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 O cto b e r 2 0 1 8 VOLUM E 4 2 , N U MB E R 5

PROJECTS
Classic Cherry Chest
By Chris Marshall
Beautiful wood, lovely joinery and
pleasing proportions — this storage
chest displays a harmony of all
three. Hand-cut dovetails help lift
this project into the realm of an
instant classic.
Page 40

Elegant Curved-handle Serving Tray

By Charles Mak
Our author set out to design a functional, stylish tray he is
proud to use. He crafted the curved handles with a hot pipe
bending technique.
Page 34

Table Saw Outfeed Table

By Matthew Cremona
Taking advantage of some great
lumber and highly functional hard-
ware, Matt creates a multipurpose
super shop helper!
Page 58

4 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

 1(:

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 DEPARTMENTS

8 Letters 22 Five Fast Facts 50 Tool Tutorial

What exactly is a woodworker?
Plus, readers sit tall in our latest
Adirondack inspired chair.
14 Cyber Makers Spotlight
We seek out the best web
woodworkers so you don’t have to!
See who’s made the list this time.
16 Tricks of the Trade
Biscuits in a bag for freshness;
scrap wood saddle jig for ripping
thin strips; recessed leg levelers.
18 Questions & Answers/Stumpers
Pilot hole smackdown: our staff
shares their preferences and
particulars about pre-drilling.
Powerful info on power carving.
24 Shop Talk
Drafting style from the Middle
Ages inspires a Canadian
woodworker to make a sawhorse
so complex it took him 450 hours
to build it.
28 Woodturning
So your rough-turned green bowl
has dried out and warped. Now
what are you going to do?
32 Tool Preview
GluBoost’s Fill n’ Finish has
applications both as an adhesive
and as a finish.
Sandor Nagyszalanczy explores
the band saw, a home shop
workhorse, in detail.
64 What’s In Store
Ceiling hanging system, a classic
workbench and much more.
70 Finishing Thoughts
Let’s review: Michael Dresdner
answers your questions.
74 Hey … Did You Know?
Is white or red oak heartier in the
cold? And does your Li-ion battery
need an MRI?

woodworkersjournal.com www.woodworkersjournal.com
here’s definitely MORE ON THE WEB!
As you flip through the pages of this issue, keep an eye MORE ON THE WEB
out for the More on the Web banner (pictured, right).
It’s your cue that there is additional content waiting for you on
woodworkersjournal.com.
This month you’ll find videos featuring:
• Re-Turning a Rough Turned Bowl
• Bending Wood with a Hot Pipe
• Magnetic Dovetail Sawing Guide (and more)!

To see the latest More on the Web videos, articles or plans, you can scroll down
on our homepage and click the new “Current Issue/More on the Web” photo box.
Or, click the More on the Web tab under the Magazine heading in our navigation
bar to access that content, plus More on the Web from past issues.
— Dan Cary

6 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

 ROCKLER PRESS
THE VOICE OF THE WOODWORKING COMMUNITY

OCTOBER 2018
What Is Woodworking? Volume 42, Number 5

IT IS A CRAZY WIDE WORLD OUT THERE. ROB JOHNSTONE Publisher

I call myself a woodworker because I have been messing
around with the craft in various forms for decades now. But if I
were to tell someone what I do and they replied, "That's great
... will you carve me a statue of George Washington?" I would
have to say, I'm not that kind of woodworker. And that would
be my answer to several woodworking queries.
Which brings me to my question: What is a woodworker? Is
the guy who framed up my house a woodworker? Is a gal who makes guitars a wood-
worker? How about my neighbor who borrowed my chop saw to put in floor molding?
Even though we no longer use wood for as many things as we did in the past (how
many of you are sporting wooden shoes?), our chosen medium is still truly impressive
regarding the scope of its place in our world.
So perhaps my question should be: What makes you a woodworker? I think the
range of those answers would be pretty amazing, too.
— Rob Johnstone
RAS Over Table Saw
I really enjoyed the “Table Saw For example, I have seen many
101” article, particularly since I posts online on how to make a
have never owned a table saw. In- crosscut sled for a table saw. I can
stead, 35-plus years ago, I bought see the functionality it brings to the
a radial arm saw. (This was 15 tool (at the cost of having to find
years or so before I bought a storage space for a rather large
compound miter saw.) Although jig), but that job is trivial with a
I know that there are things that radial arm saw. Miter cuts are triv-
a table saw can do that a radial ial, too. And I’ve done my share of
arm saw cannot (such as cutting ripping long boards, even on fairly
boards on end, as shown in the wide boards. (Awkward, yes, but
article), there are some tasks that I’m betting it’s awkward to make
it does considerably easier than a the same cut on a table saw.)
table saw. I know that radial arm saws are
out of style these days, especially
with sliding miter saws being so
popular, but I still love mine and
do not want to part with it. These
days, I’m trying to decide whether
to go ahead and buy an inexpensive
portable/benchtop table saw just
for ripping large pieces of plywood.
But since I can get [big box stores]
to cut it to size before I take it
home, I’m having trouble justifying
the loss of floor space.
Bill Dixon
Wellford, South Carolina
Continues on page 10 ...
ALYSSA TAUER Associate Publisher
JOANNA WERCH TAKES Editor
CHRIS MARSHALL Senior Editor
JEFF JACOBSON Senior Art Director
CASSIDY SMITH Associate Art Director
DAN CARY Senior Web Producer
MATTHEW HOCKING Internet Production Coordinator
MARY TZIMOKAS Circulation Director
LAURA WHITE Fulfillment Manager
Founder and Chairman
ANN ROCKLER JACKSON
Contributing Editors
NORTON ROCKLER
ERNIE CONOVER
Advertising Sales
ROB JOHNSTONE National Sales Contact
rjohnstone@woodworkersjournal.com
(763) 478-8255 Fax (763) 478-8396
ALYSSA TAUER National Sales Support
atauer@woodworkersjournal.com
Editorial Inquiries
JOANNA WERCH TAKES
jtakes@woodworkersjournal.com
Subscription Problems/Inquiries
(800) 765-4119 or
www.woodworkersjournal.com
Write Woodworker’s Journal, P.O. Box 6211,
Harlan, IA 51593-1711
email: WWJcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com. Include
mailing label for renewals and address changes. For gift
subscriptions, include your name and address and
your gift recipient’s.
Book Sales and Back Issues
Call: (800) 610-0883
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Other Questions or Problems
Call: (763) 478-8255
rjohnstone@woodworkersjournal.com
Woodworker’s Journal (ISSN: 0199-1892), is published in February,
April, June, August, October and December by Rockler Press Inc.,
4365 Willow Dr., Medina, MN 55340. Periodical postage paid at
Medina, Minnesota and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send
all address changes to Woodworker’s Journal, P.O. Box 6211, Harlan,
IA 51593-1711. Subscription Rates: One-year, $19.95 (U.S.); $28.95
U.S. funds (Canada and other countries). Single copy price, $7.99.
Reproduction without permission prohibited. Publications Mail Agreement
Number 0861065. Canadian Publication Agreement #40009401.
©2018 Rockler Press Inc. Printed in USA.

8 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

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 LETTERS
Michael Grinney put some color
into our elevated Adirondack from
the April issue.
Stephen Julian of Southlake,
Texas, built our Tall Outdoor Chair
from cypress lumber.
10
CONTINUED
Sitting Tall
Hello, I just completed the
“Tall Outdoor Chair” from
your April 2018 issue. It was
a fun project, and using the
detailed plans and watching
the online video made it a
breeze to complete.
If I may make just a few
suggestions, I think it would
be better to tilt the seatback
at a flatter angle so that the
person isn’t sitting up so
straight. Also, the back of
the seat could be just a little
lower so that you settle in a
little more. I guess what I’m
saying is that if you kept the
design and comfort of the
low Adirondacks and just ele-
vated them as you have done,
you’d have a winner.
I think that the arms on the
chair could also be about four
inches longer and slightly
wider. Again, all keeping with
the comfort in the original
Adirondack chairs. I will
build a set for myself and a
set each for my three chil-
dren. Thanks for the great
projects.
Michael A. Grinney
St. Augustine Beach, Florida
Oil and Wood Do Mix WJ Responds: I just spoke
I just finished reading the ar- to Zinsser. Yes, the shellac
ticle by Michael Dresdner on in its aerosol cans is still de-
the drying oils and non-dry- waxed and still for the same
ing oils [“Oil and Wood: reason — the wax clogs the
A Happy Marriage,” June spray tips.
2018]. I very much enjoyed — Michael Dresdner
the article as I really did not
know much at all about min- A Knock on Knees
eral oil and boiled linseed oil. The comment by Richard
This article was quite helpful Wheaton [Letters] in the June
to my understanding. Thank 2018 issue about cypress
you much for your time and knees was curious.
your publication. “Just Google it to get the
Herb Fogelberg facts.” His own words go on
Woodbury, Minnesota to list more than one possible
reason for these
structures to
exist.
What one
does learn, in
reading about
knees, is they
remain an
enigma; we
do not know
Aerosol shellac is dewaxed — if it had wax in it,
“the facts.” All
that could clog the can's spray tip.
we have are
The article on oil finishes theories, which are guesses,
correctly states that dewaxed possible reasons for these
shellac is a good barrier coat knees to exist, and none are
for rosewood before apply- proven. Theories are not
ing a drying oil. However, I facts and the bottom line is,
believe your accompanying “No one really knows”... just
photo showing an aerosol like you said! [Hey Did You
can of Zinsser® Bulls Eye® Know, February 2018]
Shellac is not dewaxed. That Ann Trimmer
could lead to problems. Carmel, Indiana
Lance Fromme
Andover, Massachusetts Continues on page 12 ...
October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal
 LETTERS CONTINUED

the elephants strip the bark

There’s more online at at a height convenient for
woodworkersjournal.com them and, in the process, kill
the tree.
www.woodworkersjournal.com

MORE ON THE WEB
Ken Roberts
Check online for more content
Mebane, North Carolina
covering the articles below:
Woodturning (page 28): You missed one important
Re-turning a rough turned bowl animal that kills trees by
(video)
girdling: humans with weed
Tool Preview (page 32): Fast In your June 2018 issue, you Know?] But you omitted the eaters.
finishing with GluBoost Fill n’ include a list of animals that “biggest” culprit: elephants. Ron Jones
Finish (video) damage trees by stripping We just returned from a trip Houston, Texas
Curved Handle Serving Tray the bark. [Hey, Did You to South Africa and saw how
(page 34): Hot-pipe wood
bending technique (video)
Classic Cherry Chest (page
40): Magnetic jig makes
hand-cutting dovetails easier
READER PROJECTS
(video)
Tool Tutorial (page 50):
Tips for tuning up your band
saw (video); band saw mainte-
nance info
Weekend Projects (page
58): Table saw outfeed table
build (video); list of optional
accessories
What’s in Store (page 64):
Featured tools in action Colorful Canarywood
Repurposed Room Heater Here is a sculpted and carved jewelry box
I volunteer at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift I just completed for a customer in Alaska. I
store in Prescott, Arizona. Someone donated really like the colors found in many pieces of
a large electric room heater in a large wood canarywood. A piece of padauk was added to
frame. The heater didn’t work, so they were the top for a colorful accent to the red striped
going to throw out the whole unit. I took the of the canary. The box bottom and tray bot-
heater unit out, made doors, installed shelves tom are lined with a tan leather. The hinges
and put a back on it. We put it out in the (inset) are 35 mm solid brass Vertex hinges
store for sale and it sold the next day. I made from Rockler.
the double door frames from old oak wood Greg Little
stained with special red oak stain. The center Prairieville, Louisiana
panels I made from white oak stained with
maple stain.
Paul Diemer
Chino Valley, Arizona

Plywood Guitar
Here is my oak plywood
guitar with walnut pick
guard and aluminum
fretboard with cotter
pin frets.
Loretto Abrenica
Hamilton, Ohio

12 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

 NEW

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Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 13

 Get inspired by new methods, materials
and projects these online makers share!
Ashley Harwood - ashleyharwood.net
Ashley Harwood is an accomplished woodturner who teaches
classes at her studio in Charleston, South Carolina, as well
as at schools throughout the world. Ashley turns a wide
variety of bowls and jewelry, but her best known work is her
sea urchin ornament. She’s even produced a full-length DVD
for sale that features step-by-step instructions for how she
makes this
beautiful or-
nament and includes tool sharpening and
spindle turning technique instructions. You
can find a list of her upcoming classes on
her website, and the best place to see what
she’s working on now is her Instagram
page, @ashleyharwoodturning.

Chris Salomone - foureyesfurniture.com

Chris Salomone is a furniture designer and builder in Los
Angeles, California, who posts project build videos and plans
under the moniker of Four Eyes Furniture. Besides the quality
of the designs and interesting woodworking video content,
our favorite aspect of his videos is the narrative that he carries
throughout each video. The measured pacing and bits of humor
he injects into each episode makes them interesting and unique
from other woodworking videos you’ll find online. The best
places to find Chris’ latest work are on his YouTube channel, youtube.com/
chrissalomone1, and on Instagram, @foureyesfurniture. He is also one of
the hosts of The Modern Maker Podcast, www.modernmakerpodcast.com.

Zachary Herberholz - zhfabrications.com

Zach Herberholz designs and builds projects from a variety of
materials, but he favors various forms of metals as the main
structural material and wood is often used as a secondary
material. Zach’s videos feature a combination of commissioned
pieces and personal projects. They often include demonstrations
of several different metalworking and woodworking skills. For
example, his modern industrial stool features a welded steel base
and a power-carved walnut seat and turned segmented decorative
cone under the seat. The best place to check out Zachs’s latest work
is on his YouTube channel, youtube.com/zhfabrications, and on his
Instagram page @zhfabrications.

14 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

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Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 15

 Sponsored By

Table Saw Jig Rips Thin Strips

Silica Packs Keep Biscuits Dry I made this saddle-type jig from scrap that rides along
Wood biscuits will swell in the presence of humidity my table saw’s rip fence to help keep my fingers up
until they don’t fit their slots, but one way to keep them dry and and out of harm’s way when ripping thin strips. It has
unswollen is to use a desiccant. Those little packs of silica gel that of- an adjustable 1/8"-thick hardboard hold-down that
ten come in shoeboxes are perfect for this purpose. Instead of throw- slides up and down on slots and carriage bolts. In
ing them away, just put a silica pack in your container of biscuits and back, a hardboard “heel” pushes workpieces forward.
seal it tight. Then change it every time you get a new pair of shoes. It’s screwed in place in case I ever need to replace it. A
Serge Duclos handle on top makes the jig easy to slide along.
Delson, Quebec Ed Smail
Piggybacking a Wilson, Wyoming
Dust Deputy
My Oneida Dust Dep-
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are one unit instead of or “marker board.” Its slippery smooth white coating pro-
two. I’ve also outfitted vides a bright, clean, hardened surface for protecting MDF
the frame with various scrap-wood studs so I can store the vac’s or plywood tabletops in the shop. It cuts, routs and drills
wands, tools and the working end of the hose when I’m through. easily. I mount mine with double-sided tape and replace it
No more tip-overs! every so often when the white coating wears through.
Tom Nicosia Pat Keefer
Lake Orion, Michigan Manning, South Carolina

16 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

 PICK
OF THE Safety First
TRICKS 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

Recessing for Less Noticeable Leg Levelers strictly follow manufacturers’

Leg levelers with threaded posts are useful to avoid tippy, rocking furniture on uneven instructions and safety
floors, but their thickness tends to elevate furniture unnaturally above the floor, especially if precautions.
you add a felt pad to them as I do. To help conceal the levelers, I drill 1/2"-deep holes in the
legs that are a bit larger in diameter than the round leveler pads. I drill a second, centered
hole at the bottom for the post’s threaded insert. Once the levelers are installed, you can
back them out until the pad just clears the big hole and serves its leveling purpose but with-
out lifting the leg too far up. With this fix, you’ll almost forget the levelers are even there.
Willie Sandry
Camas, Washington

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 THIS ISSUE’S EXPERTS
Rob Johnstone is publisher of
Woodworker’s Journal.
Chris Marshall is senior editor
of Woodworker’s Journal and
the author of several
woodworking books.
Jeff Jacobson is senior art
director of Woodworker’s
Journal.
Michael Dresdner is a
nationally known finishing
expert and author of The
New Wood Finishing Book.
Contact us
by writing to “Q&A,”
Woodworker’s Journal,
4365 Willow Drive,
Medina, MN 55340,
by faxing us at (763) 478-8396
or by emailing us at:
QandA@woodworkersjournal.com
Please include your home
address, phone number and
email address (if you have one)
with your question.
18
Q Recently, the subject
of pilot holes came up
in conversation. It turns out
Rob
that my colleagues all have
strong feelings on the matter
— including each of them
feeling, strongly, that his is Two pilot holes aren’t
the correct way to drill pilot just double the fun,
holes. Hence, the pilot hole they’re the dynamic
smackdown. The question: duo of drilling.
Whose pilot hole technique
team are you on?
Joanna Werch Takes
Woodworker’s Journal Editor
A When it comes to pilot
holes, there is a right
way, a wrong way — and
at the diameter of the shank
minus the threads. This allows
centuries-old sort that have
a shank that tapers from
then whatever wackiness my the threads to grab the wood top to bottom with an un-
co-workers are doing. fibers firmly, but will keep the threaded portion under the
The goal of joining two wood from splitting. This is ... head — I agree completely
pieces of wood together the right way. with Rob. The pilot hole
using screws is this: to —Rob Johnstone in the top workpiece must
tightly secure the wood be slightly bigger than the
that the screw is going Rob pulling rank to go first unthreaded portion of the
through to the stock that it may have backfired — read screw so its shank can pass
is being joined to, and to do on to see how Chris strongly through the wood without
it without splitting the wood. implies that Rob’s pilot holes binding on it. But many
Every woodworker I know are those of an old fuddy- wood screws these days
has committed the sin of duddy. — JWT don’t have tapered shanks
omission, where they trust to and are shaped more like
the heavens and the grace of
compressible wood fibers to
simply drive a screw through
A When it comes to drilling
pilot holes for “conven-
tional” wood screws — the
deck screws: think of a nail
with threads on it. For these
“modern” wood screws,
one piece of wood, into a sec-
ond piece of wood, not hav- Chris
ing drilled a single pilot hole,
much less two. Sometimes
we get away with it. Other
times, not so much — and
unholy language ensues.
So here is the gospel of
Work smarter, not
pilot holes. To do it correctly,
harder. When it comes
you drill two pilot holes. The to pilot holes, with
first one through the stock today’s un-tapered
where the head of the screw screw shanks, one is
will seat is a hole larger than all you need.
the diameter of the screw
shank and the threads. The
second pilot hole is bored
October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

there’s no need for a larger
diameter pilot hole in the top
board. I drill one hole that
matches the shank size of
the screw, accounting for the
full length of the screw plus
a countersink or counterbore
for the screw head, when
necessary. Clamp or press
the workpieces together
securely, put a little wax on
the screw threads and drive
it home. The screw pulls
itself tight, and the wood
doesn’t crack. Rob, for these
newfangled screws, I think
you’re working harder but
not smarter. The technology
has changed, and it’s time to
embrace the single-pilot-hole
approach with un-tapered
screws.
—Chris Marshall
Woodworker’s Journal October 2018
Jeff
Stopping your pilot
hole short keeps
you from digging
yourself into too
deep of a hole.
Jeff spends much of his time
drawing the artwork for the
magazine — and his vision
for pilot holes is so clear that
he believes both Rob and Chris
are operating under a fog of
delusion. — JWT
A Both Rob and Chris
have gotten you started
down the right path — but
don’t be fooled! Their mis-
guided ways can only lead
Winner!
For simply sending in his
you down a hole that is way question about water-based
too deep. They both have poly top coats, Rick Clock of
the right idea for the upper Baldwin City, Kansas, wins
part of the shafts, depending a Knew Concepts 5" Mk. IV
on the type of screw you are
Hand Saw With Swivel.
using. The key is to stop the
hole for the threaded part Each issue we toss new
a bit short. This gives the questions into a hat and
tip something to grab onto.
That’s the proper way.
—Jeff Jacobson
draw a winner.
Continues on page 20 ...
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19

Mystery solution leaks out
What’s
This?
Ray Consilvio of Croton-on-Hudson,
New York, bought this item at a
tag sale. Even though he chose to
purchase it, he still has no idea
what it is. Do you?
Send your answer to
stumpers@woodworkersjournal.com
or write to “Stumpers,”
Woodworker’s Journal, 4365
Willow Drive, Medina, MN 55340
for a chance to win a prize!
Woodworker’s Journal editor
Joanna Werch Takes compiles
each issue’s Stumpers responses
— and reads every one.
20
Henry Polek of
Ohatcheek, Alabama,
has the complete
set — and it comes in
handy for the older fix-
tures in his bathrooms.
With June’s mystery
item from Roger Wall
of Martinsburg, West
Virginia, “a drippy faucet
can be a do-it-yourself
job,” said Brian Nelson
of Tacoma, Washington.
It is for “reaming worn
metal seats of globe
valves, such as old style bath-
room faucets or hose bibs,”
said Dave Fogt of Phoenix,
Arizona.
John Kruck of St. Peters-
burg, Florida, said, “If not
tightened completely when
shut off, water flowed be-
tween the rubber washer on
the end of the stem and the
metal seat. The water flow
would cut a groove in the
metal seat, and then the fau-
cet could not seal properly.”
“Nowadays, most faucets
have removable seats, but
there was a time when you
had to re-cut them so the
washer made good contact
and stopped the water flow,”
said Larry Schumer of Salt
Lake City, Utah. Robert F.
Lupini of Neosho, Missouri,
explained that, “Different
diameter grinding heads
fit on the end [of the tool]
while the tapered part helps
with centering the tool in the
valve.”
“The tapered section fits
into the faucet when the
stem and cap is removed.
The rings machined into it
Winner! Patty Novak of Winner, South
Dakota, wins a RIDGID® GEN5X Brushless
18V Drill/Driver and 3-Speed Impact Driver
Combo Kit (R9603). We toss all the Stump-
ers letters into a hat to select a winner.
are designed to keep the
cutter straight and perpen-
dicular to the stem,” said
Bill Passey of Sandy, Utah.
“A few twists of the knob
will take off any bumps in
the seat and make the valve
like-new with a smooth seat
for the washer to contact,”
said Dennis Cilensek of
Mentor, Ohio.
“A new stem washer
would be attached to the
stem, the faucet reassem-
bled, and the dripping would
stop,” said Sheldon Benton
of Everett, Pennsylvania.
George Gouraud of Port
Coquitlam, British Colum-
bia, says the tool “is called
a valve seat reamer.” Patty
Novak of Winner, South Da-
kota, says it’s “a faucet seat
grinding tool.” And Vince
Buckwash of West Chester,
Pennsylvania, says “it is
called a bib seat dresser.”
William Duter from Mad-
ison, Wisconsin, claims that
“This tool is pretty much
obsolete due to the cartridge
system in today’s faucets.”
October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
CONTINUED
Q We have pine floors that
are 17 years old, in good
shape and coated with a wa-
ter-based polyurethane. We
would like to darken the floor
color. Is there a water-based
polyurethane that we can tint
and topcoat our floor?
Rick Clock
Baldwin City, Kansas
A Yes, you can tint
almost any water-based
polyurethane floor finish.
However, it is not easy to
apply a coat of tinted topcoat
and have it come out uniform
in color, so do practice first
on scrap.
I’d go with TransTint dyes,
a liquid concentrate that you
can add a drop or two at a
time to creep up on the color
you want. The dyes can be
added directly to the finish
from the squeeze bottle they
come in. Obviously, stir well
before using, and test your
mixture on scrap, because
the color in the can is not
what color it dries to.
— Michael Dresdner
Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 21
 Shaping wood is at the heart of nearly
any type of woodworking, but power
carving takes that concept to a whole
new level.
C ar ving is a niche of woodworking that has always inter-
ested woodworkers, but many of us are reluctant to tr y
car ving because we believe the skills are too specialized.
Power car ving is changing that paradigm.
22
1. Power carving is not about making Chippendale
details. On the other hand, it is all about doing beautiful
woodworking. There are many forms of power carving,
from simply texturing a surface with a handheld sander
to Dremel tools to flexible shaft-driven cutting systems
to cutters mounted to an angle grinder. (Oh, and you can
do power carving with an angle grinder and a grinding
wheel. Confused? Just go with it.)
2. Green wood or kiln-dried? The answer is yes. Some
tremendously interesting power carving does occur on
logs or tree sections that are not typically dried. These
can be realistic carvings of subjects like animals or even
people, as well as abstract shapes. With that said, power
carving techniques are being used by furniture makers
more and more on kiln-dried stock.
3. Safety first. While not intrinsically more dangerous
than any other type of woodworking, basic safety steps
are a must when using a power carving tool. Protect all
the standard vulnerabilities: hearing, eyesight and your
lungs. A free spinning cutter on the end of a shaft or an
angle grinder moves about in space more than a band
saw blade or similar — so take common sense precau-
tions. Also, dress appropriately (no flip-flops).
4. Start small. Depending on the tool and the cutter
in play, you can remove an amazing amount of wood in
very short order. It is an obvious truth that it is harder to
add more wood back to your project than it is to carve it
away. Like any woodworking skill, making mistakes is a
clear path to learning what not to do — but you can mini-
mize those mistakes by moderating your first attempts.
5. This pony does lots of tricks. Traditional wood-
workers will quickly see handy aspects to power carving
tools, but they can do much more than shape “butt
cheeks” into a chair seat. Craftspersons all over the
world are doing innovative and beautiful woodworking
using power carving techniques. As examples abound,
many of us will want to go hands-on and try it ourselves.
October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal
 Farther

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Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 23

 This Sawhorse was a 450-Hour Build
By Patrick Moore

The author’s completed trestle

sawhorse is now displayed at
Algonquin College in Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada, where it offers
inspiration and challenge.

derstanding stereotomy. It’s

the traditional project that an
apprentice “aspirant” mem-
ber of the Compagnons du
Devoir artisans guild would
build when moving to a new
shop during his journeyman
years touring France. The
more complex the sawhorse,
the more time the aspirant
had been studying Art du
Trait, which meant being
assigned a higher position
and more complex projects
in the shop.

Drawing, Wood Choices

hile living in France, I fell in love with
stereotomy — the set of geometrical
knowledge and graphical drawing
techniques used to lay out voluminous pieces into
their complex structure — specifically, the subset
“Art du Trait.” Developed by French carpenters
before the 13th century, Art du Trait is a kind of
applied geometry which allows the carpenter to
use three-dimensional drawing to design complex
wooden structures.
One can literally build anything imaginable with-
out the use of a calculator, computer, modern-day
technology or having to have a PhD in Mathemat-
ics. No wonder this knowledge has been recog-
nized by UNESCO, which in 2009 classified it onto
the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage of Humanity.
The French trestle (a direct translation from tré-
teau), or sawhorse, is perhaps the high point in un-
After years of staring at,
analyzing and being inspired
by trestles in old pictures of
Compagnon carpenters, I
decided to build one of sim-
ilar design. One inspiration
was the trestle depicted in
the drawing at far left, from
19th century carpenter Louis
Mazerolle’s classic book
Traite Theorique et Pratique
de Charpente.
First, one needs to draw it
out in order to get sizing, pro-
portion and design just right:
the stereotomical drawing.
The drawing process took me
more than 120 hours — the
portion seen in the photo at
the top of page 25 is only a

24 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal


small part of what was need-
ed to lay out all the trestle
pieces.
To move from the theo-
retical to the real world, you
place the piece of wood that
you want to lay out onto the
drawing and transfer the
proper reference lines onto
the piece of wood. Once
completed, you get the real
length and angles drawn on
the piece. This process is
repeated until every piece is
laid out.
For my complex trestle, I
wanted to use different spe-
cies of wood for extra oomph
and wow factor. The woods
used in my project are as
follows: purpleheart for the
top rail; American white and
red oak for the bottom cross;
French oak for one set of
legs and rail; English oak for
the other set of legs and rail;
walnut for the external mid
crosses; ash for the external
long crosses; zebrawood for
the smaller internal crosses;
wenge for the two external
side crosses.
Woodworker’s Journal October 2018
In the photo at top left, you see the
author using the drawing to lay out a
piece. He prepared for the project’s
cutting needs by sharpening his
chisels up to 8,000-grit with
waterstones (top middle photo), then
used a leather strop for final honing.
Each of the four saws used (bottom
left photo) had a specific purpose
and varying tpi. To make the actual
cutting easier, he custom-made a
pivoting vise on a stand, which helps
rotate each piece (photo at right).
Complex Cutting After cutting, all connect-
This project involved a lot of ing points were glued and,
cutting. I used four different where possible, screwed. I
types of hand saws: a rip cut, used Titebond III and GRK
crosscut, diagonal cut and 1.5" and 2" finishing screws.
flush cut. They were forged I would do my best to place
by Daizo Mitsukawa of Japan, the screws so that another
whose high-end line of hand-
forged saws is used in temple
restorations — fitting for my
project, built using tech-
niques employed for French
medieval monasteries and
Gothic cathedrals.
A technique the author uses to deal
with very acute angles is to score
his lines with an X-ACTO® knife or
scalpel, then chisel the start point
(photo above). This creates a good
reference that’s flat enough for the
saw to rest, which makes starting
the cut easier and more accurate.
25
 SHOP TALK
The most complex glue-up required simultaneous assembly of the exterior
and interior crosses. The latter were temporarily held with plastic wrap.
Both the exterior and interior
crosses are what’s called twisted
crosses. The joint between the two
pieces (above) is the most complex
you will ever encounter using
straight and linear pieces.
The ends of the half-lap joint on
the wenge end exterior cross
came out thin as paper, requiring
delicate handling from the author.
The exterior twisted wenge cross
(photo at bottom right) was one of
the many complicated glue-ups for
this project.
26
CONTINUED
piece was hiding it without
the use of a plug — although
I did end up having to coun-
terbore and plug a couple.
Before any assembly
occurred, I glued two dif-
ferent grits (220 and 320) of
sandpaper to a 3/4" piece of
plywood and clamped it onto
a flat surface. I then began to
sand piece by piece in order
to get a good flat sanded
finish on all faces. In this
case, it was easier to move
the piece of wood on the
sandpaper than vice versa.
Assembly and Glue-Ups
The assembly process was a
whole other ball game, too.
I didn’t want to shoot myself
in the foot by gluing a piece
in place and making the next
assembly step impossible.
I knew the first assembly
needed to be the legs, end
rails and the bottom cross.
Extreme accuracy was
required, with the legs po-
sitioned exactly where they
were meant to be, so that
all other crosses would line
up where they should. To
help in assembling this main
structure, I built a form from
pieces of offcuts.
Next came assemblies of
the walnut crosses and the
long ash pieces, but the most
complex glue-up and assem-
bly was the other side of the
trestle. At the same time as
gluing the exterior crosses,
I needed to assemble and
temporarily hold the interior
crosses in place so I could as-
semble and glue the exterior
walnut and ash crosses. To
make this happen, I assem-
bled and glued most of the
exterior pieces and then the
subassembly to the trestle,
while temporarily holding the
interior crosses in position
with plastic wrap.
Once the exterior crosses
were glued and screwed in
place, I applied glue to the
interior ones using a syringe
— I couldn’t get the nozzle
of the glue bottle in deep
enough.
Once the glue on the inte-
rior crosses was fully cured,
I cut and assembled the first
end exterior cross made of
wenge. This was a simple
half-lap with some very long,
thin pointy ends. The last
cross to be glued and assem-
bled was the exterior twisted
wenge cross.
Once the whole trestle
was glued and assembled, I
chiseled away excess glue
October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal
squeeze-out, then put on
two coats of satin interior
Varathane finish, sanding at
320-grit in between coats.
The Final Piece
At first glance, it may seem
that opposing crosses in the
trestle are symmetrical, but
truth be told, every cross
is different. Not one is the
same. Each one has been
rotated differently and is
intersecting a different, also
rotated, piece. This is the
result of a very long drawing
and laying out process. Every
imaginable way to position
a piece of wood in space has
been used in this trestle.
I wanted to make this tres-
tle as complex as possible
without going too crazy. In
total, this project took me
over 450 working hours.
Everything, except for the
gross milling of the pieces,
was done by hand.
As the first North or South
American to be received as a
Compagnon carpenter in the
ancient French guild, I now
teach both online and on-site
courses in stereotomy/Art
du Trait to apprentices and
professionals alike at my
Ontario school, the Profes-
sional School of Practical
Stereotomy (historicalcarpen-
try.com), with both online and
on-site courses. The trestle
now stands on display at
Algonquin College in Ottawa,
Ontario, to inspire and en-
courage others to challenge
themselves, continuously
learn new techniques, learn
Stereotomy/Art du Trait, and
perhaps one day build the
trestle dubbed “Le Canadien.”
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style, from classic to chic.
 By Ernie Conover
You’ve done the irst turning and left your green wood
bowl to dry. Now it’s time to re-turn it to inal shape.
www.woodworkersjournal.com
MORE ON THE WEB
For a video on the topic
VIDEO of re-turning a rough
turned bowl blank, please visit
woodworkersjournal.com and click
on “More on the Web” under the
Magazine tab.
28
n previous columns, I
have talked extensively
about turning and drying
bowls from green wood and
explained how and why such
a bowl goes oval during
the drying process. I have
harped on the idea that a
choice is to let the blank dry
for about three months, then
re-turn it so that you end up
with a round bowl, and I have
also covered a few different
ways to speed the drying
process [June 2018 “Wood-
turning”].
What I have never talked
about in these pages is the
re-turning process itself (al-
though the topic is covered
in my book Turn a Bowl with
Ernie Conover). The process
entails proper chucking, the
re-turning process, sanding
and finishing. Let’s look at
each of the steps in turn.
Re-Chucking
The two standard ways of
chucking the base of a bowl
during primary turning are
with either a glue block or a
four-jaw scroll chuck.
When it comes time for
re-turning, if you originally
used dry wood for the glue
block, you can often re-
chuck by simply using the
same screw holes to attach
a faceplate for chucking
and mounting it on the
lathe. Once the faceplate is
October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal
mounted, test the glue joint
by applying a bit of rocking
force at the rim of the bowl.
If you find the glue joint to
be unsound, you will have to
create a new joint using the
same methods I outline for
four-jaw chucks.
If you did the primary turn-
ing with a four-jaw chuck, the
chucking recess will have
likely warped sufficiently
oval during drying time that
re-chucking is, at best, dicey
and may be impossible. You
will have to true the chuck-
ing recess — scraping it
perfectly round and flat on
the bottom. This simple task
works equally well for fitting
a new glue block.
The author places a piece of cloth or sandpaper in between a wood nub-
bin and the bowl to provide traction. A second small piece of wood (see
photo at right) protects the base from the center’s point.
Mounting for Re-Turning
To begin the re-turning pro-
cess, simply mount a piece of
wood in a scroll chuck or on
a faceplate and round it to ap-
proximately the shape of the
inside of the bowl’s bottom.
You should be able to hold
the bowl against this wood
nubbin without it rocking.
You can now pin the bowl
against the wood nubbin
using a tailstock with a live
center. I generally interpose
a small piece of wood be-
tween the live center and the
bowl so that the center point
does not dig into the base
egregiously. I also insert a
piece of cloth or sandpaper
between the nubbin and the
bowl to give some traction.
You will have to play with
the centering, meaning out
the error until the bowl runs
as true as possible. Centering
the bowl on the nubbin is one
of the most important steps
in re-turning — having it too
far out of center is one of
the most common causes of
failures in re-turning a bowl.
You will need to place the
tool-rest as close as you can
to the live center (and a bit
above center) and re-cut
the chucking recess with a
hooked scraper.
Woodworker’s Journal October 2018
Since your chucking recess will have warped during drying, you will need
to re-cut it so that it is perfectly round and flat on the bottom. The best tool
for this procedure is a hooked scraper.
You will most likely have
to grind the hook onto this
scraper yourself, although
if you start with the Robert
Sorby Round/Side Cutting
Scraper (item number 46334
at rockler.com), it only needs
a slight modification. Other-
wise, you can grind the hook
from any suitable square-
nose scraper. (I have also
made them for students from
old woodworking chisels,
although you need to be care-
ful not to overheat carbon
steel during grinding.)
Note: for a glue block, The author created his own hooked scraper by grinding steel he happened
the mortise wall should be to have lying around, but you can also create the tool by slightly modifying
straight, as it should be for a commercial scraper or an old woodworking chisel.
some chucks. However, for a
chuck with dovetailed jaws,
you want a like dovetail taper
on the wall of your recess.
Re-Turning Process
Now you are ready for the
heart of the lathe work.
Secure the bowl on a four-jaw
chuck (with the appropriate
sized jaws) and turn the
spindle by hand to see that
it is as centered as possible.
Test that the bowl is secure
by grabbing the rim and
applying a bit of force. Start
the lathe out very slow, and When you have your bowl mounted on a four-jaw chuck to begin the
then slowly and gradually actual re-turning, test that it is securely attached by grabbing the rim and
speed it up to a maximum of applying a bit of force.
29
 WOODTURNING continued

800 rpm — slower if vibration have some failures with your

is discernible. first few bowls. Failure is
Use a bowl gouge to re-cut most commonly caused by
the outside of the bowl. You having insufficient wall thick-
will not be able to make a ness in your dried blank: the
rubbing bevel cut at the wall thickness must be about
base. Instead, the tool has to 10% of the bowl’s diameter.
be dragged off of the bevel Another common reason
with what is called a pull cut. for failure is not centering
At some place, about halfway accurately or having the
to the rim, you will be able to rim too far out of the plane
transition to a rubbing bevel of rotation it was originally
Re-cut the outside of the bowl with a bowl gouge, dragging it off of the
bevel in a “pull cut.” You’ll be able to transition to a smoother, rubbing
cut that will be much smoth- roughed out in.
bevel cut about halfway to the rim. er. You will have to refine In many cases, though,
the area turned with the pull you will be rewarded for all
cut with a large round-nose this toil and trouble with a
scraper. While you are still round bowl with a level rim.
working on the outside of Yes, like any piece of wood
the bowl, this is
the time to sand
and apply finish
if you wish to
do so.
Now turn your
attention to the
inside by first
leveling the rim.
Then, take a se-
ries of sweeping
internal cuts to
Re-turning the interior of the bowl involves first leveling the rim, then
bring your bowl
taking a series of sweeping internal cuts to bring the bowl’s walls to an
even thickness. to an even wall
thickness. Sand
and finish the The end result: a round bowl with a level rim. Sure,
interior. it might move a little with humidity changes — but
To refine the not so that anyone could tell without measuring.
base, the bowl
needs to be reverse chucked it will move some with daily
by vacuum chucking, jam changes in humidity, but
chucking or pinning to a nub- not sufficiently that anyone
bin as we did in refitting our will be able to tell except by
dried bowl to the chuck or accurate measurement.
glue block. Since the nubbin Give Tupperware® a run
needs little or no modifica- for their money: make some
tion, that is the method I round bowls.
have chosen.
Ernie Conover is the author
The bowl needs to be reverse chucked to refine the base. The author Don’t Fret a Few Fails of The Lathe Book, Turn a
chose to again chuck, or pin, it to a wood nubbin, which needs little or no As you begin re-turning, Bowl with Ernie Conover
modification. don’t be discouraged if you and The Frugal Woodturner.

30 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

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 By Michael Dresdner
This flexible CA glue adds new inishing options
with a long open time plus instant solidiication
when sprayed with an accelerator.
www.woodworkersjournal.com
MORE ON THE WEB
For a video on finishing
VIDEO with GluBoost Fill n’
Finish, please visit us online at
woodworkersjournal.com and click
on “More on the Web” under the
Magazine tab.
32
eople often use cya-
noacrylate adhesive
for bonding parts,
filling voids, repairing finish
and even as a finish on raw
wood — typically on pens
and other small objects
because it cures so fast. Most
folks insist various brands of
cyanoacrylates, often called
“super glue,” are more alike
than not, and there’s some
truth to that.
However, GluBoost® prod-
ucts are different indeed and
open up a whole new world of
options for us woodworkers.
Most notable in their line
is Fill n’ Finish™, a flexible,
clear cyanoacrylate that stays
liquid until you spray it with
GluBoost accelerator, after
which it solidifies instantly
and cures clear. It seems
hard to believe, but it’s true.
That means you can apply
it to wood as a finish or pore
filler, take your sweet time
about getting it smooth and
uniform, then spray it, and it
cures almost instantly, ready
to sand or recoat in just
seconds. Among other uses,
it is perfect for finishing
October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal
turnings, right on the lathe.
It cures clear, with no bub-
bles, pitting, hazing, crazing,
blooming, yellowing or white
spots.
Because it stays liquid in-
definitely, you can even color
it by mixing their Master-
Tint™ line of colorants right
into the cyanoacrylate, and
it still won’t cure until it is
sprayed with accelerator. Add
a small amount of powder for
a translucent color, more for
solid colors. It’s a boon for
filling dings in every type of
clear, tinted, or solid color
 FINISHING

You can apply GluBoost’s Fill n’ Finish to small Fill n’ Finish stays liquid after application until The finish solidifies instantly after applying the
turnings as a finish while they are still on the you spray it with GluBoost accelerator, allowing accelerator: you can easily handle your turning
lathe. time to smooth out a finish. or other project with no stickiness or mess.

finishes, including notorious-
ly hard-to-repair epoxies and
polyesters.
Once Fill n’ Finish does
cure, it is flexible. We don’t
often think of them that way,
but all wood finishes must be
somewhat flexible to tolerate
wood movement without
cracking. That flexibility is
essential as a finish and also
to create repairs in cracked
or dinged finishes that don’t
pop out or crack over time.
As an adhesive, a flexible
glue line is more shock-resis-
tant than a rigid one.
The GluDry™ accelerator
itself is also very slow drying,
which is quite handy if you
plan to use either Fill n’ Fin-
ish or their more typical adhe-
sive, MasterGlu, as traditional
adhesive. Spray one side of
a bond with accelerator and
put the cyanoacrylate on the
other. Once they come in con-
tact, cure comes in seconds.
Both the slow-drying, long
open time Fill n’ Finish and
the more typical self-curing
MasterGlu come in both reg-
ular and super thin versions,
the latter ideal for penetrat-
ing dense woods. Both are
great for solidifying spalted
or punky wood.
If you’re wondering why
you’ve not heard of Glu-
Boost before, in part it is GluBoost
because the products were Fill n’ Finish
first introduced to luthiers CA glue is a very
(guitarmakers) and mostly durable finishing
option for small
sold through luthiery supply
woodturnings, like
companies. You can find out this pizza cutter,
more through their website available through
at www.gluboost.com, where rockler.com.
the 2 oz. bottles of Fill n’ Fin-
ish sell for $15 and the 4 oz.
GluDry is priced at $12.

FILLING

Repairing dings and dents is another use for

GluBoost Fill n’ Finish. GluBoost offers a line
of MasterTint stains for color matching. The
patent-pending line of colorants is formulated
specifically for use with GluBoost products,
and it will not weaken the polymeric bond of
the adhesive.

Applying Fill n’ Finish Thin into a Next, fill the majority of the void with A little color goes a long way when
chipped-out area seals up the fibers the slightly thicker Fill n’ Finish Pro mixing the MasterTint color stains
of the ding preparing for the next step. Formula to take up space. with the Fill n’ Finish.

Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 33

 By Charles Mak
Dovetail joints and a “hot pipe” bending technique to make its
handles combine to lift this tray’s distinctiveness to the next level.
ass-produced serving trays are often unstylishly
box-like and, being machine-made, feature simple
cutouts on the ends as handles. They can be boring,
and, to paraphrase American furniture maker Jere Osgood,
their straight-line designs are a wasted opportunity. Curves
add interest to a piece, and thus I included curved handles in
the latest tray I’ve made here. To add a handcrafted feel, the
tray features hand-cut dovetails and rabbets.
For a striking look, I used maple for the handles, while
sapele and African mahogany veneer ply make up the tray.
34
Since those maple handles are thin, they are a good candidate
for hot-pipe bending. Using that technique of bending wood,
which I will explain later in this article, is a surprisingly simple
way to achieve the curved visual effect and add a new skill set
you can call upon for other woodworking projects.
The basic construction of this tray’s framework is pretty
simple, too — especially if you’ve cut dovetails before. I’ve
already discussed my wood choices for the sides, ends and
bottom. You’ll want to get started by cutting those pieces into
the dimensions stated in the Material List on page 37.
October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal
Ganging up pairs of parts The author cuts the tail
is efficient in both laying slopes first. Mark out the
out and cutting, and it waste areas in the pin
ensures that the joint sockets, and use a fine-
layouts match. It’s a good tooth dovetail saw for this
idea to start the tail cuts procedure.
with the pieces held level
in a bench vise (inset).

Dovetail Decisions
I don’t intend this article to be a tutorial on how to cut dove-
tails; my opinion is that the best guide for both beginner and
seasoned woodworkers is The Complete Dovetail by Ian Kirby,
available on Amazon.com. Here, I will only cover the key dove-
tail steps that I followed for this tray.
I chose to make the sides of the tray the tail boards for my
dovetails and the tray ends the pin boards. This allows the
tails (and less end grain) to be seen when the tray is brought
out to serve. If you prefer more end grain on the front, you It is quicker to remove the bulk of the waste close to the baseline with
can choose to cut the sides as the pin boards instead. a fret saw, leaving less to chop. As you cut your joints, rub candle wax
How many tails to put in a dovetail joint is both a structural (inset) on your saw blade for lubrication and to reduce binding.
and an aesthetic consideration. For the size of this tray, even
one tail is probably good enough for the structural strength.
However, I chose to have three tails in the joint to add a visual
element of craftsmanship to the piece.

Starting with the Tails

After deciding on the tail/pin design, the first step is to lay out
the dovetails — a task I usually complete with a pair of divid-
ers and marking gauge. I am a “tails-first” dovetailer, meaning
I mark and cut the tail slopes first. Be sure to practice sawing
straight and plumb on scraps in order to build your confi-
dence before you take the plunge with your prepared stock.
With the tails sawn, remove the waste from the pin sockets
with a fret or coping saw, or simply chop the waste out. To saw
off the outside half pins, I start by chiseling a V-groove on the
shoulder line to act as a saw guide. With practice, you can saw
Chisel a knife wall on the gauge line for the outside pins, and use it as
to the gauge line with very little left to clean up for the edge a saw guide to make the plumb cut. These are crosscuts, so try to use a
shoulder. After chopping to the gauge lines, check that the crosscut saw for that job. Check all of the bottoms of the pin sockets for
shoulders are square and flat, and pare away any high spots. high spots, which would prevent the joints from closing tightly (inset).

Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 35

 A dovetail alignment jig must be built flat and square, and stay that way Hang the jig over the edge of your workbench, and clamp the boards to the
in the shop. Be sure to build the jig from a stable material such as MDF or jig with the tail board on the horizontal base. For precise results, hold the
quartersawn hardwood, and check its squareness and fence alignment. knife blade tight to the walls of the tails when marking the pins.

Sawing the Pins

Marking the pins from the tails is best done with a dovetail
alignment jig; it’s a shop aid made popular by David Barron, a
British furniture and tool maker. The jig is simply a right-an-
gled brace with a fence to align the reference edges of the
tail and pin boards (top left photo). To mark out, hold the tail
board on the horizontal part and the pin board on the vertical
part, both against the fence, and scribe out the pins. To com-
plete the pin markings, draw vertical saw guidelines from the
end grain scribed lines down the outside face.
Sawing the pins to match the tails is a tall order for a lot of
people, because one needs to split the scribed line and saw
straight down along the vertical guidelines at the same time.
This is where the earlier suggestion of setting your workpiece
plumb, or level, before you start will help your plumb cuts.
To make the knife lines more visible, use a pencil (0.3 mm lead preferred) After sawing the pins, remove the waste and clean up the
to darken the scribed lines, and position the saw teeth to split the lines.
shoulders in a similar manner as described above for the
Good lighting is important for this task.
tails. Once all the pins are cut, do a dry-fitting of the joint, as
described in the caption below.

Rub pencil on the sides of the tails and tap the joint together until it starts
Chop out the tail socket waste, working from both sides of the board to to bind. Then separate the boards to reveal the high spots on the pins you’ll
avoid unsightly breakout. The author prefers to undercut the baselines by need to pare (photo above). Use a hammer with a domed face for dry-fit-
angling the chisel about 1° to 2° from vertical — it helps avoid high spots. ting, and listen to the sound of the tap for resistance or seating (inset).

36 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

 4

4
2

1
MATERIAL LIST
TxWxL
1 Sides (2) 1/2" x 21 ⁄ 4" x 18"
2 Ends (2) 1/2" x 21 ⁄ 4" x 12"
3 Bottom (1) 1/8" x 111 ⁄ 2" x 171⁄ 2"
4 Handles (2)* 1/8" x 1/2" x 16" 1 3
* Milled overly long and cut to length after bending
2

Exploded View
Handle Shape
(Front View)
Ends
(Inside View)
1
/4" 5
/16"
C
L 1
/2" 3
/8"
1
/8" 1
/4" 2
4 1
/2" 3
/8"
1
/8" 1
/4"
Each square = 1/2" 1
/2" 3
/8"
1
/4"
5
/16"

Adding Rabbets for the Tray Bottom 1

/4"
The last joinery to cut for the tray is the rabbets to accept
the bottom. Stopped rabbets are cut on the tray ends, while Sides
(Inside View)
through rabbets are plowed on the tray sides.
After setting the plow plane, I cut the rabbets on the sides.
For a stopped rabbet, I drilled holes at the ends to mark out 1
the length of the rabbet, and then I laid out the width and
depth of the rabbet with a marking gauge. The holes at both
ends served as both length and depth guides for planing. I
excavated most of the rabbet with the plow plane and then
squared the ends with chisels. If you don’t have a plow plane,
1
/8"

cut all the rabbets with a router mounted in a router table. 1

/4"

While a router can cut grooves and rabbets quickly, it’s simple and easy to The author bored holes to locate the ends of the stopped rabbets. They serve
set up a plow plane for rabbeting a small job like this one. There’s no need to determine its length and depth (photo above). Stop the plane short of these
to make trial cuts to test your setup, and you can avoid the sawdust. ends, then use a chisel to remove the rest of the waste material (inset).

Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 37

 www.woodworkersjournal.com

MORE ON THE WEB
You can make a hot-pipe bending jig For a video on the process of
using U-bolts mounted to a hardwood
block (top) or by attaching the pipe VIDEO hot-pipe bending, please visit
with a threaded flange (bottom). Either woodworkersjournal.com and click on
way, use non-galvanized pipe to avoid
“More on the Web” under the
creating toxic fumes, and insulate
between the wood and metal with Magazine tab.
fiberglass. A 6" length of pipe with a di-
ameter between 1” and 3” works well.
The smaller the diameter, the tighter
curves you’ll be able to bend in wood.

Bending the Handles Against a Hot Pipe

Position the torch so its flame
is directed up against the
pipe’s inside top wall (inset).
You’ll know the pipe is hot
enough to bend wood when
water droplets bounce off of
its heated surface, as seen in
the photo above.
As the name implies, the hot-pipe bending method shapes
strips of wood against a pipe, heated with a propane torch. You
can mount the pipe to a post with a flange or U-bolts, insulated
by a layer of fiberglass material, as I’ve done in the photos on
this page. In use, clamp the post in a vise and hold the torch at
an angle in a handscrew or cradle on the bench. Wear gloves
or use pairs of pliers where necessary for protection.
Not all wood species are suitable for bending. Choose
straight-grained, air-dried and knot-free hardwood, such as
maple, ash, cherry and walnut, that is no thicker than 1/4".
Avoid the use of softwood and exotic wood.
To bend wood with the hot pipe, first soak the pieces in hot
or room temperature water for at least several hours. Ignite
the torch and aim the flame at the inner side of the pipe to
heat the pipe to about 200° Fahrenheit and then maintain the
temperature with a low flame.
If this is the first time you are trying this bending method,
use a scrap to practice. Mark the center point of the piece and
slowly rock the piece on the pipe in a seesaw motion, applying
gentle and steady pressure. To prevent scorching the strip,
keep it in contact with the pipe for no more than 10 seconds at
a time, and re-wet both sides of the spot often.
To shape a gradual curve like the handles for this tray,
move the piece slightly to another spot for bending. Once
the center curve is shaped, flip the wood over to bend the
curves on the opposite side to form the handle. I made a
bending form both to check fit and to keep the pieces in shape

Support the thin handle strip with

scraps on top as you seesaw it on
the pipe to start the bend. Re-wet
the bent spot from time to time
(inset), which will help keep burn
Bend the handle curves and check them against the profile on the bending
marks (and subsequent sanding)
form as you proceed with the bending process. While gloves are not being
to a minimum.
worn here, they’re still a good idea to safeguard against accidental burns.

38 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

 Once the handles are bent to
shape, clamp them in a bend-
ing form overnight so they can
cool and dry thoroughly. You
can also use the bending form
during the sanding process (in-
set) to remove any burn marks.

until they completely dry — you’ll want to leave them in the
bending form at least overnight. When they come out of the
form, the last step is to scrape or sand off any burn marks on
the strips.
Assembly and Finishing
After dry-fitting the tray’s ends and sides, glue up the tray and
nail or screw the plywood bottom in place before installing the
handles. I used waxed pine blocks as clamping cauls to pull
the tails and pins tightly together during this final assembly.
For a touch of flair, after easing the handles’ sharp edges, I
riveted the handles to the tray instead of using screws. For
added strength, I put a dab of epoxy glue into the holes before
hammering the rivets home.
You’ll want to protect the tray from heat and spills, so spray
on a few coats of polyurethane, with light sanding in between
coats. Finally, after the finish dries, attach some cork pads to
the bottom corners. Now, rustle up some snacks and drinks,
and put your new assistant into service — with gusto!
Charles Mak, semi-retired in Alberta, Canada, is a hobbyist
woodworker, tipster, teacher and writer.

The author used a retractable

vinyl window shade to protect
his bench when spraying the
tray parts with polyurethane.

While gluing and clamping the tray’s sides and ends together isn’t
difficult, don’t skip the dry-fitting step. Once the assembly is in the
clamps, check it for squareness. The author used blocks of waxed pine A cork sheet and industrial-
as clamping cauls to close the corner joints. strength double-faced tape
create shop-made, long-lasting
felt pads. You can cut the pads
to shape with a punch.

Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 39

 By Chris Marshall

40 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

This project’s hand-cut
dovetails aren’t as chal-
lenging as you may fear,
thanks to an ingenious
aluminum sawing guide.
hether you use this moder-
ately sized chest for storing
bedding, photo albums and
other keepsakes or off-season clothing,
it’s also just the right height to serve as
a quick seat for putting on your slippers
or shoes. I think every woodworker
should eventually build a Shaker-in-
spired chest like this, because it’s one of
those enduring woodworking classics.
It also provides a good opportunity to
practice your dovetailing skills. If you
haven’t built a chest like this before,
here’s your chance to give one a go!
Starting Out with Dovetails
Let’s get this project underway by
gluing up panels for the chest’s front,
back and sides. Flatten their glue seams
by scraping or hand-planing, sand the
panels up to 120-grit and then cut them
to final size, making sure their ends
are square. Mark the outside “show”
faces on the panels, and label the corner
joints to keep their orientation clear.
The next step is to cut through
dovetail joints to bring the chest panels
together. You could cut these with
a router and dovetail jig, which is a
perfectly acceptable option. But for this
project, I wanted to make narrower pins
than my dovetail jig will allow. I also
wanted the freedom to space the pattern
as I liked, so I decided to cut them by
hand instead.
If you like the look of my pin and tail
pattern (see the Drawings on page 43),
lay out the tails on the front panel. Start
by scribing a baseline for the tails all the
way around both ends of the panel with
a marking gauge. Set these scribe lines
about 1/32" deeper than the thickness
of the side panels (this way, the tails will
protrude ever so slightly when the joints
are assembled so you can trim or sand
them perfectly flush). Then lay out the
Woodworker’s Journal October 2018
centerpoints of the pins, with
a half pin on the top end of the
chest only. I laid mine out with
eight pins, spaced 17 ⁄ 8" apart,
on center. The bottoms of the
pin sockets are 1/2" wide, and
I set the angles of the tails to
a 1:6 slope (about 10°). Use a
sliding bevel to draw the tails to
shape with a sharp, fine-point
or mechanical pencil.
Extend the tail reference Remove the pin socket waste by sawing out the bulk of the
lines across the ends of the material with a fret or coping saw and then chopping or
front panel with a square. paring away the remainder to the baselines.
Scribe baselines for the tails
onto the back panel. Then clamp the
back panel to the front panel with their
inside faces against one another and so
the ends and edges are even. Transfer
the tail lines from the front panel to the
back panel. Use these lines as referenc-
es to draw a matching pattern of tails on
the outside face of the back panel.
Next, saw the tails down to the base-
lines with a fine-toothed dovetail saw,
following your layout lines. If you’re
skilled with handsawing, you’ll do these
Draw the angled tails on the
ends of the front panel with a
10° bevel gauge. Then clamp
the back panel to it, and
transfer the tail lines across
the end grain (inset) so you
can replicate the same tail
pattern on the back panel.
Mark the pin socket waste
areas, and saw the tails down
to their baselines. David
Barron’s magnetic Dovetail
Guide (inset) made this
process easy.
freehand. But, if you’re less than confi-
dent that you can saw squarely and ac-
curately, I tried out a clever and simple
one-piece aluminum jig that I’ll highly
recommend to you. Designed by British
woodworker David Barron, it guides
these precision cuts to make both
the tail- and pin-cutting process more
foolproof. Rare-earth magnets hold the
saw blade at the correct angle while you
saw, to virtually eliminate angle-cutting
errors. You can learn more about it at
41

Carefully cut away the tail socket waste, just
as you did for the pin sockets. Swivel the blade
sideways to make these horizontal cuts.
The knifed baselines register a chisel edge
positively, and they’ll ensure that the bottoms of
all the sockets are evenly aligned.
Align the front and back panels carefully
over the side panels in order to knife
between the tails for the pin locations on
the end grain. Mark the waste areas, too.
Barron’s website: davidbarronfurniture.
co.uk and on his YouTube videos.
Once the tail cuts are made, remove
the waste between them to create the
pin sockets. You could chop the waste
out with a 1/2" chisel, working in from
both faces of the panels and down to
the base lines. Or, you can saw it out
with a coping or fret saw first, leaving
just a bit of waste at the bottom of each
pin socket. Then, pare or chop this
waste away, working carefully and in
from both faces. When the sockets are
cleaned out, make sure their baselines
are flat across the panel thickness so the
pins will slide into them squarely. Check
the baselines with the blade of a square
extended through the sockets; it should
rest evenly across them. Then, carefully
trim off the half-pin waste on the top end
of the panels.
With the tails now cut to shape on
both the front and back panels, clamp
a side panel to the edge of your bench
with an end facing up, and align the
correct tail board over it. Carefully
transfer the angled tail pattern onto its
end to mark for the pins. Use a sharp,
thin-bladed pocketknife or a marking
knife to scribe these lines. Repeat for
the other three corner joints.
Grab your marking gauge,
again set 1/32" deeper than the
thickness of the front and back
panel, to scribe baselines across
the faces of the side panels so
the pins will protrude slightly
beyond when the joints are
assembled. Darken the knifed
pin lines with a sharp pencil to
Even with careful cutting and
chiseling, you’ll probably also need
to do some paring before dovetails fit
together well. Chisel or file only from
the pin walls, and remove as little
material as possible to prevent gaps.
make them easier to see when sawing.
Then draw straight lines down from
the knifed lines on the end grain to the
baselines to complete the pin shapes.
With each side panel clamped at
a comfortable working height for
hand-sawing, cut straight down to the
baselines to form the angled faces of
the pins. Again, my Barron Dovetail
Guide, flipped to its pin orientation and
held in place, was able to help me guide
these cuts easily. Aim as best you can to
literally split these layout lines with the
saw blade — it will help to minimize the
amount of paring you’ll have to do next
to refine the fit of the joints.
Saw or chop out the waste in the tail
socket areas. Effectively, the process
is the same as when clearing the pin
socket areas, but here there’s more
waste to remove. Use wider chisels to
help speed the process along, and work
carefully when you’re chiseling up to
the baselines to keep them straight and
evenly aligned with one another. The
scored baselines will give your chisel
edge accurate registration here.
Now, fit the corner joints together one
joint at a time. If you’ve cut carefully,
the pins and tails should engage one
another at least partially, right from
the start. If they don’t, you’ve got some
paring to do to improve the fit. The
important point of note here is to pare
as little material away as possible so
the joints will close snugly. Remove too
much, and you’ll open up gaps that will
show. Remove too little, and the panels
can crack if it takes excessive force to
engage the dovetails. Pare only from the
angled, inside faces of the pins, leaving
the tail pattern alone. (Charles Mak
offers a good tip for using pencil graph-
ite as a guide for paring in his Serving
Tray article on page 34.) Work slowly
and carefully. Continue to test-fit the
October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal
 11
12 10
13

11 12
2
Tray Front, Back and Sides
(Inside Views)
1
/4"

1
/4" 1 4
11
2
1
/4" 1
/4" deep
1
/4"
1
/2"

1
1
/4"

1
/4"
3
12
1
/4" 1
/4" deep
1
/4"
1
/2"
9
1
/4"
9
6
Lid Overhang
(Side View) 8 5
Exploded View 9
10 10 7
3
/4"
2 2 3
/4" 9
8
7
5 6
Case Back 33/16"
(Inside View) 31/4"
3
/16"
4 /8"
3

1
/8" deep MATERIAL LIST
1
/4"
1
/2" TxWxL
1 Carcass Front, Back (2) 3/4" x 15" x 30"
1
1
/4" 1
/2"
2 Carcass Sides (2) 3/4" x 15" x 171 ⁄ 2"
3 Carcass Bottom (1) 3/4" x 163⁄ 4" x 291⁄ 4"
15/8" 4 Tray Cleats (2) 1/2" x 1/2" x 281⁄ 2"
3
/8" deep
5 Base Front, Back (2) 11 ⁄ 2" x 41⁄ 4" x 32"
1
/4"
3
/4" 6 Base Sides (2) 11 ⁄ 2" x 41 ⁄ 4" x 191⁄ 2"
Front Assembly
Base Front and Back (Section View) 7 Base Cleats (Long) (2) 3/4" x 3/4" x 29"
(Front and Top Views) 1 8 Base Cleats (Short) (2) 3/4" x 3/4" x 15"
45° 9 Cove Molding (1) 3/4" x 3/4" x 103"
5 9
7 10 Lid (1) 3/4" x 19" x 311⁄ 2"
11 Tray Front, Back (2) 1/2" x 31⁄ 4" x 157⁄ 8"
5
5 12 Tray Sides (2) 1/2" x 31⁄ 4" x 13"
21/2"
13 Tray Bottom (1) 1/4" x 121⁄ 2" x 153⁄ 8"
21/2"

www.woodworkersjournal.com

MORE ON THE WEB Chest Hard-to-Find Hardware

For a video demonstrating David Barron’s Lid-Stay Torsion Hinge Lid Support, Rustic Bronze (1) #37327 ..... $59.99 pk.
VIDEO aluminum Dovetail Guide, please visit Full Mortise Chest Lock (1) #28241 ............................................................ $17.99 ea.
woodworkersjournal.com and click on To purchase these and other products online,
visit www.woodworkersjournal.com/hardware
“More on the Web” under the Magazine tab.
Or, call 800-610-0883 (code WJ1577).

Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 43

 The chest’s plywood bottom panel recess-
es into a 3/4"-wide, 3/8"-deep rabbet in the
bottom inside edge of the carcass panels.
The author milled these rabbets with a
wide straight bit in the router table. Cut
the rabbets in several deepening passes to
prevent tearout or overloading the machine
and router bit.

able tray. Rout these two grooves now as

joints until they close easily
enough to tap together by
hand without undue force.
Forming Rabbets
and Grooves
Notice in the Drawings that
the chest’s bottom panel fits
into a 3/4"-wide, 3/8"-deep
rabbet that runs around the
bottom inside edge of the
chest. Each of these rabbet
cuts must stop before it
reaches the ends of the
panels, or the cuts will show
Scrap clamping cauls, with short protrusions for the tails, help through when the dovetails
to press these joints together during glue-up. Taping the inner are assembled. With the
joint faces makes squeeze-out easier to wipe or peel away. chest carcass dry-fitted
together, mark out the
rabbeted areas.
I used a 3/4"-dia. straight bit in a
router table to mill these rabbets in a
series of progressively deeper passes.
Make sure to mark the cutting limits
of the bit on your router table’s fence
so you’ll know where to start and stop
these cuts. Square up the rounded ends
of the rabbets with a sharp chisel.
And since you’re at the router table,
there’s also a 1/2"-wide x 1/8"-deep
groove that runs along the inside faces
of the front and back panels to fit two
cleats that will support the chest’s mov-
A pair of cleats that support the tray extend the
length of the front and back panels. They fit into
shallow grooves that must be cut before the car-
cass is assembled. Glue and tack them in place.
well. I terminated the grooves 1/4" from
the ends of the panels.
Finish-sand the inside faces of all
four chest panels up to 180-grit. Now go
ahead and assemble the chest carcass
with glue and clamps, making sure the
box is square by measuring across its
diagonals. Don’t rush the job — I glued
up the back corner joints in one session
with the front panel dry-fitted as a
spacer. Then, when those joints dried, I
glued the front corner joints together.
Once the carcass comes out of the
clamps, clean up the outside faces of the
corner joints by planing or sanding until
the ends of the tails and pins are flush.
Cut a 163 ⁄ 4" x 291 ⁄ 4" plywood bottom
panel to fit the chest’s rabbeted recess.
Sand the inside face of the plywood
smooth. Then glue and brad-nail the
panel into place. Make up some tray
cleats, too, and install them into their
grooves in the front and back panels.
Building the Base
The chest’s base consists of four
11 ⁄ 2"-thick workpieces, beveled to 45°
on their ends. Start out by ripping them
to a final width of 41 ⁄ 4" and crosscut-
ting them overly long by a few inches.
Bevel joints are invariably tricky to cut
accurately so they close tightly, and the
wider the joints or thicker the material,
the more exacting your saw setup needs
to be. I made a long scrap fence of
doubled-up MDF and attached it to two
miter gauges in order to provide plenty
of stout backup support for these long
workpieces. I also used a 1/8" full-kerf
blade on my table saw — the thicker
and stiffer the blade, the flatter the cuts
will be. However you choose to make
these angled cuts, test your saw setup

October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

by making practice cuts first and adjust-
ing the blade’s tilt angle as needed until
the joints meet at 90°. Then, bevel-cut
the parts to final length, using a stop
block and clamps to control the part
lengths accurately.
Glue alone won’t offer enough
strength on these end-grain joints, so
I reinforced them with two 10 x 50 mm
Festool Domino tenons at each joint.
Dowels, biscuits, short splines or
shop-made loose tenons would be good
options here if you don’t have a Domino
joiner. Dry-fit the base together with
these reinforcements in place so you
know the joints will close completely.
Next, it’s time to cut the base’s curved
feet. I made a pair of scrap plywood
templates — one for the cutout on the
base’s front and back and another for
the base sides. I used them first as
tracing guides and rough-cut the feet to
shape at the band saw. Then, I adhered
the templates to each workpiece with
carpet tape in order to trim the contours
to final shape with a long piloted flush-
Festool Domino tenons are one option for reinforcing the base’s corner
joints, but you could use lots of alternatives, too, including shop-made
loose tenons, splines, biscuits or dowels. The choice is up to you.
Woodworker’s Journal October 2018
Take every precautionary measure to ensure that your 45° bevel joints on the base components will
close accurately. The author added a thick fence to two miter gauges, used a full-kerf saw blade for
stiffness and clamped a stop block for the final end cuts to guarantee matching part lengths.
trim bit at the router table. transition here. I chose a 5/8"-radius
Sand these curves and the rest of the cove profile for my moldings and milled
part surfaces up to 180 grit, and glue the it into 3/4" x 3/4" strips of leftover cher-
base together. Use strap or bar clamps ry at the router table. Finish-sand the
to pull the joints tight. moldings, miter-cut them to length, and
Give the base joints several hours to install them — it’s a good idea to cut
dry, then go ahead and fasten the chest and fit these pieces one at a time so you
carcass and base together. Do this by can make any necessary adjustments to
attaching 3/4" x 3/4" cleats to the inside the joints as you go.
faces of the base with countersunk
screws. Position the top edges of the Mounting the Lid
cleats flush with the top edges of the The chest’s solid panel lid overhangs
base. The base projects 1" out from the carcass by 3/4" all around. In back,
the chest carcass all around; invert the the overhang helps to hide the large
chest carcass and position the base over torsion hinges from Rockler that I used
it carefully. Clamp the carcass and base for this project (they hold the lid open
together, then drive countersunk attach- through much of its travel without
ment screws through the cleats and into further support and prevent it from
the chest bottom. slamming down). Glue up the lid panel,
All that’s left to do on the base is to and flatten the glue joints when it comes
make and install moldings around its out of the clamps. Then, cut it to final
top edges to create a pleasing visual width and length.
The author used long and short templates to trace, cut and shape the base’s
curved cutouts for the feet. Here, the longer template is affixed to one of the
workpieces with double-sided tape for a final template-routing pass.
45
 The chest’s upper carcass
sits on the overhanging base.
Attach these two components
with four 3/4" x 3/4" cleats and
countersunk screws driven
through them into the base and
the chest’s bottom panel.

then be attached to bit and a simple edge guide made it easy

Locating these non-mortising hinges
accurately on the lid is a bit of a “blind”
operation if you mount them to the
carcass first. That’s because they’re
inset from the lid’s back edge and don’t
benefit from the registration advantage
that mortises would offer. So, to make
things easier, I started by mounting the
hinges to the lid instead of to the car-
cass back. That way, there’s no guess-
work about where the hinges should
the lid. If you do the
same, make sure the
hinges are perfect-
ly aligned along a
penciled layout line
when you screw
them to the lid. I
spaced them 43 ⁄ 4" in
from the ends of the
lid and positioned
the front edge of
their hinge leaves
21 ⁄ 4" in from the lid’s
back edge.
With the hinges in place, set the lid on
the chest and mark the carcass back for
the hinge locations. When closed, these
hinges are about 3/16" thick, which will
prevent the lid from resting completely
flat on the chest. I didn’t want to see a
gap under the lid, just because of the
hinge thickness, so I cut a pair of wide
mortises into the top back edge of the
carcass to recess the hinge bodies. A
trim router, shallow piloted mortising
to do this accurately.
Install the hinge leaves into the chest
mortises with a few screws so you can
test the lid’s fit and hinge action. If
you’re satisfied with the result, remove
the hinges from both the chest and lid
so you can add a decorative profile to
the lid’s front and side edges. I shaped
the bottom edges with a 3/8"-radius
piloted roundover bit to complement the
cove molding on the base and to make
the lid more pleasant to grasp. Along
the lid’s back, I just eased the sharp
edges and corners with a sanding block
and left it at that.
Adding the Sliding Tray
The tray is simply an open-topped box
with a 1/4" plywood bottom that gives
this chest a second level of internal
storage. I made mine from 1/2" maple,
which provides a splash of brighter
wood color to the rest of this project’s
dark cherry. Once its front, back and
sides were cut to size, I brought the cor-

Cove molding creates an appropriate transition between the carcass and While you could chisel hinge mortises into the chest’s top back edge by
the wider base. It also adds shadow lines for visual appeal. Attach the hand, cutting them with a simple clamp-on mortising jig and a trim router
moldings with glue. Pin nails can help to hold it place while the glue sets. guarantees that these wide recesses will have flat, clean bottom surfaces.

46 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

The author opted to make the chest’s removable storage tray from maple.
He used 1/4" box joints to provide a contrasting geometry to the chest’s
dovetails. They’re also a rock-solid joinery option for this application.
ners of the tray together with 1/4" box
joints to add some decorative flair and
strength. Be careful to stop the bottom
panel grooves accordingly when you
rout them so they won’t show through
on the assembled joints. I positioned
these grooves 1/4" up from the bottom
edges of the tray framework. Sand the
tray parts, and glue it together.
Final Hardware and Finishing
To give this chest a bit of security, I
added a keyed lockset. Rockler provides
a step-by-step instructions page for in-
stalling it, which is available as a down-
loadable PDF. But briefly, here’s how
the process goes. I centered the lock
on the chest’s front wall, then bored a
11 ⁄ 2"-deep, 17 ⁄ 8"-long mortise for the lock
body using a 5/16"-dia. brad point bit
and a clamp-on doweling jig.
The lock has a 3/8"-wide, oblong
selvedge plate on top that requires
a shallow mortise to recess it into. I
routed that mortise with a shop-made,
clamp-on slotted jig, 3/4" O.D. guide
collar and a 3/8" straight bit. Once the
selvedge mortise was cut, I switched to
a long 5/16"-dia. straight bit and, using
the same shop-made jig, cleaned up the
walls of the deep mortise. But, a chisel
would do the job just fine, too.
A 1/4"-dia. hole, drilled through the
face of the chest, and a little chiseling
below that, provided access to the lock
for the skeleton key. Install the lock
body in the chest with screws.
A brass strike plate attaches to the
chest lid to engage the lock bolt. Mark
Installing the lock involves
cutting deep and shallow
mortises for the lock body
and selvedge plate. Most
the underside of of the deep mortise was
the lid carefully to drilled out first with a
doweling jig (not shown). A
position this strike
slotted router jig (inset) cut
plate — you only the selvedge mortise.
have one shot to
get it right! I knew
I was on target by
using a simple trick:
I colored the top
edge of the raised
lock bolt with a
black permanent
marker and closed
the lid down onto it
to transfer the bolt’s
exact location. An-
other shop-made jig
with a shorter slot
helped me rout the
strike plate mortise
accurately. The bolt
also requires extra A shorter-slot mortising jig made quick work of routing a shallow recess
clearance behind in the lid for the lock’s strike plate. Notice the dark rectangular marker
the strike plate so it imprint of the lock’s bolt: it helped make locating the strike plate easier.
can pivot up into the
locked position. For that, I switched to a smell, then four coats of satin lacquer.
3/16"-dia. straight bit and used the same To keep the maple tray as blonde as
mortising jig to excavate the bolt’s deep- possible, I used a water-based non-yel-
er recess. Attach the strike plate to the lowing varnish from General Finishes
lid to wrap up the hardware installation. called High Performance. It dries
Then remove the lock components and incredibly fast and imparts very little
hinges to prepare for finishing. color to the wood. My hope is that,
A good way to warm up the color of whenever this chest is unlocked and
cherry and accentuate its figure is to ap- opened, the lighter-colored tray with
ply a drying oil first. I wiped on a heavy its showy corner geometry will be a
coat of Rockler’s 100 percent pure tung welcomed surprise waiting inside.
oil and gave that a full 24 hours to dry,
followed by a barrier coat of dewaxed Chris Marshall is senior editor of
shellac to seal in any oily residue and Woodworker’s Journal.

Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 47

 By Sandor Nagyszalanczy

Woodworking expert Sandor Nagyszalanczy

takes you through the need-to-know for the band
saw, a multitasking shop basic.

Tensioning
Knob Tracking Window
Tension Release Lever

Door Catch

Guide Post Elevating

Handle

Tension Window

Guide Post

Upper Guide
Bearings

On/Off Switch Fence

Miter Slot

Table Locking
Fence Locking Handle Pin
www.woodworkersjournal.com

MORE ON THE WEB
Fence Rail
For a video demonstrating how Dust Port
VIDEO to tune up your band saw, plus Door Catch
an article on band saw maintenance,
please visit woodworkersjournal.com Drive Belt Tension
and click on “More on the Web” under Adjuster
the Magazine tab.

Base

50 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

 ext to the table saw, the band saw is
one of the most versatile machines
in the woodshop. In my own shop, I
use it daily to do most of my curve cutting
tasks, as well as occasionally employing
it for resawing planks and preparing turn-
ing blanks. With the right blade, it’ll even
handle delicate jobs, like cutting scrollwork
in workpieces too thick or hard for a regular
scroll saw.
Although these machines have been around
for more than 150 years, they’ve changed
very little in basic anatomy: A continuous
strip of metal with teeth on one edge travels
around two (or more) wheels, one of which is
driven by an electric motor. The blade passes
through a table that supports the workpiece
and keeps it at a fixed angle during cutting.
Guides and thrust bearings help keep the
blade stabilized and running straight.

Just What Can a Band discs up to a radius just

Saw Do? under your saw’s throat
Like a table saw, a band saw capacity. Most jigs
is capable of innumerable feature a small center
cutting tasks, including a pin around which the
wide range of both straight workpiece rotates as it’s
and curved cuts. The major- cut; the entire jig slides
ity of band saws come with the workpiece forward
both a rip fence and miter into the blade to start
gauge, handy for tackling the cut.
standard rips and crosscuts. • Joinery. Although
The most common use for it might not be the first
the band saw, however, is machine you’d think
in cutting irregular shapes. of using for cutting
The other common use is in traditional joinery, such
resawing or ripping lumber as tenons, box joints or In addition to both dry and green lumber, a band saw can also cut a variety of oth-
into thinner slabs. Fitted with dovetails, a band saw er materials, including plastics and nonferrous metals like brass and aluminum.
the right blade, a band saw can make short work Bi-metal blades are great for cutting metals as well as dense woods.
can make cuts that leave very of sawing fine joineries
smooth edges, or even cut or large joints for big Cutting big dovetails is a breeze on the band saw: The tails are cut with the table
non-wood materials including projects. set at no tilt; pins are cut with the table angled to match their slope. After most of
plastics and nonferrous met- the waste is sawn away, the pins and tails are cleaned up with a sharp chisel.
als (aluminum, brass, etc.).
• Cutting curves. While you
can cut curved parts with a
portable jigsaw, a band saw
accurately tackles regular
and irregular curved cuts
in the thinnest stock with a
minimum of vibration, as well
as slices through heavy stock
up to the thickness of your
saw’s depth-cutting capacity.
A band saw is also useful for
cutting compound curves,
such as when making cabri-
ole legs or ogee bracket feet.
• Perfect circles. Using a
commercial or shop-made jig,
you can cut perfect circular

Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 51

 TOOL TUTORIAL CONTINUED
Fitted with a narrow, high tooth-per-inch, regular-tooth blade, a band saw
is capable of tackling curvaceous cuts in both thin and thick workpieces,
leaving smooth cut edges that require little or no sanding.
• Sawing logs and turning
blanks. Even a 14" band saw
can serve as a mini sawmill
that will turn tree branches
and small logs into rough-
sawn boards ready to run
through a planer to make
project-ready lumber. The
band saw’s unique cutting
abilities make it a must-have
machine for woodturners
preparing lathe-ready blanks
from green or laminated
stock.
• Puzzles and scroll-
work. Fitted with a narrow,
fine-toothed blade, a band
saw can perform the same
Resawing is a great way to create your own veneers and to cut two or
more matching panels from the same board, for purposes such as raised
panels on a set of cabinet doors.
52
kinds of tight-radius cutting
normally done with a scroll
or jigsaw. This is great for
making small parts for scale
models and miniatures or for
doing intricate scroll work
for projects such as ginger-
bread decorations for a Victo-
rian style dollhouse. A band
saw’s tilting table also allows
bevel-cutting tasks, such as
crafting wooden puzzles with
interlocking pieces. The only
limitation is that, unlike a
scroll saw, a band saw can’t
do blind inside cuts, such as
sawing keyholes.
• Multiple parts. By stack-
ing and fastening together
multiple blanks, you can
cut a number of parts all at
the same time, thus saving
considerable time and effort.
For small/thin parts, you can
get away with double-stick
taping the layers together.
For larger/heavier parts, you
may need to nail or screw
them together; be sure to lo-
cate fasteners well away from
the line of cut and use brass
nails or screws, just in case
the blade strays into them.
For safety’s sake, the height
of any stack should never be
taller than it is wide.
• Resawing. Resawing is
ripping thick stock into thin-
ner stock, thickness wise.
There are two reasons that
the band saw is the machine
of choice for this operation:
1. All but the smallest bench-
top band saws have a greater
depth of cut than most table
saws. 2. The saw’s super thin
October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal
blade removes less material
during cutting, thus allow-
ing more slices to be taken
from a given board (and less
valuable wood ends up as
sawdust!).
Choosing a Band Saw
Band saws come in many
sizes specified by the diam-
eter of their wheels, which
range from 9" (and smaller)
tabletop saws to behemoth
48" (and larger) stationary
saws. The most useful saws
for small woodshops are in
the 12" to 18" size range,
with 14" band saws being
the most popular. The width
of the stock that a saw can
cut is limited by its throat
size: typically 1/2" less than
the diameter of its wheels.
Generally, the larger a saw’s
wheels, the thicker the stock
it can handle. However, some
14" saws have taller frames
that allow them to handle
deeper cuts (up to 131 ⁄ 2").
Some 14" models may be fit-
ted with special riser blocks
to increase their depth of cut
from 6" to 12".
• Benchtop saws. As their
name suggests, benchtop
band saws must be clamped
or mounted atop a table,
bench or stand before they’re
ready for use. Benchtop mod-
els are far more affordable
than stationary models and
are easily portable and stow-
able. On the downside, they
lack the power and cutting
capacity of stationary saws,
and they are typically limited
 Benchtop band saws
feature lightweight
cast alloy and plastic
construction, simple
guides and universal
motors (the same
kind found in portable
power tools).

than benchtop your owner’s manual

to using spring steel blades
only 3/8" wide or narrower.
Benchtops are a good choice
for hobbyists, model makers
and woodworkers looking to
tackle only small projects.
• Stationary models. Built
with heavy cast-iron or weld-
ed-steel frames, stationary
band saws come mounted
atop open stands or closed
cabinets. These saws sport
1hp to 5hp motors that run
on 110- or 220-volt AC power,
depending on the motor. Big-
ger saws typically have more
powerful motors, to suit their
greater cutting capacities.
saws, and the
heavier ma-
chines are not
very portable.
Selecting
Blades
A band saw can
be fitted with
different types and sizes of
blades, to allow it to handle
different kinds of cuts and
thicknesses of stock. You’re
typically confronted with
choices in band length and
width, type and number of
teeth and the type of steel
the band is made from. Blade
length is specific to the
particular make and model of
your band saw.
• Blade width. Band saw
blades range from 1/16" to 1"
or more in width. Basically,
the narrower the blade, the
tighter the radius it can cut.
Conversely, the wider the
before purchase.
When cutting
curves, choose a
blade that’s narrow
enough to handle
the tightest radiuses
you plan to cut (see
the chart, below).
Wider blades are
best for straight cuts Stationary band saws have large dust ports
when ripping, cross- that allow connection to a proper dust collec-
cutting or resawing. tion system.
• Teeth. Blades
made for cutting wood
typically feature one of three
tooth configurations: Regu-
lar, skip and hook. Regular
teeth, common for blades
3/16" wide and narrower,
leave a relatively smooth cut
surface. Skip and hook-tooth
blades have larger gullets
capable of removing sawdust
more quickly from the kerf
during cutting. This allows
them to cut faster than reg-
ular tooth blades, but they
Regular Tooth

Hook Tooth
Stationary saws all have large blade, the more resistant the leave rougher saw marks.
Skip Tooth

tilting tables (most tilt to 45° blade is to deflecting during Both skip and hook-tooth
right, 10° left), to better sup- cutting. All band saws have blades are a great choice for
port large/heavy workpieces, an upper and lower limit to cutting thicker stock as well
plus heavy-duty blade guide width of blades, so check as for resawing.
assemblies. Some models
have handy features, like Blade Width/Cutting Radius Chart
blade tension-release levers BLADE WIDTH SMALLEST RADIUS CUT
and foot-operated blade 1/16" 3/32"
brakes. In addition to per- 1/8" 3/16"
forming demanding sawing 3/16" 5/16"
tasks, such as resawing thick 1/4" 3/8"
stock, stationary saws accept 3/8" 17 ⁄ 16"
From left to right: Regular teeth
both narrow and wide blades, are evenly spaced and set. Skip
1/2" 2 1 ⁄ 2" tooth blades have fewer teeth,
making them more versatile 5/8" 3 3 ⁄ 4" as every other regular tooth is
than benchtop models. But 3/4" 57 ⁄ 16" missing. Hook-tooth blades have
stationary models are also 1" 7 1 ⁄ 2" large gullets and teeth that cut
considerably more expensive aggressively.

Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 53

 TOOL TUTORIAL CONTINUED
Regardless of tooth style,
each blade has a specific
number of teeth per inch
(tpi). The less teeth a blade
has, the faster it will cut but
the rougher the cut surface
it leaves behind; more teeth
results in slower but cleaner
cutting. Higher tpi blades
are also more easily clogged
with sawdust and heat up and
dull more easily. Narrower
blades typically have a higher
tpi; wider blades, a lower tpi.
Conventional wisdom sug-
gests choosing a blade that
Whenever fitting a brand-new blade, it’s good to round the back edge with
a medium coarse honing stone. This not only helps the blade cut smoother, has at least three teeth in the
but it can also increase blade life by reducing friction (and heat) in the workpiece during cutting;
kerf during curve cutting. for example, a 3 tpi blade is
right for stock 3/4" thick or
greater.
• Blade material. The
most commonly available
band saw blade materials are
carbon steel, spring steel,
bi-metal and carbide. Carbon
steel blades are the most
common and affordable and
hold up pretty well in daily
use. Their main disadvantage
is that they dull rather quick-
ly. Spring steel blades are
very flexible and are most
often used on benchtop saws
When cutting small or short stock, or when approaching the end of a cut, with small-diameter wheels.
use a push stick — not your fingers or thumbs — to feed the stock past the They are softer than carbon
blade. Here, a featherboard helps keep the stock against the rip fence.
steel and hence, their teeth
dull more quickly. Bi-metal
blades are a hybrid of the
two: the body of the blade
is spring steel, while the
teeth are made from harder
cobalt steel. Although more
expensive, bi-metal blades
perform better and stay
sharper longer than most
other blades, except those
with carbide teeth, which are
The author believes that most band saws’ tension gauges read a bit too very expensive and should
low, so he sets the blade tension one tick higher than the actual blade’s be reserved for only the most
width. Setting tension much higher than this can result in blade breakage. demanding tasks.
54 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal
• Recommendations. Here
are a few general recom-
mendations: A 1/4" 4 to 6 tpi
skip tooth blade is a good
all-purpose curve cutting
blade that’ll handle curves
down to a 3/8" radius. Step
up to a 1/2" or 3/4" 3 to 4 tpi
standard or hook-tooth blade
for ripping and crosscut-
ting stock. For resawing or
cutting green wood, use the
widest 2 to 3 tpi skip tooth
blade your saw will handle.
For delicate and/or thin
materials, choose a 1/8"-
or 3/16"-wide, 10 to 14 tpi
standard tooth blade. If you
plan to do a lot of cutting, I
recommend buying carbon
steel or bi-metal blades.
When sawing dense woods,
like rosewood or wenge,
or abrasive woods such as
teak, you’ll get longer lasting
performance from a carbide
tooth blade.
Remember, you’ll need
to reset your saw’s blade
guides, tension and tracking
each time you change to
a different width of blade,
which can take quite a bit of
time and trouble. For this
reason, a 3/8" 4 tpi skip tooth
blade is a good “general
purpose” blade that’ll handle
a wide variety of straight and
curved cuts.
Band Saw Safety
Although these tall machines
with their spinning wheels
and racing blades may look
intimidating, they’re actually
one of the safest saws in the
shop. The “hungry” part of
the blade is relatively unex-
posed during operation, and
its cutting force is directed
downwards toward the table.
Hence, the machine is free
of kickback, as is all too com-
mon with table saws.
In addition to the basic
safety rules you should
follow when using any kind
of power machine (always
wear eye and ear protection,
don’t wear loose clothing,
etc.), here are some import-
ant safety practices to follow
when using a band saw:
• Make sure your saw is fit-
ted with a sharp blade that’s
in good condition, and that
the guides, tension and track-
ing are all properly set up.
• Always keep fingers
and hands out of the path of
the blade and at least three
inches away.
• During cutting, wait
to clear small cutoff pieces
from the table until the saw’s
power is off and the blade
has stopped moving.
• When cutting stock
that’s not flat on the bottom
(logs, branches, etc.), sup-
port the stock by clamping
or otherwise securing it in a
sliding jig with a flat bottom.
Dowels and other cylindrical
workpieces can be supported
with a V-block.
Setting Up the Saw
Compared to most wood-
shop machines, band saws
require a bit more in the way
of preparation and tuning to
keep them cutting at their
best. Several adjustment
operations need to be done
each and every time a new
or different blade is fitted.
These include adjustment
of the guides and thrust
bearings, and tracking and
tensioning of the blade itself.
(Keeping a saw in peak con-
Woodworker’s Journal October 2018
dition also requires occasion-
al maintenance. Find more
information in my band saw
maintenance article, posted
at woodworkersjournal.com.)
Start a blade change by
first disconnecting power to
the saw and backing off the
guides and bearings, both
above and below the saw
table. Open the blade guard
door(s) and release blade
tension until the blade easily
slips off the wheels. Remove
your saw’s throat plate and
table locking pin and wiggle
the blade out through the
table slot to remove it. Clean
off any caked-on dust/chips
from the surface of each
tire with a stiff brush. Slip
the replacement blade back
through the table and onto
both wheels. Increase blade
tension with your saw’s
adjuster knob just enough
to take the slack out of the
blade. Then turn the wheel
slowly while increasing
blade tension as shown on
the saw’s tension gauge. If
If your blade is not riding on the center of the tire’s crown, you will need to
the blade isn’t riding on the adjust the tracking knob until it is centered.
center of the wheel’s crown,
adjust the saw’s tracking
control knob until it is.
When adjusting the upper
and lower guides, start by
setting both thrust bearings
so that the back edge of the
saw blade clears by a scant
1/64". Position the guide
assembly next, with the front
edge of each guide block
or bearing just behind the
teeth. Slip a scrap paper shim
between each guide and the
blade band and press the
guides together with your fin-
gers while locking the guides Whether your saw has bearings or block style blade guides, small slips
in place. Remove the paper of paper set between the guides and blade during adjustment provide a
shims, replace the throat slight clearance once the guides are locked and the paper is removed.
55
 TOOL TUTORIAL CONTINUED

plate and locking pin, close to be clamped or otherwise

the blade guard door(s),
plug the saw back in and
start it up. Recheck both the
tracking and guide settings
and readjust if necessary.
Finally, check the squareness
of the blade and saw table (or
set the table to the desired
angle). Set the angle of your
miter gauge head or position
of the rip fence if you’re plan-
ning on using either of these
for a sawing operation.
Check the squareness of your band saw’s blade relative to the table with
a large, dependably accurate try square. Once set to square, use a pair of
wrenches to lock the saw’s table stop at that setting. Making the Cut
Once your band saw is tuned
up and ready for action,
prepare your stock for the
kind of cut you have at
hand. Boards being readied
for ripping, crosscutting or
resawing should have at least
one straight edge and one
surface that has been planed
flat and smooth. Green
lumber needs to be jointed
flat enough on two adjacent
edges/surfaces to ride stably
on the saw’s table and rip
fence. Otherwise, it needs
fastened into a sliding jig of
some kind. Boards and pan-
els to be cut freehand need
only to be flat on the bottom,
to prevent them from rocking
on the saw table during cut-
ting and bind the blade.
Before switching the saw
on, make sure that the blade
is properly tensioned and
that your workpiece, hands
and fingers are well clear of
it. Once cutting commences,
it’s usually best to feed stock
at a moderate rate; never
force the cut. If your blade
becomes stuck in the kerf
or has wandered from your
intended line of cut, don’t try
to back the blade out of the
workpiece: Stop cutting and
shut the machine off.
If you have a complex cut
to do, say sawing a decora-
tive curvaceous edge, it’s im-
portant to plan the sequence
of cuts before you begin.
When cutting curves just a
bit too tight for the particular
width of blade you’re using,

Whenever possible when cutting on your band saw, set the upper guide If your blade gets stuck in the kerf when cutting, after you’ve shut the
assembly so that it’s no more than 1/4" to 1/2" above the top edge or sur- machine off and the blade comes to a complete stop, use a scrap of wood
face of the workpiece. to press the blade back out of the kerf.

56 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

Sometimees it’s best to cut away the waste from one section of a blank to
prevent trapping or binding the blade, as well as to provide clearer access
to the next section of your cut.
sawing a series of relief cuts
that extend from the edge
of the stock right up to your
line of cut will help prevent
the blade from binding.
When cutting compound
curved parts, say cabriole
legs for a table or desk, start
with a square blank onto
which you’ve drawn or pasted
the patterns for the desired
curves on two adjacent sides.
After sawing one side, take
the cutoffs and tape them
back into place on the blank.
The taped scraps keep the
blank square to the table as
you saw the other side.
When ripping stock using
the band saw’s standard rip
fence, it’s not uncommon for
the blade to “wander” away
from the line of cut. One
solution is to angle your rip
fence slightly in the direction
of blade drift. Alternatively,
you can guide the stock
using a small curved or
wheeled fence and follow a
line marked on the stock.
After a cut is complete,
turn off the band saw and
wait until it comes to a
complete stop. Never stick a
wood scrap into the blade to
Woodworker’s Journal October 2018
When sawing a compound curved part, such as this short cabriole leg, tap-
ing cutoffs back onto the blank from the cutting of the first side retains the
pattern and keeps the blank square to the table as you saw the other side.
stop the machine quicker; let
it stop on its own. At the end
of the day, it’s a good idea to
release blade tension to pre-
vent a flat spot forming in the
saw’s tires. The saw blade
band itself can also take a bit
of set over time, resulting in
irregular tracking and vibra-
tion. Modern saws often have
a de-tensioning lever.
Summary
If you don’t already own a
A curved or wheeled fence allows you to adjust the angle of the work-
band saw (or you’ve been
piece as necessary to keep the blade tracking straight along the line of
making do with a jigsaw, like cut while ripping or resawing. The author built this resawing fence using
I did for many years), you’ll skateboard wheels.
be pleasantly surprised at
the number of different daily
cutting tasks you’ll use it for.
And I bet you’re likely to find
that this versatile saw can
significantly expand your
woodworking repertoire
to include tasks you can’t
easily perform with any other
machine in your shop.
Sandor Nagyszalanczy is a
furniture designer/crafts-
man, writer/photographer
and regular contributor to
To make de-tensioning easier, many modern band saws have built-in
Woodworker’s Journal. His levers that release blade tension without changing the current blade
books are available at tension setting. Loosening tension at the end of the day prevents flat spots
Amazon.com. from developing on the wheel’s tires between uses.
57
 By Matthew Cremona

n outfeed table is a great func-

tional improvement to a table
The author
saw. No longer do you need to opted for a slab
worry about workpieces falling off the of live-edge
back of the saw — or trying to keep lumber for his
them from falling as you wait for the tabletop, but
blade to spin down. The outfeed table plywood — a
more tradition-
top, especially when combined with the al choice for
table saw top, provides ample additional typical shop
working surface, while putting a cabinet projects — is a
underneath it efficiently increases shop fine choice, too.
storage space. As you build your own
outfeed table, you can also plan for
additional work holding options.

58 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

 The case sides receive 3/4"-wide by 3/8"-deep rabbets in their ends to
receive the top and bottom panels.
First, Some Table Considerations
The overall size of an outfeed table sur-
face should depend on the shop setup,
the size of table saw it will be used with
and the length of stock you typically
use in your projects. The biggest factor
is shop size. None of us have unlimited
space, so we ought to make sure we use
the space we do have as efficiently as
possible. In other words, a huge outfeed
table might be nice, but if it doesn’t fit
in your shop, then it isn’t going to be all
that effective.
For other design considerations, take
a look at your shop layout and how
you have your table saw positioned. In
my shop, for instance, I have an outlet
against the wall that can’t be blocked.
Further, my jointer’s infeed table is ad-
jacent to where the outfeed table must
go. So, an outfeed table with drawers or
doors on the end would be impractical
for my shop’s layout.
The next factor to think about is how
wide to make the outfeed table. This will
again depend on the size of your table
saw and overall shop layout. It might
make sense to make the outfeed table
as wide as your table saw so, no matter
what the rip fence is set to, the work-
piece will be fully supported. If you rare-
ly make cuts that wide and would rather
use the extra space behind the saw for
storing something else, a narrower table
might be better for you.
You also need to consider the depth
of the table top. This is critical, because
if it isn’t deep enough, the problem of
workpieces tipping off the table won’t be
resolved. A tabletop will support a work-
piece up to twice as long as its depth. If
full-length sheet goods are something
Woodworker’s Journal October 2018
Use a dado blade, with its width set to the thickness of your 3/4"
plywood, to cut 3/8"-deep dadoes for the vertical divider.
you commonly rip down, you’ll want
to have about four feet of outfeed
support. In my shop, I mostly make
solid wood furniture, and my parts
are rarely longer than four feet, so
two feet of outfeed support depth
is perfect for me. For those occa-
sional times when I need more “real
estate” behind the saw, I can always
set up a roller stand.
Finally, don’t forget to think about
the amount of overhang between the
saw and the cabinet. Most saws have
their dust collection port extending The author used Rockler’s JIG IT® Shelving Jig with
out the back, so clearance for a dust Self-Centering Bit to drill rows of shelf-pin holes for
hose is important. If the saw is on supporting the cabinet’s adjustable shelf.
a mobile base, there could be other
clearance issues as well. With my
table saw, I needed to account for
both the dust port and my mobile
base. I opted to design the cabinet
so it would have space underneath
to nest over part of the mobile base.
This reduced the amount of over-
hang I needed, while also reducing
the amount of dead space between
the saw and the cabinet.
Building the Cabinet
The cabinet carcass is made from Build and install six plywood risers for the leveling
feet, and fasten the leveling feet to them with screws.
3/4" plywood and joined with rab-
Optional casters add mobility; make sure their locking
bets and dadoes. I broke the sheets tabs clear the risers when the casters rotate around.
down into manageable pieces with a
track saw before bringing them into dadoes across the top and bottom
the shop and cutting them down to final panels to fit the vertical divider; be sure
size at the table saw. Mill rabbets on the to adjust the width of these two dadoes
top and bottom edges of the side panels carefully to match the thickness of your
to connect with the cabinet top and bot- plywood — these days, it’s typically
tom panels. The sides, top and bottom 23/32" wide and not a true 3/4".
will also need a 1/2"-wide by 3/8"-deep Next, dry-fit the cabinet pieces
rabbet along their back edge for fitting together, and cut the back panel to fit its
the back panel into place. Lastly, plow opening. The rabbets make everything
59
 WEEKEND PROJECTS CONTINUED

Mill 1/4"-deep grooves along the edges of the door rails and stiles to house The ends of the rails and center stile all receive short stub tenons that fit
1/2” plywood panels. Choose a slightly undersized dado width, and cut these into the grooves for the plywood panels. It’s an efficient and sturdy joinery
grooves in two passes, flipping the parts end for end, to center the grooves. option for building simple cabinet doors.

ment, the door can be glued up as a

solid unit. When the glue has dried, trim
the door to final size to fit the opening
(you’ll want the gap sized similarly to
that of the drawers), and hang it on its
hinges. Add the shelf to the cabinet cavi-
ty, which also serves as a doorstop.

Constructing the Top

I wanted to make the top fairly substan-
tial so it would hold up well as a work

Since the door panels are plywood, they can be glued into the rail and stile grooves during assembly
without the need to account for wood movement.

come together easily, as all the parts
are self-aligning and self-squaring. Drill
rows of shelf-pin holes into the walls
of the left cavity. After a final check to
make sure everything seems in order,
you can glue up the case. Gluing in the
back panel further helps to square the
case and reinforces the structure, which
will help keep the cabinet from sagging.
Rip and crosscut pieces of 3/4" x 3/4"
edge banding from solid wood to cover
the exposed plywood edges on the cab-
inet front. Glue and clamp them in place.
Because I hate limiting my options, I
added both leveling feet and casters to
the base of the cabinet. The leveling feet
provide a stable base and make it very
easy to bring the outfeed table up to the
right height for the table saw. When the
cabinet needs to be moved, I can simply
lower it onto the casters.
Adding the Door
I built my cabinet door using simple
frame-and-panel construction. First, run
a 1/4"-deep, 1/2"-wide groove along
the edges of the rails and three stiles
to fit the panel stock. Then cut mating
tongues into the ends of the rails and
center stile. This creates the door frame.
Since the panels are plywood and don’t
need to float to allow for wood move-
The author’s choice of European-style
BLUMotion hinges for this project’s door offers a
soft-close feature you can turn on or off.
surface. I considered doing a laminated
strip top (like a workbench) but opted
instead to use a single slab with a live
edge. This gives the outfeed table a
unique look, and orienting the live edge
so it slants toward the top also works as
a functional detail: it allows materials to
slide onto the table easily. A few years
ago, I cut a boule of ash slabs (the slabs
are cut from one log and kept together
in the order of sawing) with my chain-
saw mill. The log was a bit short, which

60 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

 Cabinet Side
(Inside View)

1
/2"
5 16
3
/8" deep
1
Exploded View
6
2
1

3
/4"
5
3
/8" deep 3
10 4
Leveler Support Brace 11
and Bracket
(Front View)
11/2" 7
3
/4" 1
5
/8"
9 8
15/16"

6 2
MATERIAL LIST
Cabinet and Door TxWxL
1 Cabinet Sides (2) 3/4" x 19" x 27"
2 Cabinet Top and Bottom (2) 3/4" x 19" x 531 ⁄ 4" 8
3 Vertical Divider (1) 3/4" x 181 ⁄ 2" x 261 ⁄ 4" Bottom of Cabinet 9
(Bottom View) Flush to back edge
1
/8"
4 Back Panel (1) 1/2" x 261⁄ 4" x 531 ⁄ 4"
5 Side Edge Banding (2) 3/4" x 3/4" x 27"
6 Top, Bottom Edge Banding (2) 3/4" x 3/4" x 521 ⁄ 2" 21/2"
2
7 Divider Edge Banding (1) 3/4" x 3/4" x 251 ⁄ 2"
8 Leveler Support Brackets (6) 3/4" x 37 ⁄ 8" x 5" 201/8" 3
/4"

Position the two center 75/16"

9 Leveler Support Braces (12) 3/4" x 37 ⁄ 8" x 41 ⁄ 2" 9 #8’s under the Vertical Divider
10 Shelf (1) 3/4" x 171⁄ 2" x 191 ⁄ 2" 31/4"
8
11 Shelf Edge Banding (1) 3/4" x 3/4" x 191 ⁄ 2"
12 Door Stiles (2) 3/4" x 3" x 251 ⁄ 4"
6 Flush to back edge
13 Door Rails (2) 3/4" x 3" x 14" of Edge Banding
14 Door Center Stile (1) 3/4" x 21⁄ 8" x 20"
15 Door Panels (2) 1/2" x 61⁄ 8" x 197⁄ 8" 13
Door Exploded
16 Plywood Top (2) 3/4" x 24" x 60" View

15
Outfeed Table Hard-to-Find Hardware 12 15
3" Heavy-Duty Polyurethane Casters (2) #38865 ........ $29.99 pr.
Heavy-Duty Lifting Leveler (2) #81239 ............................ $25.99 pk. 14
Blum® Soft-Close 110° Inset Hinges (1) #34807 ........... $18.99 pr. 12
Stainless Steel Naples Pulls, 96 mm (4) #52127 ............ $4.19 ea.
Stainless Steel Naples Knob, 39 mm (1) #56737 ............ $2.79 ea.
Nickel 1/4" Shelf Supports (1) #33860 .............................. $5.99 pk. Door Rail
18" 75-lb. Full-Extension Drawer Slides (1) #48022 ... $13.99 pr. (Front View)
Rockler 4 Ft. Universal T-Tracks (2) #20054 ................. $29.99 ea. 1
/2" 13
Rockler T-Track Intersection Kit (1) #22209 ................. $24.99 ea.
1
/8" 3
/8"

To purchase these and other products online, 1

/4"
visit www.woodworkersjournal.com/hardware 13
Or, call 800-610-0883 (code WJ1577).

Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 61

 WEEKEND PROJECTS CONTINUED
made the slabs the perfect
length for this project. If
you do the same, flatten
and surface the top, attach
it to the cabinet and cut a
pair of dadoes to extend
your table saw’s miter
slots. To give this top
If you don’t have a handsome piece of slab lumber lying around,
more versatility as a work
you can make a top for your outfeed table by laminating together
two sheets of 3/4" plywood. Coat the entire surface with glue, surface, I also installed
clamp around the perimeter, and pull the middle together with two lengths of T-track at
screws. If you install the screws on the underside, their holes will 90° to each other along
not be visible when the outfeed table is completed. Be sure not the side and front edge.
to place them in the locations where the T-tracks or miter slots
Another option, if you
will go. Once the glue has set, you can remove the screws if you
choose to do so. don’t have access to slab
lumber, would be to dou-
ble up a couple sheets of
3/4" plywood for the top.
Adding the Drawers
I made the four drawer
boxes the same way as
the cabinet, by breaking
down some 1/2" plywood
into strips for the sides,
fronts, backs and bottoms,
then rabbeting the drawer
fronts and backs to
receive the sides. Here’s
Cut 3/4"-wide by 3/8"-deep dadoes for the T-track with a dado
blade. The author placed these dadoes 2 5 ⁄ 8" from the front and how to make sizing the
side edges of the top. drawer for its opening
ONLINE
VIDEO VIDEO!
If you’d like to watch our author build his outfeed table featuring a thick
slab of ash lumber, you can see the whole process unfold online, in a
video found in the More on the Web listings for this issue. Matt Cremona
is a Minnesota-based woodworker known for harvesting and milling his
own lumber from logs and sharing start-to-finish project videos on his site,
www.mattcremona.com.
There are other accessories for this table that can increase its versatility
even further. Find a list of them online at woodworkersjournal.com under In addition to the details found here in the magazine, there is a
the More on the Web section for this issue. video of the author building the outfeed table online.
62
Top Drawer Front and Back
(Top and Inside Views)
/4"
1
1
/2"
18
1
/2"
extremely foolproof: after the front and
backs are cut to rough length, place
them into the case beside the drawer
slides and evaluate the fit — whatever
you get at this step will be the fit you get
once the drawer is assembled. Adjust
the part lengths, if needed. Then mill
rabbets into the ends of the drawer
fronts and backs, as well as along the
bottom inside edges of the fronts, backs
and sides, to fit the drawer bottoms.
Hang the cabinet-side components of
the drawer slides in the case next, and
fasten the drawer slide components to
the drawer sides. Now, glue and brad-
nail the drawer boxes together, and
hang the boxes in the case before the
glue sets. I do this so that each drawer’s
geometry fits the case’s geometry — if
the case is a little out of square, the
drawers will be equally out of square but
will operate flawlessly anyway.
Cut the four drawer faces to length
and width, and install them on the
drawers with a few screws. To make
setting gaps around the drawers easy, I
cut a full-length thin strip of wood to act
as a spacer. Placing the strip between
the drawer faces as you work your way
up the stack ensures that the gap will be
consistent between each drawer and all
October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal
Drawer Exploded View
17
18
MATERIAL LIST
25
Drawers TxWxL
17 Top Drawer Sides (2) 1/2" x 4" x 173⁄ 4"
Corner 18 Top Drawer Front and Back (2) 1/2" x 4" x 31"
Detail 18
17 19 Second Drawer Sides (2) 1/2" x 41 ⁄ 4" x 173⁄ 4"
26
17 25
20 Second Drawer Front and Back (2) 1/2" x 41 ⁄ 4" x 31"
18
21 Third Drawer Sides (2) 1/2" x 61 ⁄ 2" x 173⁄ 4"
22 Third Drawer Front and Back (2) 1/2" x 61 ⁄ 2" x 31"
26
23 Bottom Drawer Sides (2) 1/2" x 81 ⁄ 2" x 173⁄ 4"
24 Bottom Drawer Front and Back (2) 1/2" x 81 ⁄ 2" x 31"
25 Drawer Bottoms (4) 1/2" x 173 ⁄ 4" x 301 ⁄ 2"
26 Top Drawer Face (1) 3/4" x 41 ⁄ 4" x 313 ⁄ 4"
27 Second Drawer Face (1) 3/4" x 43⁄ 4" x 313 ⁄ 4"
28 Third Drawer Face (1) 3/4" x 63⁄ 4" x 313 ⁄ 4"
29 Bottom Drawer Face (1) 3/4" x 83⁄ 4" x 313 ⁄ 4"

Plow 1/2"-wide by 1/4"-deep rabbets on both ends of the

drawer fronts and backs to receive the drawer sides.

The drawer fronts, backs, and sides get a 1/2"-wide by Rockler’s Universal Drawer Slide Jig makes mounting the hardware simple. Once clamped
1/4"-deep rabbet along their bottom edges as well, to in place, it holds the slide in position and square to the front of the cabinet while you install
accommodate the drawer bottoms. the attachment screws.

the way from left to right. Since I built
my cabinet when the humidity was low,
I used a 1/8" gap. That way, the drawer
faces will have plenty of cross-grain
expansion space as they get wider when
the humidity goes up.
Finishing Up
At this point, it’s up to you whether or
not to apply a finish. Shop projects are a
great opportunity to use up the last bit
of finish that might be sitting in a can
on your shelf. In this case, I applied two
coats of a wiping varnish. The first coat
really brought out the color and figure
in the wood, and the second coat helped
to even out the sheen. I added a coat of
paste wax to the top to further protect it
from glue and to make workpieces slide
across it more easily. Once the finishing
is done, you can reassemble everything
and install the door and drawer pulls.
My outfeed table was a much needed
shop upgrade. I’m loving having the
functionality of the workpiece support
without having to set up roller stands
or worry about catching parts before
they fall off the back of the saw. And, of
course, having more drawers and shelf
space for storage has really helped cut
down on the clutter of small items that
otherwise just seem to float around
the shop. The project’s slab top is also
fantastic to look at, which further adds
to the inviting nature of my shop. Shop
projects don’t always have to be pretty
— an argument can be made for making
things quickly and roughly — but a little
curb appeal never hurts, either.
Shop projects are also great for prac-
tice: if you make a mistake, you’ll see
it every time you’re in your shop as a
constant reminder not to make that mis-
take again. When you move on to more
demanding projects, you will have the
process all figured out and can proceed
more confidently and effectively.

Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 63


Contact Information
Affinity Tool Works (Sjöbergs)
800-624-2027
Bosch
877-267-2499
Grizzly Industrial
800-523-4777
Rockler
800-279-4441
SeppLeaf (Mixol)
212-683-2840
Tailgater Tire Table
775-622-8048
www.woodworkersjournal.com
MORE ON THE WEB
For videos demonstrating
VIDEO featured tools, please visit
woodworkersjournal.com and click
on “More on the Web” under the
Magazine tab.
Mixol Metallic Effect Concentrates
The Rockler Ceiling Track
System lets you position
cords, hoses, lights or
other items up and out of
the way of your benchtop.
Interchangeable ring and
hook attachments thread
into wheeled trolleys, which
in turn roll in the dedicat-
ed ceiling-mounted track.
Adjustable stops in the
track can limit the trolley’s
movement and prevent them
from rolling out of the PVC
track, sold in 4' sections
rated to hold 60 pounds. The
system includes two types
of trolleys: non-locking and
locking, which can lock into
place. Both have 5/16", 18
tpi threaded openings for the
attachments, which include
a 11 ⁄ 2" inside diameter ring
hook for power cords and
air hoses; a medium
J hook for hoses and
other items up to
21 ⁄ 2" in diameter; and
a large J hook that
fits hoses and other
objects up to 4" in
diameter. Each attach-
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is rated to hold 20
pounds. Components
are sold individually,
with prices starting at
$9.99 for
hooks or
a pair of
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stops,
or in a
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56867)
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$69.97.
Rockler Ceiling Track
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Mixol® Metallic Effect Con-
centrates are water-based tint-
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to transparent coatings to
create a decorative finish or powder-coated steel table
glaze, or to any of Mixol’s has two small legs that rest
Universal Tints for an infinite against a tire and an addition-
color palette and a variety of al center extendable leg that
special effects. The Metallic can be used straight, angled
Effect Concentrates come in or not at all. Stable regard-
gold, silver and copper and less of ground conditions, the
can be used, depending on
the amount added, to create
effects ranging from slight
glitter to an opaque, metal-
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copper are sold in 20-gram
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gold in 30-gram or 300-gram,
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The Tailgater Tire Table is Tailgater Tire Table
a durable steel table that Tailgater Tire Table fits most
uses a vehicle tire for its tires sizes 14" and up, with
main support. On a jobsite, it no tools or hitch required for
can provide a stable cutting
surface or tool storage. The Continues on page 66 ...

64 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

 NLY
.00 EACH!
(downloads only)

Download NOW! www.woodworkersjournal.com/classics

Woodworker’s Journal October 2018 65
 WHAT’S IN STORE CONTINUED

Grizzly Model G0862

Cyclone Dust Collector

Bosch GHO12V-08 12V

Max Planer
installation. It weighs under
12 pounds and is 23" wide,
29" long and 11 ⁄ 2" thick. All
parts store on the table. The
Tailgater Tire Table is priced
at $139.95.
The new Bosch GHO12V-08
12V Max Planer is a cordless
planer weighing in at 3.3
pounds (not including bat-
tery), with about 2.2" of plan-
ing width and a single-pass
planing depth of up to .08".
The tool itself is just over 10"
long. A brushless motor of-
fers speeds up to 14,500 rpm,
with constant speed circuitry
to maintain speed under load.
Sjöbergs Elite 2500C
Workbench Combo
Depth adjustment
allows you to create
rabbet cuts up to .7". It
can plane up to 33 feet
of 1"-wide hardwood per
amp hour. The GHO12V-08
planer has switchable right
or left shavings extraction,
a collection bag for shavings
and a vacuum hose adapter.
It also comes with two
2.2" Bosch Woodrazor
micrograin carbide planer
blades, a blade wrench and
a shavings diverter, for a
price of $179. Battery and
charger are sold separately.
The Sjöbergs Elite 2500C
Workbench Combo is de-
signed to be the ultimate
combination of workbench
and clamping platform for
optimal workspace. It weighs
in at 329 pounds, with a
trestle base and top con-
structed entirely of European
beech. The benchtop is 235 ⁄ 8"
wide, with a working height
of 357 ⁄ 16". Total workspace is
98", with a grid of 3/4"-diam-
eter holes placed across the
top and skirt to incorporate
bench dogs (four
steel ones are
included) or a
holdfast, sold
separately. Two
231 ⁄ 2"-long vises
are pre-mounted: the
front vise can be easily
rotated from one side of
the bench to the other
to suit either left- or
right-handed users.
The clamping platform
can be detached from
the workbench and placed
on a wall to act as a separate
workspace. A variety of
accessories can be added,
both on top and around the
skirt, including jaw cushions,
a steel anvil, holdfasts and
more. The Sjöbergs Elite
2500C Workbench Combo
(item SJO-33459C) retails for
$2,760.
Grizzly has three new
compact dust collectors for
October. Each offers effec-
tive two-stage dust separation
and includes a 20-gallon
steel collection drum with
quick-release handle, swivel
casters, powder-coated paint
and a wireless remote. A
pleated filter with paddle
cleaner captures the fine dust
in a secondary collection
bag. Model G0862 moves
1,941 cubic feet of air per
minute (11.0" of maximum
static pressure in a water
column), thanks to a 3hp
single-stage, 220-volt motor.
It has a triple-port, 4" hose
adapter and sells for $1,295.

66 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

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68 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

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 By Michael Dresdner
Our expert takes on some of the questions that have
arisen in response to previous inishing article topics.
Digital image courtesy of Bigstock/Tetiana Chudovska
hen students start
back to school in
the fall, the teach-
ers usually take at least a bit
of time to review what was
previously learned. It can be
a worthwhile endeavor, espe-
cially if you can clear up any
questions. That’s what we’ve
tried to do this time out,
with some questions focused
on the topics of previously
published Finishing Thoughts
columns.
Michael Dresdner
is a nationally known finishing Questions on “Linger-
expert. He shares his expertise on ing Questions,” Finishing
the DVD The Way to Woodwork: Thoughts from May/June
Step-by-Step to a Perfect Finish, 2017
available through the store at
woodworkersjournal.com.
Q I enjoyed your tip in the
June 2017 issue suggest-
ing coating a cutting board
with paraffin. In sharing it
70
with my wife, she wondered
what would happen if you
put a hot roast on the board
for cutting. Will the hot meat
melt the paraffin coating?
Terry Elfers
Cincinnati, Ohio
A Canning paraffin, which
is what we used in the
article, starts to melt at about
100° F., so yes, a very hot
roast could theoretically soft-
en or even melt wax. It would
not matter much because
you scrape all the paraffin off
except what resides in the
pores. Since a cutting board
with a roast on it is horizon-
tal, and melted paraffin flows
downward thanks to gravity,
you would not likely get
any on the roast, or at least
not enough to notice. If the
surface of the hot roast is
wet (juicy), as is usually the
case, wax won’t adhere to it
anyway, and in any case, that
wax is nontoxic.
Still, I should point out that
paraffin is generally used not
on serving boards, but on
butcher’s chopping blocks,
mainly used for cutting cold,
raw meat, where the surface
is all end grain. For a serving
October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal
board, or even a flat grain
cutting board, I’d go with
boiled linseed oil.
Question on “Finishing Out-
door Furniture,” Finishing
Thoughts from July/August
2018
Q I make lawn chairs for
neighbors and family.
I use pine lumber because
of cost and put clear varnish
on for finish. After a year
or two, the finish fades or
peels. Someone told me to
spray chairs with the clear
finish they use on cars. Can I
really do that? Look forward
to your reply so I can make
more durable items.
Paul Liput
Hacienda Hills, California
A Yes, you can spray wood
with automotive clear
coat, but I think you have a
larger problem than that will
solve.
Pine is not an ideal choice
for exterior furniture since
it moves a lot, contains a lot
of sap, is rather soft and,
unless it is pressure treated,
has no natural resistance
to bugs or rot. If you really
want to make more durable
items, start with a wood that
has good exterior durability
(mahogany, white oak, red
cedar, ipe, redwood, cypress,
teak).
To get back to your specific
question, there are plenty
of finishes that will work on
pine, but do make sure you

check the wood’s moisture
content before finishing, and
let it dry if it is above 12%.
Finishing wood that is too
wet is an invitation to peeling.
A good exterior clear var-
nish or spar varnish should
hold up more than one year,
but not much more. Other
options include deck coat-
ings, which need almost year-
ly renewal, exterior house
paint (over primer) if you
Experienced woodworkers know
that Forrest blades are ideal for
remodeling high-end kitchens
and baths.
Forrest blades deliver smooth,
quiet cuts without splintering,
scratching, or tearouts. Our
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Woodworker II Chop Master
Fine Woodworking Woodshop News
Woodworker’s Journal October 2018
Q In my retirement, I
anticipate creating
woodworking projects such
Contact us
with your finishing questions by
writing to Woodworker’s Journal,
as multi-species cutting
boards, wooden bowls, wood- 4365 Willow Drive,
en spoons, etc., etc. Medina, MN 55340,
want a solid color, or even, as I have completed several or by emailing us at:
someone suggested to you, of those cutting boards for a finishing@woodworkersjournal.com.
automotive urethanes. Noth- couple of my granddaughters
Please include your address,
ing will hold up very long, and finished them with min-
phone number and email
so your choices are between eral oil with the assumption
something that holds up a that they would be food- address (if you have one)
little longer, or something safe. Through normal use, with your thoughts or questions.
that is easy to rejuvenate. the boards have needed a
refurbishing. My question is:
Questions on “Oil and Am I correct in my assump-
Wood: A Happy Marriage,” tion? Or would it be better
Finishing Thoughts from
May/June 2018 Continues on page 72 ...
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Woodshop News WOOD Magazine
71
 FINISHING THOUGHTS
Boiled
Linseed
Oil
OVER
Mineral
Oil
You cannot put a drying finish, like boiled linseed oil, over a non-drying finish like mineral oil.
You can, however, go over a cured (dried) oil like tung oil with BLO.
(and food-safe) to use the
boiled linseed oil instead of
the mineral oil? If I can use
the linseed oil, can I apply it
directly over the mineral oil
presently on the boards with-
out presenting an adhesion
or curing problem?
Herb Fogelberg
Woodbury, Minnesota
A Yes, and no, in that
order.
Yes, you can use boiled lin-
seed oil on a cutting board.
It is food-safe once dry, and
it will hold up a lot longer
than mineral oil, though not
forever. You can replenish
when needed.
No, you can’t go over the
mineral oil, since that nev-
er dries and you can’t
put a drying finish,
like boiled
linseed oil, over
a non-drying or
still wet finish.
To redo the board
you’ve already done, first
remove the mineral oil by
scrubbing the wood with
mineral spirits to solvate the
mineral oil, then blotting it
up with paper towels. Get
as much oil out as possible.
Follow up with a scrub using
an ammonia based cleaner,
such as Windex®. Ammonia
72
CONTINUED
Boiled
Linseed
Oil
OVER
Pure
Tung Oil
is a surfactant, meaning it
will help “grab” that last bit of
mineral oil.
When the wood is clean
and dry, sand it smooth,
then flood it liberally with
boiled linseed oil, re-wetting
the surface wherever the oil
is absorbed. After 10 or 15
minutes of flooding, wipe off
all the excess oil and let the
board cure in a warm, dry
place for two days before
putting it into service.
Incidentally, drying oils,
like linseed oil, may not cure
over woods in the dalbergia
family, so if you plan on using
anything from the rosewood
family in your multi-species
boards, leave those natural.
Q I have built a dining
room table using bam-
boo flooring that I planed
down to a uniform thickness.
I glued it to a 36" x 54" top
and sanded down to a 500-
grit paper. I finished with five
coats of tung oil, using 4/0
steel wool between coats.
When we put a coffee cup
on the table with a coaster,
it raised up the tung oil and
also raised up the grain on
the wood. I thought maybe I
didn’t wait to cure the oil.
After reading Finishing
Thoughts (June 2018), I no-
October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal
ticed that the author leans to
boiled linseed oil — and his
tung oil shows “100 percent
pure tung oil.” Do I need to
sand off my tung oil down
to bare wood, or can I apply
BLO on top of the tung oil?
Marvin Steffen
Alford, Florida
A I’m going to assume you
are certain that your
flooring was pure bamboo
with nothing else in it. Other-
wise, this may be a different
issue entirely. You might
be dealing with resin or
waxes added to the bamboo
“boards” during manufac-
ture, which could affect how
oil dries and cures.
Let’s assume you have
untainted bamboo and move
on to the finish. I don’t know
what was in your “tung oil”
product, but if it did not
dry completely, you want to
remove it, even if you must
resort to paint remover. First,
though, try scrubbing it with
mineral spirits on a nylon
abrasive pad. That should
remove any uncured oil. You
won’t have much luck trying
to sand oil off: sanding liquid
oil simply grinds it into the
wood and moves it around.
You can certainly go over
cured tung oil with linseed
oil, but that’s not what I
would suggest in this case.
For a dining room table,
which gets lots of wear and
plenty of heat and stains, I’d
go with an oil-based polyure-
thane varnish. It, too, can
go over any cured oil. Just
clean and scuff sand for
adhesion first.
 presents

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H E Y
Woodworking trivia: aww, nuts!
Why don’t white oaks grow in more northern latitudes?
8LITVSPM¿GWIIHIV·WEGSVRWKIVQMREXIMRXLIJEPPEW
WSSREWXLI]EVIVIPIEWIHJVSQXLIXVII8LIVSSXW
SJXIRHSRSXLEZIIRSYKLXMQIXSTIRIXVEXIXLIWSMP
ERHXLIPMXXPIWIIHPMRKWEVIOMPPIHF]JVII^MRK³[MXL
¿VWXJVSWXSGGYVVMRKEWIEVP]EWPEXI7ITXIQFIVMRWSQI
EVIEWPMOI1EMRI6IHSEOEGSVRWSRXLISXLIVLERH
HSRSXKIVQMREXIYRXMPXLIJSPPS[MRKWTVMRKWSHSRSX
LEZIXLITVSFPIQSJJVII^MRK[IEXLIV

Gustav Stickley liked to use quartersawn

oak but felt the “tiger stripe” of the ray
What Does It All Mean? cells detracted from his furniture’s simple
A quick guide to terms from the lines. Staining quartered oak makes the
world of woodworking. rays more prominent, but darkening oak
by fuming minimizes their contrast, so
Quartersawn: Lumber cut with
that’s what he did.
growth rings almost parallel to the

Photos: Sapna Parikh/NYU

board’s edges
Dovetail: Attractive, strong Digital image courtesy of Rago Arts/Bigstock.com

joint formed by mating angled,

fan-shaped “tails” on one board to
correspondingly sized and shaped
“pins” on another board. The join-
ery can be visible from both sides
(through), from only one side (half
blind) or invisible (blind).
%XIEQSJGLIQMWXWJVSQ2I[=SVO
9RMZIVWMX]LEWHIZIPSTIHERSRMR-
ZEWMZIHMEKRSWXMGWW]WXIQJSVVI-
GLEVKIEFPIPMXLMYQMSRFEXXIVMIW8LI
W]WXIQ[LMGLQIEWYVIWGLERKIWMR

Hide glue: Adhesive made from XLIQEKRIXMG¿IPHEVSYRHXLIFEX-

collagen extracted from the skins XIVMIW[EWMRWTMVIHF]QIHMGEP16-W
of animals
QEKRIXMGVIWSRERGIMQEKMRK 

Submit your Your Trivia Test: Al Larson of Orono,

Maine, will receive
own trivia ... Q Why did Gustav Stickley a Hitachi 3-1/4
Peak HP Variable
Send in a curious fact about prefer to build with quartersawn Speed Plunge
your favorite topic and ours:
woodworking. If it is selected
oak instead of flatsawn? Router (M12VE) for
for use, you will win an having a contribu-
awesome prize! tion selected for
Submit your Trivia to Woodworker’s the Trivia page.
manner to be stronger.
Journal, Dept. Trivia, 4365 Willow Drive,
He believed the wood cut in this
Medina, MN 55340. Or send us an email:
Answer
trivia@woodworkersjournal.com

74 October 2018 Woodworker’s Journal

 ®
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