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www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com July/August 2010 3

W contents
JULY/AUGUST 2010 ISSUE 213
■

features
17
TAPERING JIG
28 Mudroom Built-in: Stop Clutter at the Door
COVER Learn the fundamentals of built-in furniture with this stylish
FOR THE PLANER STORY
storage unit
BY TONY O’MALLEY

36 How to Tame Squeeze-out

Hide glue inside the joint, or send it where
it’s easy to handle

up front B Y H E N D R I K VA R J U

6 On the Web 42 Get Sharp—Fast

Lie-Nielsen’s sharpening expert shares a surefire method
8 Contributors for getting a keen edge every time
BY DENEB PUCHALSKI
10 Letters
14 Methods of Work 48 A Solid Drawer Bottom Is Worth the Effort
■ Part-time outfeed table for the bandsaw Plywood is easier, but it can leave a hollow feeling
■ Dedicated finger-joint sled BY GARRETT HACK
■ Trimming dovetail waste on the
router table
54 Air Filters
18 Tools & Materials TOOL
TEST Clear the air and protect your lungs
■ Leigh mortise-and-tenon jig is a bargain B Y E R I C W. C O N S TA N S
■ Tablesaw injury leads to $1.5 million
jury award
58 Better Way to Attach Tabletops
22 Fundamentals Dovetail cleat is strong and stylish
Milling: Cutting parts to size BY ANDREW HUNTER

63 A Woodworker’s Guide to Photography

Take great furniture photos with the camera you already own

20
BETTER
BY MICHAEL PEKOVICH

COPE-AND-STICK
BIT SET
68 How to Troubleshoot a Spray Gun
Learn to handle the typical problems and enjoy
carefree spray finishing
BY JEFF JEWITT

74 Stellar Training in Craftsmanship. Period.

Boston’s North Bennet Street School turns 125
B Y J O N AT H A N B I N Z E N

Cover photo: Thomas McKenna

48 SOLID DRAWER
BOTTOMS
MILLING PARTS,
STEP BY STEP 22
in the back
76 Readers Gallery
Outstanding work by North Bennet
alumni

80 Q & A
■ How to cut clean dovetail shoulders
■ Can foam brushes apply a fine
finish?

84 A Closer Look
How veneer is made

90 Master Class
Miter your dovetails: Strong, elegant
joinery allows a decorative edge

98 How They Did It

ATTACH TABLETOPS
WITH DOVETAIL
CLEATS 58 The back cover explained

Back Cover
A Slice of Genius

54
AIR FILTERS

Pp
 on the web
THIS MONTH ON FineWoodworking.com/extras
Visit our Web site to access free Web tie-ins, available June 3. While you’re there, don’t miss our collection
of free content, including tool reviews, furniture, shop and jig galleries, and must-read blogs.

Editor Asa Christiana

Art Director Michael Pekovich

Managing Editor Mark Schofield

Senior Editor Thomas McKenna

Associate Editors Steve Scott

Anissa Kapsales
Matthew Kenney
Patrick McCombe

Senior Copy/
Production Editor Elizabeth Healy

Associate Art Directors Kelly J. Dunton

John Tetreault

Administrative Assistant Betsy Engel

Shop Manager Robert Nash

Contributing Editors Christian Becksvoort

Free eLetter Gary Rogowski
tter at
Sign up for our FREE eLe etter VIDEO: Built-in Build-Off Garrett Hack
g.c om/newsl Roland Johnson
FineW oodwo rkin It’s carpenter vs. woodworker as we go behind the scenes of
, and Steve Latta
to receive plans, videos a tradesmen’s challenge and capture tips for better built-ins
articles by email. (catch the article, “Mudroom Built-in: Stop Clutter at the Door,” Consulting Editor Jonathan Binzen
on p. 28).
Methods of Work Jim Richey

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Seth Rolland (back cover) creates astonishing shapes, without Sr. Web Producer Gina Eide
touching a steambox or using laminations. Web Producer Ed Pirnik

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Fine Woodworking: (ISSN: 0361-3453) is published
Think your shop earns you bragging rights for the world’s best
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Fast Fix: The Taunton Press, Inc., 63 S. Main St., PO Box 5506,
Newtown, CT 06470-5506.
Dead-on Dadoes Canada Post: Return undeliverable Canadian addresses
Need to rout a ¾-in. dado but don’t to Fine Woodworking, c/o Worldwide Mailers, Inc.,
have a bit that’s wide enough? Save 2835 Kew Drive, Windsor, ON N8T 3B7, or email to
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6 FINE WOODWORKING
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www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com July/August 2010 7

contributors
When Andrew Hunter (“Best Way to
Attach Tabletops?”) discovered Toshio
Odate’s Japanese Hand Tools (The
Advertising Director Peter Badeau
Taunton Press, 1984), he fell in love with 203-304-3572
Japanese woodworking. Inspired by the pbadeau@taunton.com
discipline of the traditional Japanese Senior National
Account Manager Linda Abbett
apprenticeship, Hunter set out to teach 203-304-3538
himself to build furniture using Asian labbett@taunton.com
hand tools. Like a Japanese journeyman, Associate Account
Manager Kimberly Parrilla
he started with the core of the craft 203-304-3590
and worked outward. As he describes kparrilla@taunton.com
it: “Before you can build a piece of Advertising
furniture, you must first learn to make Sales Assistant Heather Sims
Director of
rice.” Fifteen years later, he designs and
Advertising Marketing Kristen Lacey
builds custom furniture full time in his Senior Marketing
own studio (andrewhunterart Manager, Advertising Karen Lutjen
.com) in Gardiner, N.Y. Marketing Associate Megan Kolakowski

Member Audit
Bureau of Circulation
Deneb Puchalski (“Get Sharp—Fast”) has spent over 25 years Senior Consumer
honing his hand-tool skills in a variety of fields. After completing Marketing Director Beth Reynolds, ProCirc
the 12-week program at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship Senior Consumer
in Rockport, Maine, and a six-month stint there as the artist-in- Marketing Manager Melissa Robinson

residence, Puchalski went to work at Lie-Nielsen Toolworks. He’s Senior Manager

Web Marketing Robert Harlow
spent the past nine years demonstrating the use of hand tools at Senior Online
woodworking events all over the United States and Canada. Product Manager Michael Stoltz

Josh Metcalf (Master Class: “Miter your dovetails”) describes his

romance with woodworking in this way: “I majored in biology in college,
but didn’t fancy myself in a lab or in front of students, so I set out to
learn woodworking. I took a job as a carpenter’s assistant, when a friend
Independent publishers since 1975
with more faith than sense offered to help me buy basic equipment and Founders, Paul & Jan Roman
pay her back in furniture. I’ve never had a job since!” To see more of the
President Suzanne Roman
Vermont woodworker’s furniture, go to joshmetcalf.com.
EVP & CFO Timothy Rahr
Ben Barrett (A Closer Look: “How veneer is made”) has spent SVP & Chief
Content Officer Paul Spring
his life in the lumber and veneer business. He grew up around his SVP, Creative Susan Edelman
family’s sawmill, went to lumber-grading school, then worked for SVP & Chief
two lumber wholesalers before discovering the world of veneer 22 Marketing Officer Janine Scolpino
years ago. After nine years with a pre-eminent veneer producer, he SVP, Advertising Sales Karl Elken
returned home to western Massachusetts to start Berkshire Veneer SVP, Technology Jay Hartley
SVP, Operations Thomas Luxeder
(berkshireveneer.com).
VP, Taunton Interactive Jason Revzon
For the last 10 years, Tony O’Malley (“Mudroom Built-in: Stop VP, Digital Content Anatole Burkin
Clutter at the Door”) has operated his own business specializing in VP, Editorial Development Maria Taylor
built-in cabinetry (tonycustomwood.com). He started woodworking VP, Single Copy Sales Jay Annis

during college, and began in the trade shortly after graduating in VP & Controller Wayne Reynolds
VP, Finance Kathy Worth
1982, working in several shops in the Philadelphia area. O’Malley
VP, Human Resources Carol Marotti
has written many articles for Fine Woodworking and has edited four
VP, Fulfillment Patricia Williamson
woodworking books for The Taunton Press. VP, Digital Marketing Nick Rozdilsky

We are a reader-written magazine. To Publishers of magazines, books, videos, and online

For more information on our contributors, Fine Woodworking • Fine Homebuilding
learn how to propose an article, go to Threads • Fine Gardening • Fine Cooking
go to FineWoodworking.com/authors.
FineWoodworking.com/submissions. www.taunton.com

8 FINE WOODWORKING
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www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com July/August 2010 9

letters
Spotlight Cyanoacrylate glue is really super
In “Best finish for spalted woods” (Q&A,
ISSUE NO. 212 FWW #212), I learned that I am not the
May/June 2010 only woodworker using cyanoacrylate
p. 42 glue to fix wood defects. It indeed works
well for stabilizing punky wood, but I use
it most often on stress fractures in normal
hardwoods. In some cases, these are
HOW TO FRAME A PRECIOUS PICTURE defects found only after cutting the piece
Like all tradespeople, picture framers know some things that the average to size, and often when I must make do
with the wood on hand.
person doesn’t. In “Standing Frame Has Two Faces,” Christian Becksvoort has
The reason this works so well is the
put two keepsake items in the frame. If they are truly dear to him, they capillary action of small cracks in wood.
need different framing. This draws in the thin glue and distributes
Paper and fabric deteriorate if framed with incorrect materials. Old it throughout the defect.
—JAC KS O N AN D E RS O N , Rapid City, S.D.
paper doesn’t turn brown because it’s old; it turns brown because
it is being burnt by acidic materials such as wood or wood-based Wood supplier fears collateral damage
cardboard. In the article “10 Tips for Mail-Order
The Professional Picture Framers Association suggests some basic Lumber” (FWW #211), you ran a picture
of our Web store under the heading, “Be
rules. The art should not touch the glass, for a number of reasons:
wary of online photos and inventories.”
Inks can adhere to the glass, condensation will stain the art, and After speaking to the editor, I understand
the various materials won’t be able to expand and contract that Fine Woodworking ran the picture
independently—so fabric and paper will end up wrinkled and simply as a generic example of a Web site
that sells lumber. But I’m afraid anyone
crooked in the frame. An acid-free mat board solves all of
who scans the heading without reading
these problems. You should also consider conservation- the article will feel they should be “wary”
grade glass that blocks UV light. of our Web store in particular.
The framing in this article is fine for disposable It is especially disappointing because,
by the standards of the article, we are
art but not for art with monetary, historical, or
one of the companies doing things
sentimental value. correctly. We have multiple pictures
—JOHN GORNALL , certified picture framer,
of every board in our store (www.
Campbell River, B.C., Canada
pinecreekwood.com) along with
dimensions and descriptions. We
ship the exact board pictured in the
listing, and our shipping calculator and
Warning for metalworkers example: A little light sawdust in the eye secure checkout make online
After reading “Make Your Own has a good chance of being blinked or purchasing
Hardware” (FWW #212), I have a easily rinsed out without damage. Not so
suggestion for your next metalworking with a metal filing.
article. Please emphasize the importance —C H R I S “ C . A .” H U D SO N , via email
of full-frame, wrap-around safety glasses
whenever sawing, drilling, grinding, or
otherwise working metal. Safety first. Wrap-
Woodworkers often get away with slack around safety glasses
safety procedures. These can get them in are a must when
real trouble when metalworking. Just one working with metal.

10 FINE WOODWORKING
 2010 Workshops
Dixie Biggs
Michael Cullen
Peter Dellert
David Ellsworth
Michael Hosaluk
Graeme Priddle
To contact us: Sylvie Rosenthal
Fine Woodworking Hans Weissflog school of arts and crafts
The Taunton Press among others Gatlinburg, Tennessee
63 South Main Street, 865-436-5860
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CT 06470-5506
www.arrowmont.org
Tel: 203-426-8171 READER SERVICE NO. 45

Send an e-mail:
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Visit:
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To submit an article proposal:
Write to Fine Woodworking at the address
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Call: 800-309-8955
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READER SERVICE NO. 42

JULY/AUGUST 2010 11
letters continued

simple. Orders are confirmed by email dozens of exotic and domestic hardwoods inevitable part of the process of getting to
with a shipment tracking number. in a treatment called Low Dose Allergen the top.” —Dr. Joyce Brothers
We still enjoy the personal contact of (LDA) therapy and am now mostly free of
working with our customers over the allergic reactions to these woods. “When you follow your bliss ... doors
phone, but we feel our online store makes After working with exotic hardwoods will open where you would not have
it easier for woodworkers to find exactly for many years, I became very sensitive thought there would be doors and where
the boards they need for most projects. to many of them. After several calls to there wouldn’t be a door for anyone else.”
—BO B S CHECT ER , Pine Creek Wood Co., traditional allergy clinics and a bit of —Joseph Campbell
Friend, Ore. research, it became evident that there
were no conventional allergy treatments “Taking risks is the essence of good
Rare-earth magnets vary available for wood dust in the United work, and the difference between safe
States as there are for more common and bold can only be defined by yourself
allergens like pollens and molds. On a since no one knows for what you are
recommendation, I contacted the Santa hoping when you embark on anything.”
Fe Center for Allergy and Environmental —Mike Nichols
Medicine under Dr. W.A. Shrader, which
Framing Rare-earth specializes in LDA therapy. “You can’t build a reputation on what
square magnets After consultation, we agreed that a you are going to do.” —Henry Ford
collection of more than 50 types of woods
that I work with would be made into “Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water
a single compound for LDA injection loses its purity and in cold weather
therapy. These shots were administered becomes frozen; even so does inaction
every two months at varying doses for sap the vigor of the mind.”
a year, then a little less frequently in the —Leonardo da Vinci
second year. I now receive a “booster” — D E N N Y K RO E ZE , Visalia, Ga.
every six months to make sure enough
Although the “Best Tip” in Methods of desensitized suppressor T-cells remain in
Work (“Check tablesaw setups with the bloodstream. Kudos to FWW
magnets and a framing square,” FWW There might be a specialist in your I have some experience in amateur
#212) is a great idea, it does have some area who specializes in LDA. For more publishing, page layout, and the like, and
issues that must be addressed. information, contact the Santa Fe Center I’ve been a subscriber to your magazine
First, don’t assume that all rare-earth for Allergy and Environmental Medicine at for a few years. The magazine, of course,
magnets are identical in thickness. drshrader.com. directs its attention to craftsmanship and
Having just received a shipment of these, —B U D L AT V E N , Tajique, N.M. excellence in woodworking, but I don’t
I checked them with my trusty digital know how many readers notice the same
micrometer and found that their thickness Words of inspiration qualities in the production of the magazine
varied by 0.003 in., more than I’d like I subscribe to both Fine Woodworking itself. I often reread past articles and refer
in my tablesaw setup. Also, the tip says and Fine Homebuilding. I also subscribe to specific points on which I’ve kept notes.
to use an “accurate” framing square. I to Investor’s Business Daily. One of Each time I do so I’m impressed with
checked three of mine and found that the my favorite sections in that newspaper the artistry and care used in creating the
width of the legs varied by 0.003 in. to is “Leaders and Success.” The Feb. 23 magazine. Consistently, the photography,

“
0.006 in. over their length. installment included some quotes that scaling of pictures, use of color,
A machinist’s steel straightedge would
work better for most of the steps pictured

”
in the tip. And be sure to pick out a
matching pair of magnets. You can’t build a reputation
— J O H N C R E A , Panama City, Fla.
on what you are going to do. —HE NRY FORD

New allergy therapy for wood dust

If you regularly work with exotic
hardwoods like the rosewoods and ebonies reminded me of my commitment to drawings—virtually all aspects of page
and have developed persistent skin rash become a good craftsman: design and eye-appeal—are masterful.
sensitivities or worse, help might be on the Moreover, I’m a retired college teacher
way. For two years, I received injections “The person interested in success has of English with a good eye for language,
of a compound extracted from the dust of to learn to view failure as a healthy, and I haven’t found a mistake yet! Your

12 FINE WOODWORKING
contributing woodworkers show artistry soft and punky, has bark inclusions, or has It can also be cut with a parting tool or
and craftsmanship, but those who edit, cracks in it. The other is a poorly fitted skew chisel. It is no more difficult to
arrange, and print their work do so as well. recess. If the fit is too sloppy and loose, make an angled recess than it is to make
—BRUCE S T UR M , Nevada City, Calif. you will not get a secure grip. And if you the straight tenon and square shoulder
over-tighten, you can blow it out. that Tursini recommends.
A turner defends expanding chucks As to which jaws work best in recesses, There is only one situation where
I have to disagree with some of Ralph I prefer the dovetailed ones. They create a an expansion joint can be dangerous:
Tursini’s article about four-jaw chucks mechanical joint, which holds better than when you are turning end grain, and the
(“The Lathe Accessory Everyone Needs,” a straight joint. Cutting a dovetailed recess pressure wants to split your piece along
FWW #212). After turning and selling on the bottom of the bowl is as simple as the grain like firewood.
7,000 bowls over the last 12 years, buying or making a dovetailed scraper. — R E E D G RAY, Eugene, Ore.
and using a recess exclusively to grip
the vessels, I have found no inherent
advantages to either grabbing a tenon
as he recommends or expanding into a
recess, which he warns against. Without
exception, every failure I’ve had when
using a recess has been caused by one of
two things. One is faulty wood that is too TENON RECESS

About your safety

Working wood is inherently dangerous. Using hand or power tools (or elsewhere) until you’re certain they are safe for you. If something
improperly or ignoring standard safety practices can lead to permanent about an operation doesn’t feel right, find another way. We want you
injury or even death. Don’t perform operations you learn about here to enjoy the craft, so please keep safety foremost in your mind.

How Craftsmen
See Fit
Forrest sets the standard for excellence
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quiet, smooth cutting.
• “Signature Line” Chop Master for
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• 2-Piece & 4-Piece Finger Joint
Sets with reversible, interlocking 8” Our blades are U.S.A-manufactured and
blades. Ideal for rabbets and grooves. have a 30-day, money-back guarantee.
Blades have 24 teeth and standard 5/8” Custom sizes available. Order from
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• Thin Kerf Dados for clean cutting
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© 2010 Forrest Manufacturing Code FW
READER SERVICE NO. 35

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 13

methods of work E D I T E D A N D D R AW N B Y J I M R I C H E Y

Best Tip Part-time

outfeed table
for the bandsaw
When I began resawing longer and heavier
pieces of wood on my bandsaw, I decided Outfeed table
to add an outfeed table to support the should be flush with
bandsaw table.
Cecil Braeden is a load. I could not find a commercial outfeed
repeat contributor to table that fit my needs, so I came up with
Fine Woodworking. this design, which is simple to make Melamine
table
His “Rock-Solid and can be installed or removed in
Plywood Workbench” seconds. One nice feature is that the
was featured in the table is always perfectly aligned with
2006 Tools & Shops the bandsaw table.
issue (FWW #181). To build the outfeed table, first make
And he helped a and bolt the attachment block to the
reader in our Q&A bandsaw table. Locate the block so that
section in issue the top of the outfeed table will be flush
#203 (“Plywood with the top of the saw table, then drill
edging that matches holes for the bolts and attach the block to
perfectly”). the bandsaw table.
With a temporary support holding the
outfeed table level, drill vertical holes
in the front lip of the table through the
attachment block and countersink two
bolts to pin the table to the block. The Plywood
connecting bolts will stay in place with brace
gravity alone. Now measure the length of
the brace and the cut angle at the bottom.
My saw has a 1-in. platform around the base
that makes a natural perch for the bottom
of the brace. If your saw does not, you will
have to attach a block near the bottom.
Connecting bolts slip in and out,
Secure the top of the brace to the underside making it easy to remove table
of the outfeed table with two hinges. when needed.
Remove the temporary support, and the
outfeed table is ready to use.
—CECIL BRAEDEN, Anacortes, Wash.

A Reward for the Best Tip

Piano
Send your original tips to Methods of Work, Fine Woodworking, hinge
PO Box 5506, Newtown, CT 06470, or email
fwmow@taunton.com. We pay for every tip we
publish; the best tip also wins a 12V Attachment block,
driver kit from Bosch (model bolted to bandsaw Plywood
No. CLPK21-120). table permanently brace

14 FINE WOODWORKING
Dedicated sled delivers Sled for ½-in.
finger joints
perfect finger joints
Most tablesaw jigs for cutting finger
joints (also called box joints) mount to ½-in. dado set
the miter gauge and must be tweaked
every time they are reattached. I took a Key
different approach, making a simple sled
to cut one size of fingers. The sled ensures Recess for
Rear fence face,
repeatable results without tweaking, and it rides in the maple, ¾ in. thick carriage bolt
tablesaw’s miter slots, so it doesn’t depend on the miter gauge. by 3½ in. tall
To make a sled for 1⁄ 2-in. fingers, start with a Baltic-birch Carriage
Washer and
plywood base. Add hard-maple runners, sized to fit the miter hex nut bolt
slots, then add front and rear fences, also made of hard maple.
After assembling the sled and cutting a 1⁄ 2-in. dado slot through
it, use the same dado setup to cut a notch 1⁄ 2 in. wide by 1⁄4 in.
deep in the lower edge of the rear fence face. Don’t bolt this
Hard-maple
fence face to the rear (fixed) fence just yet. key, ½ in.
Glue a snug-fitting key in the notch and, using a scrap of wide
the key stock as a spacer, position the fence face so the key
is 1⁄ 2 in. from the slot in the base (this dimension will change Rear fence, hard
if you use different size fingers). Clamp the fence face at this maple, 11 ⁄ 8 in. thick by
2¼ in. tall
position, then install small
Online Extra recessed carriage bolts from
Watch an animated version
of this tip at FineWoodworking
the front of the fence face,
.com/extras. enlarging the holes through Front fence,
the fixed fence slightly. Lock hard maple,
11 ⁄ 8 in. thick
the fence with washers and hex nuts and cut a trial joint. If you by 2¼ in. tall
need to adjust the setup, loosen the hex nuts slightly, tap the
fence face left or right as needed, and retighten the nuts.
To use the jig, mount the appropriate dado blades, set the
depth of cut to accommodate the stock thickness, and go. You Base, ¾-in.-thick
can add a sacrificial backer board (1⁄4-in. hardboard) to reduce plywood, 8 in. wide
by 19 in. long
tearout when cutting fingers that are shorter than the slot in the Hole for
fence. The 1⁄ 2-in. fingers work well for most of my needs, but if hanging sled
Hard-maple runners,
you need other sizes, make a separate jig for each size. screwed to base
—DENNIS THEISEN, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Spring clamp
Simple gauge for inside measurements
This tool is basically a telescoping device for transferring
an inside dimension to a ruler or for setting up a stop
block. The gauge is made from two nested sections of
anodized aluminum angle held together with a small
spring clamp. I have found the most practical size of
angle is 3⁄4 in. by 1⁄ 2 in. (outside dimensions). Make sure
you get the kind of angle with square inside corners
rather than the kind with rounded inside corners.
If you can’t find a small spring clamp, a binder clip
Extend gauge so each end from a stationery store will work fine.
is in contact with area to be
measured. —RICHARD DUDA, Meadview, Ariz.

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 15

methods of work continued

¼-in. straight bit

Trim dovetail waste on the router table Chisel out waste Fence ensures
in corners. consistent
Here’s a neat way to clean out waste between hand- depth of cut
cut dovetails and pins, without cutting beyond the between tails
or pins.
baseline. First, mark out the tails (or the pins if you
prefer) and use a handsaw to cut the sidewalls.
Remove most of the material between tails with
a coping saw, leaving about 1⁄ 8 in. of waste at the
bottom. Now, use a small straight router bit in a
router table to clean out the rest of the waste. Use
the fence to register the workpiece and to ensure
the bit cuts to a consistent depth between tails.
Don’t let the bit slip into the tails. This process
leaves the bottom of the waste area perfectly square Baseline
to the sides and perfectly straight and flat. All that
remains is a small amount of chisel cleanout in the
corners. The waste between pins can be cleaned out
the same way.
—BILL LAW, Cincinnati, Ohio

Another way to flatten warped boards with your planer

One of the most common ways to flatten a board in a planer the edges. Adjust the bit so that it makes a shallow, flat-bottom
is to glue sacrificial rails to the board and then rip off the rails groove for the whole length of the board. Now flip the jig and
once the planing work is done (see Jerry Lyons’s method in rout a second groove along the opposite side.
FWW #208, p. 16). My approach eliminates those rails in favor of You now have grooves that are exactly coplanar at their
reusable 1⁄ 2-in. by 1⁄ 2-in. skid strips dry-fitted into grooves routed bottoms. Remove the warped board from the jig and insert the
into one surface of the board. skid strips into the grooves. Secure them with some double-
Joint the edges of the board and clamp it between two guide faced tape or a few dabs of hot glue. Run the warped board
rails (I used aluminum channel, but you could use wood beams through the planer with the strips down. When the upper
or steel angle iron) so that the two high opposite corners are surface is flat, remove the strips, and plane the other side.
near the top of the rails. Attach the router to a piece of stiff Save the strips for next time.
plywood wide enough to span the guide rails, make a 1⁄ 2-in. —BRIAN DOSS,
clearance hole for the bit, and screw a couple of guide cleats to St. Butler, Pa.

1. CLAMP BOARD 2. ROUT GROOVES 3. RUN BOARD

BETWEEN GUIDE RAILS FOR SKID STRIPS THROUGH PLANER

Router jig made

Guide cleats from stiff plywood
High ride along
Guide rails corner rails.
made from Hardwood skid
aluminum strips, ½ in.
channel square
Grooves will
be different
depths
but will be
coplanar.
Skid strips
on bottom After flattening
this side, remove
the skid strips
High corner and plane the
other side.

16 FINE WOODWORKING
Make two-sided tapers more safely
Rough-cut the taper
My favorite project for new woodworking students is a Leg
at the bandsaw. Block raises leg to
Virginia side table because it introduces them to most of the desired degree of taper.
tools they are likely to encounter in a shop. The table has
legs with two-sided tapers. I never felt it was safe to have the
students cut the tapers on the tablesaw, so I set out to find a
better way. I came up with a simple carriage that goes through
the thickness planer with one end of the leg elevated.
For the carriage, I used a 3⁄4-in.-thick MDF base a
couple of inches longer and wider than the table leg.
(You could make it wide enough to hold multiple
legs.) I screwed a block at one end to elevate the After making
the first taper,
bottom of the table leg by the amount of taper rotate leg for
desired. To complete the carriage, I fastened pieces the next taper.
of wood to the sides of the MDF base.
To use the fixture, I simply drop in a table
leg and send it through the planer. Orient
the leg so you’re planing “downhill,” and take
multiple passes to reach full depth. Then give
the leg a quarter turn and plane it again. To save
wear and tear on the planer, it’s a good idea to
rough out the taper on the bandsaw. It might take a few
minutes more than using a tablesaw, but it is absolutely safe
MDF carriage,
and, as a bonus, there are no saw marks to sand off. fed through
—Stephen ChilderS, Wyoming, del. planer

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What woodworkers
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tools & materials
■ JIGS

Leigh mortise-and-tenon
jig is a bargain

L
EIGH INDUSTRIES
recently debuted a
new version of its FMT
(frame, mortise, and
tenon) jig. The Super FMT
works much like the original,
but at $449 costs half as much.
In a recent article (FWW #206)
comparing mortisers, I gave the
original FMT high marks for accuracy, speed, and ease of use,
so I was interested to see if the new model cut clean, matching
mortises and tenons as well as the original. It did. Less expensive option. Leigh’s Super FMT costs about half as much as
the original FMT, but matches the quality of its cuts.
One reason the Super FMT costs less than the original is
because it’s made from formed steel instead of machined alumi-
num. This did not affect its accuracy. It also uses less-expensive snap-in sight. If you’re cutting multiple pieces, this step is only
F-clamps to hold the workpiece rather than the smooth-acting, done once. Plastic guides define the joint size and steer the
cam-action clamps on the original. Another significant difference router as it cuts. The jig comes with guides for 5⁄16-in.-thick
is the removable joint-alignment sight, which snaps into place mortises and tenons. Guides for other joint sizes from 1⁄4 in.
on the new model instead of retracting into the jig housing. to 1⁄ 2 in. thick are available.
To use the Super FMT, you first align a router to the jig table. The Super FMT (leighjigs.com) gives you perfectly fitted
Fortunately, this is a one-time setup and after that, the router mortises and tenons, of almost any size, at almost any angle, in
can be removed and reattached easily. Next, you mark the minutes. Given its price and versatility, I’d take this jig over any
joint centerline on the stock and clamp the stock to the benchtop mortiser.
front of the jig. Then you line up the table —Tim Albers is a woodworker
that supports the router using the in Ventura, Calif.

■ HAND TOOLS than the original Stanley. The second, produced in

conjunction with hand-tool expert Rob Cosman, is
New blades even thicker (0.140 in.). It’s paired with a unique chip-

boost performance
breaker that works without modifying the adjuster,
although you have to widen the throat opening.

of old planes All Pinnacle blades are made from air-hardened A2

steel tempered to Rc 60–62. They’re precision ground
on all sides and lapped with 1,000- and 8,000-grit
SOLD UNDER THE PINNACLE BRAND and manu- abrasive, so I had to spend only a few minutes honing
factured by Industrial Blade Company (IBC), a full both blades to my personal preference. In short, both
line of replacement blades for older Stanley and Re- blades perform on par with the best blades I’ve used,
cord planes and modern Lie-Nielsen and Veritas planes, but I think the standard replacement blade at $46
scrapers, and spokeshaves are now available from is a better deal. The Cosman blade and chipbreaker
Woodcraft. I recently tried two of the blades in a vintage retails for $99. Other blades in the product line range
Stanley/Bailey No. 4. One is a high-quality replacement in price from $9 to $63.
blade that’s about one-third thicker (0.095 in.) —Chris Gochnour is a woodworker in Murray, Utah.

18 FINE WOODWORKING Photos: staff

 ■ Hand tools ■ news

New Tablesaw injury leads

handsaw to $1.5 million jury award
is a tenon
specialist
In March, a jury awarded pieces of flooring from the saw
$1.5 million in a case against ryobi table. thinking he had solved the
for a benchtop tablesaw injury, problem, he started cutting again,
claiming that the saw should have but his difficulties continued, so he

I
been equipped with flesh-sensing, pushed the board even harder. his
’ve always cut blade-braking technology, such as left hand slipped into the spinning
tenons with a the sawstop system. the verdict, blade, nearly removing his pinky fin-
handsaw. I’ve which has major implications for the ger and severely cutting two other
used Japanese tool industry, set off a flurry of com- fingers and his thumb. ultimately,
pullsaws and small West- mentary on the Internet, including osorio would undergo five surgeries
ern backsaws successfully, Finewoodworking.com. and 95 occupational therapy visits
but they all have drawbacks. In a recent article that appeared to treat his injured hand.
For example, a typical dozuki in The Oregonian, sawstop Presi- In april 2006, osorio’s lawyer,
has too many teeth, so it cuts dent stephen Gass said he felt vindi- richard sullivan, who first saw the
very slowly. The rip teeth on a cated by the award. other tablesaw flesh-sensing technology in a cnn
ryobi cut quicker, but without manufacturers in the industry, video, filed a civil complaint on be-
a back, the blade can buckle. including ryobi and its parent com- half of his client against one world
The Western backsaw is close pany, one world technologies, won’t technologies, the parent company
to perfect but it, too, has too
many teeth for a fast cut. It’s
also fairly short, so it takes a The blade guard and splitter
lot of strokes to make a tenon.
The Lie-Nielsen 16-in. tenon were removed and he was making
saw ($175, lie-nielsen.com)
solves these problems. It has the cut without a rip fence.
11 teeth per inch, filed for a
ripcut. Spread that over its
16-in. blade, and you can really discuss the award, but court docu- of ryobi, ridgid, and Milwaukee
move through the wood. The ments shed some light on the case. power tools. the complaint alleged
saw is well-balanced and has a In april 2004, carlos osorio took that the saw’s design was inherently
comfortable handle. It really is a job as a flooring installer for Pt flawed because it didn’t have “flesh-
the perfect saw for tenons. hardwood Floor service in Medford, sensing technology,” which would
—Matt Kenney is Mass. according to the defendant’s have stopped the blade when it
an associate editor. trial brief, osorio had never used detected osorio’s fingers.
a tablesaw before, so his boss osorio’s case went to trial in
showed him how to use the tool February of this year and was
and cautioned him about the dan- decided about four weeks later.
gers. a couple of weeks later while a jury concluded that osorio was
installing an oak floor, osorio was 35% responsible for his injuries and
ripping a 21/4-in.-wide floorboard on one world was 65% liable. they
a ryobi Bts 15 benchtop tablesaw. awarded osorio $1.5 million in
the blade guard and splitter were damages even though he was only
removed and he was making the cut seeking $250,000. the verdict form
without a rip fence. indicated that the jury felt the saw
when he started cutting, he felt was “defectively designed” and the
Tenons, anyone? With a long, deep chattering and vibration, so he shut defects were a cause of osorio’s
blade and 11 tpi, Lie-Nielsen’s new off the machine, removed the stock, accident.
saw is perfect for tenons. and cleared away dust and other (continued...)

JuLy/AuguST 2010 19
tools & materials continued

■ NEWS

Jury award
(continued)

Both Ryobi and Gass agree that

Gass demonstrated his tablesaw
invention to One World Technolo-
gies in October 2000. Gass, a pat-
ent attorney with a Ph.D. in physics,
would later launch his own tool
■ ROUTER BITS company when he was unsuccess-
ful in licensing the technology to
Cope-and-stick bits allow long tenons existing power-tool manufacturers.
Late in 2009, when responding to

T
a FWW reader’s question about why
HERE ARE LOTS OF BIT SETS that can you could rough out the tenon with a dado tablesaw manufacturers hadn’t ad-
make tight-fitting cope-and-stick set or bandsaw and finish the cut with the opted the SawStop technology, the
joints, but Freud’s new rail and stile cope-cutter. Another minor inconvenience major tool companies pointed to a
router-bit set (No. 99-760) allows is that it takes two setups to create the long number of reasons why they hadn’t
full-length tenons, instead of the usual tenon: one for the profile side and one for struck a deal with Gass when
stub tenons created by these bits. The bits the back. And since you remove the guide he first approached them. These
can be used with stock ranging from 5⁄ 8 in. bearing for the cope-cutter for the profile ranged from doubts that the tech-
to 11⁄4 in. thick, and Freud claims the cut- cut and lower it beneath the table during nology would work over decades
ters have a unique geometry to reduce the back cut, careful setup of the fence and of hard use, to the difficulty—even
tearout. I tried the bit set with several dif- miter gauge is crucial. impossibility—of rolling out the
ferent wood species and found the claim By adding or removing shims, you can technology through an entire line
to be true, even with red oak, which is adjust the groove from 7⁄ 32 in. to 3⁄ 8 in. The of tablesaws, especially the small,
especially prone to tearout. set comes in roundover, ogee, roundover portable, job-site saws (such as the
Removing the upper portion of the two- bead, and bevel patterns. The basic set saw in the Osorio case) that must
piece cope cutter—which includes the is $120 at woodcraft.com; double-profile stand up to weather and other
guide bearing—extends the tenon length in- ($96; No. 99-860) and glass-panel ($38; No. forms of abuse. Also, most were
finitely. But you can only increase the length 54-760) cutters are also available. concerned that if they rolled it out
1⁄ 2 in. with each pass. If that takes too long, —Roland Johnson is a contributing editor. only on some of their saws, it might
amount to a tacit admission that
their other saws were unsafe.
In any case, Gass went on to
■ SAFETY
found SawStop, which manu-

Pulling splinters just got easier factures three tablesaws, two

cabinet-style and one mid-sized
contractor-type, each with the new
WITH THEIR FLIMSY, ILL-FITTING JAWS, I gave up ordinary tweezers as a way to pull technology. It is important to note
splinters years ago. Given my usual alternative (self-surgery with a utility knife), that as a start-up company, Saw-
I was delighted to find a pair of tweezers that actually work for splinters. Stop was able to roll out one model
Pocketweez’s razor-sharp jaws are easy to grip and pivot to fit in- at a time, giving them an opportu-
side the handle, so you can carry the all-stainless-steel twee- nity to test their engineering and
zers in your pocket without stabbing yourself. The $25 market viability with less risk.
price tag (pocketweez.com) may sound a little steep, Go to FineWoodworking.com/
Get a grip. Pock- but the product is well made and will likely last extras for reader comments and
etweez makes pulling a lifetime. breaking news on this case.
splinters easy thanks to wide,
—Patrick McCombe is —P.M.
razor-sharp jaws that fold in-
side a sturdy metal housing. an associate editor.

20 FINE WOODWORKING
■ HAND TOOLS

New veneer saw is best for inlay

A
S A LEFTIE, I was
excited to see
Lee Valley’s new
veneer saw (No.
09A02.85; leevalley.com).
Unlike a traditional ve-
neer saw with its offset
handle designed for right-
handed use, this saw’s
handle is in line with the
blade so it can be used in either hand. free from tearout, even on brittle burl, but even
The other major difference is the number of though the teeth have no set, the edges were not
teeth: Traditional veneer saws have about 15 teeth flat enough to join without additional sanding.
per inch (tpi). For the best performance, the teeth Where the saw excelled was crosscutting and mi-
should be sharpened before use. The Lee Valley saw tering stringing and banding. The narrow teeth fit
has an amazing 50 tpi and the teeth are sharp right easily into a knife mark, while the high tpi meant
out of the box. the cut started easily. With banding in particular, the
Having more teeth means the saw cuts slower than saw was better than a plane iron and far safer than
a regular veneer saw, but it handled thin and thick a miter saw.
veneer, both ripping and crosscutting. The cuts were —Mark Schofield is the managing editor.

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www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 21

fundamentals

Cutting parts to size

HOW TO TURN ROUGH LUMBER
INTO STRAIGHT, FLAT, SQUARE
FURNITURE PARTS
B Y S T U A R T L I P P

A
t my first job in a
furniture shop, I
spent most of my
time cutting lumber
to size. I learned
quickly that to make
beautiful furniture, you must
mill carefully. Cut a board too
narrow, for example, and you
no longer have bookmatched
panels wide enough for your
doors. Mill a piece out of
square, and you could throw a
whole project off kilter.
The way to avoid mistakes,
I discovered, was to follow a
logical sequence, and stack my
boards in an orderly fashion
so that there was no question
about how they should be fed
into the waiting machines. To
make things easier as I moved
from one machine to another, I
started using two carts, one for
the infeed side and one for the
outfeed side. If you don’t have
two carts, you can always use a
counter or benchtop.

Stuart Lipp lives in New York City and

works at Steinway & Sons, where he
Get organized to avoid mistakes. Inspect
oversees the construction of limited- each board for grain direction, cupping, and
edition pianos. bowing before you start milling, and keep them
organized so you don’t have to look at each
one before feeding it into the next machine.

22 FINE WOODWORKING
1. Flatten both faces first
Milling a board square starts at the jointer, where you flatten peak of the cup or bow. I also throw a scrap board on the stack
one face. Then you move to the planer and plane the second face so that I can test my machine setups as I work through the milling
parallel to the first. process.
Get your boards organized before you start. Stack them so When planing, you can reduce snipe—the tendency of the
that they can be taken off the cart and fed directly into the planer to cut deeper at the front and back ends of the board—by
jointer, which means the grain runs from top to bottom as it goes feeding the boards through so that the leading end of one touches
from the front end of the board to the back. If any boards are the trailing end of the one in front of it. Before the final pass, send
cupped or bowed, stack them so that the cup or bow makes a the scrap piece through to check that the planer is set to the
frown. The two low ends will provide a more stable base than the correct thickness.

JOINTER FLATTENS AND STRAIGHTE N S F IRST FACE

Because the jointer’s cutter is below the board, the grain should run from top to bottom.
Feed a board backwards and the joiner will tear out grain rather than cut it cleanly.

Feed
direction
Knife Grain direction
rotation
Concave
side down

Faces, but no edges. Lipp starts by flattening a

face, but doesn’t then straighten an edge. It’s not JOINTER
always possible to feed edge grain into the jointer OUTFEED INFEED
properly when only one face is jointed. CART CART
2. As you take boards off 1. Stack the boards so you can
the jointer, stack them the take boards from the cart and feed
same way they went in. them straight into the jointer.

P L A N E R MA K E S S E C O N D FACE PARALLEL TO FIRST

Planer knives hit the top of the board,
so you’ll need to turn the cart so that
the grain direction is reversed and
Planer
the end that went first into the jointer
knife
goes last into the planer.
rotation

Feed direction

Grain
direction

PLANER Plane second face flat. When the board is about 90% flat, begin to flip
As boards come out of the planer, it end for end after each pass. That keeps the grain running in the right
INFEED CART restack them so that the grain direction as you take equal amounts off each face, which relieves internal
runs in the same direction. tensions evenly and minimizes how much the board will cup afterward.

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 23

 fundamentals continued

2. Rip wide parts to width before narrow ones

After the boards have been planed to thickness, joint one edge At the tablesaw, use the scrap piece in the stack to check that
straight and then rip them to width. But don’t joint any edges the blade is square to the saw’s table. Rip the widest parts first
until you’ve checked to make sure the jointer’s fence is 90° to its and work down to the narrowest—it’s always better to accidently
tables. When jointing the first edge, just like when jointing the cut a part too wide than too narrow. The jointed edge should run
first face, any crook in the board should face down. against the rip fence.

J OIN T AN E D G E S T R A I G H T AND SQ UARE

Flip the board as needed to run the grain past the knives in the right
direction. Curved edges should face down, because the two ends of the curve
provide greater stability than the hump on the other edge.

Knife rotation Concave side

down

Jointed
edge Stack the boards so that the
jointed edges face toward
the jointer. When you roll the
cart over to the tablesaw, the
boards can be fed directly into
Right edge, right direction. Joint the concave side for stability. Both
the blade with the jointed edge
OUTFEED against the rip fence. faces are flat and straight so you can flip the board either way to avoid
CART tearout.

GO O D E D G E G O E S AG A I N S T THE FENCE
Blade Rip fence

OUTFEED CART

With the jointed edges

toward the rip fence, the
boards can be taken from
the cart and fed directly into
the tablesaw blade without
checking the edges first.
Jointed Straight from cart to blade. For safer ripping on the tablesaw, a board must have a
edge
straight edge to run against the fence. Also, use a push stick on narrow boards.
INFEED CART
24 FINE WOODWORKING Photos: Matt Kenney; drawings: Jim Richey
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www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com July/August 2010 25

fundamentals continued

3. Finally, cut parts to length

Now it’s time to cut the boards to final length. You can use either wood, the blade could deflect and lead you to think it’s not cutting
a miter gauge with an auxiliary fence attached, or a crosscut sled. square when it is. Cut one end square on all of the boards. Then
In either case, use the piece of scrap first to check that the gauge cut them to length, working from the longest parts to the shortest
or sled is cutting square. Make sure to locate the test cut an inch (it’s easy to cut a piece shorter, but impossible to go back and
or two from the end. If both sides of the blade are not buried in the cut it longer).

SQUARE AN END CU T TO LE NGTH

Nothing fancy. A square block
clamped to the auxiliary fence works
great as a stop. Cut every same-
length part at once. Then move the
block for the next shortest parts.

Smart stacking. Lipp saves time by stacking all of the pieces on the
extension table. After cutting the boards to length, he stacks them on the
outfeed cart.

Square the first end, flip the board end for end, and place it
on the outfeed cart, ready to be cut to length.
Work from long to short. To avoid cutting a piece too short, start with
the longest parts and work toward the shortest. A board can always be
cut shorter, but never longer.

Switch the carts around and cut the boards to length. Use
a stop block when more than one part is the same length.

Stop
block

Both ends
Miter gauge with Infeed cart are now
90˚ auxiliary fence or stack square and
boards are cut Clamp
to length.

OUTFEED
CART

Boards have
one end square.
OUTFEED CART INFEED CART
26 FINE WOODWORKING
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p
L
 Mudroom Built-In:
Stop Clutter at the Door

11¾ in. 41¼ in.

14 in.
60¾ in.

82 in.

16 in. 15½ in.

¾ in. 27¼ in.

25¼ in. 15¼ in. 14½ in.

20 in.

64½ in. 26 in.

4 in.

Learn the fundamentals

of built-in furniture A n enclosed porch or mudroom can help keep dirt and
snow from reaching the living areas of your house. It’s
also a great place to stow stuff you’d rather not have
cluttering the kitchen or family room: boots, shoes, book bags,
sports gear, and the like. But without designated storage areas,
with this stylish storage unit a mudroom becomes a minefield. An elegant solution is to make
a built-in storage cabinet, which will not only look good and
organize your life, but can also add value to your home.
B Y T O N Y O ’ M A L L E Y This mudroom unit features a base cabinet topped with
open locker-type cabinets. The base cabinet has a lift-lid sec-
tion for stowing out-of-season stuff like winter boots. The upper
Online Extra: Built-in Build-Off cabinets have fixed shelves and hooks for jackets. This piece
Go to FineWoodworking.com/extras to check out the Built-in is designed for a family of four—with each person getting his
Build-Off between Fine Woodworking and Fine Homebuilding or her own locker space—but it can easily be made larger or
magazines, where you can see how a carpenter and a smaller to suit a different-size family.
woodworker approached this project in different ways. FWW
online members also can read the companion FHB article online. The construction is simple: maple plywood cases with walnut
face frames and applied frame-and-panel assemblies, which give

28 FINE WOODWORKING Photos: Thomas McKenna

 B ase ca Bi ne t offe rs
seatin g a nd s t orage
The lower cabinet is a plywood box faced with walnut frames and panels. The height is perfect for sitting to change shoes, and the lidded box
has plenty of room for items you don’t want to see, like boots and outdoor gear.
Lift lid, 3/4-in. plywood,
12 in. wide

Front edging, Walnut edging, 3 ⁄16 in.

3/4 in. thick by thick, hides plywood edge.
11/4 in. wide
Piano hinge
Scribe to wall. Fixed back panel,
3/4-in. plywood, 14 in.
wide by 593/4 in. long

Plywood front and back, #20 biscuits

62 in. wide by 141/2 in. tall
Intermediate stiles, Partitions, 233/4 in.
Rails, 3/4 in. thick 3/4 in. thick by 2 in. wide by 141/2 in. tall
by 2 in. wide by wide by 111/4 in. long Side trim, 3/4 in. thick
631/4 in. long Veneer tape
by 23/4 in. wide by
covers plywood
271/4 in. long
edges.

Rails, 3/4 in. thick

Scribe stile
by 2 in. wide by
to fit wall.
22 in. long

Panels,
1/4-in. plywood,
191/4 in. wide by
12 in. tall

Nailing strips,
2 in. wide
Front stile,
11/4 in.
wide
Stile,
3/4 in. thick Leveling feet, Rear stile,
by 2 in. 3 in. wide 3/4 in. thick by
Leveling base is made wide 2 in. wide by
of 3/4-in. plywood and 151/4 in. long,
nailed together. Panel, 1/4-in. scribe to fit
Front and back plywood, wall
of base, 31/2 in. 223/4 in. wide
wide by 63 in. by 14 in. tall
long Cross-members of
base, 31/2 in. wide by
213/4 in. long
Base molding,
3/4 in. thick by base-molding deTail
4 in. wide Nailing
Leveling foot
strip
the piece a furniture feel. Most of the parts are creates a bright, durable interior that looks
made in the shop and assembled on site. great with the dark walnut exterior.
For the upper lockers, I made four identi-
Build the plywood boxes first cal skinny cabinets and screwed them to-
For this project, I used prefinished 3⁄4-in.- gether. These smaller cabinets are easier to
thick maple plywood for all the cases. build, move around in the shop, and install.
Though not commonly available at major And this method can make the difference
home centers, the plywood often can be between needing a helper and getting the
Match height of base molding
special-ordered at lumberyards. It saves job done on your own. The plywood edg- to existing baseboard.
you considerable finishing time, and es on the upper lockers are hidden with

30 FINE wooDworkINg Drawings: Bob La Pointe

 u pper ca bi ne t s Crown-Molding deTail ⁄ in.
38
78 ⁄ in.
serve a s lock e rs Plywood support frame

The top cabinets are individual plywood boxes screwed together and faced with solid walnut. 23/4 in.
These lockers have small cubbies for backpacks, purses, and briefcases, and larger spaces
to hang coats and jackets.
⁄ in.
38

Plywood support frame,

FaCe-FraMe deTail: 3/4 in. thick by 3 in. 11/4 in. exposed
upper rail wide, mitered at corner
Face-frame top
1/4-in.-deep groove rails, 3/4 in. thick
by 2 in. wide Crown molding

Front stile, 3/4 in. thick

by 11/4 in. wide by
60 in. long
Spline Rails and
rear stile,
Masonite spline, 1 ⁄ 8 in. Backs screwed to wall. Top, 14 in. wide 2 in. wide
thick by 1/2 in. wide by 11 in. deep

Scribe to wall.

Face-frame stiles and

rails are glued and
nailed to cabinets.

FaCe-FraMe
deTail: sTile
Only one alignment
spline needed.

Scribe
Face-frame rails, to wall.
3/4 in. thick by Screws reinforce
11/4 in. wide biscuit joints.

Face-frame stiles, Sides,

3/4 in. thick by 11 in. deep Back,
2 in. wide Fixed shelf, 151/2 in. wide
by 60 in. tall
14 in. wide by by 60 in. tall
Face-frame stile
11 in. deep

solid-walnut face frames, which are glued gether with the same biscuit and screw Make and prefinish the walnut parts
and nailed in place. To help align the face joinery as the locker cabinets. One dif- Once the plywood cases are glued up,
frames, I used 1⁄ 8-in.-thick splines cut from ference is that I used an adhesive-backed you can begin working on the walnut
tempered Masonite. Before assembling the maple edge-banding on the top edge of face frames, the frame-and-panel assem-
cases, I cut the grooves for the splines in the two exposed partitions. blies, and the lift-lid assembly. All of the
all the front edges using a router and a slot- Put on the edge-banding before you cut walnut parts should be finished (I used
cutting bit. To assemble the cases, I used the partitions to size. That way, the banded Minwax Wipe-On Poly) before installation.
screws and biscuits. partitions don’t vary in size from the un- It’s much easier that way.
Base cabinet is built the same way— banded ends of the case. Trim the edge- Because most walls aren’t square or flat,
The base cabinet for this built-in goes to- banding with a chisel. you’ll need to fit the end pieces of the

July/AugusT 2010 31
 Clea n Cu t s
in PlYWOOD

The final cuts. To reduce tearout, keep the show face

on top, and use a good combination blade and a zero-
clearance insert or crosscut sled. To further reduce the
Rip, then crosscut. When breaking down a full sheet of plywood on a tablesaw, rip the chances of tearout during a crosscut, apply masking
pieces to size, then crosscut them using a sled. tape over the bottom side of the cut line.

B isCui t s a nD s CRe Ws
sPee D a s s e m BlY

No clamps required. Assemble the shelves, top, and sides with biscuits and screws. The screws
not only reinforce the biscuits, but they also eliminate the need for clamps. Drill clearance holes
and countersinks in the top pieces, and pilot holes in the edges below to prevent splitting.

built-in to that irregular surface. So leave frame part to create a small V-groove at
any piece that butts against the wall about each intersection; this detail not only looks
3⁄ 8 in. oversize in width (or length for the good but also masks any minor uneven-
moldings) to allow for scribing and fitting. ness at the joints. You can’t chamfer the
Face frame—Mill the face-frame stock to ends now, because the pieces aren’t cut to
thickness and width, but leave the pieces final length, but you should chamfer the
long. They’ll be trimmed to fit the case edges and prefinish the pieces.
during installation. That will leave the end Frame-and-panel assemblies—The
grain unfinished, but no one will see it. I front and exposed side of this built-in are
chamfer the edges and ends of every face- covered with applied frame-and-panel
 L I FT LI D: A LE S S ON
IN EDGI NG P LYWOOD

Fixed back gets solid edges. Attach the side trim pieces to the fixed back with biscuits.

assemblies made from solid walnut and

1⁄4-in.-thick plywood and assembled with

simple joinery (see drawing, pp. 30-31).

Base and crown moldings—Like the
face frames, both the base and crown mold-
ing are solid walnut. For efficiency, mill up
both at the same time. The base molding
has a simple beveled profile. It’s a good
idea to leave it a bit wider than its finished
size and trim it to fit after installation. The
crown molding also is simple.
All four bevel cuts are made with the
Hide exposed edges on lid. The side edge-bandings are glued on with masking tape as
tablesaw blade at 42°. Clean up any saw the clamps, and the front edging is attached with biscuits. All the edging is trimmed flush
marks with a handplane or sandpaper. The with a block plane and cleaned up with sandpaper.
miters and scribing are done during instal-
lation. To support the crown, I use a bev-
eled plywood strip screwed to the top of
the case. Cut the strip and bevel its edge.
Last, the lift lid—The top of the lower
cabinet features a lift lid, a fixed back (on
which the upper cabinets will sit), and two
pieces of side trim. I decided to use 3⁄4-in.-
thick walnut plywood for the lid and fixed
back to eliminate any wood movement
worries. To ensure a good grain match,
cut the fixed back and lid from one piece
of plywood.

Assembly: Start with a level foundation

Built-in cabinetry must be installed level
and plumb, no matter how out of whack
the floors and walls may be. One of my Soft landing for fingers. After gluing on the front edging and trimming it flush with the
favorite tricks is to install a separate base plywood, rout a cove along the bottom edge to serve as a finger pull.

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JuLy/AugusT 2010 33

Install from the ground up
B A S E : S E t It
AN D F O R G E t It
Installing the cabinets over a
separate base makes leveling
easy. Assemble the base from
scrap plywood, using nails
or screws; set it in place and
level it. Once that’s done, you
know that all the cabinets
above will be level.

Add feet. Use shims to get the base perfectly

level (left) and up to the target height. Once the
base is at the target height, screw on the ply-
wood feet (above).

S cR Ew I N t H E that can be leveled without moving the

entire cabinet back and forth in the pro-
LOwER cA BI NE t cess (see photos, above). Once the base
First, screw the cabinet to the is complete, install the cases, starting with
base and to the wall. Then add the lower cabinet and finishing with the
the side panel and the fixed upper lockers.
back of the lid assembly. Cover up the plywood edges—Now it’s
time to install the front frame-and-panel as-
sembly, the lid, the face frames, and the
moldings. The front is screwed to the lower
case from the inside. The lid is attached to
the fixed back with a piano hinge.
When gluing and nailing on the face-
Side panel is next. Scribe the rear stile to the
frame pieces, attach the verticals first and
wall and trim the panel flush with the front of
the cabinet. Screw it to the cabinet from inside. the horizontals last. Because they’re for
alignment only, you need only one spline
per vertical piece, even though the three
middle pieces cover two cabinet sides.
On the horizontal frame pieces, remem-
ber to chamfer the ends, and apply finish
to that small chamfer before installation.
Now all you have to do is install the
crown molding and base molding. Once
you’re finished, you’ll have a handy place
to store all sorts of stuff, and a convenient
seat where you can put on and take off
shoes and boots. •
Put the cabinet on the base. Screw it to the Top it off. Place the fixed back panel on top
base and to the wall with finish-head screws. and screw it to the lower cabinet from above. Tony O’Malley, a woodworker in Emmaus, Pa.,
Shim behind the cabinet if the wall isn’t plumb. The screws will be hidden by the upper lockers. specializes in making custom built-ins.

34 FINE WOOdWOrkINg
 UPPE R C A S E S :
ANCH OR A ND S CRI BE
The upper cases are
screwed to one another and
to the wall. Then the side
and front panels are scribed
to the wall and screwed on
from inside. If you don’t like
seeing screw heads inside
the lockers, cover them with
matching maple screw caps,
available from Fastcap.

Scribe to the wall. Where the

Clamp and screw. Set the frames meet the wall, you need to
four locker cabinets in place create a seamless fit. The best
and attach one to the next approach is to set the panel in place
with countersunk drywall and slide a light-colored pencil
screws, which help draw the (which shows on the dark walnut)
pieces together. Screw the along the wall to mark its contours.
cabinets to the wall, shim- Trim up to the line using a block
ming the back where neces- plane, jigsaw, or belt sander. Your
sary to keep them plumb. other goal is a flush surface at the
front of the cabinet.

FINAL DETA I LS :
L ID, FACE FRA M E S ,
AND MOLDI NGS
Once the upper lockers are in place,
you’re near the finish line. All that’s
left is to install the lid, the face
frames, and the crown and base
moldings. Don’t hurry these jobs,
because these details are the most
visible. Conceal the nail heads with a
colored wax crayon.

The topper. To give a better attachment

surface for the crown molding, nail on a ply-
wood support piece along the edges (above).
Then miter the crown, and glue and nail it in
place (below).

Hinge the lid. Screw the piano hinge to Face frames without frustration. Rather than
the lid, then attach the assembly to the attaching a preassembled frame, O’Malley glues
fixed back. and nails on the pieces one at a time, beginning
with the verticals. Then he fits the horizontals.

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com July/August 2010 35

 How to Tame B Y H E N D R I K V A R J U

E very woodworker experiences

that moment of pleasure when the
first coat of finish brings out the
beauty of the wood, only to be dismayed
when the finish also reveals an area con-
The first step is to control the amount
of glue you use. Less glue doesn’t have to
mean less strength, but it does mean less
squeeze-out. The second step is to apply
the glue to the right parts of a joint. If you
taminated by glue squeeze-out. There follow both of these rules, squeeze-out
is plenty of advice out there on how to will be either hidden inside the joint or
remove squeeze-out, but as the saying directed to a place where it can be easily
goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a removed, such as the outside of a box that
pound of cure. still needs planing or sanding rather than

Hide glue inside the joint...

The best way to avoid squeeze-out is to push surplus glue inward, hiding it
in empty areas inside the joint.

RIGHT
No glue on
tenon

No squeeze-out
on the surface
Chamfer

Most surplus glue

Glue applied inside collects in the bottom
the mortise only of the mortise.

WRONG
If you spread
glue on the
tenon, it will be
forced upward
by the edges
of the mortise
and will squeeze
out around the
joint, where it is
hard to remove
completely.

36 FINE WOODWORKING Photos: Mark Schofield; drawings: Christopher Mills

Squeeze-out
a finished inside corner, where a chisel if you use enough glue to wet the
might leave marks and a wet rag will leave second piece. Just don’t let more than
behind a thin film of glue. a few minutes pass between applying glue
With most white or yellow woodworking and assembling the joint, because skinned-
glues, it is important that both surfaces are over glue cannot penetrate the second side
wetted by the glue within a short time. The sufficiently. As long as your joinery goes
normal method is to apply glue to both together quickly, you’re fine.
surfaces, but the downside on most joints
is unavoidable squeeze-out. However, you Hendrik Varju is the owner of Passion for Wood
can apply glue to just one side of the joint (passionforwood.com) in Ontario, Canada.

...or send it where it’s easy to handle

If the design of a joint prevents you from hiding surplus glue inside it, the next best
solution is to direct squeeze-out to the part of the joint where it can most easily be
removed. In most cases, this is the outside surfaces rather than an inside corner.

Drawer side Squeeze-out on the

outside of the joint RIGHT

Drawer
Glue applied
front
only to the
sides of the
tails

No squeeze-out
on the inside

WRONG
If you glue the
pins, surplus
glue will
squeeze out
on the inside
corner of the
joint, where it is
hard to remove
cleanly.

JULY/AUGUST 2010 37
 4 ways to hide it
Hide surplus glue inside a joint and you can eliminate the problem of squeeze-
out entirely. This technique works with mortise-and-tenon joints, dowels, and
certain types of spline joints and dadoes. Apply the glue to one surface only and
keep it off end grain, where it soaks in and adds little to joint strength.

1 Stop squeeze-out on mortise-and-tenon joints

Cut the mortise a minimum of 1 ⁄16 in. deeper than the length of the tenon
to provide a small void where the surplus glue can collect. Put glue in the
mortise only and spread it with a thin dowel (below right). If you can see the wood
clearly, you need more glue. If there is a huge puddle at the bottom, push the dowel
to the bottom of the hole, pick up some of the glue, and wipe it off with a rag.

Extra line of
defense. A
small chamfer
around the top
of the mortise
will catch any
surplus glue
not held at the
bottom.

2 Trap glue in dowel holes

As with the mortise-and-tenon
joint, drill dowel holes a little over
1 ⁄16 in. deeper than necessary. Apply glue
TIP HOW TO INSERT
DOWELS TO THE
RIGHT DEPTH
To avoid having the
on the inside of the hole only, just below
dowel bottom out on
the surface. In a typical joint, where end one side, forcing glue
grain meets face grain, don’t apply any up and out of the hole,
glue between the mating surfaces take a piece of scrap
themselves—only in the dowel holes. the same thickness as Insert dowels. If some glue
the amount of dowel squeezes out of the hole,
you want to protrude wipe it away before the joint
from the hole, and is assembled.
place it next to the
dowel as you tap it in
with a hammer.

No squeeze-out. By elimi-
nating squeeze-out, Varju
Glue holes, not dowels. Use a smaller- saves time and ensures a
diameter dowel rod to spread the glue perfect-looking joint.
around the sides of the holes.

38 FINE WOODWORKING
 3 No-mess solid edging
Splines reinforce the joint between solid edging and plywood, whether for shelves or
tabletops. Cut the spline grooves about 1 ⁄16 in. deeper than needed and apply glue only
in the groove, not on the spline. The space at the bottom of the groove will catch squeeze-
out. For extra strength, apply a very thin film of glue to the inside face of the edging.

Insert the ten-

on. Place the un-
glued tenon into Glue the groove. A spline adds strength
the mortise and when attaching solid edging. Apply glue to
drive it home the groove only, not the spline.
(left). Surplus
glue is forced
downward and
out of sight, leav-
ing the outside
of the joint glue-
free (above).

Tap in the spline. Leave the spline 1 ⁄16 in. No squeeze-out. Surplus glue collects in the
above the bottom of the groove by using a reservoirs at the bottom of each groove, leaving
piece of scrapwood as a depth stop. the outside of the joint clean.

4 Strong but clean dado joints

With a dado joint, such as where a shelf fits into a bookcase
side, you can’t use extra depth to hold excess glue. But small
chamfers on the ends of the shelf can provide a small reservoir. Just be
sure to avoid chamfering the front corners unless they will be concealed
by a face frame or a stopped dado.

Create a hiding place. Chamfer- Glue the dado only. Place a small No squeeze-out. By applying a limited amount of glue, and
ing the ends of the shelves creates a bead of glue along the center and only to the dado, surplus glue is confined to the chamfers.
small void for surplus glue. brush it over the bottom and sides.

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 39

3 ways to direct it
If you can’t hide squeeze-out, think where it would be easiest to remove.
On the outside of a box or drawer carcase there is usually more hand-

1
planing and sanding to be done, which also removes the squeeze-out.

Squeegee the squeeze-out in a rabbet

Often one part of a simple
rabbet joint is inside a case
while the other is outside, where it
is far better to have squeeze-out.
Apply glue to the rabbeted part
only, and then hold the inside sur-
faces of the joint tightly together
while assembling it. The glue will
Just the rabbet. Spread glue An extra precaution. If you get glue near what will become
be pushed toward the outside of thinly on both faces of the rabbet, the inside corner of the joint, wipe it away before assembling
the case, not the inside corner. but not on the mating piece. the joint.

CAREFUL PRESSURE
Holding the sides of this drawer
box tightly against the rabbet while
pushing the front into place will direct
any squeeze-out to the outside.

Hold these
edges together
during
assembly.

Squeeze-out is pushed
to the outside of the
joint rather than the
inside corner, where it
is harder to remove.

Apply glue only

to the rabbet.

Easy cleanup. Nothing

The outsides inside. The
of the drawer inside of
will be planed the drawer
or sanded to is already
fit the drawer completed, so
opening, any squeeze-
removing any out here would
squeeze-out or mean more
glue film at the work.
same time.

40 FINE WOODWORKING
2 Glue specific parts of dovetails
Because the tails are
pressed onto the pins, glue
only the tails, whether they are
through- or half-blind dovetails.
That will push excess glue up
toward the outside of the box.
Any glue placed on the pins
would get pushed down and
into the inside corner. Because
glue adds strength on long-grain
surfaces only, glue on the ends
of the tails of half-blind dovetails
adds little strength and only
causes squeeze-out. Worse, glue
applied on the end-grain surface
at the base of the pins (inside
the sockets) is squeezed toward
the inside corner of the box.

Tails, you win. Use a sliver of wood to

apply glue just to the sides of each tail
(above). Assembling the joint forces
surplus glue to the outside (right), where
it will be removed easily later.

3 Same thing for finger joints

Think of a finger
joint as a dovetail
and assemble it in the same
way. For a small box, pretend
that the front and back have
tails and the sides have pins.
Put the glue only on the long-
grain surfaces of the “tails”
and slide those parts directly
into the “pins.” Not a single
drop of glue will make it to the
inside. Like dovetails, finger
joints are usually designed
to need planing and sanding
to level the outside surfaces,
so you’ll get rid of the glue
Just like dovetails. Designate two opposite sides Push straight down. As with the dovetails,
of a finger-jointed box as having tails and the other squeeze-out at that time. push the glued part of the joint onto the dry one
two sides as having pins. Then apply glue just to to force surplus glue to the outside of the joint.
the “tails.”

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 41

 Get Sharp–Fast
Lie-Nielsen’s sharpening expert shares a surefire method
for getting a keen edge every time
B y D e n e B P u c h a l s k i

42 FINE woodworkING Photos: Steve Scott; drawings: Jim richey

 A N ALL-IN-ONE HONING STATION
A board with multiple reference stops is a great way to set honing
angles reliably. This compact jig also supports your sharpening
stones. The measurements shown give approximate angles for most side-
clamping honing guides. For best results, set your own stop distances as shown below.

Cabinet-grade
All screws are plywood,
countersunk. ½ in. thick by
10 in. wide by
Hardwood strips 12 in. long
(stone holder),
3 ⁄ 8 in. thick by 5 ⁄ 8 in.

wide by 6 in. long

Stone-holder opening, Lanyard keeps

Hardwood strips 81 ⁄ 8 in. (size to fit shim from
(stops), 3 ⁄ 8 in. thick by your stones) getting lost.
1 in. wide by 2 in. long

F or many woodworkers, sharp-

ening plane irons and chisels
is an intimidating and frus-
trating task. I’ve traveled the country
teaching and demonstrating sharp-
21 ⁄ 8 in.
Brass screws, 3 ⁄4 in.

ening and hand-tool techniques for

Lie-Nielsen Toolworks for the past
nine years, and I’ve met plenty of
woodworkers who struggle to get
a consistently sharp edge on their
tools and are convinced that sharp-
ening is beyond their reach. 15 ⁄ 8 in. 15 ⁄16 in.
1 in. ⁄ in.
Sharpening doesn’t have to be difficult 11 16

and mysterious. The method I’ll show you

combines ideas I’ve picked up over 25 years Shim, 1 ⁄ 8 in. thick by
Hardwood cleat, 1 ⁄ 2 in. thick
of working with hand tools. I’ve demon- by 3 ⁄4 in. wide by 10 in. long, 11 ⁄ 4 in. wide by 2 in. long
strated it countless times. attached to bottom
The heart of this approach is a collection
of simple tools: a $15 side-clamping hon- SET YOUR OWN ANGLES
ing guide, a supply of sandpaper in several To locate a stop
grits, 1,000- and 8,000-grit waterstones (or at the correct
a combination stone if you like), a thin distance for a
metal ruler, and a shopmade stop board given angle,
that will help you quickly and reliably set place an iron
the correct honing angle every time. With in the honing
guide and use a
these tools, you can handle the most com-
protractor to set
mon sharpening tasks—honing, grinding, the angle. Then,
and repairs—for every kind of blade. butt the guide
Using this method, you’ll get a truly sharp against the
edge, allowing your tools to cut more board and place
cleanly and efficiently with less effort. the stop against
the iron’s edge.
Use brass screws
Start with a time-saver: The ruler trick Shim adjusts angles. The
to secure the
Many woodworkers buy a high-end hand- stop parallel to ⁄ -in.-thick shim adds about 2º
18

plane with the idea that their woodworking the edge. to shallower angles and up to 5º
will get better. It’s true that a better tool to steeper ones.

JULY/AUGUST 2010 43
 A new blade only needs honing
HONE JUST THE TIP OF THE BACK

Why I like
waterstones
You can use this technique with any
abrasive. I like waterstones, 1,000 and
8,000 grit, specifically the new Shap-
ton glass-backed stones. These stones
cut aggressively but have a ceramic Tiny ruler is a huge time saver. Lift-
binder holding the stone together, so ing the iron’s back off the stone lets
they only need to be spritzed with water. you polish only a thin band at the cut-
ting edge, instead of the entire back.
Don’t soak them as you would a regular
The work is done with just 10 to 20
waterstone; they will soften and can be passes on an 8,000-grit stone.
ruined. You may also want a 4,000-grit
stone for occasionally lapping the back
makes for a less frustrating experience.
of a plane iron or chisel. Keep your
But although you may think a new plane
stones flat for consistent results. This
is ready to go right out of the box, think
is easily done by lapping frequently with
again. Even a new tool should be sharp-
a coarse wet-or-dry paper (150 to 220 ened before you put it to wood.
grit) on a flat reference plate, granite or A brand new, high-quality plane iron
glass, or a coarse diamond lapping plate should have a flat back. If it doesn’t, or
(45 to 55 micron). Also, be sure to wipe if you’re working with an older iron, flat-
off the roller of your honing guide before tening is a must. Fortunately, this should
switching stones, to avoid transferring take no more than 5 or 10 minutes us-
grit from one to another. ing the sandpaper technique shown on
p. 46. Your goal is not a high polish but
simply a flat back with no heavy milling
marks running to the cutting edge. This is It’s more efficient to create a small, steeper
Keep your stones because, once I have the back flat, I use secondary bevel right at the cutting edge.
flat. Lap your sharpen- David Charlesworth’s ruler trick to create a For the most common primary bevel of
ing stones often with subtle bevel on the blade’s back. The ruler 25°, a secondary bevel of 30° works well.
a diamond plate or
trick puts the honed surface at the cutting I use steeper angles with scraper planes,
coarse wet/dry sand-
paper on a flat surface. edge where it belongs and eliminates the as well as bevel-up tools for working in
Do this often and it will tedium of polishing the entire back. hard, highly figured woods. The harder the
be less work each time. Here’s how it works: Place a thin metal wood, the higher the angle.
ruler (0.020 in. thick or less) on one side
of the 8,000-grit stone. Now place the back How to find and hold the right angle
of the blade on the ruler and lower the To hone the secondary bevel, I use a hon-
blade’s tip onto the stone. Work it up and ing guide. Some woodworkers call this
down until you can see an even mirror cheating. As someone who learned long
polish about 1⁄ 32 in. wide, from corner ago to sharpen freehand, I say it’s not. A
to corner, at the edge of the blade. Now honing guide holds the blade at a con-
you’re ready to hone the bevel. sistent angle as you work the edge and
The typical bevel-down smoothing plane move from stone to stone. The second-
blade comes with a primary bevel of about ary bevel remains flat, and each succes-
25°. There’s no need to hone the entire sive grit reaches all the way to the tip of
primary bevel to get a sharp edge, though. the edge.

44 FINE WOODWORKING
SAME GOES FOR THE BEVEL
Honing on the 1,000-grit stone removes a
narrow band of metal near the cutting
edge. A few passes on the 8,000-grit
stone creates the highly
polished surface needed
for a sharp edge.

1
This should take only a minute. Use
the 30° stop on the board to set the
iron in the honing guide (1). Four or five
passes on the 1,000-grit stone should
be enough to raise a burr on the iron’s
I use a simple, side-clamping honing back (2). Take a handful of passes on
guide. To set the angle consistently, I con- the 8,000-grit stone to create a highly
polished narrow band at the tip (3).
structed a stop board (see drawing, p. 43),
Finally, repeat the ruler trick to remove
which consists of a plywood base and sev- any remaining burr on the back (4). 2
eral stops to set the blade a certain distance
from the front of the guide. The shorter the
distance, the steeper the honing angle. My
board has stops for five common angles:
25°, 30°, 35°, 40°, and 45°. I also use a
1⁄ 8-in. shim to increase an angle at any of

the stops. With a long projection like 25° to

30°, 1⁄ 8 in. represents roughly a 2° increase
in angle. With a short projection like 45°,
the same 1⁄ 8 in. represents about 5°.

Honing takes less than a minute 3 4

Set the blade to the correct angle and
tighten the guide so the blade won’t shift.
Begin with the 1,000-grit stone, working easily on the 8,000-grit stone by placing ex- Test the edge. Replace
back and forth and applying even pres- tra pressure on the narrower side with just the iron and set it for a
sure. After four or five passes, you should a few more strokes. As a final step, remove light cut. See-through
be able to see and feel a burr or “wire the blade from the honing guide and touch shavings should be
the result.
edge” on the back of the blade. This burr up the back using the ruler trick to fully
indicates that you have removed the dulled remove any burr that is still present.
edge and it’s time to change stones.
Before sharpening on the 8,000-grit Grinding without a grinder
stone, wipe off the roller wheel of the hon- With repeated honings, the
ing guide so that you don’t transfer grit secondary bevel will
from stone to stone. To ease off some of grow wider. When
the burr, take one pass on the blade’s back,
drawing the blade toward you. Now work
the bevel side, taking another four or five
passes. When you see a clean and brightly
polished parallel line right at the blade’s
tip, you are done. However, if you ap-
plied uneven pressure on the blade, the
polish line will be wider at one corner
than the other. This can be corrected

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 45

Ready to regrind?
Sandpaper is safer
Repeated honings will eventually widen the
secondary bevel to the point (as seen below)
that it’s no longer quick and convenient to
hone. Before you reach that point, regrind
the entire surface back to the
original bevel angle and then
re-establish the narrow
secondary bevel.

Set the angle. Most primary bevels are ground

at or near 25°. Puchalski uses sandpaper in
grits ranging from P80 to P400. He attaches
the paper to a flat slab of granite and repeat-
edly works through the grits, taking about 10 to
15 passes over each grit.

it becomes too large, and you’re spending working too long in the same scratch pat-
20 to 30 passes honing on the 8,000-grit tern. It also helps prevent unintentionally
stone, you need to re-establish the primary crowning the blade, which makes honing
bevel. A lot of woodworkers use a grinder difficult. Continue cycling through the grits
for this, but I’ve found that working by until you achieve a consistent and straight
hand on sandpaper is just as fast, won’t bevel at the desired angle. Do not work the
burn the tip and soften the steel, and gives edge down to a point. Stop just short of cre-
me more control. You need a flat, hard ating a burr. You are done when you can see
substrate to attach the sandpaper to. I use a very thin, flat line on the tip of the blade,
granite, but plate glass works too. about 0.01 in. or 0.02 in. thick. A jeweler’s
Re-establishing the primary bevel— loupe can help you see this line. If you are
Use the stop board to set the blade in the having trouble, you can work down until
guide to the correct primary bevel. Attach you feel a very slight burr. With the primary
three or four grits of 3-in.-wide adhesive- bevel re-established, rework the secondary
The primary bevel is
backed paper to the substrate. Take 10 to 15 bevel, starting with the ruler trick. • re-established. At this point,
passes on each grit, switching from a coarse you’re ready to hone the back
(P80 to P180 grit) to a medium (P220), to a Deneb Puchalski is a trade-show representative using the ruler trick and then
fine grit (P400). Switching grits often avoids for Lie-Nielsen Toolworks in Warren, Maine. hone the bevel.

46 FINE WOODWORKING
 Same method for chisels, with a few tweaks

Fix the nicks first. There’s no point in honing

this edge until the nicks have been removed.
Puchalski uses a block of wood to hold the chisel
perpendicular to the sandpaper as he grinds the
edge back to remove the nicks. Then he regrinds
the primary bevel with the chisel in a honing
guide. The same method works for plane blades.

Like new plane blades, chisels

aren’t ready to go right out of the
box. The good news is that this
sharpening method works for chis-
els, too. The bad news is that the
ruler trick won’t work. You need to
flatten (on sandpaper) and polish
(on stones) the entire back be-
cause it serves as a reference for
paring and other fine work.
Once the back is flat, mount
the chisel in the honing guide. Its Fitting the chisel in the honing guide. The The angles are different. Chisels ride lower in the hon-
chisel rides in the lower set of jaws. The lower ing guide and project farther out of it. To compensate,
lower position in the guide creates
jaws also hold narrow plane blades. choose a stop that is 5° steeper than your desired angle.
a honing angle that is about 5°
shallower than the marked angles IMPORTANT NOTE!
on your board. So your 30° stop
becomes 25° and so on.
Because I can control the
angle and am not removing much
material, I work the entire face of
the primary bevel on the 1,000-grit
stone, then hone a secondary
bevel a few degrees steeper on the
8,000-grit stone. Use the 1⁄ 8-in.
shim to increase the angle. I avoid
sandpaper grinding unless I get a
heavy nick in the edge. Avoid the ruler trick with chisels. Once
Honing in two steps. Puchalski works the you’re done honing, take a couple of passes
entire face of the bevel on the 1,000-grit on the back to remove the burr. Keep the
stone, then hones a secondary bevel a few back flat on the stone.
degrees steeper on the 8,000-grit stone.

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 47

A Solid Drawer Bottom
Is Worth the Effort
Plywood is easier, but it can leave a hollow feeling
B Y G A R R E T T H A C K

48 FINE WOODWORKING Photo, this page: Michael Pekovich; drawings: John Tetreault
P lywood is popular for drawer bottoms because it’s
easy, but I think a solid bottom is better and more ap-
pealing. Solid wood is plenty strong, and it’s definitely
more attractive. Solid wood is also easy to customize: You
can use thicker, stiffer stock for heavy drawers, or very thin,
bottom will expand and contract seasonally—as much
as 1⁄ 8 in. with a large drawer. I deal with this movement
in several ways. First off, I don’t use glue, and I bevel
the edges so the bottom can float in the grooves that
house it. I also run the grain from side to side. Run-
light stock for the smallest ones. You can use a wide variety ning the grain this way ensures that movement takes
of woods, and some, like cedar, have the bonus of a wonder- place from front to back, so the bottom doesn’t shrink
ful aroma. Last but not least, a smoothly planed solid-wood and fall out of the grooves. By making the groove in
bottom attracts far less dirt than sanded plywood. the drawer front deeper (40% of total thickness) than
I must admit, I’ve repaired many solid-wood drawer in the sides, additional movement is accommodated
bottoms that were split and falling out. Were the drawers there. Last, I use quartersawn stock, which is more
overloaded, were the bottoms too thin, or was seasonal stable than flatsawn material.
movement not considered? It’s tough to say, but building a There are a few other important tricks: The drawer
solid-wood drawer bottom that can last through the ages is back is shorter than the sides, stopping at the top of
no more difficult than fitting a panel to a frame. In this ar- the grooves. This allows me to slide in the bottom after
ticle, I’ll explain how I make and fit a basic drawer bottom the drawer box is assembled. That gives me one less
and show a few variations for large and small drawers. part to deal with during glue-up, and makes the bottom
repairable. It also gives me another chance to fine-tune
Anticipate wood movement the bottom or better match a curved front.
When building with solid wood, it’s impor- On antique drawers, the bottom is usu-
tant to remember that a wide ally nailed up into the back (one
panel like a drawer cause of splitting). Today,

A SOLID
APPROACH
The grain
is oriented
side to side.

Drawer front

The bottom is
housed in grooves
in the drawer sides
and front.

Slightly oversize
The drawer back is screw holes
shorter than the sides, allow seasonal
allowing the bottom to movement.
slide in after the drawer Bottom is
box is assembled. beveled to fit
groove.

Groove
should be
1 ⁄ 8 in. wide

or less, and
about 3 ⁄16 in.
deep, or no
deeper than
40% of the ⁄ in. to
14
side or front ⁄ in.
38
thickness.

A thick drawer bottom works best with a bevel ⁄ in.

18

between 1 in. and 1½ in. wide, while thinner minimum For dovetailed drawers,
bottoms should have a bevel between 5 ⁄ 8 in. and position the groove so
¾ in. wide. that it avoids the pins.

JULY/AUGUST 2010 49
Solid bottoms, step by step
1. PrePare the blank
Hack resaws his drawer bottoms out of 8/4 stock for the
best yield. He prefers quartersawn because its vertical grain
means less seasonal movement. After gluing up the panel,
a few passes with a fine-tuned handplane over the top and
bottom produce a glassy-smooth surface that attracts less
dirt than sanded surfaces.

2. bevel th e edges
Use a pencil and a combination
square to lay out the bottom’s
three-sided bevel. When he’s
making only one or two drawers,
Hack uses handplanes to make the
bevel, starting with a block plane
and finishing with a smoother
(in production mode, he uses the
tablesaw). A test block with a groove
matched to the drawer groove is a fast
and accurate way to check the bevel
thickness. Making a final check with
a second block is a good idea, as the
groove in the first will widen with use.

50 FINE woodworkINg Photos, except where noted: Patrick McCombe

I often see screws set in slots. The theory is
that the slot allows for front-to-back move-
ment, but I don’t believe it works this way.
Any weight in the drawer causes the screw
head to dig in, preventing slippage.
My method is to place two screws (or
three for especially wide drawers) in
slightly oversize holes without slots. This
allows the back to flex outward if the bot-
tom expands, which might happen with
large drawers. The deeper groove in the
drawer front allows for shrinkage and ex-
pansion. Making sure your wood is suit-
ably dry minimizes shrinkage problems.

The drawer groove matters, too

The details of the side groove—its loca-
tion, width, and depth—are very important
engineering aspects of building a good
drawer. Together with the screws into the
back, it supports much of the weight in the
drawer. The deeper and larger the groove,
the more you weaken the side; the lower
down it is, the less support it gives the bot-
tom (this wood breaking away is another
typical drawer repair). Beveling the bot- 3. ALLOW FOR MOVEMENT
tom is an elegant solution, which puts the
Dividing the space into thirds, Hack uses a
groove high yet the bottom as low in the
pair of screws to secure the drawer bottom
drawer as is practical. I use a fine bevel in
to the back of the box. The holes in the
a narrow groove; it’s very strong. drawer bottom are slightly oversize to allow
Like the front, the depth of the side for some seasonal movement. A deep
grooves should be about 40% of the side groove in the drawer front accommodates
thickness. I cut the groove in a single pass the rest (see below).
on the tablesaw with a standard-kerf blade,
or a thin-kerf blade for smaller drawers.
I sometimes use a dado blade for large
drawers. I think about the position of the
groove when laying out the dovetails, so as
not to cut through a pin later, which would
make the groove visible on the outside of
the drawer. I also want at least 1 ⁄ 8 in. of
clearance under the drawer bottom, so it ROOM TO MOVE
won’t ever drag against the case. For large If you combine a deeper groove (5 ⁄16 in.) in the
drawers where flexing of the bottom is a drawer front and screws with oversize holes at
concern, I put the groove slightly higher. the rear, the solid-wood bottom can expand and
contract without rattles or splits.
Soft woods work best
My favorite woods for bottoms are soft-
woods or softer hardwoods, because they Deeper groove Oversize
are easy to work, stable, lightweight but at front screw hole
strong, and generally have low shrinkage.
White pine, white or red cedar, basswood,
aspen, and poplar are all good choices. But
hardwoods such as oak, cherry, or maple are
fine, too. While breaking a drawer bottom

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 51

 is unlikely, a heavy load could flex it
enough so it drags on the runners below it.
But because woods vary, I have no rule of
thumb for how thick to make a bottom. A
large dresser drawer might have one 3⁄ 8 in.
thick; a small drawer needs a bottom 1⁄4 in.
thick, maybe less. One advantage of a solid
bottom is you can make it any thickness. So
when I am planing materials for bottoms,
I’ll flex the wood as I go to sense how
stiff it is. When glued together in a panel
and supported by the grooves all the way
around, the bottom will be stiffer still.

Making and fitting bottoms

For me, making drawer bottoms begins on
the bandsaw; it is an unforgivable waste
of time and wood to plane down a 3⁄4-in.-
thick board. I find that 8/4 stock is the most
efficient choice, typically yielding four or
six pieces. Quartersawn stock is never very

Wide drawers need a center divider

Drawers wider than about 28 in. should have a center divider to prevent sagging. The
front of the divider is attached with a dovetail and a pair of screws; the rear of the
divider is simply notched over the back and secured with screws.

Divider is dovetailed
and screwed to
drawer front.

Divider is
notched and Center divider, ¾ in.
screwed to thick by 1¼ in. wide, is
drawer back. grooved on each side.

Dovetail the front, notch the back. Hack

dovetails the center divider into the front (top).
After confirming that the drawer box is square,
Hack centers the divider on the drawer back,
then glues and screws it in place (bottom).

52 FINE WOODWORKING
wide, so I glue up my bottoms from pieces.
As I send them through the planer, some
clean up faster than others, so I put the
Use slips for thin sides
When the drawer sides are too thin for a groove of reasonable depth, Hack
thicker ones into one pile, the slightly thin-
simply adds a strip of wood, called a slip, to the sides. The extra thickness
ner ones in another, and so forth. I often accommodates the groove and doubles the wear surface on the drawer sides.
use the various thicknesses as graduated
bottoms for graduated drawers.
Once glued into panels and cut to size Slip is glued to drawer
(to length but slightly wide for now), I side, aligned with Drawer side
groove in front.
handplane the top surface smooth. This
becomes my reference surface for beveling
Slip
the bottom edges. I plane each bevel to a
snug fit in a groove run on a scrap piece
earlier. The bevel should almost bottom
out in the groove, just as the bottom will
fit into the actual drawer.
The last steps are to plane the underside
and cut it to width. I leave the bottom a bit
long at the back so that the screws into the
back have plenty of wood around them. If I
need to get the bottom out once it is in place
(to tweak the squareness of the drawer), I
drop the drawer, back down, on the edge
of my bench. Last, I screw the back edge to
the back, well in from the sides.
Wide drawers—The Gamble House in
Pasadena, Calif., has a pantry drawer over
5 ft. wide. A single bottom won’t work in a
drawer this wide—it will flex too much and Notch slip to fit
drawer back.
eventually fail. Better to divide the bottom
into panels partially supported by a divider
from front to back. It’s essentially a modi-
fied frame-and-panel design.
The front of this divider is
dovetailed into the front,
and the back is screwed
to the back. It’s even more
efficient if the divider also
becomes a center guide for
the drawer.

Use slips for thin sides

The English love very fine
drawer sides. I do, too. I’ve
made pieces with drawer
sides as thin as 3⁄16 in. Gen-
erally speaking, these sides
Add the slip after as-
are too thin for a groove that can house sembly. A small notch
the bottom. The solution is to glue small toward the rear of the
grooved slips of wood to the bottom edges slip accommodates the
of the sides. The slips support the bottom, drawer back, while easing
and the added thickness at the bottom the inside edge produces
edge of the sides doubles their wearing a clean, finished look.
Gluing even the shortest
surface and longevity. I make up the slips
slips will require a sur-
separately, and glue them into place once prising number of clamps
the drawer box is assembled. • (right) because the mate-
rial is thin.
Garrett Hack is a contributing editor.

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 53

 T O O L TE ST

Air Filters
Clear the air and protect your lungs
B Y E R I C W . C O N S T A N S

W ood dust can cause health problems ranging from

nasal irritation to bronchitis to cancer, so you should
take steps to protect yourself from those hazards.
The first step is attaching all of your machines and as many
power tools as possible to a dust-collection system. You also
should wear a dust mask when sanding or producing fine
dust in some other way.
A third step that many woodworkers take is to hang
an air filter in their shop. However, some have chal-
lenged the effectiveness of these units. One manu-
facturer of dust-collection systems—who doesn’t
sell air filters—claims that air filters at best do
not improve the quality of shop air, and might

54 FINE WOODWORKING Photos: Matt Kenney

Rowan University did the testing
The author, a mechanical engineering professor, designed and performed a simple
but accurate test on the air filters. With the help of some advanced engineering
students, he built a special room, conducted several woodworking tasks—cutting on
the tablesaw, routing, and sanding—and then used an aerosol dust monitor to track
how quickly the filters were able to remove the dust in the air.

They made some

dust. After turning
the air filter to its
highest speed, the
students ripped
MDF at the table-
saw, routed dadoes
in a poplar board,
and sanded a piece
of red oak. They
used the tools in
succession and it Then turned on the meter. The monitor used to track dust
took about seven concentrations detects particles between 0.1 micron and 10
minutes to get microns, so it provided an accurate reading of whether the
through all three. filter was collecting the most harmful dust.

TEST MONITORED SMALLEST

AIR FILTERS CAPTURE DUST QUICKLY
DUST PARTICLES IN THE AIR
10 Constans and the students set up
Powermatic a typical shop space and sealed
Delta the room with foam window seals
Jet and duct tape. Then they used the
Amount of dust in the air (mg/m3)

8
JDS aerosol dust monitor, set up at eye
level, to determine the amount of
General International
dust normally suspended in the air,
6 Control (no filter) and that became the control level
(0). Then, after completing three
typical woodworking tasks, they took
4 a reading once a minute for the first
15 minutes and then once every five
minutes until the dust concentration
in the air returned to the control level.
2
They also ran the test without an air
filter to determine whether the filters
did a better or worse job than just
0 allowing the dust to settle. And they
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
cleaned and vacuumed the room
Time needed to clear dust from air (in minutes) thoroughly after each test.

even make things worse because they don’t catch the smallest amount of sawing, routing, and sanding, and then used scientific
and most harmful dust particles, the ones between 1 micron and equipment to determine how well the air filters collected that dust.
10 microns. Rather, the same manufacturer says, they keep them I discovered not only that they do in fact improve air quality, but
suspended as they circulate the shop’s air. Particles smaller than also that some of them do it very quickly.
1 micron are exhaled as you breathe and are not considered a
health hazard. Air filters get the job done
With this in mind, Fine Woodworking asked me to put several We chose to test ceiling-hung filters, priced between $300 and
air filters to the test. I relied on my training as a mechanical $440, and intended for use in a typical home shop—about
engineer and my experience as a woodworker to develop a test 400 sq. ft. with 8-ft. ceilings. We tested five air filters: the Delta
that was both rigorous and rooted in the conditions we all meet 50-875, the General International Pro Turbo 10-550, the JDS Air-
in the shop. With the help of my students at Rowan University, I Tech 750-ER, the Jet AFS-1000B, and the Powermatic PM1200.
put together a mock shop and generated wood dust via a fixed Grizzly, Laguna Tools, and Penn State Industries also make air

JULY/AUGUST 2010 55
All of the filters performed well
The General International Pro Turbo was the most efficient, needing 15
minutes on average to clean the air. However, all of the units managed
the job in 20 minutes or less, which is impressive.

FEATURES ADD CONVENIENCE

All have remote
controls. Not merely
remote on/off
switches, they let you Delta 50-875
control the fan’s speed
Street price: $415 Source: deltaportercable.com
and how long the unit
stays on. The fan icon Motor: 1 ⁄5 hp Speeds: Three
on Powermatic’s digital Performance: Good
readout spins faster
On average, the Delta needed 20 minutes to clean
as the fan’s speed
the air. Filter changes are only slightly more difficult
increases.
than on the Jet. In terms of noise, it’s in the middle, a
steady hum that’s not as quiet as the JDS or the Jet.
It has a gauge that indicates when the filter needs
changing. As airflow through the filters slows, a needle swings into a
red zone, letting you know it’s time to change the filters. The remote
has one button for power, a second for adjusting the fan’s speed, and
a third for adjusting the timer, which has four settings:
½ hour, 1 hour, 2 hours, and 4 hours.

filters in this range, but they declined to participate in the test. All
of the units tested use two filters to clean incoming air. An outer
filter traps dust 5 microns and larger, while an inner, pocketed
filter collects dust down to 1 micron.
After all of our testing was completed, it was clear that these
Gauge tells you when to change the filter. The Delta, air filters do in fact clear the air of wood dust, as all of the units
Powermatic, and General International have some kind of were able to get the air back to the pre-test level in 20 minutes
indicator to tell you when the filter needs changing. On the or less. Also, it was clear that having no filter is worse, as it took
others, you’ll have to make a visual check, which isn’t hard.
more than 35 minutes for the dust to settle when no filter was
present. And with no filter, even after settling, the dust was still in
the shop, waiting to be stirred up and put back in the air.
However, when it came time to pick a winner, we looked at
more than just how quickly these units cleaned the air. Since they
should be left running for a while after you turn off your power
tool or machine, we also considered how much noise they made.
None of the units were so loud as to require hearing protection,
but noise is noise. The JDS and the Jet were the least annoying.
On filter changes, the Jet edged out the other air cleaners. Its outer
filter is held in place by two easy-to-work clips, and the inner
filter is easy to remove, too.
After all was said and done, the Jet AFS-1000B was our pick
for best overall. It cleaned the air nearly as fast as the General
International, but it is quieter and has easier filter changes. And
as the least-expensive unit tested, it’s also the best value. •
Two-stage filtering. The outer filter traps dust as small as
5 microns. This is the filter you’ll change most often, but it
is a standard size, available for under $20. The inner filter Eric W. Constans has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and is
collects dust down to 1 micron. It is more expensive, and the chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rowan University
available from the manufacturer. in Glassboro, N.J.

56 FINE WOODWORKING
General International JDS Air-Tech 750-ER
Pro Turbo 10-550 Street price: $340 Source: jdstools.com
Street price: $430 Source: general.ca Motor: ¼ hp Speeds: Three
Motor: 1 ⁄8 hp Speeds: One Performance: Good
Performance: Excellent The JDS needed 20 minutes on average to clean the
The Pro Turbo cleaned the air the fastest, air, but it is the quietest. The outer filter slides out
needing only 15 minutes on average. However, there is a noticeable the side, which is unique, but not a real advantage.
whirl noise made by the fan. It’s just enough to become a nuisance The inner filter also comes out the side, but only after
when the unit is running in an otherwise quiet shop. And because the you remove a thumbscrew. A diffusion filter on the
fan has only one speed, you can’t turn on a lower speed to lessen the exhaust side lessens turbulence and, according to
noise. Filter changes are not difficult, but they are not as easy as on the manufacturer, improves filtration. This unit has
the Jet. A light indicator tells you when the filters need to be cleaned. the second-best remote. You can use it to power the
The remote allows you to turn the machine on and off and to set the machine on and off, control the fan speed, and set the
timer, which can be set in increments of one hour, up to 15 hours. timer in one-hour increments between one and four.

Powermatic PM1200
Jet AFS-1000B Street price: $350 Source: powermatic.com
Motor: ¼ hp Speeds: Three
Street price: $300 Source: jettools.com Performance: Very good
Motor: 1 ⁄5 hp Speeds: Three
The Powermatic cleaned the air in 17 minutes on
Performance: Excellent
average. Unfortunately, the fan has an annoying
The Jet cleaned the air second fastest, taking an average of 16 whine at high speed, and filter changes are a bother,
minutes to return the air to the control level. In addition to its stellar because removing the grill covering the end requires
performance, its filters are the easiest to change and it is second too much effort. It has a filter for diffusing exhaust
only to the JDS Air-Tech 750-ER in terms of noise. The remote has a air and a small indicator light on the control panel that lets you
button for turning the machine on and off, one for adjusting the fan’s know when the filters need changing. The remote is the best. There
speed, and one for setting the timer, which can be set to two, four, or are three buttons: one for power, one for fan speed, and one for the
eight hours. This machine does not have an indicator for when the timer, which can be set by increments of one hour, up to nine hours.
filters need to be changed, but a quick look at them will tell if they
are dirty.

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 57

 Better Way to
Dovetail cleat is strong

FLAT CLEAT
Simply a board with beveled edges, this
cleat is easier to make than the shouldered
version (facing page), but can’t be very tall.
It works well with a base that has four legs.

TAPER THE DOVETAIL

FOR EASY ASSEMBLY
With the table base Slot and dovetail cleat taper
1 ⁄16 in. in width from one end
attached to the cleats,
assembly would be to the other.
devilish if the cleats and
slot were not tapered
a bit. It’s not hard to
do. Most of the work is
done with machines, and Tabletop
handwork brings the taper
to a perfect fit. Dovetail slot

Dovetail cleat

58 FINE WOODWORKING Photos, this spread: John Waldie

Attach Tabletops
and stylish B Y A N D R E W H U N T E R

T he sliding dovetail joint is not a modern invention. Ex-

amples are found in furniture dating back over 500 years,
and I suspect the joint’s origins go back into ancient his-
tory. But I use this joint to secure tabletops to their bases. The
dovetailed cleats keep a solid-board top flat, and they also allow
to wood movement, you can tap it back home or remove and shim
it if necessary. I’ve never had to do either because I start off with
very dry wood and use quartersawn lumber for the cleat.
I prefer this joint to slotted screws or steel brackets. When you
put so much time and care into the base and top, it makes sense
for expansion and contraction. And by leaving them exposed, I to put that same care into joining the two, without relying on
make them part of the design. mechanical devices.
A taper along the length of the cleat and slot makes for a tight- I use two types of tapered sliding dovetails to secure tabletops:
fitting joint. The farther you slide the cleat into its slot, the tighter shouldered and unshouldered, depending on the design. Most of
the joint. This taper eliminates the precision needed to fit a straight the work for an unshouldered cleat is done on the tablesaw, and
cleat and the need for glue. With no glue, you can remove the I make the shouldered cleats on the router table. The key to a
base from the top if needed, and if the fit of the cleat loosens due tight-fitting joint is matching the taper of the cleat with the taper of

shouldered cleat
A shouldered cleat can be much taller and
narrower, so it can be profiled and used as
the top member of a trestle-style base.

July/AugusT 2010 59
 For either type of cleat, rout the slot first
LAY OUT 115⁄16 in. ⁄
1 16 in.
THE TAPER
Hunter begins
by marking
a centerline
for each slot,
and then lays
out the sides,
marking the
1 ⁄16-in. taper

down the length

of one side.

Centerline

90º

Straight
edge
2 in. Tapered edge

the slot, then fine-tuning the fit with a handplane. For shouldered
cleats, you typically would need a specialized dovetail plane to
adjust the tapered shoulder directly, but I figured out that a piece TIP Clear
the waste.
of wood taped to the edge of the cleat lets you use a router and Before rout-
then a bench plane instead. ing the slot,
Begin by gluing up the solid-wood tabletop, making sure it is take a few
straight and true. A sliding dovetail cleat can straighten a slight passes with a
cup in a top, but correcting twist is difficult. circular saw,
set to depth, to
make it easier
Cut the tapered slot for the router to
It’s easiest to rout the tapered dovetail slot in the underside of go through the
the tabletop, and then create the cleat and tweak it to fit. For wood.
both shouldered and unshouldered joints, the slots are made
with a handheld router and clamped straightedges. First, draw

SAW AND ROUT THE SLOT

Three passes to a
clean slot. Hunter cuts
one edge of the slot, re-
sets the straightedge to
waste away the center,
Straightedge keeps router in line. A and resets it again to cut
solid-wood straightedge clamped to the the other edge.
tabletop guides a hand-held router.

60 FINE WOODWORKING Drawings: Vince Babak

 Unshouldered cleat is quick and easy
To make an unshouldered cleat, use the tablesaw to cut one untapered edge, and a jig on the tablesaw to
cut the tapered edge. Then fine-tune the fit. Because the angled edge is wide and flat, it is easy to use a
bench plane to tweak the taper to the perfect fit.

Tablesaw cuts both edges of cleat. Cut

the straight side of the cleat on the table-
saw with the blade tilted (above). Then use
a simple L-shaped jig with a 1 ⁄16-in. shim
between the jig and cleat to cut the tapered
side of the cleat (right), and tweak the fit
with a handplane.

MAKE A TAPERING JIG FOR THE TABLESAW

a centerline for each slot, making sure they Use double-stick tape
are parallel to one another and square to the to attach a 1 ⁄16-in.-thick
shim between fence and
table edges. Then lay out the sides, marking cleat to create taper.
the taper down the length of one edge.
Straight
Using a dovetail bit and a clamped straight- fence
edge, rout a test piece to determine the exact
distance from the straightedge to the inside
and outside edges of the slot. Transfer these
measurements to the underside of the top, Stop screwed
clamp the straightedge along those lines, and to fence
then rout.
Cleat
How to make the cleats
To make an unshouldered cleat, begin with
stock 6 in. longer than the width of the table-
top. This extra length helps when fitting the cleat to the slot. that edge of the cleat along the fence, cutting to the layout line.
Lay out the joint on the blank, centering it in its length. With To cut the tapered shoulder, handplane the desired taper onto
the tablesaw blade tilted to match the angle of the dovetail slot, a long stick, and attach it to the edge of the cleat. Run this edge
cut the straight edge of the cleat. Then, using a simple taper- along the router-table fence. Creep up on the cleat’s fit, testing it
ing jig (above), cut the tapered edge of the cleat to match the in the slot as you go. The joint can be fine-tuned by handplaning
tapered edge of the slot. Handplane the taper to get an exact fit the stick and rerouting until the tapers match exactly and the cleat
in the slot. After waxing, drive it home and mark and cut its fin- can be driven to the far end of the tabletop. The extra length of
ished length. the cleat comes in handy here. Now wax both the slot and the
To make the shouldered dovetail cleat, begin as with an un- cleat and drive it home. Remove the tapered stick and cut the
shouldered cleat, with a blank longer than the table is wide. Now cleat to length. •
lay out the dovetail, centering it on the cleat and tapering one
edge 1⁄16 in. over the same length as the slot. Cut the dovetail Andrew Hunter designs and builds custom furniture in his studio
shoulders on the router table. For the straight shoulder, simply run in Gardiner, N.Y.

Photos, except where noted: Anissa Kapsales JULY/AUGUST 2010 61

 Rout the shouldered cleat
The shouldered cleat uses the same concept as the unshouldered cleat, but the dovetail is best made at
the router table, with a simple stick attached to create just the right taper. Start by routing the straight
side of the dovetail, and then proceed as follows to cut and fit the tapered side.

TAPER AN AUXILIARY STICK ROUT THE DOVETAIL

Plane the
taper. Draw Router-table fence
the 1 ⁄16-in.
taper along
the side fac- Tapered stick
es of a ¾-in.-
square stick Workpiece
and simply
handplane to
the lines.

Attach the
tapered
stick to the
cleat. Use
double-sided
tape to en- Run the tapered stick against the
sure it stays Dovetail
router bit router-table fence. This automatically
attached to builds the taper into the dovetail
the cleat dur- shoulder on the cleat.
ing routing.

FINE-TUNE THE FIT

Test-fit the cleat in the slot. You can check the accuracy of the taper by
inserting the cleat and lifting the front and back. If either pulls away from the
top, it is loose in that spot. Plane a shaving off the stick in the tighter area and
rerout.

62 FINE WOODWORKING
 A Woodworker’s Guide to
Photography
Take great furniture photos
with the camera you already own
B Y M I C H A E L P E K O V I C H

Same camera, very different results. The harsh gleam of on-camera

flash puts your work in an unflattering light (left). A professional-looking
image (below) is much easier and less expensive than you might think.

FROM THIS...

T en years ago, if you had

asked me how to get
good photos of your
work, I’d have told you to hire
a pro. Not today. With simple
lighting and a digital camera,
you can use pro techniques to
take great pictures.
This is possible largely be-
cause a digital camera’s display
screen provides instant feed-
back that lets you craft a shot
step by step. Also, even a basic
digital camera has all the image
sharpness you’ll need to create
eye-catching photos of your
work for the Web, or for printed
photo albums, post cards, etc.
Getting started is easy. From
camera setup to lighting to
fine-tuning a shot, I’ll share a
stripped-down version of the
process we use at FWW to get
magazine-ready pictures.
Why do so many pictures of
great furniture turn out badly?
The three basic components of ...TO THIS
a shot are the camera angle, the

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 63

A short equipment list background, and the lighting. Most home photos fall
down in all three. Taking a picture of a piece from a
few feet away using an on-camera flash will typically
CAMERA yield a distorted shot with harsh glare, dark shadows,
The type of digital camera you have is not and a distracting background. The fix is simple: First,
as important as how you use it. For this set the furniture on a white backdrop. Second, move
article, Pekovich used a typical point- the camera back and put it on a tripod so you can turn
and-shoot: the Nikon Coolpix. off your flash. Then add a couple of utility
Most cameras have enough lights to create natural shadows and you’re
resolution and the important well on your way to a great shot.
features that you’ll need: a
tripod mount and a flash system that you Set the scene and read the camera’s manual
can turn off.
Work in a place where you have enough room to ar-
range the camera and lights. A garage or shop is fine;
LIGHTS a living room can work if you move the other furniture
The single biggest improvement you can make in out of the way. To remove background clutter and to
your photos will come from avoiding the on-camera isolate the piece of furniture, place it on backdrop, or
flash. At the magazine, we use a set of high-powered seamless, paper. Pull out enough paper for the piece
strobes. Another option is an inexpensive hot-light to sit on, with a gradual curve where the paper meets
system in which the lamps stay on continuously. the floor. This creates a subtle gradation and pleasing
For this article, Pekovich used two halogen work shadows in the photo’s background.
lights available from any home center for around Now move the piece into place. A good rule is to
$70. Add another $20 or so for some heat-resistant angle the furniture to the camera so that the front
diffusion sheets (Rosco 105 Tough-spun filter, $6.50
and one side are visible, with emphasis on the front.
for a 20x24 sheet at bhphotovideo.com) to soften
Place the camera roughly at eye level—the height from
the light, and a couple of pieces of white foam-core
poster board to use as reflectors. which furniture is normally viewed. This is also a good
time to set your camera’s controls for the best quality
shot. Start by turning off the built-in flash and adjusting
the ISO setting to its lowest level. The ISO controls the
camera’s sensitivity to light; a higher setting requires
less light but yields grainier pictures.
For sharp focus throughout the image, the lens open-
ing, or f-stop, should be as small as possible. But
most point-and-shoot cameras won’t let you control
the f-stop setting manually. Instead, they offer preset
TRIPOD “shooting modes,” a combination of flash, ISO, shutter
Even with a couple of brilliant halogen speed, and f-stop preferences. Your camera’s manual
bulbs shining on your work, you won’t should tell you which of these preset modes empha-
have as much light as with a flash system. sizes depth of field—the amount of the image that will
That’s why a tripod is crucial. Its most
be in focus. Landscape mode, often represented by a
basic function is to hold the camera still,
mountain-and-cloud icon, is typically a good choice.
which lets the shutter stay open longer
without resulting in a blurry picture. This A small lens opening means the shutter must stay
lets you take advantage of lower light open longer, increasing the chance of blur from a
sources that would normally result in shaky camera. To avoid shakes, set the camera on a
under-exposed pictures. tripod and use the camera’s electronic timer to avoid
vibrations caused by depressing the shutter button.
The last function to check is the white balance. Every
light source, from daylight to fluorescent to incandes-
BACKDROP cent, has a different color cast. The camera’s white-
Another way to dramatically improve your furniture balance circuitry tries to adjust for the particular light
photos is to shoot against a seamless paper source you are using to render colors accurately. Most
backdrop to eliminate background distractions. cameras have preset options for various light sourc-
Rolls of backdrop paper are inexpensive and readily
es as well as an automatic setting usually identified
available in a variety of colors; white, gray, and light
as AWB. This automatic setting is probably the best
neutrals are the most versatile. A 9-ft. by 36-ft.
backdrop ($40 from bhphotovideo.com) should choice unless your camera lets you create a custom
work for most furniture projects and can be easily white-balance setting. A custom setting requires taking
suspended from your shop’s ceiling for out-of-the- a picture of a white object positioned under your light-
way storage. Backdrop stands are also available. ing source. Foam-core is perfect for this. The camera

64 FINE WOODWORKING Photos: Steve Scott (action); Michael Pekovich (furniture and details)
 3 steps to a great shot
Place the piece forward
Angle the piece
on the backdrop for
to the camera.
natural shadows.

Backdrop
paper

Position the main

light to one side of
the piece to create
realistic shadows. Place a second,
less powerful light
opposite the main
light to reduce the A backdrop, two lights, and a tripod. Halogen work lamps from a home center pro-
shadows.
Position the camera vide ample light for photography. Diffusion film in front of the bulbs softens the light.
10 to 15 ft. from the Position the main light high, to one side, and slightly in front of the piece.
piece.

STEP 1 POSITION THE CAMER A

Start with the seamless
backdrop. Drape the paper
onto the floor in a gentle
curve; pull out enough to run
underneath the piece with MOVE BACK
TIP
some to spare in front. AND ZOOM IN
Most cameras have
zoom lenses. From
a close distance,
the lens acts like
a wide-angle lens
and creates greater
distortion in a
FROM 3 FT. photo. For example,
a table shot from a
Compose the shot. To avoid short distance will
distorting the proportions of appear to have a
the piece, back up. The im- large top and legs
age should fill the viewfinder that taper inward.
with the lens set toward the Moving the camera
midpoint of its zoom range. back will cause
the lens to act
like a longer angle
lens so the same
table will be more
proportionately
correct. Perspective
distortion can be
corrected in image-
editing programs,
but the less you
begin with, the
easier it is to fix.

FROM 12 FT.

Drawings: Vince Babak JULY/AUGUST 2010 65

 S TEP 2 ADD THE LIGHTS

Add the fill light.

Start with the main light. Tape heat-resistant Position a weaker
diffusion sheets to the halogen light to soften lamp opposite the
its effect (above). Position the main light high, main light to brighten
to one side, and slightly in front of the piece. the deepest shadows.
The upside of “hot lights” (lights that stay on) If it is too bright, it will
is that they let you see how the photo will look. eliminate the shadows
So work in a darkened room to avoid stray and create a “flat”
light (right). photo. Remedy this by
moving the light far-
ther away or aiming it
then analyzes the image and adjusts the away from the subject
white balance. and bouncing it off a
reflector (see Step 3).
You’re in control of the lighting
With the furniture and camera ready, it’s
time to set up the lighting. This is where it
pays to think like a woodworker. Just like
a logical approach to milling parts, cutting joinery, assembly, and
finishing are essential to a successful piece, so is the order of
Online Extra
For more lighting tips and ideas for sharing your
placing the main light, fill light, and reflectors critical to a good photos, go to FineWoodworking.com/extras.
photograph. A well-lit photo is crafted in steps.
The first step is to locate the main light. Start by raising the light
as high as you can. This will mimic a natural light source and
create natural-looking shadows on table overhangs and molded
profiles. For a tall piece, you can aim the light at the ceiling so that
it bounces down. The main light should be slightly in front of the
subject and to one side. This will create shadows that rake at an
angle, to highlight and help define vertical moldings or setbacks.
Position the main light and stand back at the camera to see the
effect. When you think you’re close, snap a test shot. At this point,
the shadows may look quite dark. Don’t worry. Look at where
they fall. For this piece, I want a shadow under the top that looks
natural but doesn’t obscure the drawers. I also want shadows to
help define the shell carving and drawer edge profiles.
Now add the fill light. This should be on the opposite side of
the piece, also slightly in front. It should be less powerful than the
main light, to open up the shadows without eliminating them. If
your fill light is too powerful, just move it back.

Reflections can be both helpful and harmful

Even a properly lit piece can have a problem reflection or two,
with tabletops and polished hardware being common culprits. In Close but not perfect. The high position of the main light creates a
natural-looking shadow below the tabletop and on the shell carving. The
each case, the fix is typically simple and involves positioning a
fill light keeps the shadows from being too dark. What’s not so nice is the
black or white reflector to kill glare or highlight dark areas. • washed-out look of the side and tabletop caused by the reflection of the
backdrop. Also, the hardware looks too dark because it is reflecting the
Michael Pekovich is the art director of Fine Woodworking. back of the darkened room.

66 FINE WOODWORKING
S TE P 3 FI NE-TUNE THE REFLEC TIONS
Defeating glare. The
color and figure of the
lowboy’s top and side
are obscured by the
bright reflection of the
backdrop. A strategi-
cally placed black cloth
and card will cut the
haze and reveal the
wood’s beauty.

Brighten the brass. The polished hardware appears black

because it is reflecting darkened areas of the shop. To make
the brass show, Pekovich uses a piece of white foam-core
poster board as a reflector.

BEFORE AFTER

Keep shooting. With the main shot in the bag, it’s time to think about other views. Pekovich
chose a front-view shot to highlight the clean lines and symmetry of the case, and close-ups of
the shell carving, dovetailed drawers, and drop finial. For each shot, he repeated the process of
positioning the camera, adjusting the lights, and fine-tuning the reflections.

JULY/AUGUST 2010 67
 How to Troubleshoot a
Learn to handle the typical problems
B Y J E F F J E W I T T

A s the technical troubleshooter for my busi-

ness, I’ve been asked to solve just about ev-
ery spray-gun problem imaginable, from a
new gun that just hisses air to an old gun that used
to spray perfectly and now leaves a horrible finish.
The good news is that in most cases, you can diagnose
the cause of the problem by analyzing the spray pattern. In
a few other situations, a slight change in your spraying tech-
nique can help. Even if you’re just considering taking the leap
into spray finishing, knowing how to achieve and maintain
a good spray pattern will give you the confidence you need.
Since all spray guns operate on the same basic principle, it
doesn’t matter whether you have a high-volume, low-pressure
(HVLP) gun or a non-HVLP gun, a turbine-driven system or
a compressor-driven system. When differences exist, I’ll call
them out.
Most of the time some finish comes out of the gun, just not
in a manner to give that thin, even coating that makes spray-
ing so worthwhile. One of the most common problems is
uneven coverage, which leaves a repeating light/dark effect
when the finish dries. You can study the spray pattern with a
light shining through it. If you find this difficult, spray some
dark finish or stain onto cardboard. If you substitute a dark
finish for a clear one just to test the pattern, be sure that it has
a comparable viscosity.

Jeff Jewitt, who runs a finishing-supply company (homesteadfinishing

products.com), writes frequently about finishing for FWW.

Test your gun

You want the gun to
spray an elliptical pattern
consisting of fine, even-
sized droplets (far right).
Most of the time, spraying
clear finish onto cardboard
will give you a legible
spray pattern while the
finish is wet. For an even
clearer pattern, spray
black stain or paint onto
the cardboard as shown in
this article’s test panels.

68 Photos: Mark Schofield; drawings: Vince Babak

Spray Gun
and enjoy carefree spray-finishing

Pattern heavy on one side

T he typical culprit for this is a
plugged or partially clogged air-cap
port. It’s easy to diagnose: Just rotate
the air cap 180° and if the problem side
reverses, then it’s the air cap. Remove
the air cap and soak it in lacquer thin-
ner. Use micro-brushes to clean the
air-cap ports as best you can. The ports One side clogged. To find out if a clogged port on one side
of an air cap is causing the spray pattern to be heavy on one
meet inside the air cap at a 90° angle,
side, rotate the air cap 180° and see if the heavy pattern
so come in from both sides. A blow also changes.
gun that has a protective rubber tip
can be used to blow out the ports, but
wear eye protection in case some thin-
ner splashes out (I speak from painful
experience).
If the pattern does not reverse when you rotate the air cap, then it is the
fluid nozzle that is clogged, causing the spray to veer to one side as it exits
the gun. If you have a gravity gun, you can easily diagnose a partially ob-
structed nozzle by unhooking the air line and pulling the trigger completely
back with solvent or finish in the gun. The liquid should come out in a steady
stream if the nozzle is clear. If you have a compressor-driven pressure cup and
the gun has a cheater valve (an internal air shutoff), simply close the cheater
valve and pull the trigger. Again, the finish/solvent should come straight out
the front. On suction and turbine-driven pressure cups you can’t do this, so Blow out the problem. Air ports have a 90° turn in the
you’ll just have to see if cleaning the nozzle helps. air cap, so the easiest way to clean them is to blow out any
obstruction with compressed air.

Which type of gun do you have?

Spray guns come in two basic designs. Siphon cups (also called suction cups) have
the storage cup under the spray gun, while gravity guns put it on top. To troubleshoot
correctly, you need to know which type you have.

SIPHON CUPS GRAVITY CUPS

In a standard siphon cup, air exiting the front of With the cup on top, gravity alone
the gun creates suction, pulling the finish up into pushes the finish down into the gun.
the gun through a metal tube. With a pressurized Gravity guns range from full-size cups
siphon cup (usually called a pressure cup), the (about 20 to 25 oz.) to detail guns (about
cup is pressurized by an external or internal tube 4 to 5 oz.) used for touchup and small
that diverts a small amount of air from the gun. projects. These small gravity guns don’t use
This pushes the finish up into the gun. All turbine much air (4 cubic feet per minute) and typically
systems use pressurized siphon cups. can be run with a small portable compressor.

JULY/AUGUST 2010 69
Pattern split in the center

Less pressure. If there is no finish

in the center of the spray pattern,
try turning down the air pressure
on the compressor or turbine.

I f there is no finish in the center of the spray pattern, more than

likely the air pressure is too high. Lower it and see if the problem
gets better. On the few turbine models that lack air regulation, switch Adjust the nozzle. If adjusting the air pressure doesn’t solve the
to a smaller fluid nozzle. problem, switching to a smaller fluid nozzle may help.

Pattern heavy in the center

Thin the finish.
If you can’t turn
up the pressure,
try thinning the
finish in 10%
increments.

I f most of the finish is in the center, the air pressure

is too low. If you can adjust the pressure, turn it up.
On a compressor-driven system, turn down the atom-
izing air using either the compressor output regulator
or a secondary supply regulator. This regulator can be
wall-mounted if you have a metal air pipe, or a mini-
regulator attached to the base of the gun. With tur-
bines, all you can do is to turn down the atomizing air
with an air-control valve mounted on or near the base
of the gun. If your turbine has a speed control, you can
adjust it for a slower speed, which reduces the air. If
you can’t adjust the pressure, try thinning the product
or switching to a larger fluid nozzle.

70 FINE WOODWORKING
 You can’t get a Coarse spray pattern
wide fan pattern
I f your dried finish has little dimples all over
it resembling the skin of an orange, you have
O n a suction-feed gun,
try thinning the finish,
or even just spraying some
“orange peel.” Poor atomization (large droplets) is
the main culprit, and this is often easiest to see if
solvent to see if you can the spray pattern is backlit.
get a wide pattern. If that On all compressor-driven guns, try increasing the
doesn’t help, try increasing air pressure and see if the coarse pattern improves.
the atomizing pressure. If both If it doesn’t, you can try thinning the product in
these steps fail, then install a 10% increments until it improves. If neither works,
larger nozzle. try a smaller nozzle.
Though unlikely, both air With a turbine gun, make sure the air control (if
ports on the aircap may be you have one) or the speed control for the turbine is
clogged, so remove and clean opened all the way. If this doesn’t work, try thinning
them as explained earlier. As the material and then switching to a smaller nozzle.
a final cause, the fan-width
adjustment valve assembly
may be damaged or faulty, in
which case you should return
the gun if it is under warranty
or seek out a repair shop. On
gravity and pressure-cup guns,
follow the same sequence of
steps, but don’t increase the
atomizing pressure.

Too much overspray

H VLP systems should limit overspray to 20% to 30% of the finish. If you think you’re
getting more, you can reduce it by turning down the air pressure. Just keep in mind that
when you do this, the finish quality will start to suffer, at some point resulting in the orange-
peel effect described above.

Bounce back.
Old-fashioned
spray guns
created large
amounts of
overspray (right).
Modern HVLP
guns are designed
to avoid this.

Throttle back the air. To reduce overspray,

simply reduce the air pressure. If you build a
dedicated spray booth, consider installing a
combination regulator and air cleaner attached
to the wall (above). The cleaner ensures that no
contaminants reach the finish.

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 71

Dry or rough spray, or no spray at all

I
f the finish feels rough
when it dries, there
are some possible causes common to all
guns. You may not be depositing enough finish: Try Get closer. If you use an HVLP gun more than
slowing down your motion as you spray to leave more finish about 6 in. from the surface, you run the risk of
on the surface. Likewise, the gun may be too far from the surface. The creating a rough surface.
correct distance is 4 in. to 6 in. for HVLP and 6 in. to 8 in. for non-HVLP.
It could be that the overspray is landing on your work after you spray. Use a fan to
remove the overspray. Last, the finish may be drying too fast because it’s hot and dry. Use
a retarder specified by the manufacturer to give the finish a longer time to flow out into a
smooth film.
In extreme circumstances, you may get no finish coming out of the gun. You pull the
trigger and hear air coming through the front but no finish comes out, or it sprays a little
and then stops. All standard siphon and gravity cups have a small vent hole that allows
air to enter the cup to displace the finish volume as it’s pulled out through the fluid noz-
zle. Use a toothpick or micro-brush (see opposite page) to clear the vent hole. If there’s a
fair amount of hardened finish in the hole, soak the top in lacquer thinner, but be sure to
remove any gaskets first.
If that doesn’t work, remove the fluid nozzle and see if it’s clogged. Soak it in lacquer
Slow things down. A finish that dries before it
thinner to soften any dried finish and ream it clean with a micro-brush. Finally check the
can flow out will leave a rough surface. Adding
fluid pickup tube and see if it is clogged. a suitable retarder slows the evaporation and
lets the finish dry smooth.

Clean the splash

guard. The small
pressure vent can
get plugged with
dried finish, inter-
rupting the flow.
Use micro-brushes
in a spray-gun
Trouble in the tube. If the tube cleaning kit to
that pressurizes a pot is clogged, clean the hole.
finish will not fully flow to the gun.
Remove the tube from the base
of the gun and the top of the pot
(above), and then blow through
the tube to see if the check valve
or tube is blocked (below).

Remove dried-on finish. Soaking

gun parts in lacquer thinner is the best
way to remove hardened finish, but
first remove non-metal parts.

72 FINE WOODWORKING
 Regular cleaning prevents most problems
If you are spraying a fast-drying finish such as shellac, solvent-based lacquer, or a water-based
finish, each coat is likely to be 1 to 2 hours apart, so leaving finish in the gun between coats
doesn’t cause problems. However, if the finish needs to dry overnight, or if you change to a
different finish, you should clean the gun.
When you use solvent-based lacquer and shellac, any
new finish in the gun will re-melt any dried finish, so you
typically don’t have to clean the gun thoroughly. Just run
some lacquer thinner or denatured alcohol through it,
depending on the finish.
Finishes that require more diligence in cleaning are
water-based and oil-based products (including latex and oil
paint) because the cleanup solvent won’t remove the dried
finish. Therefore you should clean the gun soon after use.
When cleaning guns that sprayed paints, remove the air cap,
fluid nozzle, and needle so you can clean more thoroughly.
Buy a full cleaning kit. To keep The chart below tells you which solvent works best to A thorough going-over. After
spray guns working properly, a clean the different finish types, or you can check the finish spraying waterborne or oil-based
cleaning kit should contain special container for the proper solvent. Note that some products finishes, guns need to be stripped
brushes and needles to access the require a different cleaner once they have dried. down and thoroughly cleaned right
different parts of the gun. after use.

FOR CLEANUP, MATCH SOLVENT TO FINISH

Finish To rinse/clean To remove dried finish

Shellac Denatured alcohol Denatured alcohol

Solvent lacquer Lacquer thinner Lacquer thinner

Waterborne finishes and latex paint Water followed by denatured alcohol Acetone/lacquer thinner

Oil-based finishes and oil paint Mineral spirits/paint thinner/naphtha Lacquer thinner

Let fluid flow.

Use a large
brush to clean
the main nozzle
in the center
of the air cap
where finish
exits the gun.
Don’t forget
the needle and
nozzle. After
removing the
air cap, unscrew
Air supply. The the nozzle (top),
small holes on and then use a
either side of micro-brush to
the fluid nozzle clean inside it.
supply air that
atomizes the
finish. Clean
them using
thin needles.

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 73

 Stellar Training in
Boston’s North Bennet Street School turns 125
B Y J O N A T H A N B I N Z E N

S
One if by hand. At 125 years
old, Boston’s North Bennet Street teve Brown entered North Bennet Street School’s Cabinet
School (foreground) is roughly half and Furniture Making program in 1988 with one year’s ex-
the age of its famous neighbor, perience in a shop that cranked out thousands of grouting
the Old North Church (back- trowels and street-hockey sticks. The furniture program was, he
ground). says, “a very intimidating place to come into.” Everywhere he
looked were students reproducing some of the most challenging

Then pieces of period furniture ever designed. “The scope of the work
and the level of quality were just overwhelming,” he says. “You
can’t imagine that you’ll ever be doing what other people are do-
ing. But eventually you find out they were just like you.”
These days, Brown is the lead instructor in the program, which
runs for two years and has four teachers and some 40 students.
After 10 years, Brown says, “I’m still blown away by what gets pro-
duced here.” Sometimes in the early mornings, he walks around
the empty shop and marvels at the work that’s under way. “It’s
still incredible to me to see how somebody with very little experi-
ence can so quickly pick up the skill and the thinking required to
produce work that matches pieces you’d find in a museum.”
The school turns 125 this year, and for all that time it has occu-
pied the same quirky building—a former church stitched together
with three adjacent townhouses—in Boston’s higgledy-piggledy
North End. The school was founded to serve the teeming pop-
ulation of recent immigrants then living in the North End.
Originally, it provided a range of social services: kindergartens,
Shop class began in Boston.
English classes, vocational training, recreational programs.
Beginning in 1889, North Bennet
Street added classes in woodwork- One program that had a profound national impact started
ing sloyd, a Swedish system of train- in 1889 when Pauline Agassiz Shaw, the visionary founder—
ing schoolchildren in hand skills. and funder—of the school, brought two Swedish teachers of
The school also trained many sloyd woodworking sloyd to NBSS. Sloyd (craft, in Swedish) was an
teachers, helping to staff industrial innovative method of teaching hand skills as an integral com-
arts classes across the country. ponent of a broader education. Hundreds of grammar-school
students attended sloyd classes at NBSS. The teaching of sloyd
Women’s work. From the
may have faded, but today’s NBSS students, before they learn
start, girls were included in the
woodworking sloyd classes taught
to use and maintain machines, do projects predominantly with
at North Bennet Street. In today’s hand tools. And certainly many students in the full-time fur-
full-time furniture program, about niture program—more than half of whom arrive with college
10% of the students are women. degrees—as well as many of the 500 to 600 people who sign up
each year for shorter workshops would concur with Shaw that
“it is not enough to train the intellect alone … the eye and the
Online Extra hand are together the most trustworthy leaders of the brain.”
Although NBSS is not explicitly a period furniture making
Hear more from NBSS teachers and alumni and see
photos of their work at FineWoodworking.com/extras. school, its instruction is based almost exclusively on American
and European pieces from the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Photos, this page: Courtesy of North Bennet Street School (top left);
74 FINE WOODWORKING The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University (bottom two)
Craftsmanship. Period.

Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez, president of NBSS, says,

“We didn’t set out to be a period furniture mak-
ing program. We set out to teach a certain set
of skills. And the furniture built from 1750 to
1820 represents the most difficult shaping, the
most complex joinery. If you can build that
stuff, you can do anything.”
This curriculum largely removes the issue
of original design. “Our focus,” Brown says, “is
on craftsmanship. Construction, materials, tools,
methods, techniques. Not that we’re not con-
scious of design or don’t care about it, it’s just
not our primary focus.”
Cabinet and Furniture Making is just one of
eight trade programs at NBSS. There are others
in violin making and repair, carpentry, preser- The period precedent. The curriculum at North
vation carpentry, locksmithing, piano technology, Bennet Street unravels the complex shaping and join-
jewelry making and repair, and bookbinding. NBSS is accredited as ery of classic period pieces. John McCormack built
a trade school, which means students can apply for government aid, this mahogany and crotch mahogany bombé chest of
drawers as his last project before graduating in 1988.
and the full-time programs are geared toward training for employ-
He got the solid mahogany from a single 12/4 board,
ment. This is a bit of a sticking point with many furniture graduates, 23 in. wide by 13 ft. long, resawing it by hand with a
who find it challenging to make a living. Phil Lowe, a former NBSS two-handed bucksaw.
student and teacher who now runs his own school, says students
“have to realize that building a business is like building
a piece of furniture—it takes a
long time. And they need to be
as flexible as possible. It isn’t
Now
always building masterpieces
... There were times we glued
together old kitchen chairs to
make money.”
Whether or not graduates
make a vocation of their skill,
they share an unusual mastery.
For graduate Jock Gifford, “the
simple truth about the school is
that it empowered me to believe
that I can build any piece of furni-
ture I can dream up. And make it
Cross-pollination. NBSS admits students twice a year to Handing down the legacy. From
very well. That’s quite a wonderful its two-year program, so there are always students at four left, lead instructor Steve Brown, school
feeling.” • different points in the curriculum. Many graduates point to president Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez, and teachers
the knowledge gained by watching other students as one Dan Faia and Lance Patterson are all
Jonathan Binzen is a consulting editor. of the most powerful elements of their experience. graduates of the furniture-making program.

Photos, this page: Lance Patterson (chest); Jonathan Binzen JULY/AUGUST 2010 75
readers gallery
North Bennet’s legacy
of craftsmanship
N orth Bennet Street School has been teaching
woodworking in one form or another in the same
building in Boston since the 1880s. At first, it pioneered
shop class for grammar school students. Now it offers a wide
range of workshops as well as perhaps the country’s most
rigorous two-year program in traditional furniture making.
This gallery features work by just a few of the outstanding
makers who have attended the school.

B R U C E EAT O N , C l A s s O f 2 00 6
Hampton, N.H.

Eaton spent nearly a decade working as an environmental

engineer and became increasingly miserable “watching other
people make stuff.” A local woodworking class led him to
NBSS. Eaton now runs his own shop. He built this Shaker
desk (29 in. deep by 42 in. wide by 48 in. tall) from Vermont
cherry. The interior is curly maple and the pulls are apple and
ebony. “I’ve been thrilled ever since North Bennet Street,” he
says, reporting that although commissions are slow in coming,
“I’m trying to be patient about it.”

E R I C E N G l A N D E R, 1 9 9 5
New York, N.Y.

When Englander arrived at NBSS, he says, “I had

no tools, but I had a lot of furniture books.” He had
studied scenic and lighting design for the theater
and worked building props, sets, and furniture for
the stage. When he decided to study woodworking,
he deliberately steered clear of a design-oriented
program. “Design school had already given me the
ability to see,” he says, “I wanted to learn the craft.”
Since graduating, he’s run his own shop, building
high-end pieces in a range of styles. He built this
reproduction of a Herter Brothers cabinet from the
1880s in solid French walnut with panels of claro
walnut burl veneer. It is 18½ in. deep by 52½ in.
wide by 46½ in. tall. The marquetry, in flame birch
and curly maple, was done by fellow NBSS graduate
Paula Garbarino. Photo: Lan ce Patte rson

76 FINE woodworkINg
 PA U L A G A R B A R I N O, 198 8
Medford, Mass.

Garbarino had been working in a cabinet shop for five

years when she attended NBSS. “I finally decided I wanted
to increase my skills,” she says, and the experience was
“the best two years of my life.” In the NBSS shop, “there
was accomplishment all around you. People pushing the
envelope in all directions.” Garbarino returned to teach at the
school for five years in the late 1990s. Her Flowering Rush
cabinet (21 in. deep by 53 in. wide by 38 in. tall) is made
from curly soft maple with bubinga pulls; the marquetry
flowers are in 14 species; the black background is dyed
costello wood.

D O N A L D J . S U T K U S, 20 0 4
Seattle, Wash.

By the time he’d gotten two degrees in aerospace engineering

and worked for Boeing for six years, Sutkus says, “I just didn’t feel
like I was wearing the right clothes.” After two years at NBSS, he is
back in Seattle operating a one-man shop. He loved the program,
but the transition has been a challenge. “It’s so difficult to make
a reasonable living,” he says. “That being said, it was a great
time.” Sutkus’s mahogany cabinet, 9½ in. deep by 15 in. wide
by 19 in. tall, is made with satinwood and ivory inlay. Its interior
arches were adapted from a piece by John and Thomas Seymour
and the carving is drawn from a sofa by Samuel McIntire.
PHOTO: KEN WAGNER

PE TE R VA N B EC K U M , 1 9 8 2
Unionville, Conn.

Van Beckum, who grew up in a Wisconsin farming

community and studied agronomy in college,
traveled east in 1980 to look into Boston University’s
Program in Artisanry. Finding it to be “all about
creativity” and seemingly “lackadaisical about
craftsmanship,” he was disappointed. Before
leaving Boston, however, he visited NBSS, and
“instantly wanted to go there,” he says. “I loved
their fussiness about tools and technique.” Van
Beckum has been making furniture ever since in
styles that range from Windsors to contemporary
pieces. His Art Moderne table, in black walnut
and curly black walnut veneer, with cast brass
feet and brass banding, is 75 in. dia. by 30 in. tall.

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 77

readers gallery continued

D EV I N R E A M , 2 00 9
Somerville, Mass.

Ream says he spent “about 95% of my time in high

school hanging out in the woodshop.” But after majoring
in history in college, he found himself applying to
government-research jobs. Then NBSS appeared on his
radar. He now works as a full-time furniture maker for
another NBSS graduate, Peter Cabot, and builds his own
work on the weekends. He made this dressing mirror,
crammed with technical challenges, while still at the
school. It includes tapered dovetails, French wedge
feet, a stack-laminated drawer front, sand-
shaded banding, and “ridiculously tiny”
dovetails on the drawer. It is 9 in. deep by
16 in. wide by 24 in. tall. PHOTO: LANCE
PATTERSON

J O H N P. M cC O R M AC K , 1 9 8 8
San Francisco, Calif.

McCormack’s Pencil Chair represents the two sides of his training as a furniture
maker—one of traditional craftsmanship and period furniture acquired at NBSS,
and, six years later, an immersion in furniture design at the Rhode Island School
of Design. McCormack, who builds furniture and teaches woodworking in the
Bay Area, describes the teachers at NBSS as “kind and generous,” with “no real
separation between teachers and students.” And despite “the conservatism and
quirkiness” of the program, “it was also very free.” His chair, made of mahogany
and aluminum framing squares, is 19 in. deep by 20 in. wide by 47 in. tall.
PHOTO: MARK JOHNSTON

M AT T WA JDA , 2 0 0 0
Portsmouth, N.H.

Wajda’s father, a microbiologist, is a lifelong

hobbyist woodworker. When Matt’s mother
gave his father a gift of a two-week workshop at
NBSS in 1997 and invited Matt to go along, he
somewhat grudgingly agreed. Two years later,
Matt was enrolled in the full-time program,
which he found “life altering.” Since then he’s
worked with Windsor chair maker Michael Dunbar
and taught NBSS workshops himself. He now makes furniture
in his own shop. He made this maple and rosewood bench (20 in. deep
by 65 in. wide by 18 in. tall), one of a set of four, for a doctor’s waiting room.
PH OTO: LANCE PATTER S ON

78 FINE WOODWORKING
 T O N Y H AY D E N , 1 99 3
Pebble Beach, Calif.

Hayden worked for years as a building contractor

before going to NBSS in 1990. He’s been running a
custom woodworking business since returning to his
native California. “I’d love to do nothing but high-style
18th- and 19th-century stuff—it’s so powerful—but you
don’t get those jobs out here.” The environment at the
school, he says, “is not reality—but that’s why it’s
so great; I’d love to go back through
the program.” His chair, based
on one by Samuel Gragg from
about 1810, is made of maple,
ebony, and figured sycamore.
It is 26 in. deep by 19 in. wide
by 38 in. tall. PHOTO: LANCE
PATTERSON

W I L L I A M T H O M A S , 1 97 9
Rindge, N.H.

Thomas had been working as a carpenter in the 1970s when his father gave
him an NBSS catalog. “As soon as I heard about it, I jumped all over it.”
The pace and ambition of the instruction was up to the individual, Thomas
remembers. “I built at least 10 pieces in my year and a half there.” A founding
member of the New Hampshire Furniture Masters, Thomas continues to build
primarily in late 18th- and early 19th-century styles. This mahogany and
satinwood cylinder-fall secretary (23 in. deep by 42 in. wide by 102 in. tall), is
based on a piece built in Baltimore between 1790 and 1810. The eagle was
carved by Michael Dow. PHOTO: DEAN POWELL

JO C K G IF F O R D, 1 9 98
Waltham, Mass.

Gifford was in the midst of a successful career as an architect

when he decided to take a sabbatical and study jewelrymaking
at NBSS. Leaving the jewelry program each day, he would pass
the furniture finishing room, and he soon decided he needed
to go through that program as well. He built this chest in
Carpathian elm burl and Cuban mahogany. It is 15 in. deep by
25 in. wide by 15 in. tall. He now makes jewelry and furniture
for friends and family in a building he renovated just outside
Boston.

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 79

Q&A
How to cut
clean dovetail
shoulders
Q: Matt Kenney mentioned using
his marking gauge to scribe dovetail Start with a marking gauge. To get a deep and clean line, begin with a light and shallow
pass. Use more force on the second pass to deepen the line. Hold the gauge’s fence firmly
shoulders so that he could pare away a against the end of the board so that the cutter doesn’t wander out of the previous line.
wedge to use as a reference for his chisel
(“Make Your Own Marking Gauge,” FWW
#211). Could he explain his technique? Pare away a bit of
— S E T H H A N L O N , Portland, Ore. waste to create a
true shoulder.

A: A COMMON PROBLEM when cutting

dovetails is that the chisel goes past the
baseline when chopping out the waste.
With my method, the marking gauge
doesn’t just mark the shoulder’s location,
it starts cutting a clean and deep shoulder,
which serves as a better guide for your
chisel when paring away waste. I’ll show Pare a little waste to create a shallow notch. It
you what I do on a tail board, but the should be as deep as the line cut by the marking gauge.
Because the gauge has already cut the shoulder line, the
same technique applies to the pin board.
chips come out easily and the shoulder isn’t damaged.
Mark the shoulder of the joint by making
two successively deeper passes with the
marking gauge. Then make small paring cuts
with a chisel to turn that deep line into a
notch. Next, define the sides of the tails with
a backsaw and remove the waste in the pin
socket with a coping saw. Do not attempt
to cut along the shoulder line. Rather, leave
just a bit of waste to be pared away, about First
1⁄ 32 in. to 1⁄16 in. Register the chisel in the remove
the waste
notch you made earlier and pare down with a
coping
through half of the board. Then flip the saw.
board and finish removing the waste.
—Matt Kenney is an associate editor.

Ask a question
Do you have a question you’d like Use the groove as a chisel guide. After sawing out Then use the shoulder
us to consider for the column? Send
most of the waste, place the back of the chisel against as a guide for your chisel
it to Q&A, Fine Woodworking, 63 when paring.
the deep shoulder cut by the marking gauge. With very
S. Main St., Newtown, CT 06470, or
little waste left, the chisel will not be forced past the
email fwqa@taunton.com.
shoulder.

80 FINE WOODWORKING Photos and drawings, this page: Kelly J. Dunton

 Two-speed bandsaws are
overkill for woodworking
Q: I’ve seen several A: The fasTer speed is for
woodworking woodworking. The slower
bandsaws with speed is actually for cutting
two speeds. When non-ferrous metals like brass,
should the slower copper, and aluminum. Typi-
speed be used and cally, the slower speed is not
when the faster slow enough to cut hard met-
one? als like steel. Don’t bother
—Dick buying a two-speed bandsaw,
Schamberger , unless you plan to do metal-
Painesville, Ohio work regularly. For occasional
cutting on non-ferrous metals,
you can use a woodwork-
ing bandsaw equipped with
a regular tooth, 14-tpi (teeth
per inch) woodworking
blade.
—Roland Johnson is a
contributing editor and
author of Taunton’s Complete
Use a woodworking bandsaw for occasional
Illustrated Guide to Bandsaws
metal cutting. In a pinch, a standard-tooth, 14-tpi
(The Taunton Press, due out woodworking blade can be used to cut non-ferrous
in November 2010). metals like brass.

Can foam brushes apply

a fine finish?
Q: In Mark A: i’ve Tried foaM BrUshes as
Schofield’s a replacement for filament
article (“The brushes, but I’ve never had
Best Brushes,” much luck. I find them hard
FWW #212), I to control and I end up with
didn’t notice any either a dry, streaky strip or
reference to foam a flood. However, I do use
brushes. Was this an foam brushes as a cheap,
oversight or does he easy, and quick way to apply
avoid using them? anything that will be wiped
—Jeff brOcktOn , off later, such as stains, glaz-
biloxi, miss. es, oils, or oil/varnish blends.
—Mark Schofield
is managing editor.

Foam brushes don’t lay down perfect topcoats. But they are perfect
for slopping on finishes that are soon wiped off, like boiled linseed oil.

Photos, except where noted: Matt Kenney July/AuGusT 2010 81

Q&A continued

Sliding miter saws cut on the push stroke

Q: When using a A: Sliding miter SawS are deSigned to cut on the
sliding miter saw, push stroke. Pulling a miter saw through the cut
should I cut on the results in a climb cut that could cause the blade to
push stroke or the rise up out of the wood and chase after you. Also, it
pull stroke? is important to use a blade with teeth that angle for-
—Brendan ward between 0° and 5°. The positive hook of the
M c Millan, teeth is just aggressive enough that you can push
Wheaton, ill. through the wood easily and still maintain control. A
blade with a more aggressive hook would be harder
to control, and a blade with teeth that angle back-
ward would require too much force.
A sliding miter saw should be pushed through the cut.
—Gary Katz is a frequent contributor to Fine Otherwise, you’ll make a climb cut, which can be dangerous.
Homebuilding and teaches carpentry clinics at
lumberyards around the country.

1. Pull the blade 2. Turn on the saw and plunge 3. Push the blade
over the workpiece. the blade into the wood. through the wood.

Store veneer flat

Q: I bought some A: do not Store veneer rolled
veneer from an up. The longer it is rolled up,
online retailer. It the more likely it will remain
was sent to me curled after unrolling it. Un-
rolled up in a box. roll it immediately and keep it
Can I store it like flat and out of direct sunlight.
that? Also, take care to maintain
—Chris landry, the veneer’s moisture content.
Cincinnati, Ohio Put small pieces in a garbage
bag, tape it shut, and put it
between two pieces of card-
board, taped together. Wrap
large pieces in black plastic
and place them between
pieces of MDF. Store in a cool
place not subject to rapid
changes in humidity.
—Ben Barrett is president of
Berkshire Veneer and author For best results, veneer should be flexible and flat. Wrap it in plastic so it doesn’t
of A Closer Look on p. 84. dry out and become brittle, and then place it between two pieces of MDF to keep it flat.

82 FINE WooDWorkINg Drawings, this page: John Tetreault

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www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com July/August 2010 83

a closer look
How veneer is made
PEEK INSIDE A VENEER MILL, THEN LEARN
HOW TO ORDER THIS VALUABLE PRODUCT

B Y B E N B A R R E T T

A
s far back as the ancient Egyptians, people have been
using veneer. It offers options for the woodworker
that are simply unobtainable in solid wood. Grain
patterns can range from a simple book-match to a
breathtaking sunburst. Highly figured parts of the
tree such as burls and crotches are much easier
to work with as veneer than as solid stock. Using a stable
substrate such as medium-density fiberboard (MDF) opens up
new design and construction opportunities not constrained by
seasonal wood movement. One tree in a hundred
Then there is the green aspect. The population pressures on While logs for lumber typically go to a sawmill in bulk, the
the earth are only going to increase with time, and the demand very best ones are individually selected to go to a veneer mill.
for beautiful wood will never go away. One way to utilize this Obviously size and species play a role, but how is the maple
resource more efficiently is to use veneer. That way, future with fiddleback figure spotted from the mass of other logs?
generations of woodworkers can have access to some of the A specialist log buyer acts as the middleman between the
precious woods we enjoy today. forest owner and the veneer mill. He chainsaws off a thin slice
I’ll explain how a suitable veneer log is discovered, and the from the end of a log, and then sprays the newly exposed wood
different ways veneer is made. Having spent more than 20 with water to accentuate any defects or figure. He then rolls
years in the veneer business, I’ll show you how to work with a over the log to expose all four “faces,” searching for defects such
veneer seller to get exactly what you want. as “cat’s-eyes” or inclusions in the bark where a branch used to
be. This is where experience comes into play: Figured logs are
often a fluke, and it takes experience to see compression figure
under the bark that will yield fiddleback figure.
After the log is prepared at the veneer mill (see facing
page) each half, or flitch, is ready to be turned into
veneer. There are two main ways to do
this: After the flitch is soaked in
hot water, it either moves
up and down past a
knife, a process known
as slicing, or it revolves
against a knife, called
peeling.
Unlock the When slicing, the hot, super-
beauty of a saturated flitch is mounted flat-side
burl. FWW editor down on the carriage of a slicer. The flitch
Matt Kenney used
moves up and down through the knife, slicing a leaf
bookmatched madrone
burl to make the doors of veneer each time. Once the flitch is completely sliced, the
and drawers on this cabinet. veneer is fed through a dryer, one leaf at a time, reducing the
The effect would not have been moisture content from around 70% to about 15% in less than
possible with solid wood. two minutes. While in the dryer, it passes over a measurement

84 FINE WOODWORKING Photos: Mark Schofield

 Life of a veneer log

Hand-picked. The logs arrive at the veneer mill already marked with a Kept wet. Sprinklers keep the logs wet and prevent them from drying
unique barcode. Metal “S” irons or plastic “I” clips minimize end splits. out and checking.

Sawn and
soaked. After be-
ing debarked, the
logs are sawn into
halves or quarters
depending on the
size and species
(right). After a
week in hot water,
the halves and
quarters, banded
together, emerge
black and steam-
ing (far right).

Skimmed off. Honing the edge.

Soaking the logs Before running
causes minerals each new log
to collect on the through the veneer
outside. To protect slicer, they hone
the veneer-slicing the 12-ft.-long knife
knives, workers with an oilstone
grind away the and remove any
contaminated sur- wood remnants
face of the logs. with a penknife.

system that calculates its square footage. Now it’s organized by much like a paper towel is pulled off a roll. There is little waste
length and grade and ready for presentation to a buyer. but it creates a wild, erratic grain, so this is primarily done for
The most common method for cutting decorative, high-end utilitarian uses. A half-round cut is used mainly to increase
veneers—those with cathedral pattern in the grain—is plain the yield from smaller 13-in.- to 16-in.-dia. logs. Generating an
or flat slicing. Quarter-sliced veneer is just like quartersawn effect similar to plain slicing, it is often used on maples as it
lumber, where the goal is to generate product with the growth allows the white part of the log to be fully used.
rings 60° to 90° to the face. This produces a strong medullary
flake figure in oaks and lacewoods, superimposed on an Why does veneer keep getting thinner?
extremely straight-grained background. A hundred years ago, veneer averaged 1⁄ 8 in. thick; today, most
There are also different methods to peel veneer. A full rotary veneers are sliced from 1⁄42 in. to 1⁄49 in. thick, whether for
cut involves mounting a log on a lathe and peeling off sheets, plywood or veneer sold retail. Can it get any thinner? In Asia,

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com July/AuGusT 2010 85

a closer look continued

Two ways to make veneer

Depending on the intended use of the veneer, the log size, and
the wood species, it can be sliced or peeled. At International
Veneer Company’s Mercer, Pa., mill, both methods are used.

SLICING TECHNIQUES PEELING TECHNIQUES

One at a time. The log, attached to the flat steel plates, moves up and Round and round. Rotary-cutting, or peeling, produces wider sheets
down past a knife attached to the triangular shaped section. from smaller logs and is also used for certain figured veneers.

FLAT-CUTTING Flitch-cutting table ROTARY CUTTING

Flat cut or plain slicing is by Peeling a whole log typically produces veneer with
far the most common way Log attached wildly alternating grain best used for utility plywood.
to cut high-quality veneers. by vacuum However, the method enhances bird’s-eye maple.
Among the species or dogs
commonly plain-sliced
are cherry, walnut, Log
red and white oak, Sheet of
and mahogany. veneer
Crotches are also Sheet of
plain-sliced. veneer

Knife Knife

QUARTER-SLICING STAY-LOG CUTTING

White oak is commonly Sheet of veneer Veneer mills employ this
quarter-sliced to reveal machine for two reasons.
the ray flecks also seen It is a way to create flat-
in quartersawn lumber. cut veneer from smaller
Other species quarter- logs, and it is also used
sliced to produce to make rift-cut veneer,
a ribbon-stripe particularly from oak and
figure include walnut logs.
mahogany, sapele,
and sycamore. Knife Bed of peeler fits into
two grooves cut down
Knife Sheet of
the length of the log.
some use 1⁄ 85-in.-thick veneer, so thin that the core must be veneer
color-coordinated to the veneer because it shows through.
A cynic would say profit was the only motive for this ever- RIFT-CUTTING
Done almost exclusively
decreasing thickness, but there are benefits. The thinner the in oaks, it requires
Sheet of veneer
veneer, the smoother the surface, as thick veneer does not slice larger-diameter logs,
as cleanly and tends to tear as it comes off the knife. And on which are quartered
plain-sliced veneer, the thinner the veneer, the smaller the jump and peeled on a bias
in grain pattern between sheets. to limit the medullary
flake figure. The
need for larger logs
Learn the lingo to get what you want means rift-cut veneers
The more information you share with your suppliers, the better command a premium
Knife
they can meet your needs with the most cost-effective veneer for over plain-sliced ones.

86 FINE WOODWORKING Drawings: John Tetreault

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www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com July/August 2010 87

a closer look continued

HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED?

A buyer’s guide A flitch, made

up of 12 to 20
bundles

A bundle, or
book, made
up of 24 to
32 leaves

A single leaf, sheet,

or plate of veneer
Half a log. This walnut flitch represents one half of the log. The blue
tape marks where individual sheets have been removed and sent to a
prospective buyer for inspection. your project. And talking the talk reduces miscommunication.
Don’t make the mistake one of my customers made by asking
Keeping track.
for a flitch when all he wanted was a bundle of veneer. I think
When you receive
consecutive cuts
I’m still selling off that flitch.
of veneer, the Begin with the species you want. If possible, give the Latin
first thing to do is genus and species to remove ambiguity. Your supplier won’t
clearly number the know where to begin if you simply ask for “rosewood.” Instead
sequence. This way specify Dalbergia latifolia or East Indian rosewood. If possible,
you can shuffle the give a backup alternative to rare veneers in case what you’re
sheets around, ar-
after doesn’t exist.
ranging them in a
sunburst, for exam-
For lengths and widths, give the net size of your project.
ple, without losing Don’t call for 12-ft. veneers for a 10-ft. project just because
track of the order. that’s what you do when ordering lumber. Tell the supplier
you’re looking to “net 120 in.” and they might have stock that’s
A rose(wood) by any other name. Santos (pau 128 in. clean (meaning no end splits or defects) that will work
ferro), Brazilian, and East Indian all fall under the fine and save you money.
name rosewood. If possible, specify the Latin genus Don’t forget that you will also need to veneer the back of
and species name when ordering.
the core to prevent cupping. The thinner the core, the more
important it is to use the same species, thickness, and cut as
the face veneer. However, if you’re using something pricey,
ask your supplier for a cheaper substitute with similar density,
cellular makeup, and shrinkage coefficient.
Veneer production is very exacting — the tolerances are
measured in thousands of an inch and there are plenty
of things that can go wrong. You should not accept
“rough” veneer where the cutting process has smashed
the wood fibers and distorted the grain—no amount
of sanding will cure this. Also reject thick and thin
veneer where the thickness varies from side to side or
end to end. However, don’t expect all veneers to arrive
dead-flat. Crotches and burls are typically buckled and need
to be flattened prior to use (see “An Introduction to Veneering,”
FWW #189).
If you haven’t tried veneering, I encourage you to give it a go.
It opens the door to a wider world of woodworking and leaves
some wood to future generations. •

Ben Barrett is president of Berkshire Veneer Co. in Massachusetts.

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master class
Miter your dovetails
Strong, elegant joinery
allowS a decorative edge

b y J o s h M e t c a l f

A
mong my favorite things about making this small dresser
mirror is the joinery—two different combinations of
dovetails and miters that are strong, look great, and allow It works on Frames ...
me to cut molded profiles on the edges and faces of the
the interlocking nature of a dovetail
piece. adds strength to the miter. the square
On the case, the lap of the half-blind dovetails enables shoulders of the half-lap make it easy
me to cut a continuous ovolo edge detail around the top. The miter to square the frame and prevent the
at the front of the joint also lets me cut a molded profile on the miters from slipping during glue-up.
front of the case.
I wanted the same molding details on the edge and face of the
mirror frame, and I wanted its joinery to visually echo the dovetails
on the case. The joint I use—a dovetailed through-tenon with a
miter in front and a half-lap in back—is challenging but fun to
execute, and the results speak for themselves.

Josh Metcalf is a furniture maker in Woodstock, Vt.

... and cases

like the frame
version, the mitered
front on the half-
blind dovetailed
case sides lets
Metcalf cut a
continuous
decorative
profile on the
case front
and along the
edges.

90 FINE wOOdwOrkINg Photos: Steve Scott; drawings: Vince Babak

 The frame version
This joint can be used in a variety of applications, such as mitered cabinet doors or picture
frames. It works especially well for small frames that are too thin for a standard mortise and
tenon. The joint has great mechanical strength and it clamps easily across the face to ensure
the best bond. However, it’s not an easy joint to cut. Visualizing it can be confusing, and the
sawing and fitting must be accurate. Also, the dovetail layout is a little out of the ordinary. The
dimensions of the joinery make it very awkward to transfer the layout from one workpiece to
another, so Metcalf lays out the tail and socket separately using the same gauge settings for
each. Still, with careful layout and saw work, the result is strong and pretty.

⁄
11 16 in. ⁄
11 16 in.

1 in.

¼ in.

LAYOUT IS CRITICAL
Start with the
miter. Use a
marking gauge to
scribe the width
of each piece onto
both edges of its
mate. Then use a
bevel gauge to lay
out the angles on
the front faces.

Mark out the

socket. Use the
bevel gauge to
mark the angled Cut the dovetailed tenon. The front cheek is cut at an angle (left) with the saw stopping just
socket cheeks on before the outside corner of the miter. The rear cheek is cut to the baseline. Clamp the stock
the edge of the horizontally to cut away the waste (right). Cut on the waste side of the line and pare with a chisel.
piece. For the pin,
the straight lines
are on the edge
and the angles go
on the end grain.

Bevel gauge alter-

native. For easier
layout on narrow
stock, Metcalf
made an adjust-
able jig by fitting
Plexiglas into a
kerf in a hardwood
block and adding
screws. A cleat
on the end helps A single, long socket. A pair of angled cuts establishes the socket walls. Carefully saw to the
locate the jig. waste sides of your marks (left), and then use a bandsaw or coping saw to hog out the majority
of the socket (right). The remaining waste can then be cleared with a coping saw and chisel.

JULY/AUGUST 2010 91
master class continued
Add a miter to half-blind dovetails
The dovetails for the case are, for the most part, ordinary half-blinds.
However, the mitered front complicates the layout and joinery slightly.
To begin with, you’ll need to dimension the top piece so that it is the full
length of the case, to allow for the miter at the front. And before laying
out for the tails, you’ll need to remove a narrow band of stock so that the
tails will come up short of the end of the case.
On this case, the top and sides were also of different thicknesses.
This meant the miter wasn’t 45°, requiring different bevel-gauge settings
to create the mating angles.

1. cut the tails

Trim the tail board. With a router and fence, remove the extra material (left). Use a
chisel to square up the tab (right), which will form one half of the mitered front. Its rear
face also captures the half-pin behind the miter.

Before cutting the

tails, remove a strip
equal to the inset
from the edge of
the pin board.

Mark and cut the

tails. Scribe a line
for the tail length
using a gauge setting
picked up from the
pin board. You can
scribe the underside
of the top all the way
across, but scribe
the show face only
Miter the front between your angled
corners after pencil lines. To pare
cutting the the waste from the
dovetails. narrow sockets (left),
Metcalf uses a chisel
that he ground to
Inset 1 ⁄16 in. wide.

92 FINE woodworkINg
2. cut the pins

Transfer the layout and cut the pins. Scribe the socket shoulders with a
knife (left), then flip the piece in the vise and mark the vertical portion of
the pins with a pencil. After sawing to the lines and hogging away the waste
with a router, Metcalf does a careful final cleanup with a chisel (above).

3. miter the corner last

Mark out the

miter for the top.
Adjust the sliding
bevel to the angle
between the top’s
outside corner and
the scribe line for
the tails on the
underside. Trim the
miter. After sawing
tight to the line
with a fine saw,
the paring required
should be minimal.
Check the fit. If all is well, you should now be able to tap
the top and sides together, and you should have a tight-
fitting miter at the front.

www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com July/August 2010 93

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Page 64
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www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com July/August 2010 95
WOODWORKERS MART See ad index below for reader service number.

A School for Woodworkers

With Gary Rogowski

Summer Workshops
Classes for All Skill Levels
Portland, Oregon 503.284.1644
www.NorthwestWoodworking.com

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Use reader service card - inside back cover.

For quick access to their websites, go to ADVERTISER INDEX at www.finewoodworking.com
Reader Reader Reader Reader
Service No. ADVERTISER, page # Service No. ADVERTISER, page # Service No. ADVERTISER, page # Service No. ADVERTISER, page #

24 Adria Toolworks, Inc., p. 95 19 Contempo Living, p. 95 18 JDS Company, p. 11 13 Phase-A-Matic, Inc., p. 25

Akeda Jig, p. 13 64 Corradi Gold, p. 11 15 The Japan Woodworker, p. 3 52 Philadelphia Furniture
Alderfer Lumber Co., p. 94 Workshop, p. 94
57 Allred & Associates, Inc., p. 94 63 EMC Woodworking, p. 94 16 Kay Industries, p. 87
39 American Fabric Filter, p. 25 49 Eagle Woodworking, p. 95 38 Keller & Company, p. 94 Quality Vakuum Products, p. 3
45 Arrowmont School of Arts 31 Epilog Laser, p. 7 36 Kreg Tool Company, p. 87
and Crafts, p. 11 Exotic Wood Veneer Plus, p. 94 RadarCarve.net, p. 25
76 Laguna Tools, p. 2 21 Red Hill Corporation, p. 9
37 Ball & Ball Reproduction 42 Felder Group USA, p. 11 Leigh Industries, p. 83 Router Bits Online, p. 95
Hardware, p. 87 26 Final Cut Blade, p. 96 66 Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, p. 17 77 RouterBits.com, p. 87
60 Banner Hill School of Fine Woodworking DVD 22 Lignomat, p. 87
Woodworking, p. 94 Archives, p. 27 43 Luthiers Mercantile Intl. 12 Scherr’s Cabinet & Doors,
61 The Beall Tool Co., p. 95 FineWoodworking.com, p. 89 Co., p. 94 Inc., p. 7
Berea Hardwoods Co., p. 83 35 Forrest Manufacturing, p. 13 7 School of Woodworking, p. 25
75 Berkshire Products, p. 95 55 The Furniture Institute of 41 M.L. Condon 20 Screw Products, p. 95
Berkshire Veneer Co., p. 95 Massachusetts, p. 94 Company, p. 95
58 Bosch Tools, p. 9 Makers-Marks, p. 94 48 Titebond Wood Glue, p. 17
28 Bowclamp, p. 95 23 Goby Walnut Products, p. 94 Moldingknives.com, p. 95
34 Gorilla Wood Glue, p. 25 62 Vacuum Pressing Systems, p. 21
1 CMT USA, Inc., p. 7 54 Granberg International, p. 17 33 Northwest Woodworking Vermont Woodworking
4 Cabinetparts.com, p. 94 65 Groff & Groff Lumber, p. 95 Studio, p. 96 School, p. 94
32 CabParts, p. 3 10 Guillemot Kayaks, p. 95
Center For Furniture 72 Oneida Air, p. 3 70 Williams & Hussey, p. 21
Craftsmanship, p. 17 14 Hartville Tool Woodworking, p. 21 71 Oneida Air, p. 83 3 Windsor Chair Workshops, p. 95
27 Certainly Wood, p. 94 47 Hearne Hardwoods, Inc., p. 25 44 Osborne Wood Products, p. 9 25 Woodcraft Store, p. 99
46 Chidwick School of Fine 68 Highland Woodworking, p. 9 40 Wood-Mizer, p. 95
Woodworking, p. 95 5 Peck Tool Company, p. 94 59 Woodrat, p. 7
67 Connecticut Valley School of 9 Inside Passage School of Fine Peter Sefton Furniture 53 Woodworkers Source, p. 96
Woodworking, p. 9 Woodworking, p. 21 School, p. 95

96 FINE woodworkINg
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Ph. 866-505-4687. For more information on adver-
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www.fi newoodwor k i n g.com JULY/AUGUST 2010 97

how they did it
The drama unfolds
B Y A N I S S A K A P S A L E S

S eth Rolland’s striking table (see the back cover) is at once timeless
because of its classic demilune form, yet playful and modern in
its curved, flared slats, which are created much like the way you
would cut and unfold paper dolls. But the execution is anything but
child’s play. Creative bandsawing and careful cleanup are the keys to
Back-and-forth cuts establish pattern. After cutting dadoes in
one end, Rolland makes a stopped cut, then moves the fence and
flips the board end for end for the second cut. He continues across
this organic table. the board with the uncut side always registered against the fence.

Shape the slats. Cleaning between

After making all the slats. Rolland has to
stopped cuts, he get creative to reach
stands the board into the tight corners
on edge, holding it between the slats. To
together with gentle get in the crevices, he
hand pressure, and attaches a scraper
cuts the scoops on blade (with sandpaper
the top and bottom taped to it) to a Fein
edges. MultiMaster tool.

An easy glue-up. Working with the tabletop

upside down on a sheet of glass, Rolland
glues curved disks (right) into the two dadoes.
He clamps the walnut disks and the outer-
most members of the fan in place, and then
places weights on the other pieces while the
glue dries.

98 FINE woodwoRkINg Photos: Matt kenney

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READER SERVICE NO. 25
 A Slice of Genius

T he sunburst of
slender ash slats on
Seth Rolland’s demilune
know how to build and
then figure them out. In
2000, he made a tabletop
table may be dazzling composed of more than
for its elegance, but it’s 100 tiny pieces of wood,
equally impressive as which required 15 glue-
a technical feat: The ups to complete. The
entire array is one piece tedium of the process led
of wood. Starting with a him to think: “If I didn’t
12/4 board 10 in. wide cut the pieces apart, I
and 30 in. long, Rolland wouldn’t have to glue
makes alternating stopped them back together.” Since
cuts from either end and then, Rolland has used
then unfolds the plank his slicing and bending
like a paper fan. Working technique to make a wide
alone in the shop he range of pieces that reveal
built in Port Townsend, the vast potential in a
Wash., Rolland likes to single plank of wood.
design things he doesn’t —Jonathan Binzen

Photos: Frank Ross (bottom); Matt Kenney (top three)

How They Did It Turn to p. 98 to see how Rolland cuts the array Pro Portfolio Go to FineWoodworking.com/extras to see more
of slats from one piece of wood. of Rolland’s pieces made with the slicing and bending technique.