Woodworker's Journal - December 2016

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HARDWARE LOOK GOOD; FOOD-SAFE FINISHES
HOLIDAY GIFT
SECTION!
“America’s leading woodworking authority”™
40
YEARS
Gift Projects
Galore!
INSIDE:
Band Saw Box
Handcarved Gift
Turned Rolling Pins
… and More!
December 2016
Page 72
Display until January 2, 2017
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Wo o d w o r k e r ’s J o u r n a l
Contents
December 2016 Vo l u m e 4 0 , N u m b e r 6
HOLIDAY GIFT
Projects SECTION!
starts on
page 31
Trapezoid
Band Saw Box
By David Picciuto
Make a simple box with not
much more than a band saw,
Inlaid Picture Frame Page 72
clamps and some sanding. By Chris Marshall
Page 42
Made-to-order inlay adds an elegant stripe
which ups the ante on a basic picture frame.
3 Kitchen Doodads
By A.J. Hamler
These quick-to-make
kitchen conveniences
include a set of tongs,
a banana hanger and
a pasta pair: measure
and server.
Carved Shrink Boxes Page 58

By Kimberly McNeelan
Handcarved boxes made with green
wood “Viking technology.” Page 50
Pizza Cutter Block Turned Rolling Pins

By Alan Vondran By Ernie Conover
A router jig with two A turned cylinder forms the basis for
templates creates rolling pins with rotating handles or without. Page 36
the recessed
storage for your
pizza cutter in
this handy
storage block.
Page 33
4 December 2016 Woodworker’s Journal

Departments
8 Letters 24 Reader’s Survey 74 What’s in Store

Buzz about our beehive project; Find out what kinds of gifts New tools add size upgrades and
benefits of plywood as a jig base; fellow woodworkers make (and other improvements.
project building brags. what’s on their own wish lists).
86 Finishing Thoughts
14 Tricks of the Trade 26 Shop Talk Wax, oil and film finish options
Ease your dry fits with custom Imagination’s the limit as brothers for kitchenware projects — plus a
size dowels, plus more tricks. create a home library with their bonus spatula plan.
CarveWright.
18 Questions & Answers/Stumpers 90 Hey … Did You Know?
The advantages of a drop cut; how 63 Today’s Shop Wood strong enough to stop a
to harvest burl. Mark sure your projects look speeding cannonball.
as great as you’ve built them to
22 Technology & Woodworking be with Sandor Nagyszalanczy’s
DeWALT brings battery power to helpful tips on hardware choice
table saws with its FlexVolt™ 60V and installation.
MAX* platform.
woodworkersjournal.com
Y ikes, it’s already November! I don’t know about you, but every year
the holiday season sneaks up on me and I have to scramble to make
a bunch of gifts. If you’re in the same boat as me, you’ll be happy to see
several great project ideas in this issue, and you can find many more on
woodworkersjournal.com.
Don’t forget to take pictures of your finished work and send them to
us. Seeing your work is an inspiration to your fellow subscribers.
Here are the best ways to share your projects:
1. Upload them to Reader’s Project Gallery at
www.woodworkersjournal.com/readers-project-gallery
2. Post them in the Visitor Posts section on our Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/woodworkersjournal
3. Post them on Instagram and tag us in the description by including our username
@woodworkersjournal
4. Mail your photo prints to: Woodworker’s Journal, 4365 Willow Dr., Medina, MN 55340
I can’t wait to see what you build next!

— Dan Cary

Letters ROCKLER PRESS
THE VOICE OF THE WOODWORKING COMMUNITY
DECEMBER 2016
Volume 40, Number 6
Woodworking Circa 1977 ROB JOHNSTONE Publisher
ALYSSA TAUER Associate Publisher
40 YEARS OF FURNITURE, GIFTS AND FUN... JOANNA WERCH TAKES Editor
In 1977 I was stationed at Port Hueneme, California, taking CHRIS MARSHALL Senior Editor
care of sick sailors and their families. On the other side of JEFF JACOBSON Senior Art Director
the country, in New Milford, Connecticut, James McQuillan JOE FAHEY Associate Art Director
DAN CARY Senior Web Producer
had the crazy idea to start a woodworking magazine for home
MATTHEW HOCKING Internet Production Coordinator
shop woodworkers. Looking at his first editorial, he identified
MARY TZIMOKAS Circulation Director
the desire to build things from wood and to create things LAURA WHITE Fulfillment Manager
with your own hands as a panacea of sorts, a way to escape
Founder and Chairman
from and cope with the day’s “technological explosion and its mixed blessings.” I am ANN ROCKLER JACKSON
guessing that strikes a familiar chord with you who are reading this editorial four
decades later.
Publisher Emeritus
LARRY N. STOIAKEN
This issue is the last one of the year in which Woodworker’s Journal is celebrating
Contributing Editors
its 40th year in print. Lots of things have changed since 1977, and woodworking has NORTON ROCKLER
not been immune to the effects of time. We have gizmos and gadgets that in 1977 SANDOR NAGYSZALANCZY
would have seemed like they were stolen from Star Wars (another ‘77 startup), but ERNIE CONOVER
now they don’t raise an eyebrow. Even so, the core of the craft is unchanged. And in Advertising Sales
my opinion, the motivations of woodworkers are the same as well. DAVID BECKLER National Sales Representative
Woodworkers made gift projects “way back then,” and in this issue we are offer- dbeckler@woodworkersjournal.com
ing some ideas to help you in your holiday goals. We’ll also teach a few techniques (469) 766-8842 Fax (763) 478-8396
and offer a few shop tricks to make your shop time easier and more productive, and Editorial Inquiries
talk about a couple of tools of interest. JOANNA WERCH TAKES
Pretty good fare in the 21st century, or way back in 1977. jtakes@woodworkersjournal.com
— Rob Johnstone Subscription Inquiries

(800) 765-4119 or
Beekeeper Buzzkill? www.woodworkersjournal.com
I don’t want to be a “buzz kill,” but Write Woodworker’s Journal, P.O. Box 6211,
the August 2016 issue touched on Harlan, IA 51593-1711
a hobby of mine that I take very email: WWJcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com. Include mailing
seriously. [“Backyard Beehive”]. label for renewals and address changes. For gift
subscriptions, include your name and address and
For 50 years, I have been a bee- your gift recipient’s.
keeper. Before 1984, beekeepers
faced fewer problems. Compared Book Sales and Back Issues
to today’s challenges, it was a Call: (800) 610-0883
www.woodworkersjournal.com
“walk in the park.” We now con-
tend with varroa mites, tracheal Other Questions or Problems
mites, African hive beetles and Call: 763-478-8255
colony collapse disorder. rjohnstone@woodworkersjournal.com
Building a backyard beehive
and throwing in some bees with- Woodworker’s Journal (ISSN: 0199-1892), is published in February,
out really knowing what you’re April, June, August, October and December by Rockler Press Inc.,
doing will doom the bees to Prior to acquiring bees, learn, 4365 Willow Dr., Medina, MN 55340. Periodical postage paid at
failure. I have seen it too often. learn, learn! There are numerous Medina, Minnesota and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send
all address changes to Woodworker’s Journal, P.O. Box 6211, Harlan,
People want to save the bee and books on the subject. I suggest
IA 51593-1711. Subscription Rates: One-year, $19.95 (U.S.); $28.95
save the planet. There is a huge that you read a minimum of two U.S. funds (Canada and other countries). Single copy price, $5.99.
difference between a “bee haver,” of them, join a local beekeeping Reproduction without permission prohibited. Publications Mail Agreement
which your article implies, and Number 0861065. Canadian Publication Agreement #40009401.
a beekeeper. Continues on page 10 ... ©2016 Rockler Press Inc. Printed in USA.

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Letters continued
club and find a mentor

There’s more online at who has at least 10
woodworkersjournal.com years of experience
as a beekeeper. You
MORE ON THE WEB
will quickly realize
Check online for more content
covering the articles below: that beekeeping is a
year-round responsibility and Everything Old is New
Questions & Answers
commitment. It is not to be I love the new take on
(page 18): Cutting stopped
taken lightly. the “Lighted Bookshelf”
dadoes (video)
Mike Niemeyer in the August issue with
Technology & Woodworking Bright, Indiana the dovetails, but similar
(page 22):
technology that makes
DeWALT 60V MAX* Table Saw
in use (video)
Stepping Up it work to my adjustable
Being left-handed and doing “Laminated Bookrack”
Woodturning (page 36): Back to the future with book-
most everything backwards, from the October 1980 issue. shelves: Our reader (and, in 1980,
Turning a cylinder and making
I found the golf ball sugges- I was one of your first con- contributing author) Harvey Helm
French baguette and American
tions for file handles quite tributors in the newspaper likes what he sees.
handled style rolling pins, plus a
pasta cutter (videos) useful [Tricks of the Trade, days. I am now 80 years old
August 2016]. I also figured, and still working every day solid wood is that seasonal
Trapezoid Band Saw Box
if you use a step drill, you in my shop here in Florida. movement will absolutely
(page 42): Full-size pattern (PDF);
get a nice tapered hole that Harvey Helm destroy the jig’s accuracy.
how to apply flocking (video)
seems to hold my files quite Hernando, Florida Please note that Don Phillips
3 Kitchen Doodads (page 50): snugly. Thanks for the tip. I indicated that using plywood
Downloadable plans for Bagel
even aligned the logos on the Plywood a Better Choice would be acceptable, but I
Slicer and Casserole Dish
golf balls so they look nice. I recently cut joints for eight think it is far more than that.
Holder (PDFs)
Ace Potter splined segments on my I believe that not using ply-
Carved Shrink Boxes Moline, Illinois sliding compound miter saw, wood (or MDF) is wrong.
(page 58): Knife skills tech-
which resulted in 16 cuts that Steve Lanier, Ph.D.
niques for carving (video) Lady’s Island, South Carolina
Goosed? were just a Wheaties flake off
Today’s Shop (page 63): Tips On the trivia page of the from dead perfect —
and techniques for hardware August issue [Hey, Did You but off they were. The
installation (video)
Know?], you say that Howard accumulated error as-
Weekend Projects (page 72): Hughes’s Spruce Goose flew sociated with 16 miter
Blending and applying a dye- “quite successfully.” I think cuts at 22.5 ± a flake
tinted epoxy inlay (video) that’s a bit of a stretch. The resulted in a lot of
plane flew only about a mile, bench time fine-tuning
in a straight line, lightly load- with a hand plane and
ed, at an altitude of 70 feet, a homemade shooting
which is well within ground board.
effect. By all reports, the tail Accordingly, I
was twisting and vibrating was more than a
badly. It’s been debated little interested in the
ever since whether it could “Miter Cutting Sled”
have climbed out of ground by Don Phillips in
effect or carried anywhere the June 2016 issue.
near its design load. I think I will probably build
most experts think not, at this jig, but with
A reader believes building
least without significant one major alteration: the base of this jig from plywood will reduce
modification. not building the sled problems with seasonal wood movement.
Chris Landry base from solid wood.
Hudson, New Hampshire The problem with Continues on page 12 ...

New Season Fall 2015
Over 23 New Products
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Letters continued
Please Be Seated
Saw an article in the Letters I made two of the
section of the October issue “Family-made
on the Adirondack chair. Adirondack”
Thought I would share chairs [June 2016]
with you one I made for and used the same
the granddaughter. I scaled method as Chris
down the measurements us- Marshall and his
ing a ruler I purchased that daughter did, with
dropped an inch to .618 of an only a few tweaks.
inch and all the increments It worked out
accordingly. All the mea- pretty well, and I
surements were as the plan ended up with two
said except that they were fantastic chairs.
scaled down and it worked As you can see,
perfectly well. I had to I chose to fit the arms before
scale down the screws the back slats and not the
also and used stainless other way around, like you
panhead 6-gauge and did. In this way, I found it
plugged the holes. easier to distribute the seven
The color is her back slats evenly. Talking
favorite, and she is about the arms, in case you
pleased with it hav- use a piece of 20" scrap
ing come from her material and clamp it next
old pop. Thought it to the back leg, it will assist
might give others you in mounting the arms in
an idea for other an easy way as the back part
items that may also of the arm will rest on this
be made smaller scrap material. Our reader custom built a few
and in scale. As you know, here in benches to properly fit his 10 1⁄2-foot
Barry McIntosh Europe, we do all in meters, long table! They look like they
Greymouth, New Zealand centimeters and millimeters. really did the job.
As the Adirondack chairs are
good all-American and the Stool” [June 2015] and an
Kiwi grandpop builds a
pink Adirondack chair dimensions provided in the 8-foot long outdoor bench
for his granddaughter design are in inches, I chose inspired by the same beauti-
and her buddies. to respect that and adjusted ful design.
my 50-year-old brain from Nici van Nieuwkasteele
centimeters to inches. Norway
Conclusion: A great I was looking for a bench
project, and I loved to make design for my last farmhouse
these chairs starting from table. I found one in your
raw timber and following August 2015 issue [“Easy-
the Imperial system without to-Build Benches”]. I had
converting to metric all the fun building them. I have a
time, which was a pleasant 101⁄2-foot table and thought
eye-opener. I made a few a bench that long would be
mistakes with the stretchers awkward, so I made two 44"
but learned from that. according to your plan and
My next project will be two larger ones at 70" apeice
Kimberly McNeelan’s “Bar to fill out each side.
A pair of chairs look equally as Peter T. Knutsen
good in Norway as they would in Manheim, Pennsylvania
upstate New York.

Tricks of the Trade
Sponsored By
Tricks that Fix Sticky Situations
Don’t Get Stuck Dry-fitting Dowel Joints

Dry-fitting a dowel joint is a must before you glue it together, but the Bar Clamp as Planing Backstop
dowels are made to such tight tolerances that they can get stuck in Holding a box or drawer for final planing can be a
their holes. To prevent this problem, I sand pairs of dowels of different challenge if your bench doesn’t have a vise or bench
sizes down a few thousandths, then I.D. them with markers or dye to dog holes. I find that a bar clamp secured across my
set them apart from the rest of my dowel supply. I save these marked bench can make a handy backstop in these instances.
sets for dry-fitting. They don’t get stuck, and once I know things fit A piece of rubber drawer bottom liner also helps keep
properly, I switch to regular dowels for the final glue-up. things from shifting while I plane.
Dean Ross Charles Mak
Missoula, Monana Calgary, Alberta
DIY Wood Stain

If you want a gloriously rich nut-brown
stain, just mix roofing (lap) cement
and turpentine or mineral spirits
together. It’s an old recipe I’ve used
since I was an antique furniture restor-
er. Lap cement is mostly asphaltum,
which stains wood beautifully. A ratio
of 1:4 lap cement to solvent works well
for me, but there’s no hard-and-fast
rule. Once applied, you can lighten
the color by wiping the wood with
more solvent, or darken by applying
additional stain coats. It’s also a good
way to use up extra lap cement.
Paul Guncheon
Wahiawa, Hawaii

Safety First
Learning how to operate power
and hand tools is essential for
developing safe woodworking
practices. For purposes of
clarity, necessary guards have
been removed from equipment
shown in our magazine. We
in no way recommend using
this equipment without safety
guards and urge readers to
strictly follow manufacturers’
instructions and safety
Quick Trim Remedies Binding Drawer Slides
precautions.
On a recent kitchen storage project, I made a shallow
tray slightly too wide for its opening, which caused
the drawer slides to bind. Instead of starting over and
making a new tray, I cut a very shallow rabbet along
the sides of the tray, just tall enough to fit the slide hardware. It gave my drawer the little
bit of extra clearance it needed to operate smoothly, saving me time, material and effort.
Paul Lund
Anderson, Indiana
TRICKS OF THE TRADE SPONSORED BY FURNITURE MEDIC
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Into a Profession of Camas, Washington, will also
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Join our winning team of more win, submit your Tricks to
than 300 franchises. Woodworker’s Journal, Dept. T/T,
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$1.5 million in average annual gross sales*
*Based on average annual gross sales for franchise Ownership Groups with average of over $125,000 during the three-year period 2013-2015 as stated in
Furniture Medic 2016 Franchise Disclosure Document.
The franchise sales information in this communication does not constitute an offer to sell a franchise. The offer of a franchise can only be made through the delivery
of a Franchise Disclosure Document. NY NOTE: This advertisement is not an offering. An offering can only be made by a prospectus filed first with the Department of
Law of the State of New York. Such filing does not constitute approval by the Department of Law. Furniture Medic Limited Partnership Minnesota File No. F7440.
Furniture Medic L. P., 860 Ridge Lake Blvd., C2-7400, Memphis, TN 38120.
Financing is available through ServiceMaster Acceptance Company, a subsidiary of The ServiceMaster Co. L.L.C., to credit qualified individuals.
©2016 Furniture Medic Limited Partnership. All rights reserved.

Tricks of the Trade continued
PICTHKE
OF KS
TRIC
Weatherstripping Holds
Dust Bag in Place
Holding the bag up and in Thinner Breaks Fresh Glue Joints
place on my dust collector Sometimes I get ahead of myself during
while also trying to lock the glue-up and have to pull a joint apart. I’ve
strap used to be frustrat- found that lacquer thinner will dissolve or-
ing, because the bag would dinary PVA wood glue if you apply it before
invariably slip off. But there’s the glue dries hard. Just brush a liberal coat
an easy fix. I installed a strip of thinner into the joint, and wait a few min-
of adhesive-backed rubber utes for the glue to turn rubbery. Then you
weatherstripping around the can often wriggle the pieces apart without
rim. The added diameter and damaging them. This works best on exposed
friction holds the bag up on its joints like rabbets, and it can save the day!
own. This simple modification Don Vercamen
has made emptying my dust Clermont, Florida
collector easier for years.
Willie Sandry
Camas, Washington
Toothbrush as Glue Brush

At my house, we go through toothbrushes almost as fast as I lose glue brushes
in the shop. Recently, I needed a glue brush and tried an old toothbrush instead.
I found that it spreads glue just as well and costs me nothing. So save your old
toothbrushes for the shop instead of tossing them! It sure beats paying for glue
brushes — or using your finger.
Michael Butler
Edmund, Oklahoma
Bags are Better than Filters
Those pleated filters that come with shop vacuums plug up with debris quickly,
and cleaning them is a dusty mess. So, I’ve switched to disposable vacuum bags
instead. They’re available in different volumes to fit the canisters of common
shop vac brands, and they don’t seem to reduce the vacuum’s effectiveness.
When the bag fills up, just replace it with a new one.
Dan Martin
Galena, Ohio Shop-made Iron-on Edge Banding
Iron-on edge banding is easy to make. Rip
the wood strips about 1/32" thick from the
edge of a board, then coat both the strip
and your substrate with yellow wood glue.
When the glue dries, iron the edging to the
substrate with a hobby iron or a household
iron set to medium heat and no steam. The
heat will reactivate the glue so the edging
sticks, and pressure from the iron flattens
and smoothes the surface. It works great!
Darold Lobb
Snohomish, Washington

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Questions & Answers
Why Drop Into a Drop Cut?
THIS ISSUE’S EXPERTS

Q As a reader of the
Woodworker’s Jour-
nal eZine, I watched Chris
to the fence for
the other cut.
That would be
Chris Marshall is senior editor of Marshall’s Tricks of the fine, provided
Woodworker’s Journal and author Trade video this summer the router fence
of several woodworking books. on “How to Cut Stopped is EXACTLY
Tim Inman is
Grooves or Dadoes Using a centered on the
owner of Historic Interiors Router Table.” In the video, bit, because flip-
(restoration and reproduction) Chris makes a drop cut, ping and routing
and author of The Art of Classical lowering his workpiece onto would yield cen-
Furniture Finishing. a spinning router bit. I was tered slots. But,
wondering why it was done Murphy’s Law
this way and not starting often punishes
from the open end of the us otherwise.
intended cut? If the fence
It would seem to this weren’t perfectly
long-time DIYer that it may centered (which,
prove tricky to lower the more often than
Contact us
piece down “exactly” where not, it isn’t — it’s
by writing to “Q&A,”
you want the cut to start even always a tiny bit Chris Marshall used a drop cut technique to create
Woodworker’s Journal, with the reference lines. off-center), start- the stopped grooves in this drawer. A reader asks:
4365 Willow Drive, Laurie Taite ing from the open Why? Why not just start from the open end?
Medina, MN 55340, Winnipeg, Manitoba end would create you have to both start and
by faxing us at (763) 478-8396 two slots that won’t line up stop a cut “blind” instead of
or by emailing us at:
QandA@woodworkersjournal.com
A Here’s why I did a drop
cut in this instance. If
I had started both of those
perfectly with one another
across the drawer. They’ll be
offset from one another the
being able to start in from
the open end. Think of a
mortise or drawer bottom
Please include your home stopped cuts from the back distance that the fence isn’t groove, where cutting the
address, phone number and “open” end of the drawer centered on the bit. And off- groove all the way across
email address (if you have one) shown in the video, I’d have set slots will make installing the workpiece will cause it
with your question. to flip the drawer around for the slides more complicated to show at the corners when
making the second cut on the or result in a drawer that you put the drawer together.
other side of the drawer. In won’t hang straight in its If you mark the edges of
doing so, I’d be presenting the opening. the bit accurately on either
top edge of the drawer to the Here’s another example your router fence or right on
router fence for one cut, then where drop cuts are good to the router table, it’s not hard
MORE ON THE WEB the bottom edge of the drawer know how to do: sometimes, to start or stop a cut pre-
cisely on the mark. I’ll often
For the video on how to
“sneak” up on it by setting
VIDEO cut stopped grooves or the workpiece down on the
dadoes using a router table, please bit just a tad shy of my mark,
visit woodworkersjournal.com and then sliding the workpiece
click on “More on the Web” under carefully up to my starting
the Magazine tab. point. You don’t have to hit
the “start” point immediately
in the cut; just getting there
in the end is what matters.
Instead of starting both cuts from an open end, as shown here, pairing a
drop cut and an open-end cut when making stopped grooves on opposite — Chris Marshall
sides of a drawer can ensure that both grooves will be correctly aligned.
The same face is against the fence on both cuts. Continues on page 20 ...

Stumpers Questions & Answers
continued
Back to Buggies
Readers whip their answers into shape
Q I like to turn items on
my lathe. To this end,
how do I harvest a walnut
burl from a 16" to 20" tree? It
is in a group of other trees,
If you were visiting
In our August issue, the hardware store and I would prefer not to
we presented a mys- in the late 1800s, kill the tree or damage the
tery tool submitted you might have surrounding trees. The burl
by Ben Cowling of seen one of these is at least 30" in diameter and
Roca, Nebraska. hanging from the is about 21" to 23" deep.
ceiling.
Like Ben, one Ron Mantynen
astute reader knew New Baltimore, New York
what it was:
“The item is probably a
buggy whip holder used in
a hardware store to display
A Burls are like malignan-
cies on trees. They start
out as a “wart” that goes nuts
buggy whips that had a knot and becomes a huge growth.
in the end or tip. They were Sometimes the inside of
made of cast-iron in the late in the process of collecting the burl reveals a wound or
1800s,” Erwin Fullerton of guesses. other damage that triggered
What’s This? South Woodstock, Vermont Ed Kozinsky of Waynes- the callous tissue to grow
Darryl Mickelsen of Austin, told us. boro, Georgia, for example, into the burl. Some trees are
Minnesota, found this tool at an That is indeed what it is. thought it might be “a clin- much more prone to growing
According to tool owner ker breaker from a forge burls than others. Redwoods
auction. He didn’t know what it
Ben Cowling, it could have or furnace,” which “would grow great burls; Carpathian
was, but bought it anyway. been displayed not only in have been turned to break elm burl is classic in antique
Do you know what it is? a hardware store, but also up the glassy slag that furniture. Silver maple trees
Send your answer to in a harness shop. “It hung forms when burning some grow abundantly where I
stumpers@woodworkersjournal.com from the ceiling and held 100 kinds of coal. It is similar live, and I have a burl from
or write to “Stumpers,” buggy whips.” to some others I have seen, one in my grandmother’s
As Erwin Fullerton said of with the ribbed ‘fingers’ on yard that measures over 36"
Woodworker’s Journal, 4365
the tool, they are quite rare; the edges.” in diameter. Walnut trees
Willow Drive, Medina, MN 55340 although he noted that he And Phil Warren of grow them, too, as you know.
for a chance to win a prize! has a round one in his “farm Canaan, Maine, went to that So, what to do? Removing
museum of farm artifacts.” go-to guess for Stumpers a burl is like tree surgery.
(It’s not clear whether he was mystery tools (although he You’re going to cut into the
referring to one of the actual did put a question mark living tissue of the tree when
farm museums in the area, on it): “It’s a saw tooth set- you remove it. In your case,
or outbuildings on the family ting tool?” as you describe it, the burl is
farmstead that no one has Not in this case. As Ben actually a huge growth that
cleaned out for decades. Not Cowling said, “It is just a is larger than the diameter
that Stumpers would know cool item to have hanging on of the tree. This is quite pos-
anything about that ...) my living room beam.” sible, but it also means that
As usual, we did learn when you remove the burl
about some other old tools you will be doing major dam-
age to the vascular system
Woodworker’s Journal editor
Winner! Erwin Fullerton of South of your tree. It is going to be
Joanna Werch Takes compiles Woodstock, Vermont, wins a RIDGID 18V hard on that tree.
each issue’s Stumpers responses Stealth Force Pulse Driver Kit (R86036K). I would definitely recom-
— and reads every one. We toss all the Stumpers letters into a mend not cutting the burl
hat to select a winner. while the tree is actively

Elizabeth Moss, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
touch and razor-sharp tools

to get the surface finish you
want and to avoid the appear-
ance of “chatter.” Burl is also Winner!
dimensionally unstable: a
For simply sending in his ques-
“round” salad bowl will not
Burls can produce dramatic turnings, but they can also be tricky to turn — stay round. tion on harvesting burls, Ron
and to harvest without damaging the tree. Mantynen of New Baltimore,
The old rule for drying
growing. I would take it Finally, I’ll add this: Burls wood is to allow one year per New York, wins a
off after the tree has gone can be quite disappointing. inch of thickness. Burl needs General International 7-piece
completely dormant for the They are often hollow inside at least this much time. So Deluxe 8" Dado Blade Set
season. But, I would do it and also often include bark if you have a 6"-thick burl,
(item 55-185).
as soon as possible after full inclusions besides the beau- expect to be well into the
dormancy in order to give tiful swirly grained wood. next decade before it is ready Each issue we toss new
the tissue time to harden off. Getting big pieces of usable to begin turning … not to be questions into a hat and
When spring comes, you will burl can be a challenge. The too discouraging. I’ve turned draw a winner.
see the tree bleeding sap. grain goes in all directions many things from burl and
Hopefully this will “self-cau- and some of it is very hard. will continue to do so.
terize” before the tree does Some of it is soft. Cutting it — Tim Inman
itself in. But there is risk! on the lathe requires a light

Technology And Woodworking
DeWALT 60V MAX* Table Saw
By Woodworker’s Journal Staff
Unveiled in June, this “off-the-grid” table saw delivers surprising

power and runtime from a 60-volt lithium-ion battery.
features a steel roll-cage

frame that supports a 19"
x 19" top and a rip fence
that can extend to cut a 4x8
sheet lengthwise, down the
middle. The stout fence clips
onto a pair of telescoping
fence rails in two positions,
enabling it to be set either
from 0" to 20" or from 4" to
24" out from the blade. De-
WALT says this design keeps
the rail system as compact as
possible. The rip fence also
has a flip-over ledge for sup-
porting wide workpieces that
extend beyond the table.
Cordless Cutting
One battery slides into the
saw’s side dock. There’s no
adapter cord for plugging the
tool into an outlet instead.
But, hit the switch to start
cutting, and 60 volts provides
a surprising amount of power
and runtime for the brush-
less motor inside (see side-
bar, next page). Until the bat-
tery depletes from full to mid
charge, the saw sounds and
cuts like its corded cousins,
zipping through 2x material
at 5,800 rpm. At about half
charge, it continues to cut
without bogging down. And,
while it might just be luck,
S
ooner or later, in the tery and charger; $379 bare). we couldn’t stall the blade in
MORE ON THE WEB frenzied race to make It was launched as part of a a cut, even when the battery
For video showing the an ever wider array of new FlexVolt™ 60V MAX* was approaching end of
VIDEO new DeWALT 60V MAX* cordless tools, a table saw battery platform, along with charge. After a final cutting
was bound to pop up. And in several other new tools de- pass, the tool’s electronic
Table Saw in action, please visit
June it did, when DeWALT signed for these high-output, protection system kicked in
woodworkersjournal.com and click beat competitors to the punch 6.0Ah lithium-ion batteries. to prevent more sawing and
on “More on the Web” under the with its new 81⁄4" DCS7485 Weighing only 45 pounds possibly over-discharging
Magazine tab. Table Saw ($499 with one bat- without a battery, the saw the battery.

With its fence rails retracted, the saw fits on end in the back of a sub-com-
pact car without folding the back seats down. A carry handle makes its
45-pound weight easier to lift for transport.
Surprising to see on a “jobsite” style table saw, the DCS7485 offers dust
collection ports on both the blade guard and lower dust shroud. When
they are connected to shop vacuums, sawdust collection is quite efficient.
below the table, deliver very

tidy dust collection.
A separate riving knife,
Specially designed for this saw, DeWALT’s high efficiency FlexVolt 8 1 ⁄4"
blade is about 30 percent thinner than typical 10” thin-kerf table saw small miter gauge and push
blades. Reason: the extra-narrow kerf saps less energy from the battery. stick also come standard.
Special Blade, Features And, the super-thin blade Do We Need Cordless?

DeWALT has designed “high extends precious runtime DeWALT is targeting this
efficiency” accessories for — because once it’s spent, saw at jobsites where electri- The saw has a rugged rip fence
that locks securely and stays par-
its new FlexVolt tools, and you’ll need about 60 minutes cal service may be limited.
allel to the blade. Front and back
for this table saw, it’s an ul- to recharge the battery fully Do woodshops need the latches attach it to the telescop-
tra-thin (1.8 mm) kerf, 81⁄4"-di- before you can saw again. same convenience? General- ing fence rails. Two registration
ameter blade. While that’s The machine has a clear, ly, no. But, when today’s bat- screws on each rail position it
almost 2" smaller than typical well-designed split blade tery and motor systems offer for 0" to 20" or 4" to 24" rip-cutting
ranges to the right of the blade.
jobsite table saw blades, it guard that installs without heavy-duty performance like
still affords the DCS7485 a tools. A 13⁄8" I.D. dust port this, imagine the possibilities
2 9⁄16" depth of cut at 0° or 13⁄4" there, plus a 21⁄4" I.D. dust of cordless tools to come!
when tilted to 45° bevels. port on the dust shroud
Hard-core Cutting Results

We put this saw to work making repetitive rip cuts on 4-ft. lengths of Southern
yellow pine 2x10 and 3/4" maple plywood. After two rounds of running the battery
to empty on 2x stock, the saw averaged 128 lineal feet of cuts per charge. In prac-
tical terms, that’s 16 end-to-end rip cuts on thick, resiny 8-ft. lumber. Repeating
the same test on plywood, in two rounds of cuts, the saw averaged 230 lineal
feet before the battery quit. That’s almost 29 sheets of 4x8 plywood split in two,
lengthwise, from 60 volts. Pretty impressive runtime from one battery charge.

Reader’s Survey
Woodworking Gifts: Given and Received
By Woodworker’s Journal Staff
This time out, our topic is woodworking gifts — the best you ever
gave and received, as well as a few other questions about the topic.
Most woodworkers (84%) believe receiving

handmade wooden gifts is influential in inspiring
someone to become a woodworker.
Who’s
Toys top getting all these gifts?

Most woodworkers are making for their
the list, at families, with spouse the most common
12%, of recipient at 25%, followed closely by
the kind of children/stepchildren at
woodwork- 23%. Grandchildren
ing projects you came in at 17%.
make as gifts.
When it
Next in line comes to
are jewelry gift-getting,
tools top
boxes at 10% woodwork-
and picture ers’ lists.
frames at 9%. 24% say
the best
Only 2% woodworking gift
they ever received was a
of survey new stationary power
respondents tool, with 17% saying
don’t make it was a handheld power
wooden tool. (A sad 11% have never
gifts. received a woodworking-
related gift.)

Best Gifts Ever
What do woodworkers Is it better to give or to receive?
How about both? Below, a few
wish for? While 25% of the best gifts woodworkers
in the survey have given — and
of woodworkers would received.
Given:
be happy to see a new My children still talk about the
toys they got as children that I
stationary power tool in their stockings, made them.
A cradle. It was given to my
20% are wishing for a gift card to a sister-in-law when she had her
sons, and she gave it to my son
for his son.
woodworking retailer. Da Vinci model working catapult,
with ammo, in a custom box.
A wood serving tray. I made a few
that year. Everyone loved them (or
While a significant number (36%) at least said they did).
A hotplate trivet made of
of woodworkers do production light-anywhere matches given to
my elementary school teacher.
runs (making multiples of the 30”x30” framed walnut tree on
birch panel with heart leaves.
same item) for gifts, most (64%) Used as wedding “guest book” for
daughter.
“Busy board” for toddler grandson.
focus on an individual item, with Not the most complicated or re-
quiring the greatest woodworking
one-offs. skills, but probably the most used
and loved.
Complete bedroom furniture set for
a refugee family with six children.
“Easy to apply” tops the chart as A one-string slide instrument
called a diddley bow.
the choice of 48% when it comes A memorial park bench for my
neighbor.
to the most important A bed with a doggie bed attached.
Received:
criteria in choosing a finish A recurring annual subscription to
your magazine.
for a gift. A box of pencils.
The love and knowledge of and for
woodworking from my grandfather.
A class.
Sign made by my grandsons.
Wife took a woodturning class.
Came home and said, “Do you
have a band saw? You need a
Of those who have received band saw!”
Locally grown lumber.
a gift from another wood- A gift from my mother: corded drill
50 years ago.
worker, most commonly $1,000 gift card to my favorite
woodworking store.
(22%), it’s from a friend. Dust cyclone.
Shop apron.
Most, however (42%), have never A cabinetmaker letting me hang
around his shop, asking questions
received a gift that another woodworker and getting his cutoffs.
Saw blades.
made them.
Shop Talk
The Library CarveWright Built
ophy. Historical scenes pay

tribute to the Eygyptian,
Greek and Roman eras, as
well as the Revolutionary
War and World Wars I and II.
“There’s 140 linear feet of
different scenes,” Chris said,
with Joe adding, “That’s the
significance of doing it with
these types of machines.
With that volume of carving,
every single one is unique.
Even in great old libraries,
you’ll find the carving is a
repeated pattern that some
master carpenter can set
apprentices doing.”
“That was one of the main
reasons we wanted the Carve-
Wright, was to do things like
this,” Chris said. “It would’ve
taken me the rest of my life if
I tried to do it by hand.”
Brothers Build with Their Machine The CarveWright software
J
oe Lovchik describes Although not yet finished also gave them an advantage,
his and his brother — “I don’t know that we’ll Joe said: “The software is de-
Chris’s design process ever be totally finished,” signed with more of a design
as: “We sit down with a Chris said — the 1,000-foot element. You can arrange
couple of beers and come (50' x 20') room is already something the way you want
up with all sorts of crazy up to two-thirds full of books it, at the size you want, and
ideas.” The brothers (it’s designed to hold up to then upload and print. It’s a
are with LHR Technol- 4,000 volumes). fun design process.” “When
ogies, inventors of the Carved busts serve as cor- you’re telling the story of
CarveWright CNC Sys- bels to the room’s columns, philosophy, you can ask,
tem, which they’ve while carved panels depict ‘What do you put in there?’
used for Chris’s stories from disciplines such It’s getting to play with the
home library. as math, physics or philos- art,” Chris said.

When making the fireplace, sioned, Chris said, “like an
Chris pointed out, the wood old English gentleman’s
used was offcuts from a door club, like where Sherlock
company, with the larger Holmes’s brother would hang
sizes allowing more detail in out” — to needing furnish-
fewer sections — particularly ings and more, “If we can’t
since the CarveWright has find the table or desk that we
the ability to cut larger piec- want, well, let’s just build it,”
es. “A machine that can fit on Joe said. “With this machine,
a desktop was able to make there’s no doubt in our minds
these 8' pieces,” Joe said. that there isn’t anything else
As they move further on that could make it.”
the library project — envi- — Joanna Werch Takes

Shop Talk continued
Stunning Pieces from San Diego Show
photos by Andrew E. Patterson, photographer, and San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association
Acacia by Chance
Coalter
California Tansu by James Frantz
T
Maple Gown he San Diego Fine
by Paul Woodworkers Association
Schurch marked the 35th anni-
versary of their Design in Wood
show at the San Diego County
Fair this past summer. Qualifying
entries to the 2016 edition of the
juried show were placed in 25 dif-
ferent classes, ranging from Tra-
ditional to Contemporary, Model
Building to Musical Instruments,
and more — even Furniture De-
signed and Created by Computer
(Laser and/or CNC).
Woodworker’s Journal once
again sponsored a prize in
the show, with James Frantz’s
Night Surfing by Robert Stafford
Continues on page 30 ...
Kitty Kitty by Bill Churchill

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$ERYHSULFHVDUHIRUDSSUR[LPDWHO\EGIWEXQGOHRIFOHDU)DFHH[FHSWIRUFHGDUDQGZKLWHSLQHRUOXPEHUOLVWHGDV&%WUZKLFKKDYHWLJKWNQRWVµµZLGHҋҋORQJ/HQJWKVDQG Website: www.walllumber.com
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Shop Talk continued
Federal Dressing Glass
by Robert Stevenson
California Tansu (previous

page) winning the Excellence
in Joinery award. It’s made
from bubinga, maple and ebony.
Interested in applying for Topsy Turvey by
the 2017 show? Keep an eye Karen Freitas
over the next few months
on the site www.sdfwa.org/
design-in-wood-exhibition/,
where the acceptance of new
entries will be announced, or
contact Ed Gladney by phone
at 619-251-4410 for more
information.
scatter Six Drawers and a First Swim by Michael

Mirror by William Rumsey
Bardick
Scorpion Wheelchair
by Roger Aceve

AY G I F T
H O L I D !
SEC T ION
This year, to help with your holiday preparations,

Woodworker’s Journal has compiled several
easy-to-make gift projects into a special section.
Thanks to our advertisers for making it possible.

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PIZZA CUTTER BLOCKS By Alan Vondran
Keep your pizza cutter on the counter and at the
ready with this handsome slotted storage block.
M
y decorative wooden blocks will store The key to routing the
Rockler’s metal pizza cutter (item two-part recess for the
pizza cutter in each half
34913) inside a form-fitting recess
of the storage blocks
you can make with a special routing jig (see is a special routing jig
next page). The jig consists of a base and four with interchangeable
spring-loaded carriage bolts with knobs that templates. Both are
hold two interchangeable routing templates. shown in the inset
photos here.
One template creates a round recess for the pizza
cutter’s wheel, and the other template forms a

Routing Jig
Base
MATERIAL LIST (Routing Jig) 3
/4"
TxWxL
1 Base (1) 3/4" x 111⁄4" x 171⁄2"
2 Ramp Routing Templates (2) 1/2" x 12" x 12" 1
3 Cutter Recess Template (1) 5/8" x 103⁄4" x 12"
4 Carriage Bolts (4) 1/4" #20 x 4"
5 Washers (16) 1/4" #20
6 Nuts (4) 1/4" #20
7 Springs (4) 1/2" x 11⁄4" 33/8" 103/4"
1
/4" Dia.
8 Knobs (4) 1/4" #20
9 Hinges (2) 1" x 1" 11/4"
10 Builder’s Shims (3)
Ramp Routing Template Cutter Recess Template
2 3
41/4" Dia.
3
/4" Dia.
43/8"
51/2" 3" 7
/8"
35/8" 21/8"
1"
11/8"
2"
ramp to cut a relief for the wheel’s ta- its thickness into two equal
pered metal housing. Build the jig base halves to prepare for routing.
and two template assemblies from sheet Mark a horizontal line 21⁄ 2" from
stock as shown in the Drawings above. the top across the inside face of
I use springs on the carriage bolts to each block half so you can align
help push the templates up when the it with either the 51⁄ 2" or 43⁄ 8"
knobs are loosened, to make the block centerpoints on the two routing
workpieces easier to slide in and out. templates (see Drawings).
These blocks can be made from a
single piece or multiple laminations. I Routing the Cutter Recesses When the blocks are routed and first glued together, the
start with a blank 41⁄ 2" wide, 8" long and Start the routing process by opening at the top (inset) is just a rectangle. Steps shown
about 2" thick. Split your block through installing the cutter template on in subsequent photos create the longer arched opening.

Length of Router Cuts
21/2"
41/2"
1
1
2
83/8"
Builder’s Tip
I recommend you start by building some
sample pizza cutter blocks from scrap
wood. This will give you practice using
the jig and enable you to establish
alignment marks.
Exploded View
41/2" MATERIAL LIST

TxWxL
1 Outer Front and Back (2) 5/8" x 41⁄2" x 83⁄8"
2 Inner Front and Back (2) 5/16" x 41⁄2" x 83⁄8"
the jig base, and clamp one of up the pizza cutter recess. Now glue and
the block halves into place (the clamp the block halves together.
top of the block should face the Mark the broad arch on top of the
router opening). Use a short block with a compass, and band saw it
1/2"-diameter pattern bit to rout along your layout line. If that doesn’t
the circular cutter recess to a quite open up the long cutter slot, sand
Scribe the top 4 1⁄2”-diameter arch on the block with a depth of 1/8". Rout both blanks. the arch farther until it does. Insert
compass to create the contour for the pizza cutter’s curve. Next, switch your jig to the the pizza cutter and check its fit, then
The line should just “kiss” the top and sides of the block. hinged ramp routing template to continue sanding until the hardware
mill the tapered wheel housing nests nicely in the curve. Ease the sharp
recess. Slip three shims between edges with a router and roundover bit.
the plates of this template to
open it up to about 5/32". Install Finishing Up
a longer pattern-routing bit in Give your block a thorough sanding. I
your router, and set the depth finish mine with boiled linseed oil first,
to cut the top opening of this including flooding it into the recess
recess 15/32" deep. As you rout, and dumping it out. When the oil dries,
the cutting depth will decrease apply a durable topcoat. These blocks
to about 21/64" when you reach make such great holiday gifts for others
the tapered end of the recess, that my wife is still waiting for hers!
Band saw the arch to shape. If this cut doesn’t quite due to the effect of the hinged
expose the long pizza cutter slot, as shown, sand the arch ramp. Rout this angled recess Alan Vondran is a woodworker in Asbury, Iowa.
on a disc or drum sander until the slot opens up in the rim. into both block halves to wrap His son’s girlfriend got the first pizza cutter block.

Woodturning
Turning Rolling Pins
By Ernie Conover
Master the challenge of turning a cylinder, and you’ll be able to create either a
baguette style or a handled rolling pin.
A
ny cooking store a serviceable rolling pin, I wonderful wood, which is
sells wooden rolling overwhelmingly recommend stable, durable and survives
www.woodworkersjournal.com pins and most kitch- hard maple. Most of the countless washings. I like
MORE ON THE WEB ens still sport one. Unfor- antique American examples I to use curly maple, which is
For videos on making tunately, modern examples have seen are made from this what I used for this article.
VIDEO baguette, American and are puny and of poor In an example of
pasta cutter style rolling pins, please workmanship com- the exception to the
pared to the ones our rule, the two pins you
visit woodworkersjournal.com and
grandmothers turned see in the upper right
click on “More on the Web” under out pies, pastry and of the lead photo were
the Magazine tab. cookies with. made by my mentor,
Rolling pins make Rude Osolnik. He
a nice gift and are a laminated many of
good seller at craft The author’s baguette pin, at top, has a diameter of 2 ⁄8". his rolling pins from
3
fairs. While most The 2" center pin is a fairly standard diameter. The 1 3⁄4" a variety of available
hardwoods will make bottom pin is a bit small for use. hardwoods and cut

10" to 14"
1
2" to 2 /2" diameter
41/2"
American style rolling pin
1"
Handle
1
4 /2" 1/2" diameter
1" deep
3
/8" 1/2" diameter through hole
Trunnion
1/2" diameter (slide fit
with drilled hole)
Turned to 1/32" less than the
1/2" diameter for a sloppy fit with handle.
10" to 16"
the blanks on an angle, yield- Turn Your Cylinder

1" 2" to 21/2" diameter
ing a unique look. Turning an exact cylinder is 4"
My maple rolling pins in a challenge, which is why a
that photo show three differ- rolling pin is an exercise for Baguette pin
ent types of pin: from top to my basic turning students.
bottom, you see a baguette Jointing two faces, then saw-
pin, a traditional American ing your blank to an exact
style and a pasta cutter. square, helps greatly. You
In this article, I discuss need to end up with at least
how to make the first two a 2" square, with 21⁄4" to 21⁄2"
types. The traditional Amer- being better.
ican style has trunnions at To begin turning, center
each end that capture rotat- punch the exact centers
ing handles. The “French” of the billet. Use a speed
baguette pin is so-called for of 800 to 1,200 rpm and a
its resemblance to a loaf of spindle roughing-out gouge.
French bread. Be sure to wax the tool-rest
As I hinted earlier, the di- so the gouge slides freely.
ameter and the length of roll- As the piece approaches
ing pins has decreased in the round, lightly touch the
last half century. It is hard to work on the far side with
find a wood example that is your fingers while holding
over 2" in diameter and has a the gouge down with your
working length over 10" for thumb. You will feel the flat Use a spindle roughing-out gouge to bring the blank nearly round, then
a traditional pin or 18" for a spots go away. The trick is to lightly touch the back of the piece with your fingers while holding the tool
with your thumb. Sweep side-to-side to feel when the flat spots disappear.
baguette pin. Personally, I move the gouge side to side
frequently use a baguette pin while just removing the flat
to roll pizza dough, so I make spots. You will end up with a
mine 20" to 24" long. This perfect cylinder.
gives them a working length If you’re adept with a skew,
of 12" to 16". Likewise, I you can now plane the cylin-
make my traditional pins 12" der to a perfect finish. Safer
to 14" long. While shorter is is to turn your roughing-out
OK, a longer pin makes for gouge at about a 30° angle
faster work. to the work and push it down
The length of your pins the cylinder, keeping the 30°
will largely depend on the be- angle constant. You can see
tween-center distance of your this technique in my More on
lathe. Mini-lathes are usually the Web video for this article.
limited to between 12" and
15". This will yield an ac- Two Styles of Pin
ceptable French pin, but the After you have turned the Holding the spindle roughing-out gouge at about a 30° angle to the work
distance is much more suited cylinder common to both and pushing sideways (maintaining the 30° angle) will give you about as
to the American design. pins, you create the differen- good a finish as that left by a skew, with none of the danger of a catch.

Woodturning continued
tiations depending
on your choice of
style. I show the
methods for creat-
ing both styles in
my videos. If you don’t have a four-jaw chuck, you can turn the tapered tenon be-
tween centers, tap it into the hole in one end of the handle, then mount the
To create a
tapered tenon to the drive center and the other end of the handle centered
baguette pin, you on the cone of your live center.
start at about 4"
from each end and think is easier. Simply push Back to the handles. You
create a taper that the blank halfway onto a drill need to have good centering
The French baguette pin tapers, starting 4” from reaches about a in the headstock with the when turning the outside of
each end, to about 1” in diameter. You should 1" diameter at the live center, drill halfway, then the handles. To achieve this,
be able to set a ruler down and have it touch end of the cylinder. turn your blank around and I turned a tapered 1/2" tenon
everywhere on this straight taper.
This should be a drill the other way until your on a square of wood held
straight taper, with no curv- hole extends the length of in a four-jaw chuck (photo
ing in or out. the blank. Hold the blank in a above). Held against this
To create an American small screw clamp for safety. tenon with a live center, the
style rolling pin, you will Hold off on turning the bore is perfectly centered on
need to drill 1/2"-diameter handles just yet: the next the axis of the lathe while I
by 1"-deep holes at each end step is to work on the trun- turn it to a handle shape as
of your cylinder. You will also nions that extend all the way per the Drawing on page 37.
need to turn the through the handles. These
handles. trunnions start life as a 57⁄8"- Final Assembly
The starting long by 3/4"-square blank. After you have finished your
blank for the Turn 51⁄2" down the length of turnings, sand all parts thor-
handles of the the blank to 1/2" diameter, oughly, but only to 120-grit.
traditional pin using a 1/2" wrench. Leave A sanding pad in an electric
should be 41⁄2" the remaining portion at the drill is great for quickly
long by 1" square. 3/4" diameter and round it sanding the working cylinder
You need to drill a into a half bead to create a of either pin. It will bring
1/2"-diameter hole button head on the end of everything smooth and to a
that extends all the the trunnion. constant diameter.
way through the Next, use a skew to bring To assemble the American
Most of the trunnion shaft needs to be turned at
handle. You can the area between the head style pin, push the trunnions
least 1/32” under 1/2” for a sloppy fit in the han-
dle so the pin works even when soaking wet. either drill this in and 1" from the end down to through the handles, then
The last 1” has a 1/2” diameter to be a slide fit a drill press or on a bit under 1/2". (Leave the apply a bit of waterproof glue,
with the hole drilled in the main cylinder. the lathe, which I last 1" at the 1/2" diameter.) such as Titebond® II, into
This means that, the 1/2" holes drilled in the
although it may be pin, and inset the trunnions
Making a hard to get the end into them. Remember: the
Pasta Cutter of the trunnion shaft
through the hole you
trunnion cannot trap the han-
dle; there needs to be about
C utting grooves into an American drilled in the handle, 1/16" of side-to-side play to
there will be enough allow for swelling if wet.
style rolling pin turns it into a pasta
play that the handle I finish my rolling pins with
cutter. Grind a pointed scraper (the will turn easily on a bit of walnut oil or olive oil.
author used an old screwdriver) the shaft once it is Now, go ahead and bake a
to cut the grooves, and be sure to through. (You need at pie or make a pizza.
least 1/32" of play so
scrape with the tool pointed down- Scraping grooves into an American rolling
pin turns it into a pasta cutter. Careful that the handle turns Ernie Conover is the author of
hill. A pasta-cutting pin should be no easily even when The Lathe Book and The Frugal
layout and tool presentation are critical to
more than 10” long. getting even spacing for good cutting. soaking wet.) Woodturner.

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Trapezoid Band
Saw Box
By David Picciuto
Here’s a fun gift project to use up those
too-good-to-toss scraps and fine-tune your
band sawing skills while you’re at it.
This project was originally published

in The New Bandsaw Box Book:
Techniques and Patterns for the
Modern Woodworker (ISBN 978-
1-940611-32- 7) by David Picciuto.
That book and the author’s new
book, Make Your Own Cutting
Boards, are published by Spring
House Press (springhousepress.com).

Clamp up the blank, applying small F-style
clamps all around the perimeter to ensure even
pressure throughout. You should see some glue
squeezing out of every seam.
Glue up the five box laminations. Apply an even bead to each face, spread it with a foam paint roller
or small brush, and sandwich the pieces together. Ordinary yellow wood glue works fine for this job.
B
and saw boxes are what really Preparing the Blank
got me started in woodworking The first step on any band saw box proj-
years ago, because they’re not ect is to glue up the laminated blank.
that difficult to make. If you’ve got a Select your choice of scraps, based on
handful of clamps, a band saw and some the colors and grain patterns you like.
attractive scraps, you’re pretty much The pieces should be at least 3" wide
all set to make any number of different x 8" long. The thickness of your box
Photocopy the pattern on page 45 and cut it out.
box styles. Plus, compared with more blank can vary, but my five, 3/4"-thick
Apply it to the front face of the box blank with
involved woodworking projects with laminations add up to 33⁄4". spray adhesive. Stick the pattern down carefully
lots of parts or complicated joinery, It isn’t critical that all the pieces of so it’s smooth and free of air bubbles.
band saw boxes provide almost instant your box blank are exactly the same
gratification: you can make many simple size, but it sure helps the clamping proceeding. If the laminations are ready
designs in just a day or so of shop time. process if they’re flat. Flatten the to go, spread glue on mating faces of
If you’ve never made a band saw box faces of any pieces that need it before each board. I use a small 4" brush or
before, this Tennessee Box, from my foam paint roller, which makes it easy
The author recommends
collection in The New Bandsaw Box using a 3/16”-wide, to apply a smooth, even coat of glue.
Book, is a great place to start! I think skip-tooth band saw Ordinary yellow wood glue works just
its simple trapezoidal shape is elegant, blade (inset) for cutting fine for this glue-up.
and learning to build it also provides a the box’s curved outer Rub the laminations back and forth
profile to shape.
launchpad for designing and building against one another as you assemble
more complex designs of your own.
I’ve chosen walnut for the front and
back faces, because where I live, it’s
easy to get for a reasonable price and
always looks great when you put an oil
finish on it. For the center laminations,
I’m using some leftover Baltic birch
plywood. The repeating lines of the ply-
wood laminations help to emphasize the
shape, and you can sand it very smooth.
The edge plys also take finish well,
and there are almost no voids between
them. I use Baltic ply quite often on my Cut as close to the line as possible without This blade’s tooth configuration removes waste
boxes. I’ve topped this drawer off with a touching it. Take your time, use a slow feed rate, quickly to minimize burning and wandering
sleek pull that mimics the box’s shape. and let the blade do the work. while leaving a relatively smooth cut.

For rip-cutting against the
fence, switching to a 1/2"-
wide resaw blade can yield
smoother straight cuts —
but it’s not a necessity.
home center. Spray a blade for my straight cuts. It leaves a

light coat on the back smoother surface than the narrower
of the pattern, position blade and, when used in conjunction
it on the blank and with your band saw’s rip fence, it cuts a
stick it down. Smooth nice straight line. To cut the back panel
it and work out any air free, adjust your saw’s rip fence 1/2"
bubbles that might be away from the blade, and feed the back
The box back must be removed before work on the drawer can begin.
trapped underneath. face of the blank slowly along the fence.
Set your band saw fence 1/2" from the blade, and feed the stock
slowly along the fence to cut the back free. Once the back is off, go ahead and cut
Cutting the Outer the drawer out of the box interior. But
Profile to Shape if you changed to a 1/2" blade for the
Cutting this box’s last cut, switch back to your 3/16" blade
tight corners requires for the drawer cut. Start this long cut
a narrow band saw on the end of the blank and work in the
blade. I prefer a 3/16" direction of the grain (see bottom photo,
skip tooth blade with left). It’s important to take your time
four teeth per inch. and cut right on the line. Any drifting off
I’ve found that a blade the line at this point will make the walls
with a higher tooth of the box unevenly thick. When you get
count doesn’t remove to the sharp corners, keep pushing the
waste fast enough, blank and feeding the blade around the
which causes burning curve in a smooth, controlled motion.
and the blade to wan- Take the corners slowly and as precise-
der in the cut. ly as possible. And when you finally
Tension the blade reach the end, and the drawer blank
good and tight, and breaks free, pat yourself on the back —
go ahead and cut the here was this project’s trickiest cut!
With the narrow skip tooth blade installed, and starting from the end
of the box, make the long inside cut to remove the drawer face blank. box’s outer shape.
Steer around the corners slowly and as precisely as possible. Follow as close to Gluing the Box Back Together
the line as possible Set the drawer blank aside for the
the blank to work the excess glue out, without touching it, and remember, moment so you can glue the box back
and clamp it all together. I use a bunch everything outside this line is just waste together. Spread a little glue into the en-
of F-style clamps spaced all around to material. Later, you’ll sand to the line for trance cut you made to start the drawer
distribute the clamping pressure evenly. final shaping. Take your time as you cut, cutout, and press the kerf closed with
You should see glue squeezing out all using a slow feed rate, and let the blade a few F-clamps. You don’t need to bear
around the perimeter of each lamina- do the work. down on the clamping pressure here —
tion. Let your blank dry for at least four just tighten them enough to ensure a
hours or more. Swapping Blades for Next Cuts thin glue line that will mostly disappear.
Now that the outside of the box is cut When the glue dries, reattach the
Applying the Pattern to shape, the next order of business is back to the sides of the box with more
Photocopy the full-size pattern on the to NOT cut out the drawer! Instead, the glue and clamps. Align the grain of the
next page, and trim it to size. The best back panel of the box comes next, and two pieces carefully before tightening
way to secure it to the front face of the for that, I recommend switching to a the clamps. When properly aligned, this
blank is with aerosol spray adhesive. wider band saw blade. It isn’t absolutely glue line also will be hard to see on the
You can find it in the glue section of any necessary, but I like to use a 1/2" resaw finished project.

Box
Exploded View
Drawer
Full-size Pattern
To download this template
as a PDF, visit this issue’s
“More on the Web” section
under the Magazine tab at
woodworkersjournal.com.
Glue and clamp the box to close the entrance cut for the drawer, as shown
here. Apply just enough clamping pressure to hold the joint closed.
Woodworker’s Journal grants

permission for readers to
photocopy this Pattern, or
the PDF format available at
woodworkersjournal.com via
the More on the Web button,
for personal use.
Reattach the back to the box sides with glue and plenty of clamps all around.
If you align the grain carefully, this seam will disappear when the glue dries.

MORE ON THE WEB
For a downloadable PDF of
VIDEO the Trapezoid Tennessee
Band Saw Box full-size pattern, as
well as a link to the author’s video
on applying flocking, please visit
woodworkersjournal.com and click
on “More on the Web” under the
Magazine tab.
Cutting Out the Drawer Parts

While the back panel joint is drying, you
can turn your attention to the drawer.
The first step to making it is to switch to
the 1/2" blade again. That’s because the
Begin creating the drawer by cutting the drawer back off of the rest of the blank. Make this panel
front face and drawer back get sawed
1/2" thick, just as you did for the box back, using the rip fence as a cutting guide.
off the blank so you can reach the inte-
rior compartment. These two cuts are
just like the box’s first back panel cut.
Position your saw’s rip fence and slice
off a 1/2"-thick drawer face and back
panel (see top and center photos at left).
Now that the front and back are
removed, you’re ready to start work
on the center section of the drawer. I
sketch this out freehand with a pencil.
When you grip the pencil, just let your
index finger serve as the offset as you
trace around the drawer blank to mark
the cutout area. I aim for the drawer
bottom and sides to be about 3/8" thick
(see bottom photo at left), but a little
thicker or thinner is just fine, too.
With the tracing done, go ahead
and remove the waste piece inside the
drawer. Make this cut with your narrow,
The drawer consists of three main pieces: the back panel, drawer face and an interior section. Cut
the drawer face 1/2" thick to match the drawer back. skip tooth blade installed, using a slow,
steady feed rate. Cut just to the waste
side of your pencil line, and if you hap-
pen to accidentally cut into this waste
area a little bit, it’s no biggie. The only
thing you’ll need it for later is to make
the drawer pull.
A Drawer Takes Shape

Now you’ve got a hollowed-out interior,
a front face and a back panel — and
these three parts finally begin to
resemble a drawer. If the cut you made
Trace around the drawer’s inner section

freehand to create the cutout area, aiming
for the drawer bottom and sides to be
about 3/8” thick.

Now that the interior area is removed from
the center section, the three components are
starting to resemble a drawer.
Back at the band saw, cut away the inside of the drawer with your narrow, skip-tooth blade. Cut just
to the waste side of the pencil line, and proceed slowly and carefully around the tight inside curves.
to hollow out the center section is fairly stationary sanders, you could clamp a
smooth and burn-free, glue and clamp belt sander upside down in a vise and
the drawer components together. Since sand that way, do your sanding with a
they’re cut from a single blank, if you random-orbit sander, or just grab some
align the grain properly, the seams will sandpaper and sand by hand.
vanish when it dries. Once the shell is sanded to a smooth,
Spread an even coat of yellow glue around the
But if that interior cut didn’t go as even profile, do the same thing with the front and back edges of the drawer’s center sec-
smoothly as you might have hoped it outside surface of the drawer. But be tion, and set the drawer face and back in place.
would, not to worry. Sometimes that careful here. The goal is to just get the
happens! There are two solutions: if you drawer smooth. The more material you At this point, even though the big out-
want the interior of the drawer to look remove, the looser the drawer will fit in er surfaces of the box and drawer are
like wood when you’re through, you the box opening. So, sand only to get rid fairly smooth, the edges are still sharp.
need to file and sand the interior faces of any obvious blade marks or burns, I like to round these over for a more fin-
smooth. That’s the harder fix. Or, you and call it good. ished look. A 1/8" roundover bit mount-
can do what I often do: leave the cut just
as it is, glue the drawer together, and
plan to flock the inside of the drawer
instead (see sidebar, page 49).
Sanding and Shaping

As the drawer joints dry, you can take
the outer shell of the box to your disc
or spindle sander and sand the outside
profile up to the pattern line. If you use
a disc sander, double-check the table
for squareness to the disc before you
begin, to make sure the sander will sand
the box evenly from front to back. If
you don’t have access to either of these
Clamp the drawer parts together. When the

glue squeeze-out inside the drawer reaches
a rubbery consistency, scrape it out while
it’s still easy to remove.
Woodworker’s Journal December 2016

the smoother your box is, the better!
Time for more sanding.
I suggest starting with 120- or 150-grit
sandpaper in your random-orbit sander,
Sand the perimeter of the box (top) and
and give the box a good going-over.
drawer (left) to smooth these surfaces.
Be careful not to oversand the drawer, or Touch up the roundovers carefully,
it will fit too loosely inside the box. too, especially if the router bit left little
burn marks around the corners. Then,
ed in a router table is a good way switch to hand-sanding at this grit to
to ease these edges and not have remove any swirl marks the sanding
to balance a handheld router over disc might have left behind. Sand with
such a small project. At the router the grain. Now switch to 220-grit and go
over the whole project again, sanding
with the grain. You want every outer
surface to be smooth to the touch and
blemish-free. It really doesn’t take much
time, so be really fussy here.
Adding a Drawer Pull

That last chunk of core material from in-
side the drawer will give you more than
enough material to make the little draw-
er pull. I cut a blank for my pull about
3/4" thick that’s both walnut and just a
few thin layers of Baltic birch plywood
for contrast. Photocopy another pattern
so you can apply the drawer pull portion
of the pattern to your blank with spray
adhesive. Then cut out the drawer pull.
Sand its surfaces smooth, and round
over the edges by hand until the pull is
pleasing to the touch. Center the pull
carefully on the drawer face, and glue it
table, feed the outer edges of the in place. A small spring clamp will apply
box and drawer clockwise around plenty of pressure to hold it there until
the bit, so you’re cutting against the glue dries.
the bit’s rotation. If you want to
round over the inside edges of the Final Touches
box walls, too, feed the box coun- Most any finish could work on this box,
terclockwise against the bit. but I’ll suggest a couple of options.
Band saw boxes are going to My favorite is a three-part mixture of
Ease the remaining sharp edges of the box and drawer
with a 1/8" roundover bit at the router table (larger pho-
get touched — it’s just part of the boiled linseed oil, polyurethane and
to, above). Then continue sanding the project through charm of small, useful projects mineral spirits. It wipes on easily with
finer grits to remove all machining marks and burns. with moving parts like this. So, a rag and warms up the color of most

Sand the drawer pull by hand to soften all of its sharp edges. Then install
it on the drawer face. A little glue and a small spring clamp are all it
takes to mount the pull permanently.
Using a portion of the full-size pattern affixed to a scrap piece, cut out the
drawer pull. The author’s pull consists of both walnut and a few thin layers
of Baltic birch plywood.
woods with an amber tone. It also dries If you’ve decided

much faster than straight polyurethane to take my advice
from the can. If you go this route, apply to flock the inside
four coats, allowing one day to dry of the drawer —
between coats. and even the inside
Another good finishing option for of the box if you
small projects like this is spray aerosol like — do that
shellac or lacquer. Both dry super fast, now to complete
The author blends equal parts boiled linseed oil, oil-based polyurethane
and they leave a smooth finish because the last big detail. and mineral spirits to form a simple wipe-on finish for this project.
every new coat partially “melts” into the I’ll often flock the Spray-on shellac or lacquer would be other good choices, too.
layer below it and levels out. Spray three insides of boxes
or four very light coats. You can get where the drawer fits a bit looser than try a few band saw boxes of your own
them all done in just a couple of hours. I’d like. It takes up some of that extra design! It doesn’t take long for them to
Shellac will produce a glossy finish; you unwanted gap. become addictive ... trust me!
can find lacquer in both satin and gloss When the flocking dries, your Ten-
sheens. Sometimes a low-luster, satin nessee Box project is a wrap — and David Picciuto is a woodworker who blogs
finish actually looks better than one that at this time of the year, it’s a perfect at makesomething.tv and hosts a YouTube
looks wet and shiny, but that’s totally up project to wrap up for gift-giving. Then channel focused on creative woodworking at
to personal preference. get back out there, be creative, and www.youtube.com/user/drunkenwoodworker.
Decorating Band Saw Boxes with Flocking

Flocking adds a soft coating to the insides of band saw box drawers fibers is also a messy process, so be sure to cover your work surfaces,
to simulate a suede or velvet lining. The author also uses it inside wear a dust mask and use proper ventilation. Applying flocking inside
the box shells to tighten up loose-fitting drawers and provide an easy a plastic storage container or large box can help capture excess
open-and-close action. You can buy flocking supplies online and from flocking fibers for use on another project.
woodworking retailers such as Rockler in several colors and shades, Find a link to the author’s detailed YouTube video on the flocking
including black, brown, green, red and blue. process in the More on the Web section of woodworkersjournal.com.
Applying flocking is a two-step process that involves brushing on a
colored undercoat adhesive (shown in the photo at right), then using
a flocking gun (not shown) to blow colored flocking fibers into the wet
adhesive. The gun consists of two nested tubes with holes on one end
that hold the bulk fiber. Plunging the tubes in and out provides the air
pressure that sprays the fibers.
Before brushing on flocking adhesive, the author recommends
masking off the edges of the drawer and shell with painter’s tape to
prevent flocking from sticking to where you don’t want it. Blowing the
Woodworker’s Journal December 2016

3 Kitchen Doodads
By A.J. Hamler
Toasty Tongs
Rounded sides plus a wedge fulcrum create tongs that can
be adapted in length to serve a variety of functions.
I
sometimes have a hard time getting strictly to toast duty, either. The tongs Tongs of this length must be able
things out of a toaster. Full-size presented here also go perfectly with to bend easily, so you’ll want to start
pieces of bread are usually OK, a veggie tray, and by changing a few with stock no more than 3/16" thick.
but smaller pieces (and just about all key dimensions you can use the same Anywhere from 1/8" to 3/16" is a good
English muffins) don’t seem to pop up process to create tongs of any size for working range.
high enough to grab without burning any cooking task. Cut the two sides of the tongs to a
my fingers on the toaster. Of course, if As with most utensils used for cook- width of 1", then to a length of 9". Now,
you don’t let the toast cool for a few mo- ing or food preparation, it’s best to steer round one end of each piece for the
ments before grabbing it, you can burn clear of open-grained wood. I’ve selected front of the tongs and sand the two piec-
you fingers on the hot toast, too. some outstanding tiger maple for the es up to 150-grit. Set them aside for now.
An easy-to-make pair of grabbers like tongs themselves, while the fulcrum The tong sides are attached to a
these “toasty tongs” will fix all that. and rear accent present a wonderful fulcrum on the back end that sets the
And there’s no need to relegate them contrast in dark walnut. angle of the tongs. The fulcrum is just

1 2
an angled wedge that

anchors the two halves
together. You can cut
the wedge with any
saw capable of cutting Cut the fulcrum wedge on the band saw at a 5˚ angle. You Glue the assembly together and clamp up till dry. The pivot-
need a push stick and push block for the small workpiece. ing pads on this spring clamp easily handle the angled end.
an angle, but this is a
really small workpiece 3 4
and I found it easiest to
do on a band saw by tilt-
ing the table and using
push blocks to keep my
hands clear. For tongs
of this length, a wedge
angle of 21⁄2˚ on each
side made for an open-
ing on the business end
of 11⁄2", which will nicely
handle both toast and Trim the accent dowel with a flush-cut saw. Masking tape Bevel the outside tips of the tongs on a disc sander, then
cut veggies. (More on helps protect the workpiece from wayward scratches. smooth the bevels with a sanding block.
angles a bit later.)
To achieve the 21⁄2˚ tongs in a vise and trim the dowel flush. As noted earlier, you can make these
angled sides on the wedge, tilt the band Once cut, sand the dowel smooth. any size. A set of tongs 12" in length
saw table to 5˚. Slide your workpiece To make it easier to slip the tongs would work well for salad or for using
into the blade — the orientation has the down into your toaster, let’s bevel the with a skillet, while bumping up the
grain on the fulcrum vertical here — ends a bit. You can do this with a rasp length to between 18" and 20" (with
and cut a small section. You don’t have or coarse paper on a sanding block, but a fulcrum lengthened to 21⁄2" to 3" for
to cut much, as this piece will only be a disc sander is easiest to work with, as strength) would be ideal for using with
1" wide. Back the workpiece out of the the squared table helps make the bevel the grill. As you lengthen the tongs, also
cut, return the band saw table to level, even and level side-to-side. Remove consider making them wider than the 1"
and cut the resulting wedge to size. I beveling marks by following up with used here. With additional length, you
only made a single 5˚ cut, but once you sanding through higher grits with a can also make the tong sides thicker.
square the ends when cutting the wedge sanding block. These tongs will get a Keep in mind that the longer you
to width and length, it evens out to 21⁄2˚ finish of boiled linseed oil, so I sanded make the tongs, the wider the resulting
on each side. up through 220-grit. opening will be. Do a dry assembly
Apply glue to the wide faces of the As I typically do when oil finishing of your components and decide if the
fulcrum, clamp the tong sides into kitchen utensils, I flooded on the oil opening is appropriate to the intended
place and allow to dry. This glue joint and let it soak for a bit and then wiped use: if it’s too big, decrease the angle
is long-grain to long-grain, so it’s plenty off the excess. The next day after it was when cutting the fulcrum so the open-
strong. Although it doesn’t strictly need dry, a once-over with 400-grit sandpaper ing is smaller.
reinforcing, an accent not only looks made the wood smooth as can be before
great, but it will make the fulcrum joint adding two more coats of oil and then Fulcrum 1
/2"
(Top View)
even stronger. buffing the tongs to a soft sheen when
Center a 5/16" hole through the fully dry.
fulcrum. If drilling this hole by hand, be 21/2° 21/2°
sure to angle the drill so the hole goes
squarely side-to-side. On the drill press,
MATERIAL LIST 11/2"
support the tongs on one end to angle TxWxL

1 Tongs (2) 3/16" x 1" x 9"
the assembly so the hole is vertical right
through the fulcrum. 2 Fulcrum (1) 5/8" x 1" x 11⁄2"
Glue a short length of 5/16" walnut 3 Fulcrum Accent (1) 5/16" dowel
dowel into the hole, then secure the 5
/8"

Banana Hanger www.woodworkersjournal.com
MORE ON THE WEB
For downloadable PDFs of two
Handy for hanging bananas, this handsome addition to your VIDEO more quick-to-make kitchen
countertop has other uses as well. accessories, please visit our website
woodworkersjournal.com and click
on “More on the Web” under the
Magazine tab.
You can make your hanger out of

anything, but since the bend of the
hanger arm is pretty sharp across the
short grain, hardwood is best. I chose
standard 1x oak for its strength in that
short-grain area, plus it matches my
kitchen cabinetry. Since this will be sit-
ting out on the counter, it complements
the existing woodwork nicely.
A band saw makes fast work of cutting out the

hanger’s arm pattern, but you could also use a
jigsaw if you prefer.
Begin by transferring the hanger

arm pattern to a 3/4"-thick workpiece
by your preferred means — either cut
out the pattern and trace it onto the
wood, or simply use a spray adhesive to
adhere the pattern to the wood and peel
the pattern off after cutting. I’ve opted
to cut out the pattern on the band saw,
as seen above, but a jigsaw will also do
the trick. If using a jigsaw, be sure to
install a blade rated for hardwood, and
dial back on the saw’s rotary action for a
I
’ve always loved bananas. Guess you close at hand, not stashed in a cabinet cleaner, less-splintery cut.
could say they really have appeal. or at the bottom of a fruit basket, and When you’ve cut out the pattern,
OK, now that we’ve gotten the bad nothing works better for that than a refine your curves, if needed, to remove
jokes out of the way, I have to admit that basic banana hanger. any marks from the saw (a combination
I really do like bananas. Except when This is no single-purpose item, either, of disc sander for the convex curves
traveling or when we have overnight which is why I have more than one. and spindle sander for concave areas
guests, my regular morning fare is I have a wonderful herb garden and, works well), then set up your router
coffee, a cup of my favorite yogurt and during the season, I often pick a small table with a piloted roundover bit. Leave
a ripe banana. Fresh fruit is a great be- bunch of herbs, tie them off at the the flat bottom area alone, but round
tween-meal snack, and my usual choice stems and suspend the bunch to dry on over all other edges on one side, then
is a banana. For that reason, I want them a hanger identical to this one. flip the workpiece over and repeat with

2 3
Using a router, round over all edges of the hanger except Drill a pilot hole, then use a screwdriver or other object to
the very bottom. twist the hanger hook into place.
the other side. When 4 5

finished, give the arm a
good sanding all around
up to 150-grit.
The hanger base, also
made of 3/4" oak, is a
simple oval measuring
6" wide by 7" long,
which, again, you can
cut out with a jigsaw or
on the band saw. Using
the same setup on the Countersink a pilot hole through the underside of the hanger A few coats of satin polyurethane bring out the oak’s color
router table you used base, and drive in a 2” screw to secure the arm. and offer great protection.
for the hanger arm, cut
a roundover around the top edge of the When dry, give the hanger the finish of
base, then sand to 150-grit. your choice. For kitchen furniture and 1
/2"
Secure the hanger arm upside down accessories, I like the protection offered
in a vise or clamp it to the edge of your by polyurethane. Any splashes from 3
/4" 21/4"
workbench to temporarily install the the sink or preparing food are easy to
hanger hook. You can use any type or clean off, and I really like the way that
size of screw-in hook here that is large poly gives oak a deep golden color. Two 7"
6"
enough to handle a bunch of bananas. or three coats is good, sanding lightly
With the hanger arm vertical, drill a pilot between coats.
hole 1" from the front of the arm appro- Want to explore some additional
priately sized for your hook, and then just options for kitchenware finishes? Check
twist the hook into place. You may find out Michael Dresdner’s Finishing
it easier to use the shaft of a screwdriver Thoughts article on page 86 of this issue. 6"
to twist the hook in, as I’m doing in the When the finish has dried, twist the
top right photo, above. Now remove the hanger hook back into place with the
hook and set it aside while finishing the opening facing forward — it’ll go in easi-
hanger; we’ll reinstall it later. er this time — and it’s ready to go.
To attach the arm to the hanger base, One final step to consider is to add
secure the arm into your vise so the a few peel-and-stick felt “dots” to the
mounting end is flush with the top of underside of the base. The hanger, even
the vise. Invert the base onto the arm, loaded with a ripe bunch of bananas, Arm
(Side View)
and position the arm 1/2" from the back isn’t heavy at all, but those felt dots 11"
edge of the base, which exactly centers make it easy to slide anywhere you like
the hook over the base. Drill a counter- on your countertop.
sunk pilot hole through the base and up
into the arm. Dab a bit of glue onto the MATERIAL LIST
arm’s attachment point, line up the base
TxWxL
and drive in a 2" screw. 1 Base (1) 3/4" x 6" x 7"
Remove the completed assembly from
2 Arm (1) 3/4" x 6" x 11"
the vise and wipe off any glue squeeze-
out where the arm meets the base. Each square = 1/2"

Pasta Pair
This matched set of utensils will take you from cooking pasta
to serving it with style.
I
enjoy making kitchen projects for Any hardwood is fine for this project, workpieces a good sanding to 150-grit to
my own use as well as for gifting but avoid open grains like oak and remove all saw marks.
to family and friends, and there’s ash, especially for the server, as soft Transfer the patterns to each work-
nothing I like better than creating pasta could lodge in the grain. Closed- piece, and then cut both pieces out on
wooden versions of classic utensils. grain woods like cherry and maple the band saw. For the pasta server, I
I’ve made several pasta servers like are good choices, but for some beau- located each of the drilling points for
the one presented here, but this time tiful figure consider giving olivewood the tine holes by poking the tip of an awl
around I thought two complementary a try. right through the pattern. With brad
pasta utensils would make for a fantastic Olivewood can be on the expensive point bits, the marks from the awl make
matched set. side in larger sizes, so your best bet is it easy to place the sharp tip of the brad-
Although they are different sizes and to find a turning blank. With some care- point bit in the exact spot. A drill press is
have different uses, these utensils share ful resawing, the 2" x 2" blank I used ideal for drilling these 1/4"-deep holes to
the same basic pattern: The shape of the here will easily provide two matched ensure that the dowel tines are perfectly
handle ends as well as the curve of the pairs of workpieces. vertical to the face of the server.
front ends are identical on both pieces. Start by cutting a 3/8"-thick slice The pasta measure has much larger
The only difference is that the server is for the pasta measure, and then a 1/2" holes that gauge the amount of spaghet-
long and narrow, while the measure is piece for the server. When it comes to ti. The smallest hole is 7/8" for a single
shorter, with an extended wider portion resawing, the band saw can’t be beat. serving, the next is 13⁄16" for two, and the
on the business end. After cutting, give the faces of the two largest hole is 11⁄2" for three servings.

1 2
For more servings, it’s From a 2” x 2” turning blank, cut out a 3/8” slice for the Transfer the pattern to the workpieces. Use an awl or other
pasta measure and a 1/2” slice for the server. sharp item to mark drilling holes right through the pattern.
easy to use a combi-
nation of any of these 3 4
three holes.
Clamp the measure
to your bench or work
surface with a sacrificial
piece underneath, and
then use Forstner bits
to drill out the holes.
With all holes drilled,
ease all the corners
and edges of the two
workpieces with a With the workpiece securely clamped, use Forstner bits to Use waterproof glue to set the pasta server’s dowel tines
sanding block. Sanding drill the three sequential holes in the pasta measure. into place in the drilled holes.
up to 150-grit would be
fine for items receiving Apply waterproof glue into the server second and third coat just as the first.
a film finish like polyurethane, but these holes and slip the tines into place, taking When the final coat has dried, a brisk
will get a rubbed oil finish, so sand up to care to orient the rounded tips outward. buffing with a cloth will give them a
220-grit for a really smooth surface. Be sure to wipe off any squeeze-out with soft sheen.
Cut a 1/4" dowel into 10 sections, a damp cloth. Both utensils will handle washing well,
each 11⁄2" long, for the server tines. I gave both pieces several coats of but don’t put them in the dishwasher. If
Again, any closed-grain hardwood is boiled linseed oil. Apply the oil liber- the appearance begins to dull with fre-
fine, but I wanted a nice contrast with ally and allow it to soak in for about quent use, a fresh coat of oil will help to
the olivewood, so I opted for walnut. a half hour, then wipe off any excess renew that beautiful olivewood figure.
With the tines cut, slightly round off and allow the utensils to dry for a day
the exposed tips with sanding — I or so. When the first oiling has dried, A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop
alternated between a sanding block and I like to go over utensils like these News. He is the author of several woodworking
twisting small pieces around the tips for with some 400-grit sandpaper for a books, including The Woodworker’s Kitchen
a smooth end. glass-smooth surface, and then apply a (ISBN 978-1440346002).
Pasta Measure
(Top View)
MATERIAL LIST
TxWxL
1 Pasta Measure (1) 3/8" x 2" x 9"
Each square = 1/4" 2 Spaghetti Server (1) 1/2" x 2" x 12"
3 Tines (10) 1/4" Dia. x 11⁄2"
Spaghetti Server
(Top View)
Each square = 1/4"

TOYS AND GAMES CD
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hether you’re building a Tugboat to set sail in the tub,
TOYS AND GAMES projects
W making music with a Box Drum and Kalimba Piano, or
challenging your friends with your handmade Chess Set, you’ll
A collection of our readers’ favorite toys and games
find step-by-step instructions, technical drawings and how-to
photography that walk you through each project as if it were
child’s play.
So, get your game on (Chess, Roller Ball, Skittles, Kendama:
your choice, since the CD contains plans for all of them) and —
just like the Toy Steam Roller — charge full steam ahead to fun!
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Carved Shrink Boxes
By Kimberly McNeelan
The techniques for making these Scandinavian style shrink boxes, or “krympburkar,” date
back to the days of the Vikings — but they’re just as fun for modern woodworkers.
G
rand Marais, Minnesota, is one These shrink boxes could be con- the steps correctly, the shrink box will
of those magical little towns that structed using just a saw and a knife, become watertight for a drinking cup or
seem almost unreal. Driving but the steps laid out here make the pro- airtight to store spices or tea.
through pea soup fog on the way to get cess quick and easy. When you follow Class started with practice and
there and on the way back made demonstrations of safe carv-
it seem even more as if I was actu- ing techniques. The preferred
ally being rocketed through some knife for this type of work is
sort of portal to an amazing place called a Sloyd knife, made by
on another planet. Once I arrived the company Mora of Sweden.
at the North House Folk School, We practiced by making
the community and dedication to butter paddles. The class had
craft magnified the dreaminess of all levels of woodworking ex-
this breathtaking setting. perience, and Paul discussed
My goal of this trip was to learn changing your technique
how to make Scandinavian Shrink and using different ways of
Boxes, which are Viking technol- cutting to help avoid muscle
ogy! Thanks to instructors Jim fatigue. Check out the More
Sannerud and Paul Linden (who on the Web video to see a live
made the boxes shown above), Instructor Paul Linden’s drawings on how to cut with the grain demonstration of the knife
that goal was easily attained. assisted class members with all levels of woodworking experience. carving techniques.

MORE ON THE WEB
For a video of the author demonstrating
VIDEO knife skills techniques, please visit
woodworkersjournal.com and click on “More
on the Web” under the Magazine tab.
tiring, you switch it around holding the

blade towards you with your palm up
and roll the wood towards you. Work
Butter paddles served as carving
from both ends of the box to achieve a
practice. Changing cutting technique
helps to avoid muscle fatigue. consistent thickness. For a box in the
4" range, a wall thickness that’s between
1/4" and 3/8" is appropriate.
Green Wood, Traditional Tools of these innovative canisters can be
The construction of these boxes is rath- made using any closed grain hard-
er clever. Essentially, you are exploiting wood such as birch, box elder, cherry,
characteristics of green wood. The sides maple, aspen, etc. My class used birch
branches that Paul had harvested
the evening before class began. The
bottom and lid of the box are made
using dry wood that is easy to carve,
such as basswood or pine.
There are a few different tools to
use to achieve the following steps.
At North House, they have several
shave horses and all the hand tools
to work in a more traditional way.
Once you have your wood, drill a
hole into the end grain deeper than
the desired box height. You could
use a drill, vise, and any style drill
bit. Then cut off a length for the The author’s arm and
wrist are stiff as she
height of box that you’d like.
uses the weight of her
Using a sacrificial surface to body to cut the bark
make downward cuts is a safe and off (above). A “potato
effective way to remove the bark. peeling” cutting
After doing that, you chamfer the technique creates the
A traditional tool available at the school was a Cook’s outside edge of the top and bottom chamfer on top and
pattern auger bit used to drill end grain. bottom (inset).
just enough so that it won’t be sharp.
This cut is made like you are peeling
a potato.
Hollowing out the When hollowing out the branch, if
you tire of rolling the wood clock-
inside of the branch
wise away from you with the knife
is one of my favorite pointing away, switch it around
steps. Roll the wood with the blade toward you (palm
on your thigh while up) and roll the wood towards you,
holding the knife counterclockwise.
still. When the knife
blade is pointed
away from you, roll
Here a bow saw and shave horse are used to cut to the wood away from
length. This can be accomplished in many ways. you. If that gets

The goal here is to get the bottom to
barely pop into place. Patiently remove
material around the edges until you
get the perfect fit. Once the bottom is
in place, the wet wood will dry out and
shrink around the already dry bottom.
It is amazing how quickly this happens!
It is best practice to wait at least three
You can choose among several styles of grooves to fit the bottom of your box. The
author preferred the style in the middle of the drawing above. weeks before fitting the lid so the wood
will be completely dry.
Cut and Fit the Bottom To make the bottom, start by tracing
Now that the inside is hollowed, you will around the inside of the box onto a piece Creating the Lid
make a groove to capture the bottom. of wood that is about the same thickness Jim and Paul made boxes without lids
Using a marking gauge with the depth as your box sides. Then cut out the that would be dry for class so that we
set to scribe about halfway deep into circle approximately 1/16" larger than could go through the lid making pro-
the side of your box, scribe a line about your traced line. Make alignment marks cess. There are several ways to make
1/2" up from the bottom. Then use your on the box and the bottom piece so that lids: Jim demonstrated one, and Paul
carving knife to remove material below you can fit the bottom to the exact shape showed us another. I chose the method
your scribed line, keeping the top of the of the box. You will carve the bottom to fit the lid into the opening by giving
groove flat and angling down over 1/4" to mimic the shape of the groove you it a slight angle. Start by establishing
for the bottom to pop into. made, but more extreme. the inside dimension of your box. Put
To make the groove for

her box bottom, the author
found it easiest to put the
marking gauge in a vise
and rotate the box around Next trace around the inside of the box onto a piece of basswood, an
to scribe the line. easy-to-carve choice for the box top and bottom.
The author left a 1/8” flat on the side of the bottom piece and then carved Finally, use your palm to apply pressure and pop the box bottom into place.
an angle before fitting it into her groove. The alignment mark acts as a guide for the custom fit.

Trace around the flour that is left after flipping a flour-filled box onto a With the band saw tilted to 67˚, be sure you are cutting on the side of the
dampened piece of wood that will serve as the box lid. line that will make the lid larger, rather than smaller.
Marking with a pencil where you need to remove material makes the pro- When you put the knob into the lid, make sure
cess of carving your lid to fit into your box pretty easy. (The lid will stand your wedge will be perpendicular to the lid’s
slightly proud of the box sides.) grain. That is shown here with pencil marks.
flour into the box. Wet the surface of open the box. Then make a kerf in the good options. Each of these finishes are
the wood you are using for the lid. Place bottom of the knob that is going across food-safe and very easy to apply.
the wood on top of the box, and flip it the grain so that it will be less likely to Now that I have learned the process
over, putting the flour on the dampened spit the whole knob. Carve a wedge that of making shrink boxes, I can make
surface. Pick up the box, and the inter- will fit into that kerf. Then glue the knob these rather fast. I can do about seven
nal dimension of your box will be left into place. Glue and tap the wedge in, bottoms fitted into the box in one re-
behind. Now go to the band saw and cut too. After the knob has dried into place, laxed day. Shrink boxes are great gifts,
the lid out slightly bigger than your line you can trim the bottom of the knob and and it is a wonderful way to accelerate
at a 67˚ angle. wedge flush with the lid bottom. my knife carving skills!
Put reference marks on your lid like I highly recommend taking the
you did your box bottom. Now you will Finishing Options opportunity to go to North House Folk
use your knife to carve the lid to fit into Now you are ready for surface treat- School for any of the awesome classes
the box. Leave the lid sticking out proud ments! You may want to leave the box or events that they offer. The whole ex-
about 1/4". By putting the lid on the textured with your knife cuts. Or you perience of being a part of a community
box, you can make pencil marks where could get out your carving gouges focused on enriching lives by sharing
the lid is hitting and then cut that off. and add more texture. Jim did a great skills and knowledge is priceless. Words
Once the lid fits, chamfer the corners. demonstration using milk paint, a won- can’t do justice describing the adventure
Then make your knob. I chose to make derful way to add color to any project. of going to North House Folk School.
the knob on the lathe, but you can easily Whether or not you paint your shrink
carve a knob, too. Drill a 3/8" hole that box, you’ll want to apply a finish to Kimberly McNeelan is a woodworker, artist and
is off-center in your lid. Putting the knob protect the wood. We discussed walnut woodworking teacher. Follow her on Instagram
off-center actually makes it easier to oil, non-boiled linseed oil or beeswax as at ksm_woodworker.

Today’s Shop
Make Your Hardware Handsome
By Sandor Nagyszalanczy
Don’t spoil a near-perfect project with poorly chosen or mounted hardware.

Here are some expert tips to help ensure that pulls, hinges and other metal
accents will highlight your hard work.
Choosing Hardware
J
ust like in every other And, just in case you run into
aspect of woodworking, problems, I’ll show you a few Peruse the pages of a hard-
there are tried-and-true good tricks for remedying ware catalog, and it’s easy www.woodworkersjournal.com
methods for making hard- them (or avoiding them in to be overwhelmed by the MORE ON THE WEB
ware installation an easier, the first place). number of choices. Unless For a video of the author
cleaner and more precise Obviously there’s a ton the style of the piece you’re VIDEO demonstrating hardware
process, as well as reducing of specialized hardware out building dictates the style of
installation procedures, please visit
the chance of running into there beyond the scope of hardware you’ll use (Shaker,
problems. In this article, I’ll this article (lazy Susans, flip- Craftsman, Ultra Modern), woodworkersjournal.com and click
present some of the proce- per door hardware, electric your hardware choices can on “More on the Web” under the
dures I’ve found particularly lifts, etc.). For such specific have a significant effect on Magazine tab.
useful for installing some of hardware mounting infor- the appearance. For example,
the most common types of mation, I strongly urge you a simple, clean-lined cabinet
cabinet and furniture hard- to read the instructions that fitted with stainless steel
ware, including pulls and come with your hardware. wire pulls will tend towards
knobs, hinges and drawer Better still, you can almost a contemporary look; white
slides. I’ll also offer some always find instructional vid- ceramic knobs offer a
general tips for mounting eos on the Internet that show country feeling, and antique
just about any hardware you exactly how to install brass bail style pulls lend a
that’s screwed or nailed on. special types of hardware. classical appearance.

Today’s Shop continued
the color and grain immerse the hardware in

of the wood your it, including screws used to
project is built from. mount the hardware. Leave
For example, black them soaking until they
anodized pulls offer achieve the desired shade of
good contrast when darkness, then rinse them
fitted on a natural thoroughly in clear water. If
maple project but the pieces still aren’t dark
likely would be too enough, repeat the soaking/
subtle if used on a rinsing process. If pieces end
dark wood piece. up too dark, you can lighten
If you find brass their finish by rubbing them
When choosing hardware, it’s good to compare hardware finishes against finished
wood samples.
or bronze hardware with fine steel wool.
that you like, but
Hardware that’s prominent- it has too shiny a finish, you Screw-on Hardware
ly located (knobs, latches, can actually create a dark- One of my biggest hardware
etc.) should be chosen to er, duller look with a brass mounting pet peeves is
match the scale of the parts darkening solution (available seeing beautiful, expensive
it’s used with. For example, from Rockler.com). Start by screwed-on hardware that’s
tiny pulls on big doors may removing the protective clear either mounted crooked or
seem out of place or simply coating from the shiny brass has screws with stripped
appear incorrect. by scrubbing thoroughly heads. To prevent these
Hardware finish also with a steel wool pad dipped problems, here are some
affects final appearance in acetone or lacquer thinner practical steps to follow when
considerably and should (wear protective gloves). mounting hinges, latches,
be chosen not only to suit Now fill a small glass bowl trunk corners, or just about
the style of your piece, but or disposable plastic cup any other kind of screwed-on
to work harmoniously with with darkening solution and hardware. Start by determin-
ing and marking the exact
position of your hardware.
If the hardware spans two
separate parts, say a clasp
fastener that locks two
halves of a tabletop, set the
parts together just as they
will be after final assembly.
If there’s supposed to be a
gap between the parts, use
cardboard or thin wood
strips to shim them. Now set
the hardware in place and
either clamp it down or use
double-stick tape to secure it.
To assure perfect pilot
holes for the mounting
A brass darkening solution can
take the shine off brass or bronze
hardware to match other hardware
or achieve a look you prefer.

Double-stick tape
holds hardware in
place while you
drill pilot holes
with a self-center-
ing bit. A spring-
loaded sleeve on
the bit centers and
seats in counter-
sunk mounting
screws, it’s best to use holes on hardware.
a self-centering drill bit.
Choose the bit that matches
the size of the screws: a
5/64" bit for #4 screws; 3/32"
for #6 screws; 7/64" for #8 you’re in danger of the driver scribed in the bottom photo
screws; and 1/8" for #10 deforming the screw heads below. After letting the glue
screws. Before drilling, set in some way and leaving an dry, re-drill the pilot hole and
the bit’s sleeve to limit the ugly result. Take special care remount the hardware; just
drilling depth to match the when driving Phillips head go a little easy when driving
length of your screws. Keep screws, as there seems to be the screw.
the bit square to the work a stunning number of differ- If you accidentally break
surface while drilling, and ent sizes and styles. If your off a screw while driving it,
clear chips from the bit after hardware comes with slot- don’t panic;
every hole. A self-centering ted-head screws, I urge you if any of the
bit will often work with hard- to replace them with Phillips shank is still
ware that lacks countersunk head screws — it’s all too exposed, try
mounting holes. But if it easy for a slotted screwdriver gripping it
doesn’t, mark hole positions to slip out and ruin the screw with locking
with a pencil, create centered head or, worse, scratch the pliers and un-
dimples with an awl, then hardware or gouge the wood! screwing it.
drill the pilot holes with a To make driving easier, If the shank
regular bit. lubricate mounting screws by breaks below
If your hardware has steel rubbing a little wax from an the surface,
screws, or brass-plated steel old candle into the threads. you’ll need
screws (if you’re unsure, To seat the hardware evenly, to drill out
check with a magnet), you’re run all the screws most of the broken
all set to drive them in place. the way in first, then go back screw with a “Pre tap” pilot holes for soft brass mounting screws
by driving a steel screw the same size and length in
However, when driving soft and tighten them fully, taking tubular screw
and out of the mounting holes.
brass or bronze screws into care not to apply too much extractor,
harder woods (oak, maple, torque. To prevent breaking plug the hole with a short
etc.), it’s best to enlarge the or stripping screws when us- length of dowel, then re-drill
pilot holes with a slightly ing a portable powered drill the pilot hole and drive a
bigger drill bit (try a bit or electric screwdriver, set new screw.
that’s 1/64" or 1/32" larger), the tool’s clutch to the lowest
to avoid breaking the screws torque setting that’ll get the
or stripping their heads. You job done.
can also “pre tap,” as shown If you do get a “spinner”
at right. Whether you re-drill — a screw that’s fully driven,
or pre tap the pilot holes, it’s but won’t stop turning — an
best to run a test with spare old, but effective, trick is to
screws and a scrap of your un-mount the hardware, and
project’s wood. apply the toothpick trick de-
When you’re ready to drive
the mounting screws, it’s Fix a “spinner” screw with the
toothpick trick: shove a yellow-
important to choose a screw-
glue-covered toothpick or two into
driver that fits the screw’s the stripped-out hole as far as it
drive recess (Phillips, square, will go, then snap it off flush with
etc.) correctly. If you don’t, the surface.

teeth of a regular hair comb while chest hinges are best

and leave the comb in place for attaching heavier lids on
until the fastener is almost blanket chests and toolboxes.
fully driven. After removing Once these hinges are posi-
the comb, carefully tap the tioned and mounting holes
pin in until its head is in firm are drilled, they simply screw
contact with the hardware. (or nail) in place. With either
Don’t drive it in any farther: type, it’s important to keep
Nail-on Hardware you’ll likely deform the pin’s hinge barrels parallel with
Small nails and pins are head, and an over-driven nail the edge of the workpiece, as
often used to mount hard- can easily distort and buckle crooked hinges won’t allow
ware such as small latches, thin brass hardware. the door/lid to open and
hinges and box corners. But close smoothly.
driving pins directly into Mounting Hinges The downside of sur-
hardwoods is simply begging Hinges are needed for any face-mounted hinges is that
for problems. To keep small project that has a door, lid, they typically leave a gap be-
fasteners from bending or hatch or other articulated tween the hinged parts. For
driving crooked, it’s best parts. Proper installation closer fitting parts, there are
The small bits needed for pilot
to create pilot holes before varies considerably: some several kinds of hinges that
holes for small pins are easy to
break; keep your rotary tool steady driving them in place. After hinges are designed to be are easy to mount, includ-
when drilling. Drive the pins with positioning your hardware surface-mounted; others ing Rockler’s Easy Mortise
a small hammer: a comb holds the and securing it, use an awl must be mortised into place, hinges (see top left photo on
pin and provides some protection to mark all holes. Just make while still others require next page). Hidden barrel
in case you miss.
sure pieces, such as box special drilled or routed hinges are also very easy to
corners, are fully seated. recesses. install: Simply drill a pair of
Choose a bit for pilot Surface-mount hinges, holes, one for the cylindrical
holes that’s slightly smaller suitable for a wide variety portion of each hinge half,
than the diameter of the of projects, are the easiest and press them into place.
pins. Unfortunately, a 1/16" to install. Butterfly hinges Euro-style concealed
diameter bit (the smallest are a good choice for small hinges, popularly used with
from a regular drill set) is too wood boxes with thin lids, frameless cabinets, require
large for pins size 16-gauge
and smaller. Use bits from a
numbered small drill bit set
for these pilot holes: #55 for
16-gauge; #63 for 18-gauge;
#72 for 20-gauge. Also, the
chucks on many portable
drills can’t handle bits this
small, so use a rotary tool
fitted with a drill chuck.
To make the pins easier
to drive, rub a little wax on
them and use a tack hammer
or other small hammer. To A rule or straightedge pressed against the barrels of surface-mounted
avoid smashing your fingers, hinges will quickly assure correct alignment. The barrels should also be
hold the pin between the parallel to the edge of the workpiece.

work, position
each hinge leaf
and mark its
outline with a With regular rectangular hinges, it’s easiest to use a try square or other
razor or marking layout tool to guide the marking knife when outlining a hinge leaf.
knife. For round-
ed or irregularly
shaped hard-
Rockler’s Easy Mortise hinges have semicircular ware, stick the
leaves designed to fit into shallow recesses leaf down with
created with a 30 mm Forstner bit.
double-stick tape
a large pocket hole (usually and carefully trace around
35 mm) for mounting one it. Next, use a small plunge
half of the hinge. On large router (or laminate trim-
doors, these holes can be mer) with a small-diameter
awkward to bore using a drill straight bit to remove the Sometimes, you will need to make an adjustment to your depth of cut for
press. An alternative strategy mortise waste. In most cases, a hinge mortise — such as when one leaf from each hinge is surface-
is to use a drilling guide to mortises should be cut just mounted, instead of being mortised.
keep the big bit square to deep enough to position the
the surface. hinge leaf flush or just slight-
ly proud of the
wood surface.
But there are
exceptions, such
as when the
mortises must
be deep enough
to compensate
for the thickness
of the hinge’s
barrel.
After routing away the waste, use a sharp bench chisel to clean up the
Before rout-
edges and corners on your hinge mortises.
ing, darken your
A drill-mortising guide like the JIG IT keeps a large knife lines with
Forstner bit on-center to create a clean, cylindrical a pencil, so you
hole for mounting a concealed hinge. A pre-drilled can see them
1/8” pilot hole helps guide the Forstner bit, and
more easily, then
a collar locked on its shank stops the bit at the
correct boring depth. rout to within
about 1/32"
Mortised Hinges of each line. By setting the
When a project calls for basic bit depth carefully, routing
butt hinges or any hardware assures a flat pocket of con-
that requires mortising into sistent depth. If you acciden-
the surface of the work, tally rout too deep, you can
here’s my preferred meth- compensate by putting a bit If you end up with sloppy or mis-cut mortises on the edge of a box side
od. After determining the of tape on the underside of or frame, it’s usually possible to cut off the bad edge, glue on a strip of
location of the hinges on the the hinge leaf, or by shim- matching wood, then re-cut the mortises.

Knobs and Pulls rately is time-consuming and

Unless your cabinet or can lead to mistakes. It takes
furniture piece is fitted with only a few minutes to make
push-to-open hardware or a drilling template that will
has doors and drawers with guarantee that all holes end
routed finger grips, you’ll up exactly where they should
need to install some sort be. Holes drilled through
of knobs or pulls. When the template at the desired
positioning these on draw- locations serve to guide the
er fronts, centering them drill bit. Because the stop
The JIG IT Hinge Mortising System is especially good for complex vertically seems like a logical strips overlap both sides of
mortising jobs, such as those necessary for mounting quadrant hinges. thing to do. However, you’ll the plywood, the template
find that this doesn’t always can be flipped over and set at
ming it with a small piece of look right, especially on the either end of a long drawer
thin cardboard. lower drawers of a dresser face, allowing you to drill
If you have dozens of or kitchen cabinet.
mortises to cut, say for a This is due to the
production run of jewelry foreshortened
boxes, you’ll get the most perspective we see
consistent results by using a when gazing down
template and plunge router at lower objects:
fitted with a guide bushing. centered pulls end
The template clamps atop up looking too low.
the workpiece and has an Hence, it’s com-
opening sized and shaped to mon practice to
produce the desired mortise. mount such pulls/ To install a dowel screw, lock two nuts onto the
The bushing rides around knobs a little above threaded end, then drive the wood screw end
the opening, allowing a center. There’s no into a pilot hole. Remove the nuts and thread
your hardware onto the stud.
straight bit to rout the mor- hard and fast rule
tise with great precision. You for how much higher; it’s holes for pulls on both right
can make your own template, best to temporarily tape pulls and left sides.
or use a ready-made system, or knobs onto the finished When the need arises for
such as the JIG IT® Hinge piece, stand back, and see mounting knobs in thick parts
Mortising System. what looks best to your eye. (or when you simply don’t
Unless you want machine screw heads to
have only a few to show on the inside of a draw-
mount, measur- er), use a dowel screw.
ing and marking If the holes you drill for
holes for each mounting knobs or pulls are
knob or pull sepa- slightly off, all is not lost.
In lieu of filling the holes
and re-drilling (trust me,
To accurately posi-
tion your knobs and you’ll see those bad holes
pulls, make a drilling no matter how well you fill
template from a scrap them), you can fit the pulls
of plywood. Two with backplates (or choose
strips of wood are
bail style pulls which have
nailed on adjacent
edges and set against their own wide backing
the side and top edge plates). Many styles of pulls
of the drawer or door. (and knobs) have matching

each slide must be square
(vertically) to the front of the
cabinet/drawer housing. You
can certainly achieve this by
careful measurement, but
it’s easier to use a universal
A backplate fits underneath a pull or knob and covers up the surface under slide mounting jig, as shown
it, including any mis-drilled holes. Fitting a backplate can also cover up
in the photo below. The
old holes when changing from one size pull to another.
jig aligns and supports the
backplates, but you can al- to the front, your drawers cabinet-mounted portion of
ways mix and match, or even will never close properly, re- the slide while you screw it
make your own backplates gardless of the type of slides in place.
from wood. you’re using. Even if you
adjust the individual slides Sandor Nagyszalanczy is a crafts-
Drawer Slides forward or backward so that man and contributing editor to
If you are using metal drawer they catch in the closed posi- Woodworker’s Journal. His books
slides in your cabinet or fur- tion, your drawer’s face will are available at Amazon.com.
niture project, your choices still end up crooked relative
are almost as overwhelming to the cabinet’s face frame or
as those for hinges and pulls. front edges.
Basically, you need to choose Another all-too-common
a set of slides with adequate mistake is to fail to subtract
length and weight capacity the thickness of the slides
as well as enough extension from the overall width of the
to allow easy access to items drawer. If you find yourself
in your drawers. These days, in this situation, you may
some slides are available in be able to avoid building
different finishes, including new drawers by switching
black, white and brown. to under-mount style slides
Using a black slide with (if they’re just a skosh too
light wood drawers can look wide, you may be able to
classier than the typical nick- sand down the drawer sides A slide mounting jig aligns and supports the cabinet-mounted portion of
el-plated steel slides. to offer more clearance). your drawer slide while you screw it in place.
Once you’ve picked the On the other hand, if your
slides that best suit your drawers end up being too
application, you face the chal- narrow, it’s fairly easy to
lenge of building your car- install shim (strips of card-
cass and drawers to suit the board or veneer) under the
requirements of the slides. cabinet-mounted portion of
Read thoroughly through the each slide.
mounting instructions before In order to end up with
you start building to avoid drawers that operate
ending up with drawers that smoothly with faces that are
don’t fit or won’t work with evenly aligned to the cabinet
your slides. One problem to and to one another, each
avoid at all costs is ending up pair of drawer slides must
with a cabinet and/or drawer be mounted at precisely the
boxes that aren’t square. If same height and parallel to
When attaching the drawer-mounted portion of each slide, clamp-on
the sides of the carcass are one another. Further, the brackets support the drawer at the correct height relative to the
not parallel, or aren’t square cabinet-mounted portion of cabinet-mounted slides.

Woodworking Tools & Supplies Index
December 2016
For product information in the blink of an
eye, visit www.woodworkersjournal.com
and click on “Woodworker’s Marketplace”
under the Tools & Supplies tab.
ADVERTISER Page No. Web Address ADVERTISER Page No. Web Address
1-800-BunkBed 7, 77 www.1800bunkbed.com Leigh Industries, Ltd. 9, 17, 29, 87 www.leighjigs.com

American Fabric Filter Co. 41 www.americanfabricfilter.com Lignomat 41 www.lignomatusa.com
Armor Crafts 17 www.armorcrafts.com Mirka Abrasives, Inc. 19 www.mirkawoodworking.us
Armor Tool 39 www.armor-tool.com Next Wave Automation 11 www.nextwaveautomation.com
Badger Hardwoods of WI, Ltd. 9 www.badgerwood.com Original Saw Company 39 www.originalsaw.com
Beall Tool Company 9 www.bealltool.com Osborne Wood Products, Inc. 9, 77 www.woodencomponents.com
Briwax 57, 89 www.briwax.com PanelPro 56 www.panelpro.com
CMT USA Inc. 41 www.cmtusa.com Piher 32 www.piher.com
Cook Woods 56 www.cookwoods.com Quickscrews International Corp. 57 www.quickscrews.com
The Craftsman Gallery 77 www.chipsfly.com Rikon Power Tools 13, 77 www.rikontools.com
DAP Products Inc 62 RapidFuseWood.DAP.com Rockler Woodworking
DR Leaf and Lawn Vacuum 17 www.drleafvac.com and Hardware 17, 40 www.rockler.com
DR Redi-Plow 41 www.drrediplow.com SATA Spray Equipment 32 www.satausa.com
Earlex 9, 91 www.earlex.com Sawblade.com 3 www.sawblade.com
Epilog Laser 9, 21 www.epiloglaser.com/wwj Steve Wall Lumber Co. 29 www.walllumber.com
Festool 92 www.festoolusa.com SuperMax Tools 29 www.supermaxtools.com
Furniture Medic 2, 15 furnituremedicfranchise.com Teknatool International Group 11 www.teknatool.com
Grex Power Tools 77 www.grexcordless.com Titebond 5 www.titebond.com
Harbor Freight Tools 80-83 www.harborfreight.com Triton Precision Power Tools 57 www.tritontools.com
Howard Products, Inc. 39 www.howardproducts.com Wagner Meters 11 www.wagnermeters.com
Knew Concepts 9 www.knewconcepts.com West Penn Hardwoods 77 www.westpennhardwoods.com
Laguna Tools 71 www.lagunacleanair.com Woodworkers Source 17 www.101woods.com

t
oj ift
Pr G
ec Weekend Projects
Inlaid Picture Frame
By Chris Marshall
P
icture frames are often simple
projects, but that doesn’t mean
their style has to be hum-
drum. We’ll make sure that doesn’t
happen here! This 8x10 frame features
an eye-catching inlay that you can
make with a mixture of wood dye and
two-part epoxy. Once it’s poured into a
saw kerf in the frame parts and planed
flush, you’ll have the look of a colored
pinstripe with very little fuss. So, grab
a piece of special stock from your scrap
bin that measures at least 3/4" thick,
21⁄4" wide and 24" long. Ordinary epoxy
and either a water- or alcohol-based
dye will work fine for the inlay.
Frame
(Section View) C
L
1
Colored Inlay /4"
1
/4"
3
/4"
5
/16"
1
/2"
1"
Milling the Frame Parts

Start by surfacing your frame stock to 13/16" thick;
we’ll plane it down to 3/4" after the inlay is poured.
Rip the blank to 21⁄4" (if it isn’t already). Notice in the
Drawing, above, that the inlay is centered on the frame
pieces. To cut those shallow grooves, raise a 1/8"-kerf
table saw blade to 1/8", and set the rip fence 7/16" from
the blade. Rip two long kerfs into the best-looking face.
Mix and apply the inlay in the grooves (see sidebar,
next page). While it may be tempting to rip the stock
into narrow rails and stiles next, it’s safer to form the
5/16" x 1/2" rabbets on your wider workpiece to house The author cuts and fills the inlay grooves, mills the back rabbets and adds the
the glass and a back panel. Tackle those now at your inner bevel cuts all before ripping the frame parts to their 1" width. It’s safer.

MORE ON THE WEB
Tinted Epoxy Inlay VIDEO

ONLINE
VIDEO!
VIDEO
For a video about mixing and applying
epoxy for an inlay, please visit
www.woodworkersjournal.com and click on
“More on the Web” under the Magazine tab.
Epoxy tinted with just a few drops of liq-

uid wood dye will provide a colorful inlay for
your picture frame. To give yourself enough
working time, use a slower-setting formula
than the five-minute variety, if possible.
Mix the resin and hardener according to the
manufacturer’s instructions. For one picture frame, you’ll only need about an ounce of
prepared epoxy. Stir three to five drops of dye in and check for color: the lighter and
Gluing miter joints together can be tricky, but a
more transparent the inlay is, the better light will penetrate it to make the frame color strap clamp like this (or pieces of painter’s tape
really pop! Drizzle the liquid inlay mixture into the kerfs with a small paddle, filling stretched around the corners) makes it easier.
them to the top. When the epoxy cures hard, run the wood through a planer to remove
bond: three good attributes for these
the excess and reduce the stock thickness to 3/4", leaving crisp, clean color lines. end-grain butt joints. When the glue
dries, rout a bevel around the perimeter
of the frame to match the inside bevel
are 9" long. Make detail, then give a careful hand-sanding.
the inside edges
of the side stiles Finishing Up
7" long when you Spray can lacquer dries fast and makes
miter-cut those to an attractive clear finish here. I bought
size. I made these precut 8x10, .080"-thick acrylic at a
precise cuts with home center for the “glass” and used
my workpieces a piece of 1/8" plywood (found in craft
resting on an “L”- stores) for a back panel. You can secure
shaped jig screwed the frame’s back panel with brads, but
to my table saw’s a few dabs of hot-melt glue are easier to
miter gauge (see apply and seem to hold just as well.
photo at left).
An “L”-shaped miter gauge jig with a clamped stop block keeps the frame
pieces from shifting during cutting and ensures accurate part lengths. Swinging the miter
gauge to 45° one
router table or table saw. Make sure to way or the other set the correct miter
mill the rabbets along both edges into angle directions. A clamped stop block
the face opposite the inlay. Finish this ensured matching-length parts.
profiling stage by routing a 1/4"-deep, Glue and clamp your frame together.
45° bevel into the edges beside the in- On a frame this small, glue alone is
lays (see photo, page 72). Now split the strong enough for the miter joints. I’ll
frame stock into a pair of long, 1"-wide recommend Titebond®’s new “Quick &
strips. Each will become both a top or Thick” formula. It tacks up fast, doesn’t
bottom rail and a side stile for the frame. drip and relies more on surface adhe-
sion than soaking in to form a strong
Mitering and Assembly Tack a hanger to the frame’s top rail. Install the
Miter-cut the top and bottom rails to glass (or acrylic) and the photo. Then secure the
length at 45° and so the inside edges back panel with dabs of hot-melt glue or brads.

What’s In Store
Bigger, Better Tools
Contact Information
BORA Tool (Affinity Tool)
866-588-0395
Hitachi
800-706-7337
Infinity Cutting Tools
877-872-2487
JET
800-274-6848
Milwaukee
800-729-3878
Powermatic
800-274-6848
Rockler
800-279-4441 JET 15”, 18” and 20” Steel Frame Bandsaws
J
Trend ET ®’s new 15", 18" and measures 271⁄4" x 20". These
877-918-7363 20" Steel Frame Band- cast-iron tables tilt 0˚ to 45˚
saws feature the largest right and 0˚ to 5˚ left, provid- 3 (3hp, $1,799.99). Two
resaw capabilities and table ing support for a wide range versions of the 18" saw
dimensions in their classes. of bevel cuts. Table height include: JWBS-18 (13⁄4hp,
Resaw height of the new for the 15" band saws is 35", $2,099.99) and JWBS-18-3
JET 15" band saws has been and the 18" and 20" saws are (3hp, $2,299.99). JET’s 20"
increased to 14", which is 4" set at 37". options are: JWBS-20-3 (3hp,
taller than previous models. All are equipped with $2,999.99) and JWBS-20-5
The 18" and 20" band saws extruded aluminum, dual- (5hp, $3,249.99).
boast a full 16" resaw capacity, position fences that can be
a 33⁄4" increase. used flat for cutting thin Plugfones are compact
The 15" band saw’s table inlays and furring strips or earphone headphones with
measures 211⁄2" long x 16" upright for resawing, crown a 25 decibel noise reduc-
wide, while the oversize molding and cutting other tion rating. They can be
table of the 18" and 20" saws large materials. The saws plugged into your portable
are driven by single-phase, music device or smartphone,
Plugfones
totally enclosed, fan-cooled allowing you to listen to
motors ranging from 13⁄4- to music while protecting your
5hp, pre-wired for either 115- hearing. They come with
or 230-volt service. one pair each of silicone
The 15" saw comes in two and foam earplugs, plus an
models: JWBS-15 (13⁄4hp, “extra long” audio cord and
$1,649.99) and JWBS-15- a 3.5 mm audio plug that’s
compatible with most audio
equipment. Plugfones are
available through Infinity
Cutting Tools for $25.90.
Replacement foam or silicone
earplugs come in five-pair
packs for $8.90.

Rockler Dust Right
Bench Sweep
Rockler’s new Dust

Right Bench Sweep is
an 18"-long, 3"-wide
plastic accessory
with keyhole slots
that can be mounted
to the end of a router table Powermatic has introduced 3D carvings and more.
or workbench to act as a two new mid-sized CNC Enclosed steel stands include
“catchall” for debris. Opening woodworking routers: the storage drawers, and four
the cover on top creates a PM-2X2RK, with an aluminum hold-down clamps are includ-
Powermatic PM-2X2RK and
backstop to help you deflect work table measuring 391⁄4" ed with each machine. A 4" PM-2X4SPK CNC routers
dust and debris down into x 281⁄2", and the PM-2X4SPK, port on the dust shoe allows
the funnel as you clear it off with a table measurement of for connection to a standard
your work surface. Under- 63" x 281⁄2". Both are three- dust collection system.
neath, a 21⁄2" hose port en- axis CNC machines, in which The PM-2X4SPK has a
ables the Bench Sweep to be the spindle works in the X, 7.5-amp, 3hp motor with a
connected to a standard shop Y and Z planes (side-to-side, speed range of 0 to 2,400 rpm
vac hose or Rockler’s Dust back-and-forth and up-and- and is prewired for 230-volt
Right Shop Vacuum Handle down). The PM-2X2RK operation. The collet accepts
(item 55083, sold separately). provides ZYZ travel of 24" x both 1/4" and 1/2" chucks.
Closing the Sweep’s lid acts 24" x 6" and the PM-2X4SPK It is priced at $8,499.99. The
like a blast gate. features XYZ travel of 24" x PM2X2RK has a univer-
A blue grid fits inside the 48" x 6". sal 31⁄2" router mount that
Sweep to prevent larger A USB port allows for file accepts several compatible
material, bits and small transfer; it’s not necessary routers; that machine is
tools or metal fasteners to connect a computer to priced at $5,719.99.
from falling into your dust the machine. Both
collection system. Remove Powermatic CNC
the grid and you can direct routers accept
larger wood chunks down software including
into a trash can instead. The VCarve Desktop,
grid can be hung on the back VCarve Pro and
of the Bench Sweep when others. They can
not in use. Storage hooks cut many types of
on both ends of the housing wood, as well as
are handy for hanging a dust plastics, compos-
brush and other essential ites, aluminum and
tools. Rockler’s new Dust foam, for furniture
Right Bench Sweep (item components, door
50608) sells for $19.99. panels, moldings,

What’s In Store continued
The Trend Door and Board

Lifter (item D/LIFT/B) is a
foot-operated accessory that
allows both up-and-down and
side-to-side movement for
positioning doors, panels or
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doors and panels 23⁄8" high.
It holds a maximum weight
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Trend Door and Board Lifter Board Lifter is equipped with Kit, the KNT50AB, includes in cold temperatures up to
a non-marring foot pad and the new six-gallon EC710S -40˚ Fahrenheit. The kit’s list
weighs 1.5 pounds. It’s priced Compressor. Weighing 36.5 price is $250.
at $30. pounds, the EC710S uses a
1hp motor that operates on The MiteriX angle measuring
Milwaukee Tool has a new standard household current; and duplicating tool from
line of 23⁄8" Double-Ended maximum working pressure BORA Tool is designed to
Power Bits for impact drivers: is 150 PSI. It’s quiet, at 73 ensure that miter cuts are at
one bit offers two unique decibels, and can operate the perfect angle. The user
tips. Both ends of the bit lock multiple nailers. can measure the exact miter
securely in impact drivers The kit’s NT50AE2 Brad angle needed on the materi-
Milwaukee Tool and quick-change chucks. Nailer accepts 5/8" to 2" al, lock it, then transfer that
Double-Ended
Power Bits Made of Custom Alloy76™ 18-gauge fasteners and exact angle to the miter saw.
Steel and heat treated for weighs 2.2 pounds. A depth- Divide in half (the product
maximized wear and shock of-drive dial lets you adapt comes apart) for an accurate
resistance, the Double-Ended to woods of var ying density, miter. The MiteriX measures
Power Bits feature a unique while a selective actua- internal or external angles
Shockzone™ geometry to ab- tion switch goes between from 0 to 180˚ (miter angle
sorb peak torque and prevent sequential mode or bump from 0 to 90˚). The MiteriX
breakage. Each Precise-Fit fire mode. is collapsible and foldable for
Custom Machined Tip™ The Hybrid Air Hose is storage. It’s priced at $40.
also prevents stripping and about 25% lighter than a rub-
reduces wobble. The Dou-
ble-Ended Power Bits include
a variety of bit tip configura-
tions: PH2/SQ2, PH2/T25,
PH2/SL-1/4 and T20/T25.
Each bit is priced at $2.49.
BORA Tool MiteriX

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Finishing Thoughts
Coatings for Kitchenware
By Michael Dresdner
Leave it au naturel, or go for a bit more dazzle.

Wax On, Wax Off
Unlike regular cutting
boards, true butcher block is
oriented so the cutting face
is all end grain. Traditionally,
these chopping blocks are
sealed with paraffin wax, and
it works amazingly well. So
well, in fact, that I sometimes
use this treatment for cutting
boards made of wood with
exceptionally large pores,
such as ash.
You’ll find paraffin blocks
in the canning and preserv-
ing section of the grocery
store. Melt the wax com-
pletely, but keep it away
from open flames. Chopping
the wax into small pieces
or cutting shavings with a
vegetable scraper helps it
melt quicker. As it melts,
it goes from white solid to
T
is the season to make stay unfinished in my kitch- clear liquid.
gifts, and kitchen en. There’s no finish that Brush the hot liquid wax
items are always a holds up to such abuse, and quickly over the entire wood
favorite. They’re easy to since I see these as strictly surface, letting it penetrate
make, are welcomed by functional tools, there’s no the wood grain. When it
cooks and can often be made sense adding an unnecessary cools to a solid, use a credit
of scrap wood. finish for looks. However, card to scrape the wax off
So what finish should you I finish specialty cutting the surface. The card won’t
put on this ideal gift? While boards and certain hand scratch or cut into the wood,
“nothing at all” is a perfectly tools, like wooden spatulas, but will remove the bulk
valid option for any kitchen muddlers, coffee tampers, of the surface wax, leaving
Michael Dresdner treen, there are a range of peppermills and rolling pins. pores completely filled and
is a nationally known finishing finishing options that the barest wax coating
expert. He shares his expertise on are safe, simple and on the surface.
the DVD The Way to Woodwork: stunning. Let’s look Paraffin blocks the
Step-by-Step to a Perfect Finish, at a few of my favorite water and juices from
available through the store at kitchenware finishes. fruit, meat, fish and veg-
woodworkersjournal.com. etables from penetrating
Just Leave It Raw into the wood, making
Spoons that constantly the board easy to clean,
go into hot soups and yet quite stain-resistant.
stews, and my primary If it ever needs renewal,
cutting board that gets Shave or break up grocery store paraffin blocks
scrape, sand, and repeat
cut on and scrubbed for quicker melting. They’ll go from white to the hot wax treatment.
several times a day, clear as they melt.

Contact us
with your finishing questions by
writing to Woodworker’s Journal,
Brush the hot, melted paraffin quickly and liberally After it cools, scrape off the excess wax with a credit 4365 Willow Drive,
onto the entire surface of a butcher block, allowing it card, which removes all but an ultra-thin coating Medina, MN 55340,
to soak into the pores. safely, without cutting into the wood.
or by emailing us at:
Oils Well that Ends Well Cured linseed oil has good the solids without increasing finishing@woodworkersjournal.com.
Boiled linseed oil is perfect resistance to heat, water penetration. Please include your address,
for small items of all sorts, and stains, but since it’s not Put the parts in a zip lock phone number and email
like spatulas, muddlers, roll- a surface film, it can’t chip bag, pour in some oil, and address (if you have one)
ing pins, espresso tampers, or peel. Thus it feels like squeeze all the air out of
with your thoughts or questions.
whisk handles and more. It raw wood but takes a lot of the bag so that the pieces
perks up dark woods and abuse while remaining easy are completely surrounded
pops figured wood grain. to clean. by oil. The next day, take
The oil is absorbed by the I generally soak the pieces them out, wipe them off and
wood, then cures to a solid, overnight in pure boiled prop them up so air gets all
case-hardening inside the linseed oil. Don’t add solvent around them. Let them dry
wood without leaving a film because that’s completely
on it. counterproductive, reducing Continues on page 88 ...
STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION
Mortise &
(Required by 39 USC 3685) 1. Publication Title: Woodworker’s Journal.
2. Publication No. 0199-1892. 3. Filing Date: October 1, 2016. 4. Issue
Frequency: bimonthly. 5. No. of issues published annually: six. 6.
Annual Subscription Price: $19.95. 7. Complete mailing address of the
publication office: 4365 Willow Dr., Medina, MN 55340. 8. Complete
Tenon Joints?
mailing address of the headquarters: 4365 Willow Dr., Medina, MN
55340. 9. Full names and mailing address of publisher and editor in chief:
Rob Johnstone, Publisher; Joanna Takes, Editor. Rockler Press, Inc.,
4365 Willow Dr., Medina, MN 55340. 10. Owner, names and addresses
of stockholders: Rockler Press, Inc.; Ann Rockler Jackson, 4365 Willow
Dr., Medina, MN 55340. 11. Not applicable. 12. Not applicable. 13.
Publication Title: Woodworker’s Journal. 14. Issue date for circulation
data below: September/October 2016.
15. Extent and nature of circulation
No problem.
Average no.
copies each
Actual no.
of single
Leigh Mortise & Tenon Jigs make challenging
issue during issue pub. joinery projects like chairs incredibly easy.
preceding nearest to
12 months filing date
A. Total number of copies (net press run) 139,409 134,315
B. Legitimate paid and/or requested distribution
1. Mail subscription 132,256 127,250
3. Sales: dealers, carriers,
counter and vendors 1,656 1,733
C. Total paid and/or requested circulation 133,912 128,983
D. Non-requested distribution
1. By mail samples, complimentary
and other free 554 560
4. Outside the mail 477 505
E. Total nonrequested distribution 1,031 1,065
F. Total distribution 134,943 130,048
G. Copies not distributed 4,466 4,267
H. Total 139,409 134,315
I. Percent paid and/or requested circulation 99.2% 99.2%
Leigh FMT Pro
16. Electronic copy circulation
a. Requested and paid electronic copies 1,792 1,768
b. Total requested and paid print copes and
requested/paid electronic copies 135,704 130,751
c. Total requested copy distribution and
requested/paid electronic copies
d. Percent paid and/or requested circulation
136,735 131,816
leighjigs.com
(both print and electronic copies) 99.2% 99.2% 800-663-8932
I certify that 50% of all my distributed copies (electronic and print) are
legitimate requests or paid copies.
17.Publication of Statement of Ownership for a Requestor
Publication is required and will be printed in the November/December
2016 issue of this publication. 18. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher,
Business Manager or Owner: Rob Johnstone, Publisher. Date: 09/02/16.
I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and
complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading
information on this form or who omits material or information requested
on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and
imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties).

Finishing Thoughts continued
two days before put- we use for cooking.

ting them into service. They’re obviously edi-
Pour any unabsorbed ble, but they do not
For large parts, apply oil liberally. Keep the
oil from the bag into cure, and instead stay surface fully wet for 15 minutes, adding
a storage container to in liquid form forever. more oil where the wood absorbs it all.
be used over again. Put one of these on
For small items you’re finishing with oil, The same oil works wood and it will come
place the parts in a zip lock bag and pour in
on gently used cutting off on anything that
some boiled linseed oil.
boards, like pizza or comes in contact
cheese boards, and with it, will leach into
even on salad bowls. foods, and will quickly
Continuously flood the be removed when
surface with oil until the item is scrubbed
the wood can absorb with soap and water,
no more. Let the wet leaving you with the
oil sit on the surface raw wood you started
French polishing on the lathe is a quick,
for 15 minutes, then with. Might as well
easy way to get a glossy shellac finish,
wipe it off and prop simply not bother perfect for gently used items.
the item up to dry. finishing the wood in
Squeeze all the air out of the bag so the
parts are completely surrounded by oil.
Give it at least two the first place. About Food Contact
Soak overnight. days’ drying time The dirty little secret of the
before putting the Film at Eleven coatings industry is that
boards or bowls into Items that don’t get cut, whether or not it says “salad
service. They’ll con- exposed to high heat, or bowl finish” on the label, the
tinue to look great and scrubbed every day, like truth is that, once dry, all
will wash off quickly candy bowls and peppermills, common clear coatings are
and easily. can get a film finish. My safe for food contact once
Perhaps you’ve favorite is shellac, applied they are dry and cured. That
noticed that I did not by French polishing right on includes boiled linseed oil,
mention mineral oil, the lathe. For a tougher film, Danish oil, shellac, polyure-
an edible laxative that use oil-based polyurethane, thane, alkyd varnish and
After soaking, thoroughly wipe off all sur- some folks use for either wiped on and off, coat lacquer (both solvent- and
face oil and prop the parts up to dry. Allow treating wood, or the after coat, or brushed on for water-based).
at least two days to dry before using. various vegetable oils quicker application.
My Favorite Spatula
This handy little ergonomic helper is comfortable to use, versatile and strong
enough to scrape a cast-iron pan, yet won’t scratch nonstick coatings. I cut
quarter inch slices off a 10"-long block of 8/4 figured maple. Because they’re
flat and thin, I can slice 16 spatula blanks from one board foot of wood.
Set the table saw blade at 45˚ and your miter gauge fence at 20˚ to cut a
chisel point on one end of the
blank. Band saw the handle
shape and sand the edges, but
not the front angle. Leave that
edge sharp, to chop up ground
beef or scrape the bottom of a Each Square = 1/4"
frying pan.

HEYDid You Know?
Set sail for woodworking trivia
When used for shipbuilding,

the wood from the Southern
live oak was so strong that
cannonballs bounced off
the sides of the ship.
What Does It All Mean? There is no such thing as white dye or true
A quick guide to terms from the black dye; white is only available as a pig-
world of woodworking.
ment. Black pigment exists, but black dye
Live center: One of two mounting is actually very dark green, blue or purple
points on a lathe for spindle turn- dye. The addition of a small amount of
ing, it spins on its own bearings
orange dye makes it appear blacker.
and is installed at the non-driven,
tailstock end
Digital image courtesy of promotive/Bigstock.com

Dozuki: Thin-bladed Japanese
saw that cuts on the pull stroke
Digital image courtesy of MEGAPIXEL1/Bigstock.com
Aniline dye: Water-soluble dye

used for coloring wood
Bench dog: A round or square

peg fitted to matching holes in a The 4EGM¿G=I[XVII
workbench surface; used as a stop TVSHYGIW´XE\SPµ a
to hold a workpiece in place GSQQSRGLIQSXLIVET]
HVYKYWIHEKEMRWXWSPMH
XYQSVGERGIVW
Submit your Your Trivia Test:

own trivia ... Q What is the national tree of the
Send in a curious fact about
your favorite topic and ours:
United States?
woodworking. If it is selected
for use, you will win an
U.S. is the oak (Quercus).
awesome prize! the official national tree of the
Joel Miller of Modesto, California, will receive a
Submit your Trivia to Woodworker’s
enacted by Congress in 2004,
SENCO FinishPro21LXP Pinner, pack of 21-ga. pins and
Journal, Dept. Trivia, 4365 Willow Drive,
Day Foundation poll in 2001 and
a 1 Gallon Finish & Trim Air Compressor for having his
Medina, MN 55340. Or send us an email:
As chosen by a National Arbor
contribution selected for the Trivia page.
Answer
trivia@woodworkersjournal.com

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HOW TO MAKE YOUR HARDWARE LOOK GOOD; FOOD-SAFE FINISHES

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8 Letters 24 Reader’s Survey 74 What’s in Store

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Woodworker’s Journal December 2016 9

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Woodworker’s Journal December 2016 21

Unveiled in June, this “off-the-grid” table saw delivers surprising

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Special Blade, Features And, the super-thin blade Do We Need Cordless?

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Woodworker’s Journal December 2016 23

Most woodworkers (84%) believe receiving

Toys top getting all these gifts?

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Woodworker’s Journal December 2016 27

California Tansu by James Frantz

Night Surfing by Robert Stafford

Continues on page 30 ...

Kitty Kitty by Bill Churchill

28 December 2016 Woodworker’s Journal

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Woodworker's Journal - December 2016

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