Woodpeckers’ Precision Squares The Most ‘Trustworthy Tool in Your Shop aluminum at nd furniture agsembies 1 seribng notches are ideal for measuring and merking tasks, machin joel squares 6th ‘and . The cheeks added to this cent fer by @ quarter of an inch, shoulder not aditiona asigns. The shoulder S edge 85° forthe lfe of the without ah: a pierre tt fundamental de: fi that tolerance, ts Core Dose MARR RS AON ER Ca eepay sik ato Seay hake, He from the editor Sawdust Inspiration for a project comes from many sources. In the case of theshop carton page 3, designer Dillon Baker wanted tocreatea cart that serves ‘asa companion toa workbench —a staging area for tools, anextra worksurface, and some storage. He found a Shaker cry sink (like the one you see above) that had alotof the features he was looking for With allttle tweaking, ike changing the construction to plywood, he's designed a great shop helper. ‘The final weeks of working on this issue came just as “work from home” orders were given to people around the country and world. It really changed up the way we work here. I hope you and your family are healthy, safe, and finding creative ways to make memories in the shop. FAX TT er = What do you use to attach a tabletop to the base? One hardware solution we often use is a tabletop fastener (also known as @ figure-8 fastener). One side is screwed to the tabletop, ‘the other fits into a recess you drill into the aprons of the table base ‘with a Forsnter bit. The design allows the top to expand and contract with seasonal changes in humility. Join us for the next Live Q&A on June 9. Not a member? Join today cat yon. Woodsmith.com Ss “4 Erich Lage loves building stuff. For the past 25 years it's been mainly focused around the world of publishing. Whether writing stories, drawing pictures, or let- ting the saw dust fly in the shop — it's all good to him. “I'm grateful that | can provide for my family, hang out in the shop, and help others on the journey of woodworking.” Woodsmith EXECUTE EDTOR Pi Huber ASSISTANT EDITORS Exch Lage, Logan Witmer CConrrrsurinc WRITER sryan Neon EXECUTIVE ART DIRECTOR Tei! mnbith SENIOR ILLUSTRATOR Di er Stee SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS ots Zeerman, cy Kral ‘CONTRIBUTING LLUSTRATOR Ech Lage ‘CREATIVE DIRECTOR Chis Ftch PROJECT DESIGNER Dion Baer PROJECT DESIGNER/UILDER I Doyle (AD SPECALIST Stove lobreon SHOP CRAFTSMAN Mare Hopkins CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Chis Henry, “ce cover SENIOR ELECTRONIC IMAGE SPECIAUST Allon Rulnke (GROUP MANAGER rian Vankiuversnm ADVERTISING DIRECTOR DSc sloa2 ans se scoder@renaon et ‘0 PRODUCTION COORDIMATOR Kin Hot! “GROUP PRESIDENT Fee Hi Mir aw HOME GROUP pte 1B hog eA tee Cory WoodsmithCustomerService.com ONLINE SUBSCRIBI suascrerions roma. roa si ne Gavlean » Setentrcoant PRESIDENT a. Andrew Cuan SENUORICE PRESIDEN TREASURER BO Michael Henry SEMOR VICE PRESDENT, OPERATIONS Pat Fo ‘Ce PRESENT, PRODUCTION 8 MANUFACTURING Barb Van Sele ‘VCE PRESIDE EOFLE PLACES JoAnn Thomas AU RD CHI Efrem Zab Woodsmith com + 34+ Woodsnith /No. 249, . No. 249 « Junessuly 2020 Projects ° _ Double Door Box..........-..... 0005 22 Here's a new take on a small box project. Instead of a lid, two doors reveal the items inside, Arts and Crafts details make this a standout no matter where it's placed it nject Weather Vane : Ready to take your woodworking i ‘out this working weather vane. Simple woodworking, some ‘umming, and a litle metal work combine into a fun project. - 28 new direction? Ty Workbench Companion Cart... . +. 38 Think of tis cart as the trusty sidekick to your workbench, With a thick top, pull-out tay, and plenty of storage, you'll find it a welcome addition to your shop. eirloom project Waterfall Bookcase - 46 Say goodbye to boxy bo ig on the classic Georgian style Its oraduated profi, inlay, and moldings make an eye-catching piece of furniture Departments Reader Feedback. . ‘om our reader Tips & Techniques . outer workshop 7 Top Router Accessories. My 5 Must-Have Turning Accessories. ... 14 all abou Japanese Marking Knives............. 20 dworking technique Creating Spheres from Wood.......... 54 r th tools, Working with Double Beading Bits. ..... 58 Single Blade Table Saw Joinery......... 62 Sources ...READER Feedback Edge Sander Videos Tam not really sure what there is about Rod Reyes, that makes his presentations so special, but | am. really happy that you guys ane embracing his videos | first saw his build video on the horizontal sander project that originally featured Chris Fitch ~ and it was excellent. However, the sander video produced. by Rod was absolutely superlative! You guys really need to recruit Rod. His talent is truly a rare find. On camera, his personality and presentation is magic in a bottle. Thanks for featur ing him. am sure you will be overwhelmed with positive comments. ast Mays ‘Woodsmith replies Thanks Dan. We hope to work with Rod again. If you havent seen the video series rohere Rod built the edge sander from issue 240, check out our YouTebe channel Inspiration & Entertainment I recently listened to an episode of the poceast where someone said that its nice to do dovetails, but some times you're ina hurry so ust use tongue and groove, and [yelled out, “or get the biscuit cutter!” while 1 ‘was raking up the leaves in my backyard, Also, I did purchase season 13 on Amazon, and L liked your approach to the phone amplifier where it wasn't just about the details of the plan, but the individual variations, You probably recognize this cart [ recently made as a Woodsmith design, but the height is stretched and ituses drawers. And the bottom drawer uses the wall hanging drill bitt/accessory design (from another episode) but they sit on the bottom of the drawer and stil hang from the aluminum L channel to keep them upright and straight. Ladded the offset tab so they can be pulled out of the drawer easily. I've dubbed these “bindexes” (they're a bin, they’re an index —they're both!) And the drill press which has been updated toa larger model than what is seen here got the drill press table and fence pretty much unadulterated any crazy ideas. ‘Thank you very much for your Woodsmith Shop TV show, maga- zine, and plans. I find Woodsmith to be the best com- bination of lovely and useful designs that don’t always require a. fully equipped shop or joumeyman skills ‘Oh, and if could work with someone, it would be Don Peschke love to laugh. Daniet ubulski because | Woodsmith svio> IOWA @)PBS Sponsoring Station dtreg; (ia Masters Major Program Underwriters Additional Funding“The clamp block cutout is sized to match the diameter of your shop vacuum hose tesa 4 ay 4" washer — is ‘ata Nagtox 7H Hex Head Bolt 6 + Woodsmith No. 248 Better Dust Collection There are times when the dust col lection feature on the router table fence doesn't do the job at hand. In my most recent ease, T was using a flush trim bit and had to remove the fence all together. The dust collection solution I came up with is what you sce here. YAGIUN GWE. As you can see, my idea uses ashop vacuum hoseand head held in a clamp. The clamp is made out of afew layers of ply- wood and has a wide base. The base gets clamped to the router fable, and the hose is held in a hinged clamp. A shop-made latch holds the clamp closed When I need to deploy the holder, it's simple to clamp it to the table and lock the hose in place. The tilting head allows me to position the suction where it’s most effective and I can control the suction area by swapping, heads on the hose. Keith: Weston Beverly, Massachusetts FRONT ViEW (0 2d wrsoundover ker ae uti roe NOTE: Clam starts off ve é “triled and cut apart } 2h came 4 f at 7 wre a J vexte Saari prod Bait, . y hem Tough ote? fBx I" Ph \ \ Bist tp —— BRACKET - CES, if @, f | serodk rut \ eracxer som MOTE laa ede bom ehree foyer of {"Rifother nats ae 4 piyood8x 11° Fh woodscrew NOTE: Dadoes for storage otncrdhdons, © ace irom it pcre rae Ay cn ater pa a Hardware Storage Weep i shoes In my shop, I usually keep certain types of hardware on hand. This means buying lange bags of hardware at the home center. Once ‘you've opened the bag however, storing the remaining pieces can be a pain. That ‘was, until I opened my fridge one day and the solution was staring me in the face. STORAGE CONTAINERS. The solution, I found, came in the form of plastic food con- lainers. They come in a variety of sizes and are often inexpensive. And, while me B i they stack fairly well, [found that I wos able to stay much more organized by Divider a5 building a wallamounted rack for them, as you see above, The details needed for en Ir building it can be found in the drawing above. seaniow i i Mike LaFoyett 2|) A aexzie mn New Orleais, Louisiana By ‘Back ie SUBMIT A TIP TO WIN GO ONLINE If you have an original shop tip, we would like to hear from you and consider publishing your tip in one or more of our publications. So jump online and go to: mitWe mithTij m You'l be able to tel us all about your tip and upload your photos and drawings. You can also mall your tips to “Woodsmnith Tips” at the editorial address shown on page 2.We will pay up to $200 if we publish your tip. THE WINNER! Congratulations to Mike LaFoyette, the winner of 8 $100 Lee Valley giftcard. Aussie Bey Kk Woodsmith.com «7NOTE: Screw hole locations are dependant ‘on skateboard tuck syle NOTE: Lp glued to the bese up. (53% y) Skateboard Helper Moving full sheets of plywood SHEETMOVER. My idea was tohar- them and wheel it around my around can be ahassle. One day, vest the trucks off an old skate- shop. The best thing of all is that while carrying around a sheet, board and use them to move they're easy to store and roll over I almost tripped on my kids sheets around. By screwing them the uneven floor in my garage. skateboard. As unnerving as it to a black of plywood, I found it Dac Halon was, it sparked an idea. ‘was quite easy to set a sheet onto Shippensburg, Pennsyleania QUICK TIPS , Sticky Screws. When John Doyle of Des Sizing Dowels. Harold Kimple of Solan, 1A uses a Moines, IA needs to reach a screw into a uick trick to find the appropriate dill bit to match a tight spot, like when installing a lazy Susan dowel. He removes the cap from a Forstner bit and bearing, he found that a small dab af glue checks it over the end of the dowel. When it fits, he stick helps hold the screw to the driver tip. knows that’s the right dnl bit to use for that dowel 8 * Woodsrith No. 249Extendoclamp (Ona recent projet, my band clamp (also known as 4 tatchet strap) was just a Title too short to reach around the case. The solution came in the simpliest form—I made a clamp extender by simply drilling two holes in a scrap of wood, as seen here. Wiliam Auick Cincinnati, Ohio Profile Sander. Becky Kralicek of Bloomington, ‘MIN found that wrapping sand paper around a drill bit was the perfect way to sand tight radi Because her drill bits cover a variety of different sizes, she can always find one to match her cove. Tug-Free Sanding Hose When Tim sanding. there's nothing as annoying as the shop vacuuim hose caching onthe eage of the bench an pulling, So, Ibulta hose damp to prevent that fom happening, TWEE. The camp | bull uses a conduit hanger attaced to a block with a holt and nat This allows the the hose to swivel as I sand. I clamp the block in my bench vie. and clamp the shop vacuum hose with attached sanding hose in the conduit hanger. Joseph Sls Appleton, Wisconsin DIGITAL WOODSMITH RECEIVE FREE ETIPS BY EMAIL Now you can have the best time- saving secrets, solutions, and techniques sent directly to your email inbox. Simply go to: Nieman) SHOP TIP ‘and click on, (eer ree You'll receive one of our favorite tips by email each and every week. Woodsmith.com # 9oe w You just got a router, now what? Here are the top seven things I'd buy first to get the most out of it Now I'm not talking about router bits here at all. I really consider those a given. You can’t do anything with a router without them, except maybe listen to it run. But I do have some basic advice, choose your bits carefully. BUY AS YOU NEE. Personally, I'd buy thebitsasI need them based on the project I'm working on. And I'd buy the best bits T could afford. For me that means solid carbide or carbide-tipped router bits. They’ last longer and pro- vide better results overall sdsmith /No, 249 With the bit discussion out of the way, we're ready to add accessories. You can buy them. in any order to suit your needs, but I think the order detailed here provides a good sequence for starting out. The first add-on I'd go with is a router table (main photo). Start- ing out by saying you need a router table sounds likea stretch, Why not just use it hand-held, that’s what it was designed for after all, right? ‘Well, in many eases, a hand- held router will do just fine, But when pieces get small or you're using router bits without bear- ings, a router table is about the only way to accomplish things. Asa matter of fact, I probably use my router more when its installed in a table than T do hand-held. I find I can set it up faster and get more accurate results this way. OPTIONS GALORE. Just like with routers, you have a lot of options when it comes to router tables. You can build your own or buy a full-size, cabinet-style router table with storage and dust collection built in. But you don’t need to 0 that route right off the bat if you don’t want to.SUART WMH A BENCHTOR. A simple solution is a benchtop router table, like the one in the main photo. It has a lot of great fea- tures and it's compact, so it stores away easily when you don’t need it Benchtop router tables come in a range of styles and price ranges. So determining what's best can bea challenge. There are a few things I'd make sure it has before adding one to my shop. For starters, the fence needs to adjust easily and lock down. securely. And a router insert plate makes it easy to remove and install the router without a lotof hassle. n easily accessible ‘on/off switch isa plus for safety and convenience. ‘The next accessory I'd add is a straightedge or two. Straight- edges are a lifesaver when it comes to routing larger work- pieces that aren‘t easy or safe to do on a router table, like creat- ing dadoes or grooves in large parts for building cabinets, as, in the photo above. The straightedge provides a way to make the cut safely and A straigthedge, lke the commercial version shown here, allows you to use ron-bearing guided bits in your hand-held router. This is especially handy when dealing with joinery in large workpieces. accurately when using router bits without bearings. You'll find that a couple of different sizes are in order here, but just starting out Tfind that a 24"-long straight- ‘edge is more than sufficient for dealing with most cabinet-size parts. You'll also want to make ‘certain it clamps in place securely and doesn’t have any parts that extend above the top of the guide that may cause clearance issues. An edge quide adds to your router's versatility The design of mast edge guides allows you to make accurate cus in curved or round workpieces, like the inlay groove being routed above. An edge guide is similar to a straightedge. It allows you to use the router along the edge of a workpiece while making a cut using a bit with no bearing, GURVES ARE BASE. While ar’ edge guide is most often used along straight edges, it’s just as handy for working with curved or round workpieces (lower left photo). To accomplish this, the guide will have a pair of split fences. This formsa pair of “rub” points, positioning the router to follow the curve and keeping the bit a set disiance from the edge for an accurate cut AFTERMARKET OPTIONS. Many rout- ers come with a basic edge guide as part of the “kit” and they work fine for starting out. The problem is they're not always easy to adjust accurately. That's where an aftermarket edge guide is a better option. | find aftermarket guides to be better built. Part of that bet- ter build ishow easy they are to adjust. Most often this means a micro-adjustable thumbwheel s0 you can “dial-in” the fence position then Tock it in securely. Woodsmithicom + 11Making cuts with any router bit won't do you much good if you can't set the depth of cut or the position of your fence accurately For years I used an ordinary rule but found myself still having to make some test cuts and tweak things to get everything right. SiNPLE SOUTON. A better option is a set of inexpensive setup gauges (photos at right). Like many accessories, you'll find liferent styles and price ranges, but simple works well here, The bars you see in the photos are ‘more than sufficient for accurate results. Plus, they‘re designed and sized so you can stack or position them together to create a wide range of setup options. ‘Thenext items probably the least expensive one on the list. But in my book a router mat is a must- have item for every shop. It’s the key fora solid grip between your worksurface and your workpiece 0 it doesn't slide around as you rout (left photo below). AY by 3' mat is a good size. It'll handle most workpieces yet rolls up and storesaway easily. If there's any downside to a router mat, it’s that dust and grime result in loss of ” You'l get better results routing along an edge by adding an offset baseplate ‘And a router mat keeps your workpiece from moving around without having to any damps getin the way. 12 + Woodsmith /No. 249 For accurately setting 2 fence (main photo) or the depth of cut inset photo), setup gauges ae the best choice. You'll be able to “feel” when the fence or bitmatches the setup gauge. cleaning with some soap and water and itTlbe as good as new. Using a router hand-held near an ecigecan be a challenge. Since only half the router is supported on the workpiece (and less at the comers), itcan be a bit tippy. ‘A great way to provide bet- ter support and avoid a ruined workpiece is to add a larger baseplate, like the offset style shown in the lower left photo. ‘The offset allows more of the base to remain on the work- piece and includes a handle that allows you to provide down- ward pressure for solid contact. All the accessories in the world won't do you much good if ra, your router bits aren’t up to the task. And when that hap- pens, your router has to work hander and the results are often less than spectacular INSPECT & ALAN. T make it a habit to inspect my router bits at the start of every project, making sure they're clean and ready to go. Any bit showing signs of being chipped or dull should be replaced. But in most cases, all that's needed is a simple clean- ing with a bit and blade cleaner to remove any buildup of pitch or grime (photo below). prefer citrus-based cleaners. Asimple spray and wipe down is usually enough to clean things up. If you have some stubborn buildup, let the solution soak in and then scrub the bit with a brass bristle brush ‘To keep your router bitin tip-top shape, regular Atberice ge sont ring ees wok ars, ems bcs mete + Aisin Sing oats MCT-75 - Set of Two...$21.99 = Universal Clamp Suppor...$59.99 MCT-150 - Set of Two...$24.99 atoning Mill PD Tal canbe postoned Slab Flattening Mill (0 for narrower sab o 2 Nes has peda Riper on 1 fa crayon es agit tek &utende + Sar! 8-1/2 eds 082" ‘ara exes, «+ Sarum ot 80" opus 132" vihagina eters «Fann sodas tina 4" dup 2 S70" ahaa sing 1 Siagnnmengeson soe 92" he, Basic Slab Flattening Mill PO....$899.99 Extended Slab Flatening Mill PRO....$1149.99 ULTRA-SHEAR Woodpeckers Pen Milll-Ci Pen-Sized + Trans ut Woodturning Tools 4 lmhsesreda ester sTeargapcavoensatsios | $ Hphaksmed estene tar supa Sat nist tstng crt Rrabaitonatet, “TBR ts er alst Fae ges he sen ‘fecetemg en 2 Say lean aang + Doarstcutre eng thy Gearest ct ges aden rasa at Pen Mil-Ci 13-Pe Set...6169.99 | Pen-SizeWoodturning Tool Set ..g219.99 ec a OT eeceuracy in woodwork- you use it, it becomes a little less ing is only as good as accurate, And to be honest, even your measuring and marking fully sharpened it’s not all that tools. And when it comes to _ precise. Itwasabwaysa guessing those two items, what you use game as to what part of the pen- for marking out measurements cil line I should cut to. It wasn’t is the key to better results. longrbefore I moved on to using a ‘When [first started out, Tused marking knife for as much of my a “sharp” pencil, Of course, as layout work as possible. Marking knives (or st knives, as they’re someti called) come ina wide range of styles and prices. I’m particu: larly drawn to the Japanese style nives you soe above. Tike their no-frills, classic look. ‘ACCURACY. What makes any type of marking knife, Japanese style as wel, is the thin, sharp blade. twill scorea fine line that shows you exactly where to make a cut, : unlike a wider peneil line which s SESE often comes up a bit ambiguous ‘he score fom a marking kife isa definitive mark and is (photoat left). more accurate than even a thin penciling. In addition, the A marking knife is also a great scores a good starting point for other took likeachsel choice when you're going to 20 + Woodsmith /Mo. 249 further refine what happens with that layout, like a mortise loca- tion. Not only is a line of a knife more precise, itoffers a groove to position the blade of a chisel. EVES. When you look at a marking knife you'll notice that theblade may be beveled on one or both faces. You will find Japa- nese knives with double bevels. Japanese knives are typically beveled on only one face with the back side having a slight hollow (inset photo next page), similar toJapanese style plane irons. The hollowed back face makes iteasy to keep the blade sharpened as only a small amount of work is required on the back face to keep itflat along the cutting edge and sides of the knife. The flat along the back makes it easy to position the knife against straightedge or square, as shown in the drawings on the bottom of the next page. vn bBo RabonThis way, it's easy to mark your layout line exactly where you want it. The bevel helps force the knife to stay tight against the straightedge. Knives with a double bevel have to be held just right to cre- ate an accurate mark when you use a straightedge. For wider knives with a langer bevel face, finding the “sweet” spot is fairly easy. Narrower knives with smaller bevels will require alittle practice and use to determine the correct blade position. RIGHT & LEFL Japanese knives come in a couple main styles, as shown in the right mar- gin photo. The most common style is where the blade angles in one direction. That means there's a left and righthand version. For the majority of the work, you can get by with just the knife that matches your dominant hand. But having a maiching pair provides more versatility. Although it can be a challenge to find matching pairs of identical widths. “Another version of the Jap- anese-style knife is one where the blade angles in both direc- tions, like the point of a spear. Making a layout mark is as simple as flipping the tool to match the work you're doing, like you see in the main photo, LWIGTH & WoOTA, Japanese knives come in varying widths from 4" up to almost a full 1", While I find the wider knives fit my hands better, the narrower knives fit into tighter spaces ‘when needed. PREFRENGES, All of these things fare important considerations when selecting a knife since they affect how you grip and hold it. Do you prefer to hold it low to the surface or more upright? You can determine this, by practicing with a pocket or carving knife. If you like to hold the blade low, you can choose a knife with a single angle, since they're typically lower. Spear point knives often have steeper angles ranging from 45° to 75°, so they're used at a higher angle when making marks, No matter what your pref- erence, however, you'll need to make sure the knife you choose can fit into tight spaces, like hand-cut dovetails. Some knives are made from thicker steel and simply won’t fit between closely spaced tails. STL Speaking of steel, Jap- anese_ marking knives are available in high-carbon, white, ‘or blue steel. These hard steels are forge-welded to softer steel, as is the custom for Japanese edge tools like plane irons and chisels, You can clearly see the ‘two separate materials along the bevel of the knives shown here. ‘The steel can play a role in the cost of the knife. But in my view, expensive steel does not improve performance enough to make this an important consid- eration. And it’s not likely you'll use up an entire blade in a life- time of woodworking, Both O-L and white steel are more than adequate for the task, are easy to sharpen, and offer good value. vy the face Sonate Salgneage, ule Ife toward Povroscike Fa side of ‘marking knife Straightedge Fg side of bevel tithe blode anay to contact the Straightedge straightedge arrow tip for hard-to-reach A Japanese marking knives. are available in USING THERM. A marking knife various diferent is generally used with another styles and profiles tool, typically a square or a rule to scribe a straight line. The line doesn’t need to be deep, just deep enough to score the surface fibers. As I said earlier, you simply rest the flat face against the tool and gently pull the knife toward you. (If it's double beveled, you need to tilt the blade to keep the opposite bevel against the straightedge). Keeping the blade sharp ensures you end up with a clean, crisp line. If it's dull, you'll’ wind up with toarout when cutting across the grain Surprisingly, it's cutting with the grain that can be a challenge. In this case, the tip may have a tendency to follow the grain rather than the straightedge, especially if you're pressing down hard. Here it’s best to make a few lighter passes to establish the line, then increase the pressure fora final mark. 3 Woodsmth com © 21rong Arts and Crafts appeal add more visual interest. 22 + Woodsmith /No. 249 en by Po Hae Pin De: CeeA The small scale frame and panel doors require an appropriate catch. ball catch lke this works well and is more o ess invisible and doesnt intrude an the storage. Shelf Box Here's a new take ona small box. With doors on the front, it provides a unique storage solution. B: making offers an appealing rab- [bit hole in the world of woodworking. Whether it’s your main focus or justa diversion in between other furniture projects, a box offers a fun use of shop time, One of the best reasons to build a box is to explore new ideas in design, construction, or technique. This box takes a different approach in the design category. Most boxes open at the top with, a hinged, lift-off, or pivoting lid. Here, the box hhas.a pair of doors at the front — like a full-size cabinet. This twist changes the relationship with how you interact with the box. With both doors open, you still have full access {o the contents, Though now, the items stored inside are organized ina different way. [see this, box working really well on a mantle or ona shelf of abookcase. These are places where you don’t need to pick up the box to access the contents As for the styling, the details lean heavily on Arts & Crafts motifs: quartersawn white oak, tapered sides, simple arcs, and offset surfaces (Creating details like the frame and panel back and doors at a small scale is a delight. And it allows (even forces) you to focus on crisp results and tight-fitting joinery. Like any other box, this one lets you dive in. and get it done ina short time and with a mini- mal investment in materials. [do, however, re ommend going with high-quality hinges and knobs. The payotfis a great education and good- Jooking box. I’s time to build, Woodsmith com © 23ttsa small CABINET ->" If you take out the dimensions, this box could just as easily be a full-scale cabinet. The building process goes the same way, too, ‘There are three main assemblies to look at first: the case, a front face frame, and a back frame- and-panel assembly. We'll work from the inside out. NER CASE. The two sides, top, and bottom that make up the case are fairly simple pieces. Is all solid wood (1 used NOTE: Sides, top, and bottom ‘are Jon thick hardwood. Stiles and ral are Bitch hardwood _— ut hinge mortises sthlports are ‘a ore NOTE: Top of ail ‘is glued Mash with the top of the ‘case bortom| 1 pa (rie 312") quartersawn white oak). The wrinkle is that the parts are joined at a 7° angle. Getting there is surprisingly easy to do. Begin the process with the sides by cutting matching angles oneach end of both pieces. Then swap blades fora "dado blade. Keep the blade tilted to the same angle and cut a rabbet and a dado in the sides, as shown in details ‘a’ and ’b’ above. That's all there is to managing the angled assembly. The remaining parts all have square ends. ‘The lower edge of the sides has an arc cut into it. The draw- {ngs in the box below show how to accomplish this, TOP & EOTTON, The top and bot- tom can be cut to size and fit into the dado and rabbet. You may need to adjust the lengths slightly in order for them both to seat in their respective places (details ‘a’ and’). At this point, LAY OUTTHEARC & CUTIT Wehardboars tioned sida comers fayourtine Flexible Guide. Bend a thin ruler or piece of \wood to match the height of the arc. Trace the Curved parofile on the workpiece. 24 + Woodsmith No. 249 Angled Curve. In order to match the slope of the sides, tit the band saw table while making the cut. Then smooth it wth a file and sandpaperthe inner case can be glued together. Make sure the joints stay closed. And just like on a regular case, you can measure from corner to comer to make sure the assembly is true. FACE FRAME. A face frame covers the front of the case. It consists of a pair of stiles and a rail. On the inside edge of the rails, isa ‘good idea to cut the hinge mor- tises before gluing them in place. The stiles also have a taper on the outside edges that matches the slope of the ease. Teut these at the band saw and smoothed them with a block plane. The stiles can be glued to the case flush with the top and with a" reveal with the case sides. ‘The railiscut to fit between the stiles. The lower edge of the rail has an arc on it to echo the look on the sides. Is glued to thecase flush with the case bottom, BACK FRAME Around back, its time to work ‘on the last case assembly. You can see the components in the drawing above. There are a few additions and changes when compared to the face frame. First off, this assembly adds ‘an upper rail and a back panel NOTE: Upper rat hick Raraureod. Back 15 4" plywood © UPPER RAIL Gres) to fully enclose theback. Then all five parts are joined together as a single assembly before getting glued to the case. The back panel servesas the bridge here. ‘The back fits into an off-center groove on the inside edge of al the parts. For the rails, it's a through groove running the length of the parts, For the stiles though, the groove is stopped. With small pieces like this, I prefer tocut groavesat the router STOPPED GROOVES table using a straight bit. The router table is ideal for creating the stopped grooves, as well, The box below shows how it's done. NORE DETALS. Before gluing up the frame, cut the tapers in the rear stiles, And also form the are on the lower rail. This assembly can be glued together. Once it's dry, you can attach it to the back of The frame should be set flush with the top and cen- tered side to side, Start & Stop. Using stop blocks clamped to the router table fence, lower the stile over the spinning bit and side it along the fence Until you reach the stop block, then It the piece off the table FRONT viEW Pao EL, Woodsenithcam * 25FULER STRIP (ores) (Wien 33") (16 6%) DOOR PANEL (ieee) The upper portion of the box has a consistent grain pattern, the box below. I found that a needs a betterlooking solution then go ahead and use it. Ifnot, backer board keeps the bit from than seeing the top, sides, and then a glued-up cap is better causing chip outas theend grain stiles all coming together. Soa than a single piece with widely isbeing routed, single-piece cap is the next piece varying grain, ATIAGIING THE CAR The cap is to make (drawing above). ‘The top has a cove profile glued to the top of the box. Since ‘ONERIECEOR GED. This isthe wid- routed along the lower edges of — the grain in the cap and box runs ‘est part of the project. Since it the sides and front. This echoes in the same direction, you don’t will be a focal point, the impor- the areson the lower parts ofthe have to worry about expansion tant detail here is the grain. If box. Doing thisat the router table and contraction issues. The real you have a board this wide that is the ideal method, as shown in issue here is getting a good fit between the cap and box. sanded the top of the box by applying some sandpaper to the table saw top to create a flat ref- erence surface, Do the same with the underside of the cap and the fit should be seamless. The cap gets glued down flush with the back edge of the box and cen- tered sice to side. FUER STR The final picce to add to the case is a thin filler strip. This is cut to fit along, the upper edge of the case top. It serves as a doorstop to keep the doors flush with the front faceof thestiles and lower rail, Back it Up. Rout the ends of the cap first using a backer board to DOUBLE DOORS prevent chipout. Then form the cave along the front edge — no The two doors for the box are backer board necessary. Sand the profile to remove any bit marks. frame-and-panel construc- tions, just like a larger cabinet. 26 + Woodsmith /No. 249Cut the Grooves. With 2 14" siot cutter, make Form Stub Tenons. stub tenons are made in ‘one pas, flip the piece over and make @ second —_several passes. Raise the rabbeting bit between pass to widen the groove to Ye" teach pass until the stub tenon just fits the groove, Building the doors ona smaller as they do from the outside. the mortises with a straight bit scale means adjusting the pro- I resawed them from thicker in the router table and holding, cess in order to make the pieces stock and planed them to final the door on edge. safely and accurately. For me, thickness —¥%" thick. Along with the knobs, you that meansheading to the router. For narrow panels like this, can then install the ball catches table to cut the joinery you don’t need to worry about _in the upper edges of the doors. STUB TEION & GROOVE The box expansion and contraction, ‘Thecatch plate isaltached to the above shows the two steps. It Which means you can glue them underside of the top. starts with making grooves on into the grooves. Afterassembly, _ AMSH. The box is stained with the inside edge of all the stiles trim the door to size allowing for Varathane’s. “Gunstock” and and rails, asin Figure 1. a %" on all sides. finished with two coats of spray Tlike to use a slot cutter for HINGE MORTSES, Set the doors in satin lacquer. After applying, a the grooves because it cuts place and transfer the hinge finish, you can find it a home smoother and puts less stress on mortise locations from the box and select the treasures you the router compared to using a to the door edges. You can cut want to stare inside. typical straight bit. With such small parts, using a push block i Ree eme amis Pek | Materials, Supplies & Cutting Diagram SeION Tho clos ecticecrats | A Sides) YexSth- BION, 1 Filer stip (1) ex" beusedtemaketheotherparor | 2 WC) Yex5i2- 10% J Doorstles(® ex Nhe - 66 the joint, the stub tenon How. | © Bottom phawer open | SIDE | eoresz%) | i a NOTE: Left and right sige are mirror images Rigid plywood CASE The Shaker dry sink that inspired this cart was made with solid-wood panels for all the main components. That's certainly still an option, but using piywood makes creating panels efficient and easier. MATERIAL GOKES, This cart was made with Baltic birch ply wood. T like how flat, smooth and casy it is to work with I's more expensive than other types of plywood, so feel free to use something else. Even MDF would work. With the sheets on hand, you're faced with cutting them up into project parts. One way to speed up this process is to have the lumberyard or home center break down the full- sized sheets into smaller pieces. Tlike to leave the blanks slightly 40 + Woodsmith /No. 249 PARTTTION (stare 1395") NOTE: Ail parts are" piywoon FRONT ‘VIEW oversize, so T can trim them down to exact size in my shop. JOWERE The parts are joined together with dadees and rab- bets, as shown in details ‘b’ and ‘¢. This creates a stronger over- all assembly than only using screws would. These details also register the parts during the assembly process. Start with cutting dadoes in the sides. A table saw is the logical choice for many, but I prefer to use a handheld router. I like the clean cuts and better ity during the process. A straightedge guide serves for the dadoes. A router-mounted edge guide handles the rabbets. Don’t forget to rout the dades in the lower dividers. It’s a good idea to dry assem- ble the case to determine the final size of the partition, the drawer divider, and back. The partition needs a dado that aligns with the one in the left case side. SHAPING THE SIDES. Form the top and bottom details on the sides once the joinery is complete. A jigsaw works well to shape the step at the top (detail ‘d’) and the “roof peak” at the bottom (detail ‘a’). Although the parts are small enough to handle at the band saw, if you're moreconfident with that option. In either case, drilling the inside radius guarantees” a smooth transition here. ASSEMBLY PROCESS. Before reach- jing for the clamps and glue, make sure to drill the screw: shank holes and access holes in the upper two dividers. These SIXTH: Attach back with gle and screws are necessary to attach the solid Tmo sie arawer ‘wood worksurface later on (if ‘you plan on including it). SECOND: Give lower vider inte lef sie ‘There are a lot of pieces that need to come together during the assembly. So it’s a good idea to have a plan, The box at right shows the approach | took. When the back is clamped in place, you can drive the screws through it and into the other ‘components to reinforce the join- cexy,as in detail ‘a’ You could add screws through the sides, too. But I dint feel it necessary. ‘EVER CASTERS. Going from case to cart simply means adding wheels, The key is getting a solid connection so the cast- cers don’t break off when you hit a crack in the floor (ask me why sometime). The casters we selected incorporate a pair of brackets, bolts, and nuts into the design for a robust connection. ‘The drawings below show the placement and details. FIRST: Assemble Tower dividers ‘3nd partition ‘The Back is Key. The back of the cart is made from +#° plywood and attached with glue and screws. All this adds up to a more stout asserisly for a cart that needs to move around. NOTE: Attach cstoys "ter case assembly caster ~~ Locking Caster ‘wt NOTE: Refer to page 66 for project sourcesNOTE: Worksurface is glued up from 1” thick Douglas fir boards cut 2%" wide. Tray s glued up from "thick Douglas fir Tray front is" plywood. Guides are “a'-thick herewood NOTE: Rout %" chamfer aroun top and dag holes ‘aor are NOTE: Final thickness Of workeurface e205 eG) oe ana) LEE nore: ‘SIDE SECTION TE fase ‘VIEW frome TE Pog hole fd wre senda. wi Yd. Shaker knobs of guide ashighé chomfer ‘on top edge o Solid-wood \WORKSURFACE Because of how convenient ply- ‘The worksurface is an optional wood is for making parts, there piece, but | feel it adds to the isn’t much solid wood on this capabilities of the cart, The thick project. The two places where it _ surface willstand up to wear and makes sense are up next — the _ tear better: It also allows you to ‘worksurface and pull-out tray. employ some typical workbench ® el Dado blade recessed in auliary rip Fence Table Saw Rabbets. Attach an auxiliary fence to the np fence. Then recess a wide ‘dado blade into the fence. This allows you to set the fence to expose the blade so that it matches the width of the rabbet, The blade's height equals the depth. 42 + Woodsmith /No. 249 FRONT VIEW TRAv FRONT hx 34%") o accessories (dogs, hold-downs, etc, for the times when the cart is called up to serve as a reserve bench. I made this worksurface from Douglas fir. LAMINATED CONSTRUCTION. Since it functions like a benchtop, it makes sense that it’s built like one, too. Strips of wood are glued up face to face to create an edge-grain surface that’s both more durable and stable. Don’t think that you need to glue up all the strips at once. That'sa lot of glue joints to man- age while clamping, Instead, take things in small sections. The box on the next page guides you through the steps. Following this process allows you to use a thick- ness planer (and jointer) to level the joints all along the way. Before getting started, you want to make sure to rip’ the sttips lightly wider than the finalthickness of the worksurface. This gives you enough material for planing and jointing without ‘ending up with it too thin. As Figure 1 shows, I like to work in sections of three strips at a time (with one four-strip section). The glue makes things slippery. So this go-easy process helps you keep the strips aligned as the clamps go on. [Now just glue pairs of sections together (Figure la). This leaves you with two uneven halves, that are still narrow enough to pass through “lunchbox” style | Slow & Steady Wins the Race. While it can be tempting to go bia when gluing up planers (Figure 2) the worksurface, a better approach isto glue three to four strgs instead, After passing The last glueup is easily flat- tened, as shown in Figure 3. A straightedgehelps you ferret out any low spots while sanding. the sections through the planer (both faces), glue them into wider sections (detail a’) GHUMFRS & HOUS. After leveling, tg a graipmecge the worksurface can be trimmed “pots in panel to size (upper drawing on the previous page). In onder to pre- vent the edges from chipping, rout a chamfer around the top. This piece doesn’t need really need dog holes, but they're handy. Figure 4 shows you how to drill them accurately. Most of the holes could be drilled with a drill press, if you have one. The top isn’t too difficult to manage ‘on the drill press table if you set Lup some extra support Grab the router again and chamfer the edges of the holes, | Two Halves. Take light passes when Belt Sander. A belt sander quickly levels Screws hold the worksurface to | planing the halves, Remove just enough and smooths the worksurface, With the the cart, Just don’t attach it until | to get a level surface, previous steps, this should go fast. you've completed the painting ‘and finishing, TRAY. The other solid-wood part is the tray. This is a more standard glued up panel. But in a twist, [added a plywood edg- ing strip to the front to fill the ‘opening, as in detail ‘b’ on the previous page. The edging is rabbeted to fit around the panel, as illustrated in the lower draw- ing on the previous page. ‘The last parts to add are the | _ Drilling Bench Dog Holes. A portable drill guide holds a cri perfectly square to guides that hold the tray level. | the surface. For thick stock, a spade bit works efficiently. You could use a Forstner Sand these so the tray slides | _ bit, however you'll need to stop and clear the chips to prevent clogging. smoothly without binding Woosseniti.com * 43Now throw in some STORAGE The interior of the cartprovides while the sides and back are cutting a dado at each end of all welcome storage space. Espe- made from %" plywood. The _ the sides, as shown in detail ‘a’ Gially since it can be rolled up bottoms are 4” plywood, but — You'lluse these to set up tomake to your workbench —or where _that’snot really a surprise. the mating cuts, ever you're working intheshop. ‘The drawer fronts are sized to On the drawer fronts, cut a Three drawers (in two sizes) _ fill their respective opening with deep sloton each end. The width ‘occupy most of the space. The a Ys" gap all around. The other of the slot matches the nub on remaining compartment is cov- parts are sized to accommodate the end of the side. The tongue ered with a door. So you have _fullextension drawerslides, formed on the inside face of the ‘good options for organizing. While there are two sizes of front needs to match the size of ‘aAWERS FIRST. Continuing with drawers, they share the same the dado in the side (detail ‘c). the theme, the drawers are all joinery and construction. I used Next you need to trim away the made with plywood. Take a a locking rabbet at the front and _ inner tongue to accept the drawer moment to look over the parts tongue and dadoat the back. _side andl to cover the slides. ‘andnotice that thedrawerfronts With your stacks of parts on YouTIfind that thingsare more are made from %" plywood hand, the joinery begins with straightforward on the backs. NOTE: Drawer fronts are 3" -thick plywood. ‘Bottoms are 1a plywood” Sides and Backs are 3 thick plywood —® DRAWER FRONT (ours) DRAWER FRONT (670% 19%") view S748 44 © Woodsmith /No. 249All you're doingiis cutting a rab- bet that leaves a tongue to fit snugly in the dado in the side (Geiail ‘a’ on the previous page). ‘The groove for the drawer bot tom is the simplest of all. About the only thing to note is to size the groove to accept the bottom panel, which may be slightly less than 4’, asshown in detail ‘d’on the previous page. ‘Asa callback to the Shaker dry ik, T used wood Shaker-style knobs for the pulls on the draw- cers, as shown in detail ‘c’ Pivot hinge DOOR » Tralmost feels like edasting home when it comes to making the door. Like the drawer fronts, it's sized for a 4s" gap all around. Pivot hinges are used to attach it to the cart. These hinges fit into shallow holes drilled into the cart and are screwed to the back face of the door. There's a partictilar order to make this work. I set the lower hinge into its hole in Magnet washer the cart: Then I attached the top hinge to the door and slipped it in place. Finally, screw the lower hinge to the door. Another Shaker knob completes the work. FINSHING TOUCHES. The tray and worksurface are protected with ‘a couple of coats of thinned var- nish. The cart has two coats of paint for some flair. From there, you'll find this cart serves as a Stalwart sidekick while you work on your future projects, I Materials, Supplies & Cutting Diagram A Sides (2) Yaply-20%32' Q Lower Dwr Bots. (2) Ye ply x 1844- 18% + (d) Caster Brackets w/o & Nuts B Dividers () apy 19%4x35% R Door) “ply 14.x14% © (pr) 18" FulrExtension Drawer Slides Parition (1) SAply- 194K 151% © (2)34*-dia, Shaker Knobs wiScrews D Drawer Divider (I) ply-194x20% © (17}4#8x 1/2" Fh Woodscrews + (5) 1%2" dia, Shaker Knobs wiScrews E Back (1) YAply- 2614x351 * (€)2"-ha, Locking Swivel Casters © (2) %e"-a, x54" Dowels F Worksurface (1) 24x 19-34% G Try(t) 4x 18%4- 38% 40 746-72" Douglas Fr (7 Bd. Ft) H Tray Front (1) ply x1 - 34% A 1 Saar — J Top Du Sides (2) plyx5%- 19 K L Top Dwr Front (1) %aply x5%-34% Top Dwr Back (1) apy x¥e- 33% M Top Dur Bottom (1) % ply x 1872-3314 'N Lower Dow Sides(@) "ply x6%-19 1°16". 72" Doulas fr (3.8 Bd. Ft) © Lower Dow. Fronts (2) %4 ply x6%- 1934 Lower Dum. Backs (2) “spy x67%- 18% 11x 71s"- 72" Douglas fic (4.7 Bd. Ft) Woodseniticam + 45HEIRLOOM siei aa fe seen ene fe drawer front, upper stretcher, Pe ee et ee ere th a glaring contrast, but a ice material variation. Waterfall Bookcase With subtle, solid style and refined flourishes this storage masterpiece looks as though it was built for a king. That's because it was. Ms: ‘bookcases in our day and age stay mainly in the safe, practi- lane of utility. All we're looking for is a sturdy set of shelves to stow away treasured old books, games, and maybe display a few favored curios. As you see in the photos here, this bookcase does all that in a style that makes plain boxes blush. HSTORICAL H@RMAGE. The bloodline of this book- case goes back to the third era of the Georgian period of design (which started with King George 1). That time is often referred to as the “Golden Age” of furniture making. The hallmarks of that era are captured in this fine interpretation in several ways. ‘As you see here, the “waterfall” speaks to the treatment ofthe sides of thecase, There are five tiers that widen as they godown the sides. ‘The tiers are separated by scalloped profiles removes those top-heavy anxious moments that lesser bookcases often suffer from. Also, you'll note the edges of the sides, shelves, and top of thebookease are laced with, beaded edging, (A double bead on the thicker pieces while the thinner pieces are adorned witha single bead.) But the fine details don't end there. There's inlay on the upper stretcher and the drawer front to sink your teeth into. So, what are you waiting for? Turn the page and dive into this regal project. Woodsmth.com © 47Making the 5!DE5, SHELVES, & STRETCHERS Asyouseeiin the drawings to the right, there are a lot details that {g0 into making the side panels. Considering all that work made it an easy decision to glue up panels from hardwood instead of resorting to using plywood. ‘GUE UP THE SIDES. My goal was to contol where glue lines landed in relation to the front edge pro- file. With that in mind, [ chose wide panels to start with and added a narrow board on the front. While the glue was dry- ing, it’ time to make a template. TINPUTE. The easiest way to shape the contour of the sides iswith a template, a router, and a flush trim bit. Start by laying ‘out the shape on a piece of MDE Dinaerneane —_(usethedimensionsin theeleva~ alabie at tion view of the main drawing). wWoocsmincom2s2 Shaping the template is done with a combination of tools. Double-beade Centering rabbet 48 + Woodsmith /No. 249 SIDE. cstx6s") Ttation 13% % Starting over at the table saw, cut the long, straight sections between each scallop by adjust- ing the rip fence after each pass. Keep the blade back from the curve of the scallop — you'll shape those next with a jigsaw. When you're done cutting, sand the curves smooth. ‘Now place the MDF template ‘on the case side and trace its pro- file. After you've roughed out the shape, attach the template and rout the case sicle smooth. Leave the template on for the next step, which is routing the beaded edge. ‘WE BEADED PROFILE. The front edge ofthesides hasa double-beaded profile that you'll create with your router and a bit designed for the task. The box to the left gives you the gist of what it MOTE: The case shleg are thick hardvoos NOTE: All dadoes Sd stretcher ge. and we deep takes to create the edge. But there's some fussing involved with the process, the article on page 58 shows you how. INSIDE FACE. A handful of cladoes and grooves are needed on the inside face of the sides for the shelves, bottom, and stretchers. I started with the dadoes for the shelves and bottom. ‘Tokeep thesealigned perfectly to each other, T laid the sides back to back on the workbench and used a jig witha router andbushing to make the dadoes. ‘There's information about thisjig, at Woodsuith.com,/249, For the short grooves for the stretchers, taped a guide block to the sides and used a patter bit. OUTSIDE FACE. There are two shal- low dadoes on the outside face of the sides. The narrow one at the top is partof the trim that the upper stretcher sits on (detail ‘a’ ‘on previous page). The wider, lower one is even with the bot- tom panel. Imade both with my router and a straight bit guided bya bushing. ‘MMOTHER TEMPLATE. You need to make a short template for the bottom of the sides (detail ‘c previous page). After roughing ‘out the shape on the sides, use the template and a pattern Bit to clean up the contour. BET THE BACK. Cut the rabbet in the back to hold the plywood panel you'll install later (detail “b’ previous page). With that the sides are done, but there’s more ‘work to do before assembly. PLYWOOD & MORE ‘What brings the sides together structurally are four plywood shelves and a bottom, The tongues on these parts (detail “p') join with the dadoes you made in the sides. They all have a hardwood edge that has the same double-beaded profile you routed on the sides (etail ‘a’. EDGING Hex, The edging for the shelves is trapped between the sides. So it's just a matter of cut- ting the nose pieces flush to the shoulders of the plywood, then routing the double bead. ‘The edging for the bottom, and the trim under the upper stretcher (which is a narrower single-beaded profile) are cus- tom-fit after the bookcase is assembled (detail ‘a’) STRETGHER DECORATION. First, cut the tongues on the ends of both pieces at the table saws, then set aside the upper stretcher. Turn UPPER STRETCHER O22) may (x 70" rep) NOTE, estes are 14 plywood. The sheleagy andes a Sapte hardowod. The stretcher ‘edging is thik hardvrood The inlay sf ctick Tharcbvood! The ‘back 3" wood! FONG, PIN, amo steer CEO 20") Nore: poet ond bottom ‘a thinner than shelf edging SHELF EDGING SECOND SHELF CNR) (a 32) NOTE: Air holes "ih back allow drawer to move easilyn ‘opening ~—_gorron STRETCHER aaa") your attention to roughing out the shape on the bottom of the stretcher. Like on the sides, use the template to rout the profile. The top stretcher is a whole different ball of wax. The face of the stretcher is decorated by a narrow inlay thathas an inverted adiusat cach comer. The details for making the grooves and the inlay are on the next page. ‘WE BAEK. Tt can be hard to find 14" mahogany plywood, so you can make the back out of two layers of 14" if need be. In any case, you'll need to shape the bottom edge with the same tem- plate you used on the bottom stretcher. The back gets attached to the case with screws at the very end of the project, Fornow, you've got some groovy work and inlay to do. Woodkeniticom + 49Next up LAY & ASSEMBLY The thought of doing inlay work can be intimidating at first. But the reality is that with some upfront planning, along with the proper tools and a well-made jig, success is all but guaranteed. ‘The tools you'll need to make the groove area plunge router, a straight bit paired with a bush- ing, anda template. The template yousee here is available at Wood- suuiticom,/249 The inlay pattern for the stretcher and drawer front are identical. The pattern on the stretcher isa little narrower, but the stop lines accounts for that. After the template is made, it’s time to put it to work rout- ‘orale pate ing the grooves for the inlay the fenpate, go‘, dzawing to the right walks you through the steps. Firs, align the template and attach it with dou- ble-sided tape. When routing the ‘grooveit's best to keep light, out- ward pressure on the template to censure the groove you're mak- ingissmooth when it transitions from the straight sections to the curves of the template. straight bit FIRST: Attach template with (double-sided tape ‘NOTE: Template ‘details are salable SECOND: Rout top Thalfof inlay | ‘pattern THIRD: Fp, empiate ond rout lower holt of stretcher NOTE: Template wobed to park on craw frant Flip the template and repeat zero-clearance insert for_my the grooving process on the table saw. There are three things other side. The router bit will _ to consider here: make plenty of leave the comers rounded. Just strips, and make them slightly square them up with a chisel, thicker so you can sand them then it’s time to make the inlay. flush to the surface of the work- ‘WAKING THE NY. To rip the nar piece. The third thing to tackle is, row, thin pieces needed for how to form the curved comers. the inlay T made a brand new — TLwalk you through how Marc, INSTALLING THE INLAY AIRST: Trim long inlay ‘rips matching the are of trecorners Straight Pieces First. The long straight pieces of inlay are installed first. The shorter pieces of inlay are trimmed and glued in place next. 50 * Woodsmith /No. 249 Cool Corners. Lay a corner piece over the grooves and mark the end points a little long to let you sneak up on the ft.‘our shop craftsman did this. He began with 12"-long strips. SHAPING THE CORNERS, Marc started by soaking the strips he cut for the comers in hot water. While rummaging around the shop hhe found that the radii of the inlay corner and the metal noz- zle of his heat gun were a close enough match, so he decided to use it, along with a piece of flashing to shape the pieces. With the gun nozzle very hot, he wrapped the wet wood around the tip of the gun. To pre- vent the inlay from splitting he ‘used the flashing over the inlay tohold itagainst the barrel of the gun. He made some extra cor- ners and set them aside to cool INSTALUNG THE INLAY. As the box ‘on the bottom of the previous Page shows, the straight strips {go in first. Start with the long ‘ones, then short pieces. T used a stiff inexpensive artists brush to apply the glue directly where I wanted it in the groove, avoid- ing any excess mess. ‘The corners come last. After they're marked for length, use a sharp chisel to slice the ends. A Jot of work has been done up to this point without much to show for it other than a pile of panels stacked around the shop, that’s about to change. ASSEMBLY ‘There are a lot of big parts to wrangle when assembling the bookcase. The drawings above show you how to put the case together. When the glue is dry and the clamps tucked away, tum your attention to the last detail on the case — attaching the wrapped edging, NOTCHES FIRST. The edging that ‘goes on the bottom panel, and underneath the upper stretcher wraps around the sides of the bookcase. This simple extension ‘of edging at the top and bottom of the project adds a lotof visual interest to the bookcase. THIRD: Glue remaining shelves ‘and upper stretchers to side FIRST: Give Sretcher to ss ‘sono sam sore to mee teem ar ste eee a Per ide rouge ge a ETI Lay ase on its ‘back to notch sides for wrapped edging ‘To accomplish this you need to notch the front edge where the case and edging will intersect. Do this with a backsaw and a chisel. Details ‘a’ and ‘b’ show this for both instances. UPPER EDGING. As | mentioned carlier, the upper edging is a narrower piece of wood with a single bead. The edging frames the upper stretcher, for now, we're only installing the lower piece (detail a’) ‘The long piece across the front is mitered like the piece you just installed on the bottom. Here though, you glue and clamp it to the underside of the upper stretcher. After that, miter and ‘rim the returning parts like you did on the bottom,NOTE: The drawer front "3 made from tethick hardwood. The back, ‘and cides sre ‘hi made trom Drawer s0TTOM O3uexsTo) DRAWER FRONT (hex 32") Finish up with the DR AVE & TOP DRAWER SIDE ick (ONES ‘The drawer that resides in the the sides there's a rabbet to join bottom of the bookcase has an _ firmly with the back. clegance all its own. As you sce ‘The back and sides have a in the drawing above, the front groove on the inside face for ofthedrawer has thesameinlay the drawer bottom. The drawer pattem as the upper stretcher (I__ front has a stopped groove to did the inlay on the drawer front discreetly hold the bottom in and stretcher at the same time). place. One other thing about I's the sides and the back, | chose some generously sized half-blind to make them out of walnut. Tt dovetails. At the other end of complements the inlay. LOCATING THE SOCKETS Penxil Perfection. Tracng the profie of the dovetail pins onto ‘the sides of the drawer front guarantees a perfect ft. Make sure ‘the work surface or benchtop s flat when doing ths. 52 * Woodsmith /No. 249 SIE THE PIECES. So, standard operating, procedure here, cut the sides, back, and plywood bottom to final size. Go ahead and notch the ply- wood bottom on the front corners (detail ‘e)). This is where the bottom joins the groove in the drawer front. ‘GROOVES NEXT. Speak- ing of grooves, they normally would be done on the table saw. But in this instance, I switched to the router table for the ease of doing that stopped groove in the drawer front I mentioned earlier. But the table saw need not feel left out, I used it to cut the rabbets in the sides (detail “’). The other end of the sides is what's next on the menu — dovetails. Large half-blind dovetails to be exact, DOVETAR PMS. I must confess, the two large dovetail pins you sec in detail ‘c’ above were a lot of fun to make. I could have laid them out and chopped them at thebench, But Ihad a hankering todo them quickly. I did lay them out with a sharp. pencil, but then T moved them over to the router table. It was a simple matter of standing, the workpieces against a tall aux- iliary fence and nibbling to the lines with a 14° dovetail bit, Soa. The completed pins are used as the pattern for the sock- ets on the drawer front. As the bbox to the left shows, al it takes isa flat surface and a sharp pen- «il to scribe the profile of the tail‘on to the drawer front. As for cutting the sockets, I took a nice quiet break from the machinery ‘and hand cut them at the bench. Gluing up the drawer was a breeze with such fine-fitting ery. It gave me time to plan the final moves of this project, making the top. ‘The top of the bookcase consists of three pieces. A plywood lid, that’smade from the same mate- rial as the back. Glued to that is some hardwood edging that matches the edging below the stretcher. And topping the case off is a thick hardwood crown. [ started by sizing the lid that the ‘edging will be glued to. DGING. Before routing the bead profile on the edging, I mitered and glued the blanks to the plywood lid. With that ground work done, I glued the lid to the top of the bookcase. Top EDGING (ern s2"ra THE CROWN, Sizing the thick ‘material for the crown is the first ‘order of business. Then at the router table, shape the lower edge with a roundover bit (detail ‘a’), I mitered and glued up the three pieces of the crown SIDE SECTION VIEW “SHOTE: The top edging s made ram fe -ek farvsed = The id phwood The crown to each other on the flat surface of my workbench. My bench dogs and vise came in handy here, When the crown was dry and cleaned up, I glued it to the lid. This kingly bookcase is now ready to shine in your home. Materials, Supplies & Cutting Diagram A. Sides (2) Ux15-65 1 BottomStretcher(1) —_-%x4-32% Q Lid (1) Va ph-Tax 32% B_ Bottom (1) YpyS%x32% 4 UpperStetcher(t —_-Y4xdlb-32% Tope dgng(It} x %4-S2 gh © Bottom Shel (1) Yeply-13%@x32% K inlay ‘ex "-1801gh. S$ Crown 1274-55 19h D second Shelt(1) Yply-11"iex32% L_ Back 1) Yo ply-B2%x 65% + (4) Bail Pils E Third Shelf (1) Yaply-10%32'% —M Drawer Sides(2) "ax 6%s-13% + 2) Drawer Puls F Fourth Shelf(1) %aply=8%45%32% N_ Drawer Back (1) Yx®%e-31% + (18) 6x 1%" Fh Woodscrews G Shel Edging ¥ex%-196 1h. Drawer Bottom (1) ply- 13%4x31% H. Stretcher Edging Yex'a-55 gh. P Drawer Front(1) Ye x6%e- 2D % Maher 0.86 Fe Each 1x4" 60" ny (2.5 BFL) rr rare 77 Manage 880) (3.8 66. Ft) WeX7.5*- 72" Mah 4 a FINISH: The Waterfall Bookcase was Slalned with General Finishes Candlelight” star. After stain, the bookzate was sprayed with = Couple of coats of lacquer ALSO NEEDED: One 49x96" Sheet of SG Mahogany Plywood. One 24°x 43" Sheet . Manegany Pymood, One 48x96" Sheet of " Mahogany Plywood 15" Walnut (1.0 Sa Ft Woodkonithcam * 53mn the surface, tuming and you simply “tum” away the a sphere appears to be shadow until your workpiece straightforward. After all, lathes (and shadow) match the target. make things round, right? Well, THESEUR When you set up your tuming a perfect sphere can be light above your lathe, you'll a tricky endeavour, When Iwas want to pay attention to a few asked to turn the sphere for things, Fist, the light must be the weathervane on page 28,1 plumb and centered above your thought it would be fun to try a workpiece. I used a plumb bob couple of different techniques. held on the light to make sure it hit dead-center of where my sphere would take shape. The technique I used is called Second, you'll want to set the shadow turning. And while it platform up with your target sounds like Imay beusing some where the banjo won't interfere long-lost Kung-Fu woodtuming This might mean setting up the technique it’s really quitesimple. platen on blocks to allow the UcHT YOUR WAX. The shaclow banjo to slide under it. Finally, tuning process requires a little you'll have to do some simple set up. In short, you suspend a math (ee below) and print off a powerful light above your lathe, — target that is slightly larger than and use it to create a shadow of your target diameter, because of your workpiece on a platen. On _ the shadow magnification. the platen, you print out a “tar BABY STEPS. Once your setup get” of what you want to tum.In is ready, you can attach your this case, that’s a perfect sphere. blank to a faceplate or chuck. You can see this setup below. Start with the tailstock support- ‘The light projects the shadow of ing the end, and tum the blank your workpiece onto the target, round, and to the final diameter (top photo). Watch the shadow, and Stop just shy of the shadow touching the target Next, I thin out the waste near thehead and tal stock, 45° cuts to turn the something more like alumpy top (middle photo). Again, watch the shadows to avoid removing any z material past the target. If you & Whiletuning a sphere, standard tuning ules apphy Pay must move your toolrest and attention to proper tol presentation, and watch the accidently bump the platen, i's shadow onthe far side ofthe late to judge progress. ceasy to realign it to the shadow. soo OWL At this point, FNAL SANDING. To smooth out you're just going to keep work the sphere, hold it between cup away the comers using centers, either purchased or the shadow as a guide. I use shop-made (photo on previous a spincle or bow! gouge and page). Then, sand away any ride the bevel to try to get a remaining lumps or nubs, mak- smooth shape —like rolling the ing sure to rotate the sphere in world’s largest bead. Once you the centers to avoid flat spots. y get close, you can use a scraper While the shadow turning in SH (use a skew as a scraper, bot- technique is coo!, there are also ‘Measure then divide YbyX Then tom photo) to refine the profile. commercial jigs for making, ‘mutiply that umber by thedesied Next, remove as much waste _sphereseasily: On the next page, sphere iametertocaluate the as you can from the two ends we'll lookat the Perfect Sphere ig size of the target cde before cutting the sphere free. from Carter Products joe Seb Zara Woodsmth com « 55For those of us that have a desire to tum alotof spheres, the Perfect Sphere fig from Carier Products is worth a look, It has many appli- cations, but turning spheres is the main one. Its small cup cutter is perfect for wood and synthetics alike. (I'm seeing a resin spherearticle in my future!) One note before you get started. You'll want to make sure to rough turn your blank before attacking it with the jig, The Per fect Sphere Tig is a refining, tool ‘You don’t want to remove a lot of material with it, so T try and get my blank close to final size. THE WORKINGS. The jig, works by rotating the small cup cutter (upper photo, below) around a pivot point. The cutting head can be advanced, retracted, angled and even skewed for a The small cup cutter is designed for clean cuts in both wood and synthetic materials Once the baseplate is setup for your lathe, it doesn't need adjusted again The rules on the plate make ita simple task to get it perfectly centered 56 * Woodsmith /No. 249 The Perfect Sphere Jig mounts directly to the bed of the lathe. A s wing arm hhas holes in four different spots forthe riser post, allowing you to make different diameter spheres, ranging from 1° to 14” in diameter. wide variety of tool pre- sentations. You do have to order the jig based on the size of your lathe (its swing, or height of head- stock), but the base has a couple of different riser post locations _allow- ing you to turn different sized spheres. Te stuR ‘The Perfect Sphere Jig does take a lit- tle initial setup. To start, you need to make sure that the base plate (lower left photo) is centered on your lathe bed. The engraved rule makes that an easy task, Then, you can adjust the spacers to lock that setting in for good The riser post mounts to the swing arm in one of the four holes, then the swing arm is bolted to the base. Then, you can slide the jig towards the headstock and adjust the cutter head height so it’s dead c ter with the lathe. I use a drive spur as reference to make sure i's accurate. There's one final adjustment, but that requires the sphere blank to be loaded. THE BLANK, Now, you can load. up the blank in the lathe. Like the shadow jig, its not terribly important how it’s held. I prefer a face plate for this jig, however. With the blank loaded, position Swing Cutter. d The jig swings to the left and the right around a pivot point to create the sphere the jig so that it's at 90° to the lathe. Then, center the cutter on the blank. Now, you can lock the jig in place with a wrench OAT UKE A BUTTERFLY AS you pre- pare to make your first cuts, keep in mind that there’s the potential for a Tot of torque hore. So, keep your cuts extremely light. With the lathe off, advance the cutter until it just kisses the workpiece. Then, swing it through its full range of motion. You'll see where your high points are, and back the cutter off so that the high points get cut first. Again, make sure those high-point cuts are, you guessed it, light. MAKE YOUR FIRST CUTS. With the cutter back in the center po tion, you can turnon your lathe and swing the cutter through its full-range of motion, likeStart with light cuts to remove the high spots, before advancing the cutter to create a perfect sphere, you see in Photo 1. Keep in mind that you won't be able to cut all the way to the headstock or tailstock. Watch those areas 0 you don’t run into either of them, Don’t worry, we'll clean them up later. After the first pass, advance the cutter slightly, and make another cut, Continue to do this until you're getting a full cut along the cenier section of the sphere and you get close final diameter. Leave alittle material fora finishing cut and sanding SKEW THE HEAD. After the major- ity of the sphere is close to finished, you can skew the tailstock and head stock. cutter head to reach by the headstock and tailstock. The cutter will angle both ways, so work on one end at a time before you switch to the oppo- site side. When you angle the head, you'll have to readjust the cutter and nibble away the waste. Finish up by blending, the center section fo the ends by making one cut from cen- ter to the end, You can see this angled cut in Photo 2, ‘GT IT 10058. When you've gone as far as you can with the head and tailsteck in place, you can use a pull saw to cut the sphere Toose (Photo 3). Just like the Cup centers, either homemade or a pair like these from Carter Product, allows you to hold the sohere while removing the flat spots using the sphere jig. The centers also make sanding the sphere a breeze esto ‘Angling the cutter head allows you to ‘After going as far as you can with the reach into the tight areas next to the shadow method earlier in this article, you'll want to rechuck the sphere with the nubbins sticking out. I use the Carter cup centers (below) for this, After chucking up the sphere, recenter the jig and use the same light cuts to remove the rest of the waste (photo below). like using the cup centers for this, because it’s easy to loosen the tailstock and rotate the sphere slightly. This allows you to cut or sand the sphere from many directions, while making sure it stays round Turning a sphere may not be an every day task, but what a fun technique to try. And some- times, it’s just refreshing to try something that’s out of the ordinary. Plus, there’s just something cool about holding a big, heavy wooden ball that you turned uber cu hold trely thot tee Woodsmth com « 57 headstock and tail stock in place, cut the sphere free using a handsaw.Amana Tool ‘isate2 The two bits we used on the waterfell bookcase came ‘rom Amana Tool. The double-beaded bit was used on the case and shelves. The single was used onthe top. 58 + Woodsmith /No. 249 hirty-five years ago I fell in love with my first router. It was a Bosch 1604 and T still have it in my shop. One of my children will have to d what to do with it, because I'm never parting with the old boy. “The magic of watching a router work has never faded for me. Fir- ing the tool up and watching it devoura square edge while leav- ing behind asmooth, succulently shaped profile is a delight that never diminishes (photo above). “The shaping satisfaction sa dust really flies when using bits like the two beading bits yousee to the left. But that’s just icing on the cake in this instance. Com- plex profiles like these also save a lot of work when you're craft- ingga project that harkens back to an earlier furniture style. The design DNA of the water- fall bookcase on page 46 comes from the third era of the Geor- Weekly eTips / Get a video tip sent to you every week v Includes a printable, step-by-step tip Ready when you are — on any device Desktop Tablet ‘Smartphone Sign up today at W