NO. 34
NOTES FROM THE SHOP
BEDROOM FURNITURE " • BACHELOR'S CHEST • NIGHT STAND • HEADBOARD
,
$2.50
Sawdust Number 34
JuVAug, 1984 Editor
Donald 8. _Ilk. Oeslgn Olreclo, Ted Kralicek
Su_pllon Manager Sandy J. Baum
S_pbOO AssIslant$
new cabinet, comes new drawers with
Chrt.telMlner VIcky RoblnlOn Jockle Stroud
their own problems and design ehaIIenges. In fact, as I w.. looking back in the past issuesoflVood,m;th,1 realized that no two
ShlrloyF._
drawers were built the same
Art Dlreclor KIY Mulder Tod1nicat IItU5l1al0<8 O•• ,d Kreyllng Mike Henry
Ann William. Diane Starr
Computer Opet'8t1ons Ken Miner
CIICtltationManage' Jeff Farris
AdmlnlstrallveAsSlslanl Cheryl Scott
Building Maintenance AfChl. Krause WDODSMITlf
(ISSN 0164-4114) Is
P\IbIisl1ed
March. May. July. Scp_, November) by WoodsrnI1Il PlJbishIog Co..2200 GrandA.e., Des Moines,lowa503'2. (Janu.'Y.
WOOO5Mmt
IS a r_,ered
uademarl< 0I1he
WOocismtll PuI>ksIWlg Co. 'Copyright tN4 by Woodsmttll PubIisIling Co. AI Rlgh" R... ,.,ed. Subscription.: One year (6 issues) 510. Two ye.rs (12Issu •• ) $18. 5"'910 copy p
both your old and new address and 8 mafling labet from 8 roconl lssue, Second cl ••• poltage paid er oes Moines, IOW8.
POltm •• ter: Sond chango of address notice. Fo"" 3579, 10Woodsmllh Publishing Co.. 2200 Grand Ave .. Dos Moine., Iowa 50312. 8ACKISSUES
awe"'"
A ,.. , at the """'Gnl. 01all back _ on the wrappe< ot .,.. ISSUe. II Ihe WflIIIpe1 is m"".ng, yw can send to< • bookie' des<:ritIing the "",,'enlS and _ ot .t bad< eeoes. SAMPLE COPlES
friend who -.f
2
A. the years go by, I'm
becoming more and more fascinated with the details of cabinetmaking. In fact, this fascination has changed my whole approach to some aspects I used to dread. Building drawers, for example. Building a drawer is not an easy task. A drawer hnl! to be strong, it has to fit • certain opening in the cabinet, and it has to operate ~rnoothly. 'I'lus requires a lot of planning, and it menns a lot of details have to be worked out &0 the drawers and the cabinet work together. The more eablnets and the more drawers 1 build, lhE' more I've come to realize that I'm not ju,t building the same basic drawer over and over again. \Vitb each
"".rstan, Edlto, Stlve Krohmer
bimonlhly
ABOL'T TIllS ISSUE.
\\~a}·.That's
a
lot of different way8 to build drawers. Question: So why are you going on and on about drawe ... ? It sounds like you're trying to mnke a point. What is it? If you're gning to build a cabinet with a drawer in it, YOlL have to plan ahead. Take the chest of drawers shown in this issue for example. Thel,(!'s no way to build this chest without first knowing exactly how the drawers will be eonstrueted and mounted. Which means you have to design the chest from
smooth action of the wooden gnid es, AU that extra work to make wooden guides quickly melts into pure l!aw.faction. You Dod and say, "That feels just right." CHANCt:s. Along with the chest of drawers, we also built n night stand, a wall mirror and a headboard. These foul' projects represent the. fil'St time we've shown a group of pieces with the same design and Intended to 1)0 used "6 " set.
However,
fiM
we
\\'OJ'(!
working on the
design, one thing became clear: There is no way to please everyone. The chest of drawers was the first piece we built. As IIOOn118 it W88 complete, the s"""stions began. "It's nice but it should be wider • • • it really needs two small drawers at the tcp ... it. should have one
or maybe two more 1a.rgc drawers ...
it
should be built out of oak instead of mahogany. AU of these are legitimate suggestions. And any of them could easily be incor-
porated into the chest without trouble .t all.
much
In fact, that's why we show as many of details for building each project as we can - in hopes that you dOIl't follow them. By that I mean that we Include all the details about a proj''01 to provide enough information so you call change the design to suit your needs. Add anolher large drawer. 0r two small ones, One change that's easy to make and can produee dramatic results is to build tbe..se the inside out. The interdependence of the drawers and projects OUt of. different wood. "'e used mahogany. but think of the difference in t-he chest involves dozens of details that have to be worked out. Like a game of appearance if the che.t were built out of chess, each detail determines the ones that oak, \lith rift sawn pieces for the drawer follow and have to be planned weU in fronts. Or maple with spatted maple drawer fronta. Or the headboard had • advance. "~'TAI. OR WOOl)! Among the details for burled veneer on the center panel. Feel free to change the design, the the design of the drawers, one decision was critical (01' determining the overall ap-- wood, the dimensions. Change it and make it your Own, proach fOI'building the chest. ~I01'E TAI,K. With this Issue we decided I wanted to build drawers without using any hardware. No drawer pulls, No metal to increase the Tnlklng Shop section 80 we guide system. This decision was based on a could Include more comments from readers little quirk that most woodworkers haver if and expand the question-and-answer given • cholee they'll figure out a way to format. If you have R comment 0" question, usc wood ruther t.han metal - no matter how much more work it involves, please feel free to send it In. We're anxious to hear from you, and we hope this exTrue, by avoiding metal hardware there's a little extra work and a lot more change information and ideas wiD benefit planning. But it makes the whole project all or us. an interesting design challenge ... and SEW FACES.Ola"" Starr has joined us to "help open, sort and process the volume of eert2inly more interesting to build. The res ult I. a chest with drawers that mail we reeeive each day. She "i1l8lso be are a pure pleasure to open. As you open working on the other end: """king and each drawer, your finger-tips fit comfort- seoding out the ord ers for back issues. ably in the coves on the bottom edge of the NEXT""'L'SC. The September/October drawer front. Then as the drawer slides issue of WoocUlllith (No. 36) wUI be mailed open, you immediately feel the silky during the week of September 24, 1984. WOOOSMITH
I~1
I All
I..~
T_i~s & Technigu_e_s__
__
A NEW TWIST In Woo~",itll No. 33, you complained about the problems of loading paper in palm sanders. Thel..,'s a simple trick that will alleviale about 99% of the problem, and all you need is an ordinary pencil. After cutting ~he p~per 1:0 sise, lay the paper abrasive side down. Then lay the pencil on one of the edges t,hat will he clamped in the sander, and roll the edge of the sandpaper around the pencil. When the paper is released, it will spring back with a nice semi-clreular upward curve on the edge. Then cu.1 the opposite edge of the sandpaper, To load the sandpaper, sirnply raise the clamp spring and insert the first curved edgeofthe papel' Smooth the paper across
First, clamp a piece of scrap stock to the table of the drill press, and drill a hole
that's exactly the same diameter as the outside diameter of the dowel. r drill this hole about t"'o·thirds the way through the thickness of the block.
The advantage to this system is thauthe screen in no way effects the air flow from the fan, yet it prevents large debris from faDing intg the router. I'veused my router this way (or 1~ years, and have had no problems.
Steve.. Jotmeon. Des Moi" ss, Iowa SCRAP WOOD CORNER CLAMPS Not too long ago, I had to make a large number of Lazy Susan shelves. Everything went together just fine until I realized I was Producing a mountain of cut-off corners that were taking Over my shop. I haled the thought of feeding.all tliose cut off. into my wood heatel; so I decided to
kElP SCRAPCLAMPEO'10 146lf
come up '\.lith some "'ay to use the scraps. 'J:hen keeping the block clamped to
position, the (IriU press chuck is automatically centered over the sbot!. dowel. Drilling a hole that's pe!'fectll' centered on the end of the dowel simply requires cfiucking the correct size drill bit in the drill .press, and drilling the dowel.
Patrick IVqr'!el' S8condidQ, Cali/omio. the pad and you'll find the othel' edge cw'lrng around the pad, pojnting directl~ where the clamp will open. RaiS
FIBERGLASS SCREEN
I'd like to sbare an idea Ihave for the Scars
al
routers. In }l'ooM",;I" No. and other issues, you've mentioned that debris falliog into the Scars router may have been one of the causes.for the fan blades breakSam",,/ FiaUwuYlY ing off, and damaging the motor. S1«Jbury,Massac"use{u I roo Own 8 Seal -s tJ), H.P. router that's mounted upside down on a muter table. A HOT TIP But before I mounted it on the routerLread the alticl e. in IVooMmiU•.No. 88 On sharpening tools with a sllltional'Y disk and helt sand .... This does work well, but ... Please tell your readars to be sure that all the Sllwdustis removed from the sander before it's used to sharpen tools. The metal sparks from thegrinding action can start the sawdust on fire.
J.. R. ,Hack'''Oerry
II')fou'd like to share a woodworking tJpwi-lhother
DRILLING DOWELS
WOOlDSMITH
PetTy lio·,IiO>1 Wal/wila, NotIJ. Dakota SIND IN YOUR IDEAS
Sa.genou"" Petl1lsylw7tia
£n lVoodenti~h No. 33, )'OU showed a method of marking the center point on the end of long dowels that works' well. For short dowels, r use • slightly diffetent melbod that not·.nly finds center; but also assures the hole is drilled parallel with the sides of the dowel.
Fina,ly, r came on the idea of combining t],e corner Cllk>ffs with two C·cl.amps to form a corner clamp. 'l'h~ corner clamps can he used to squa •.., up case work, or to just clamp together the corners on a mitered (11Ime. To make the clamps, I glued .two of the %"thick corner cut -orfs tegethel' to produce a I\1t" thick bracket, Then T !;>oredtwo holliS for the C-e,lamj) pads, and cu~off the sharp corners on the ends of the bracket, Fin.ny, the edge~ are trimmed and sanded so they're smooth and perfectly square, (lfthe stock used for the I•• ysusan is square to begin with, having tc square the clamps can he eliminated.}
table, I protected the molor with" small piece of fiberglass SCreen <~at "overed the air intake diJ~ctly above the fan. To attach the screen to the moto» housing, apply a small amount of super glue where Ute screen and the motor housing come in contact with eaeh oth,er.
rea,dGr$of Woodsmlth, send your Idea to: Wood$IfJim, TIps & teChniques, 2200 Grand Ave .• Des Moines, Iowa 50312. Wo pay a minlmu", of $10 fot Ups, andSl5 0( more ror special techniques (that arB aoc&plad for publication). Please give a complete 8X· planailon of yoor idea. II • sketch Is ~eed.~,
send It along: we'll draw a new one.
3
Bachelor's Chest CLEAN, CONTEMPORARY FOUR-DRAWER CHEST This chest of drawers is built exactly the opposite Of the way it was d.signed. That may not make muchsense. but that's one of the problems you fa"" wh.n you set out to build a chest ofdraw.rg- you have to design the deawe rs Iirs t 3nd then destgn t he cabinet around them. This is O$peeiallytrue Ofthis chest because we wanted to build it with draw ers that are a tittle out of the ordinary. There's no hardware on the drawers - no pulls, 110 metal guides. Instead, these drawers are designed with • eoncealed cove as a finger pull. and a guide system that's made completely of wood. In order to make all of this work, the cabinet hllJ! to tAke into account the eoved lip (Ie· sign on the drawer fronls, as well as the method used to "WUOL the dra wers in the
cabinet, and the final SilA} of the drawers. In other words, the cabinet is deslgned to nt the drawers, These design considerations are discussed in more detail in the article on building drawers that begins on page 13. OnC<)-----------~ the drawers arc designed and final measurernents are determined (or the cabinet. lstarted work by building the two side. of the cabinet. THE CA8IN(J
51DE5
The sides of Ihe ch.st con.;"t of plywood panels with hardwood edging on the front and back edges, see fig. I. The plywood panels also have a series of Y," groove. routed on the inside face for the cabinet'. web frames. ('The.. frames are used to connect the cabinet sides. and lhey also SUpport the drawers.) CLT SIDES. The nrst step is to cut the plywood panels (A) to size. The length of these panels i,determined by the spacing needed for the drawers and the web frames, This works oul to 32"i1'". (The details of this measurement are discussed in the drawer article on page 13.) As for the width of the plywood panels, rbey should be IGVl\" wide, However, rather than cutting the plywood to this width, I cut it a tittle more than doublewide (3214') so I could rout the groov es for
4
the web fi-..mesin one pass, see Fig. 2. This assures the grooves are routed in the same position on both sides. aocr GROOI'PS. To rout the grooves, clampan auxiliary fenee to the plywood anrl usc a hand·held router with a YI' slraight bit, see Fig. 2. I started with the top groove. This groove should be "iI," down from the top edge of the plywood. see detail in fig. 2. (Alter Ihis measurement 10 equal the thickness of the stock for the web frame.) The position of the next four grooves is critical because they determine the siU!of the openings for the drawers. To preduee the COlTeCt height for the drawer openings, rout these four grooves 80 they're exactly 7¥.r apart, measuring from the top of each groove, see Fig. 1. AlWr the grooves are routed, rip the double- wide panel in half and trim it to form two panels, each 16~' wide. RO~'TTONGUES. The next step is to rout tongues on the front, back, and top edges of each plywood panel. The tongues on the front and back edges are used to attach
hardwood edging strips. see Figo. 4 and 6. The tongue on the top edge is used later to attach the top panel. These tongues mU fit into grooves that are routed in the edging strips. To gouge the thickness of the tongues, first rout a groove in 3 test piece with a ~. straight bit.. Then the tongues are cut on a router table to fit thi$ groov •. Set up the router table with • %" straight bit to rout V.··,,;de rabbets on both faces of the plywood to produce the Y.. -long tongues, sec Fig. 3. Adjust the depth of cut until the thickness of the tongue fits the groove in the test piece. IlECORATIVE SIIOULDER. Aft." the tongues are cut, 1 added a Yo'-wide shoulder on the front, back, and top edges of'the plywood to set off the panel in the frame, WOODSMITH
see Ftgs. 4 and 6. Rout this shoulder Yio" wide and Vo° deep on the outside face of the plywood panels. see Fig. 3. THE EDGING STRIPS Now the 'solid-wood edging strips can be added to the front and back edges of ~he plywood sid es. AU of these strips are cut from 5/4 stock (1110.' thick actual). BACK &OGlNG. The back edging strips (C), arc ripped to width so they're just slightly (~.) wider than the thickness of the plywood sides, see em ss Section ill Fig. 1. 1'his extra width provides just
FIGURE:,
DJMINSIONS
-
..-
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GIVI!N
fROtir
EDGING'
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SIDE tANEl
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BACK EDGJNG
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~
4t4'STOC~ (S£E,oriAlt)
T
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I 7r
can be planed and sanded down perfectly flush with the plywood. Then these strips are ell~to length so Lhe)'r. equal to the distance fron\ the bottom of the plywood panel to the Shoulder of the tongue on the top edge, $CO Fig. 1-
'., AU GROOVlS
'1~"Wtl)e-, y.~OE-lP
11 7'1'.
It
ROljTGROOI'&.AfOOrthe strips are eut to size, rout, a Vi" xV,," groove on the edge of the strip to match the tongue on the back edge of the plywood panel, see Fig. 1. I routed this groove on the router table,
,I
,
I
".
making sure it was positioned so the extra
by W·.dcep rabbet 011 the back edge of the edging strip for the 14' plywood back. see Fig. 5. Shop Note: J used a labJe saw rather than the router ,able to cut this rabbet-because the saw produces a cleaner edge along the shoulder of the rabbet. FROl;T EDClNC. The front edging strip (B) is ripped J%O wide and cut to tbe same length as the back-strip, Sec t'ig. ,I. Then a Y,," x l/.tll' groove is routed on the inside face to fit the tongue on the front edge of the plywood panel, see Fig. I. This groove is positioned exactly the same distance from the oUl$ide edge as the groove on the back edging strip. (That is, .so ihe.edge ie V",' 8bo.Ye the surtace Of the plywood.) Since this groove is in exactly We Same position, it call be cut US",g the Same set-up on the router table. ASSEMBLY. Finally, glue the e"lling strips- to the tongJ.les on the plywood. Be sure the top end of each edging 5t.rip is 6ush with the$oulderoflhe tongue on the top edge of the Side, see Figs 4 and 5.
-"
TO lOP 0': GROOVeS
enough material so the surface of the strips
~ ...in width was sticking up above the oul.id~face of tbe plywood. R..\BBt.VJ' FOR BACJ:\. Al$o, cut- a o/lt;I!'-\vide
...J ~THIC~NESStOF
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PO,SlnON GROOvr SO EDGING IS '/;q" A60VE PANEl
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8ACK_
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cur lIeUEF ON TOP AND SIDE EOGES ONlY WOOOSMlTH
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'cur It.~a 1,'," JONGUI$ CfNllJlIO ON STOCX--.".
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To complete lhe basle cabinet, the sides are joined together with. top frame and five web frames. PLYWOOD PANEL. The first step on the top frame is to cut the """ plywood panel (D)tosize. 2914' long by 15"wide. Then eut rabbets on both raees to form yo·long tongues on aU four edges. Also rout a Y... -wide, y....-deep shoulder on the out,ide face o( the plywood. see Detail in Fig. 7. FR.'-'lE. After .he panel is cut. the four frame members can be cut to size. Cut the frontlback rails (El to length SO they're equal 10 tbe shoulder·la-shoulder length of the panel. see Fig. 6. The width of these rails should be 1 to·. However. this width may have to be adjusted because you want 10 be sure lhat
1t
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WEB FRAMES WI"UJa
To complete the ~inel. five web t'ramco are built to connect the cabinet sides. In
fltONllAl1
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_NT
llAac
fOGlNG
(OGING
, LtNGTN Of WE' 'IAMI RAlI.$ EQUAlS INSIO( OlM(NStQHS Of
f
order to determine the size or the~ frames. dry-clamp the completed top frame to the cabinet sides. mE RAJl.S.Nov.', measure the distance between the cabinet sides (this sbould be aoW') to find the length o( the frontJbaek
rails (G. H. and
10 'lNO SflU' U'N'GtH MEASURECAIlNfTT Stor 10 BACXII:AIItt. SYIUACl WlDTHOf tArLS, ADO ''1 TONGUES
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CAaIN£Y
10.
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(301,;,-)
MIDDll WEe. flAM! Ill' ItABID
6
tbe total wben these width railsofare thisanaebed top a"""mbly to lhei. panel, equal to the width of the cabinet. side~ . As for the stiles (F) for the top (ramc, they're cut H" wide and M long as the cabinet sides are wide (17'Y'). GROO\'f;S.Next. grooves are cut in the frame members to match Ihe tongues on the plywood panel. On the ti'Ontiback rnil~ (E), rout a Y" groove on the edge of both pieces SO tho (ace of the rail~ i. slightly above (~") the surface of the panel, see details in ~'ig. 7. On the stiles (FI, the groove has to be stopped W' (rom both ends of the stile to prevent it from showing. see F'ig. 6. I routed this stopped groove on the router table, making a plunge cuL to .ta.i the groove and lifting the stile off the bit to end the cut. Then I routed an identical y,. "toPlled groove on the bottom edgeofthe stiles, see cress Section in Fig. 7. This groove is for attaching the top frame to the cabinet sides, see Fig. 8. BE\t£L EDGE. After the grooves are cut, glue all four frame members to the top panel. Then rip a '1'." \\;de. 45· bevel on the front edge of the top frame, see Fig. 7.
see Fig. 8. The
width o( the..
WOODSMITH
~~
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t__
Measure tbe distance between tbe front edgillg))iece(BJ and toherabbet on the back ---edging 'piece (this should be. 160/.). then subtract the thickness of the fl'ontiback rails l'o/, ... + '0/,," = lW), and adel y," for the two \Io"-longstub tenons that \\111 be cut on the ends of the stiles, see Fig. 8. This should produce a final length of loY./' fol' the slile&(J). The width of all the stiles (J) is 1%'. GROO"»SFO"I',""~L. After the rail. and stiles are cut to size, a groove is cue on the inside edge of each piece for the plywood panel. The groove in all the stiles (J) is centered on the edge of each piece and wide enough to match the thickness of the plywood panels. TOPWED rRA.IIE. the groove in the front! back rails (0) of the top frame is also centered on the thickness of the rail- the same as the stiles. b However, the. procedure for cutting the I.-t'll , __ .grooves on the other ft·antes varies because of the width of the rails. ~nOOL£ WEO FRAltF-S.~'he frontJback l-ails (I:IJon tire three middle web frames are 1%"wide, see Pig. 10. This extra width means the groove can't be centered. In.. 'Stead} it's po.~itioned the same distance from the bottom edge as the groove on the stiles, see detail in ~ig. 10.
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FIGURl9
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TOP WEB"flAME
tOe Y'E~ .(.:". V<: lONGUE ON OVTSIDf EDGE
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DETAil
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THill! MIDDLEf.!AMES
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1/." TONGUE
..-- flfS IN GROOVE
,..r
ON SiDE p~Nn
To cut these grooves, set the fence on the saw using the groove in the. stile as a guide. Make the JiI'St pass, and then acijust the fence to widen the groove to match the thickness of the pll~vood panel: and make a
second pass to finish the groove. UO'M'OMW86 FRAME. On the bottom web frame, the extra-wide rails (1) also ... ·ve as a kiekboard for the cabinet. The groove in these rails is a little bit Ilipky to cut.. To locate the position of the groove, I used. rail from one ofthe middlef ra mes as a guide, see Fig. 12. Line up the top edges "fbOth pieces, and mark the location of the groove on the bottom rail (1). Then cut the groove using the mark as a guide. srus TEi'lONS. ,After all the ll''OOves are cut, stub tenons ore cut On the ends o(bhe stiles (J) to fit the grooves in the rails. Thi. is $inmly a matter of cutting two rabbets on the ends of the stiles to produce the stub tanon, see details in Figs. 9, 10, and 11. iOXCUEQNSTlLE$. Next, cuta rabbet on the outside edge of all the stiles (JJ to produce a tongue that, fit. the grooves in the sides of the cabinet, NOTCH. Finally, cut a y." x 10/" notcb on the front rail of th~ three middle frames and the bottom frame, see Fig. 13. This notch is u!;
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FRAME
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NOTCH DEtAil
FIGURE 1:1
~fJit~ED ON~~__~____ FRONT RAil 7
OlAWt'R GUIDI CU' TO "T ,.twEeN
111,11.$
THE DRAWER GUIDE SYSTEM
NYLON
DRAWER
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fltOHT RAIL ON IOllOM TOP STIli
When the web frame. arc complete, the next step is to attach the drawer guides (P), see Fig. 14. Cut the four drawer guides wide enough so the top edge of the guide is above the front rails, see Fig. 15. Then trim them 10 length so they butt against the back rail, and extend to the front edge of the front rail, see Fig. 1'1. Next, eut a rabbet on the front end orlh. guides so it overlaps the notch in the front rail, see Fig. 14. Also. chamfer the top edges or the guides slightly to reduce binding. Then glue the guides 10 the plywood panel of the web frame .. theire centered on
~U. Wli
'.AMES
-'T'
•
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.
FRONT RAIL flGURl17
lOP PA,N(l
I
THE DRAWERS At last, we arrive at the whole point of building this chest: the drawer s, Tbe drawers are designed with « concealed
cove on the. drawer front, see J,lig. 19.
Although this makes the druwer ()'()nts
interesting Irom a design And ccnstrnctlon standpoint, it also makes the drny,le.'S -sligh(ly more complicated to build.
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CAIIINEl $101' PANEL
We decided to put atl of the detail. Onthe construction ofthesedrn\\lers in 3 sepnl'atc article on page J3. But bnsically the drawers arc constructed (I:; follows. SLOES AJoIOBACK. The first 6tel) is to cut the ~'-thick drawer sides (N) and back (~O to width so they're ~. narrower than the height of the opening between the web frame s. DRAWERFRO~TI. The drawer front.. (Ll are cut "'.. wider than the height of the drswer opening 10allow for the overlap on the web frames. and Ior the lit" cove on the bottom edge. see Fig. J9. JOfJo1ER'·. To join these drawe rs , I wanted 10 use half-bUnd dovetail •. When making several d:ra\\'ers like this. il'a casier and certainly !aster 10 11.
the drawers, There are only certain drawer sizes that have the proper .p.,clog Iorrouted dovetails, and SO the cabinet had 10 be designed with this in mind. (Thill i. discussed in more detail on page 13.) CIl'I' TH& JOh''T$. Nonnally. joining the
sides of a drawer using a router fixture i.8 relatively easy. But when the drawer front extends both above and below the drawer
8
WOODSMITII
~I
sides, it require» some special techniques. I.... u•• " Luckily,the overlapoflhe drawer fronts can be produced by simply cutting the drawer (ront wider than nonnal and using a small shirn in the dov.uti) fIXture. For more infonnalion on thig technique. see PSIl. 13. cove, Once the eerner joinery is complete, a VIt" eove is CUton the bottom inside edge ofthe drawer front to provide.a finger pull for opening the drawers, see Fig. 19. Then a %. chamfer is CUIon the top edge to provide enough room for easy access to the nnge,' "ull on the next highe,' drawer. Finally, rout an V." chamfer on the bottom I' edge and both ends of the drawer front. OftA\,'t;r( 1JO'M'O~1.Next, a groove is cut along the bottom edge ofeach piece for the ~/ drawer bottom (0). Position this groove Y/' from the bottom of the drawer sides. see Fig. 19. A..~t;)lHLY.After these grooves are eut, dry-assemble the drawer and take measurement. ror lhe 'I" plywood bonom. Cut the boltom to siu and then glue the '""U.. ;.;~)I ':" ,.. ,,- ,... .. drawer together wilh the bottom in place. DRAwg" GUIDES. To eomplere the drawer guide system, cut the drawer runners (Q) to .iUl. see Fig. 20. Then rout a ., "•• elIAtANCE' groove down the center of the runner so it's just sli~htly wider than the width oftbe drawer guide, nnd glue the runner to the drawer bottom so it's centered on the !L~\'(§,'l-C~_OW_t<;IL9Jj ItLc.8~!~"l width of thc drawer; see Fig. 20. r (t) 6'1i" FINISHING TOUCHfS
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One or lhe last steps on the cabinet is to soften the cdges by routing an v.i' chamfer 00 all of thc exposed edges, except the back ed~e of the eabinet sides. I finished the chest with three coats of Den interior woodIlnish. sanding between each eoat with 400 grit \Vet-or-Dry sandpsper.
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MATERIALS LIST
CUTTING DIAGRAM
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1(0· PlYWOOD
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B C D E F G H I J K I M N
, 0 Q
R
y. ply '6V.x 32'¥1. Side Frt. Ed"lng' (2) IV,. x l'I.· 32IY,. Sid. Bk. EdgloS' (2) I'll," ~ . 32'V'6 Top Ponel (1) 0/.. Rly IS x 19V. Top Roll. (FrtlBkl (2) 'Vie )( It,r. - 2,80/. Top Sfll•• (Sid •• ) (2) IV,e. 10/'.- 170/.. lop Web " Roll. (2) '¥t. X I"JA. - 30y:. Mid W.b f, Rolls (6) '+1•• '''' - :JOy, • '1'1'1 W.b F, RoU. (2) 'V'6. 2'% - 3Ov" W.b f' Sri'.. (10) I~, •• 1'h. - 15Y" W.b f, Pon,t, (5' 'I. to fit Oto~r FI'Ot'I I. (..) '¥t.x 7 - 2'% OfOw., lock, (4) Y, x 6% - 28% 0t0w1H SI." CI) 6'1i - 15 Otaw.r Bo'tom. (4) 'It pty - cvt to fit Ol'O'fW'trGvlcMt (4) I~. 'hide - c:ut to fit Drew., (4) %x "h-cutfofj, Cobin.r lode: (1) V.. ply - (\It to fit
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WOODSMITli
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Headboard A HEAD ABOVE THE REST By the tim. ~Jinished building ~he chest of drawers and the night stand shown in this issue, I no long.". had a choice - J had to build a headboard to match, The headboard shown here.is designed to fit a queen
size bed. But. it's very easy to alter the dimensions to fit any mattress size. THE ~A5IC FRAME
Building thj. headboard is really just a matter of'bullding a very ',rgofr.methat's, joined ,,1tl1 mortise and tenon joints. To St.rt construction, 1 CUt the uprights (A) and the top (B) and middle (C) rails to size from 8f~ stock (1"'" -thick stock). UI'IIICU'I'S.'rhe uprights (A) are cut 311<" wide and 4J V."long, see Fig. 1. The ten~h of the uprights actually determines the overall height crtheheadboaed in relation U. the mattress. [f the headboard is built wi t.h 41y.'·long uprights
mattress and box- spring com.. binatjon on ~Imetal frame with casters.) If Ihe height of the mattress is more 01' lass than 24". alter the
to.the length necessary to put the UPrights
len~ of the uprights accordingly. TOPRAJL,The next step is to cut she to)) rail (B) to size. First. lip the rail 10/." wide from 8/4 stock, As for the length.of'the rail, it depends on the width of the frame that supports the mattress and box springs. Check the mounting holes in the frame to determine exactly where you want, the uprights positioned. Then cut the top rail
in the tight position 011 fh~ bed Irame. MIDDLE RAfL, The middle rail (C) is ripped to a width of 2%", Then to determine the length of this rail, take.the final length of the top rail ~B), subtract- the width of both uprights (314' each, 01' a ootal of 6~') and add 1~· for the two ~··Iong tenons on the ends of the middle rail, see Fig. I,
JOIN.ER.)·,After't1be uprights and rails are Out to size, they're joined together with mortise and tenon joints. (A complete, step ..by..step explanation of how 'to cut. a
mortise and tenon joint is given in Wood.. .",iti! No. 26.) Basically, 311this involves is boring a
or
series'o~%' holes centered OIl the width the stock and ;y,' deep, see Fig. A. Then clean up che cheeks of the mortise with a
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MUlTiPlE PASSES
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ClEAN SlO~ OF MOlTIS! WITH CHISEL
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USE SAME FENCE SffilNG TO TltiM lfNG;tH Of TENON
chisel, leaving the ends in the haIf·round
shape, see Figs. 2 and 3. Tt'::-.:O:-':S...Uter l:he mortises
are
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'II".longtenons are cut on the uprights and th~ middle rail. '1'0cut the tenons. 8(lt the fence of the table saw'll" from the outside of the blade, see Fig. B.
,_8:
AOIUSl lfNGTH Of TOP RAIL TO f.lT MATTlttSS -S11E'
Tor RAIL
® All. StOCK I"'," THICI(
Th~n use a pteee of SCral)to set the
hci~ht of the blade. Make passes ovei both f.ces ofthe workpiece. and grndu8Uy....iRe the blade until the thickness of the tenon 5ts snugly In the mortise. Follow the same procedure to cut the sboulders orthe tenon (see Fig. C)so it fits the length ohhe mortise. Then use a file to round over the corners to lit the rounded ends of the mortises.
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SUPPORT RAILS
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Next. grooves are routed 011 the in"ide edge of the lop and middle ,·"ils. These grooves are [01' the panel suppert rails (D),
we ~'Ig.4. The groove on the top rail must be
stopped S' ftom both ends .0 it dOC1!n't show on the edges of the headboard. I cut this stopped groove on the router table. Set the fence YO from the inside edge of a straight bit, Then mark the slart and stop points on the edge of the rail. Now, plunge the rail on the bit to start the cut, and lilt it off the bit. to stop it. The groove on the middle rail is 'cut With the $nme set·up on the router table, I)ul thi. time, lhe groove doesn't have to be stopped, see r'ig. 4. 5VI'POII1""Au.s. After the grooves 31'.
UPil:/OWl OfNIENSIQNS GIVEN Afti roR 2.4 HIGH MATTReSS
FIGURE.
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CHAMFER THE EDGES
1"0complete the top rail (B), cut a 45°mitel' on both ends, see Fig. 4. Then berore "8,
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MATERIALS LIST
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Top Roll (1)
1¥.... 3'/ .. - 4.';' r¥•• 60
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"'1Od). Roil (1) $"'ppott Roils (2)
1¥... 2~ - 55 IY't x 2'1. _ S3'h
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Trim Cop (2)
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Plywood Ponel (1)
uti' JC V. - 53th y, Jt 13 • 53'1t
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DIAGRAM
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STOP'S , ..... OM 1O'r'H (HDS
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~""'~"""";;;~ WOOOSMITH
SIJPPOIt IAA
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sembling the pieees for the basic frame, the edges of the lop mil (B), the middle ''3i1
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(e) and the uprights (A) are chamfered. [
FIGURE 6 00 Nor CHAMSI. nilS lOG&:
did this on the router table, setting the height of a 45° chamfer bit to eut a V.·-"ide chamfer. All ofthe edges and comers of'these tour pieces are chamfered ... "lith three exceptions. The inside top comer ot the uprights is not chamfered, see fig. 6. And both the top and bottom comers of the middle rail are not chamfered, see Fig. 5.
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CHAMR.'/
ASSEMBLE THE FRAME After the edge. are chamfered, the up-
rights eon be glued and clamped to the top rail and the middle rail. to fonn the baste headboard feame. err SUPPORT RAILS. When the trame assembly is dry, measure the opening between the uprigh'" and eut, the support rails (0) to fmal length to fit .nugly belween the uprights. Then they can be glued and clamped into the groove. in the top and middle rails, S(,,, Fig. 7.
c.tO$$ 5fCTION
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THE PANEL
Now the 'Y," plywood panel con be eut to size. This panel is ripped to a width of 13" and cut to length 80 it fits tight between the uprights, TRIM CAl'S. To cove,' the exposed edge. ot the panel, Iadded solid-wood trlm caps. To mount these caps, Ii.'l!! rou; ",.bbots on both taces of the panel to produce V... K 110' tongues on the top and bottom edgell ot the panel, sec Fig. 8.
,....CUT fANEl TO FIT 8ETWEEN UP_IOH'S
".
13'A"
Rip the trim caps to a width oro/,,", and to
•••
length to match the length of the panel. Then cut a groove down the center ot the trim cap to fit the tongue on the panel,
CUT SUPPORT WLS
TO
FINAL SUPS
When the panel is complete, mount it to thc support. rails by drimng pilot hole. through the back of the rails, and t1tre"ing it in place with No. 8 K 1y." Fh sere w s, >lOI:!<'TtSG HOLES. Before applying the finish. locate and predrill holes tor the y." bolts used 10mount the upright~ to the bed frame. FL'1'$IIL"G. Finally, 1 fmi8h·sanded .11 surfaces otthe headboard, being CarefIJIto not round over the crisp edges of the chamfers. Then J applied three coats of Den interior finish, eanding between eeats with 320·grit Welo-or-Orysundp.per.
12
U",IGHTS.
AND GlUE 1'0 TO' ANO BonONl .... ,LS
CfliUlf'ER TRIi\t CAP. No," the trim Cl\pS
eon be glued and damped to the edges of the panel. Then use the chamfer bit to rout a 45° ehamfer on the iJl$ide edges of the trim caps, see fig. 9. ThL. chamfer should be po..itioned ... it leaves a Ilo"-wide shoulder next to the joint tine between the cap and the panel. (It'. best here to sneak up on this cut to make sure you don't cut too deep and expose the plywood'. inner eere.)
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AJ1I.CH MoNti ftlM CAP WITH TONGUf
AND GtOOvE
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WOOOSMITli
•
Building Drawers THE DETAILS FOR DRAWER CONSTRUCTION 'rhe drawers used on the chest and the night stand shown in this issue are 1Ilittie out of the ordinary; We wanted to keep the design clean and simple ... yet we also wa nted to build drawers that ...ere interesting from. woodworking standpoint. To make them interesting. we decided to have absolulely clean drawer fronts-not even any drawer pulls. Instead, the lower edge of the drawer front has a concealed CO\'t
I"YU" • CHAW'Ea fO' fOG!
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DRAWER CONSTRUCTION JU far as the construction of these drawers is concerned. I built them using 414 mahogany for the drawer fronts and ~"~yca",ore for the sldes and backs. USing two different wood. like this is • common practice. The drawer rront Is made with the same wood used for the "est of the cabinet (mahogany in this ens. of the projcoUl in this issue). Then the sides and back are made of inexpensive stock. (We usually use ~" sycamore or poplar for the • ides and bJICk because tbese "'()()ds are downril!ht cheap around bere. and they're also easy to work with.) DEIGnTOF OPE:''l.\'G.To build the drawers for the chest, I started with the side. and back. The first step here i. to rip 1'.' stock to width so i~ fits the height of Ihe opening In the eabinet. 'That.sounds simple enough, bllt the most 'important thing about building drawers is the plannlngthat precedes this measurement. Tho height of the opening should aetually be determined when the cabinet i. in the de,iln' and planniog SIB!!". The .hest of drawers is designed with oponings that are 61«" high, which ae-
\VOODSMITH
[J-': Ifi 'It~ COVE
,- =, ,OR~WIR fRONI OVlRLAt'S RAil
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'i..,· CLEARANCE
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counts ror drawer sideo thaL are 6y,," high and Kl- for clearance. These are not arbiIn\fj'
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which is used to open tile drawer,
This feature had to be taken into consideration for the design of Ihe cabinet as well as the d:.. wer; The drawer f''O''t hils 10 extend down fa,' enough to allow room fo,· the cove, see Fig. I. At the same time, the cabinet has to be designed so rnere's enough clearance to allow you to get your finlters Into the eoved lip. JU this de.ign took shape, what we were really dOing was designing the chest around the drawers. Or more precisely, desiln'ing the openings in the chest for specific drawers. After all the design considerations were worked out, there was still the practical mauer or building the drawers. This Involved two basic decisions: 1) the construction (joinery) that would be used fo,' the drawers, and 2) the method used to mount them in tbe cabinet (the guide sy!lU!m).
,
V
dimensions.
I)OVETAILSPACING.The 614" height for' the drawer sides produces propel' spacing
for the dovetail jOitlt when it'fi cut. \vith a router and dovetail jig. rl'hi~"proper spaelng" means that tho dovetail. are evenly
want to avoid.) CUTSlUE TO WIUTII.HopefUlly the cabinet h as been built ,L< planned -with openings 61«" high. If it is, rip the stock for the drawer sides and backs to a width of 6~·. If the opening is larger or smaller than planned, the drawers can still be made, but
the dovetails won't have tbe proper spac-
spaced on the drawer side "·ith a halfpin on the top edge and a half pin on the bottom edge, as shown in fig. I.
ing. And, because of the way the dovetail jig works, the dovetail 00 the bottom edit. will be affected the most. It may be only Shop Note: The smallest width for a partially cut, and thus it "ill look a litlle drawer side when the dovetailjig is used is odd and will be 8 Iitlle weak. but the draw. I~". FT'Omhere the "idth of the sides can ers will hold together. increase in increments of~·. and sl.iUhave CtlTSII)ElITO I_.~SGTII.Aile the drawer proper spacing for the routed dovetails. sides are cuI to width, they can be cut to One of these incrementa 1S6Y"If, Another is length. This is basically a "C"t to fit" oper4YA" - the dimension used ror the drawer ation. ThlltlR, thedrawer sides must be cut, to length .0 the 3s.~enlliled drawer fits the in the night stand. CL&,IltANCE.Also included in Lhe height. depth ofihe cabhwt. .. wuh a little clenrof the drawer opening is n clearance of ~". ance between the back of the drawer and This. allows Yl~'for clearance between the the back of the cabinet. top edge of the drawer and the web frame To do this, first meas ure the depth ofthe above it. plus VOl" for the head of the nylon cabinet. Then subtract the thickness or the gUde that the bottom edge of the drawer drawer front ('V,.') and drawer back (~"')• side rides on, see .-'ig. 1. add on th~ length of the dovetails (they These two allowances demonstrate the overlap on the fronL and back • total of importance of planning ahead - you have ~"), and finally .ubtNICI Lbe amount of to know how the drawer is going to be built clearance needed at the back (usually a"d how It's to be mounted. Bx using a ;4'" is sufficlent). Then cut the-drawer sides nylon glide, you have to plan ahead for the to length. Cl7l'IJACK "I,,() 1~f.N(;.'PII,Next, the drawer YlCt' space that it requires. So, we're dealing with rather sma]] lQlcrnnces for the back can be cut to length. This is relatively
cabinet openings. [r there's much more than Y1~" clearance above the drawer, it "ill tend to drop down too much when it's opened. (You know the feeling when you open a drawer and the front drops - there'. that sudden fear and quick move to catch it, That.'s what )'OU
easy to determine.' on the drawers in the chest and night stand beeause the length of the back is equal to the length of the drawer's front. The length of the front is determined by measuring the width of the cabinet opening and subtracting an amount ror clear-
13
anee. Some people allow as muCh as ~" on each side (or a wtal of Yt'") for clearance. I think this is too much and makes for a sloppy drawer. I usually make !he wtal clearance no more than y,,- (or Yt.... on each side). CL'T fRO~"'TO WIDTH. The only thing len is to eut the drawer front to width (height). .,,\g shown in f'ig. 1, the drawer front overhips tho web frames above and below it. Measure the opening between these
Irames nnd add overlap for the top web frame, and n total of ~" for Ute bottom frame (this I.Yo" for the overlap and \1:" for
Basically, w set up tho cut for the back
and side, mount the drawer back on top of the jig and the drawer side on the front on lbe jig, see Fig. 5. Then rout the dovetails in the normaJ ".ay. When the routing is complete on the drawers for the chest, there should be seven dovetaits centered on the drawer side with a half-pin on the top and bottom edge. So far, so good. JOINT fOR fRONT
~N
the cove). "tAnK
FOlt ASSt:bllll ..Y. when all tl\e
pieces rOl'the drawers are cut to final size, it helps to mark them to keep thing<
straight - especially when the joints are going to be routed on dovetail jig. BasicaUy, you have W mark both ends of each piece to indicate which drawer it's for and whieh joint on that drawer it is. One system te use is to mark each piece as shown in Fig. 2. The .. marluo should be on the faee that will be on the inside or the drawee; because this is the fa,.. that will be visible when the pieee is placed on the dovetail jig. JOIN SIDES AND BACK
\Vhen 1111the pieces are cut to size and marked, the next step is to join these pieces to [Ol"lll the drawers, Start by routing the dovetail. to join the back with the two side •. (This i. ~he cosiest joint to cut.)
As mentioned above, 1 planned to use a router and a dovctailjigto cut thesejoints. (A complete explanation of how to set. it up and use • dovetail jig is covered in a detailed nrtiele in Wood.milh No. 22.)
Normally, Ihe joil1t that joins the drawer front and the side. would be no big deal either, But. rOJ' th(!se drawers, the side has W be olTset to 011ow for the ')'i,"lip on the top edge of the drawer front. (This is VOl" for Lhe clearance and for the overlap of the web f.1I.10e,refer to t'ig. 1.) Also. the dOVetailShave to .wp before getting to the bouom edj(e of the drawer front to allow Vo" for the 110"cleeranee and the W" cove. Seuing up the dovetail jig tc cut this ofrset joint. presents some challenges. \Vbat I wound up doing was cutting !he jO'int in t \\'0 ~teps. The first step is to clamp tbe drawer front on the topside oftbejig in the normal manner (with the inside race up and the LOp edge of the drawer against the pia). However, W create the 'y,,' lip on the top edge of the drawer Iront, the drawerside isjogged
V,
OVCJ'
with a o/a,," shim, sec Fig. 6.
Now the dovclllils enn be routed ... until you ge~ to the last pin. Stop before "rounding the corner" t-o complete the last
pin. \Vha\t you
'VUJlt
to do here is complete
the last dovet.ail without making another socket in the drawer front. This wiu leave room for the eove on the bottom edge of the drawer front.
.
The only problem is that the last dovetail has W be completed. 'lb do this, replace the drawer front with a piece of scrap wood, and continue routing. see Fig. 7. (The scrap wood will help to prevent chip-cut on the drawer side as the last dovetail is routed.) ROL'TCO\1-!. When these joints are complete, the \" cove can be routed on tbe bottom edge .fthe drawer fronts. [did this on II router table. Then I chamfered the top edge at 45'. This allows a IIltie oxtrn space to get your fingers int.o the cove to open the drawer, Before Msembling the drawer, I also rounded over the lop edges of the drawer
sides with a l'i!"l"O\lnd..oveJ· bit. This is not 8 neeessarv step, but, it.tIoOftens the edges of the sides, and il just looks nicer when you open the drawer. MOUNTING THE 80noM
The last step in making the drawer is toeut the gt"OO\'c,W mount the drawer bottom; Again, this n!quire" planning ahead. The gt"OO'-es should be positioned so 1) they don't create a gap that', visible on the outside ofthc drawer, and 2) so the drawer botwm is high enough to leave room forth. runner that's part. of the guide system. For these drawers, I positioned the groove so it's W' from the botlom edge of the drawer Ride. see I'-'ig. 4. 'rhis. unfortunat
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14
WOODSMITH
•
OR.-l\\tHR UQ'M'()~I.Al)
for the drawer
bot-
terns, 1 made then, out. of Vol" hardwood plywood. The only problem here I. ~ha( hardwood plywood is .hnos~ never a full Yo. thick, it's almcet always a little on the
~hyside, This means. the gIOO\'e (or the drawer bottom has to be: custom cut, Cl'TCROOV&. I cullhe groove on a table
saw, sneaking up on the width of the CUI, until it matched the .ctual thickness of the plywood. This. usually takes two passes with a M..·thick saw blade. (I use a Freud LM 12M carbide-tipped rip blade to cut these greoves, Thi. blade has teeth th8~ are
ground v...rith a nat top ...~thiehproduces fl.lrbottomed
II:
groove.)
!te,. the grooves are CUI, the drawer bottom itself can be cut to size. To get the final dimensions of the bottom, dry-clamp the drawer together and measure rbe i""ide ,,;dth and depth. Then add the depth of the grooves to both CUT DRAWER U01TOM. A
dimensions. I usually cullhe drawer bottom SOit has a good tight fit in the g,'Oove•. This way the bottom will help square up the drawer M the pieces are clamped to~ther. GUIDI SYSTEM When the drawers are complete, the last step is to mowlt them in lhe cabinet. Of course you want \(I mount them 8
hoies for the se glides are very difficult to drill after the cabinet Is asaembled. This means the hole. for the glide. have 10 be drilled befor« the cabinet is ... embled. Which again, means planning ahead. Option: If you don't want to use nylon glid es , an option is to drill holes and use a %- dowel. Just cut the dowel se it sticks up Yo..• bove the rail,
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cor GUll).:
ISAI(.
New back
lc)
the guide
bar. 1b make it, rip a piece of maple to width so when il's turned on edge it sticks up enough sc it'. exactly level "ith the top of the nylon glides. Then cut a notch on the front end of the guide bar to fit over the notch in the web frame rail. The shoulder of thi$ notch should Jit ""Ullly 811ainst the back side of the r ail, and the back end should be snug against the back rail. CIIAI"'~R EI)(l£S. To complete the guide bar I usually chamfer the edge •. If there's going to be a problem with the fit of the runner and the guide bar, iI's going to be where the square edge of the guide bar meet. the h\'~ldeeomer of the groove on the runnel', 'Ill eliminate any problems in situations tike this, ( "knock orr' the edges SO nothing can hang up. )IOL~" Tile Gt:IOE 8..>\R. No\\' the guide bar can be mounted to the web frame. Apply glue to the bottom edge of the bar. and place It 011 the web frame '0 it's centered in the notch in the r!lil, see ~'ig. S. Then clamp the guide bar in plnce with ~Iamps on the front and bark. As the clamps are ti)thtened, make sure the guide bar is exactly square with the front rail. Although this bar can be screwed to the
web frame, I think gtuing and clamping is a better procedure. DUling the I"'OC.'S of driUing Jlilo~ holes and driving in the se r ews, the bar is bound to I:!lip out of square. So I think it's better to just apply glue and clamp it in place. nu: Rlr.
nCI'It" Simply a piece of maple with a groove down the center. The runner should be about Y:t' wider
than the guide bar to allow a V'" on each
side of the greove, (Once again, this ,,;dth Vias
planned (or when the not-th
'\'35
cut in
the front runner.) When the groove is cut in the runner, the width of the groove should allow for n smooth tit over the guide bar - just wide enough J;O it lito over the bal' e.sily, but not sloppy. The depth of the greove should be such
that \,'hen the bottom o( the groove is riding on the top of the guide bar, the sides of the drawer are riding on the glides. ~'OUSTTIl~ RUNNEIt.Alter the !(TOOve is cut, the only problem is how to mount. the runner to the bottom of the drawer; Th do this, cut the runner to length so it has a very tight fit between the front and back of th. drawer.
Then push it in place on the drawer bottom and moun; the drawer in the cabinet. 'ro pOSition the runner, push the drawer nil the way into the cabinet until the drawer D'Ontis in full contact with the
raiJs, (This will ensure the drawer is not rocked out of pcsition.) Ab;o, adjust the drawer front from side to side until tbe clearance at both ends of the drawer front is the same. Now, earefully pull the drawer out and mark the pusition of the runner, Apply glue and place n weight (a brick will work) on the runner [0 clamp it to the bottom. DAA" EMSTOP.That eemplet es the guide system. There's only one lest detail to complete the drawer. To ,top the drawer from b<:ing pulled out too far (and falUnll out of (he cabinet) mount n smell turnbuckte catch on the inRide face of the drawer back, see Fig. 8. Then apply wax to the runner and the guide, and you've completed a V01)' handsome, ~moothdrawer lh8t'~ a jO)' to open and close.
ust:
'I." STOCK F-OR SIDES AND 8ACK
friction and wear, I made them OUt of
maple. Maple Is very hard, resists wear, and witb time will beeome burnisbed to a
ver~fsmooth. a1most stipper~' surface (which is ideal for drawer guides). To make the guide bar, tip a piece of maple to width so when it's turned on edge It sticks IIp enough 80 it's exactlY level with the nylon glide at the ends ofthe front rail, see Fig. 8. However, this is another matter of planning ahead. S\'LOS CLIO&S.
510£
GlUl GUIDol UJt IOWU_
Before YOIl can really CUI
the guide bar to final size, the nylon glides have to be mounted on the top edge of the web frame rail. I used nylon glides to prevent wear and tear on the front rail of the web fram •. However, beenu"" of their position, the \VOODSM.lTH
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15
N_jght Stand
___
A BEDSIDECOMPANION If you plan to build the chest of eventually want LO build a night stand to go with it. But that's not such a bad deal, at least Irom a woodworking standpoint. 111 fact, you may want to build the night stand first- it makes an excellent warm-up project fOJ'the chest of drawers. It has all the design features o( the chest, but in a smaller scale. The basic cabinet is built exactly the !;ODIe way as the chest, except it has only t\VO web frames (one above and one below the drawers). And of
course, there's om}' one drawer to build which makes things a 10L
easier. THE CABINET SIDES
To build this night stand, r started with the side frames, which consistof a plywood panel. with edging strips on the front and back edges. 'PANEL. First, cut t\VO :y.'1'" plywood panels (A) to size: 140/8" wide by 23¥t. edge. and '0/,6' fOI' the thickness of the long. Then to attach the web frames and stock for·the web frame. The nexLgroove bottom shelf, thnee grooves are cut across should be located so its·top edge is exactly the inside face on both plywood panels. 6%' down from the top edge of the top ROUTGROOVES. To cut these grooves, I groove. This allows the proper spacing used the router table. Set up the router between the grooves (or the drawer. table to rout y." x y"," grooves across each The top of the third groove (fQrtbe boteabinet.sid •. tom shell) is located 2%" from the bottom The top groove is posibioned lY16" down edgeofthepanei. AJ'tIirroutingthe bottom (rom t he top edge or the plywood panel. groove, you also need a short vertical This allows for the V.f-Iongtongue on Wp groove for the kickboard. fro cut this MATERIALS LIST Dimensions.: 24"'" lC2lPW - 16*0 Slde Pernel. (2) 'I..ply 14'1. lC23'/1" Si~. Fft. Edgings (2) 11/1.. lC 1¥. - 22'''1. Side Bk. Edgings (~) 11/1 .. 'X :V.. _ 22'¥1~ Top Ponel (1) '/ .. p1'113% x ,17'/.. TOp Roils (fl't/Bk) (2) 11/... X 1%-16% Top Stiles (SId") (2) lV, .. x 1'1.- 16 Top W.b fr Roil. (2) 10/,.. x '0/,... laY; Mid Web Fr Roll, (:2) '0/,... IV. - t81.4 Web Ft Stilet (4) '¥, ..x 1-0/'.. - 130/ ... 1/.. pty 13V. .. lC161/ .. Web Fr Pono'* (2) o/.. pty 14¥.x 19 Blm Shelf Pone' (1) Btm Shelf Edgin9J'~2) IV,.. ~ 1 - eut to fit Kicltbootd (1) '0/,.. x2'h- 19 Otower Front (l) "/, .. lC S'/4 - 16'1. Drawe, 80ck (1) I/l: lit 40/. - 1M'. Orower Sld@'s(2) Ihx4%-13~ II.. pfy - (Ul 10 fit Drowo' Bottom (1) DfQwef Guide (1) ,)/, .. thfck - (out to fit Drewet Runner (1) V.. .JI: l1h - wt to fil Cos.e Bo(k (,1) '/.. ply - (ul to fit
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A 8 G 0 E
F G
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I clamped a fence LO the plywood and used a hand-held router. 'l'\)l'i.CIlES. After the grooves are cut, Y.o'-longtongues are em, on t~e front, back, and top edges of the plywood panels. Sinee these tongues will have .to fit v.."-wide grooves touted in the edging strips, Irouted a groove in a test piece w gauge the thicklless of ~he tongues. Then to cut the tongues, I used a %' bit in the router table, see Steps 1 and 2 in ~'ig. I. Set the renee to cut a Yl-wideorabbeton both faces ofthe plywood. A
drawers shown on page 4', you'll
DIAGRAM
"8~
1 V, .. x 7'1.'- _
B F
•
• r
F
M
t
WOOOSMlTH
,
The back edging strips (C) .J.., also ripped from a piece of 5/4 stock So they, ... as wide lIS the thickness of I he plywood panel, sec Cross Section in t'lg. 1. Then they're eut to the same length 'IS the front edgings. GROOI'ES 1:<.,.RII'S. All four of these strips are joined to the plywood panel by routing y,," x ~ .. grooves. On the front strips (B), the grooves are cut on the 10/.1' wider.co (see CnlSlI Section in Fig, I), and positioned so the outside edge is Ouoh with the surface of the panel. The back edging strip (C) bas a 1'.. x 1'.. groo\'eeentered on theedgeofth •• triIJ. It also has a y.·-deep rabbet on the inside back edge for the plywood back. BACK STRIPS,
RGUU I
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Aflel' the grooves Are cut, the fl'ont. And back strips are glued to the panels, Oush with the shoulder of the tongue on the top edges.
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NO lOHGU, ON, BOTTOM 1001
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THE TOP FRAME AND PANEL The frame and panel for the top of the cabinet consists of a plywOO
Then, as on the side panels, rout
y.··wide rabbets on both race. of the I",nel to produce Y.··longtonguesthis time on all four edges, Also, cut the y,,·.wide, V,"·deep shoulder next to the Longue to produce the Yo." ,'eUef between the Illlllel and the edging, see Fig. 2. RAlLS. To make the frame., rip the fron" baekr.Uls(E) from!)·1 stOck so they're I'J{,"ide. (Note: This width may have to be altered to make sure the top assembly Is the same width 8S the side Irame.] Then Irim the "ails to length to match the sheulder-to-ahoulder length of the ply· wood panel, see Fig, 2, STU.ES.The stiles (I') for the tOp are tIIso ripped 1'J{,·wide from a piece of 514stock. Then Ihey're cut to length to equal the width of the .abinet sides. GIlOOv&S IN IIAI!.S, To attach the rails (E) to the plywood panel, l'Out • litx v," groove on the tnstde edge of each piece, see Step 1 in Fig. 2, Position these grooves so the faces of tbe rails are O""h with the faee of the plywood panel. GROOI'ES L" STII.'!S. The grooves in the ~tile8 (F) have to be stopped so they don't show through. These grooves are stopped W' from both end. of the stile, see ~'ig. 2. Before gluing the stiles to the panel I rouled a second Y" x 1'." stopped groove on the bouom face of the stile. This groove is used w attaeh the IGp frame to the side frame. see Detail in Fig. 2. ASSEMSLY, Finally, the rails and stiles can be glued to tho plywood l)IInel. "hen ..fter the framo is assembled, cut a V.·wide bevel on the front of the Irarnc, see Cross Section in Fig. 2. \VOODSMITH
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'IYWOOD SIDE PANEL
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17
fIGURE J
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THE WEB fRAMES
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18
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~_~Dt.EW(e. FRAMJ
1
After the side Irames and the top frame arc Itf complete, the two web frames and the '" bottom shelf can 00 built. \VEO t·R.UtES.The two web frames are almost identical. The overall dimensions and the length of the Individual pieces are the same, the only difference is the width of the frontlback rails (G and H). BAns. To get the length of the rails ror the web frames, dry-damp the top frame to the sides of the cabinet. Then measure the distance between the side fram es to get the length of the rail, (G and H). This should 00 I8~-. refer 10 Fig. 3. Although the length of the rnils on both frame>; is the same, the width is dilTerent. On the top frame the rails (G) are ripped wide (see Fig. 3), and the rails (H) on the middle frame are ripped IV.wide, see Fig. 4. STILes. The stiles (I) on both web frame. are the same size. To find the lenj!th oflhe stiles, first measure Irom lhe front. moldiog on the cabinet side to the rabbet in the back molding. Then subtract the thickness of the front and back rails ('V.' + '0/",,), and add a v," for the """.Iong stub tenons on Ihe ends of the stile •. The unal measurement should be 130/,..', A. for the width, the stile. are .11 10/.' wide. cnoovss. To join the raUs and sutes, fu'St cut. groove on the inside edge of each piece to match the thickness (If the ply· wood panel, see the Details in Figs. and 4. Then cut stub tenon. on the end. of tho stiles to match the groove in tho ralls. Also cut a rabbet on tho outside edge of the stiles to form a v... tongue to fit the groove • in the cabinet sides. NO'I'CII. Before the middle frame is n.. sembled. eut • 10/.1' wide, ""- deep nOleh centered on the front mil fo,' the drawer guide. see Fig. 6. Then drill. V,,· hole 114Jrom each end of the front rail for the nylon glides, Fig. 5. ASSE>18LY. Dry- as semble the fram •• and take measurements ror lhe 14- ply· wood panels. Cut the panels to fit, .ntclt in the frout rail. Glue it to the web frame $0 it's eentered on the width of the frame.
a
THE BOTTOM SHElf
The bottom shelf conslsts or • plywood panel with edging strips on the front and back edges, CuT 1'&~EL TOSlZE, To build this shelf, first eut, t,he plywood panel (K) to length 60 it's V,"longer than the inside width ofthe cabinet. (The extra is for the 11.'
V,
WOODSMITH
tongueij on both ends of the shelf.) 'I'hen cut the 'helHo width '0 it's W "ider than me distance between the front and back moklings on the cabinet sides. see 7. (Again. the extra 111" is for the tongu •• on the front and back edge s. ) TO.NGl'f,s.After the ply, ...ood is cut, rout rabbets on aU (our edges to form v." umgue$ that tit the grooves in the cabinet sides. see Cross Section in Fig. 7. Next, trim the tongues on the front and rear rome", SO they fit around the moldings on the cabinet sides, see Detail in fig. 7. KlCKBOARD. The last step before the cabinet i$ assembled i. to cut a kickboard 2*'" wide, and longer than the inside ".dth of the cabinet. '1'hen cut rabbets on both ends ofthe kickboard to form tongues that tit the grooves in the cabinet sides, see Detail in Fig. 8. ASSEAIIILY. To assemble the cabinet. glue the side frames, both web frames, the bottom shelf', and the kiokboard together. When the glue is dry. attach the top frame. lIOLDINGS. Finally. cut the front and back edging strips (L) (or the bottom shelf. Rip both pieces 1" wide and long enough to fit between the cabinet sides. Then cut, 'I.' x K.. grooves positioned so the top edge oCthe molding will be Ilush with the face of the panel. see Section in Fig. 7.
.'g.
V." CHAMfER faON'lOGE, ONlY
OIAWER GlID(._
*'"
(iii lOTTOM SH£tF-
eros.
THE DRAWER
Thedrawer 'orllle night stand is similar to those on the chest: the drawer front hIlSa concealed rove on the boltom edge. (Note: What foilo".. is an abbreviated deseription ROO of how the drawer is buil1.. A detailed explanation is given on page 13.) CUTPJ>;Ct;S.The tirSt step in building the drawer is to cut the drawer sides (P) and bad< (0) l!." narrower than tbe opening. and to the lengths shown in Fig. 9. Then cut the drawer front (N) i(.' wider than the 1 height of the drawer opening. To join the pieces for the drawer, J US
\VOODSMITH
RADl!lffENDS OF !'tICkOOAIC 10 fOAM ,,...-• 'Ii' TONGUES TO FITSIDEGRoovlS
FlOHr MOLDiNG ON IOl10M SHRf
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GROOVE FOR
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OR~WERBOTTOM '''1 flOM M
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19
Wall
or
FOR A SHARP IMAGE drawers, it'" pretty much standard procedure to build a mirror to go with it. Usually this is simply" matter of building a frame and then having the mil.,..,r cut to size 80 it enn he mounted in the back. Not so with tho mirror shown "I,·ight. The frame i~ designed to match the style of the chest of drawers and the headboard. But instead of building the frame first, the mir-
R.\.HltET, \Vhen the frame is as-
j
Shop Note: I usu.lly cut rabbets on n table $IIw to prevent tbe should.,. from chlpping out, But since the rabbet, for the plywood back 11Mto be Slopped on both
ends of the rails. it's much easier
Sinee there are ouch close telersnees between the frame and the mirror. thi. reverse proeedure eliminate. uny chance of the milTOr not fitting the frame. THE fRAME
20
,,0/..
hand held router, sec Cross Sec.. lion in Pig. 5.
ror is eut to Kiz.c and then the frame i. built to fit around it.
I had the mirror cut to size (2[1V..· x 26'0/0.") at a local glass store. Anc" it was cut. I went to work on the frame. The fra me is simply foul' piec•• of 6f4 stock thnt nrejolned with mortise and tenon joints. CUTP,f:CY.S. The flrtlt step is to cut the frame pieees to size. The stile. are ripped 1"''- wide, and 3¥0," longer than the length of the mirror (thi •• hould be 30V,"). Then the top and bottom rails are ripped IV.' wide. and a total of ------3Vo." longer than the width of the mirror. Note: This 3V,.· extra length accounts for the width of the two stiles (1%' each) plus a total of Vi,,- (or expansion space between the edge of the mirror and the edge of the stile. llORT'Sf:S. Aner the pieces are cut to size, the next step is to cut the mortises in the raila, The mortlsee are %' wide by 1110' long nnd centered Oil the edge of the ,.ail.s, sec Fig. I. AINo, they're only v.," deep to allow for the miteron the ends of the rails, refer to Detail in ~'ig. I. Th cui the mortises, I used a %" bit in a drill pre •• , drillillg overlapping holes to remove the waot e. (This is the same method used to cut the mortises on the headboard. IiC
sembled, a ¥'·wide rabbet is ",utt~1 on the inside back edge for the \4' plywood buck. Th rout this rabbet, I lise" rabbet bit in a
and tenon joinl8.) >tI11lR CORSf:R:;. After the mortise and tenon joints are cut, the ends on both rails are mitered al_ISIO• Cut a o/,t'·wide miter on the outside corners of both rails. see Detail in Fig. I. C"'lIFF.1I ':I)(:I;S. Th soften the edges on the frame, the front edges of the rails and stil es are chllmfcred. (I did this on a router table with n 45' chamfering bit.) On the rails. rout the fl'oni edges and the corner under the mitcl"(!tlend, sec Fig. 2. On the stilcs. rout all the front edges. Then I all'O wanted to chamfer the outside eorner; I
to rout with. hand held rollter. The only problem with using • router to cut the rabbet is that the shoulder lit the bottom of the cut u'ually chips out-and this is the shoukler that will show on the front of the frame. Th get a clean cut while roll' ring, IICtthe depth of cut equal to the thickness of the plywood back. Then make. light scoring I"'" 011 tho inside edge moving the router In • counter-eloekwise directioll. which is the opposite direction you'rOS\II)Poscd to rout, see Fig. 4. By routing in the "wrong" direetion, the rotation of the bit tends to push illlClfaway from the piece. So you really have to eoncentrale to keep the bit in contact with edge along the entire length of the piece. This method produces a very smooth cut on the bottom 5houlder. After the initial scoring pass, move the router in the normal eleekwise direct.ion to complete the rabbet. Then use a sharp chisel to square up the round corners ofthe rabbet, see !'ig. 6. CIJTUACK. Now the yt plywood back CO" be cut to fit in the rabbet on the baekotthe frame. 'l'hen glue It In place. THE HOLDING STRIPS Th mount the mirror to this fi'8lne, two holding snips are used to grip the top and bottom edges of the mirror. These strips are, in turn, screwed to the plywood back. see Fig. 6. HOLOINC srnu-s, The fll"Ststep is to cut the holding .trips to siee. Rip the strips £rom a piece of ,,.... $tock so they're )16" wide. and %·thick. Then eut them about I" longer than the in.ide dimensions of the fi'ame. (They're trimmed to final length later.) cer GROO\·.;. Th attach the strips to the WOODSMITH.
mirror; cut a groove the same thickness as
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CHAMl'EjilIOG£$
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MA)'CH SIDES
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NOTE:! SCORE EDGE BEfORE ROUTING RAIIMT
JH(CKNESS OF 1/.- P'lYWOOD
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ROUT COUNTtR· CLOCkWISE TO SCORE ~OGE OF RA88ET
25'",,"_
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and the strips.in theframe, cut-the holding strjp.~to length to fit snugly between the stiles on the. mirror frame. Thep slide the strips over the edges of the mil1-or and position it in 'the, frame so theWs equal spacing between the holding strips and the top and bottom rails. Mark this position andremove the strips from the mirror, Then clamp the strips alone to the plywood, and drill pilot holes through the plywood back for #6 x W' woodscrews, see }"ig.· 6. FINISH. Before mounting the mirro); ! applied three coals of Deft interior finish to .the frame and the holding strips. Now the mirror can be installed. I placed a couplepieces of cardboard in betw•• n the mirror- and the plywood back to support the center of the mirror. 'Then the holding strips can be screwed in place to hold the mirror in the frame.
-,
IGU,. '.
the mirror (l{,') down the edge of the ~trips, see Fig. 6. (Most carbide-tipped saw blades cue kerfs exactly 14' wide.) Cue this kerf V,' deep and centered on the edge of the strip, see Step 2 in Fig. 6. CItA-'IFEN ~J)GES. Aft"r the groove is cut, tne fl'ontedges ofthe strips are chamfered. Rout a *oN-widechamfer on t.he top edge.ofthe strip. see Step 3 in Fig. 6. Then l-out small !4'-wide chamfer on the bottom edge, see Step 4.in Fig. 6.
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WOODSMITH
21
u_a_lk_i_ng ShOI!
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AN OPEN FORUM FOR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS ning across the face of lumber are either sticker stains or sticksr- marks. Both conI readyoltrltlticlt in WoodsmithNo. 98 on 'dilions occur during' ~he drying process, palmsand6>1l.and w01l/y 1191hinlj the layers of boards as they dry_ A]vhough stickers allow free air movea/>
steel pin, ~()hich t.:teaJe$ (l, ci'l"CUlq.r ))lOti01t
and res'utis i'l Sl.i,'/ mltrks tl14t a,,'~ noticeable t:iftp tl", fill is" is applied. Ne
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22
STILL TOO FAT
$0"''' time ago, I
b&ugl
jl
tool e"cl"~~v~ly on my It' Crafum"1/. radial It]'m S,cut and "'''''18 witlt tiftle vib''lJti01l.. TI", of)J".,night, I ,.'lUlrc-,'eading WOOdsmith ~ck 'issues «nd came """""s Y01l" discussioll in: Woodsmifh No. Ilt about the
new 8" adjl18tabl. dtldo jroin Preud. TIre discussion was ab&ut lun» it wOllld.wt fit 80me·table saw8. Accordi1lg to yo",' com"''''U8, f'reluJ IIM·re-milled Ow sides of the "',.. 8" (uull) 80 thaI th.y ,.-itt tit on ally
ST'Cltgn MARKS.Stickel' marks appear
as narrow bands (usually about 1"in width) In the tests we. conducted in our shop, we across the race of a board that are tighter found no distinguishable difference in the than the rest of the ~iece. qualjty of the finish produced by either the A'Slumber dries, it's normal for the exMakita or bhe Porter-Cable palm sanders. posed suefaee of the boards to darken The only time any of lite palm sanders slightly as it reacts \loth the OXYglOn in the we reviewed produced visible s\virl marks air (oxidation). were when we used co~rse grit sandpape; Stick~.· marks occur when the contact 'Vben we switched to medium or fine grit between th~ sticker and the board is tight sandpaper, there were never any visible enough to prevent oxidation from occurswirl marks using any of the sanders, ringon the.area where the sticker and the lumber meet. This causes the area covered THE GHOSTS OF STICKERS PAST by the sticker to appear lighter than the R eeeIlt1y, I cam. across a p.-obltl .. I've rest of the board, slmply because it hasn't "_, se",. before. 1'1wproblem. 1<1"S that darkened by oxidation. there ",ere verg light lines ~bout I" wide, STIGKflR ST,\INS. Sticker stains are just 11",1 'I'CI" across i'I<'widil/. of P.y h'mber. what their name implies - stains caused TllMelilleJj occurred .. ery three feet 01"0 by the stickers. Unlike sticker marks, sticker stains can be any colo, that's alollll UteI."gtl, of II", I"",b"" liried to sand th.lilles out, outitgot 10 da.,·I1 ••· than the surrounding wood. the point w/,ere J cqollid-have bWI ~hangSticker stains can 'be the result of sevi'lfi th_ thickness t>f U,. lli6C'" if I'd COn- moal(Iifferent conditiollS, One COlldit.ionis tinued. W~"'I./inalty applied, finis", \\'hen moisture is trapped between the ihe li"es "'ere "lOre appo,r
II,.
The only way to eliminate Ihe problem of sticker stains and sticker marks is to avoid them [rom the start. Carefully inspec~ each piece of surfaced lumber, and lookfor the faint bands that run across the width of the board.
tabt. sm•. Thil! is.~'t~«e t,ue., ka.••
011. of the fle". ",,-milled 8" dado blades and, it wil/. not fit $o:jely Ofl'tty 10" Crcifl.sman talil. sa... T}", salO SllO,1t 6xl."ch f)I1'OUghII,.
dado blade only Jar enough to allow 0,,,, fldtl 0" U,. arbor "ut. I do,,'( l/tin" Uwobbl~dtl® blade, 01' allY blade. is s
Gibralter, MicMg(1II
When we ran the segment in lVoods",itl, No. 23 about the Feeud adiuetable dado blades, the problem ha,1 just been discovered. According to li'l-eud, 'Ihey had started tomill down the sides ofthe 8"dado so It would fit any table saw. Although they did miUthe sides of the dado to reduce the tbickness of bhe body, it's still toolhiek to fiL on some table saws. When we tried to mount it on both our Sears and Rockwell 10" table saws, we couldn't rotate the nut more than aboul one-and-a-half turns around the arbor. We agree with Mr. Vashet that the l.\'reud8' dado blade is .line for radial arm ",,"'s. ,But for use on t,heSears and Rockwell 10"table saws, it's our opinion t·haethe 8' dado blade can't !Ie secured well enough to the arbor to be operated safely_ SOAKING OIL·FILLED IV'oGS
1
agrte
t(}itJi ,.11: La·tL1'eJt'$ COtJl-1)t6)lt.$
(\Voodsmith No. 9~)on. properly stOlinll ~"d dispasi'"g of oillvarllish-soaked rags in.closed COlltai".''3/tlled wit" ";,,ltl, But, 1J~y que$tior' is JtoW CO'" 1(16 iXO)uwl'ue? WOODSMITl-I
Although we still highly recommend the After all, good Icipill9 rags are 110 longer When we were researehing the article on routers in IVood.",;th No. 31, we decided Starrett rule (if you can track it down). the int~".il"', tsptCially if they',.. dU]JO$ed to limit the price range of the routers to best alternative we've found is the rule of after e. 1/1 und~r'tand spontaneou« com~ under $200. \Ve (elt there lutd to be a limit Garrett Wade is carrying. To order the bZ-l,tiot, rom:ctlf/, r.xposure to air is re- somewhere. and this price range would rule .• heck the new 1980 Catalog. or conquirtdJor igrfiiion. \t'ith Ihi.;'t "lind. nty include all but a few of the heaviest indus- tact Garrett Wade. 161 Ave. of the AmerqtU'.stion ;.: Can 11't .o/ely store. OUT oil- trial models. We also decided to use full icas, New York. New York 10013. Telefilled rag. ill a clued contai'lm"filled ilk suggested retail price because it was the phone: 1-800·221-2942. (Note: Lee Valley mi,wral.pirit. (",Meil tlimi,14Ie6 all bUl a only way to make f.ir comparison.'. in Canada is also carrying the 12"' rule. For As for plunge reuters, we exclude them information, contact Lee Valley, 2680 very smal! a"tou"t 0/air), 80 thattlle.y ca1l from our first review because there simply Queensview Dr., Ottawa, Ont. K2B 8J9.) be wrllflg Ol(t atui u8f'd agai'l later? wasn't room to review t helr ijpeciaJ eharacROUTERS Rob.. t West,-a teristics in the same Hrticle with the stanHol/illY Meadvw., Illinois dard routers, We nre planning to do a 1 ogre. th.t th. Scars· idea for ch."ging follow-up article on plunge reuters (Maid· bils 011iU IlCl" J'014tCl'is see»,ingly a. good Because of the potential problems associ- ta, Ryobi, and the new Black and Decker) one. Unfortu"ately, actllal part Ihat in an upcoming issue. ated with both spontaneous combustion "locks" CIte '''aft alter tl!~ ,·o"te,· has stopped.i8 mad. of all i'iferior allog. This and the use of mineral spirtts, we decided ALMOST AN INCH to call Mr. Lau re n (Executive Director of partjroctl,red O,l })ll! roilier '''fn1dering tire the Coating Research Group) to gel his Recently we received a letter from a tOla111teChaliiJt1U for tho ~lg;)/gbit, l'$tUS8f opinion on IIOalcingoil-filled rags in a min- reader who had been having problems find- and the shaft now lIpi,,, fYe,Iy. ing two 12~rules with identical ealeral spirits bath. Fort'llialeill. I rtl~to':td the ",0.1· According t.<> Mr. Lauren, soaking rags ibrations. An"r checking dozens of rules ru.ctivnitlg par( ~fo~ it compltltly broke in a closed container filled witb mineral against each other at • loeal hardware apar( .. "ding a 'hard of metal into the spirits will prevent spontaneous com- store. he finally found two that actually rolder', motor and poI.ibly de.troying it. I nOIerue a tiro wrench .y.tnn - vise grip! bustion from taking place because of the matched. lack of oxygen in the eontainez He also We had the same problems in our shop to hold the .haft atld th~ choop stamped mentioned that the same general condi- until we purchased a 12· rule manu- stul leretlcil to 1003"" tilt ," "I> It's Mr. Lauren's opinion (and ours). that SAMPLE LUMBER KITS ' the potential hazards of reusing old rags that have been soaked in mineral spirits The IZ' Starrett rule Is square at both In the March 198" i•• ue of 1V0rid of are too great to jusLir.,' saving a few dollars ends, which makes it exceptionally handy lVood -. pubUeation of the International on the cost of rags, for all sorts of measuring tasks. (It's the Wood Collectors Society (I \YCS) - we only rule I would usc to set the lip fence On found something being orrered thai we ONLY A ffW DOLLARS MORE a table saw.) The cAlibrnlions are etched oeeasionaUy have requests for. , . sample 1 jU$t fitlisited rlJadillg your article on onto a high- carry a 12"" Society. ifyou would like more information (stock on how t.<> join the "VCS and become a router gIld h4a,~found it a drtat'lW ttSt. rule in their 1985 catalog 139NOS.01) lha.-s .lmOK! identical t.<> tbe subseriber to World of Wood. contact the Bruce Forness at the Richard Herwg Starrett rule in .ccuracy and clarity, yet Secret.ary-~urer ifs only $9.95. address allOye. EXf/er, Nelo Ha»lpshire
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WOODSMITII
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23
Sources This page ig usually reserved for Sources - a ligting of the hardware and supplies used on the projects shown in the issue. But this time we used only one piece of hardware: the nylon glides that provide a 1:x:aring surface under the drawers. Nylon glides (also called stem bumpers) can be purchased Irem the Woodworkers' Storo cat!llog, 21801 Industrial Bivd., Rogers, MN 6S:~7~. Cat. No. OS503, 67e fOI' 10 glides. SHOP NOTES
Although hardware was not a problem wit h an)' of the I)rojects. there were some
inte-resting challenges f-rom a woodworking standpoint. we thought we "vould use this $P= to talk about the techniques used to
solve some CunlNG
of these problems. TENONS
One of the problems I had was cutting
tenons on the ends of the pieces for the headboard (see page 10). This is usually just :1 malteT or making sure the tenon is cut to the right si,.., so it fits the mortise. But on the piece. for the headboard, I .';111 inlo what might. be considered a mechanienl problem. Both of the pieces t.hat have tenons (the ul)lights and middle rail) are long and rather heavy which makes them vcry nwkward to work with. The length of these pieces makes it very difficult to use a typical tenon-cutting jig. (The pieces have to stand on end in thisjig. and because they're so long the), tend to "'ag around when the jig is moved to make the eut.) . IlIlItead, I laid th. workpieees nat on the
table 1l4\\' an(1 made multiple passes to (orm the tenon. However, even this method presents a problem. Because of their length and weight. the workpieces tend to twist 01" pivot off the mitergnuge. To solve this problem, it helps to attach n long fence to the miter gauge to sUPJ)OI'l Lhto workpiece for its en lire
lens.,tth,lice druwlng. Then t he tenons can be cut by holding the workpiece firmly against, the fence
night stand, and the headboard. 1 mentioned using hru-dwood plywood to build the projects. Tbar's not entirel,)' accurate. \Vhen we originally deSigned these I,rojecls, we Intended to build them out of oak. then at the last minute, we decided to usc Honduras Mahogany instead. The only problem is that Honduras lilahogany is not available tIS plywood. So, what we had to do \vfiS rnakc ow' 0\\11\ "pl)'\\'OO(I"ut\ing flexible veneer and highdensity particle board. Flexible veneer is Jlot your ordinary veneer. This sturr is incredible. It's only V,," thick (which makes it vcry Oexible) and it comes in book-matched sheets that are mounted to a thin paper backing. 1b mount Oe.ible veneer. fIrSt cut the particle board to rough .i ze (abou; I" After it's cut to rough length. mark the final length on one edge. Then. with the larger than needed in both dlmensieas). table saw turned off. place the pl)"\,-oOO Then cut the Oexible veneer to 6t the paragainst the fenee, push it up to the blade, title board. (Tbi. veneer can easily be cut and line up the mnrk with one tootb on tbe wilh a scissers.) The ,.. commended procedure to mount blade. When the cut i8 lined up. clamr' • stop (he veneer is to bru~h ccntact cement 011 block to the fence at the other end oi the the I>a,·title board and the veneer, This can plywood, 'l'hen as the plywood is fed lie. bit of. mess. We'''e found this task is through tho blade, gontly push it so it:s much easier with. palnt roller, tight against tho step. I buy Ihe eh~"pe.t short-nal> paint '-oller I can find ro spread I he contact cement. This p"e~su"e altai"at the stop block The roller puis down a thin even coot. and produce. II stcndy hold on the workpiece so the blade cannot force it out oftine. (Some- yet iI'S cheap enough so Ihal when I'm times the rotation of lhe blade pulls or done Iju;;t throw it 8way. IltO!>l.()N AtlIlR"11 E. Another method for pushes the workpiece out 1ine.) mounting flexible veneer ~ to use a relaCLAMPING LONG PIECES tively new product: hOl·melt glue sheets. adhesive The headboard see med to present more These arc lilcrall~1sheets rban il~ share problems. I ran into mounted to a peel..,rr paper backing. (It's another problem during the gluing and the same type of adhe.. ive found on the back of iron-on edging tape.) elamplng stage. In order to clamp the 1b use this odhe.h·e. cut it to the same middle rail between the two uprights, you size as the flexible veneer. placed in on particle board. and pitll'
or
costs
311(1
making mUltiple pa ss es over the blade. (A complete description of this method for
cuttin~ n mortise and tenon is given in Wood.mit" No. 26.) CUnlNG
PLYWOOD TO LENGTH
I used thi" same fence to help cut the piece of plywood u.seod on the headboard. The problem with cutting this plywood piece to final ~iu>li§ actually t,,·o(old. First il':; a long nnd \\'j
24
or
or
need a very long clamp. Lacking a clamp long enough. I used two shorter etamps. interloeking them to get the length n~'t3.ry. PLIANT WOOD VENEER
I have a snlall con(ettsion to make. Throughout the articles on tbe ehest. the
82.59,
\vhieh nll\y seonl a IittJe ex...
pensive. But 1've found that. ill some eases (particularly on small tll-ojects) it's less costly ihnn contact cement, You can cut hot-melt sheets to t he exact size you need SO there'~ almost no waste. With contact cement, I usually buy. can. use part of it, and the regt gees to waste siUing around for months before the next project. SOliRCES. The hot-melt glue sheets (as ".. well as a I·.riety of nexible "enoers) are available (rom Bob Morgan Woodworking Supplies, 1123 Bardstown Road, Louis· ,;lIc, K'l' 40"20-1.Phone (602) 456-2545. WOODS~UTH