pS eB Cele ae ShopNotes | ™Shop-Built Panel Saw =Thickness Sanding Jig | sHinge Mortising Jig =Sharpening oy SawsIssue 4 JULY 1992 Donald B, Peechee Dogs L, Hicks ‘Terry’. Strohman Richard 8. Poters ‘Tim Robertoon ‘Tod Kralieck Cary Christensen Kort Sehultz ‘Will Niskanen Roger Relland Ken Munkel Jan Hale Svee Crayola Bagand Steve Carcis Liz Bredeson Phyllis Jessen Jim Woodson Kent A. Buston mewosrn Aes Poul B,Gray Linda O'Rourke Julianne Spears Douglas M. Lidetor ‘Cheryl Soott Julia Fish Ken Griticn Robert Mury Cindy Jackson Laura MeNelly Leslie Ann Gearhart nds Jones Jonathan Garbison Linda Morrow: eosrriowst Keri Lee Jennie Enos Supr., Jet Janes, Joy ‘Johnson, Sara Johnson, Ami Blnshan Jerry Carson Supe), Chia Snchan, ‘Ronald Long Don MeV, Choc Carson dy Spur Neve by as Gay iar er De RS Shopiotairs tru of Wodeith Carer, Coppa i Wonka Ces ‘Stberiptions Siglo Copy, $45, One yar subse ‘hat en s19gh To ar a, is (Gate ago er ye cond lt Poste Pending Do Wao 18 Fett fee Sine a 01 ‘thse Quoin Cl US264m Tea ‘oa can imagine my sur- prise at the cost of the panel saw we were look- ‘ng at purchasing for the shop — over $1000. It's a nice piece of equipment, but that’s a lot of money to spend. Panel saws are used to cut sheet goods (plywood, ete.) down to manageable size. It’s one of those tools that you don't think you need .. . until you have the ‘hance to use one, Then it sure ‘would be niee to have in the shop. ‘The biggest benefit is that you can easily cut 4x8 sheets down to size —by yourself. The cost of this type of saw usually puts it out of range for most home shops. In almost every instance like this, my first thought is, “Okay, let's save money by building one ourselves.” It took about five weeks to work out the design details for ‘the Panel Saw. Hardware turned out-to be one of the key elements in the design. Tt wasn't that we needed spe- cial, hard-to-find hardware. The tricky part was eoming up with ways of using common hardware ‘in rather uncommon applications. Inthe end it worked out great — we got the panel saw we wanted for the shop. And only spent about $250 ($100 for mate- rials and $150 on hardware), HINGE MORTISES. While the panel saw is an impressive piece of equipment, it may be too large for some workshops. On asmaller seale is the hinge mortise ji this issue. Setting hinges is one of the f- nal critical parts of cabinetmak- ing. It can break a project if the ShopNotes hinges are misaligned. Correctly positioning the hinge in the first plaeo remains the key. Then an accurate mortise iseut to mateh the hinge. The key word is accurate, Ifthe mortise is off, you've got problems. ‘That's where this jig comes in. We devised an adjustable jig that let's you set the size of the mor- tise to match exactly the size of the hinge. All you need is a router and a pattern bit to rout perfect hinge mortises. (A pattern bit is a straight bit with a guide bearing on the shank, instead of on the end, like a tush trim bit.) SHARPENING. Sometimes the idea for an article comes in a rather round-about way. Re- cently, I brought a couple of old hand ‘saws into the shop to sharpen. (One of them appears on the back cover:) The sound of filing the saw teeth brought several people into the shop. ‘Their reaetion seemed to be the same — wouldn't it be easier and faster to take the saw to a commereial saw sharpening shop? Easier perhaps, but not faster. ‘To prove the point, I gave a quick demonstration on how to sharpen a handsaw. All you need is a few simple tools and a little patience, The trick is to let the saw be your guide, And to let the triangular saw file do all the work. Over the next few days our workshop was. full of people bringing their dull saws back to life. The result of allthis activity is the saw sharpening article on page 12 be No.4e Contents Hinge Mortising Jig__________4 Alll it takes to make perfect hinge mortises is a router and this simple fg. Hinge Mortising Jig page 4 Thickness Sanding Jig________8 Sanding thin wood so it's smooth and uniform in thick- ness is easy with this jig for your dril press. Shop-Made Drum Sander____.11 A bolt, some foy viheels, and a piece of PVC pipe are all you need fo make your own drum sander Sharpening Hand Saws ___ 12 There's nothing mysterious to sharpening @ hand saw. All it takes is @ few simple tools and a little practice. Fane Saws 2s es 6 e This shop-built pane! saw allows one person to easily crosscut or rip @ ful sheet of plywood or Masonite. 1s Trade with common ators and hardware, Fanel Saw Tune-Up__ 24 Tips on adjusting the panel saw to make precise cuts every time, Motor Vibration _____________-26 Some quick tis to reduce troublesome vibration in belt-driven machines. Shop Solutions ______ 28 Five shop-tested tips: Saw Blade Storage Rack, Edge Jointing Tip, Installing Threaded Inserts, Clamping Ir- regular Shapes, and File Handies. Combination Screws _______ 30 A unique thread design and recess in the head make these screws the perfect choice for the shop. O* Sores Hardware, project supplies, and mail order sources for the projects in this issue. No.4 ‘ShopNotes 3a ‘ow can rout perfect hinge mortises every time using your router and this mortising Jig. The key to making this jig work is the router bit that’s used to eut the mortises — a pattern bit, see box below. PATTERN BIT. A pattern bit is similar to a flush trim bit except the bearing is mounted on the shaft rather than the end of the bit (for sourees of pattern bits, see page 31). With the bearing up on the shaft like this, the bit ean be plunged into the workpiece — perfect for cutting mortises. ADJUSTABLE GUIDES, When a pattern bit is used with this jig, the bearing rides against a set of guides that are adjusted tomateh the ecact dimensions of your hinge, see Exploded View. (For Bey a Ae [Farrer A pattern bit has the bearing | mounted up on the shaft instead of | _belove the cutting edge ofthe bit step-by-step instructions on how to use this jig, eee page 7.) As the bearing tracks along these guides, the bit euts a per- fect mortise, refer to photo on page 7. Note: When used with a Ye" pattern bit, the end guides Hinge Mortising Jig can be adjusted to eut, mortises ranging in length from V2" to 4”. BASE started work on the hinge mor- tising fig by making a base (A). Its just a “U-shaped piece of EXPLODED VIEW ina I aor NOTCH APPEARS Mowe sor 4 ShopNotes No.4JIGS & ACCESSORIES @ Ve" thier plywood that supports the guides, see Fig. 1. The “U" is formed by eutting a notch in one side. This notch is the opening for the pattern bit. BACK GUIDE. After the notch is cut, the next step is to cut a back guide (B) from 5/4'-thick hardwood, see Fig. 1. ‘This back guide provides a sur- {face forthe bearing ofthe pattern Dit to ride against as it euts the back of the mortise, And it helps align the end guides (which are installed later). ‘Once the back guide is eut, een- teriton the base and glue it Mush along the back edge of the notch, see Fig. 1. LOWER STOP. After gluing the back guide in place, T added a lower stop (C), refer to Fig. 8. Once this stop is cut to size, is attached tothe base withapair of ‘machine serews and Tuts. The screws are mounted in slots to allow you to position the back guide for different width hinges, see Fig. 2. ‘To make the slots, first drill start and stop holes. Then clean cut the waste on the router table, see Figs. 2 and 2, ‘After the slots are cut in the base, locate the serew holes in the FLuoH wire Ba eee oF NoTeH sariex ‘rock stop for the 'Enuts. To do this, center the base on the lower stop and make a mark, see Fig. 3a. ‘Then drill holes and insert the ‘Tuts, see Fig. 8b. Finally,serew the lower stop to the base. Inuse,the stopisclamped to the workpiece, Then the serews are loosened and the base is adjusted so the baek guide aligns with lay- ‘out lines for the hinge mortise, (For more on this, see page 7.) 3 Lowe ‘S10P cerice T0609) ahora zie" W, fof) woes cocaron No.4Pa End Guides Once thelower stop isattached to the base, work ean begin on the end guides, see Exploded View. The end guides are L-shaped pieces attached to the base with ‘machine screws. A slot in each guide allows adjustment for dif ferent length hinges. ‘To make both the end guides (D), start by cutting an extra Tong blank from 8/«"thiek stock, see Fig. 4. STEPPED SLOTS. Then, to al- low the base of the router to slide over the serews and washers that hold down the end guides, routed stepped slots down the center of each guide, see Fig. 4. ‘To do this, adjust the fence on your router table so a 4" Straight bit is centered on the | {J 2 gure" width of the blank, see Fig. 5. (eS Then clamp a stop block to the fence 2's" away from the back edge of the bit, see Fig. 5a. ‘Now push the blankinto the bit until it hits the stop. Turn off the router. Then, flip the piece around and rout the other end. ‘To complete the slot, just re- guides (D)tolength,referto Fig. with the end guide stops (E) move the 4" bit and replace it 4. And then glue onan end guide against the noteh, Then mars the with a Y4" straight bit — you stop (E) to each end guide (D), slot positions and drill counter- don’t have to reposition the stop see Fig. 6. bored holes neat the closed end of or the fence. Just make a couple ‘ENUTS, Each slotted end guide the slot, soe Figs. Ta and Tb. of passes using the same proce- is mounted to the base withama- Finally, pound a ‘T-mut in from dure as before, see Fig. 5b. chine serew and a'T-nut,see Fig.7. the backside of the base and CUTTO LENGTH. Nowthatthe To locate the holes for the T-nuts, —serew the end guides in place, see slots are routed, cut the end place the end guides on the base Fig. 7b. 6 stor e.0ck Fuvon Win FRONT EbGE OF END GUIDERee ee Routing Mortises Step-by-Step ‘The mortising jig is easy to use. The first thing to do is mark out the location of the hinge. Llike to use a knife to mark a precise line around the edges of the hinge. ‘The next step is to clamp the Jig to your workpiece with C- clamps. Then, adjust the guides to match the width and length of your hinge, see Steps 1 and 2 SETDEPTH OF BIT. Once the guides are adjusted, set the router bit to the correct depth and rout out the mortise, see Step 8. (Note: This will also rout a notch in the lower stop.) SQUARE UPCORNERS. Finally, square up the corners. Just leave the jig in place for this, it acts as a guide for the chisel, see Step 4, ‘SECOND: loosen Sees AND AUN BACK Scelse LINES SS Axpourr omer Step 1: Adjust the Width. First. clamp jig over layout lines. Loosen screws in lower stop and po- sition base so back guide aligns with scribed lines. Step 2: Adjust the Length. Position one end guide nthe layout ine. Then, place a hinge flap between the guides and adjust the other end guide, yece | MORTISING ——_~ROUT OUT THE worry te MORTISE N'A doer cuts LEAVE MORTSING Wo INPLAce TO SQUARE Mornine ‘Step 3: Rout the Mortise. Adjust a patter bit to Ccut less than the thickness of @ hinge flap. Make light passes until the desired depth is reached. No.4 ShopNotes Step 4: Square up the Corners. Leave the mortis- ing jig clamped in place and square up the corners of the mortise with a sharp chiselORE ws quick way to make thin ‘The sanding jig consists of larger than the sanding drum. stockistoresswaboardand three main parts: a base, a fence thensand away themarksleft by assembly, and a dust collector. FENCE ASSEMBLY the saw. Resawing reduces the ‘Once the base is complete, the thickness of a board by cutting it BASE next step is to make the fenee into thin pieces.) The triek is to To provide a smooth, fiat surface assembly, see Fig 1. Its made up remove the marks andleave the for attaching the fence assembly of threo pioces: a plywood fence, stock uniform in thickness. and dust collector, Tcut a square amiero-adjuster, and a fenee sup- ‘Tosolvethisproblem, Tbuiltthis plywood base (A), see the Ex- port, refer to Exploded View. thickness sandingjig,seephoto.It _ploded View. By adjusting the space between clamps to the drill press table Aholeinthecenter ofthe base the fence and the drum you can and uses a drum sander to sand forms a recess for the drum sand stock up to Y2"thiek (Note: @D the workpiece. (To make your sander, see Detail in Exploded ‘The widthofthostockislimited by own drum sander, see page 11.) View. Note: The hole is sized V4" the height of the drum.) EXPLODED VIEW is" WASHER ae FENCE >. MicRo- St waste: ADJUSTER DETAIL FENCE SUPPORT DRILL cenrexeD HoLe (eruanoeR THAN < id. OF YOUR DRUM) - BASE cetewtatey Note: ‘BASE AND FENCE Ake Sa twice Puywooe Shere ate" 8 ‘ShopNotes No.4a © NEN mate the free a F sembly, start by entting a 3" tall ‘fence (B) to match the width of the base (A), see Exploded View. MICRO-ADJUSTER. Next, to “fine-tune” the space between theferceand the crim, Teddeda [Samat miero-adjuster behind the fence. | fue, The micro-adjuster is made up | OrFeNce j) of two blocks — a base block (C) and a fence block (D), see Fig. 1. A threaded stud passes through the base block (C) and is held in. | p> place with a lock mut. or | (fl sources, see page 81.) Note: You “urges know roxceo rence could also use a 4" eye bolt in ||| - = place of the threaded stud. — » a Fence CROSS SECTION Phar waster Sor THREADED ‘Sup cee 2A08 ‘Lot 70 UL conte or pase. ‘The stud screws into a Seal threaded insert in the fence block (D), When you tura the knob, it moves the fenee back and forth, see Cross Section in Fig. 1. ‘To make the microadjuster, [> first eut a blank to size, see Fig. 1a, For the threaded stud to line up in both blocks, drill the hole Ho xiterrh woovscxew @ isi, then eat the base bioek ©) owe race off the fence block (D), see Fig. 1a. FLUSH WITH Next, serew the base block to ie Oe te | the base. Then slide the threaded ‘ stud through the hole and thread Eve Sal heat ‘on the lock nut. Now, install the threaded insert into the fence GRGSS SET a block (D) and glue this block to ss . the fenee, see Fig. 1. FENCE ease fin nee FENCE SUPPORT. To support | SUPPORT Z | Pe vias the other end of the fence, Tadded LEE 4 Peace a fence support (B), see Fig. 2. oe a It’s just a piece of 11/2'-thick ge ay [arene ourrors stock with a notch cut in it. The Ht aa notch allows for rough position- aoe [Gountensoee as ing of the fence. ‘dene [HOLE ety PASE ce ‘A carriage bolt and a ‘T-knob hold this end of the fence in place. ‘To locate the hole for this bolt, turn the micro-adjust knob until | 3 the fenee block (D) pulls up tight "i ‘against the lock nut, see Fig.8. | 4. ay EO jsurroxt Now locate and drill acounter- | Nit a a bored hole in the base for the bolt fia ao ae in the fence support block (E). i rence Bloc roucreS e Finally, push the bolt through the eter ORT base and thread on Fina», see | sce fia weroso.versaoe oe Fig.2a. [used aplasticknob, but. | °° tutor ‘a wing nut will work as well) Tor MEW oon No.4 ShopNotes 9JIGS & ACCESSORIES Dust Collector Once yon've attached the fence assembly to the base, the next step is to add the dust collector, ‘The dust collector is basically a box with an open end that faces the drum sander. A hole in the ‘back is sized to fit the hose on your shop vacuum, see Fig. 4. ‘The bottom of the box extends beyond the sides so slots ean be cut in the bottom to allow the collector to be easily positioned orremoved. we ‘CENTER DUST COLLECTOR VER HOLE IN BASE EXTENSIONS. To help concen- trate the vacuum suction and al- 5 low aclear view of the workpiece, added a pair of Plexiglas exten- sions, see Fig. 5. frei ‘These extensions also act as y guardstokeep yourfingersaway | ga/. from the rotating drum. FEATHERBOARDS. By making | se — ‘one extension longer than the | @"x>" other and mounting the eollector at an angle, the extensions work NOTE: BACK BOTTOM, ANDTOF "ARE Ve MASONITE LP er Le —_ ee. OREN Ae sae} } - a maper | like featherboards. This way they (err. A press the workpiece tight against ors) tyke worrom Bn sae the fenee, refer to Fig. 4a Ce. Using the Thickness Sanding Jig TORRE First: THIRD: rosmon bust ourcron co ‘BXTENSIONS. PROTRUDE pt PAST ORM SECOND: TABLE OF ORL PRESS. FIRST: ) ae “a SECOND: woRenEce a 2 Start by centering the sanding drum over the hole in the base. Then raise the table and clamp the base tot Next, pasition the dust collector on the base so the extensions proirucie about Ys" past the drum sander A Step 2: Now you can adjust the fence to the desired thickness by using the micro-adjuster. Attach the vacuum hase, and then feed the workpiece slowly into the drum. Use @ constant, even feed rate 10 ShopNotes, No.4Most. drum sanders have a body made out of flexible rubber. When sanding sleeve is slipped over the rubber body and the drumis tight- ened, the center of the drum bows ‘out, As the workpiece is fed be- tiveen the fence and the drum, this ‘bow “dishes out” the workpiece, ‘To solve this problem, I use a shop-made dram sander. It's just a piece of PVC pipe with a strip of adhesive-backed sandpaper ‘wrapped around it, see photo. 'THESHAFT. The shaft of the drum sander isa 6"-long, 9/3" ear- riage bolt with the threads cut off, see Fig. 1. ‘THE CORE. For the core, [used five 2".diameter flat toy wheels. These wheels fit perfectly inside 2" PVC and have a center hole that fits the shaft, see Fig. 1. ‘THE PIPE. The PVC pipe pro- vides straight walls that won't ‘bow out. Cut it to match the eom- bined height. of the wheels, see Fig. 1. Then epoxy the shaft in the core, and the core in the pipe, see Fig. 1. ‘TRUE UP THEDRUM. To true up the drum, first attach a strip of sandpaper to a piece of Y4" ‘Masonite. ‘Then adjust the fence onthe sanding jig to V4" and feed tthe Masonite (with sandpaper fae- ing out) into the rotating drum, see Fig. 2. Repeat as necessary, ad- Jjusting the fence between passes ‘until the drum is round. SANDING SLEEVE. The sand- ing sleeve is just a piece of adhe- sive-backed sandpaper that's cut tomatch the height (width) of the drum, see Figs. 3 and 3a. No.4 rea 1 | Stee STEP 2 GUTTHREADS OFF BOLT _EFUXY SHAFTINTO.CORE SNDUSE BOLTS NDEXTO ey AND.CORE INTO PIPE Gite wares roctmaes O PIPE oA, Siento cone) senile FIRST: wag 2 |essorareno ‘ShopNotes curnimouen over ‘AT ANGLETO JOM ENDS ulSharpening a hand saw is easy. All it takes is a little practice and a ‘few simple tools. Ihe only thing more frustrat- ing than trying to cut with a ull hand sav is waiting the week or two it takes to get one sharp- ened. Many people think there’s something mysterious about sharpening a saw. But that’s not true, All you need are a few sim- ple tools and alittle practice, TOOLS. The first thing you'll need to sharpen a hand saw is a vise to hold the saw steady (see page 13 to make your own). ‘Then you'll need a tool called a saw set to bend the tips of the ‘teeth, see center photo below. Finally, youl need a triangular file to bring the teeth to a sharp point, see bottom right. photo. ‘(See page 31 for sources of saw sharpening tools.) THREE STEPS ‘There are three basic steps to sharpening acrosscut ‘saw: jointing, setting, and filing, sce photos below. SOINTING. To start, all the teeth on a saw should be the same height. If they’re not, some teeth will stick out and ond up doing most of the work. These teeth will dull and tear the fibers of the wood. ‘To prevent thia, the saw is “jointed” with a file. Basically, you just knock off the points of the tecth s0 they've all the same height. SETTING. After jointing a saw, the next step isto set the teeth. Setting the teeth widens the kerf the blade cuts. This prevents the blade from binding. To do this, special tool called a saw set bendsalternate teeth in opposite directions. Note: You don't need toset asaw every time you sharpenit. Itonly needs tobe done about every third or fourth sharpening. FILING. Filing sharpens the teeth and is the most important of the three steps. The teeth on crosscut saws are filed to fine points with a triangular file. This way the teeth eut like knives and sever the fibers of the wood as they eut across the grain, A Jointing: To ensure all the teeth on_& Setting: Next, a tool called a saw & Filing: A triangular file is then used a saw are af the same height, a file is run lightly across the tips of the teeth, 12 ShopNotes sot is used to bend the tips of the teeth. This keeps the blade from binalng. to sharpen the teeth of the saw once they've been jointed and set. No.4e Jointing The main reason for jointing a saw is to get all the ‘teeth the same height. But there's also an- other reason, ‘The “flat” that's ereated from jointing is a great visual refer- ence. When you sharpen the saw, these “flats” will disappear as the teeth are filed to a point. ‘AVISE. Jointing is simple, AMit takesisasharp mill file and avise tohold the saw. Ifyou don’t have saw vise, you can make one (see the box below), or just clamp the saw between a pair of wood jaws in your bench vise. FILE GENTLY. To joint a saw, ‘grasp the file with both hands so your thumbs are on top and par- allel, se Fig. 1. Then, to keep the file perpendicular to the blade, press your knuckles against the sides of the saw blade. Now run the file gently across the teeth, need to take is one pass. Note: If the teeth are very un- even (or broken) and more than 2 light jointing is necessary, the e* Fig. 1. Sometimes all you'l Shop-Made Saw Vise A traditional metal saw vise does two things. First, it lamps a large section of the saw blade to hold it steady. Second, it makes sharpening more comfortable by raising the saw up off the bench. This shop-made vise does both. It’s just a pair of hardwood jaws with a spline near the bottom, ‘The spline acts like a hinge to keep the jaws parallel to each other, see drawing. A carriage bolt and a wing mut provide the clamping pressure. ‘The wide, shallow dado that’s cut in the longer jaw helps concen- trate the pressure at the top of the vise, see drawing. To use the vise, first clamp itin ‘your bench vise or screw it tothe Front edge of your bench. Then, Toosen the wing nut, insert the blade between the jaws, and tighten the mut. NOTE Ane ane x 4x6 Sune oeMaconie) teeth may need to be reshaped or even recut. In this ease, Pd sug- gest you take the saw to a shop and have this done professionally. porers veer nA No.4 ShopNotes, (CROSS SECTION cARACE BySetting a saw bends the tips of the teeth al- ternately to the right and left to create a wider kerf. Setting After the saw is jointed, the next step is to “set” the teeth, Setting bends the tips of the teeth alter- nately to the right and to the left, see drawing at left. This way they cut a kerf wider than the blade— which reduces friction and the chance the blade will bind. ‘The goal is to set the teeth so the kerf doesn't pinch the blade (not enough set) or allow it to wobble (too much set). ‘SAW SET. Setting a saw re- quires a special tool called a saw set, see Fig. 2. (For sources, see page 31.) Squeezing the handle of the set pushes a hammer against the saw tooth and bends the tip over an anvil, see Fig. 2a, How much set you'll need de- pends on the number of teeth per tach an you saw, sis where things en ote te onfclng ‘TEETH PER INCH. To deter- mine the number of teeth per inch, first lay the edge of a ruler flush with the bottom of the gul- lets (the space between the teeth), see Fig. 3. ‘Then align the ruler witha gul- Jet and count the number of teeth ‘in one inch. (Most crosscut saws. have 8 to 10 teeth per inch.) SETTING A SAW. To set the saw, first adjust the anvil on the saw set to match the number of teeth per inch on your saw, see Fig. 2a. ‘Then clamp the saw in a saw vise, see Fig. 4. Start at one end of the saw and set the first tooth that bends away fom you. Just center the hammer on the tooth and squeeze the handle, taking a fall stroke, see Fig. 4a, ‘Now skip a tooth and set the next one. Continue like this, skip- ping every other tooth. When you reach the end of the saw, turn it Peete er ee side, skipping every other tooth. Note: You don’t need to set. your saw each time you sharpen it — every third or fourth filing will provide plenty of set. 14 INDICATOR SAW SET WHEN HANDLE 3 saueezeo, aa aa eaee “ viAwnuceoevos toon" ‘Set han 3] rest. SECOND: Ace ruven ae ‘ASN Ruki war ouMLEr AxD Corton GF Sotuers Coun MENUWBEROF EEN SECOND: oreAY ron LENGTH OF AH _ | cxosacur saws rymcALLy finge 6 io teeta PEN 1 4 FiRsT: SUP aAw oes oven, THIRD: ups SAW AzouND AND SET OTHER SE No.4Pos Filing After a saws st, the only ting Ie to do is sharpen the tooth witha fle. Piling the txth ofa Savvis easy it yor remember two things. Firs, let the sow tooth Gilde yo Rl, Ad soca it the lo do the work, ‘To start, clamp your saw in a vise so the bottom of the gullets are about /g" above the vise. This prevents the saw blade from vi- brating or chattering. ‘THE FILE. | use a 6" triangular smooth mill file for sharpening. ‘To find the filing angle, just seat the file in a gullet and press down gently, see Step 1. The teeth will guide the file to the correct angle. ‘The corner of the file should sit in the gullet at a slight angle (about 15°), see Step 1. And the sides of the file will rest against the bevel that’s ground on the teeth (around 65°), see Step 1. FILING. Once you've found the angle, let the teeth guide the file ‘as you push it forward, see Step 2. Uso alight touch and heft do the work. The file will sharpen: the back of one tooth and the front of the next tooth at the same time, Take three strokes. Then skip a tooth, and take the same num- ber ofstrokes, see Step 2. Repeat this for the entire length of the saw, skipping every other tooth. When you reach the end, turn the saw around and work from the other side, see Step 8. This step should bring the teeth to a fine point. ISITSHARP? Sight down the blade. If any of the tips of the teeth reflect light, you'll need to file them to a point. ‘When the saw is sharp, the tooth ill feel “sticky” when toushod with your fingers (be cause of the burs that ft rom fing, But the rea ets how i cats, Grab apiece of serap wood tnd givoita try — youll bo our prised at how effortlessly is cuts. No.4 caw SAW Iss cenmy, er THe ‘SIDE VIEW FORWARD. keour* TOP VIEW cy yf Peery skew ABOUT 60: OSIOE OF BLADE] A Step 1: Let the gullet guide between the teeth, itil it forward the file a3 you gently push it about 15° and skew at a slight straight down. As it seats itself angle to the side of the blade. owe rie weer DorH HANDS Fur on pusH Stroke ONL A Step 2: Now file three smooth tooth as you file. And make sure strokes, lifting the file between 10 keep the angle and number of each stroke, Skip every other strokes the same. ‘OTHER sive use same anois )\ on Fite STROKES A Step 3: When you reach the site end, Once again, use the end of the saw, turn the saw same fling angle and take the around and work from the opoo- same number of strokes. ShopNotes 15 Triangular files come in a variety of ents and lengths. I ‘use a smooth cut 6"long mill file to sharpen hand saws."ve always been impressed swith panel saws. They make it easy for one person to accurately eut a full sheet of plywood into manageable pieces. ‘The basie principle of these saws is simple, A sheet of plywood slides in and rests against a verti- cal bed. Then a cireular saw is pulled down a couple of guide rails to eut the sheet. ‘The only drawback is the cost — over $1000 for a full-sized model. So I decided to build a shop-made version with all the features Tliked, see photo. VERTICAL BED. First of all, there's a large A~ shaped vertical bed to support a full sheet of ply- ‘wood. The trick is to make sure the bed won't twist ase Panel Saw This shop-built panel saw allows precision crosscutting and ripping of large sheet goods. And it costs only a fraction of professional saws. or warp after it’s assem- bled, So Imade the bed out, of ¥4" birch plywood. And for the rails that support, it, Ichose Douglas Fir for its strength and straight grain. ‘CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY. Another feature of the ‘panel saw is the carriage assembly. This assembly provides a way to slide the saw smoothly on a pair of guide tubes. Note: This panel saw requires a circular saw with a 7/4" diameter blade. RIPPING. The panel saw can also be used for ripping, Just lock the carriage in plaee, rotate the saw 90°, and push the workpiece through the blade. ‘To provide additional support when ripping a fall sheet of plywood, I added two removable “wings” to the sides of the saw. ‘MOBILE. Since the panel sawis about 10-feet long with the wings in place), I attached easters to roll it around to wherever I need it. When I'm done cutting, the panel saw folds up flat and rolls against the wall for storage. HARDWARE. To build the panel saw, you'll need quite a bit of hardware, see Hardware List below. But don’t let that seare you. I found all the parts I needed at the local hardware store, (There's also a source of hardware on page 31.) #0114" Fh Woodscrews (21) Ya" Washers (18) "Ye" Mastic FKknobs (3) #8x1'7" Fh Woodscrews (84) Yor Hex Nuts (3) YA! x1" Fender Washers (4) Yat ie" Lag Bola (8) ho" Hox Nute (18) ee tute wired Holes (7) Yor x5" Lag Boles (6) %e" Nall-On Plast Gdes (5) ro" rNute (4) Yor Washers (8) Seti Eye Boe (1) 2" Swe! Caotero (2) 3) Butt Hingos w/Sorons (8) Horn 2"x8/4" U-Bole (4) 6x17" 5-Hook (1) 12" Conduit Straps (4) Shotx 2° x94" Square U-Bolt (1) sea" Wire Rope (7 #2.) orn 5" Hanger Bolts (2) 20" Lock Nut w/Nylon Insert (1) Yea" Crimp-On Gps (2) e@ Ae" Washers (14) Ye" Nylon Spacers -.375 x 562 (34) Ya" x4" Hex Bolt (1) 12" Siding Glass Door Whooe (2) Yar x4" Threaded Round Knobe (7) 5x 18" PYC Pipe (1) | Yerutla" Hex Boles (2) "o"x 24" Threaded Star Knobs (4) Weight (see page 25) No.4 16 ShopNotesGarr EXPLODED VIEW —PuLLeY surrorr @— ——@ PULLEY BAGE PLATE TOP BRACE, EDGE RAIL “~~ PLATE _-@ ouide use —© CARRIAGE ee INERT —8 MATERIAL EXTENSION REST-EXTENSION ® o~ BED PIECE LIP-EXTENSION —© LiP-MATERIAL REST MATERIAL REST © extension surrorr BOTTOM RAIL Eredar ania Bed R Mavi. Reet-Exe: (2) an 2-22 Weepess i iosssoure ore & Lipo-Extensions (2) 22 x22 -'/s Masonite 8 ConterRalls(2). tYax3-72 Pulley System © Edge Rals(2) Y2x3.78 T Pilley Bave Pate (1) 6x9-/ Py D Top Rail (1) Wax2%o- 80% U Piiley Suppore (1) 2x6-54 Ply E Bottom Ral (t) — Wax2%-77% Back Support Cutting Diagram F Braces (2) 1ex3-48 G Top Brace Pate (1) 6x18/2-94 Ply 34240 - 96 BIRCH PLYWOOD Six 24 - 40 BIRCH PLY, H Bottom Br. Flt. (1) 6x18 -“/a Ply 1 Foot (1) 3x84 Py ‘ 3 J Base Pleces(2) 19% x52 gh. Ply Carriage Assembly K Ineere (1) x18 -Y4 Maconive L Carriage (2 pleceo) 19% 18-14 Masonite 4 Be) x24 0 M Guide Tubes (2) 11” EMT condutt - 72 Tree MAGEE Material Reet and Wings N Material Rest (2) 1'/e x2 - 38/4 0 Lips-Matl Reas (2) 22x 26'%-Vs Masonite P te Supports (2) Tx4B-%4 Py @ Extencione (2) 7a 224-% Ply Note: Ngo weep Four boo a8 No.4 ShopNotes. WwGaetan 1 started work on the panel saw [7] by making the bed. The bed is built in two sections. Bach sec tion consists of a triangular piece ‘of plywood with twosupport rails |< serewed to the long edges, refer to Fig. 2. CUT PIECES. To make the bed sections, start by cutting two bed pieces (A) from a blank of 8/4" ‘eNSE PLYWOOD es plywood, see Fig. 1. Sooner nets eee Next, cut the center and edge rails (B, C) to length, see Fig. Note: The edge rails are eut 6° [Dp Tonger than the center rails. T used straight-grained 1/0'-thick stock for the rails and ripped them to a finished width of 3". ATTACH RAILS. Now the rails can be clamped and serewed to E the bed pieces. The edge rails (6) | CENTER RAIL extend past the bottom edge of | “8? thebed and actastwo ofthe “feet” for the panel saw, see Fig, 2b. To censure the feet extend an equal distance, position the top inside corner ofeach edge rail lush with the top of the bed, see Fig. 2a. CONNECT SECTIONS. After the two sections are complete, [3 they're connected with a top and bottom rail (D, B), see Fig. 8. Here again I used 14/2" thick stock to make the rails, but this time the rails are ripped to a fin ished width of 2". CUTTING TROUGH. To prevent the saw from entting into the bed, a space (entting trough) is left between the two sections, see Fig. 8. [used a 6"-long serap 2x4 as a spacer to position the two sections before screwing the bed pieces to the rails, see Fig. 3. Note: This spacer will be used later to position the guide tubes. For added strength, I leg bolted the ends of the edge and center rails to the top and bottom rails see Fig. 8a, CASTERS. Finally, to roll the saw around the shop, I screwed a pair of2" swivel casters under the bottom rail, see Fig. 3b. THIRD: FOPRAL, se BO Rho cece 18 ShopNotes No.4Back Support Once the bed is complete, the next step is to make the folding ‘back support. In the “down” posi- tion, it holds the bed upright. To move the panel savy the back sup- port folds up, and the saw ean be rolled around on the easters. ‘The back support consists of ‘two main parts: a brace assembly and two base pieces, see Fig. 4. BRACE ASSEMBLY. The brace assembly is just a simple wood frame, see Fig. 5. The braces (F) are 1/2" thick stock cut to a fin- ished length of 48". The frame is completed by serewing 32/4" ply- wood top and bottom plate (G, H) to the braces, see Fig. 5. ‘To seeure the brace assembly tothe vertical bed, eutslots in the top plate, soe Fi 5. The slots fit over hanger bolts installed in the center rails, see Tightening a Fig. 4a. plastic knob (or wing mut) on the end of each bolt locks the bed in place. Note: A counterbore at ‘the end of the slots prevents the knob from slid- ing as it's tighte ned, see Fig. 5a, FOOT To complete the assem- bly, screw a plywood foot (1) to the bottom plate, see Fig.5. With the ends ofthe twoedge rails, this foot creates a “tripod” that stabi- lizes the panel sa, see Fig. 4b. BASE. The last step is to build the base. ‘The base is just two ‘triangular-shaped pieces of ply- wood that keep the panel saw ‘TOP BRACE att 5) erie. FIRST: ORI ‘@. CounTERDORE Yo" DEEP ‘SGREWTOF AND OTIOM BOTTOM LATE 2 FAST BOTTOM (oriole. ap usterth pf wWooDeereW. Note: CACEPLATE gp x a"Fh—oeh FOOT oovsteew “* (3eo4) from racking, see Fig. 6. thebasepiecesand the centerrails, ‘The base pieces (J) are hinged TURNBUCKLES. Finally, serew to the bed and braces, see Fig. 6. turnbuckle toeach eenter rail to ‘To allow the back support to fold up, I left 1/4" elearance between secure the back support in the “up” position, see Fig. 4. 6 waooscr=w rosimon E96e OF ADE PIECE 14" FROM (CENTER RAL St BUTT HNGES: No.4Carriage Assembly CARRIAGE. “foun wc sy EXPLODED VIEW DIMENSIONS Mera er N siotaatesit riven uve Otel ree qabE ; ve amon a wagner Proacon_ rormurane Sube Hon sie are ip. 62 nore ver nur rf és Ron DETAIL au ioves excert rie ibe tes ale cos fee aie | SPACER IN HALF, Wee Grune setter” anna sor tocenur non nen shorn a“oe Gurenoe oF Ore 964" A HOLES saree bot Pan eae oe hi ster ‘ine raw rvs ‘The heart of the panel saw is the crosscutting, the insert fits into carriage assembly. This assembly provides a way to mount the saw for accurate crosscutting or rip- ping. It consists of three main parts: an insert, a sliding ear- riage, and a pair of metal tubes. INSERT ‘The base of the saw is attached to an insert (K) made of V4" Ma- sonite that fits into a recessed opening in the carriage, see Ex- ploded View above. ‘MOUNTING HOLES. The saw is mounted to the insert with 14" threaded knobs and T-nuts. This requires drilling three holes in the base of your saw, see Fig. 7. After drilling the holes, center the saw base on the insert, and transfer the location of the holes and the blade opening onto the insert. Now you can drill the holesand eut the slotin the insert. ADJUSTMENT. Next, to pro- vide a way to adjust the saw, en- large the two holes at the end of theinsert, see Fig. 7a. Thesingle hole at the end of the insert will bbe used later as a “pivot point” to help position the blade, 20 CARRIAGE Like its name implies, the car- riage “earries” the saw up and down the guide tubes. Depending on whether you're ripping or ‘one of the two recessed open- aes enna carriage (L), start by gluing to- gether two pieces of /," Ma- sonite, see Fig. 8. FIRST LooMTE AND 7 |eutetinee ete SebRSE OF oak vor rok rou B | FEST: CARRIAGE Gexenien “SECOND: THIRD: ceNTER NseeT POSITION GUIDE ‘ON CARRIAGE ‘STRIPS AROUND INGEST ShopNotesCreating the recessed open- ings isa simple two-step process. First, a'/4" deep recess is routed to match the shape of the insert. ‘Then alip is created by removing the waste with a sabre saw. The trick to making the recess is to use the insert as a template and rout the recess witha pattem bit. (Por more on this, see page 4.) First, center the insert on the ear riage, see Fig. 8. Then, to guide the router, tape strips around the edges ofthe insert with carpettane. ROUT RECESS. Now you can remove the insert and rout one recess, see Fig. 9a. ‘Then repeat the process, and rout a second recess 90° to the first, see Fig, 9. LiP.'To complete the openings and formthe lip,removethe waste with a sabre sav, see Fig. 9b. HARDWARE, All that’s leftis to rill holes and install hardware on the carriage. To make the carriage slide smoothly without a lot of “play,” I slipped nylon spacers over four U-bolts like beads on a necklace, see Detail in Exploded View. And to reduee the frietion be- tween the guide tubes and the carriage, [added furniture glides between the ends of each U-bolt. ‘Thenext step isto attach the car- riage guide tubes (M1) to the top and bottom rails, These tubes are just 6-foot long pieces of 1/2" “hinwall” electrical conduit, MOUNT CARRIAGE, Before at- taching the guide tubes, slide the ends of the tubes through the ear- riage U-bolts. Now the earriage assembly can be located on the top and bottom rails. ‘The key is to center the car- riage on the cutting trough and position the guide tubes parallel ith each other. An easy way to do this is to use the same spacer ‘that was used earlier to form the cutting trough. Just: clamp the spacer sos eentered on the back No.4 rourmwo ForINseer a. BEARING RIDES ONTOP eOGE oF ouibe Bree Ss S cube ROUT A ee GE PATTERN BI NoTe: “ERA ey ReMOWNG waste wen ‘SABRE SAW 10) ine'batr cue SoBe (qe ConouT of the carriage and extends into the cutting trough, see Fig. 10. Asyou slide the carriage tothe top and bottom of the tubes, the spacer centers the carriage on the eutting trough, and positions the tubes parallel with each other, INSTALL TUBES, Now the top and bottom ends of the guide ‘tubes can be secured with conduit ShopNotes SECOND: sungcteenorroror | Enlarge the holes in the “ears” of the conduit straps to make the guide tubes adjustable. THREADED ENOB Gino notbs nee IN PASE straps and lag bolts, see Fig. 10. Bat first, to make the tubes ad- justable, slot the holes in the “ears” of the conduit straps. ATTACH INSERE. Finally, the insert can be attached to the ear- riage with threaded knobs and Tnnts, see Fig. 11a, The knobs tighten against fender washers ‘which hold the insert in place. 21Pzee he Material Rest and Wings ‘The panel saw is designed with a material rest to support sheet ‘goods during a eut. Why not just use the bottom rail as a rest? Be~ cause the carriage “bottoms out” on the rail before the saw ean ent all the way through a workpiece. ‘The material rest (N) is made of two 1/4"-thiek blanks (one for each half of the bed), see Fig. 12. A number of deep dadoes create openings in the rest that allow sawdust to fall through, ‘CHAMFER EDGES. To prevent sheet goods from “eatching” on the material rest, the top edge of each opening is chamfered, see 1 ea] To allow work- pieces to slide easily, rout or {file the top edges of each opening and the edges of the bed next to the cutting trough. (oriaasone) Spee drawing at left. I also chamfered the edges of the bed next: to the cutting trough. UP, Before attaching the rest, luca 1/4" Masonite lip (0) tothe front of each blank. This helps “track” workpieces along the ma- ooaweee EDS = fl est TO.BED WH ‘aout th orton oF MATERIA year 9 FeoM Sens OPMATERG REST MATERIAL REST DIMENSIONS terial rest, see Fig. 12. Note: Cut the lip shorter than the rest to allow clearance for the earriage, ATTACH REST. The last step is to clamp and serew the material rest to the bed, see Fig, 12a, The key here is to position the pieces so the top edges are level and are at 90° to the cutting trough. WINGS.To add oxtra support when ripping, I built two “wings.” Each wing consists ofan extension support (P) and an ex- tension (Q), see Fig. 13. ‘The support is made from a 48"-long piece of plywood that’s ripped to width to fit between the material rest and the bottom rail. Next, the extension is eat to ‘match the diagonal edges of the bed, and the pieces are screwed together, see Fig. 132. To make the wings removable, I drilled ‘two holes fora threaded knob and ‘T-mut in each extension support. ‘MATERIAL REST. Finally, build another material rest for euch ex- ‘tension, see Fig. 13. MATERIAL REST- EXTENSION et a EXTENSION sexu rm i woovscKEw aa Be" | won Fe NT ShopNoteseT ee Pulleys and Counterweight __ All that’s left to complete the panel saw is to add a pulley sys- tem and counterweight, see photo. The idea here is for the saw carriage to return easily to the top of the guide tubes when you finish a ent. PULLEY SYSTEM ‘The pulley system consists of three parts: a pulley base plate (D), pulley support (U), and a couple of 1/2" wheels used for sliding glass doors, see Fig. 14 ‘The base plate and the pulley support are both made from 3/4" plywood, see Fig. 14, After drill- ing holes and bolting the wheels to the pulley support, the two pieces can be screwed together to form a T-shape, see Fig. 1da. Note: Locate the pulley support so the pulleys are centered onthe length of the base plate. ‘To complete the system, the base plate is serewed to the top rail 0 the pulleys are centered on the width of the eutting trough. ‘Now that the pulley system is in place, the last step is to add a counterweight, The secret is to ‘make the counterweight roughly equal to the combined weight of your circular saw and carriage. Gnmy ease, this was 16 pounds.) This lets you pall the saw dawn the guide tubes withont exerting alotofpressure. Anditallowsthe saw to travel easily back to the top of the tubes. LEAD SHOT. To make the coun- terweight, I filled a length of 3" PVC pipe with lead shot, refer to Fig. 16. But sand, conerete, or any other weight would work as well, just as long as it clears the back support. To hold the shot, T cut a serap pieee of wood to fit inside the pipe, see Fig. 161 WIRE CABLE. After set ‘a counterweight, T ran a 7-foot length of wire cable over the pul- No.4 leys to connect the pipe to the carriage. Each end of the eable has loop made with a erimp-on etip. ‘An Schook in one loop hooks into an eye bolt installed on the carriage, see Fig. 15. The other end slips over a bolt which passes through the top of the pipe, see Fig. 16a. Note: To keep the loop from slipping to one side, file a notch in the middle of the bott. eo xara 14 rocoeenew SuPeOR Note: FRONT FoGES OF FORM LOOF AD crim ON ss" CUP = cenres puusey ONLENSTY [SOF ONSE ‘orevesour wooDscreW ShopNotes: TONATCH WEIGHT OF SAW 23Tze ee ee m Tomake perfect ents with the panel saw, youneed to take a few minutes to tune it up. The idea is to adjust the guide tubes so they're 90° to the material rest, see Steps 1 and 2. Then adjust the saw blade so it’s cutting straight, see Steps 3 and 4. ‘To make these adjustments, place a sheet of ply- ‘wood (with a “fuctory” square corner) on the mate- rial rest so one edge extends into the cutting trough. Note: slots NSTHATE NLQW TUBES ‘Sue ‘Step 1: Clamp a block to the carriage to align the Step 2: To adjust the guide tubes, loosen the top guide tubes. Then push a sheet of plywood against or bottom conduit straps. Then tap the tubes into the edge of the block, andssiide the carriage up and position. Cut a block to fit between the tubes to own to check for a gap. ‘keep them parallel while theyre adjusted. Bi Marx 100% engine orate Lave 60) ‘MARKED Toor TOW HON ti Stop 3: The next sip sto chook he alignment of Step 4: he cstance between the marked tooth @ the saw blade. To do this, mark a tooth on the back _and the plywood edge varies, the saw needs to be side of the blade. Then rotate blade forward until adjusted. Loosen the knobs that hold the saw to the marked tooth aligns with plywood edge again. Insert. Then pivot the saw to align the blade. 24 ShopNotes No.4-@ Using the The panel saw is designed for preci- sion crosscutting and ripping. And Panel Saw when you're finished cutting, it - (folds up flat for storage. Ripping When ripping large sheet goods, _ Then slide the carriage to the the carriage is locked and the desired position and lock it in workpiece is pushed through the place. To do this, just tighten the blade, see photo at right. Setting Tob against the strap on the up the saw for ripping requires a square U-holt, see Fig. 1. ew simple steps. Ifyour saw doesn't have a lock First, mount the saw in the switch, use aspring clamp to hold carviage so the blade is perpen- down the trigger switch during a dicular to the guide tubes. cut, see Fig. 2. SQUARE W-9OLT SENOS TO Although the panel sawisalarge ers, see Fig. 1. Then you ean roll tool, its easy to move and store. the saw to another place in the ‘That's because the back support shop, push it out to the driveway, canbe folded up flat into the hack or store it lat against a wall of the bed when you're finished To hold the back support in an cutting, see photo at right. upright position when moving or When it’s folded up, the saw storingthe saw, lock the braces in lifts off the rear foot and the two place with the turnbuckles on the edge rails and rests on the east- center rails, see Fig. 2. A EDGE RAL No.4 ‘ShopNotes %Vibration running machine is quality parts and alignment. Recently I purchased a used “contracior’s style” table saw. (A belt-driven saw where the motor hangs from the back.) It seems like a sturdy, well-built mackine. But when I turn the saw on, it shakes like a wet dog. Is there anything I ean do to correct the problem? Any tool that shakes, bounces, or vibrates is not only inaceurate — itean be downright dangerous. Fortunately, there are several ‘things that ean be done to redueo ‘vibration problems, ‘WORN PARTS Since you're dealing with a used ‘machine, the first stop is to cheele for worn parts. There are three basic components that need to be {n good working order: the arbor shaft, the arbor bearings, and the ‘motor itself. Safety Note: Unplug the saw before doing any adjustments. ARBOR SHAPT. The arbor shaft is the business end of the saw. On one end is the saw blade, see Fig. 1. At the other end is a pulley. Examine the shaft. Ifit's worn or damaged, it should be replaced. ARBOR BEARINGS. The next thing T check are the arbor bear- ings. They hold the shaft in place and allow it to spin freely. ‘To test the bearings for wear, remove the belt from the arbor pulley. Now, spin the arbor shaft by hand, Tt should spin freely ‘without “catching” or grinding, ‘At the same time, check that the shaft is held securely in place. Ifit feels “sloppy,” the bearings probably need to be replaced. MOTOR. The third component that should be checked is the mo- tor. A pulley that wobbles when the motor is tumed on eould mean a bent shaft, see Fig, 2. If this is your problem you'll need to repair or replace the motor. Once the basie components check out, the next step is to make sure they're aligned. MOTOR ALIGNMENT For the saw to run smoothly the saw arbor and the shaft of the ‘motor need to be in alignment. ALIGN SHAFTS. This means aligning the motor from abovethe saw and from the rear of the saw, refer to Figs. 3 and 4. ‘There's nothing complicated about aligning the motor. AIl it requires is installing the belt and repositioning the motor on the mounting plate. PULLEYS: Once the motor shaft is aligned with the arbor shaft, the next step is to check the pulleys. ZINC-CAST.A very common type ofpulley isa zinc-cast pulley. Because the metal is soft in this A ace rte ew | [2 SENG rae are / Moron - wilPeauee — | woron Note: NBartworoe [| ) Hiemaiersowonss — MOTOR 26 ShopNotes NanaMove WOTORON MOUNTING PLATE 20 chap ALIGN Wit ARBOR SHAFT oP view ADJUST MOTOR SHAFT 60 1°6 PARALLEL WHT ARBOR SHAFT REAR VIEW 5 STRAIGHT toe pulley, the sides are often bent. Or the center hole (bore) is de~ formed so it no longer fits tightly on the shat. Even if a zine-east pulley ap- ‘pears in good condition, Pd ree- ommend replacing it. The reason is balance, For a pulley to turn smoothly, it needis to be balanced, just like the wheel of a ear. Zine pulleys are not very well balanced. A bet- ter choice would hea turned steel or east iron pulley. ‘TURNED STEEL. If possible, T prefer to use a tured steel pul- ley. As the name says, these pul- leys are turned froma solid piece of steel and are well balanced. CAST IRON. It's impractical to turn large pulleys from a solid steel blank. So when replacing large pulleys, Tuse east iron. ‘The only draw back to steel and cast iron pulleysis they cost more than zine pulleys. Regardless of the type of pul- leys youuse, they have to line up. ALIGN PULLEYS. To deter- imine ifthe pulleys are aligned, I use a straightedge, see Fig. 5. When held against the pulleys, the straightedge should touch the outside edge of both pulleys. Ifthe pulleys don’t line up, try adjusting their position on the shaft. If you still can’t get them aligned, you'll need to reposition the motor. V-BELT There's one last thing to check out — the Welt. Over time this belt can stretch, crack, and be~ come hard. Simply replacing the old belt with a new ane ean im- prove the saw's performance and reduce vibration. New Products belts, and vibration pads. ‘signed to help reduce vibration. ‘Sources on page 31.) While you're tuning up your savr, there's a eouple of new products, worth looking at: Power. Twist V- ‘POWER TWIST BELE This belt is made of interlocking sections, ‘50 you ean make any length belt you need, see Fig, 1. And it’s de- ‘VIBRATION PAD. This is basi- cally a shoot of rubber-ike ma- terial, The idea is to isolate the ‘motor, which helps reduce noise and vibration, see Fig. 2. (See fornasoe op No.4 27Iw Shop Solutions Saw Blade Storage Rack mT have several different blades formy table saw. Instead ofhang- ing them on a nail, [built a stor- age rack that doubles as a filing system for the blades, see photo. Itletsmeseeataglance which [4 blade I need. And it keeps the blades from banging into one an- other and chipping the teeth. The storage rack consists of two sides and a back that form a “U” shape, see Fig. 1. Diagonal slots cut in the sides hold the blades at an angle. ‘The only tricky part is getting the slots to mateh up. To do this, tape the sides together with dou- ble-sided carpet tape, and mark the slots on one piece, see Fig. 2. ‘Then drill a Y4" hole to locate the end of each slot and cut the slots with a sabre saw. ‘To make it easier to insert the Dlades, eut off the earner of each slot, see Fig. 8. After gluing and serewing the sides to the back, T hung the storage rack on the wall near my saw. “GivE AND SoHE ‘1029 AND BACK ee MADE FROM Si PLYWOOD 2 | SECOND: om anroLeS THIRD: cursors 3 Zz 7 FIRST: TAPE OTH oibe ECE FOGETIER eudr SE Edgewolnting lips Seats iat ee ae When making a pass on a Jointer, P'm never sure when Pve got a straight edge along the en- tire length of the board. So Iseribble a line on the ede T'm going to joint, Then I make a pass and cheek the edge. When the peneil lines gone, [know I've got a clean, straight edge. Tom Hamer Woolstock, Iowa. 28 Aenoes JoteR ONT ‘PENCILUNE Is CONE oneper or — WoRPCE ShopNotesInstalling Threaded Inserts I've used your tip about install- ‘ing threaded inserts with a drill press on a couple of different oc- casions. (Editor's Note: This tip appeared in Issue No. 1 of Shop- Notes on page 23.) Sawing off the head of a bolt that fits the insert, and then chucking it in the drill press lets me drive the insert in straight and square, ‘The only problem is sometimes the bolt slips in the chuck, espe- cially if 'm driving the insert into apiece of hardwood. ‘To prevent this, I grind three “flats” on the shank of the bolt, see Fig. 1b. The jaws ofthe chuck tighten against the flats and hold the bolt securely in place. ‘To install an insert, just thread a-couple of nuts and the insert on orate eer the end of the bolt, see Fig. La, ‘Then, after tightening the muts against the insert, chuck the bolt in the drill press, Next, using the control arm of Clamping Irregular Shapes Clamping an irregular shaped workpiece in a bench vise can be a problem. If you exert enough pressure to hold the work, you ‘may end up matring its surface. One solution is to use seraps of polystyrene insulation as “vise pads,” see drawing. When you tighten the vise, the insulation conforms to the shape of the workpiece without damaging it. Bob Heidenreich Columbia, Missouri File Handles No.4 oa | ‘onan || orecur the duill press, press the threaded insert into the hole while rotating the chuek by hand, see Fig. 1. Joe Plyler Charlotte, North Carolina INSULATION CONFORM TO ‘SHAPE OF WORKPIECE WHEN SES TIGCTENED Here's an easy way to install a handle on afile, see photo. Allyou need is an old dish brush with a plastic handle, Clamp the brush in a vise and pulloff the handle. Then heat the tang of your file and plunge it into the handle. ‘The melted plastic sips the file in the handle. Ed Quigley Belmond, Towa ‘ShopNotes Send in Your Solutions If you'd like to share original solu- tions to problems you've faced, send them to: ShopNotes, Attn: Shop So- Intions, 2200 Grand Ave, Des Moines,IA50812. 00 We'll pay ap to $200 depending;on the published length, Send an expla- nation along with a photo or sketch. Include a daytime phone number so ‘we can call you if we have questions. 29and recess in the head make screws worth a The best thing about square drive screws is that it's almost ‘impossible for a serewdriver to slip off the head as you drive them into a workpiece. That's because these screws are designed for a screwdriver with a square tip that fits snugly in a square recess in the head of the screw, see drawing below. ‘You can apply a lot more torque without theserewdriver slipping. CROSS-SLOTS. These screws are also available with “eross- slots” in the corners of the re~ cess — a combination between a square drive and a Phillips head serew, see photo. This seemslike the best of both worlds (especially if you can't al- ways find a square drive serew- driver when you need one). ‘You can drive in combination screws easily with a square drive serewdriver. However, if you try Aunique thread design combination closer look. Paurs eceewoRiver ers coweninon Sox SS HARDWARE STORE Phillips screwdriver. ‘Jim also mentioned a couple of other advantages they have over “standard” woodserews. DEEP THREADS. First of all, combination screws have deeper ‘threads than a standard wood- screw. Each thread takes a big: ger “bite” so there's more holding power, see dravrings helow. ShopNotes: to use a Phillips screwdriver, the tip will probably slip out, ‘Why had cross-slots even been added? To find out, [tallsed to Jim Ray, president of MeFeely’s, a company that specializes in com- bination and square drive serews, He said combination serews had originally been designed for the furniture industry. If a piece of furniture needed repair after Teaving the factory (and a square drive screwdriver wasn't avail- able), combination serews could still be easily removed with a PITCH, Another key difference is the pitch or angle of the threads. On a combination serew, the bottom or leading edge of the threads rises up the shank at a sharp angle. As a result, it sliees into the wood quicker, with less chance of splitting a workpiece. You'd think a steep-angled thread would pull out easier. But it’s just the opposite. The reason is the top or trailing edge of the thread is almost perpendicular to the shank of the serew. So it. re- sists pullout likea barb on a hook. BRANDS. Combination serews are available through several com panies, Asa result, there's a vari- ety of brand names like Combo, ‘Reeex, and Square-X. (For alist of sources, see page 81.) ‘SQUARE ope ScREWORVER "AIS ENHER SQUARE BENE ‘OR COMBINATION SCREWS COMBINATION © oxen | FULDUT.TEALING EDOEISNEARLY PERENDCULAR TOSHANE (K snare anoue \ oF LeAonG eDGe Sura nero WORePece No.4FIT eee Sources ShopNotes Shop Supplies is of- $6804-200 Drum Sander Not fering some of the hardware and Hardware Ki supplies needed for the projects ShopNotes Shop Supplies is also in this issue, offering rolls of self-adhesive We'vealso put togetheralist of sandpaper for the Drum Sander. Hardware Kit.. other mail order sources that These rolls are 4/2" wide and have the same or similar hard- 10 yards long. ware and supplies. 8768-910 50 Grit 8768-820 100 Grit. PATTERN BIT 8768-830 120 Grit. ‘The Hinge Mortising Jig on page — $768-840 180 Grit. 4 is designed to work with a pat- i tern bit (¥/0" dia. entter). Shop- Notes Shop Supplies is offering a This kit does not include $2.95 the guide tubes, the PVC eoun- terweight container, or the wood. ‘6804-400 Panel Saw $134.95, ANTI-VIBRATION PAD $14.95 The rubber anti-vibration pad is sid available through Shop Supplies $14.95 and from the mail order sources $14.95 _ listed below. The pad is 12" x 12" $14.95 and Ys" thiek 5503-870 Rubber Ant Vibration Pad. ¥4"-shank pattern bit. ‘To make the shop-built Saw Vise §1514-160 Pattern Bit..$22.95 on page 13, [used a plastie wing nut, a carriage bolt, washer. THICKNESS SANDING JIG ‘6804-300 Saw Vise Hard- If you would like topurchase the ware Kit... page 8, there’sakit available. sturdy plastie handle. This kit contains the hardware $5001-121 Saw Fil only, not the wood. '$6804-100 Thickness Sander _ PANEL SAW HARDWARE KIT 57.95 ShopNotes Shop Supplies has a complete kit ofall the hardware RUM SANDER needled to build the Panel Saw. Shop Supplies is offering a kit of The kit inctudes a phenolic car- the hardware to make the Drum riage and insert. The carriage is Sander shown on page 11. pre-drilled and routed for the in- This kit contains the wheels, sert. All you have to do is attach Not Hardware Kit. carriage bolt, and the PVC pipe. the insert to your saw. MAIL ORDER SOURCES Similar hardware and supplies may be found in the following catalogs. Please call each company fora catalog or for ordering information. Merecley's Wooderate Woodworker's Supply ‘oo-tiserost ‘on-2es-9 ‘oor. 0202| tr Bi, Honor, Paern Bi, Herdware, Pater Bi, Horan, ConbinatonSeraee”” —‘Aheree “Sandpaper, Adkete Sendpopen, Garrett Wade Sew Fis, Combination Combination Sere ieee Soren Shopsmith Wood Havivare, Adbasse The Woodworker? working Unlimited Sondpapot Saw Pil, Store ‘oo 7385 ‘AutGibntion Pad 612-428-2100 Hurdware, Adhesive ‘Trend-Lines Patent Handuore, Sender 300-787-9009 Plat Roa, Combo: Yo-Line Indust Patton Bit lorheore, mses ‘ses 700 Sondpapor Sos Poor Tet Veit No.4 ShopNotes hardware that we used to make _A triangular file is also being the Thickness Sanding Jig on offered. This is a 6" file with a 4-feet long $4.95 COMBINATION SCREWS ShopNotes Shop Supplies is of- fering a kit of Combination Screws. This kit includes 100 each of the following serews: No. 6~ -¥4', 1,14, 11/2. Theserews comein divided storage box along with a power driver bit and a serewdriver. : The No. 6 serews are 13.95 ‘V-BELT and a A 4-foot length of Power-Twist and 1"; No. 8 square drive only. belt is available from Shop Sup- plies, This belt is an “A-section” w= $1.95 (Y2".wvide) belt. 86804-500 Power-Iwist Belt 29.95 ORDER INFORMATION ‘BY MAIL ‘To order by mail, use the form enclosed with a earrent issue. The order form in- eludes information on han- dling and shipping charges, and sales tax, Send your mail BY PHONE For fastest service use our ‘oll Free order line. Open ‘Monday through Friday, 7-00 AM(to 7:00 PM Central Time. Before calling, have your VISA, MasterCard, or Dis- onder to: cover Card ready. ShopNotes $00-444 Shop Supplies t peat PO. Box 842 ‘Note: Pries cubs to change Des Moines, IA 50304 afer Sept. 1, 1998. 31