it in the video.
Once the drawing and patterns are
completed, I hand them off to Mike
Kennedy. From that point on, the
woodwork is in Mike’s hands. Watch
the video to see how Mike uses the pa-
per patterns to cut the wreath out on
the bandsaw.
And don’t miss Issue Four of
THISisCarpentry, if you want to see
Mike carve the volute. If you were lost
at any point during this article, don’t
feel bad. I’m confident that if you
watch the videos, read the text, look
at the pictures, and draw it yourself,
45
you’ll understand the process and be a
better carpenter for it.
If you use CAD software for draw-
ing your work, here’s a short video
that should help.
If you read this story, then draw
and carve a volute… please take
pictures and send them in to the maga-
zine! Share your work so we’ll all learn
more about our craft.
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 (www.dewalt.com)
E
ver since portable table saws
first appeared on jobsites, car-
penters have been throwing
away the guards, and for good reason:
They’re difficult to remove and re-in-
stall; after they’ve been used for a few
months, you can’t see through the plas-
tic shroud, so it’s impossible to align the
DeWalt DW 745 blade with a measurement mark; you
have to remove the guard to make nar-
10-in. Portable row rips or rabbets; and carpenters have
always suspected that the splitters cause
Table Saw
more kickback than they prevent. Those
are a lot of reasons to set aside a
saw guard.
A Second Portable table
saw with a riving knife!!
Send your ideas to:
tristank@
thisiscarpentry.com
Fortunately, tool manufactur-
ers—prodded by governmental reg-
ulations—are upgrading the guards
on portable table saws. Bosch
(www.boschtools.com) was the first
manufacturer to release a new guard
system. On my website almost two
years ago, I reviewed Bosch’s new Smart
Guard System for their portable table
saw: (http://www.garymkatz.com/
ToolReviews/bosch_4100_table_
saw.htm). At the time, I learned that
several tool manufactures
had been working on the same system
together, so that every new portable
table saw could be equipped with an
easy-to-use guard system where the
splitter converts to a riving knife. Up
until then, the only way to install a
riving knife on a portable table saw
was by modifying the splitter (http://
www.garymkatz.com/ToolReviews/
riving_knife.html), and that meant
the shroud couldn’t be used again.
But Bosch’s new Smart Guard System
eliminates the need for modifying the
splitter, allows carpenters to use the
plastic cover or shroud, and converts
easily into a riving knife simply by
lowering the splitter down beneath
the top teeth on the blade.
If you don’t know what a riving
knife is, or how important it can be
to your safety, pay attention! A riv-
ing knife acts just like the splitter on
a table saw—it prevents the kerf from
closing on the back of the saw teeth,
50
which usually results in kickback. A saw
kerf can close for a variety of reasons,
either from pressure built up in the
wood grain—especially in hardwood—
or from a warp or twist in the board,
which creates pressure between the rip
fence and the teeth at the back of the
blade. Kickback is one of the most dan-
gerous things that can happen while
using a table saw. Many carpenters
have lost fingers—or worse—because
of accidents due to kickback.
Like a splitter, a riving knife mounts
behind the blade, but instead of pro-
jecting up over the blade, a riving knife
is about 1/8 in. shorter than the top
teeth of the blade. More importantly,
a riving knife attaches to the blade
carriage, so it travels up and down
with the blade, staying at the same
elevation, no matter how high or low
you crank the blade. Some splitters
don’t do that, which makes them im-
possible to modify. But the best thing
about a riving knife is that it doesn’t
have to be removed—ever, unless you
switch to a smaller blade or dado set.
Riving knives can save a lot of fin-
gers. (For more on riving knives, read
this article from Fine Homebuilding
(http://www.taunton.com/finehome
building/PDF/Free/021180086.pdf).
Bosch’s Smart Guard System revo-
lutionized table-saw safety—mostly
because it was the first easy-to-use
guard that carpenters weren’t inclined
to throw away! Bosch made the plas-
tic shroud easy to see through, easy
to remove, and easy to store right on
the saw. They also made a splitter that
converts into a riving knife quickly
and easily: It takes only a few seconds
to loosen the splitter and lower it into
the riving knife position. If you’re not
familiar with the Bosch Smart Guard
System, the tool review article refer-
51
enced earlier discusses the system in is so much smaller, I was able to
greater detail. get a smaller Rousseau Saw Stand
The guard system on the DeWalt (www.rousseauco.com), which saves
saw is very similar to Bosch’s guard on the overall weight and space. The
system, but there are many other ben- only real compromise I’ve had to
efits to this saw as well. First of all, make with this saw is the noise: This
the DeWalt 745 weighs less than 45 new saw is a screamer. I tried the saw
lb., while the Bosch 4100 comes in at with the factory blade from DeWalt
60 lb.! The Bosch saw does run much and also with a Forrest blade (http://
quieter and more smoothly, but the www.forrestblades.com/), and found
weight difference is so dramatic that little difference in the noise, although
many carpenters will be tempted by the saw cut beautifully and ran more
the DeWalt saw,
especially con-
sidering that
the DeWalt saw
costs as little as
$400, while the
cheapest I’ve
seen the Bosch
is $550.
Because the
DeWalt saw
52
smoothly with the Forrest blade.
Another problem I have with the
DeWalt 745 is the blade elevation
mechanism—it takes over 40 revolu-
tions of the crank to raise the blade
fully! I hope that the smaller gear
teeth in the mechanism aren’t prone
to sawdust build up and binding, but
that’s something I won’t know until
I’ve used the saw a lot more.
Fortunately, the engineers who de-
signed the Bosch and DeWalt guard
systems paid a lot of attention to the
way we use table saws. Both guards are
split down the middle, so the operator
can see the blade looking from both
the front of the guard and through the
top of the guard. Because you can see
53
through the top of the guard, you don’t
have to lift or remove the guard to
check that the blade
is hitting a measure-
ment mark.
54 55

DeWalt has definitely improved on Bosch’s The 745 guard slides easily
clumsy and difficult-to-oper- onto the back of the splitter/
ate guard latch. riving knife — Simply lift the
front of the guard and slide
the rear ring and pin over the
hook in the splitter. To lock the
guard in place, press the large thumb
latch down. To remove the guard, lift
the latch up. Nothing could be simpler.
The latch on the DeWalt guard operates
smoothly and easily—a significant im-
provement on the Bosch
latch, which is dif-
ficult to grasp
and it sticks.
56
DeWalt’s easy-to-use hardware for
storing the plastic guard under the saw
is similar to the Bosch, so storing the
guard and keeping it with the saw is no
longer an excuse for not using the guard.
Trust me, this is one table-saw guard
you won’t throw away in frustration.
57
To adjust the guard and split-
ter/riving knife, you have to
remove the throat guard. But
DeWalt made that easy, too. The
throat guard is secured with a
tool-free lock, and a finger hole
makes it easy to remove the insert.
58 59

Converting the guard from a

splitter to a riving knife means
lowering the splitter until it’s
just below the top of the saw
blade teeth. Bosch uses a very
small lever to release the split-
ter/riving knife. On my Bosch
4100 saw, even in the locked
position, the splitter/riving
Then lower the splitter into the riving over the top of the blade. That’s an-
knife isn’t perfectly snug. I’ve
knife indexed position. other great way to save fingers while
tried tightening the lock nut to
DeWalt tried to think of everything working with a table saw! And it’s a
increase the pressure, but the
with this saw. They even ship it with subject for a future article on table
bolt is so small, I worry that I
a plastic push stick. I guess in a pinch saw safety.
might shear it off. By compari-
that’s better than nothing, but my ad-
son, the DeWalt splitter is se-
vice is to make yourself a proper
cured with a T-knob that tight-
push stick, one that doesn’t push
ens and seats easily. You don’t
towards the blade but
have to remove the knob to
lower the splitter. Just loosen
the knob about three turns, and
push the knob in so the splitter
can slip off the retaining pins.
by Gables are the hardest part
JOH N of a house to stage. So
S PI E R work on them when you
can walk on them, instead
of having to climb.
64 65

I spent many years framing

custom homes with a big crew of think as
they watch our prog-
expensive carpenters, and the pressures
ress. Several days of sawing and
of keeping things moving and making payroll hammering go by with no visible re-
taught me to be efficient. Now, I’ve downsized, and my sults, and then all of a sudden, the ga-
the pieces and
bles rise up and the house takes on its fi-
wife and I are enjoying framing houses with no other help. assemble them, add ply-
nal shape. Sometimes those gables even
Getting things done with just two of us working, and sav- wood, housewrap, fly rafters, trim,
have trim, paint, windows, and siding,
paint, and whatever else I dare, and
ing our aging backs, makes good use of the lessons I’ve even though there’s just a plywood box
then stand them up. The smaller the
under them and no roof between them!
learned about fast, efficient framing techniques. wall, the more stuff I can put on it. On
One time we built a house where the two
some houses, the first time the gables
Of course there are times—like when Almost every house we build here gables were perpendicular to each oth-
ever see a ladder is when the owner
we’re looking at sixty or so big heavy in coastal New England is based on er. After we raised them, people started
puts up his Christmas lights.
rafters—when we miss having those traditional Cape or colonial designs. stopping us on the street to ask what the
young and strong employees! On the As such, they all have gable ends that house was going to look like!
other hand, the benefits of working lend themselves to being built flat and Most houses have standard gable Start with a
slower and smarter are many: More stood up. Even gambrels and funky ends that are built and raised from one fu ll-scale drawi ng
time for thinking means fewer mis- contemporaries are easier to build this of the upper floors or the attic, although Like a boat builder, I like to start out
takes are made, less material is wast- way; in fact, sometimes the roof fram- I’ve occasionally raised story-and-a- with an accurate, full-size drawing of
ed, and details are better designed and ing details are unclear until I draw half balloon framed gables from a low- the gable, with its base exactly in posi-
thought out. If I ever go back to a big them out full size to build the gables. er floor. In a nutshell, I draw a picture tion on the floor. Better yet, I like to start
crew, it won’t be as a boss! I often wonder what the neighbors of the gable on the subfloor, cut all of out with identical pictures of each gable.
66
With these
drawings, I can de-
sign and pattern every compo-
nent of the walls and roof, often making
them in pairs or larger sets. Whoever
said that “symmetry is the hobgoblin of
little minds” certainly wasn’t a house
framer! In addition to accurate fram-
ing, I also use these full size drawings
to design and finalize trim details.
Some would say this is micro-manag-
ing framing, but by tweaking the design
full scale, I can avoid awkward rips and
flashings, inefficient use of materials,
and aesthetic mistakes.
I start out with the big rectangle,
usually the
whole floor including
the walls that flank the gables.
We measure and adjust the rectangle
until it is square, equilateral, parallel
and aligned with the exterior walls of the
house. Then I bisect the rectangle with a
center line, which locates the ridge and
the peaks of the gables. If I align every-
thing in the gable walls with this center
line, the framing ends up plumb and the
roof will be square and symmetrical.
There are various complications
that can arise at this point. Quite of-
ten, gables built on an attic floor can’t
be drawn completely because the sub-
floor stops short of the exterior walls.
In this case, the long sides of the rect-
angle become hypothetical, and just
represent the line where the bottom
plane of the roof rafters would inter-
sect the subfloor.
67
Com-
monly, the
rafter tails need to
swing down to a lower level when
the wall is raised as well. Flared eaves
such as those planned for the house pho-
tographed here, or transitions to other
lower roofs, can also complicate the pic-
ture. Openings in the floor can also be in-
convenient, such as when the gable peak
lands in the stairway. I usually take the
time to fill in the opening with a couple
of cleats and a scrap of subfloor (or if I’m
really thinking straight, I remember not
to cut out that section). For this project,
one gable covered the opening for the
stairway, which was our only access to
the top floor. We had to keep it open, so
we stretched a straightedge across the
68
opening to
take measurements.
When the floor is laid out,
I start drawing a picture of the gable
end, using the plate or kneewall height
and the roof pitch to arrive at lines that
represent the tops of the gable wall
plates. I like to do both gables at once,
even if the peaks overlap, which gives
me four top plate lines that I can mea-
sure. If they’re not exactly the same, I
go back, figure out why, and fix it!
Incidentally, these same techniques
can be used for those speedy gables
we used to build on simpler and less-
engineered structures, with flagged
studs and no top plates or headers.
On those jobs, we just snapped out the
same lines, tacked the stock on layout,
and cut everything in place. Ah, the
good ol’ days…
I continue the lofting pro-
cess by drawing in the
framing details, such
as the ridge, posts, win-
dow openings,
69
partition posts
and nailers, and anything else
I’d like to include. I often do all of this
work with adjustable blue lines until
everything is right, and then snap it out the opening width,
in permanent red. I also snap lines to because these stay visible as I as-
represent the top edges of the rafters, semble the wall. I don’t bother with
because I can use these lines later to any horizontal lines, because cutting
fine tune things like dormer and sky- trimmers and jacks to length estab-
light details. For window openings, lishes these heights.
I use one set of lines to represent
70 71

Th e wall fram e takes shape

The gable wall starts out with a bottom plate, toenailed Most gables are large enough
along the inside of the baseline as drawn on the floor. I use that I need several pieces of stock
straight stock and nail it at an angle through its inboard edge, holding it for the bottom plate. I splice the plate stock on
to the line so that the nails bend as the wall is raised, while keeping the plate in the center of a common layout point because it gives me a
position. On any but very small gables, I add several metal straps; I’ve never had convenient way to lay out my studs. I usually take the time
a wall start to slide off the building as I raised it, but I’ve often thought about the to bevel the ends of the bottom to exact dimensions
mess it would make if it happened! where they intersect with the angled top plates,
although holding them back to where they
cut off square is perfectly acceptable.
I’ve been called bad names for this
type of exactitude!
With the bottom plate
in position, I measure
the key parts of
72 73

the wall; the top plates, king studs, and I cut

ridge post. The ridge sits on top of the ridge and install
post and aligns with the top edges of the raf- these key compo-
ters. To determine the length of the ridge nents, carefully making sure that
post, I subtract the height of the ridge from the gable remains on its lines.
that point and measure down. Because the Sometimes I use a few temporary
ridge height (9 1/2 in. in this case) is less than toenails or blocks tacked to the floor to because I usually have
the plumb cut on the end of the rafter, the keep the top plates and end studs from all of these parts cut and stacked
ridge post extends beyond the gable plates. moving while the wall is assembled, before I start. Again, I’m careful to
Many gables have a center window but generally it’s better if everything keep these openings on their snapped
with a header carrying the ridge post, is cut accurately and stays in place lines, so that they’re plumb when the
which isn’t a problem as long as the top of on its own. Next, I fill in window and wall is raised.
the post ends up where it’s located on the door openings, building them from Studs and cripples come next. I lay
drawing. I use a scrap of stock to mark out the inside out and from the bottom up them out only on the bottom plate. I
thicknesses on the floor, and I make sure
that any pieces that should be the
same length actually are. For ex-
ample, if there is a matched pair
of windows equidistant from the cen-
terline, there should also be matching king
studs on either side of them. Also, it’s criti-
cal that the top plates are identical in length,
otherwise the rafters won’t fit properly.
74
measure the longest stud on each
side, making sure it’s parallel with my
centerline. After that, I cut the rest of
the studs for each side determining
their length using a common difference
measurement, and nail them in where
they fit. This strategy works well, and a
Construction Master calculator (www.
calculated.com), or similar calcula-
tor, makes it easy, especially with odd
pitches that I can’t do in my head.
Cripples above and below open-
ings can be measured from the near-
est common stud, keeping an eye out
for bowed stock. Because gable studs
don’t carry vertical loads, I cut them a
little shy: Making them tight and forc-
ing them to layout risks bowing the
outside components of the wall, which
can cause all sorts of problems later.
75
Rafte rs
go on n ext
After the wall is framed, I
make the rafters to go on them. The
starting point for the rafter is the top
plate length, taken from the draw-
ing on the subfloor and usually writ-
ten down when all the measurements
were confirmed. For a typical house,
I first make one rafter to test fit, and
then four more, two for each gable and
one to keep for a pattern for the rest of
the roof.
I rip a few blocks to thickness to hold
the rafters off the floor and flush with
the outside of the wall framing; for ex-
ample, a 2x rafter on a 2x6 wall needs
to sit on 4-in. blocks. I set the rafters in
76
place
and nail
them through the
top plates. I make the raf-
ters exactly as they need to be for
the rest of the roof, but then I ease the
plumb cut at the ridge to make it easier
to set the ridge later. If the rafters are
cut with tails and bird’s mouths (the
ones on this project weren’t) I also ease
the plumb cut on the birds mouths to
keep the rafter tails from binding and
splitting as the wall is raised.
The last pieces to go in are perimeter
blocking for my sheath-
ing, and firestop blocking
at the collar tie or
ceiling joist height. These sundry small
pieces are much easier to do while the
wall is flat on the deck. I snap a chalk
line, lay some scrap stock along the
line, and cut the pieces right in place.
Sh eath i ng th e wall
Generally, the sheathing on the walls
below the gable stops somewhere be-
low floor level, so we install the gable
wall sheathing hanging over the bot-
tom plate. After the wall is stood up
and braced, the sheathing can be nailed
off, thus tying the upper and lower
walls together across the floor system.
77
This detail is
often specified by the
engineers, and is preferable to
those nasty metal straps that the side
wall guys hate so much. I always leave people from
1/2 in. or so to spare when measuring walking out on the
the overhang. The gap won’t matter, overhanging sheathing. It’s a
and the floor system and plates are nuisance having to repair the ply-
bound to compress as the house set- wood after they crash through it on
tles and loads up with finish materi- their way to the ground.
als. I also mark any overhanging ply-
wood or even install a
temporary guard-
rail to keep
78
Other than that, the
sheathing is installed the
same as on any wall, nailed in place
with the openings routed out or cut with
a saw. Letting the sheathing hang out
beyond the rafters and cutting it in place
is a real timesaver, especially compared
to ladder or staging work, and reversing
the cutoffs to fit similarly shaped areas
79
reduces waste
significantly. Just make
sure the top edge is cut about a 1/4
in. below the top of the rafter, because
the rafter will shrink as it dries.
80
House wrap or not
I’m all for putting the housewrap while the gable Whichever covering I use,
is on the deck and it’s easy: five minutes on the flat, versus I leave the bottom edge unfastened
a lot longer balancing on staging. Most houses get Tyvek®, to accommodate the wrap from the
Typar® (www.typarhousewrap.com), or some other simi- lower walls as well as any flashing that
lar product, although the jury seems to be coming back on might need to go under it. And because
these materials, and I’ve been seeing a resurgence of old- we’re in an area of frequent high winds,
fashioned felt paper. I tack some furring strips or rips over
the loose edge to keep it from blowing
off before the siding goes on.
Occasionally, we’ll frame
a house where the
sidewall contrac-
tor wants to do
his own house-
wrap, usually
to integrate
custom flash-
ings or siding
details. In this
case, we still
81
install felt
paper or Vycor® type
splines to protect areas that will be
difficult to cover later.
Fly rafte rs fly
Most of the houses we build have over-
hangs on their gables, and these are
much easier to build while the gables
are flat on the deck.
There are many acceptable details
for framing them, depending on the
designer, the trim design, the amount
of overhang, the siding, etc. Minimalist
trim involves just a spacer to accom-
modate siding, and then the fascia.
My gable ends most often have
82
a modest over-
hang of 8 in. to 12 in.,
which I build with the fly rafters
on top of toe-nailed blocks. Overhangs
wider than 12 in. or so should be built
as ‘ladders’, and will need to be braced
straight later when the roof sheathing
is installed and nailed.
Even wider or more complicated
overhangs with lookout supports can
be pre-fabricated and installed before
the gable is raised. I put in temporary
braces to carry the overhang until the
lookouts go in when the rest of the roof
is framed. No matter what the trim de-
tail, I back it with a wide strip of felt
paper, which protects the walls from
any water getting through the trim or
blowing up through the siding.
83
Tri m, wi n dows, ve nts,
si di ng, pai nt…
There are many options here, and
what you install is limited only by what
you feel safe lifting! Almost anything
you can install will be easier now than
later. I almost always install at least
the fascia boards
and sof-
fits, and if there
are frieze boards, I fit and
tack them in place to be removed and
re-installed by the sidewallers.
On a small simple house where I
can have a single piece of trim go
from eave to ridge, I put the stock
on long, and cut it later when I
trim the eaves. On a larger
84 85

install larger windows, because they especially if there is

are heavy, expensive, and they should a convenient horizontal
house, or one be plumbed vertically after they’re in- detail where I can make the transi-
with complications stalled. Also, big windows don’t take tion from the siding below.
such as box returns, I stop the kindly to the racking that can take Decorative shingling is also much complain that
trim with a miter that I can fit the rest place while the wall is being lifted. easier to do with the wall flat. The pat- some of his shingles were
of the trim details to from below. I often Labor intensive stuff like bow vents or tern can be placed, adjusted, tinkered already installed. He usually just asks
leave the ends of the boards unnailed louvers are a real no-brainer; nobody with, and finally nailed. I’ve never yet if next time we can do the dormer cheeks
to allow for fine tuning later. Two other likes doing that sort of work from had a sidewall contractor arrive and too while we’re at it!
considerations: I back the vulnerable ladders or staging. I often add shin-
vertical joint at the peak with a piece of gles or siding around these features,
felt or rubber to keep the moisture from
getting into the soffits and framing
if the joint opens. I also hold the
fascia above the fly rafter to
allow for the roof sheath-
ing thickness.
Small attic windows
or gable vents are easy
to install at this point.
But I usually don’t
86
It’s a tradition
in New England for car-
penters to sign and date their
work, usually on or behind the top
shingle on a gable.
I usually add a few details, like the
weather conditions and the names of
crew on the job. I like finding these lit-
tle time capsules myself, and I like the
thought of sharing them with some fu-
ture carpenter. Of course, they’ll have
no idea that I wrote the note kneeling
comfortably on the deck, while he or
she will be standing high on a ladder
or staging plank! Or maybe levitating
in an anti-gravity belt…
Paint used to be more of a concern,
and I’ll still paint when I can, but
most professional painters these
days seem to have bucket lifts. There
are houses with gables beyond the
reach of a bucket though, and the
paint that these gables get before
they go up may be the best coat
they ever get. In any case, I do keep a
can of primer and a brush on hand so
that I can seal the cut edges as I install
the trim. But
that is part of any
good trim job, on the deck or
in the air.
Raisi ng th e gables
Now that we’ve spent a few days mak-
ing no visible progress, this is the fun
part, when the house suddenly starts
to take shape. Raising most gables is
a pretty simple process, easily done by
two people with two wall jacks. When I
had a big crew, we often threw them up
with sheer muscle power—a measure
of macho, bravado, and risk. Now, af-
ter twenty years, my wife and I like to
do it slowly, safely, and comfortably.
My wall jacks, made by Proctor
(www.proctorp.com) can lift about
1,000 lb. Because they are lifting con-
siderably less than half the total weight
of the wall, they’re capable of standing
87
walls that might
weigh three times that amount.
The other limiting factor of lifting
jacks is height: They are designed to
lift at an attachment point no more
than 11 ft. from the deck. Depending
on pitch, this means they can stand a
gable with a peak height up to about
16 ft. Much more than that makes the
gable too top-heavy to lift safely. When
I got the jacks, they came with a video
demonstrating their use, but because
I’ve never owned a TV, I had to read
the instructions and learn by trial and
error. Nowadays, they’d come with a
DVD, and I have teenagers who could
figure that out for me.
88 89

plate to lift the gable, slip the hook under- I try to land
neath, and secure it with a couple of 12d the bases on joists
nails driven partway in and bent over. If or beams. If that isn’t possible,
We did once
you’re careful, it’s OK to fasten the hooks I set the bases on blocks of wood to
use our jacks to lift a
to the rafter instead of to the top plate as spread the load and keep them from cables
giant set of gambrel gables that
I did on this project, but I prefer not to, punching holes through the subfloor. neatly on the drums.
were much larger than the capacity
as it tends to twist the trim. And besides, After the jack is in place, taking the I loaned the jacks to someone
of the jacks. We left two temporary
fastening to the top plate gives me some slack out of the cable keeps it standing once who destroyed the cables by wind-
openings in the wall at 11 ft. to put the
extra lifting distance. on its own. I’m very careful to spool the ing them up with kinks and over-rides.
jacks through, and used extra person-
Next I slide the base of the jack up
power to lift the peak and the ends. Be-
against the hook and secure it to the
cause the gambrel shape concentrates
subfloor, again using
the weight low down, and because we
12d nails bent
were careful to use temporary safety
over.
supports, the process was safe enough.
However, it was a massive amount of
weight to handle. I was relieved when
the were safely standing, and I prob-
ably wouldn’t try it again today!
I start the lifting process by selecting
attachment points as high on the wall as
possible, generally right at 11 ft. I drive a
wooden wedge or a pry bar under the top
90 91

With both jacks set, and with braces, blocks

and a long level on hand, we slowly and even-
ly crank the wall up. Generally, I need to se-
cure the center brace before the wall is raised
too far to reach it; this is safer than climbing a
stepladder with the wall held only by the jacks.
Before I step under a large wall to nail a brace,
I put several sturdy wooden sawhorses under it
so that it won’t flatten me if something lets
go. Because the brace needs to pivot
from 60° to 90° as the wall contin-
ues to go up, I nail the brace to
the gable with 3 or 4
nails driven through
at different
angles,
92
but with their points go-
ing through close together. This
way, the whole assembly can twist
without splitting the brace or the stud.
I’m also careful to nail the brace to a
full-height stud or to the ridge post. A
cripple with a brace nailed to it might
rip out of the wall if a tailwind gets be-
hind it.
We continue to raise the gable until
it’s within a few inches of vertical.
The last few inches can be pushed by one
of us holding the brace, while the other
holds the level. When it’s plumb, the
person holding the brace shoots a few
nails through it and into a block nailed
to the floor. The jacks stay on for securi-
ty, as they’ll stop the wall before it goes
too far either way. After the center brace
93
is set,
I usually add
other braces on either side
to keep the rakes straight until the
roof is sheathed.
We finish up by sledging the plate to
the line where needed, nailing it down
and nailing off the overhanging sheath-
ing. Now it’s ready for a ridge and
rafters, but that’s a whole other story…
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94
Joh n’s Bio:
John Spier started in construc-
tion thirty-some years ago, working
first for a renovation company and
95
then as a production framer in the
southwest. He worked in a variety of
jobs and places as an itinerant car- that time comes, they hope to focus
penter, and along the way picked up on smaller, more interesting projects;
a bachelor’s degree in architectural John perhaps on smaller houses, and
engineering. John’s wife, Kerri, be- Kerri on furniture, art, and musical
came a carpenter because it paid her instruments. Meanwhile, they write
way through college much better than the occasional article, to keep their
waitressing and bartending. Together minds alive and because the keyboard
they spent most of twenty years build- is mightier than the hammer.
ing a construction business, before
deciding that life should have other
priorities too.
For the past five years, they have
spent 7-8 months of each year sailing
their boat around the world with their
children, on the installment plan. John
did the first edit of this article in Mal
dives. The final edit was done in Oman.
In a few more years, the world will be
circled, the kids will be off to college,
and full-time work will beckon. When
Great information and tips. This was my second
time seeing Mr. Katz and I will go again and again.
• fred burgers, help around the house

I learned more from the Katz Roadshow than

anyone I have ever worked with, except my dad!
• todd brooks, home remedies, llc.

Informative! Better than expected! The Katz Roadshow for more information visit:
makes a guy feel good about his profession! www.katzroadshow.com
• mike boyts, metzler remodeling

honor your craft

 I
’ve specialized in stair building for I love making things out of wood. spent a Saturday
most of my career, and for more That’s why I’m a carpenter; that’s afternoon ca-
than ten years, I’ve been writing probably why you’re a carpenter too. noeing and pic-
about and teaching carpentry too. Last So it shouldn’t come as a surprise nicking with my
fall, just as I finished setting up my that, with a little spare time on my wife, Helen,
clinic at the JLC LIVE! Show in Seattle hands, I went looking for a wood- and some old
(www.jlclive.com), a stack of boards working project. friends. We
a few booths away caught my eye. The Most carpentry consists of cut- had a lot of fun.

How to Carve a Western Red Cedar Lumber Associa-

tion (http://www.wrcla.org/) was set-
ting up a demonstration and they had
ting up boards, and moldings, and
rejoining them into bigger things
It was a sunny,
colorful fall day.
like doors, windows, bookcases, Not many mo-

Canoe Paddle some beautiful old-growth redwood. I

asked nicely and they let me take 5 ft.
and floors. Carpenters rarely get a
chance to get under the surface of
torboats.
enough so we
Calm

off the end of a 2x8. The piece was al- wood: The sawmill finds a board could talk as we

in your most perfectly quarter sawn, with ex-

traordinarily close grain, and just about
inside a tree; the mill-shop finds a
molding inside a board; but most
paddled around
the lake. I have

Spare Time
totally clear. I counted 30 rings to the
inch—that 2x8 took 240 years to grow!
What could I make out of it? I had a nice
set of tools, mostly donated to the clinic
by my sponsor Festool (http://www.
by Jed Dixon festoolusa.com). And I had my trusty
spokeshave, which I use to fair the joints
between handrail fittings.
carpenters only rip boards to width an old yard-
and cut moldings to length. Most car- sale wood-
penters don’t even know that the real and-canvas
glory of wood happens when we cut canoe, a little
curves, when we make wood bend, when leaky, but eye-catching,
we carve into the heart of a tree and find like a classic motorcycle.
the magic inside. I love that canoe but
A few weeks before that show, I I’ve never liked the
100
paddles. One is plastic and aluminum;
the other is a glue-up from mismatched
strips of wood, machine carved to a
graceless hunk. To my eye, those pad-
dles never shared the same design or
spirit as the canoe, strong only where it
had to be and light where it could be.
I’ll never forget the paddles my Dad
had when I was a kid. Maybe he had
them since he was a Boy Scout in the
late thirties. I think my brother has
them now (he doesn’t get all the good
stuff: I got Dad’s Ford tractor). Those
paddles were carved from basswood, or
Doug Fir, light colored, and lightweight.
The blades were thin and rounded, the
handles cut to fit the shape of a hand.
101
Even then, my small hands could hold compass and drew the curves of the
one of those paddles for hours. And the blade—out to the full width of the board
throat, where the shaft flairs out into and back again at the end. Tightening
the blade, was gracefully strong, and up my wrist and the pencil, I drew the
comfortable too. smaller radius of the handgrip.
Somehow, I just knew there was a
perfect canoe paddle inside that piece
of old-growth 2x8 redwood.
A canoe paddle is supposed to be
as high as your armpit, or maybe it’s
your nose—I can’t remember. Any-
way, I cut the board off at 58 in., (I’m
no giant). Next I held my tape mea-
sure as if I were paddling, and figured
the shaft should be about 44 in. long.
First I traced the inside of my fist to
get a good idea of how thick the han-
dle or shaft should be. Then I set my
combination square at 3 in. and drew
lines down both sides of the board
for a 1 1/2 in. wide shaft. Next, hold-
ing the pencil in my hand with about
4 in. sticking out, I let my wrist be a
102 103

My drawing wasn’t as symmetrical

as I wanted, so I picked the best side,
and using my saber saw, cut one side
of the paddle to the line. I picked up
the piece that fell off and used it to im-
prove the line on the other side. There
is no better way to guarantee symme-
try. What was left of that 2x8 looked
pretty funky when I held it up, but
there was definitely a paddle in that
piece of redwood.
I wanted to put a little bend in the
design, so the blade would be verti-
cal in the water right at the mid-
dle of the power stroke. I also I’d seen racing paddles with similar with a power plane. Both the Festool
wanted to make the paddle designs. With 1 3/4 in. of wood, I had HL 850 and the EHL 65E work great
slightly hollow on the back some extra material to work with. The for the job. The smaller plane can be
side—like your hand thickest part of the paddle, the handle, held easily in one hand. Even with these
when you’re swimming needed to be 1 1/4 in., so I could work planes set to cut the maximum depth
the crawl. I figured that almost 3/4 in. of bend, and a lot of hol- (about 1/8 in.), the dust collector sucks
hollow would give it a low into the blade! up almost all the chips. First I planed
better grip on the water. The quickest way to remove wood is the ends of the paddle on one side, and
104
the middle on the other side
to put in the bend. Next I cut
a hollow on the concave side
of the blade, and tapered the
other side as much as I dared.
The whole planing process
took only about five minutes,
and the paddle was quite a bit lighter
when I finished. The final shape had to
be cut with a spokeshave, then cleaned
up with sandpaper.
The spokeshave is one of my favorite
tools. We use them in my shop a lot, to
make curved handrail parts. A spoke-
105
shave is really just a very short hand
plane with handles on the side. The
one I used here is a Stanley or Record
Model 51 (http://www.stanleytools.
com), available from almost any good
hardware store. Often these tools need
some work before they can be used. I
always grind the chip breaker back at
about a 45-degree angle, which pro-
vides a bigger opening for the chips
to pass through. A belt sander will do
that job in less than a minute. I also
sharpen the blade so that it will shave
hair off my arm.
Like any tool, the spokeshave won’t
do the job by itself. I’ve been handling
these small planes for years; it's as
natural as riding a bicycle. But when
I watched my friend Gary Katz try it
for the first time—and he stubbed the
plane repeatedly into the grain—I re-
membered that it’s not as easy as it
looks. Here are a few tips:
106 107

Plan ahead. Take off just the wood

that has to be removed. Imagine
the shape within the board. The
tool is amazingly fast, even if
each stroke removes only a
Keep the sole flat on the work. Hold 1/64 in., 16 quick strokes
the tool down hard and don’t rock it will remove a 1/4 in. in
while cutting. about 16 seconds!
First I shaved the
corners off the shaft
to make it octagonal,
then took those cor-
ners off to make it
almost round. Then
I shaved the blade on
the concave side to
get the shape I want-
Adjust the tool carefully. Set the blade Cut out of the grain or diagonally ed; then on the other
adjustment screws so the shaving is pa- across it, otherwise you’ll stub the side to get the right
per thin and perfectly even. Because the plane in the grain or jam the throat thickness. The blade
sole is so short, spokeshaves can be used with shavings. is only about 1/4 in.
to make surfaces flat or curved. thick on the edges for
108
lightness, and about 3/4 in. thick in
the center for strength. I kept putting
my eyeball on it to check for straight-
ness. I also held the paddle an arms
length away, to check for symmetry.
I paid special attention to the throat,
where the blade meets the shaft: that
109
transition must look right, and it must that dust, too. I used the sander to where Gary shaved the grain in the
feel right, too—that’s the spot I’ll al- take down the ridges left by wrong direction. The Rotex cuts pret-
ways be holding while paddling. the spokeshave, and to ty fast. I probably could have started
To work the handle, I clamped the smooth out the pick-outs with a coarse grain paper, like 50-grit
blade end down and supported the Crystal, and done a lot of the carving
handle against my leg. I checked with the sander, too. Festool’s Crystal
the shape of the handle with my paper is an open grit that won’t clog
eyes closed—trusting that my while sanding paint or softwoods. I
hand would know the right shape was able to smooth out the paddle
better than my eyes. The faces of pretty well with 80-grit Rubin,
the handle are deeply concave, so I ex-
tended the blade of the spokeshave out
more in order to reach the bottom of
the hollow cuts.
The spokeshave took the
paddle down to its final weight
and shape. And it left a pile
of shavings on the floor—the
only real mess I made! Every-
thing else was in the vacuum.
Sanding was the last step and
the Festool sander picked up
110 111

Festool’s normal sandpaper for wood.
I took out the fine scratches with
120-grit.
For hand sanding I went back to
#80, using a full sheet folded into
thirds the long way to make it stiff
enough for fairing. I sanded long
strokes with the grain, to take out
some flurbles that were easy to feel
with the sandpaper, but were hard to
see while machine sanding. I used the
#80 to break the sharp edges of the
blade too, and rolled it into a hollow
curve to even up the rounded-over
shape of the top of the handle. Then I
went over it again with 120-grit paper,
and then 180. The 180-grit polished
the wood 'til it was almost shiny, but
it also showed up some scratches and
low spots that I hadn’t seen with the
coarser grits. I went back to 80 to fix
a few spots, then 120, then 180 again.
With the sanding complete, the pad-
dle was ready for finishing.
Spar varnish has to be the best fin-
ish for a paddle: after all, spars are
wooden sailing ship masts, booms,
and yardarms. I bought a pint at a
nearby paint store with a couple of
foam throw-away brushes, a sheet of
400-grit waterproof paper, and a tack
cloth. I blew the dust off the paddle,
and laid the varnish on with the grain,
everywhere except the handle. The
handles are always left raw on old
paddles, probably to improve the grip,
but also because the finish would wear
off anyway.
I hung the paddle up to dry with a
spring clamp gripped on the handle.
In all, I put on three coats of finish,
sanding between each with the 400-
grit, which I crumpled up under a run-
ning faucet, to keep it from clogging
up with varnish. Between each coat,
I wiped off the paddle with a rag and
took the dust off with
the tack cloth. I put
the last coat on and let
it dry in the least dusty
place I could find.
Those of you who
have attended my sem-
inars and clinics might
have noticed that I
broke my number one
rule while making this
paddle: Always de-
sign your work before
you build it! But it
still looks pretty cool.
I’ll give it the real test
this summer.
 trees were cut.
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 A
bout two weeks before leaving
for three days of Roadshows in
New Jersey last March, I got
a call from a friend in North Carolina:
“Hey,” he said, “I know this guy in New
Jersey who turns 16 ft. columns and tall
porch posts on a 19th century lathe!” I
couldn’t pass that up.
For the last few years, Tom Brewer,
Glen Rock Mike Sloggatt, and I have been travel-
ing around America doing carpentry
Stair Corp. & clinics at local lumberyards and tool
stores (www.katzroadshow.com). The
John Everett, experience has been a blessing. We’ve
met carpenters and lumberyard staff,
Wood Turner manufacturer’s representatives
marketing people from every corner
and
of the country. Regardless of the jokes
and criticism we all hear about our in-
If you know someone dustry, every mile of the way we’ve met
you'd like to interview, honest, hardworking, and responsible
let us know! trades people. In future issues of THIS
Send your ideas to tristank@ isCarpentry, we’ll try to include profiles
thisiscarpentry.com of the craftsmen we meet From The
Road, like the folks we met at Glen
Rock Stair Corp., in Franklin Lakes,
New Jersey.
Walking into Glen Rock is like
stepping back in time. Sure, they’re
using some new machinery, like au-
tomated CNC routers for cutting out
stringers, but for the most part, they
build stairs the old fashioned way.
Each carpenter is assigned a specialty
task, and a special area of the shop.
Carriag es
Dave Jeltes works on a comfortable
hardwood floor, assembling carriag-
es. I caught up with Dave as he was
fastening the stringers to the treads—
all with hand nails: “I like to feel the
nails do their job--draw things up
tight,” he told me. “That’s something
I can’t feel with a nail gun.” He
didn’t need pneumatics
at the speed he was
driving nails.
118
Unlike most carpenters today,
Dave’s hammer is his most-used
tool. After securing the treads, he
lays the carriage down and drives in
wedges before installing the risers.
Stepping quickly, he snaps on the
wedges with the side of the hammer.
119
Next, risers are dropped into each
mortise. Then the risers are nailed
into the back of each tread.
After that, more wedges are driven,
each with a single hammer blow.
And snapped off with the flat of the
hammer.
There’s no fancy machinery in Dave
Jeltes work area, just Dave.
120 121

Radi us stai rs
Everyone has a nickname
at Glen Rock—and for
good reason. Many of the
craftsmen are first genera-
tion Polish immigrants.
"Richie" (Ryszard Kluk)
builds radius stairs in Glen
Rock’s new assembly room,
where everything imagin-
able is possible. Even the
radius stairs have housed
stringers. Once the string-
ers are mortised, Richie
installs the treads. Start-
ing at the top, he slips each
tread into a stringer mor-
tise, then marks for the
bullnose cut.
The two bottom treads
are laid out for bullnose re-
turns on both ends.
122 123

Nosi ng retu rns workpiece and make a straight cut

"Voytek" (Wojciech Minarczuk) cuts right through the miter.
and fits each bullnose return on a Next, Voytek makes the cross cut.
bandsaw, starting with the miter. It And last, he makes the rip, cutting
takes a steady hand to support the off the bullnose waste.
124 125

The pre-cut radius To perfect the mi-

caps are fit by eye, ters, Voytek holds the
trimmed a little on the joint tightly closed with
miter saw, and then the his hand, then carefully
final joint is finished passes the bandsaw blade
on the band saw. through the miter.
Timing is critical. Voytek
stops cutting precisely at
the heel of the miter, then
releases the cap before
withdrawing the tread.
126
All of the bullnose starter steps
are assembled in another corner of
the shop, by Faith Noah. She’s the
only woman working in a shop full of
men, but no one risks giving Faith any
guff. Her workbench is set up for one
chore, and with every clamp and cawl
in place, she makes the job look easy.
In a much larger space, Jaroslaw
(Jerry) Ziplinski assembles all the
handrails. Using power tools is dan-
gerous, and we all try to work safely.
Jerry was kind enough to remove the
guard on his custom dual-kerf cutter
127
so we could see clearly how the tool
operates. Jerry starts by making two
cuts in the first piece, then matches
the joint and marks locations for mat-
ing cuts in the second piece.
128 129

Jerry joins all of his railing parts
with Clamp Nails.
Back in the 1980s, we used to fasten
all our casing miters with Clamp Nails.
I never knew where they came from.
Now I do. And they work great for fas-
tening all types of wood joinery.
Clamp Nail was started in 1917
near the Chicago area and is still
owned and operated by the same
family, though sixteen years ago they
moved to Phoenix, AZ. Used in every-
thing from furniture to picture frames
to cabinet doors, clamp nails are re-
ally popular for caskets. The company
tends to sell mostly to manufacturers
of high-end products.
Jerry likes the fasteners because
they’re much faster than rail bolts,
and the joints are bulletproof.
Clamp Nail have flanges that
open on the wide end, so as
the nails are driven—wide
end first—and the flang- John Everett took us on a tour of the motor. And that is the only difference
es narrows, the joint is shop first, then, like saving the des- between John Everett and genera-
drawn tighter and tighter. sert, he showed us his workstation tions of wood turners who have used
last. Tucked into a corner at the back the same machine.
of the shop, beneath a bank of high
windows, John operates a lathe that

Clamp Nail Company:
21 W. Lone Cactus Dr.
Phoenix, AZ 85027-2940
(623) 581-0204
FREE!
Support THIS is Carpentry
surely dates back to the 19th century.
Once powered by steam, and maybe Subscribe to
even a water wheel, the lathe pulley This is Carpentry
and belt are now driven by an electric
 U L umber & P lywood U S kylights
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Stop in and find Out how personal Service U S hutters & L ouvers
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 Name: Kip Dixon

Nickname: Mr. K

Age: just turned 7

Likes: Tennis balls,

visiting friends,
frisbee, chasing
sheep, chasing geese,
swimming,

As common as tape fetching sticks

Dislikes: SUITCASES,
measures in shops squirrels, vacuum
cleaners, cats,
and on job sites, we thunderstorms

Owns: Jed, Helen, Will,

feature one classy Nate, and May

canine in every issue. Kip knows he’s not
supposed to bother
the guys in the shop
when they’re working, so he hangs
Send us yours!
outside by the lumber shed with his
tristank@ tennis ball; if you throw it over the
thisiscarpentry.com top, into the swamp, it might take
him five minutes to find it and bring
it back. He’s good company, so no one
minds when he begs for cookies at cof-
fee break. He’s not too vicious, but he
can put up a pretty good fight with a
sock, and he likes to sneak up and bite
the water that comes out of the hose.
Once he meets you, he won’t ever
forget you.