lUillChange Work

theWayYou

A Publicationof August Home Publishing

 departments tipsf romour shop
ShopNotebook.
fromourreaders
T i p&s T e c h n i q u e. s. ......... . . . . 4 smallshopsolutions
RouterTables
Space-Saving . .. . . . 42
a l la b o u t Fourroutertableoptions
thatwon'ttakeupany
floor
extra space inyour
shop. \rbffi
V a r i a bSl e
great
This
p e eRdo u t e.r.s. . . . . . . . . 8
feature
willopenupa whole
possibilities.
new
workingwith tools
w
worldofrouting
5Toof
sThatWillChange
YourWotk.. 44
toolsof the trade Findoutwhichtoolscanreally
make
a big
inyourshop.
difference
TopPicksinTableSawAccessories
10
Take
a lookata fewaccessories
thatwillhelp
yougetthemost your
from tablesaw. f inishing
room
ANever-FailFinish. .....46
Nothing anoilandwaxfinish
beats forlooks
techniouesfromour shoo andease
ofapplication.
Installing Drawer
Side-Mount Slides14
Install
themrightthefirsttime.
in the mailbox
jigsandfixtures Q& A . ........48
Pocket
Using HoleJoinery
. . . . . . . . 15
Takeyourpocketholejig beyond
faceframes
to hardware
andsupplies
younever
a fewapplications thoughto[ Sources . . . . .. . . 4 9
Utoeh
ffi

Coffee Table oaqe22

CandleHolders page
zo

Woodsmith
D
features
project
weekend editor'snote
C a"How
n d l e H o l d" e r s . . . . . . . . . 2 0
d youdothat? We'llshowyouthesecret
tomaking
theselaminated
candle holders. Sawdust
d a c i nn o r < o r i o < n r n i o r l

Gfass-Top
CoffeeTable.
. . . . . . . . . .22
glass-top
This coffee
tablefeatures joinery
basic haight, flat, and square. \A/hen it comes to makhg doots, that's
andadds
thebonusofextra storaqe. usually the goal you're shooting for. But that's not the casewith
@ES{@ERsSS@88@@K
the curved-front wall cabinet on page 32 of this issue.The doors of
prolect
heirloom this cabinet bow outward gracefully. Building a prolect like this
Curved-FrontWall
Cabinet.
., . . . . . 32 may sound challenging, but don't worry - we've included some
Don'tletthisproject
throwyoua curve. You'll
justhoweasyit isto builda curved
learn drawer tips to make the process almost foolproof.
an0 00015. Speaking of tips, most woodworkers I talk to can't seem to get
enough of them. Now, you can have the best time-saving secrets,
details
of craftsmanship solutions, and techniques sent dtectly to your computer Just go
S o l i d - W oFor a
d m&eP a n e.l. . . . . 5 0 to www.WoodworkingTips.com to sign up. You'll receive a new
Learn
whatit takes
to buildlong-lasting
projects
using
solidwood. tip by e-mail each week.
There's one other online feature that I'd like to mention. That's
our new online sources page. There, you'll find hardware and
supply sources for the projects featured in each issue of
I ndcutrrg diag'ams
foral rheprojecrs
aboveonline atwww.Woodsmith.com Woodsmith. To view the online sources page, just go to
wrvw.Woodsmith.com and follow the linl<s.

Wall Cabinet oaoe

32 $o 0nn$0 ramm 6 {rde0d,oo'n*..6 sh0 "ea r0,u!s 0mp | ( 0 00. .rdF,\0r.ae
'rm_andlfre' q6h! tur0 o:!0q6@rsonf$_rqo
In M4a16
h a|! dGrm+n|00 rs6e
o eicktdtndFml! lrrdim0!iroDr-anFis,deer'iosdire6a 7-00!n dAq .e 0e r[o * , r 0

wvn',Woodsmith.com Woodsmith
 from ers

Tips&Gchni
ShopBuilrSweeper
A lot of sawdust and debris ends
up on my shop floor at the end of
the day. I like to keep things clean
with my shop vacuum but the noz-
zle that comes with the vacuum is
much too small for the job
To make it easier to clean the
floot I built a largernozzlereplace-
ment. like you see in the Photo at
the right. lt's simple to build from
readilyavailablematerials.
I used 1l/4"-dia. PVc pipe and fit-
tings. as shown in the illustration
below.You can make the nozzleas
long and as wide as you want. But
the wider it gets the PVCpipe. To cut this slot safely pipe securelywhile You maketwo
remember,
you'll have. you'll want to first gluethe T-fitting passeson the table saw 1/2" aPaIt.
lesssuction
To make the nozzle glide easilY
I used the table saw to cut a 1/z'L and the two sectionstogether. A
jig like you see in the drawing at along the floor, I added toy wood
wide uptake slot along the bot-
the bottom of the page can be wheel at each e n d . l c e n t e red a
tom side of the T-fitting and
usedto guide the cut. hole in the end of a PVc PiPecap
The jig is simply two and used a bolt and a lock nut to
short scrap pieces securethe wheel in Place.
attachedto the edge of a The only thing now left to do is
longer piece of scraP to securethe end caPSwith some
wood. I left the center glue.Then just slip your shoP vac-
open to accommodate uum hoseover the long arm of the
the T-fittingand to posr- nozzleand turn it on.
tion the piece in the jig. You'll find it's easier to clean
Two screws were added your floor at the end of the day.
at the top of the jig to And it's a realtime savertoo.
keep the pipe from rotat- JamreNielson
ing. The jig will hold the Atrora, Iiiinois

IIPS
VOUR
SUBflIIT
lf vou have an original shop tip, we would like to
h e a r f r o m y o u a n d c o n s i d e rp u b l i s h i n gy o u r t i p i n
o n e o r m o r e o f o u r p u b l i c a t i o n sJ. u s t w r i t e d o w n
vour tio and mail it to: Woodsmith, Tips and
Techniques,2200 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, lowa
50312.Pleaseinclude your name, address,and day-
time phone number in case we have any questions.
lf you would like. FAX it to us at 515-282-6741or
send us an email message at: woodsmith@wood-
smith.com. We will pay up to $200 if we publish
your tip.

Woodsmith No. 156

6 QuirklheodRepoir
Strippingthe threadsin a bolt hole is always
a frustrating experience.To fix it, you have
to usesome type of insert or retap the hole
and installa largersizebolt.
So whenever this happens, I have a
simplelight-dutyrepairto take care of the
problem.The solution is quick and easy
and doesn'trequirespecialtools,
The trick is to removethe bolt and then
fill the hole with an adhesivecompound
such as J.B. Weld ot Liquid Steel-
No. 156 2004
December/January
To keep the bolt from being glued in
place,coat it with liquid soap.Then drive
Publisher Donald B. Peschl<e
t h e b o l t i n t o t h e h o l e a g a i na n d l e t t h e
adhesivecompound set up (below left).
Editor Terry I. Strohman
Once the compound has set, you can SeniorEditors Vincent Ancona
Bryan Nelson
carefully back the bolt out again (below
right). This works great for light-duty AssociateEditors Ted Raife
Phil Huber
bolts.lt's fast and simple and letsyou get
backto work on your project. AssistantEditor Ron Johnson
Bill Samlleson Art Director Todd Lambirth
Fayttuilb, Arkarsa SeniorIllustrators David Kreyling
Dirk Ver Steeg
Harlan V Clark
Illustrators PeterJ. Larson
Dave Kallemyn
Elec,IrnageSpec. Allan Rulnke
CRIATIVE RESOURCE* cmriu Dtch Ted}3alck ' si Piqi... DsrSdsl
Ken Munkel, KentweLh, Ryu Mni.k,ChrisIi{dI slof C.'r4Jnd,i Ster€ cdis,
Sr*a,lohn*n . sr ?to,q9,ryrr. Crit.la E$lmd . I'Jdi l,rdri I'nia Ad*isn

SPECIALPUBLICATIoNS:corp Vl' :DouClasL Hirk ' ,4, Dia.,o': Doqlas

A rlini'sd,t rcmpraDFf@:ChE\cloM.li. vd!{ Prr l{ar}Hays,Jr'
c"fiir D.sarr Liids.y Rs . sd'or Edihr cr:Ls Rrcs*${ ' ,a$6 Edldi

CIRCULATION, Ci/. oPd Dr..ion Sandy B:!n'ctr l!liil?r;l3 D,ii wayde

l Kinsbeil . stit.jr sllndi ,,l'aJynri vris S.nbmm{ r ct.. rr,rbrtis
vt' 'da'cbc '
. t..l.tta. t!{
DA'r"rE: Robh Fdend, Randy shPler

-o coRPoRArE sERiqcEs: L/r o/ Finitr.. Ma./ R scheve ' cormJld: crais

Shlle ' Dt ala"dar lmlyrtj rlsia snidr . n r.ard : Lln J nrolE ' xdlr
PMt i r42r-vl S.hlle ' .,ldir &t.trrLi Mirso Ptu ' Dtol I'd,@r .lflry$l
Lsla sniih . Pfldrd'o,
\d'H 'a.rq1.Jr4rT
Dt, C!.qd chmielar
jI@D"
D o u s r "r ,. I
' ar Md''3nr Bnm

{ d t"D" Rebcd
cuMinqham . N&,M.di, nk| Codon c caiPp. . w.6 sit ,{n Djr: c€ne
.
Duk{illed Chisels red{scn

h";-P-
.

,"
r{.1'

,
s.mr,4dr,ri:
',' "l' . v''1' '' 4' D
'n
Ca-l s.hoepPlcr wc! C,i!,r nkri Drvd

Haveyou ever trimmed wood plugs with I simply took an old 1'LwidechiselI had Dddopd, Dir: Mi.hal Sisel . adgt^ spd : knny wAbvd 'Oif.. ,V!ri
' Ad,rtr ,1$t I scrni Hannmd '
team€ lorssm r n'.jrld ,t4i?r Kdioturs
a chiselonlyto havethe cornerofthe chisel laying around and made a radius around Aa,il,(dI/t}Ji"?:rnr{L{,bcr

dig intothe workpiece?What beganas each of the corners(seethe chisel on the

a simpletask, now requiressome
additionaltime sandingto make
the surfacesmooth again,
Well, l've found a way to
preventthis from hap-
pening by altering
some of my old
"duck- Wmdsniih[l (ISSN0lHrl,1) isNblished bimonfly eeb.,ApL,June,Ag ,OcL,
left in the photo below).The round D.c ) by ^ug! sl Hot,e Prblishing CodDMx 2-?noGdd D.s Moines, LA50312
Wods $@ h a rcg,shred rradendk or]\4st Hone Rrblishins
b i l l " p r o f i l et h a t l m a d e o n t h e c o r n e r s C.p,yigh@ 200,1Auslst Home Publishins Compov An nsht r*rved
Sds.ripriors: Si gle copy, $1.95. One yes srbscription (6 iss!es), 52495
allows me to trim wood plugswithout the (cmada/ Int6naiio nal add $10 per yeai U s irds)
C,nndid Srb3ripriom: C.nada Posi As€emeit No 40fi3m1 S.nd chos.
riskofthe cornersgougingtheworkpiece. ofaddress intomarion to Po Bd 341,shtion M3in. M,Itufl, oN L3P3M6
Pdodic.ls Poslage Paid ar Des Moi!.s, lA md at additionai oltcds
l've also found that rounding the cor- US$/Perry Jlddt Herrldd Division ,\utomkble Polv
S€nd ch.ue ol rddress l. lfoodrnllt Aox 37112.
ners of a l/z'Lwidechisel makes an excel-
Poetnasb4
subsiption auAdotu? $ nF ru u u ./' / lro Bd.3a2 nc Moo" lAlmo
lent gouge (right chisel in photo below). !' !al' I 3m1r r{,,.3.m'm'o\mp,brJTtr verd,F o - ndsftil

chisels. The edge is easy to maintain and you'll

find a number of uses for it. I use mY
gouge for shaping curved joints, making
transitionsbetween moundings,and
w h e n e v e rI n e e d t o a d d a s m a l l
decorativetouch to a Project.
This is also a great way to
recyclesome of your old or
little-usedchisels.You'llnow
:1;ii:'i=
be ableto get them out of
the drawer or the tool box
and back into action where
they reallybelong.
Cary Beckwith
Rochille,Marylard
World wjde w€b, hrp://ww $/mdsmiLh con
Online Customer Service.
www.Woodsmith.com
. Accessyour account
. Checka subscdptionpayment
. Tell us ifyou'vemissed an issue
. Changeyour mailing or email address
. Renewyour subsciption
' Pay your bill
Email: woodsmith@woodsmithcom
Box 842,DesMoines,IA
W:1rteto Woodsmith,P.O.
50304-9961 8:00am to 5:00
or caU1-800-333-5075,
pm, Central Time,weekdays.Or send an email to:
orders@ivoodsmith.com

www.Woodsmith.com Woodsmith
l--
moretipsfromourreaders
HingeBoringJig
l p l a n n e d t o u s e c o n c e a l e do r
" E u r o p e a nh" i n g e sf o r m y k i t c h e n
cabinets.But the thought of meas-
u r i n g e a c h h i n g e l o c a t i o na l m o s t
c h a n g e dm y m i n d . T h a t ' sw h e n I
made a jig to help speedup the
d r i l l i n go p e r a t i o n .
I used 3/a"plywood for the base.
A n d t h e n a t t a c h e da f e n c e a l s o
made from plywood. Next, you'll
want to locate a pair of wood
stops along the fence so they
c e n t e rt h e d r i l l b i t o v e r t h e c e n t e r
p o i n t o f t h e h o l et o b e b o r e d .
F i n a l l ya t t a c ht h e s t o p s t o t h e
f e n c e u s i n g b u t t h i n g e s ( F i g .1 ) .
Make sure the hinge barrel sits
h i g h e rt h a t t h e w o r k p i e c e s, o t h e
w o r k p i e c ec a n b e p o s i t i o n e dn e x t
t o t h e f e n c ef o r d r i l l i n g .
Now, place the door against
o n e s t o p a n d b o r e a h o l e ( F i g .1 ) .
Then flip down the other stop,
r e p o s i t i o nt h e d o o r a n d r e p e a t
t h e p r o c e s sa, s s h o w n i n F i g .2 .
linr Walsan
l
(iranbl4, ?xas
I
BrokenScrewRepoir
A broken screw never comes at a file a few teeth on one end with a Finallyremove the plug of
c o n v e n i e nt ti m e .A n d w h e n I c a n ' t t r i a n g u l a rf i l e ( s e ep h o t o a t l e f t ) . w o o d w i t h t h e b r o k e n s c r e w . A
exlractthe screw,I use an easy T h e n p u t t h e t u b i n g i n y o u r d r l l l n e w p l u g c a n b e g l u e di n t h e h o l e
w a y t o s o l v et h e p r o b l e m . p r e s s a n d s i m p l y d r i l l o u t t h e a n d a n e w s c r e wd r i v e ni n p l a c e .
To extract the screw, simply area around the screw as illus- |hi/\I/esrzm
t a k e a p i e c eo f m e t a l t u b i n g a n d trated in Fig. 1 below. Virllep,(--allomrrr

'-.--
Metal
tubing

fap dowel
inio hote

1' yl l

,T

Woodsmith No 156
 lfonrnerAnvil
Fromtime to time, I need to use a
smallanvilin my shop.My machin_
ists vise has a small anvil surface
but itt oftenobstructedbythe jaws
of the viseand not easyto use.
A quickway to providea tempo_
raryanvilis to use a 2 lb. hammer
and your woodworking vice. To
get moregripping power and pro_
t e c tt h e v i s e . I p u t t h e h a m m e r
betweentwo flat boardsand tight_
enthe vise (seedrawing at right).
Theexposedend of the hammer
h e a dp r o v i d e sa n e x c e l l e n ta n v i l
surface for peenlng rivets and
othersmall metal work needs.
FralcisHlden
I lcmp.sread..i\eu,yorI
*(
t'.....""...
,-<
drill bi7
WN Tlrrs
BruocB
Ctrv
BrocNPr-.qrvB
That'sright,send us your shop tips. lf your
woodworkingtip or techniqueis selected
as the featuredreader,stip, you,llwrn a
BridgeCity Blockplanejust likethe one h o f b o r i n g h o l e sf o r i n s t a l l i n g
shown here.Sendyour tips and tecnntquesto:
Woodsmith,llps and Techniques,2200 Grand Avenue,
Des Moines, towa S0312.
Or send us an email message at: woodsmith@woodsmith.com.
www'Woodsmith.com
PAI{IYHOSITII{FHNAG
O v e r t h e y e a r s ,p a n t y h o s e h a s
f o u n d m a n y u s e si n t h e s h o p .B u t
one of the best uses for panty
hose is to apply stainsand var-
nrsheson completedprojects.
By shaping the hose into a
s m a l l b a l l ,y o u c a n e a s i l y a p p l y
the stainor varnishand achievea
smooth and lint-freesurfacewith_
out bubblesor streaking.
CullenHanis
lliifirrd, l,cnnsrhania
RAZOR
BIADT
SCRAPER
To scrapeout bitsof dustand other
imperfections in a finishusea razor
blade.11preserves the shinein the
finishso you don'tneedto repolish
DrillingGuide the whole surface.
When lcan't usea drill pressand needto use The key is to form a small,,burr,,
a handdrill,I havea hardtime dri|ing strajght on the edge of the btadeby drag_
holes.So I madea simpledrillinggujdefor use grng the blade across320_grit
with my hand drill to help keep the holes I s a n d p a p e r .T o u s e i t h o l d t h e
drill perpendicularto the work surface. blade almost verticaJlyand flex it
This drilling guide is easyto make.To get s l i g h t l yw i t h y o u r t h u m b st o p r e _
startedyou'll just needto find a 2y2,,long by vent the cornersfrom digging in.
11/2" wide pieceof scrapwood. T h e n p u s h t h e b l a d e a c r o s st h e
Then all you need to do is cut a V_shaped
blemishwith a few light strokes.
notch along one edge of the block,like you
Er.gere Hammll
see in the drawing at the left. Remove the
l{.cine,\Ijls.ons;n
wastefrom the notch and your done.
To usethe drillingguide,simply ,,nest,,the
S(REW
NETRIWAI.
drill bit into the V shaped notch when sran_ F i n d i n ga i o s t s c r e ww h e n i t f a l l s
i n g t o d r i l l . T h e n o t c hw i l l h e l p y o u o f l e n t
y o u r d r i l l b i t s o t h a t i t i s p e r f e c t l ys q u a r e .
Into sawdust is easy Simply drag
a magnet through the sawdustto
And it won't interferewith the positioningof quicklyretrievethe screw.
the drill bit on the workpiece.
HouardFis/<
DonallStemer Sftln$ield, trlissori
yorngstou,n, Ohur
Ihe Winner!
Congratulations to Terry
Walston of Granbury, Texas.
H i st i p o n m a k i n ga h i n g eh o l e
boringjig was selectedas win-
ner ofa BridgeCity Blockplane
-4 just likethe one shown at left.
H i s j i g h e l p sm a k es h o r tw o r k
c o n c e a l e d o o r hi n g e s
To find out how you could
wrn a plane, check out the
information on the left.
Woodsmi r
 alf about
whyyou needa
eedRouters
Years ago, when I was shopping for LARGt 8lIS.So basically, with the dia. panel-raising bit watch out. At
my fust router, I found that tlrcre huge variety of bits available today, the same 25,000RP\4 the outer cut-
were fwo choices where a router can function as a mini- ting edges of the bit are now travel-
motor speed was concemed - shaper It seems like no "cut" or ing at a scary 260 MPH.
Iast and faster.A rouier had toprofile is off limits to the router I00 IISI. There can be several
turn at least 25,000rpm to be anymore. Large diameter (up to effects from this "excess" speed.
wo{th its salt. And 30,000rpm 3lz") panel raising bits, 1%"-rad. The most obvious is that it's dan-
wasn't uncomlnon. These routers roundovers, and special joinery gerous. \4tren a router bit is spin-
were usually lightweight, compact and profile bits arc pretty common. ning that fast, it's iust too easy to
and meantto be used"hand-held." The catch is that using some of lose control of the workpiece.
But overtheyearsthingschanged. these large-diameter bits takes a Next, it puts strain on the router.
I Fora small Woodworkers leamed that a router "slower" approach achieved with a A heavy, large-diameter bit spin-
dia.straightbit mounted in a table could often be variable speed router. ning at high rpms and working
fastis good But easierto us€ and more versati-le.And lntrhy do you need to slow down hard to remove a large amount of
the paneiraising then things started to snowball. As your router speed? Well, let's get stock wi1l, at the least, stress the
"monster" bit
the use of router tables took ho14 the right down to it and talk speed. At bearings and possibly overload or
aboveneedsto bit manufactffers started to offer 25,000 rpm the cutting edge of the burn out the motor. And firnlly, as
besloweddown. larger, heavier bits designed to be f+'-dia. straight bit shown at left is you might Buess, high speeds
used only in router tables. And haveling at the reasonable speed of cause heat buildup and this can
larger, more powerful routers fol- 20 mph. But when you replace lead to a couple problems. First,
lowed right along. your %" straight bit with the 3%'- the bit will overheat and the cut-

\
 Chart tho|r'/s
rclationship ol

ting edge will lose its sharpness.

Second,the heat generated by a
bit that's spiffring too fast can
causebuming in the cut.
SLowDowl{.The solution is to
slow down. And that's what a
variable speed router allows you to
do. A slower cutting speed can
result in a smooth, burn-free cut
that's safer for the operator, and
easieron the bit and router
It may solurd odd, but using
larger or even "standard size" bits
at slower speeds can give you a
much cleaner cut. The photo at
right shows how burning can be
controlled by just reducing the
speed of the router Vibration is
also the enemy of a smooth cut.
The faster the bit is turning, the
more vibration you're likely to
have. Slower speeds mean less
vibration and better results.
WHAT'S AVAlLABtt.In the past five
or six years, the number of variable
speed (VS) routers on the market
has skyrocketed. All of ihe major
manufacturers now offer at least
one model with this option.
\{r}ren you go looking for a VS
router, you'll find two different
t)?es. Most manufacturers use arl
infinitely variable system (left
photo above).You can think o{ this
as dial-a-speed.Simply turning a
numbered dial on the top of the
router allows you to increase or
decrease the speed. But the actual
speed you're getting iavolves a lit-
tle Buesswork. So some models
have a chart, like that shown in the
left inset photo above, that tells
you what speed the numbers on
lnfinitely
Router
the dial correspond to.
The second t'?e is far less com-
mon and gives you the choice of
several pre-set speeds.The Porter
Cable 7519 shou'n above has a lin-
ear switch that moves between
10,000,13,000,16,000,18,000,and
22,000rpm (right inset photo).
BItLSAt{DWlllSTl.tS.A couple of
extra features you'll find on vari-
able speed routers are the result of
modem electronics.Most, but not
all VS routers incorporate an elec-
tronic feedback system. It continu-
ously monitors the speed of the
router and supplies more power
when necessary to maintain con-
stant rpms. The upshot is that the
router won't bog down.
Soft-start is another feature
you'1I comrnonly find on variable
speed routers. It's intended to
make hand-held use a little friend-
lier by eliminating the "kick" of the
router when you hit the switch. If
you're not familiar with this fea-
ture, you might think there was
something wrong with the router
the first time you turn it on. The
Switch allows
speed
router motor starts
slowly and gradually
revs up to fulI speed.
IXTRA(0ST.One of the
surprising things about
the variable speed fea-
ture is how little it adds
to the cost of a router.
Generally, the difference
is not more than $10 to
$25. For a tool you might
have in the shop for
many years, this could be
just a drop in the bucket.
Rtl.lABlll. Finally, what about
the question of reliability? . i E l i m i n a t i nt g
he
Any time you add palts to a burning in a
tool, you have a better chance covecut (upper
of something going wrong. exampe) canoe
But the technology used here assimple asdial-
is pretty basic by today's stan- ing down the
dards and several product routerspeed, as
managers I spoke with assured in the lower
me this hadn't been a problem. example
All in all, the arguments for
variable speed routers seem to
outweigh those against. For only
a little extra cost, you're giving
yowself a lot more options. $!

ControlUnit
lfyou own a perfecdy good fixed speedroutel
but would like to have the option of variable
speed routing, the router speed control shown
dt right might be the aruwer. This inexpen-
sive unit (mine cost $25) works with most
brush-q?e router motors (not with soft-start)
up to 3t/e hp. It incorporates the elect(onic
feedbackfeature described above and is fused
to protect against overload.
To use the speed control, you simply plug
your router into the urft and the unit into a
wall outlet. The switch (at iop) gives you the
option of full or variable speed.
This unit isn't nearly as sensitive as the
speed control on a router and I noticed some
power loss at the top end. But iJ you're only
going to do occasional variable speed rout-
ing, it makes good sense.

www.Woodsmith.com Woodsmith
 liableSawAccessories
lf you're lookingfor waysto makeyour tablesawa littlesafer,
more accurate, andeasierto use,we'vegotthe answers.
Most woodworkers' fust najor pur-
7l :f*, chase (myself included) is a table
l''ltt\r)) .. saw. And for good reason. A table
saw is responsiblefor the basics-
/- Blade cutting the stock that goesinto a proi
ect.A lot of the projectsI build start
and end at the table saw.
So any time I come across an
"add-on" that makes my table saw
E do its job a Little better I go for it.
I've rounded up some accessories
that I thjnk will make your work at
the saw a bit safer, easier, and give
Blade you better results.
height Now you might think that
stop
you've seen it all when it comes to
table saw gadgets, but there are
TheGauge-ltsawgaugedoesdoubleduty.Youcan some clever folks out there who
useit to quicklycheckor setthe heightof the blade manage to keep raising the bar.
or do likewisefor the angleof tilt. Some of the items I came across are
10 Woodsmith
surprisingly sirnple and a few bor-
der on the high tech. But they're a1l
shop-testedand worth a look.
SowBlodeSetup
What's the fust thing you do when
setting up to make a cut on the table
saw? Adjusl the blade, right? And
some of the new blade adjustment
accessoriesI found on the market
will make blade adjustment hassles
a thing of the past.
LowIt(H . The first couple of items
I looked at are pretty inexpensive
(about $20) and simple in design,
uu' arru rra!] rLd ruj/.
The Gauge-it in the photo at left
gives you a two-in-one option. You
can use it to adjust or check both
the height of the blade and the tilt
No.156
 angle. And it has a couple of fea-
tures that I really 1ike. The large
(D scales are easy to read and allow
you to make fine adjustments. And
the clever design allows you to
measure the height or angle setting
as you move the blade.
For a small investrnent, the Sazo-
Aid, shown at right gives you a lot
of too1.Its versatile design indudes
an easy-to-readblade height scale,
several standard angle gauges, a
couple of rules, and to top it off, it
cartdouble as a push stick.
HIGIIII(H. When the two high-
tech gizmos in the photos directly
below showed up in the shop, they
created quite a stir. The Angle"
Pafect II and lhe BladeGaugeIIbotIt
use the same simple electronics to
o
I High-iechelectronicscome 10 the table saw in the ;
Angle"Perfed setup gauge availablefrom Rock/er.
Whenthe LEDlightsup, you'rerighton the money.
Workpiece
Conlrol
Ripping stock to accurate width is
where a table saw can really eam its
keep. But to do this important job
accurately and safely sometirnes
requires a Uttle more "push" than
Large
Expandable
miter gauge
b
www.Woodsmith.com
make blade adiustment a snap.
The Angle"Perfect II on the left is
used to set or check a pedect 45' or
90" blade angle. A strong magnet
holds it in place on the saw table
while you "tweak" the blade angle.
\r'\4ren both elechodes on one end
contact the blade, a light emitting
diode (LED) shines brighdy (photo
at left) and you know you've hit
the mark. It's not only easy and
accufrate,but ifs pretty cool to use.
The BladeGaugeII @elow right)
uses the same idea to set blade
height. The "steps" on both ends
are electodes that cause the LEDto
light up when touched by the
blade. Different thickness sleeves
(inset photo) fit over the electrodes A The versatileSaw-Aid\s appropriately named.lt will
for adjustments as fine as Ysz". helpyou set up for a cut andto makeit aswell.
Take the guessworkout of height
adjustment with the 8/adecauge il You
can easilyfine-tuneto r/:z" (insetphoto).
your two hands can provide. And against the rip fence to give you a
that makes frte Fmther-Loc feather cleaner, more accurate cut and
board shown below a great add-on. reduce the chance of kickback. And
The flefble fingers of a feather- Feather-Loccertainly passes this
board push your stock snug up test. But what makes the Feather-
Loc a special tool is how easy and
versatile it is to use.
Longadjustment
slot It features an expandable bar
that fits into any siandard miter
gauge slot. The long adiustment
slots allow you to position the fin-
gers and then a quick tum of the
large knobs locks the bar and the
featherboard h place on the saw.
< lhe easy-to-useFeather-LocIrom BenchDog Tools\s
lt'll make your rip
the latestword in featherboards.
cutssaferand more accurate.
Woodsmith 11
 'Zero'ln
I've found that one of the simplest
ways to improve the quality of the
cuts on your table saw is by wing a
zero-clearance insert. Just drop one
in and cuts in "chippy" hardwoods
Sofid
aluminumbody
with top mounted
setscrewsfor easy
adiustment
Thelong ondShortof Splitlers
Table saw splitters perform an
important function - preventing
binding, buming, and kickback in
rip cuts. But a splitter can sometimes
be a pain to use. WeL two new split-
ters on the market are designed to be
a bit more "user-friendly "
'lh.e
Merlin Splitter in the photo
below looks and functions like a
common splitter but has one big
advantage. It can be removed and
then reinstalled in seconds. A11it
and pl1'woods sud-
denly become mudr
rnore manageable.
If you're looking
for an inexpensive
insed that has all
the basics, the
high-density phe-
r.ohc Itecraft in:tsert,
shown at right fits
ihe bill. At about A zero-clearanceinsertfrom leecraft will get the
$20 it has every- job done without a lot of cost.Adjustmentscrews
thing you need - (lower photo) and pre-cutblade pockets(upper
leveLing screws for photo)makefor easyinstallation.
easy height adiust-
"top-of-
ment, tensioning screws for a but here you'll be gettin8 a
vibration-free fit, and pre-cut blade the-line" blade insert.
pockets (top in photo) on the This insert system features a pre-
underside for easy fkst-time setup. cision-milled solid aluminum body
Or you might want to take a look with replaceable phenolic kerf
at the Tru-Cut BladeInsert System lt]. inseds. This allows you to simply
the photos at left. It'll tale a larger change out the kerf insert ratlLer
bite out of yolu wa11et(about 980), than the entire blade insert.
takes is the push of a
button to remove the
Meflin and then you
can simply snap it back
into place when you
At first glance, the
Microlig (MJ) Splitter
(photos at right) does
not look very impres-
sive. The working parts
are just two half-moon
shaped plastic inserts.
But you need to try one
to really appreciate it.
To use the splitter,
you drill three small mounting
holes in your zero-clearance blade
insert. \4/hen you pop one of the
two M/ inserts in place, it functions
like a spLitter to keep the kerf open.
The trick is that the inserts provide
four different alignment surfaces.
By tuming an insert side for side or
switching inserts, you can adjust
ffi
the pressure applied. Smooth, & Two hard plastic insertsand a
bum-free cuts are the result. E drillingguideto helpmountthem
ln a zero-clearance insertare all
-.diThe new Merlin Splitter has an there is to the MJ Splitter (top
easy-on, easy-off feature that photo). The insertssimpiy pop
makesit a realwinner. into place(bottom photo).
Woodsmith No. 156

InDeptlu
TheUttimate
Block?
Push
For saJeand accuraterip cuts, com-
plete control of the workpiece is a
must. And that's just what the new
GRR-Rippusystempush block in the
photo at right is designed to pro-
vide. But there's a lot more here.
\{hen you glve it a look, the term
push block iust doesn't seern to do
justice to the GRR-Ripper system.
Something more like "universal
materials-handling device" might
be a better fit. This accessory is so
handy that I can't begin to explain
{o
IttoUssMore
jl Maintainingcontrol of both pieceswhile l
resawingthin stock can be trickyat best.
But as you see above, with the GRR-
Ripper,it's not a problem.
tww.Woodsmith.com
GR 2OO
GRR-R|pperSystem
Reveoible
spacermounts
Stabilizing plate
all of
Its uses
and different
configurations.
The photos below
show just a few, and
the detailed manual Balancesupport
describes many more. adjustsfor
Adjustable
But I can tell you why it thicknessstoak
works so well. First and fore-
most are the non-slip pads that workpiece during rip cuts. This
cover the bottom of the GRR-Rlpper added control results in a much
(photo at left). These grooved pads saJer,more accurate cut.
will " grab" firmly on just about But there's more to the GRR-
any surface - rough or smooth. Ripper thar. tust simple rip cuts.
A:rd as you can see in the photo The basic parts can be adjusted irr
at left, the adjustable pads are used
every imaginable way and also
to create a tlurnel through which combined with a couple extra
the saw blade can pass. This allows
you to put plenty of pressure on
both sides of the blade ard the
attachnents for special cuts. The
balance support, shown above, can
be added to provide more control
during resawing operations. And a
d Try as I might, I couldn'tget the stabiLizing plate gives you help
non-slip,groovedpads covering with narrow pieces. All in all, I
the bottom of the GRR-R/pper to thhk you'll find that the GRR
slideon eventhe slickestsurface Ripper is one versatile tool- Ei
A bevelcut in a workpiececan be a chal- * You wouldn't want try the cut shown
l e n 9 e .B u t b i n d i n g ,b u r n i n g ,a n d t h e above without the help of the GRR-
chanceof kickbackcan be eliminatedby Ripper But with it, tricky cuts in small
usingthe GRR-R pper workpiecesare safe,easy,and accurate.
Woodsmith
theinsandoutso
Draw
Side-Mount drawerslideopenssmoothandeffortlessly,
A correctlyinstalled
The keyisunderstanding workandhowto install
howslides
At first glance, installing drawer
slides looks like it should be a piece
of cake, You just screw one half to
the drawer and the other half to the
cabinet. What could be simpler?
But if you've ever worked with
drawer slides, you know that
there's a bit more to it. I used to
think it was enough to know which
screw holes to use. But I'Ye found
that understanding slide design is
a big help when ii comes to
installing side-mounted slides.
There are a 1ot of good drawer
slides on the market. One of our
NOTE:Slide is fullv extended
them.
favorites is the Accarde slide. (This
is the slide shown in ihe drawings.)
These drawer slides appear to be
a single unit, but are actually made
of two components. These compo'
nents ride on chamels that can-
tilever the drarver out of the
cabinet when ifs opened.
You'll want to separate them for
installation and when you want to
remove the drawer To separate
them just lift the lever as shown in
'a' below.
the illustration and detail
Both slide sections have holes
and features designed for rnaking
Woodsmith
adiustments during installation. I
usually begin with the halJ that
attaches to the cabinet. This part of
the slide is %" thick and contaias
the ball bearings which give the
slides their smooth gliding motion.
CABIIIIT CottPol{ttll.I like to use a
plywood spacer when installing
the cabinet component. This posi-
tions the slide correcdy and keeps
it lined up parallel to the slide on
the other side of the cabinet.
To do this, begin with the top
drawer and find the position for
the cabinet component. Then cut a
plyvrrood spacer to help you hold
the slide in place (Figure 1).
The top of the plywood lets you
rest your slide on it as you install it.
As soon as one side is done, I move
directly to ihe opposite slide and
install it using the same technique.
It's easy to find the height of tlrc
rlext drawer below and tdm the
pl1'wood to the new height. Repeai
the process until all of the cabinet
components have been installed
on both sides of the cabinet.
No.156
 Next, you'll want to find the U-
'a' at right)
shaped tabs (detail Low-profile screw )
rvhich have hodzontal holes for
adjustment to the front or back. #l-,,i'
These tabs are designed to flex dur-
ing installation like you seeillus-
'b'. They can be a
trated in detail
real help when either the cabinet or
drawers are not quite square.
Long, horizontal cutouts (shown L
!t. TOp \
- . .
/-fab allows tlide
in the illustration at the top dght) vfEW . t .-t I fo Desqu.afe
, j J I wth cabrnet
make it easy to accessthe screw
holes for ftrstallation.This lets you
install and adjust the low- profile,
Hole allows for adjustment
self-tapping screws with the mov- trom tront to ba(k :
ables1ldepushed in or out.
DRAwtR ColllPoNtllT.
With the cabi-
net component installed, you can CabinetComponentFeaturcs.HarizontalU Shapedtabsflexta campensate for a cabinetor
move on to installing the drawer drawerthatmaynot be perfectlysquare You'llalsofind horizantalholesfar frontta backcon-
component. Since this slide will be ventianal
mountingadjustmentsandroundholesfor 32mmmountng systems.
centeredon the side of the drawer,
you'll $'ant to first mark the center-
Ihe on the side of the drawer and
use this iine as a reference when
positioning the slide.
You'll notice that the drawer
component has vertical holes in tire
slide (Figure 2). Because the
dralver may need some adjust- ')' --'-.!
| .
ment to fit properll', these holes
allow you to move the drawer up
or don'n as needed. A cam adjust-
ment at the end of the slide (detail j slide release
'a'at dght)
allows additional vedi- Verticaladjustmenthole -'
cal adjustment of the dralver Additionalscrews _lY
- Vertical
secureslide in place ' adiustmenthole
Once the slides are in place,
you'll want them to stay that way. Drawer ComponentFeatures.Liftingthe releaseleverseparates the drawercompanentfram
So it's important to go back and thecabinetcomponent.Vertical
holesallowadjustmentof thedrawerup or downduringinstal-
insiall ;Lnyremaining screlvs.W lation A camadjustmentan somedrawersallowsfor additionalverticaladjustment

How
TqCabinets
withaFace
Frame

NOTE:Wood cleat is flush

with sideof face frame

Wood Cleatfor FaceFrameMount. Cabinet FaceFrame ConversionKit BracLetsse- Optionalc ip-on bracketscan be
(omponenlmounledto a waod .lpal The curedto the faceframeand thebackof the usedfor mountlngs idesin cabi-
cleatis sizedto be flush with the faceframe. cabinetlineup the drawerslideproperly. netswith faceframes.

wvwwoodsmith.com Woodsmith
 putting When you think of pocket hole
joinery you usually think of mass-
produced kitchen cabinets and fur-
Hole
Pocket
niture. The kind that are easy to
build and fast to assemble.
But this type of joinery is not just
for making face frames for cabi-
nets. And you don't have to work
in a cabinet shop to use it. Because
it's so quick and easY (see box
below), I find myself drilling
pocket holes more and more
Pocket hole joinery works well
for almost any joint. Here are a fer'r'
ways I've found they work grcat.
: : : : : ] ' . . : i . ] : ; a : ] l i ] : 1 | , . l i l i i i , , i : i i : 1 : ] l : . ] ] i
Pocket
How.Tol Basics
Hole
Btassbushinq
to guide bii
Dritling Pocket Holes' Thepocket holeiig guidesthe drill bit at
exactlythe correctangle Thestopcollarcaneasilybe setto accu'
of wood'
ratelvdrill the correctdepth holein variousthicknesses
Woodsmith
C0RI{ER
great for
JolNTS.Pocket holes are
joining aProns to table
legs. They're faster and easier than
cutting mortise and tenon joints.
And with a little of reinforcement
from a comer block, theY're every
bit as strong. You can see what I
mearl in the Photo above and in the
one at the lower left on Page17.
Just use your jig to drill two
pocket holes at the end of each
apron. Then choose the right
pocket screw for the iob (see the
hardware box on tl.re next Page)
and secure the aPron to the leg.
lnserting PocketHole Screws.After the
hole hasbeendrilled, it'seasyto drivethe
self-tappingpocketholescrewsin place
No. 156
 qfl
J0lt{I Rtltlt0R(tlNtl{T,As I men-
tioned, it doesn't huIt to reinforce
table legs with a corner block as
shown in the photo on the opposite
page. It's attached with three
pocket hole screws. One screw is
driven into each apron and one
into the leg. This adds even more
strength and stability to the legs at
each of the comers.
ttllTtRJ0llll5.Pocket hole joinery
cart come in real haldy when you . Two pocket holessquareto the miter joint and oppositeone another
need to pull a miter joint together allowspocketholescrewsto securethe miterjoint. A faceframeclamp
To hold a miter joint tight, ddll a makesit easyto hold the joint in posrtionwhilethe screwsareinserted
pair of pocket holes opposite and
perpendicular to the joint line, as If you're concerned about wood l.role screws to fasten the shelf
shown in the photo at the dght. A movement, dril1 the pilot holes in banding piece securely in place.
face clamp holds the joint flush the edge a little oversized. Then The right angle clamp shown in
while you dive in the sc(ews. after driving the screw, back it out the photo helps out here. One arm
lTn(H A IA'U ToP.You don't usu- one quarter tum so it can move as fits into the pocket hole and the flat
ally think of using pocket screws temperature or humidity changes. surface on the other arm holds the
for attaching the top of a table. But SHtLtBAtlDltlc.
Adding shelf band- the edgir.rg in place so you can
it's as easy as drilling holes into the ing to pl).wood with pocket holes drive in the pocket screws.
aprons (see photo below) and then is another altemative to splines or As you can see,pocket hole join-
driving screws into the table top. biscuit joinery Simply drill pocket ery has many uses. The joints are
Ushg the jig and the coffect screw holes along the edge of the top Iike strong, and when the holes are hid-
den the joint looks great. You'Il be

,o
size insures that the screws don't you see in the photo at the right
come through the top of the table. below Then drive in the pocket surprised at how easyit is to do. E

\ed
Fe\

.i. Attacha tabletop by driling pocketholesand drivng ;i Pocketholesare a greatway to secureedging to a

screws.Drillingthe pilot holea bit largerand backlng shelf A right'anglec l a m ph o l d st h e e d g i n gt o t h e
the screwout slightly,
allowsfor wood movement shelfwhllethe screwsaredrivenin place

Hardrvarel
Choose
theBest
Pocket
Screw

i Thread lype. Finethreads(top) are i S.rew length. Choosingthe right screw ,:, Head 5tyle. Usewasherheadscrews
used for hardwood and course length dependson the thicknessof the (top)for plywoodand pine.Panhead
threads(bottom)are for softwoods workpreceyou areustng. screws(bottom)arefor hardwoods

www.Woodsmith.com Woodsmith 77
 creattn0 .J

Decorative
Blanks
\faking the cancLLe holders on page 20 isn't all that dif-
ficult.They'rc nothing mole than rectan5$laIblocks cut
on the table sah',or liraccfully shapeclon the band sar'r''.
The kcv to the eve catchilg look is the thin accentstlips
rsecl il the bodv of cach candle holcler.
Adding the accentstrips rcquires m;rking a sn.rootl]
cut on thcband sa\\i ljke you seeaLrlght. Then aftel cut-
ting ancl pl;rning an accentstrip to final size, )rou iusi
glue it il place.Depending on hoil'mix1v accclrtsfiPS
vou adcl,you simpl) repeat thc process.
The accenLsh ips are just tlin pieccs of hardlr'ooci.
\brr car read more about hol to lnrike them ir tl'rcbox
beloh. Thcn for the step b).-stepploccsson cutting .urd
glrrhg up the bl;urks,scc tl,e opposite page.

How-Tor
\M.nt makes dre candle hoiders strnd
out are the thin, colltrasting accent
strips. Sincethin stock can be hard to
find, you nay fild it easierto nake
your own accenLstrips from scrap
stock you alreac{yhave.
The firsLstep is to resai{ a thicker
r'r'orkpiece or.t ,n" 6un.1 53r' (left
drarving below). Then, to clean up
the rough-sar,vn surfaces, yotlll
need to run the strips through a
planer Planing the strips down to
'
an % thick can be a problem for
some planers. To solve this, I made
a carrjer sled (center dralvirg).
This makes it easy to quicklv and
safely run the workpiece through
the planer (dght drawing).

ThF :..anl <ir.<

dleho deritsappeal
:'o < m^ v ^iarF< 6+

veneerresawnfrom
thrcker
Stock

Start Thick. Thefirst stepin making Veneer Sled- To clean up the sawn run thesled
Planeit Smooth.Finally,
the accentstripsis to resawth[ker surfaces, attach the strip ta a carrier (andaccentstrip)througha planerto
stackon Yourf)andsaw sledwith piecesaf carpet tape smoaththesurfaceof the veneer

18 Woodsmith No. 156

 I foun.l it easy to sim
ply sketcha few different '.rli
.ii-:---;.__ ,:: :
,;
curved shapes until I
foundacouplelliked.
But if you're not com-
Although the look of the two setsof fortable with drawir.rg :.7'
canclleholderson pragcs20 ard 21 is freehand, the photo at
quite clifferent,thev both start out right sl.rowsseveral differ-
asglued up biocks of hardwood. ent layout tools you can .._:-.,'
(Seethosepagesfor specificsizes.) use to get tl, e iob donc i d a v . ' r gc - r v e fsi e e h " r d, n r l o J s ' o . y o L ( a r L ) e
ADD THtA((tNISTRIPS. Onceyou've TtmPIATIS. For the cardle holders draftingtoolsI kethe onesshownaboveto help ayout
giued up and sized each blank, I made, I repeated some of the thF. r.vp<Jor iho:..Fnt qt, ns

checkout the box on the opposite curves on thc adjacent iaces If you
page to learn more about making plan on doing this, it's a good idea at the oppositeend. Stoppingat any
the accent strips you'lI nccd for to make templates of your cun'es point will widen the cut slightlv
eachcandle holder. out of hardboard, like you see ir.r nrakir1git hard to glue the ship in
With the accent strips in hand, Step Onc. This makes it easy to place without any gaps.
1'ou're ready to decide on thc Iepeat al1ycunre yoll want to. After lighily sanding the inside
shape of the curves in each block. After drawing a cun'e on one face t'accsof the block, you can glue dre
You don't need to be too fussy of the block, heacl to the balrlrdsaw accent sbip in place (Step Three).
here. All you're really looking for and cut t1.re block apartby foilowing Next, trim away any excess and
are smooth, gradrial cun'es If the d1elayout line, as in Step T\\'o. The sand the edges flush (Step Four). To
cur\resare too tight, it can be diffi- key to getting a tight fit is to make add more ships, simply repeat the
cult to bend lhc accent strips to sure that once you start the cut, process,as ir.rStep Five. Finally, trim
shapeas vou glue them in place. don't stop until you'vc completedit the block to tu1al size (Step 6). ffi

j Cut along

t! in a single,

Layout Curve.Staftingthe designprocess SliceBlock.To separate the blockfor the GIue it Up. After applyingglue,sandwich
isjusta matteraf tracinga smoothcurveon accentstrip, fallow the layautline with the theaccentstripbetvveen the tvvapieces
af
onefaceof the candleholderblock bandsawin a single.smoothpass tha hl^.|. )^d .bh^ ;t ;. hl).a

Clean Up Veneer. Once the glue dries, Repeat the Layout. For each additional Size Block. On-e a// the dc!enl 51,tp:hav€
F r c m aa\ t h p a ^ . t t I r p n p a r h , / \ A n . l i n a l h l accent slr;p all you ll n.ed to do k rcpeat \aa^ aL'art ,^ nla.o r,,^ rha hl^-t 9 final
edgesf/ush with the facesaf the black. StepsOne through Four. sizeon the tablesaw.

wvw.Woodsmilh.con') Wor.,clsmith 19
WeekendProects
taper
1e
Holder
Createtwo differentcandleholders
usrngcontrasttng
accentstripsano
thesamebandsawtechnioue.
CANDLE
fEMPLATE
Sometimes, projects that look quite
ftih-+1 challenging at fust glance are really
the simplest of projects when it
comes right down to aciually build-
ing them. And that's the case with
the two sets of candle holders
shown on these pages.
Each of the candle holders you
see starts out as a square block of
hardwood that's been cut to rough
size. Then to seate the unique
look, you make curved cuts on the
band saw and glue in the accent
NOTE:Use
template to
Iocate strips
within layout
strips. I used mahogany ships to
provide a conhast to the maple that
makes up the body of each holder.
cunvrDcalrDlE
ltolDtRs
The first set of candle holders I
worked on were the tall cuwed ones
you seein the photo above.
Ilal(|llc THtBIAI (S. To start, you'll
need a pair of 3'Lsquare blanks
abofi 5\/2" long. I made nrine by
gluing up thirmer workpieces and
then trirnmins them to size,
Drill
centered
7/s,-dia-_g
Woodsmith
Once you have the blanks glued
up, the next step is to add the
accent strips. As I mentioned, you
can find out exactly how to do this
in the article starting on page 18.
The only thing to keep in mind as
you add the accent strips is to
locate them so they're within the
boundaries of the shape you'll be
cutting out. You can see the shape I
used in the margin drawing at left.
SHAPI THtlLAil(S. After adding the
accent strips, all that's left to do is
shape each blank
and then drill a hole
Ve"-dia.
in the top for the can-
candle dle holder cup.
-- cuP
inseft As you can see in
Fig. 1, a band saw
makes quick work of
shaping the blank. To
make the final shap-
ing cuts you see in
Fig. 2, youll need to
tape the waste pieces
back in place.
No.156
 IINAIDtTllL!.Once the shaping is
complete,you carrsand the cuwes
smooth.Then drill a /6'-dia. hole in
the top of each holder for the brass
insert that will securely hold a slim
tapercardle, as in Fig. 3.
All that's left to do at this point is
apply a finish. I rubbed in a few
coatsof oil. And when the oil was
dry I glued a felt pad to the bottom
of eachcandle holder.
SQUARI
HOI,DIRS
The curved candle holders provide
ar elegant look. For sornething a lit-
tle different, take a look at the set of
squarecandle holders at right.
The process for making this set
of candle holders isn't all that dif-
ferent from the curved holders. It's
a bit easiersince you don't have to
make any final shaping cuts on the
band saw. But that's not to say
there aren't some interesting chal-
lenges in making the square candle
holders. You can see what I'm talk-
ing about by looking closely at the
photo and drawings at right.
u,ff (RoSSGRAIN & THRoUGH (UIS. For
starters, instead of working with
the grain as before, I made all the
cuts nclossthe grain. As I did this, I
made sure to do three things.
The first was to rotate the blank
between each cut. This alternates
the curve from face to face. Second,
as I glued in each accent strip, I
made sure the edgegrain followed
the curve of the cut. And finally, I
made a couple of the cuts tLro'gft
the accent strips that had already
been glued in place.
HoLDlllcTHI(AilDLI.Once all the
accent strips are in place and
sanded flush, you can trim the
blank to final size and then com-
plete a couple final details.
Since the large candles for these
holders don't need an insert to
hold them in place, I simply routed
a counterbore in the top of each
holder (seethe box below).
Finally, all that's left to do is apply , Varyjngthe heightsand adding intersectlng accent
a finish and then glue a felt pad to stripsacrossthe grainprovides
a differentlookfor the
the bottom of each holder W squarecandieho dersshownabove
SMALL LARGE
MEDIUM
-/*z%
3:70
NOTE:All
are 31a"x3%"
blanks

How-Tol
RoutiaHole
foraCandle
To hold the candles in place, you'll
need to add a large counterbore into
the top of each holder. To do this, I
used a hand-held router, a routing
jig, and a dado clean-out bit.
The jig is a scrap oI hardboard
with a 3%' -dia. hole cut in it. To
position the jig there's a hardwood
frame (left drawing). Routing the
hole is just a matter of setting the
jig in place and making a %'-deep
cut with a dado clean-out bit (see
page 49 for sources). After routing
around the edge of the hole, nibble
away at the remaining waste.

RoutingJig.Ihe rodingligslar6outasa p/eceof hardboad Rout Hole.Now setthejig in placeandadjustthe bit for
witha holein it. Thento centerthejig overthecandleholder; thedepthof cut (detail'a').After routingdockwisearound
hardwoodstripsaregluedin placeto forma frame. the hole in thejig, cleanout the remainingwaste.

wvwWoodsmitl.com Woodsmith 21
 NOTE:Caseis constructed
l r,)ETAii..,Srr from 3h"plywood

OVERALLDIMENSIONS:
36"Wx36"Dx16"H

" NOTE:.Tongueand groove

NOTE: Case" design of
table creates open lolns case stoes ano
storage aompaftmen6 diiiders to casebottom
and top frame

NOTE: Gtooves

NOTE:Baseframe
knock-downjoinery

Chamler edging on
plywood bottom panel

.--- %",thick gtass.

i panelsettqroud
. ot top trame

-
TOP PANEL

Tongue
and groove

wwwWoodsmith.com Woodsmith
 b. srDEsEcfloN

Edse l% %

SIDE SECIION
Center
groove
1['=*
l %
-T-ra
z2_

The easiest way to build this table
is to break it down into tfuee mdn
assemblies. You start by putting
together a partitioned plywood case.
Then, to the top of the case,you add
a solid-wood frame that holds the
veneered panels and the glass.
Finally, you build a simple baseto lift
the whole works off the floor.
GUIII{GSTARIID. The partitioned
case starts out on an easy note by
makin8 the square, pll.wood bot-
tom panel shown in the drawing
above. As you calt see, a series of
grooves is routed into the casebot-
tom. These grooves will capture
tongues cut on the pll.wood divid-
ing pieces you'll add later This is a
great way to create a really solid,
easy-to-assemblecaseh pl;'wood.
Finally, some hardwood edging
trims out the panel.
RoUTING GRoovIt.Once the case
bottom is cut to size, you can start
on ihe joinery by routing the two
crisscrossing grooves that divide
the panel into four parts (detail'a').
I just measured carefully and then
clamped a straightedge to the
panel to guide the router.
For the grooves at the edges of
the panel, I took a different
approach, as you can see in the left
photo below. I used a cleat attached
to the router base as an edge guide.
This way, you only need to set up
once and then rout each of the
grooves one after the other
IDGltlG.After completing the
grooves, you can begin work on
applying the solid-wood edging

Grooves
{ An edgeguide makesquickwork of the
grooves at the edgesof the casebottom.l
simplyfasteneda cleatto the router base
&Screws
* The groovesprovidean easyway to locate
the screw holes Drill through from the
top, then add a countersink
from be ow
that surrounds the panel. The /a"-
thick edging is mitered at the cor-
ners and glued in place. A chamfer,
as shown in detail 'c,' will soften
nnd disguise the edging.
Alrd finally, before moving on,
take a minute to drill countersunk
screw holes in the locations shown
above. You'll use a handful of
woodscrews to pull the casepieces
together later on. The second photo
at left shows a tip you can use.
SIDIS AilDDIVIDIRS.Now that the
bottom panel is complete, you can
start work on partitioning the case

Woodsmith No.156
 NOTE: TOPVIEW
vertically on

Trim
Tongue
(see'Hbwto'
) groove

NOTE:
Ca5esldes

3/i' plwood

NOTE:
Edging is
?PP.tied
# 8x 1 % "

'o with plywood dividers and sides.

A look at the drawir1g above gives
you the basics arld the joinery here
The dividers and the sides are
joined with a simple rabbet cut on
the ends of the dividers (detail 'd').
strip of edging left on the ends of
the dividers (detail 'd').
The last task is simply to trim off
won't give you any problems. The only thing you need to think pads of the upper tongues on the
SIDIS ANDDIVIDERS. Get startedby about here is cutting the rabbet on dividers. This allows you to fit the
cutting the Iong rliaider (C), two the correct side of each piece. The top ftame to the case later on. But
shortdipiders (D), and four identical two rabbets on the ends of the long it's easierto do the work now. Just
casesides(E) to size. Note that the divider are on opposite sides. take a look at details 'c' and 'd' and
grah of the ply.wood is vertical. tlNALSTIPS.Two jobs remain follow the steps shou'n below
Next, you'll want to apply edg- before assembLingthe case.Again, The caseis now ready to assem-
ing to both ends of the long divider I wanted to soften the exposed ble with glue, screws and a few
and one end of the short dividers edges, so I routed a "double" clamps (detail'e'). First, add the
ard sides(detail'a'). This will hide chamfer on the edged ends of the long divider, then the two short
any exposedply.wood edges. sides.I also chamfered the narrow dividers and finally, the sides
IHEJolNtRY. Now you're ready to
start on the joinery. First, all the
pieceshave a tongue cut on both
the top and the bottom edge as
shown in detail 'b.' One tongue
will fit the groove in the bottom
panel. The opposite tongue will
mate with a groove you'll cut htc)
the top ftame pieces.
As well as being joined to the
bottom panel and top fiame, you'll
want to join these pieces to each
other The long divider arld the two
shortdivivers are joined at the cen-
ter of the casewith a tongue and A Rough Cut. Usinga back saw cut away A Flush Cut. Next,you can pickup a shary
groove.You'llwant to talcea look at mostof the waste,beingcarefultostayaway chiseltopareawaythe remainingwasteflush
detail 'c' before tackling this. from the shoulderof the tongue. with the end of the plryood.
wwwWoodsmith.com Woodsmith 25
 NOTE: Graove in eclges
E N D S E C T I O NV I E W o f f f t m e p i e c e sw i l l h o l d
@
%1"<
f'
1/4
'€=
NOfE:
Graave on
tongue
No\\' that the ph-woocl caseis cortl-
plete, the nexLstcp is to ad(l the top
lrame that u'iLl holcl the vcnt'cred
plr'r,ooclparcls and dreglass.Before
gctting started, let's takc a look at
u'hat's ir'rvolvcdhe1e.
The drau'irrg itbove shol's horv
the top frame is laid oUt First
vou'il build the mitered ancl
splined outer frame and add it to
the case Then, vou'lJ fit ti.retop
dividers inLo Lhefliime to creaLc
four equal spacestor tl-replr'rvoocl
panels ancl the glass.All the hamc
Parts are joinecl to tl'le Glse \'rith a
longue anLlgroo\-ejoint.
lg!i:;':::::'.: ,
CuttheGrooves
HowTor
Table,aw. Thegroovesan thebottomof the Router Table.A l/a'-wideslol cutterin the
laphameo'erestan be eL qu.l t) at thetable routertablewill handlethe stappedgraoves
nw. Twopasses will da thelob.
for the splines
26
NOTE: Raut chanfer
after frame is assembied
THttRAMtJollltRYTo get stalted,T
cut all the top ilal]lc pieces to
i,vidth tind rlrugh length from lrlr -
tlrick stock. Now, yor.1can get
started on Ll.rejoinely b)' cutting a
groove on the bottom of each
iramc Fiecethat fits Lhctongueson
the cascsides ancl dividers (det.ri1s
'a' ancl'b'). Thc filst dlarring in the
box belor'r.shorvshou'to do this
easily at Lhetable sarv-
Once thesc giooves are com-
plctc, you can miLe. the four side
piecesirto a square frane that fits
snugly over the case sides. But
hold off on assemblingthe franre.
andthecentered
edgegraoves
Woodsmith
BrJtt
TOPFRAME
SHORTDIVIDER
o
l
NOTE: Top trame
Before aclding the frame pieces
to thc c.rsc,there are a couplc mole
chores to take carc of. The insidc
cdgc of the siclefiame piecesand
both eclgesof the divicLershave a
L/2"-deepgroole (dctails 'a' and
'b'). Thesewill holcl support pieces
for thc toP panels ixrd glass
And I also ('anted to strengthen
tl're miterecl frame joints \'\,itl'l
'c') For this, I
splines (cletail
needec-la stopped groove jr'r the
lnitr:rec1encls.lfo do both thesejobs
I took all the frame pieccs to the
router tabie. Usirlg a slot cLltterancl
the samc settip, I cut both the edge
grooves and the stop.pedspiine
grooves (seconddrau,ing at left).
ASSIMBLY. Alter cuttlng some
hardboarcl splines, vou carl stitlt
pl'ltting the picccs together.First, T
gluc.clu1-rthe outer iramc using a
web clamFrto pull the miters tight
Then, before gluing thc frarne to
the case,I routell a chamJeraround
both edgesoi the frame.
\\iLh the orrter trarnc in Placeon
the casc,you can fit thc dividers.
First, cut the lonii fiame dir,idcr to
iit snugly tretwecn the siclesand
glue iLin place Then tinish up n'ith
the tr\''oshort dividers.
No 156
NOTE:
Baserails are glued
and screwedto aase

ng nut
Hangerbolt \ L2;
E. _: _--
r ,. -,i::: \ rnou
t,.:# 2 SECT|ON
i 3
NOTE: Hinoer
VIEW

#8x2"
#8 x 2" Fh boft-pilot
Sawkerf in
I II
Leg)
v,
NOTE: NOTE:
,t I
Leg blanksare
halft are 3/a"-slo<k

RIGHT LEG
HALF

@ ue conr

With the case and top frame assem-
bled, most of the hard work is done.
Adding the base is next in line.
The drawing above shows how
it works. I needed a sturdy base to
support the weight of the caseand
top, but I wanted to keep it simple.
So I built the base using knock-
down joinery It's just four tapered
legsconnectedby four rails.
THRTFPIICI ttCS.First, you need
four, identical legs for the base.
Making these will keep you busy
for a short while. I wanted legs that
were a little stouter (2" square)than
I could get from 1|r'-thick stock,so
a glued-up leg was my best option.
But to avoid a typical "glued up"
look, I took a different approach.
If you take a look at detail 'a'
above, you'Il see that each leg is
made from three pieces - two
"corner"
pieces glued around a
squarecore. The corner pieces are
joined with a rabbet. Then a cham-
fer is routed on d1eoutside comer
to hides the joint. The result is a leg
Orathasa one-piecelook.
SHAPt THtLtcS.Once the leg blanks
are glued up and cut to length, you
can start work on "shaping" them.
First,I took them to the router table
'a').
for a pair of chamfers (detail
The larger chamfer on the inside
corner gives you a flat spot tI]
irstall an anchor bolt used to pull
the frame together (detail 'c').
Next, comes the taper on the
legs.For this job, I went back to the
table saw The simple taper jig
shown in the photo below did the
job quickly and accurately And to
finish up, I eased the bottom of
each leg with a 7s"chamfer
THtRAlLs.The legs are now ready
to go. Once the four rails are made,
the base can be assembled. Since
the railsjustbuttup to the legs,you
l've used several different taper
j i g s o n p a s t p r o j e c t s ,b u t l f o u n d
that for the short legs on this cof-
fee table I needed something dif-
ferent.The simplejig shown in the
photo at right was the answer. lt
only takes a short time to put
togetherand it made quickwork of
t a p e r i n gt h e l e g s .Y o u ' l lf i n d t h e
detailsfor making it on page 30.
simply cut the rails to fit between. IAPEREDLEG
Then add a saw kerf at either end TEMPLATE
to hold the metal comer brackets.
To complete the rails, you need
to dril1 three counterbored screw
holes in each one. These are used to
fasten the base and the case
together (detail'b').
THEASSltlBlY.Now, with a comer
bracket, a hanger bolt, a washer
and wing nut and a couple of
screws in each corner you can pull
the legs and rails into a dgid faame
(detail 'c'). And once the base is
fully assembled,it can be screwed
and glued to the bottom of the case
'b.'
as shov,'n in detail

www.Woodsmith.com Woodsmith
 G l a s ss i z e d t a
NOfE: fop panels
stzed ta fit snuqly on all sides
in frame openings
NOTE:Procedurefor
maKtngsuppart
NOTE: Tap panels . pieces
shownin box below
Mahogany

class.sets
slightly
prauo of tap frame
SECTION
VIEW

ponels
0nd
Sobeforc gctting startedon drisfhal
stage,Ipr.rtin a call to tl'leglassshop.
Y()u'll want to have the glasspanels
took the panels to the bcnch and
applied and himmed the veneer.
I chose to use str aight-grained

0mss in htrnd so that \.ou can fit the

The w-orkon the thrcc ln:rjorpalts ol
veneeredpalels to slrpportthe glass
at tlrc ght height.
SUPPoRT Plt(Is After picking up
mahogany veneer on mv pancls.
As you can see in the photo on
page 22, this allol'cd me to alter-
nate the dilectiLrnof the gi ain to
the glass, I started making the L- ./, :f^:r1 ir1+pracjalro ntrt+-nl

the table case,top trarre, and base
is done. Noir', all you need to clo tcr
completethe table is to fi11t1.rc open
ings jr, tlre lop frame.
A kxrk at detail'a'shows the
process.L shapeclsupport picct's
fit inlo thc erooves in the edg;esof
the bp flame. fhen veneered ply-
rvood panels rest on thc s pports
Fina1111 the glassla1'son lhe panels
THtGLAss. You rvant the surfaceof the
5;lass to sei slightlv proucl of Ll'tcto1.r
Irame.Ard I'r'c found that 7+'-thick
glass isn't ahr,ayseractly %" thick.
sl'raped511pp611 pieccs.The box
belor,r'shows yori the prcl,.s5s.
C)ncethe support piecesare made,
installirg tlrem is a simple r.natterI
first cut trvo opposite pieces to lit
snugly h-omside to sidc and glued
them in place (leg poir1tingdoun).
Then the two rcmaining piecesare
tit in bet$'een.
THIPANttS. Adcling thc \.eneerecl
pr;rnelsl'ill wlap things up. The
first thing to do is cut four, %' ply-
u'oocl p'anelsto fit snugly into the
openings in the top flame. N-ext,I
Now, you can compLetelitting
the panels. This just involr'es rab-
bcting all f,.)rlrL.rottomedgesso the
panels rvill fit o!er the support
pieces.The depth of thc rabbeis
$'ill dcper.rd or.r the thickness of
vour glass.You'll r.ant to sneakuP
on ihis, test fitting the panels and
glass as you go. \{hen vou get it
right, Lheparrelsare simpiy sct irlto
place (no giuc neeclecl)and the
glassis laid on top. And after sev
era-[coatsof rr'iping varnish, you're
readv to put the coffcc on ff

How-Tor
MaketheSu rtPieces
NOTE:
Two,pieces
ea.h blank

OversizedBlank.Tosafelyand accurately makethe smallrabbetedsuppartpieces,you Ripto Size.Afterswitchingta a standard

want ta startwith an oversizedblank You'll maketwo piecesfrom eachblank Thefirst blade,rip thraughthegroavesin the blank
stepls ta usea dadabladeto cut a graovealongeachedgeof the blank ta campletethesuppotlpieces

28 \lbodsmith No. 156

I youdon't.carefor lhe corNra6l,.
createa by Lhe veneeredpanele Glasssize(l ta
have 1r:t" clearance
. frcsted glass

onlhe L,o?af the lable,here'ean

oplian that rniqhl be rnarela
your liking.thio vereionueee
frosNed,qlaeeI,o coverLhe 6lar-
aqeo?eninqe and haeLhead,van-
tageof beinqa lir,lleleoowork.
A look at. Nhe oection aelail
ahowahow lo Aa thi6. the r,oV
frame ia builL exaclly ae
deccr',bed. Ar d Ll e ea.ne -
ehapedpieceeare uoedlo eup-
?ort Ihe qla6e.Bt-)lNa raiaeLhe
NOTE:
qlaoofueh to lhe lo? of the Supports are made on

frame,lhele7of the "l' ?oint6u?

lnoteadaf down.Youcan adluel,
.i.f,-
the )enqr,h
of Lheleqto makeIhe
qlaoooet at t he righf,helqhr,.

www.Woodsmith.com Woodsmith
 r.::..]:

tipsfromourshop
Sh:@PNloTr-EilJOOtK

loble
coffee
lrc
Tnprn
Tapering the legs for the coffee table of your table saw. And the stoP Cutting the tapersis just a matter
on page 22 is pretty straightforward holds the workpiece in place. of using tl-Lejig to guide the leg
- all you need is a simPle taPerjig To position the stop on thc base blank through the sarv (seeclrarv-
like the one shown in the box beloit'. at the correct angle, I usecl onc of ing above). But becaus,: only the
The jig acts iike a sled, holding the the leg blanls as a guide. Just lav insidc faces oI thc leg ;rre tapered,
leg blalk at a fixed angle as you n-ur out the Laperon thc end and side you havc to pay close attentlon to
it tfuough the table saw of the blank. Then set the blank the sequenceand orjcntation of the
TAPTR JlG.There are only two Parts on the base of the jig so the laYout leg blank r'r,hen you cut the talrers
'b').
to the taper jig - a ply'wood base marks line up *'ith ihe edge of (seedctails 'a' ar.rd
and an L-shaped stop that suP- the base, as shown in thc box Safetv Note: Use' double-sided
ports the workpiece at an angle. below Nora', screw the stoP il'l carpet tape to securclY fasten the
The base rides against the riP fence place to the base of the jig. 1egblank to the taPerjig

HowTor rCutti

./ Layout rcference
marksfor taper on side edgZof baseand
and ehd of blank
screwstop tn pQce

Taperlig. Thissimpletaperjig is designed LayOut Taper.Layout the taperan oneof Attach Stop. To attach the stap, line up the
ta haldthelegblankat an anglewhileyau the leg blanks.Thiswill helpyau position layout matksan the leg blank with the edge
cut the taperson the tablesaw. the stopan the baseaf thejig. of the baseand screw the stap in place

Woodsruith No. 156

30
 dovetsiled
Dnnwrn
Fnonr
Tojoin lhedrawer t'runI to the 5ides
oi the drar.,eron the cuned FronL
cabineton page 32, I userl a sliding
doretailioirt (rcephoto).Although
it may look complicated, all you
need to make this joint is a router
table ard a %" dovetail bit.
I ' i ; r l e d b r r o u t i n gt h e d o \ e l a L
:lolc in fhe blanl<for the draner
front. There's not much to this,
but there are a few things to point
out. First, when it comes to posi-
tioning the dovetail slots, you
r/ant to pay attention to the dis-
tance beta)eenthe two slots.
And since the dovetail slot is
stopped, I drew a line on the top
oi my router table to let me know
rvhen to stop routing (see Step
One). Finally, I used a push block
to help stabilize the workpiece as
I pushed it into the bit.
The dovetail slot on the oppo-
site end of the drawer front is
routed in a similar fashion. The
only difference is that you have to
rout the slot from the opposite
direction, as you can see in Step
Two. This means that you'll have
to draw a new stop line on the
top of you router table.
To rout the other half of the stid,
ing dor,'etail joint on the drawer
sides,you should leave your router
bit at dre same height. But you will
have to move the fence over so that
only a portion of the bit is exposed
(seeStep Three).Thery just make a
pass on each face of the drar,r'er
side to create the dovetail.
To finish up the dovetail, trim
back the top end on the router
t table, as shor,r,nin Step Four Then
round off the end of the dovetail
with a chisel to match the end of
the dovetail slot in the drawer front
(seeright detajl in StepFour). Ei

www.Woodsmith.com Woodsmith
'?
EETANLS NOTE:Entire cabinet
is made of solid wood

OVERALLDIMENSIONS:
211/2" D x 301/2"H
W x 1015/16" Baakis made
up of tongue and

Brass

Doars are

sta ve

'' ..'' Drawer sides

Curveddrawer aredovetailed
frcnt is cut from
solid wood blank

TOP SECTIONVIEW
(Doors and shelf)
TOP SECTIONVIEW
(Drawer)

wwwtrVoodsmith.con \\roodsmith
 'Y/;'FRONT TOP 61
srllE RAIL\')
FRONT6l
sfllE v
8%
From a constructjorlstandpoht, the
7
gently-curweddoors on this cabiret
NOTE:All partsare may seen a Littleintimidating at first
1 BOTTOM glance.
But clon'i be fooled. Yes
RAIL makir-rgcurved doors doesrequire a
@ lilfle extra work compared to flat
doors.Bnt asyou'll discover,it's not
nearly as complicated as it looks.
fte
building And if you look pasi the doors for a
minute, the Iest of the caseis Pretty
much like any other cabinet.
CnsISlots CAst,The case of the cabinet is
made up of two sides joined by
three dividers. Then a top and bot
Groove
CenterGroove, Tacenterthe groovean Cut the Tongue. Tocut the tongueson the
of thestock,flip the workpiece
the thickness panels,bury a dado blade in an auxiliary
endfor endbefueenpasses. fenceattachedta your rip fence.
34 Woodsmith
>1 th4
c.
Detailof
right side
"rly,
TOP SECTION
VIEW
tom are added to finish it off The
only thing that is a bit unusual
about the case is the front edge
moldilg. lt has a profile to match
the curve of the door. But I'll
explail more about that later.
slDts.For now, )/ou can stad by
making the two frame and panel
sides. As vou can see in the rnain
drawing on this pagc, there's
nothing tricky here - just a pair
of stiles joinecl by a top and bot-
tom rail. Stub tenons and grooves
are used to join the frame pieces
(tletail 'a'). And the solid wood
panels are held in the trames rvith
tongue and groove joints (see
Horv-To box at left).
The side palrels fit flush lvith
the rails and stiles, with a 'lo"
shadow line all around. But to
give the panels roor.n to expand
and contract inside the frarne, I
made the tongues along the cdges
of the p;rnels slightly shorter thal
the tongues on the ends. You can
see what I'm talking about in the
detail dlawings above.
Once the frames are glued uP
around the panels, you'll need to
cui a rabbet along the back edge of
each side to hold a back that is
'c') A sec-
added iater (seedetail
ond rabbet cut along the front stiles
creates a tongue for attaching the
No. 156
 %
l'/l
t_l
j/a

molding. Then after drilling some

I
,l
shelf pin holes (seemain dralving -l

?l on opposite page) yoi"r ca]ll cut the

Side
dadoes for the three horizontal
dividers that i,,'ill be added later
(See drar'r'ing and detail 'b' at
right for dado size arrd locations.)
fRotlTM0LDltlc.With the sides
complete,you can make the mold-
ing ihat fits over the front edges.
This is a three-step process
Starting with a piece of 1%e'-thick
stock, you first bevel two faces of
the nolding blank (detail 'a') Then
a cove is routed along the edge
r,r.herethese two bevels meet (see
filst drawing in box below)
--1
Finally, cut a groove aiong the back tt=
side of the molding to match the
lre
tongueon the fuont stiles
Once you have the front mold-
ing trimmed to len€ith, the next
Lr/a
stepis to cut three shallow notches
in each piece to hold the dividers
that i,,'i11be added later. Here's NOTE: Size notches in
where you want to take your time. front molding to fit dividel
sto(k (see page 36)
The trick is to lay out the notches as

,ft accurately as possible so that the

dividers t'ill slip right into them.
As you can see in the second
drarving in the box below, I made
a layout block that matched the
thickness of the stock I had set
aside for making my dividers
(%"). The block allows you to
mark out the exact location of the
notches on the inside iace of the
molding. Then it's a simple mat-
ter to transfer the layout lines
around the moldings.
To cut the notches,I used a dado
blade and an auxiliary fence on my
miter gauge. Becauseof the bevel
on the edge of the molding, you'll
have to hold the molding tight
against the miter gauge fence as
you sneak up on the depth of the
notches. Take a look at the last
drawing in the box below to see
what I'm talking about.
Instead of gluing the moldings
on at this point I found it easier
to wait until after I had finished
making and fitting the three
dividers (seenext page).

HouTor Front
Fitthe Moldi

Rout Cove. Anq beveling the fwo faces Lay Out Notches.Slidea layout block Cut Notches. Cut the notcheswith a
of the blank, a core box bit is used ta rout a into the dadoesin the sidesto mark the dado blade, holding the molding tightly
cavealong the length of the malding. locationsof the natchesfor the dividers. againsta mltergaugeauxiliary[ence

www.Woodsmith.com Woodsmith 35
 ,-
Drill and countersink for
l+6x 11/1"Fh woodscrew
fitting
the
Tor, & Borro$[rl:ri::{rLr*'i
Dmp=RS,
With thc siclcs oi thc cabinct coli
plete, lrru ciur begjn to n-raketlrr-'hor'-
jzontal pieces tltrt corxrect then
the cli\'idcls ancl Lhc top aiLl botbm
f-a]1els.I sttirlccl l.)' rnal<ing thc lllrcc
dividtls As 1'ou c.rn see in the rlrtlv-
ilg above, thc'sc;rc thc picccs that
How-To:
Notches
N o t c h e isn t h e f r o n t c o r n e r so f t h e
dlvdersal ow them to fit aroundthe
moldinqat the front of the case
36
--1 -
G)
TOP
DIVIDER
MIDDLE
DIVIDER
o a. Side,panel
,nooy-.
Backedge of
bottom
of rabbet
LonqLres on the enclsof each one to
fjt iI the clacloes),ou clrt carlicr in
G)BonoM
- thc sidc panels(cletail'a').
DIV]DER
ln orclerto ailo!\,ihc dividers to
NOTE: Cut natches in divider
befare cutting curved prafile fit around the iront moldir,g, the
front comers ol each clividel arc
notched, as sho\'rn in detail'[r.'Vli
ciin cuL il]csc norchesby nibbling
au,av the bulk oi Lhc\'!.rstc on the
r-(ir-r;unmg rvaste i,vith ti chrsel.
actrlally fitbet!"-eenthe tt'o sirleso1' Check thc iii \\'ith the sicle p.inel
tlrcclsc I irlcr',tl'rc\\,holecaseas-sem and fiont edging as vou go :rlong
bly gets s;inclu'ichedbctlvccn a top The go.rLhere is tor tl.rcciividcrs
and bottom panei. to slidc ir'rlo the rlatloes ancl then
DlvlDtRs.Tirc diliL1er-sstalt ()ut as into the noLcl-rcsvo cut eariier on
th-ee iclentical,rectangnlitr trlanks. the iront molcling,just its )'ori scenl
'b'ar1d in the photo belou,.
After sizingthe blanks,you cancut clclajl
fi
waste Cuts. Remove the bulk af the waste Clean-UpCut. A final passcleansup
from the nottcfiarea by making a seriesof cuts, the endof the natch Thena chiselcan
breakingoff the materialin between the kerfs be usedfor the final trimming
\\roodsnrith No. 156
 You'll w-ant to make the notches
just deep cnough so that r'\'henihc
A!L d r , i J t - r . l i , J e i. n l o p l . r ( c .t h e b . r Lh
' e J g ee n d r r p t r u - h \ \ i t l r t h e b n l
28" radiusaf
tom of the rabbets along the back
of the side p;urels (detaii 'c' on starti at
oppositepage).If this sourds a lit
tle confusing, it *,ill become more
clear once you have the actual
piecesin flont of Vou.
Once you've notched out all
three horizontal dividcts, yor-rcar
lay out the cun,ed profile along i1.re
.r,nt erl.r ore.,eh nae lrleend>ol
the curve should match up r^,'ith
the corner of the front molcling,
(seedetail 'a') To make this easier',I
c " e a t c da h . t r d b , ' . r r Jl e n r p l n l c n. 5
shorvnin detail'c'. (Hang on to this
l p m l l . r t e .Y o u ' l l n c . - J i l l , r l e rt o .
nrakirlg the doors and drar,l'er.)
Aftel cuttil,g the cr-rn'es and
sandir'rgthern smooth, voucan glue
1/a"
up the side panels,frontedgenold- radius
ings, and top and botLom dividels.
(Leave the rniddle divider out
for not,so you'I1 have room Lo
.rr atr.tLhthe l.nftn n p.rnr.llrter.r
23/s
i,n T o p& B o T T opM A N L st.h e L r . r- r e p
to complete the caseis to acld a top V
and botton'r panci. The blanks for ENLARGE 40Oo/o

these panels are glued np out of

solid rvood. Then aftcr cutting the After cutting thc pro{iles on the Tl.re top and bottom panels are
blanksto size,I lajcl out the profile, band saw and sancling them sirrply screwed to the case fiom
r-rsinganother harclboarcltentplaLe smootil, all thai's left to complete insicle the cabinet. Once thev'rc
(sec detail 'c' at right and box the top and bottonl panels is to securelyin place,vou can go ahead
belor'r.).T1.risproiile natches the rout ar1ogcc along the front and and glue thc ccnter divider ilto the
shape of the front edge nrolding side eclges,just as you see in the caseby sliding it in piace from tl, e
. u r dt h . , u n e o i t ' r r d i r i d e r . filal drawing in the box belor'r,'. back of ti.recabinet.
FfW**:=tirtt ,

Curved
Profiles

Lay Out Curve- Using a hardboard tem- Top & Bottom Panels.Aftat layingou, Rout Edges. Tocompletethe tap and bat-
plate, lay out the curve along the frcnt af the profile (upper drawing) drill starter tom panels,rout a Ramanogeeprofile along
each dividerand cut it to shape holesbefarecutting the curveto shape the frontand sidesof both panels.
rwv.lVoodsrith com Woodsmith 37
 Doar -.-A DooRsrAvEs

I
l
l

l
l
l

Ballcatch
located 7/s"

NOTE: Staves start

aut as24 long
pieces of 7/N"thick
hardwaod sta*

fteDoons
conslruding
Nou' that vou have the casecom-
plete, vou're ready to start on the
most interesting part of this project
that they're made up of indir.idual after doing all the shapjng first.
staves like a barrel. Alrd bccatse Tlis u'a)', you can be sLrrethat the i
thc cdges of the stavesare bevelcd profile of both doors is consistent. I

The door blalk is gluecl up out I

making the curvcd doors.
Tl-resedoors are called "coop-
ered" doors A coopcris a person
n'ho makes barrels. And coopered
doors get their name fiom the fact
slightLy,they form a gradual crLlve
when ihey are clarnped fogethel.
Although this cabinet has trvo
doors, I decidcd to glue up one
wide blanl<and cut the doors apart
I
of sir indiviclrraistavcs cut from
% -thick stock. The trickiest parL
of making the doors is probablv
gluing up the blank. Bccauseof
the cun'ec-l shape of the doors,
clamping tirem up is a challenge.

Clam
Stave So I madc a simple jig (seebox at
left). The jig has a cotLprleof
forms that natch thc cur\.e crl
Toglueup the b ankfor the the doors The sta\.es are simply
coopered doors, madethis placecl in Lhc forms and then
a s s e myb j g . l t ' s n o t h l n g wcdges are usecl to force them
morethana baseanda pair together rvhilc t1.reglrre dries.
of p ywood forms Each After t1.reblank is glucd up, lrou
formhasa curvecut along can shape thc cur\-ecl surface and
the top edgeto matchthe cut the doors to sizc. (Seeopposite
desired curveof the doors pagc for more on hou, this is done).
T h e f o r m s " c r a d l e "t h e The last steps to complcte the rm
doors is to mount them to the
ltil
staves whilesmallwedges
applytne necessary clamp- case and add the brass cloor
Ing pressure to tne panel knobs and ball catches,like you
'b' and 'c' above
untilthegluedries see in details

38 Woodsmith No. 156

 lT
I

HowTol , t-=-
tJi.

Door
Coopered
Technique . Wedgesare usedto
holdthe stavestogetherin
The coopered doors or.rthis cabi-
the jig whilethe gluedries.
net nay look challenging, but
they're really not that difficult to Tight Fit is Best.Finetune the bevel
build. The trick is in carefully fit- angle on the staves until they fit
tin€l Lhestaves that make up the tagetherwithaut any visiblegaps
door blank so that the glue joints
end rLpnearly invisible.
I started by bevclimg the mating
edges of the staves at about 3o. I
sav "about" because1.oumay have
to fine tur,c ihe angie just a bii. The
goal is for the staves to fit together
tightly while thev are sitting in the
jig. (I found it l.relpful to number
the stavesafter fittint them.)
After gluing the staves together
in the jig (see oPposite page), you Plane Off Peaks.After layingaut the radius Cut to Length. A simpleplywood cut-off
can begin smoothing out the cru-r'e profile on the endsaf the blank,planeoff sledattachedta the miter gaugeallowsyou
on the front of the blank. Start by th1 "npAL<" vthFra thp <tava< mppt to trim the endsaf the blank to length.
using your tcmplate Lo la)' out a
2S"-radius curve on both ends of
the blank. Then you can remove
the peaks on the outer face of the
blank n'ith a block plane (Fig. 2).
Final11',a curr.ed sanding block
and some sandpaper can be used
for the final smoothing. Don't
worry about the inside face of the
door - just scrapeoff any glue.
The next step is to square up dre
ends of the blank ar]d cut it to
ien8th to match the height of the Cut the Blank in Half. Tocreatethe fwa doors,cut Cut Doors to Width. With yaur
opening in the cabinet (allor,r'ing the blankin half down the centerjoint line Wedge nw blade tilted 18", trim the outer
for a l/re"gap at the top and bottom stripstapedto the saw helpstabilizethe blank. edgeof eachdoor to fit the cabinet.
of the doors). Once this is done,
you can cut the door blank il half
to €reate the two doors. I taped a
couple of long, beveled strips of
h'ood to my table saw to help sup-
port the blank and keep it from
rocking (Figs.4 and 5).
Aftcr trimning the outer edge of
eachdoor so drey 6t the opening in
the cabinet, vou can rout a cove
along the fuont inner side edge of
each door, as shown in Fig. 6. The
final step is to cut the mortises for Rout Coves.A decorativecove is routed Cut Hinge Mortises.Tocut the mortises
the hinges. Take a look at Fig. 7 at along the insideedgeof eachdoor to match for the hinges,a tall auxiliaryfence with a
right to seehor,' I did this the covein the frantmoldingof the case. spacer is anathedto rhemitetgauge.

llll'w\\roodsmith com Woodsmith 39

 E

NOTE:Back and sides are made fram

1/r"hardwood, battam is made
frcm 1/a"hardwoad, and front is
made fram 1/a" hardwood
1/r" wide x 1/a"-deep 1/z

f
37/s
i
4%

! y

DRAWER
\ BOTTOM NOTE:Drawer
Gpptox.) front ha.28" radius
a

rheDnnuurn
moking
'a'), ifs 1/2" of the iront molding on the case,
To match the cun'ed profile of the di a\'\'erbottom (detail
'b.'
doors, the front of the drawer is narrowcr than the dra il'er sides. as you sec in detail
cun-ed as wel1.But I used a differ-
cnt method hcre. Instead of staves,
the drawer frontis cut out of a tl.rick
DRAWTR The clrat/erbotton
BoTTom.
is hcld in a groovecut h thc drawer
sidesand dlawcr front. But since
up,
GUlDtS.

block of soliciwood. Beforecuttir'rg
the drawer fiont to shapc,holvever,
I cut all the drarvcr joinelr
JolNtRY The front of the ,-lraweris
joined to thc sicles ivith sliding
clorcLailjoir1ts.(For tnore on hon' I
did this, see pr,rge31 ) But at thc
back of the drat'er, I usccl a cliffer-
cr,l joint. The b;rck is hcltl in
dadoes that are cut on the inside
faceof thc drarver sidcs And sincc
thc back will rest on toP of the
the bottom is gluecl up orrt ofsolid
rvood,I tvanted to nakc sure it haci
s(n-nc ro()rl to erpand r'r'ith
changc'sin humidity. S,l I madc tl.re
groove in Lhedraq'er front a litLlc
decper(detail'a')
Before assembling the cl'arvcr, I
laid orrt thc 2E'r;ic1ir,rs cur\re on
thc edge of ll-tc clrawer tront anc-l
cut it to shape or1 the barld sill\''
Then I nritered thc ends of Lhe
drah.er ftor'rl to natch the anEllc
Bujdes.
you
After the drarver is glued
can add the drawer
Apart from their main
ll
fturction of guicling the drar'r.er,the
griides st'rve a couple of other pur-
Lroses FiISt, thcv raise the dra 'er
f
up slightly so that it doesn't rub on
the bottor]1of the case(detail'c').
Ancl seconcl,thev act as sloPs
Thc guides arc l st a couple o{
thin strips of rn,ctod,so makintl
Lhemis a piece of cakc.The trick is
positioning thcm inside tl'redlatfer
opelrinl5 For nore ou how J dicl
this, seethe box belo$r

Guides
lnstallitheDrawer

d
q
TapeGuidesto Drawer. Tapethe drawerguidesin Add Glue. Naw run a PositionDrawer.'dt Ih' d dLc''.1 pld e,n
placeta thebottomaf thedrawerwith a coupleof small bead of glue alang the the opening After the glue dries,hit the back
piecesaf carpettape battom of eachguide of the drawer to separateit from the guides

,t0 Woodsnrith N o .1 5 6

I
the
odding
BRcr,
29
Sntm,
ANDCUNT
At this Point, the difiicult rvork is
behind von All that remains nor, is
to at-ldthe back ancl thc shclf Ancl
there'snothing cornplicateclhere
just sonrcbasic ,oodrvorking.
BACI(.Like the rest of thc cabjnct,
the [.ack is made out of solid n,ood.
But instead of one solicl, glrred-up
pancl,I made the back in pieces,as
n r.ou can seein the c-lra\'\,ing
at ri€iht.
There are .r coupie of back panels
that fit in betlvccn a pajr of stiles
and :r center divitler. Tongue and
groo\,ejoints allor'r'the panels to
exparclancl conh'actwith seasor-ral
charges1nhrrmiditv (detail 'a').
SHtLt.The shelf couldn't be much
simpler.It's just a soliciwood panel
that'scut to fit hside the case.Like
the di\.iders, the front edge of the
shelfisshapedto n.ratchLhccurvccl
Frofile of the front of the case.But
How-To:
Han
Add the Cleat. The cleat is cut to fit between
the sidesof the cabinet.lt doesn'tget glued in
place so it can be replaced as needed.
www.Woods ith.conl
(A BACKCENTER
SLAT
'!
la
NOTE:Shelfis
8 % "x 1 8 % "
%" -thick
BACK SLAf
Drilland countersink
'
@
for #6 x 11/q"Fh
NOTE: Back panels and
back slats are made
from 1/2"thick hardwood
i1{i4'[i!"
oIsne/t)
,,y1i.^
vtEw
'b' nahogany, I stained my cabinet
if yor-r takc a look at detnil
above,t'ot1ll see'tl'tatthc cun:e flat $'ith Brrrliev'sGolden Oak ge1
tens out at each end of the shelf. stain. Then I rubbed on a coat of
FlNlSH.Bcfore ).ou can hang the *'iping vamish followed by thee
cabilet, yotlll need to apply a fin coats of a water-based finish.
ish To cven orrt the color of the (ttAT.lMren it came time to hang
the cabinet, I thought about
drilling a couple of mounting holes
in the back of the cabinet and
sclewing it directly to the wall. But
if you everw'anted to move the
cabinet to a differeni wall, chances
ale that the holes you drilled in the
Wall lop divider
back of tl.recabinet wouldn't line
:.1t up with wall shrds at the new loca-
tion After moving the cabinetonce
I i or twice, thc back would start to
v,y'- look like a piece of Srvisscheese.
So instead, I made a mounting
cleat for ihe inside of the cabinet
(see box at le(t). The cleat isn't
Hang it Up. Screwsare glued in place, so you car.rsimply
driventhrough the cleat replace it rvith a new or-reif vou
andinto the wallstuds. ever want to move the cabinet. $n
Woodsmith 41
smallsho solutions
space-savln(
Router Largeworksurface
handles most
routing ta5ks

NoTE:Routertable
canbe clampedin
workbenchor any
flat surface

A router table car rca\ expand the capabjliticsoi vour router' There's
just oneproblem.Somc\'\'orkshoPsjustdon't havc the sPaceavailablefor
a pemlanent, dedicated router table
But that doesn't mean you have to givc uP on the icleaof havhg a
full-featurcd router table. In {act, with a liLtle cleaLivit}',vou'l1 find
therc's more than one way to make it \,vork To Eietstaded, check out the
four router table concePtssho$'n hcre. Each one rvi11give you big-time
results\'vithout taking up any r,aluablefloor sP.lce Take a look at our
rnebsiterrm.wPiansNOWcom/shopjigs to fild plans for thesetables

TABTE
BASIC
The roriter tablc shown in tlle
dra\'\.ir€iat left is \,\'hatI call
a "back-to-basics" model.
When Vou tlirk about it, the
most important parts of a
rouier table are ihe table toP
and the ferce. Arld ihat's
re;rlly all this table is.
What makes this router
table so handy is that you
car setit up ard take it dorvn
ir less than a minute. All You
have to do is simply clamP it
ir the face vise of a rvork-
bench and attacl-rthe router
SOUD (0NSTRU(Tl0N. To keeP
the iablc iop flat and rigid, a
pair of plyr.ood braces ate
acldcd to thc bottom of the
table. The braccs also Pro
vidc a cleat to allow the table
to be clan.rpedh a vise.
But this table can also be
clampccl to almost any sur-
face using the overhang at
thc back and a pair of
clallps. That makcs this
iable pretty poriable. (To see
,fn
anothel portable router
table option, check out the
lrox on the oppositepage.)

Woodsmith N'0.156
42
 TABIEAITAC'IflITIII
SNW
Making the most of every squarc
inch is the name of the game in a
small shop. One great u'av to do
this is to combine L\'vo or more
tools into one rvorkspace. That's
just \4'hat's happening with the
router tablc shown at dght. It
replacesone of the extensionwings
ol yo1l1106,"tu*
The big advantagehere is that
without taking up any more space/
)'ou carl createa Pemanent router
table station.This means you won't
ha\.e to fake extra time to set up
and take dovn your router table.
This router table also takes
advantage of t\^,o iable saw
strengths. First, the router shares
the sane lalge, flat sulface as the
sart. This mcans ).ou can
work on pretty large work-
pieces with great accuracy
and stability. Second, the
router fence easily
bolts to the rip fence.
So you have the
same precise fence
control 'ith your router
fence as you do lvith your saw.
There's a flip side to tlis allange-
ment. By combining two functions
info onc workstation, you might
only be able to use one tool at a
NOTE:Routertable
time. It'1l take some plarlning to repla(estable saw
avoid a lot ofback and forth setup. extensionwin9

;OI.D.IWAY IABI.E
ROUTTN
l\4ren shop space is scarce, a tem-
porary workstation (like the router
table in the dra\.\'ing at left) may be
the best ansi\.er.
To download a free
The back edge is attached to the planforthefo d'away
Routertable {olds flat to
wall with hinges and the front routertable,go to
open up more shop space edge is supported by legs that rest Woodsmlth.cq|n
on a hardwood cieat. Youcanfind the
\{4ren you need extra floor space p ansfof the other
in your shop, the table quickly routertableplafsat
folds up flat against the wall, as w,!wPLansN0Wcom
shown in the inset dra 'ing.
The only drawback to this
arrangementis the wall itself. Even
Wall-mounted though it makes the router table
cleatsupports stable, it limits the size of work-
router table legs pieces you car.rhandle on it. Ei

Go-An Table
Router Fenceseryesasa
Oneproblem with most benchtop tools is the amount of handlefor (arry-
ing routertable
spacethev take up when they're not in use - especially
in a srnailshop. But that's not the casewith the benchtop
router table shown ir the drawing at dght.
This table has some big-time features in a srnall pack-
age.Two flip-up extensionw:ings make the worksulface
as long as the router tables shown above. And when
vou're done using jt, the doors supporting the wings
closeand the tablefolds up into a casethe size of a picnic
basket The expandable fence doubles as a handle to
make it easierto carry And there'senough roorn ilside to

o hold the rouier,a few bits, and accessorjes.

Besidessaving spacein the shop, this compact router
tabie works great at a jobsite.It can easily be clamped to
NOTE:Compact
designwon't take
any flal surface. Once the task is done, the table can be up mucnspace
when folded up
stored ollt of the way. tr\rhat more could you ask for?

www.Woodsuritl'r.com Woodsmith
 workin withtoo

5 toolsthatwill

Get a group of woodworkers together and the conver-

I A hollow-chisel
monrser maKes
quickworkof
cuttingsquare, HollowChigeltorliser
accuratemortises Over the years, we've cut quite a few mortise
inonesiep. and tenon joints Ior the projects you see in the maga-
zine. To make the mortises, I usually use a drill press
and Forstner bit to drill them out. Then I clean the
sides and ends with a chisel. It's a simple, reliable
method. But i{ there are a lot of mortises to cut, this
technique can be a bit time consuming.
With a hollow-chisel rnortiser, you can cut half of
this traditional joint much quicker. Quite simply, a
sation usually tums to tools. Ils alwa's intercsting to hear
what tools a woodworker usesand why. hr the end,I usu-
ally leam something new about tools I already own -
or the tool I'm thinking about purchasing next.
After talking with a few people around here, I put
together a short list of power tools that have made a
big impact in our shop. Each of these tools will help
you work quicker and give you more accurate results.
hollow-chisel mortiser makes cutting mo*ises an
accurate, one-step operation. Start by setting the fence
and workpiece hold-dowrs. Then all you have to do
is drill a series of "square" holes to define the mortise.
Since, there's little or no clean up afterward, cu$ing
mortises takes less time with a lot less hassle.
Besi of all, these tools are becoming rnore afford-
able. So i{ you cut a lot of mortise and tenon joints,
you may want to pick up one of these machines.

BigcuifJoiner
Some tools, like the mortiser shown above,
make woodworking tasks faster and easier. But oth-
ers, like a biscuit ioiner, can change the way you
design and build a project altogether.
Wiih most joinery methods, you need to factor in
the joinery when sizing parts. But with biscuit or plaie
joinery you iust cut the parts as if they wer€ going to
be butt jointed and the biscuit ioiner takes care of the
r€st. The joiner cuts a shallow slot in each of the mat-
ing edges o{ the workpieces. A short, compressed
wood "biscrdt" is then glued in the slots. The biscuit
acts like a spline to hold the two parts together.
Biscuit ]'oinery is a fast, accurate, and easy way to
build cabinet cases.But you'll probably find a loi of
other uses for it too - like building face frames, joinermakesassembling
l' A biscuit projects
fastandeasy.
attaching fixed shelves, or reinforcing miter ioints, as Designing is easiertoo, sincepartsarecut to finished
illustrated in the photo ai right. sizewithouthaving to accountforjoinery.

Woodsmith No.156
 Brodlloiler
I get impatient waiting for
glue to set up whde attaching tfim
molding to a project. It seemsto take
forever before you can take the
damps off and move on. That's why
ifs nice to hav€ a brad nailer around.
Not only doesit speedup assembly
time, but it's faster than tlying to
pound in brads with a hammer.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not
about to throw out my clamps or
use nails on every proiect. But a
brad nailer can do some jobs better
and faster than using clamps or a
hammer and nails.
For instarce, installhg molding.
l4lho hasn't had a hammer slip and
ding a workpiece? Brad nailers are
great for applying mQlding, as you
can see in the photo at dght. Thhl
molding can be hard to hold in
place with clarnps and the delicate
profiles can be easily damaged. But
with a few well-placed brads, all
you have are a few tiny holes to fill.
A brad nailer will corne in handy
for more than just pinning nolding
in place though. You can use it to
quickly build a jig - or even shop
cabinets - and get right back to
work. Once expensive, you can
now find top-notch nailers pack- .{ Speedand accuracyare the name
aged in kits that include an air of the game wlth a brad naller
compressor and all the accessories You'llspendlesstime assembllng
you need at many hardware stores projects,and use fewer clamps
and home centers. with oneof theseln yourhand.

Irin Rouler
The tust time I pi&ed up a
trim router, it seemed more like a
toy than a "real" woodworking
tool. Too small. Too wimpy. But
after using one for a while, you
couldn't tear it away from me.
So what makes these pocket-
sized routers so great? First off,
they're the pedect size for routing
important. And it's easier to con-
trol a small trim router than trying
to balance a larger, full-size router. I
usually keep a roundover or cham-
fer bit in the trim router ready to go
at a moment's notice. This way, I
don't have to take extra time mess-
ing around with changing bits on
mrr 6rll-eizp mrr+pr

those final details on a project like
chamfers and roundovers. I can
even do it one handed (not some-
A Whetherit's routing hinge mor- thing I'd try with a fuIl-size router).
tises, chamfers or simple On small decorative details,
roundovers, a trim router is never you're not removing a lot of mate-
far from my workbench rial so lots of horsepower isn't too
Another job where a trim router
really comes in handy is routing a
hinge mortise, as shown in the
photo at left. The small size and
and greater control of the trim
router provides accurate results
and less cleanup when I'm done.

f,, SptoyEquipment
U Wtr"tr you think of spray
finishing, you usually think of the
great results that come from pro-
fessional fumiture and cabinet
shops. But the truth is, you can get
those same results in your shop
without spending a lot of money.
High-quality spray equipment is
now ar.ailable (and affordable) for
the average woodworker.
So why would you go out and
get spray equipment? Speed for
one. Spray finishing is perfect for
large projects. You're able to spray
on several coats in the tirne it
would take to brush on one. Best of
all, it's easier to get into tight cor-
ners with a spray gun than a brush.
Spraying on finishes allows you
to use fast-drying finishes that are
problematic for bmshing. But what
I like best are the consistent rcsults.
A good sprayed-on finished is flat-
ter and more even without leaving
any tell-tale brush marks.
If you're like me, you'd rather be
building a project than applying
finish. So investing in some spray ,{. A basic spray systemand fast-
equipment will get you back to the s a k eq u l c kw o r k
d r y i n gf i n i s h e m
shop building projects sooner. M of finishingiargeprojects.

www.Woodsmith.com Woodsmith 45
 Whenyou can'tfacetheflnish,call
oil andpastewaxto do the job.
on linseed
& of a project and it looks gleat, but
sunnYside
boiled
finseedott
: Thesupplies you'llneedto gatherfor an oilandwax
fln sh couldn'tbe muchsimplerAnd appyingthe
finishwon't sendyou intoa panic
I think every woodworker has, at
"fear of
one time or another, felt the
finishing." You take the last damp off
you just know the finishing grem-
lirs are waiting to messup your hard
work. WelI, when you find yourself
in this situation, I have an answer
Tieat yourself arrd your project to a
boiled linseed oil and wax finish.
An oil and wax finish is about as
foolproof as aly finish can get. As
you'llsee, it's so easyyou can Prac-
ticaly apply it in your sleep.And
the bonus is the thin protective film
you create lets the natural beauty
of the wood shine tfuough.
Iwo PARIS. The secretto an oil and
wax finish is how the two parts
work together. Firsl the boiled Lin-
seed oil soaks into the wood to give
it a warm glow and create a thin
protective layer. The color and fig-
ure of cherry, wahut, maple, and
"pop" alter
even oak will really
just a single coat of linseed oil.
But the oil alone has no shine.
And that's where the wax enters
the picture. A thin coat of Paste
wax rubbed on over the oi1 and
then buffed out will add another
layer of protection and leave a soft
sheenthat can'tbe bea1.
GIVTII A GO
Applying an oil and wax finish
couldn't be much simpler. But Jike
anything, there are a few hicks to it.
St'io0THSURTA([. Since an oil and
wax finish is very thin, what you
see on the surface of the wood is
what you get. This means you
need to starl with a really smooth
surface.And all this takes is some

46 Woodsmith No. 156

 thorough sandhg (220 grit does
the lob). And when I set dol'n the
sandpaper, I give the Project a
good going over with a tack cloth.
"easy"
v'llPtotl IHI olL.Now the
work begins. Dip a Pad of #0000
steel wool into a jar of boiled lin-
seed oil and start rubbing it into
the wood (top right photo). A soft
doth will alsodo the job, but I Pre-
fer steelwool. It holds the oil $'ell
and its fine, abrasive action allows
me to really work the oil in.
You want to flood the surface
with the oil and then rub it in with
a vigorous circular motion. \A+ren
the project is thoroughly covered
you can relax for a bit. Give the oil
10 or 20 minutes to soak into the
wood.As this happens,you'll start
to seethe surfacedul1 down.
uflPtlT o]t. After this short wait,
just take a soft cloth and wipe off
any excessoil left on the surface
(middle riglit photo). I try to be
pretty thorough and get into all the
contersand recesses.
Q ,.#H:i#;,li:mm;::'j
enough to recoat in a day. If the
surface still feels tacky, wait a [tde
longer. First, give the piece a quick
rubdown with #0000 steel wool
andthen wipe on a secondcoatjust
like you did the first.
On the third day, vou guessed it,
more oil. You still won't notice
much build or sheen but that's not
\a'hatyou're after. You want the oil
to soak ir! not lay on the surface.
Awhile back, I came acrossan inter-
"all-in-one" oil
esting recipe for an
and wax finish. Always on the look-
out for new finishes, I decided to
mix up a batch and give it a try
This simple mixture called for
equal parts (by volume) of three of
L rhe oldestfinishing materials in the
I'v
book - bo ed ltnseed oll, hrrpen-
tine and beeswax. You can melt the
beeswax in a double boiler and
add it to turpentine, but i just
www.Woodsmith.com
TltrilIoR wAx.After the third coat
of oil is dry it's time to bdng up the
shine with a coat of good quality
fumiture lvax (I use a beeswax and
carnauba blend like the Briwax
sholvn in the lower ght photo.)
The wax can go on with either a
soft cloth or steel wool (bottom
right photo). But urrlike the oil, you
want to apply the wax a little more
sparingly. Just enough to leave an
even layer on the surface.
The wax dries quickly. About as
soon as you finish wiping it on, get stafted.Wipe on a healycoatand let it soakin.
you stad to buff it out with a soft
cloth, or even better, a piece of
lamb's wool (top left photo). You'Il
need to use a pretty vigorous circu-
lar motion for this job. The surface
will feel a Jittle tacky at ftst, but the
more you rub, the easier your
"buffer" will slide across the sur-
face. And this is when you'll see
dre magic. The surfaceof the wood
will corne to life and take on a sub-
tle, soft sheen. When your buffer The secondstep is just as easy.After givingthe oil time
"leftovers"wth a softcloth
no longer grabs and the surface has to soakin, wipe off any
an even sheen,you're done.
Now you might wonder how
well such an easy-to-apply, thin
finish will hold up. Well, for proi
ects that don't get a lot of heavy
wear and tear, I've found that it's
plenty durable. And a big plus is
that, unlike thick film finishes, an
oil and wax finish can be quickly
repaired. To temove a scratch or
watermark, simply rub off the wax
with steel wool, sand if necessary, ; A light coat of pastewax goeson overthe third coatof
and repeatthe simple process.Sl oil A softclothanda circular motiondo thejob.
shaved pieces off a block and let it
@%__w
dissolve overnight. After adding 5r-rnnFr( @
the linseed oil, you'll have a mix-
hrre that looks a bit like varnish.
w sunnysia'j
g.re gtar
Apply the mixture just like you
[n*ec sftits of
would straight Linseed oil - wipe *'"5 furpenti€
it on and then wipe off the excess.
After several coats, you can buff
out the surface. I found that you
only get a low sheen from this mix,
but it has a nice look and the
Processsure was easy.
Woodsmith
 in the mailbox
&
Questions
Dadoes with want to lookat is the
a Stacked thickness of your
Dado Blade wood. You need to
know the exact
wood thicknessfit-
fiwnen I use my ting intothe dado.
Vstacked dado blade For example, 3L"
to cut dadoes they always plywood is usually
seem to he too wide. Do I lessthan 3/a"thick,so
need to rqlae my blades if you cut a 3/+"-wide
or have I been setting dado it will alwaysbe
something up wrongT too wide. So match- Staggetcutting -
lsckCharlnn ing your dadostackto heads so they do not
overlaoand leave
overlap leave
Arcadia,Nebraka the actualwood thick- spacebetween them
ness (factory or
machined) is key to the blades.Debristhat drawing above. Teeth
fl Cutti ng tight-f itting snug-fittingdados. is trapped between the touchingone another
rl o a o o e s t s n o r sIA((t]{STAUAoil. To get bladescan increasethe may spread the stack
always as easy a s i t an accurate cut, the width ofthe groovethat and increasethe sizeof
might first appear. A stack must be set up your stack will cut. your dadocut.
n u m b e r o f f a c t o r s g o correctly. So always You'll also want to Teeththat are aligned
i n t o m a k i n g a n a c c u - checkthe stack before make sure that the side-by-side can also
ratelv cut dado. you install it to make teeth are staggered get wood splinters
WoOD THI(|(i{[SS.One of sure sawdust or other w h e n y o u i n s t a l l t h e wedged between them
the first things you'll debrishasnt built up on stack,as shown in the and distortthe groove.

Do you have Drilling holes

anyquesuons
/ . ' r
IOr USi
lf you have a question related
to woodworklng techniques,
tools, finishing, or hardware,
we'd liketo hear from you.
Just write down your ques-
tion and mail it to us:
Woodsmith, O&A, 2200
Grand Avenue, Des Moines,
lowa 50312.Or you can email
us the question at: wood-
smith@woodsmith.com.
Please include your full
name, addaess,and daytime
telephonenumber in casewe
have questions.
with a
lf you applytoo much
pressureor use exces-
drillingdeep holes.And
f i n a l l y ,m a k e s u r et h a t
Forctner Bit sive speed,the bit can
h e a t u p q ui c k l y a n d
you're drilling at the
right drill bit speed.
draw the temper from Youcan find drill bit
Aft* drilling a 3/a" the steel. When that speedson Forstnerbit
hole with a happens,the cutting packages,Internet bit
ForstnerhiL I noticed the e d g et u r n s b l u e a n d i s speed charts,and vari-
cutting arca of the bit ruined, as you can see ous othersources,0
had turned blue. Since in the photo at right.
then, the bit doesn? cut The larger the bit, the
as well. Does the bit more sensitive it is to
need to be replacedT heatand speed.
'f^rscn
Clark To avoid this prob-
Austin,'fexa lem, you'll want to con-
slderthreethings.First,
back off the pressure
A;:ttln,:;;
flat-bottomedholesand
and let the cuttingedge
do all the work.Second,
back out the bit regu-
mortises.But you'll find l a r l y t o c l e a r c hi p s
they'.e heat sensitive. away, especiallywhen

www.Woodsmith.com
 ilAtt
ORDEN
SOURCES
Similar project
su1tpliesmag be
ordnred,from
the.followino
companies:

Rockl€r
aoo-279-4441

Angle"Petect II, Bkde

Ge ge II, Bmf,s Cand,le
Cups, BmssKnobs, Bm,ss
BaLI Ctltchzs,
:fhe GRR-Ripper,
NalDn GLides,
PacketHote Jigs, MJ
SpLitter,Sine-Mcnot
IrmLV SLidp.s, Wmp'
Around Hinget

Woodsmith Store
400-435-5044
woodsmithstore.com
Accuriia Sidn-Mu.nd
Drau)er Slinzs,
CandLzCrys, F eathzr-Iilc
Featherboanl"e,
Ga ae'it Sal/dGa1se,
ThEGRR-Eipper,
kas PocketHoLeJiss,
Lee$afi zerc Ctamnce
lwerts, Merin Splitte\
Rocklet Hav*uwq nwtur
Speed.Contta L,Uaiiabta
Speed.Routeli

Certainfy Wood
7r6-6ss-0206
certair ladood.com

MLCS
aoo-533-9298
mlcawoodworking.com
Doia Ckar out Bit,
Rolter Speal,ConlnL
YfooDsilililt
PRoJEcr
suPPUEs
400,22s-1153
Wenowfeahrrehardwarefrom Ro cK LE R in many woodcraft.com
ofournewprojectkits.To order,pleaseuseour toll-free Th.eGRR-EiqM
orderline,seebelorv.It's openMondaythrough Friday, "Online Ertras" - Plans,Patterns,& More
MJ SpLifter,
. PocketHoIe Ji4s, Th1'Cut
fiom 8AMto 5 PMCentralTime. Beforecalling,please . BltulE Insert S\stem, gide
Over 100Woodworking Tips Online
haveyour\4SA,MasterCard,Discover,or American . Visit Our Readers'Project Photo Gallery Molnt Dreuer Slitks
Expresscardready. . Project PlansYou Can Download
Woodworke/s Supply
If youwouldpreferto mail in an order,pleasecall . Catalogof Project l(ts, Tools,Jigs, & Plans aoo-645-9292
the toll-freephonenumberbelowfor more informa- . Forums for Woodworking,Tools, & Classmeds woodworke.com
tion concerningshipping charges as well as any . Links to Other WoodworkingSites Awlz"Pefect II,
applicable salestax. Bhdn Gwse II, Featlur-
Ir.,: Featheft o,ltds, ThE
GnR-Ripp.r, Mei l
Coffus0t l-800-444-7527
or online0t www.woodsmith.ron SpLittz\ Sitlz Molnt
Dto.uvr SLides

www.Woodsmilh.com Woodsmith
detailsof crafumanshi
that's
cabinetconstruction
Builtto Last
in solidwood.
to frame& panelconstruction
Learnthe time-testedtechniques
Wood moves. That's a fact. No mat- G wrapped with a flat, rigid frame. strong enough to resist twisting
ter what you do, ifs going to expand The panel fits in grooves cut in the and sagging (in the case of doors).
and contract with seasonal changes stiles and rails of the frame. But it \Arhen deciding on what type of
in hunidity. So when building cab- isn't glued in place. Instead, the joinery to use, there are a couple of
inets in solid wood, you need to panel is cut a bit narrower than the things to think about - the size of
"float" in the frame and panel ald its func-
account for wood movement in the opening and allowed to
design of the protect and the grooves. This gives the panel a tion. For example, the ioinery on
the joinery you use to little breathing room to expand the small sides of the coopered
'i door cabinet on page 32 doesn't
build it. and contract without affecting the
IRAITIA]IDPA]{T]. rest of the assembly. Don't get me need to be as strong as the joinery
One traditional wrong, the stiles and rails still do for a large door. I'll pick one of two
way to deal with move. But since the parts are nar- ioinery techniques in these situa-
wood movement row, this doesn't amount to much. tions - a sfub tenon and groove or
is to use frame- RUGGID Jol tnY.\Arhatthis means a mortise and tenon.
and-panel con- is that the hame and its joinery are
struction. Here, a the key to keeping the assembly sruETEiloil& GROOVE
solid-wood panel flat and rigid. The joinery has to The joint I use on small projects is
have a lot oI glue surface to be the stub tenon and groove, as shown
in the top drawing on the opposite
page. Ajld it's the direction we took

rvhen building the coopered door
cabinet.The cabinet sides are sup-
portec-lbythe top, boLtom,and back
so they aren't under a lot of shess.
\{hat n.rakesdris johi perfect for this
situatjon is that it provides a good
amourt ofglue surfaceand it's easy
to cut o11a table saw.
GLUISURFACI. For the strongest
joini, I cut the grooves t/?" deep.
The stub tenons are then cut to fit.
This gives you enough long-grain
glue surface to create a surpris-
inglv strong, long-Iasthg joint.
fllllNGTHtPANtl.There'sone odler
thing to rnention here. The stub
tenons should fit snr.rgly in the
grooves, but the tongues on the
panel should fit a little looser.You
rvant the panel to fit tight enough
so it doesn't rattle, but yet still
move freelv u'ith changes in
humidity. (To see a few ways to
secure the panel and keep it cen
tered,take a look at thc box bclow.)
ilonTtsE& TlNol.l
A stub tenon and groove u'orks finc
for small panels. But what about
larger casesiclesand doors?
In these situations, the {rame-
and-panei assemblics mav be
unsupported (like a door') or be
subjectto more $'eight arrd greater
abuse.To handle that, you'Il {'ant
"Locki
SpaceBalls.Placethesesoft,rubberballsn A Dabof GIue.Althoughyou can'tgluethe Wire Brad. Start by gluing the frame
the groovesof the panel before assembly. entirepanelin the frame,a "dab" of glue together.Thendrivea brad throughthe top
They'refirm enoughta hold the panel in centered on thetopandbottomaf the panel rail on the inside(so it won't be visible)to
place,but soft enoughta allawmovement. will keepit from shifting around.
www.\\'oodsmith.com
Long
stub tenons
to beef up the joinery. Usestub tenon
and gtuove for
That's when I tum lo thc small assemblies
second joint a moltise ahd doo6
and tenon. This joint has a
number of things going
for it that makes it ideal
for solid-lvood construc-
tion. lf you take a look at -Tongye.
the lower dra$'ing at on panet stzeat
right, you can see what to fit groove
I'nr talking abor.lt.
BUll.TtoR STRINGIH. Like
the strlb tenon and groove
ioint, the panei is cap-
tured by grooves in thc
frame. But instead of rely-
ing on the stub tenons ana tenon
and grooves to hold the
shoulders
frame together, a deep resritJ
mortise is cut on each encl rc.king
of the stiles and a match-
ing tenon is cut on each
end of the rails. This gir.es
the frame a large glue sur- Use mortise
face tl.ratn.rakesa big dif and tenon
for large
ferer.rce in keeping thc
and doo$
irame rigid and square.
Ii{TIR10(KINGJ0lNI.Amor
tise and tenon joint provides
a strong physical connec-
tion too. The shouldersof the tenon So all it takcs are two basic joints
resist racking and tr,r'isthg perfectll' and an understanding of how
for large doors.And the interlocked wood moves, io build strong, flat
parts can't slip apart and are able to fi'ames that n'ill stay flat for
suppolt a lot of rveight. decadesto come. E
t-^^^ +r^ ^-^^t -^^+^-^)
^ccp .ric po,'E Le|rq,sv.
Woodsmith 51
 lookin inside
FinalDetails
Curtted-Front Wall Cabinet'
wallcabinetis built
This classic-looking
entirelyfrom solidwood andfeaturesa
uniquetechniquefor makingthe
curveddoors.Plansbeginon page32'

< CandleHolders.Just in time for the holidaysYoucan

our
makethesestriking,laminatedcandleholderswith
bandsawtechniqueand
easy-to-follow some scrap
beginon page18
wood. Instructions