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    ShopNotes 052 Derevyannoe Kruzhevo

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    chrix

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    eee eee es shopNc f Build this knock ; down workbench” in a weekend Learn the basics | Df.chip carving 7 7 simple steps to tune Up your radial arm Saw Easy-to-build jig for cutting perfect miter joints ona radial arm saw www.shopnotes.com Issue 52 July 2000 puousuer Donald B. Peschke ‘prroR Tim Robertson associate emirer "Tor Bagal assisuereorron Zrvan Nelzon ‘anrinccron Cary Christensen ‘snonariepesienen Kurt Sele ‘stmonmiustesrons Roger Relland ‘Marc Higdon te pe et ae comrn aia ire te: Sees Soe Serene iments optic otal spin rab ote Sper Sra te separ Ema Sea een seated tear ee ed sega ote acetal! ate ane see ema Tete lohan ear femunes Sram te Naet Pag corer Sri Roiterlon ie ana Seer mayen poorer race cee eran: Sa Se erations Diner Ba Dar» Costner Serine ‘fag deme os» Warts Sep Na Dove pdt te we ee ee ‘Am Cex Tuer Debuah Ric A ‘Rava cnt Verne gina, Da Se Shere Manager Dara Soe Sif WexdlSteneJ ‘am ey Si Cany Moen, Te {in ai Bn fr Mo Speen ig er ‘Raking, 2800 Smt er Mac, LAGS eee eee ee ee ee pee ea arog eee eee fees teeta oce Postmaster’ url chang of recto Sheps, BO. as aps, FAX 6IG2-T a ee aes PRINTEDINUS.A. ETT Cutoffs Fen you think of a work- bench, what often comes to mind is a classic, European-style bench, Chanees are it has a sturdy base with lots of storage, a thick, hardwood slab for a top, and heavy- duty vises to clamp work in place, There's no doubt about it, This type of bench is a great addition to a woodworking shop. But let's face it. {t's big and heavy, s0 it sits in one place most of the time, (My work ‘bench has been a permanent fixture A bench in a box . new twist to a traditional hand tool. Two simple Thats okey a8 solutions from our shop. in my shop for ‘moro years than I can remember) Jongas Inever have to move it around. But sometimes Pa like to be able to use 2 workhench outside the shop. Of course, dragging a massive bench out to the garage or ‘back yard isn't very practical. So T usually set up a couple of sawhorses touse asa makeshift worksurface. The only problem is there never seems to be a good way to clamp things in place, So T often end up bal- aneing a workpiece precariously on the sawhorses, holding it with one hand, and making a less than perfect ceut-with the other. ‘What I needed was asmal, portable workbench — one that had a lot of the same clamping features I'd come ‘to appreciate on my full-size beneh, Besides being portable, there were a number of other requirements for ‘tho bench, It had to be inexpensive and easy to build. Plus T wanted 2 strong, stable bench that wouldn’ tip over. Then T added one last item to amy list. It had to “knoek down” for storage to make iteasy to carry around, Well, it was starting to sound like ShopNotes an awfully long “wish list,” and atone point [began to wonder fit was even feasible. But when T mentioned the ‘dea to our designers, they had lots of good suggestions to make it work. Knock-Down Workbeneh - If you look at the front cover, you'll see how cour knock-down workbench turned out, Its made from a single sheet of 4" plywood which reduces the cost considerably. And the holes and slots peppered across the benehtop pro- vide @ number of different damping options, Finally, it canbe “Knocked down” and stored in a box that you carry like a suit- case. (Think of tas a bench in a box.) Is it Sturdy? That sounds great But is a knoek-down bench sturdy ‘enough? To find out, we conducted a highly scientific test — two of the _guys climbed on top and stood on it. Fortunately, the bench was as solid and sure-footed as @ mountain goat. Saw Handle - Another project in thisissue that provided an interesting challenge is making a replacement handle for a carpenter's hand sav 1 bought the saw at a second-hand store, and since the handle wasin rough shape, I decided to make a new one. wanted it tolook like a traditional saw handle with a graceful, eurved shape. That sounded simple enough. Yd just eat a ehunk of wood to shape and stick in the saw blade, But there was a eateh. The blade fit into a very thin slot in the old handle that must have been eut by & specialized tool (one I certainly didn't have). So as it. turns out, T took a rather unorthodox approach to make a traditional looking handle. - anda e Contents Features Adjustable Miter Jig____._______6 This shop-made jig makes it easy to cut perfect 45° miters (on a raakal arm sav It features @ short and a long pair of fences for different length workpieces, an aojustable stop {or consistent results, and a hold-down to make cuts safely. Radial Arm Saw Tune-Up____ 12 A\l takes to improve the performance of your radial asm ssavr is @ simple tune-up. We show you seven quick steps to producing smooth, accurate cuts. Knock-Down Workbench______ 16 & Whether you use this plywood bench to build a woodworking: ‘Reco oa: Wor wbencis 7gae projector deck inthe back yar, is tree different clamping xs ‘options are sure to came in handy. Once you complete ab, e ‘tonly takes @ minute to “knock down’ the bench for storage. Cherry Saw Handle ____24 The graceful curves and the carved wheat patter of this cherry saw handle resemble a traditional design. But to simpilly the construction, we've iaken @ unique approach to fitting the saw blade into the handle. ChipiCarving..._____- 28 You can add an old fashioned accent to your saw handle 2 by using a chip caring kifetomake sions of wheal. Wah «Saw Handle fe page 24 a lite bit of practice and a few help hints, you'l be chip carving ike apron no tine Departments Readers ipa ee. sd (Our readers offer thelr own shop-tested tips dealing with some of the most cammon woodworking problems. rr couices® se Mail-order sources and supplies to help you build the projects featured in his sve Chip Carving page 28 No. 52 ‘ShopNotes 3 TIPS & TECHNIQUES Readers’ Tips ° Knock-Down Sawhorses. ap suet WA set of sahorses always comes in handy — until you put them away. Then they're a nuisance. The legs splay out, they're hard to stack, and they take up valuable space. oH, So recently, I built a pair of sawhorses that “knock down" for SHORT storage. Besides saving space, these ION sawhorses can be assembled. (or taken aper) in just afew seconds ‘A The interlocking Ifyou look at the drawing atright, parts ofthis itseasy to see how this works. Each pa sir sawhorse prevent it sawhorse consists of along stretcher trom racking, Plus that fits down into a notch in two A- they provide a way shaped supports. used Ixt pine) foknock down the To prevent the sawhorse from sawhorse for racking, there are four small cleats pact storage. near each end of the stretcher (00 on each side). These cleats are spaced far enough apart to form a channel that fits down over the sup- ports and “Iocks” the stretcher in place. (You can see tis interlocking, connection inthe photo above) Both ends of the legs and braces to seta square on the angled end of Once the cleats are glued and are mitered at a 15° angle. Also, to thee and mark alin that's equal in screwed in place, it's justamatter of form the notch that accepts the length to the width of the stretcher. ‘making the two Supports. Bach sup- stretcher, youll need to trim the fp After trimming off the waste, just port consists of two angled lags that inside corner ofeach leg at an angle, — glie and serew the supports together. are held together with four braces (a as shown inthe deal above WER. Richardson Jong and short brace on each side). An easy way to lay out this angle i Great Falls, Montana LONG Brace ener) Quick Tips ‘A Horo’ a simple pencil tay for your & At a glance, its dificult to tall if ak Tomake a “holster” fora cordless ctl, ‘shop. Adolph Peschke of Des Moines, caster is locked or not. So P. A. Jones Terrence MoGinty of Sutions Bay, Mi 1A cuts @ scrap PVC pipe cown its of Seattle, WA paints the “lock lever removes the bottom from a plastic botle fongth and glues the halves together. red and the “release” lever green. and serews the cantainer to his bench. 4 ‘ShopNotes No. 52 Installing Hinges ve nit pes Ga eat oad attach one leaf of the hinge to the box easily enough. But locating the ee ane, eee One solution is to use hot glue to ine lid. The only problem is the glue often dries before you can align the lid on the box. So I use a simple trick to ‘quickly and accurately position the lid eee Start by screwing one leaf of the hinge to the box. Then use hot giue to attach small scrap blocks to the front and sides of the lid, as shown in the drawing. Note: These scrap blocks should stick down past the lid so they fit snugly around the box. After shimming the leaf of the hinge with a piece of cardboard, apply Plastic Runner. Finishing Fix TIPS & TECHNIQUES FREE Online Tips you'd like even more woodworking tips, the solution is simple. Just vist us al our website and sign up to receive & free tip via oma every week \wirwShoplotes.com a dab of hot glue (detail a’). Then ‘quickly ft the blocks on the lid down. over the box. When you open the lid, the leaf of the hinge is stuck in its proper location, so it's easy to mark the mounting holes (detail ¥). Note: After removing the scrap blocks, sand any excess glue off the id. Joe B. Drane Yigo, Guam 1 Many of the jigs used on a table ‘saw have a runner ‘that slides in the miter szauge slot. Typically, these runners are mad of hardwood, But recently I started using another type ‘of material like even better — plastic. One nice thing about a plastic runner (lke the one shown at lef) is it wont swell or shrink with changes in ‘humidity. Sit sides smoothly without binding. Pius plastic is readily available. As you can see inthe photo atight, I just cuta narrow strip from a plastic eutting board. Its easy to repair a small nick or a scratch in a piece of furniture that’s already had a finish applied. Al it takes is a brown (or black) permanent marker. After choosing a marker that most ‘closely matches the color ofthe wood, scribble the marker across the nick and wipe off the excess, Note: There's no need to touch up the finish. George Reid Dayton, Ohio ShopNotes Jerry Long Silver Lake, Wisconsin Send in Your Shop Tips you have a unique shop ti, we'd like ‘toconsider featuring itin one or more of ‘our print or electronic publications. We'll pay up to $200 for a tip we pub- lish. Just write down the tip and mail it to ShopNotes, Attn.: Readers’ Tips, 2200 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50812. Or | FAX it to 5152826741, or send us an email at shopnotes@shopnotes.com. Please include your name, address and daytime phone number in case we have any questions. | ee bouste THis De RaNEE TS peTeRMINE TRON OF BREE 1g to cut a miter joint on a radial arm saw can be ab afrustrating experience. Asyou swing the arm first toone side and then the other to cuteach miter, it may not always return to a perfect 45° setting. Unfortunately, you ‘may not even notice that the cut is “off” unt it’s too ate So to make it easy to cut tight-fitting miter joints ‘quickly and accurately, I made a simple jig that clamps to the table ofthe radial arm saw. (See photo above.) Fences ~ This jig has two fences that are used to post tion a workpiece at 45° to the saw blade. So instead of swinging the arm to the side, the idea isto leave it set at 90°, This way, as you pull the head of the saw across the ‘workpiece, the blade trims the end ata perfect 45° angle. The fences are designed to slide back and forth. The {ence that’s in use is moved all the way forward to support the workpiece close to the blade. The other fence is slid back to provide clearance for the end of the workpiece. Perr 7 AUXILIARY © efron Seay 6 ShopNotes: Rae eT. roar Accessories ~ In adiion tothe fences, there are two accessories that help simplify cutting a miter joint. A stop Dock that attaches to ether fence ensures that each pair ‘of pieces is mitered to the same length. And a haldédowon ‘keeps your hands safely away from te blade during cat. Auniliary Fence ~ Before you bild the ig, there's one thing to take care of fist. To prevent small cutoff pieces from getting jammed against the fence and thrown back by the saw blade, ifs important to install an auxiliary fence in your radial arm saw: As you can see in Figure 1, the auiiary fence [used isa piece of "thick pine with along notch that provides clearance forthe culo pieoes. BASE ‘The base of the miter jg acts as a mounting platform for the two fences, Plus it has a couple of T'shaped slots that provide a way to attach the holddown. ‘Two Layers - To make it easy to form the T'slots, the base is made up of two layers of material: a bottom piece made of #" MDP and a 34" hardboard top (Figure 1) One part of the T'slot will be cut in each piece. ‘Size ~ But first, you'll need to determine the size ofthe base. I wanted itto be flush with the Jf end and front edge ofthe sawtable, (It's easierto clamp itto the table that way) So [made the base twice as long as the distance from the blade to the end of the table (Figure 1). As for width, it ‘equal the distance from the fence tothe front edge. ‘Bottom ~ At this point, you can cut the bottom (A) of the base to size. Then, to form the lower part of the T: slot, you'l need to cut two stopped dadoes. These dadoes accept the head ofa toilet boltused to attach the hold-dawn. ‘So what's the purpose in cutting stopped dadoes? Why not extend them all the way across? Because the hold dovm only needs to be adjustable toward the outer part of the base, Asa result, the slots run about halfway across. Assimple way to cut these dadoes is to use a hand-held No. 52 PERT router and a "straight bit. Start by clamping a scrap fence to the work- piece to guide the base of the router (Figures 2 and 2a). Its also a good idea to clamp a stop block to the ‘workpiece to establish the end of the dado. Now adjust the depth of cut, ‘urn on the router, and make a pass from left to right until the router ‘base contacts the stop block. Since the dado is Ys" wide, youll need to reposition the fence and ‘make a second pass to remove the resto the waste material, Then repeat the process io cutthe second dado. ‘Top — With the dadoes complete, you can add the hardboard top (B). Is best to start with an oversize piece (about ¥" all the way around). “Then after giuing it on with contact ccement, trim the edges flush with a hand-held router and flush trim bit. ‘Now it’s time to complete the T- slot by routing @ narrow, stopped dado in the top Figure 2). Here again, used the same basic routing procedlure. Only this time, the slotis senreh esl ay HARROD) © Sha! wide, so T used a 34" straight bit ‘and mace a couple of passes to center the dado over the one below. Guides ~ The next step is to add ‘two angled guides (C) to the base (Figure 3). These are narrow strips of hardwood that position the fences at a 45° angle to the blade, In use, the fences fit over the guides which allows you to slide them back and forth. ‘To ensure accurate results, the guides must be at a 45° angle to the bback edge ofthe base. So what's the ShopNotes, best way to lay out the angled lines cused to position the guides? A little bit of geometry is just the ticket. ‘The idea is to lay out a right fsosecles triangle. If you need a refresher, that's a triangle that has one 90° angle and two equal sides. ‘This means that the other two angles of the triangle must be 45°. ‘So to lay out the angied lines, mark a point centered on the length of the base and measure the distance to one end. Thisis one side of the t= angle. (It's shown as dimension ‘A’ in. Figure 3,) Nowlay outthe second side and mark another point. Connecting the two points creates the third side of the triangle and the two 45° angles. Attach Guides - At this point, you can glue and screw the runners along the layout lines. Just be sure they don't slip out of alignment as ‘you tighten the screws. ‘T-Nuts - There's one last thing to do to complete the base. That's to install a pair of Tats in the bottom of the base. Later, these Tuts accept a threaded knob that's used to clamp the fences to the guides. ‘The T-nuts are centered on the length and width of the guides. But since they're installed in the bottom of the base, the trick is locating the centerpoints of the counterbored shank holes forthe Fnuts. “To do this startby diling a small pilot hole in each guide (Figures 4 and 4a). Then flip the base over and use the point where the bit cut through as the centerpoint ofthe counterbore (Figure 4b). Now simply drill the shank hole (Figure 4c) and install a T-nut. i Fence System __ eH erarinon CRE SSB wither ——~sror BLOCK ae, - ara thos, 4 ora NSEe) itt ) wie BETATEND OF FENCE, ‘The heart of this miter jig is a thereis one thing tokeepin mind, _‘Two Layers — Regatilless oftheir | Hardware | stwletence system ttconsists ofa To cut pairs of mitered pieces to length, exch fence is made up of 00 pair of adjustable fences that are identical length, there's a stop block — differentlayers of material (Figure 6). (fant Fa used to position a workpiece at a that slides along a Telot in the A %'thick hardwood body fits over ES perfect 45° angle to the saw blade. fence. Setting the stop block all the the guides on the base. (used Rea Fence Length -There’s nothing way at the end of the T'slot allows maple.) And there's a top face made +()5%e"Washere | citical about the length ofthe fences. you to miter pieces up to 22" long. If of ¥4" hardboard. As with the base, *(2)%e'steckrobs | The two fences shown in Figure are you plan to work with longer pieces, this double layer type of construc. tr bad) 24 long, so they provide plenty of its a good idea to make a pair of tion will make it easy to form the +2)" tar srobe | support for most work. But when extrelong fences as shown in the ‘T-shaped sltsin the fence. “fee determining the length ofthe fences, photo on page 9. Body ~ I began by making the ge sees body of each fence. It’s worth taking rung Jb a ttle extra time and being a bit picky when selecting wood for the ody. ‘To prevent the fence from ‘warping or twisting, be sure to use a piece of straight grained stock that's free of knots or other defects. Once you've selected the lumber, the frst step isto rip enough stock to ‘width to make the desired number of pieces. Then simply crosscut the pieces to final length to make the body (D) of each fence. ‘TSlot - Now you can turn your attention to the T'slot. The first part of this slot is formed by cutting a wide, shallow groove in the body of the fence (Figure 6a). This groove accepts the head of a toilet bolt that uides the stop blockin the slot. Before cutting the second part of ShopNotes No. 52 the Tslot, you'l need to add the hardboard top face (B). Eventually, it ends up the same size as the body. But is best to start with a piece that’ slightly oversize (about 4" all the way around). Then, after gluing it onto the body ofthe fence, you can trim the overhanging edges flush. Here again, it only takes a minute to remove the waste, Just mount a ‘lush trim bitin the router table, and adjust the height of the bit so the bearing rides against the body of the fence (Figure Gb). Then rout all four & Long Fenoes. As an option, you may want to build a pair of 48long sides to produce a clean, crisp edge fences o use when mitering extra-long workpieces. With the stop block athe way around. set at the end of the fence, you can cut pieces up to 46" ong, ‘To complete the Tot, it’s just a matter of cutting a narrow groove in the photo above, the left fence is table sawand make several passes to the top face that’s centered over the moved all the way forward to pro- “sneak up” on the perfect fi. Just be wide groove underneath (Figure vide support for the workpiece up sure to check the ft frequently as 0). This groove provides clearance close tothe saw blade. But to allow you work for the shank of the toilet bot. the end of the workpiece to extend Adjustment Slot ~ Once you're ‘Wide Groove -In dition to the _pastthe fence onthe right, thatfence satisfied withthe fi, the next step is ‘Telotin the top ofeach fence, there's _isli all the way back to cut along adjustment slot in each also awide groove in the bottom. As Even though the fences move fence. As you can see in Figure 5, you can see in Figure 9, the groove back and forth, you don't want any this slot provides clearance for a fits over the hardwood guides that extra sideto-side “play.” (That could plastic knob with a threaded shank ‘were installed earlier in the base. change the 45° angle of the fence) that’s used to lock the fence ‘These guides are lke a “key” that So when cutting the groove, the goal Ifyou look at Figure 5a, you can automatically positions the fence at isa snug fit that stllalows the fence see thatthe knobs thread into the T 45° to the saw blade. toslide smoothly onthe guides, nuts that were installed cartier in the ‘Another purpose of the groove is An easy way to accomplish that is base. As you recall, these T-nuts are toallow the fence to sideforward or shown in Figures 7 and 7a. The idea centered on the width ofthe guides, back on the guide. For example, in is to mount a ¥" dado blade in the This means the adjustment slot also needs to be centered on onAIRTESSEEARAY | the groove that fits over the guides Aquickway odo this isto clamp a serap piece to the drill press table and use it to position the fence (Figures 8 and $2). Then place a scrap block under the fence to prevent chipout and drill a series of overlapping holes to form the slots. Al it takes to clean up the slots to pare of the remaining, waste with a chisel and then file the edges smooth. Install Fences - Now Just install the fences and thread in the knobs tohold them in place. No. 52 ShopNotes 9 mre A Stop Block. An adjustable stop biock provides a quick, accurate way to miter pieces to identical lengths. A Hola-Down. For safety, this simple hold-down ‘clamps work securely against the base of the jig. PET Accessories To ensure safe, accurate cuts when using the miter fig, T added nwo simple accessories: a stop block and a hholddown, (See photos in margin.) ‘STOP BLOCK ‘There's more to cutting perfect miter Joints than establishing the correct angle. To end up with a ightsitting joint, opposite pieces (the sides and top/bottom of a picture frame for instance) must be identical in length. ‘Thats where the sop block comes in, To produce consistent results, ‘you simply lock the stop block atthe desired distance fom the blade, butt the end of the workpiece against it, ‘and make the cut. Note: only made ‘one stop block and then used it on both of the fences. LShaped Block - As you can see in Figures, the stop block is just an Lshaped block thats made up of two pieces of "thick hardwood. A sliding block (F) vith a hole drilled near the edge accepts the shank of the toilet bolt. And the sip (G) isthe part that the end of the workpiece actually butts up against. Aller gluing up the top block, just slip the end ofthe toilet bolt through the hole and slide the head into the ‘slot. Tightening a knob on the end SECON acres 10 s supe vba XD Salad waste Block waite Bai NE Fea BIDE ee woe Stoo BOLT of the bolt pinches the stop block To accommodate workpieces of against the fence and locksitin place. different lengths, the holddown slides along the TEslots in the base. PeEnoM ere again, I only mate one hold- ‘The second accessory for the miter _ down and used itin both slots) jig is a holddown that’s used to The unusual thing about this hold- clamp work securely in place. This down sits angied shape. Ifyou look ‘way, there's no need to worry about at the lower photo in the mangin, getting your hands too close to the youll see that the long, straight end saw blade, especially when mitering of the holddown rests against the short pieces, base ofthe jig, and the short, angled end applies pressure against the workpiece. This clamping pressure is produced by tightening a knob on the end of a toilet bott that slides in the Tslot (Figures 10 and 102). Giue Up Blank - As you can see in Figure 11, the holédown (ED starts off as a 14'square blank. ( glued up two pieces of "hick maple) ‘There are two ways to go about transferring the basic shape of the eS On FouRTHs| holddiown to the blank. You can either enlarge the pattern in Figure 11 by 150% and use a spray-mount adhesive to stick it to the blank. Or justlay out the shape on the blank. ‘To accept the toilet bolt, youl need to drilla series ofholes to make e a Slot in the blank. Then just use a band sew to cut the holddown to shape and sand it smooth, ShopNotes: No. 52 Setup It only takes a minute to set up the ‘iter jig on the radial arm saw. Dowels - That's because there are two dowels in the base of the jig that automatically position it on the ‘saw table. As you can see in Figures, 12 and 12a, these dowels fit down into holes in the saw table. ‘To determine the location of the dowels, set the jig on the table so it Dutis against the auxiliary fence. Also, be sure to check its location from side to side. The goal is to have the ‘saw blade centered on the length of the jig. This way, the blade won't accidentally cut into the fences when they're slid all the way forward. Once the jig is positioned prop- Using the Jig Once the jig is clamped in place, ‘you're ready to miter the frame pieces. Rough Length ~ I start by eross- ting all the pieces to rough length. I'they'e less than 434" wide, ‘you can cut ther with the jin place Just instal the original radial arm saw Fence (the one without the notch), slide bath fences onthe ig back, and cette pieces. Note: For wider pieces, you'll need to remove the jis. Label Pieces ~ Next, to avoid confusion, [label the sides ‘A? and the top/bottom pieces ‘Bas in the drawing at right. But even with the pieves clearly marked, its still pos sible to get them mixed up So theips DERE op Bese ( \ erly, it’s just a matter of driling a ‘couple of holes through the base ‘and the saw table, Before installing the dowels, its a good idea to chamfer the rim of the hole in the base. This to follow a specific cutting sequence. Cutting Sequence ~ The first step is to miter one end of ail the pieces, (These are the ends marked with an % in the drawing at right) All of these cuts are made with the ‘workpieces held against the right fence. So slide this fence forward and the left fence back (Figure 13). ‘Then set the first’ piece against the fence, tighten the holtdown, and make the cut. Note: Locking the stop block against the end of the ‘workpiece provides a quick way to position the other ‘A’ piece. Then repeat this process for the ‘pieces. After cutting the miters on one ‘will make it easy to fit the dowels in the holes when setting up the jig. ‘After sanding a slight chamfer on the end of each dowel, i’s simply glued into the hole in the base, ae, end of each A Labeling the piece, the next trame pieces step is to miter the ‘makes it easy 0 opposite ends, These culs are made keep track of things with the workpiece against the let when cutting the fence, as shown in Figure M4. miter joints Start by setting the sop block the desired distance from the blade. ‘Then butt the end of the piece against the stop block, tighten the hholdiown, and make the cut. Note: Unless you're working with a square frame, reposition the stop block to ccut the second pair of pieces. SBE RTT renee Atte WA ESSA gro Se Pc atid WAPFSRWAES Houo. pow \ No. 52 ShopNotes = Step lay How it Works ~ Before you get i iota twinge os how Jal ATM saw the parts ofthe saw work together. A long arm supports the head (blade une - an motor of the sa, The head is held in an adjustable yoke that allows you to pivot the blade 90° (or rip- ping lumber) or tt it at an angle (o Hnere's no question that aradial blade may “grab" and race through make beveled cuts). arm saw is aversaile tool. You the workpiece under its ovm power. To crosscut a board, the yoke is All it takes to keep canuse'itfor everything from cross Thats downright scary ‘mounted on sliding carriage. When a radial arm saw cutting or ripping a bosrd to cutting Tune-Up ~Fortunately,allittakes you pull the head ofthe saw forward, running in top. ‘iters and bevels, toproducea smooth, accurate cuton _ the cariage is guided by a set of four condition is q _ Butthere’sa tradeoff for this wer aradial arm sawisa simple tuneup. roller bearings that ride on a track 1S a salty. Ifthe saw isn't adjusted prop- This doesn't require any specialized housed inside the arm, little periodic ery, the result isa less than perfect tools. And all the adjustments can be To provide rigid support for the maintenance and cut. Perhaps the end of a board isnt boiled down to seven basic steps, so arm, i's attached to a. cylindrical a simple tune-up. square, or the saw blade leaves athe entire process usually only takes coluren that an be raised or lowered rough, burned edge. Worse yet, the about a half hour. to adjust the depth of cut, By releasing a lock mechanism and re ae swinging the arm to one side or the rr Steper fe Gay athe, it allows you to make angled ws haere cuts. Or return the arm to a 91F set trade arm camp Sinz to square up the end ofa board _-mechaniem Clean Saw ~ Needless to say, ‘orarm "cach of these parts needs to operate smoothly to ensure good results, One of the easiest (andl most effec- tive) things you can do to accom plisi this is to clean up the saw by siving ita good “once-ove.” Start by using an air compressor (or shop vacuum) to remove the loose dust. Then wipe off any caked on dust with 2 rag damp- ened with mineral spirits. Pay special attention to the column, roller bearings, and the track. (i they're covered with dirt and grime, its much more difficult to make accurate adjustments, Lubrication ~ Ater cleaning off the gunk, I make it a point to Iubri- cate the moving parts of the saw, Note: The lubrication points are shown inthe drawing atleft. Since a radial arm saw produces quite a bit of dust, its best to avoid RADIAL using an oily lubricant. Dust sticks to ARMSAW like glue and makes a gooey mess. ANATOMY So Tuse a “dry” spray lubricant that doesn't attract dust. (Por more infor ‘mation about the type of dry lubri- cant [use, refer to page 31.) 2 ShopNotes No. 52 1. Adjust Column ‘The first step is to remove any “play” in the column. Ideally, it should fit ‘snug (not tight) in two places: the column support and the arm. ‘Tocheck the amount of movement in the column support, grasp the end of the arm and liftit up and down, as shown at right. Ifthe column moves front to back, tighten the column ‘support (detail ‘a’. Ifthere’s any slop when you apply sideways pressure against the arm, just “sug” the adjustment screws against the colurnn (detail b). 2. Check Bearings ‘The next step is to check the roller bearings that guide the carriage. ‘When you pull the head of the saw forward, the bearings should glide ‘smoothly without any side-to-side play. If the movement feels sloppy (or there's alot of resistance), the bear ‘ngs can be adjusted closer to (or far- ther from) the track inside the arm. ‘There are two bearings on each side, but only one pair is adjustable. ‘These bearingsare mounted offcenter (etal). So when you loosen a lock. ‘mut and rotate an adjustment nut, it ‘moves the bearing or out detail b). 3. Flatten Table ‘To get consistent results, its impor tant thatthe table is flat. Acquick way to test the flatness of the table is to lay a straightedge across the table and check for light underneath, as shown at right. If the table is Tow, raise it by turning a set screw (detail ‘a). If there's a hump in the middle, tighten amachine screw to dattenit (detail b) ‘Note: With use, the saw table will _get chewed up which can cause it to sag in the middle. So you may need to replace the table from time to time. To protect the surface of the new table, its a good iddea to carpet tape a piece of hardboard to the top. No. 52 ‘ShopNotes. RSLEPOERENGE ‘AQUSTABLE ne NT ayer, Heer Nie 13, eT 4. Align Table Getting the table flat is one thing. But the surface of the table also needs to be parallel to the arm. Otherwise, when you crosscuta board (or cut a dado), the depth of cut will vary from one edge to the other. Usually, there's no adjustment for the arm. So you'l need to align the table tothe arm instead. Thisis done by raising or lowering a pair of metal brackets that connect the table tothe saw (detail 2). To determine the amount of this adjustment, start by removing the blade guard and saw blade, Then release the bevel lock and rotate the ‘head of the saw so the arbor points straight down, as shown at right. After securing the bevel lock, release the clamp mechanism for the arm so ‘you can swing i from side to side. ‘The idea here is to slide the head of the saw along the arm so you can position the arbor at all four corners ofthe table. At each corner, the arbor should just barely touch a scrap block that’s used as a fecler gauge. ‘When that happens, the table is par- allel to the arm, I start with the back, righthand FIRST: kore EAS EE Ponto Bonn Hi SECOND: ene Fens Bbe INE STiBe HEAD OVER coRNER PRS Bee ‘corner ofthe table. Begin by backing off the nut used to secure the bracket so it’s just snug. Then lower ‘the arm uni the arbor just touches the block. When you can slide the 5. Square Blade to Table It-goes without saying — to get a ‘square cut, the blade has to be square tothe table. But actually there's more toitthan that (more about that late). For now, le’s just say that squaring the saw blade to the table is the fni- fal step in ensuring square cuts. Start by checking that the clamp ‘mechanisms for the arm, yoke, and ‘carriage are locked. Then mnlack the ni Sh block back and forthwith only slight @ resistance, tighten the nut that holds the bracket in place. Then, without changing the height ofthe arm, repeat the processatthe other three corners. bevel lock, grasp the motor, and -wigale it up and dovm to make sure the index pin is engaged at 90°. ‘After retghtening the bevel lock, set a framing square against the blade. To get a “true” reading, be sure to place the square against the dndy ofthe bade, not the teth. If the blade is lat against the square, there's no need to make an adjustment. IFts tited away from it (es in detail ‘a, it only takes a few ‘minutes to square up the blade As you can see in the drawing at Jef this is just a matter of removing the bevel scale to provide access to the adjustment bolts, After slightly loosening the bolts tt the motor to square up the blade. Then alternately refighten the bolts, replace the scale, and set the bevel indicator to zero, No. 52 6. Square Up Arm ‘As I mentioned, squaring the saw blade to the table is just one part of the “squaring-up" process. The next stepis to square the arm tothe fence. ‘This way, the saw blade will travel in a line that’s square to the fence. Before you get started, check that the clamp mechanism for the arm is locked. Also, grasp the end of the arm and move itback and forth. This ensures that the index pin that holds the arm at 90° is properly engaged. ‘The first step is to find out if you even need to make an adjustment. To 3 o this, Imake a simple test using a framing square tha'srestng on scrap blocks, (Plexplain the blocks late.) Start by placing the short “leg” of the square against the fence, as shown at right. Then mark a single tooth on the blade to use as a refer cence and slide the square againstthat tooth. Note: You may have to adjust the height ofthe bladetodo this. If it veers to one side or the other welded to the back of the column Now slowly pull the blade all the (detail ‘b) the arm needs an adjust. (Getail‘a). On my saw, this requires ‘way forward, checking to see ifthe ment. (f the blade moves toward the loosening some lock nuts and tight reference tooth stays in contact with square, the scrap blocks prevent it ening set screws against the bar to the square. If the tooth scrapes from “climbing” up on the square.) nudge the arm one way or the other. against the square forthe entire dis- To adjust the arm, the idea is to Note: Check the owner's manual to tance, the armis square tothe fence, apply pressure against a metal bar find the adjustment on your saw. 7. Check for Heel Atthis point, the blade travelis square to the fence, But that doesn't mean the blade itsefs square tothe fence. Sometimes the yoke (and there: fore the blade) is slightly twisted on the carriage. This is called heeting. ‘The problem with heeling is the blade “plows” a wide kerf, creating rough, burned edges. It’s best to check for heel near the center of the blade where there's ‘more surface area. So I seta framing square on tall blocks, as shown in the drawing at right and detail ‘b! Note: You may needa tall fence to hold the short leg of the square against. Ifthe blade needs to be aligned, unlock the yoke and loosen the bolts used to secureitto the saw (detail'a), Then swivel the yoke to square up the blade and retighten the bolts #& a taal ula LA lata SRE [eal TTTTEs No. 52 ShopNotes 15 Turn a single sheet of plywood and a few pieces of hardware into @ portable workbench that “knocks down’ for compact storage. Wa AX bench in a box. No, it’s not a new magic act. It's what £ Aone of the guys cals my new knock-down workbench. ‘When you think about it isa fiting description, ‘That's because the bench provides a solid, stable worksur- face like you'd expect from a bench. (There's even a tool tray underneath.) Then, once ajob is completed, the bench can be “knocked down’ and stored in a compact box that you carry Hke asuitase. (See photo aright) ‘The best thing about this knockdown design is it makes it easy to take the bench out to the driveway or back yard, or to auiend’s house to heip on apro- ject. No matter where you're ‘working, setting up the bench only takes a minute. Setup ~To do this, start by unlatching the lid on the box and setting it aside. (The lid doubles as the top of the work- bench) Then simply remove the two stretchers and flip up the sides ofthe bench, as shown in photo A below. ‘The sides are hinged to the base, so you'l need to “spring” them apart a bitto fit the stretchers between them (Photo B). ‘These stretchers hook securely into the sides with an ordi- nary set of bed rail fasteners, Then just set the top down over the sides and pull it toward you to lock itn place Photo C). ‘Clamping Options ~ Once the bench is setup, there are three different ways to clamp a workpiece to the benchtop. ‘That explains the holes and slots in the top as well as the notches in the top ofthe stretchers, Note: Fora closer look at the different clamping options, turn to page 23. Plywood ~ Just one more note. You won't need a lot of ‘material to bul this bench. The entire project is made from a single sheet of 4" plywood. (used pine plywood.) {nd fli up the sides, as shown in photo ‘A.’ To provide rigic “support forthe tp of the bench, the stretchers hook into the Unlatching the top and sattng it aside, remove the stretchers sides (Photo B). Then just ft the top down over the sides of the bench and pullitoward you to “lock” itn place (Photo C). ‘ShopNotes No. 52 FEATURE PROJECT ‘TOP PANEL EXPLODED VIEW srg OVERALL DIMENSIONS Co ‘rn Sasa 2arD x BOR ———@ each fh sonleeme ie meas wu ss tbe eee orton (agen + (20) #8 x 1h" Fh ae Cs nae © (4) 0 xt" Fh women eames ps aces / phonon © Fasteners ce BEE 8 Nog (1900) "ez" Latch Hinge + @)isra19" Plano Hinges w/Serews + @)Draw Latches w/Sereus + (4) %4" Rubber Bumpers 48 xorg + (4) %e"16 FNute TALL SIDE Cutting Diagram | | Materials “or 00° = POOP Sheri sas Babe A. Front/Back (2) &x32-% Py | © © B Ends (2) 6x 21% -% Ply. | | TALL SIDE “SHORT 2108 € Bottom (1) 2th x ts - 54 Ply. © Comer ects (4) Thx 3th Soe ( Sy e conve F talltde tox20h-% Quowrierenns| Sse@ 0 steer F ShortSue(), tna sienna eee maeD G Spacer Block (1) hx 20% -% Ply. HH Stretchers (2) 10x29 -% Ply ee Top I Top Panel (1) 22x 32 -% Ph @ ©zerem 4 oops a) S30 Pe K End iter Seopo(S) Sax tthe-%er ee | U Ineld itr Stipe (2) Shox 10-%4 PN. No. 52 ShopNotes Ww Base Tegan work by making the dase of the bench. As you can see in Figure 1Lit’sa shallow box with alarge “foot- print” that helps the bench resist tip- ping. The base provides @ handy compartment for tools while you're working. And when you “knock down” the bench for storage, the base holds the sides and stretchers. Frame - The base starts out as a plywood frame that’s made up of a Sront/back (A) and two ends (B). To pose oe WeoDSEEN sone tn strengthen the base (and help align wots the pieces during assembly), the front re and back are rabbeted at each end. An easy way to cut these rabbets isto use adado blade mounted in the table saw. As you can see in Figures 2and 2a, part of the blade is “buried” wipe he” in an auxiliary fence that's attached My z] {othe rip fence with carpet tape. NOE wave ‘The fence is positioned so the = blade will cut the shoulder of the rabbet. The only problem is the front and back pieces are fairly narrow, of the storage compartment in the — the fence will produce a groove thats too narrow to ride against the fence base. Lwanted to make sure the com- 2%" down from the top edge. This ‘without twisting. To prevent that, I partment was deep enough to hold provides enough room for the sides attached a long fence to the miter the sides and stretchers (and still be and stretchers plus litle extra, ‘gauge and used itto guide the work- able to fasten the top on the base). Notehes ~ After completing the Piece through the biade, So after adjusting the width of the grooves, I cut a long notch in the Cut Grooves ~ In addition to the dado blade to match the thickness of bottom edge of each piece (Figures rabbets, there’s a groove in the the plywood bottom, I set the rip 4a and 4b). These notches provide inside face of each piece that holds fence 394" away from the outside of some “toe room” soT ean work a the the botfom ofthe base. The location the blade (Figures 3anda).Running bench without kicking the base. A of this groove determines the depth the botlom edge of each piece against sabre saw (or band sav) is all that's Sr: Zetia i weer MARRS oy e No. 52 TauA Le needed to cut the notches to rough shape. And a drum sander chucked in the drill press makes quick work ‘ofremoving theres of the material. But a drum sander can create a scalloped edge if you're not careful ‘Topreventthat, [used along straight scrap piece as a fence (Figure 4) With the “Yeet” of the the fence, its easy to sand a straightedge. ‘To sand the entire thickness of the edge, youll need to attach an auxiliary table to the drill press and cet a hole init to accept the drum sander. Then, alter notching the fence to fit around the drum sander, positon it to sand to the desired depth and clamp the fence in place. Now turn on the dill press, and push the workpiece into the drum sander until it contacts the fence. The idea sto start atthe rig end of the noich, then slowly feed the work piece from left to right to sand the ‘edges smooth. Bottom ~ Before assembling the base, there's one more thing to do. ‘That's to cut the plywood bottom (C) to ft. Then just glue and screw the base together. [ also “eased” all of the edges with a sanding block to kkeep them from splintering when they get bumped or knocked around, Corner Blocks Allthat'seftto complete the base is to add four thick comer blocks (D). These blocks “beef up” the corners ofthe base to hold a set ofrubber bumpers that ae added later (Figure 1). ach corner block is made up of two pieces of 4" plywood. To avoid working with small pieces, glued up two long strips of plywood first Figure 5). Then i just a matter of cutting each corner block to length. Here again fence attached tothe iter gauge provides support fr the blank. But this time, to cut each blocko the same length, [clamped a scrap piece of wood to the rip fence and used it as a stop. The idea is to set the fence so that when you butt the end of the blank against the stop, itwill producea ong corner block. Rubber Bumpers After cutting all the corner blocks, the next step is to add a set of four rubber bumpers, (We've shown two in the margin.) ‘These bumpers thread into T-nuts that fit into a hole drilled in each corner block (Figures 6 and 6a). After giving the blocks in place, simply tap in the ‘Tuts and install the bumpers. aero eee Hee A Hard rubber bumpers thread into the base of the bench to keep it from siding around and to prevent damage to a finished floor (See ‘page 31 for sources.) TEU Supports ‘This workbench is designed with a simple system of interlocking parts that provide solid support for the top. As you can see in Figure 7, it consists of two hinged sides com nected by a pair of stretchers. To prevent the bench from racking, the connection between the sides and stretchers must be rigid and strong. At the same time, I ‘wanted a quick and easy way to take them apart. Bed Rail Fasteners ~ The solt- tion is a mechanical fastener like the ‘ype used to hold the parts of a bed together. (See photo at eft) One part of the fastener (attached to the end : ofthe stretcher) has two hooks that fit into slots in the other part (mounted to the sides). This “locks” the parts together, yet still allows them to be quickty disassembled, Sides — I started by making the ‘two sides of the bench. Both sides ate the same width (18°). And they ‘appear to be the same length. But that's not the case. To allow both sides to fold flat inside the base, the tall side (E) is" longer than the short side (F), as shown in Figure 8. ‘Aside from the difference in length, the sides are identical. To reduce the weigt ofthe bench, Teut a large opening in each side. Also, - ‘Gat a s A A two-piece bed rail fastener creates a strong, rigid connection that's quick and easy take apart. (See page 31 for sources.) oxen wbebdeht aes altho ar tence, SHORT SIDE, 02) © TALL SIDE Coresan5 fa oS , "Ras ‘SPACER BLOCK eee Howe BOE RSE # B= if ~ cp [i woxtnton )) | otretcHer TALL SIDE SHORT SE. PASE there's a short, metal bar on the ‘upper back corner of each side that’s used to secure the top to the bench, Bars — The two metal bars are easy to make. I bought a ¥4-thick aluminum bar at a home center and used a hack saw to cut each one to length. Then I drilled a couple of countersunk shank holes in each piece for mounting screws. Before attaching the bars, youl a. need io cut a“tairstep” notch in the corner of each side. The upper par of this notch is sized to fit the bar (gure 8). When you screw the bar in place, itforms lip over the lower part of the notch. This lip captures a pin that's installed later inthe top. Cut Mortises — The next step is to cut the mortises that hold the loted part ofthe bed ral fasteners. ‘As you can seein Figure &, the idea is tocut.atwotiered mortise. A wide, shallow mortise is sized to accept the fastener, and two narrow, deep mortises provide clearance for the hhooks on the other part ofthe fastenes. ‘An easy way to make the shallow mortises isto use a drill press and a Forsiner bit (Figure 9). A. careful layout will ensure that the upper ends ofthe mortises align, As for the distance of the mortises in from the edge, I clamped a fence to the dri press table and used itto position each workpiece. Now it's just a matter of dsiling a series of overlapping holes and paring avay the remaining waste with a chisel Figure a) ‘Once the fastener fis neatly in the ‘mortise, you can use ito lay ou the location of the two deep mortises No. 52 Zea (Figure). "The thing tobe aware of isthese mortises are 9/3" longer than the slots in the fastener. The reason has to do with the hooks on the mating fastener. To lock the two parts of the fastener together, the hooks have to fit straight into the slots and then slide downward. Increasing the length ‘of the mortise provides the clear- ance that’s needed for the hooks, ‘Alter laying, out the deep mor. ties, chuck a smaller bit inthe dill pressand use the same procedure as before to cut two pockets (Figure 9c). Then screw the fasteners in place, Install Sides - Now you're ready to install the sides. The tall side (E) ishinged directly to the base (Figure 7b). But as you can seein Figure 7a, the short side (F) is hinged to a spacer Wock (G).Thisisa3i" square strip of plywood that’s glued to the base. The spacer block raises the short side so it can fold down flat across the tal side. Stretchers — The next step is to add the stretchers (H). As you can ‘see in Figure 10, these are long, I- shaped pieces of plywood that are cut to length to fit between the sides. Bach stretcher has a long notch ‘cut in the top and bottom edge. The upper notch lets you slip @ pipe clamp underneath the benchiop £0 you can clamp a workpiece against the edge of the bench. The lower notch is simply cut to match, After sanding the edges smooth, all that’s left is to add the hooked fas- teners (Figures 10 and 102). Each of, these fasteners fits in a shallow notch in the end ofthe stretcher. ‘The location of these notches determines the up and down posi- tion of the stretchers. I wanted the stretchers to sit fush with the top of the sides, so the notch is 2" down from the top edge (Figure 112). “eae Ancasy way to cut the notchesisto mount a dado blade in the table saw and to attach a tll fence to the miter gauge (Figure 11). Then stand the stretcher on end, holditfrmly against the fence, and nibble away the waste Belore attaching the fasteners, take a look atthe back of each one. You!l notice there's a large “nib” behind each hook. To make the fs- tener sit fat in the notch, you'll need to dri a pocket for each nib. Then just screw the fasteners in place ® STRETCHER Way Nome aa SOS - tA Bee :) ShopNotes Top. “The top of the workbench thats shown in Figure 12 has two rain jobs, It creates a solid wworksurface, Plsit serves as 2 lid for the base winen you knock down the bench for storage But the andiest thing about this benchtop is it provides three different ways to clamp a workpiece to the bench. (Refer to the photos on page 23) Built-Up Top ~ To increase the thickness of the top, it's “uit up" from two layers of Ye plywood. The upper layer is formed by a top panel that’s sized to fit fish with the base Figure 13). And the lower layer is made up of sev eral smaller filler strips. Filler Strips ~ These strips create along, narrow recess underneath the top which ts down over the sides of the bench. Plus they provide the thickness that’s needed to hold a set of bench dogs. (For more about the Dench dogs used, turn to page 3.) The front and back filer sirips are simply cut to match the length of the top panel. To fitover the sides of A A simple two-part system is used to fasten the top to the bench. Metal pins in ne top fit under the iinum bars on the sides (upper photo). And spring- loaded latches lock the top in place (lower photo). TET then glued in place. Slots for Clamps - With the filler strips in place, the next step is to cut {our slots in the top. Bach slot forms ‘an opening fora bar clamp that lets you clamp work near the middle of the benchtop. A quick way to cut cach slot is to drill a small starter hole and then remove the rest ofthe ‘waste with asabre saw Figure 1). Bench Dog Holes - In addition to the slots, T drilled a number of hholes in the top to hold the bench dogs. Since the top is quite larwe, I clamped an auxiliary table tomy dil press to support it Figure 15). It's the bench, youl need to cuta notch near each end of these strips. Then jst gue them in place. Next, I added two narrow end filler strips (10. Theyre ripped to ‘width so when they're flush with the outside edge of the top, they align with the notch in the front/back strips. As for length, is usta matter of ctting them tot the opening. ‘ter gluing on the end strips, I added two inside fle strips (L). To provide clearance forthe stretchers, these strips are shorter than the end sips. Here again, the strips are aligned flush with the notch and INSIDE FILLER aon NOTE: au rapes age MADE FRM PEED BACK FILLER ‘STRIP. Bees d He, exouer rt en eee Ss] Z "a =a a, Ze eo| [oars of |oeme su NOTE: 22 ShopNotes No. 52 also a good idea to clamp a fence to the table to make sure the holes are located the same distance in from the edge. Then lay out and drill the holes Locking System ~ At this point, the top is almost complete. But before seting it on the bench, 1 added a simple, two-part system that "locks" it secure in place. Ifyou look at the photos on page 22, you can see how this works. In back, the top isheldin place with two ‘metal pins that fit under the alu ‘minum bars installed earlier: In front, its secured with a couple of springloaded latch hinges. Install Pins ~ Asyou can seein Figure 16, each pins a short piece of 1{-dia, metal rod. The pin fits into 2 hole drilled in the end of the dack filler strip (Figure 162), After applying a small amount of epoxy in the hole, tap inthe pin and clean up any excess that squeezes out Latch Hinges ~ The second part of the locking system Is a pair of Jatch hinges, Bach ltch hinge has a springloaded pin that fits into a hole in the side of the bench (Figure 12) (Fora source aflateh hinges, refer to page 51.) An easy way to locate the holes forthe spring-loaded pins isto screw the latch hinge tothe top, as shown in Figure Y7a. Note:The etch hinges I purchased didn't have mounting holes, so I had to drill a couple of holes in each one. ‘Now lower the top down over the sides and pull it toward you so the metal pins in back slip under the aluminum bars. iter centering the top from front to back, tap each of the springloaded pins to make a No. 52 dimple in the side. Then simply remove the top and drill the holes for the latch pins, Draw Latches ~ In addition to the latch hinges, I also installed two draw latches on each end of the bench. (Refer to Exploded View on ‘ShopNotes ‘page 17) These latches hold the top and base together when you knock the bench down for storage. Handle ~ All that's lefts o add a handle to make it easy to carry the bench, Its centered on the front of the base and screwed in place. ~< Pipe Clamps. To hald a workpiece against the edge of the bench, stio pioe clamps through the notches at the top of the stretchers. < Bar Clamps. Fit the head of a bar clamp down through one of the siots in the top to clamp work near the midalle of the benchtop. ~< Bench Dogs. Using one (or more) pais of bench dogs lets you hold work tightly against the top without clamps getting in the way. 23 Cherry Saw Handle ecenty, Iwas poking around secondhand store, and T came across an old hand sav. The weathered handle of the saw was ‘broken in one place and missing a chunk of wood in another. ifs the hhandle inthe before photo at left) A Jong bolt held the handle together, Dut twas a clumsy “ix” at best. And years of use had almost worn the carving offthe handle, In spite of that, something, about the saw intrigued me. So Ipicked it upto examine it more closely. ‘The blade was rusty and dull, but cleaning and sharpening it would take care of that. More important, none of the brass hardware pieces that held the saw blade in the handle ‘were missing. (ts difficult to find replacement hardware.) In short, the saw looked like it £3) had the potential to be a quality tool. Notonly that, theprice ta was right. (At$1.50, how could Igo wrong?) So I bought the saw and decided to restore itto a usable condition, Sneak Peek — Ifyou'd ike to take a peek at how it turned out, take a Jook at the ar photo above. IP's the same saw, only Tve cleaned it up had the blade sharpened (which cost $7.50), and made anew handle. lot - Making the saw handle provided an interesting challenge. It has to do with the slot in the handle that holds the saw blade. This slot is. quite thin (about the thickness of four playing cards) Pius, it’s curved PREIS ee, tomatch the profile onthe end ofthe oat blade. No doubt the manufacturer spol sone heeft CROSS ee cue sat (tel dds awe). SECTION Poceknwaceusaer, EXPLODED So how do you cut a thin slot in ee VIEW. a handle? The answer is simple — ote NN you don't. Let me explain ea ShopNotes No. 52 Veneer - The slot is made by using a double thickness of veneer fas a spacer. As you can see in the Exploded View on page 24, the veneer is cut to match the shape of the blade and then giued between ‘wo hardwood blocks. This creates a thin slo that matches the shape ofthe blade exactiy. ‘There'salsoa side benefit to using veneer. By orienting the grain of the veneer across the grain of the wood blanks, it strengthens the handle, so its less likely to break. Traditional Shape ~ Okay Iknow, this method for making a saw handle isabitunorthodox. But I still wanted a traditional looking handle — one witha graceful, curved shape. Perhaps Td even try my handat carving apat- tern in the handle like Pd seen on other old hand saws. ‘Before making the “real” handle, I ‘experimented by making several ver- sions out of softwood. This gave me a chance to modify the shape of the handle to get a comfortable grip. Qe shope ed pestis shovminthe ‘pattern. above, Note: This is @ half size pattern, so you'll need to enlarge ity 200% on a photocopy machine, Carving ~ Aiter working out the basic shape, I drew several different carving patterns. As you can see, the fone [ended up witha simple wheat pattern, Of course, the handle would Jook great even without the carving. But if you decide to give it a ty, we've included an article on page 28 that provides some useful tips. ‘Three Layers - To make the handle, I started by preparing the three layers of material (Figure 1). ‘Theideahereistomake the combined thickness of these layers equal to the thickness of the off handle, (Mine ‘was ust a hair more than ‘4 thick.) ‘The two outer layers are 7iq"thick blanks ofhardwood. (used cherry) And the middle layer is made up of two oversized pieces of veneer that are glued up and then trimmed to the same size as the two blanks. ‘Transfer Pattern ~The next step {s to transfer the pattern Gncluding the wheat) to the upper blank and the veneer. Drawing the pattern on both pieces makes it easy to locate the holes forthe hardware later on. ‘Also, to help simplify things when working with the handle pieces, I WZ4 a Xt Tess 4 De Sp08 ‘made ita point to align the top edge of the pattern with the top edge of each pieoe before drawing the pat- tern. (For a tip on transferring a pat- tern, refer to page 28) ‘Trim Veneer ~ Now its just a matter of trimming the veneer to ‘match the shape of the saw blade. As ‘you can see in Figure 2, the end of the blade serves as a handy guide ‘when cutting the veneer. ‘Start by positioning the blade on top of the veneer. There area couple of things to keep in mind here, First, the blade should align with the top edge of the veneer. Also, be sure the hioles in the blade don't cover up the pattern for the carving. Now hold the blade firmly in place and make several scoring cuts with a knife to cutthe veneer to shape. Touse this pattern to make a saw handle, enlarge it 200% on a photo- copy machine. UPFER BLANK ubeeearane BRD Veneer (enven 1B PREE ES) "or eooe Peet ShopNotes 25 oe Fag = 4 105 easy to ait centered counter- bores for the brass hardware on the existing holes. Use a smal bit to position "e blank on the di ress table (top) hen clamp the blank in place (top) Now chuck in a iange bit and oti ths hols (bottom) Gluing up the three pieces of the hhandle sounds simple enough. The challenge is keeping the pieces from slipping out of alignment. ‘Veneer — Take the veneer for instance. As you can see in Figure 3, its glued to the lower blank, flush on three sides, Now it’s one thing to position © the veneer while its “dry” The trickisto make itstay putafter the glue is applied, ~~ What I found worked well here isto attach the saw blade to the lower blank with carpet tape. Then brush a hin film of glue on the veneer, butt it against the blade, and staple it to the blank. Clamping a scrap block aver the veneer willhelp distribute the pressure, and ‘wax paper prevents the block from sticking, Drill Holes — Once the glue dries, you can remove the serap block, but leave the blade in place. It provides a handy template for drilling the holes in the blanks that accept the blade hardware (Figure 4), To ensure that these holes ine up, [ attached the upper nk to the bottom of the lower blank with carpet tape, Note: The blanks are flush on all es, Then chuck a bit in the drill press that matches the diameter of NORA fie as Te ete AR Shoe << — War Tbiiek SLANE PRrERN SIDE UP the holes in the blade and carefully drill the holes through both blanks, ‘Upper Blank - The next step is toglue on the upper blank. I's impor tant that this blank doesn't shit. Otherwise, the holes you just drilled ‘won't align, The solution is to insert a couple of drill bts inthe holes and use them as alignment pins when giving and clamping the blanks together (Figure 6). Note: Be sure to use the same size bits as the holes. Blade Hardware ~ Now you can ‘urn your attention to the hardware that holds the blade in place. On my ‘saw, there were three brass machine screws that thread intoPnuts. Note: ‘Depending on your savy, the number of pieces of hardware (or size) is likely to vary. ‘Whatever the case, you'll need to drill counterbores in the handle to acceptthe machine serewsand Tuts. This requires drilling several coun- terbores, as shown in the detail on page 24 and the photosiin the margin Carve Handle ~ If you're going to carve the handle, this is good ti to do it. The gluedup blank provid Detter support for your hand than alter the handle is cut to shape. No. 52 Shaping the Handle - At this point, you're ready to start cutting the handle to shape. To create the tight curves of the handle, driled a number of holes (Figure 6). Note: Slipping a scrap of veneer into the slot will prevent chipout which could ‘make it hard to insert the blade. ‘Next, form the hand opening, removed the waste between the hholes with a sabre save. A band saw made quick work of cutting the handle to rough shape (Figure 7) “Most of the remaining waste can be removed using a drum sander

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