ShopNotes Issue 71

7/30/2019 ShopNotes Issue 71

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..- ST0mu-rnWAY ROU1


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----Issue 71 r------wSeptember2003PUBLISHER Donald B. Peschke

EDITOR TerryJ.StrohmanASSOCIATE EDITORS Bryan NelsonVincent Ancona

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR PhilHuberART DIRECTOR C a ~ yhristensen

SR. GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kurt SchultzSENIOR ILLUSTRATORS Roger Reiland

Mark HigdonCREATMRE .wRGL I

CIwhva Dimctm: Ted KraBeek . c Pmje* Dssignm:KenM ~ , K ~ t W d ~ h , R y ~ ~ e k , C h n s F i t o h . S h ~ ~ ~ ~ :Stevecuah,SteveJohnson. Sr Photqmphsr Crayo laSq laadSPYOUL wsLlw.notaa

Carp. V P : ouglw L. Hieks -A?i Dimcfm Douglss A.Fh tS t G7aphIc Designer Chna Giowacld Graphic Des ipa :Jonathan Eike . r Ed i tm Craig Ruegsegger. Assoc EdUw:JoelA.HessCirc OF Dimdm sndyBsum Cix. a~ks t iwDiv . :WaydeJ. Xlingbeil . tmtagicBusiness Anolysfs KnF S e N m w ,PaulakLDeMatteis. Cin .Ma?!&ingAnalyst.Patnck W&h.Rmw a i M g r PaigeKogera. CircFdfi1lmntMgr:StephanieForinash.S7.GNghioDe8W*:M811kHay~~,r.,RobinFlilid

COWORATEWVICUV.P. of -120- Msry a. Scheve . mzholler.Robh K.HaWlinmn Sr.Acei: L a u r a X l%m -Aoots.Pay061e:MsryJ.Schultz. uk Rm h b i e : MargoPet- Pmd Dii.: GeorgeChmielar. . lecho%* P u b Di?.: ou gk M. Lidnter- SystancAdnun.: Ctis SehsehebRk -P C Moint. T s e h . R oW DCookh~ham apSpcs:TmyClark,m e t i eJob. asoc.s w h D k : F @ b - ~ emMdhMm: kdmC.Gaippe-MdtimdiaA~Dii:EugenugenPedem. ab.%-m~ii :CamlSchoeppler .Web Content Mg-: David B a g s . %EtimcdiaKara Blessing .Ressonh Coonlinelox Nichols A.~aegvh j s v .r: CMB@ -a R, * %temoele- OficeMgr:Natslie hnsdale. adieim Mr . :Kurt Johnson.A d m i n A s s U R P r s p t : J d b n . MdRwmC~LouWebber

VOODUllTli STOREOpmtionsDileefmBobBaker .CwtmnaS&Mgr:JennieEnos W'orehauseSuyr: Nancy Johnson Bzlyer LindaJones.Admin. h a t : Nmty Domney Sr.Cust.S m ~ e p s . :amm myTNckebrod,hnaCux,DeborahRieh,ApriIRe~eell.ustServ.Reps.:VaietieJoRliey, EimHarI~n~Che 'y lJorW ' Y ' Y ~ ~ :SylviaCarey,Larry Morrison. StomM a w e r Dave Lm o n rMerchendisaMorkatiw M r . : John G i b e d - Paii~t q t . Mgr :James Hoehins .AsstMgl: Tim Thelen - Stme Sola Staff:Gmoiy Kauzla?ich, Mark Johnson, John W DaveFremmi%, StephenDuneahBrianSimmons,Mii MeCavley.OmeMgr:View EdwardsSha~Notns@OSSN10629696)i8p~bLishhdb'b'onthly J a nMay,July, Sept.,Nov.1 byAugust HomePubljshing,mOGmd,DesMoines, IA5OSlZ.$n.95.CandwTntemational add$lOperyem,U.S h d s .

IhopNot~r@isaregisWedtrademsrkafA~gu9tH~m~P~bB~WopmightZW3b yA ~ tH ommPub~ g .AU l i g h t s t s t s t s t s e d .Subacriplions:Sinpleeopy %4.95.0neyesrsubs~ptititi(6isisueis),Poliodie~Post~PaidatDeeMoi"iii1A~ddtaddltionalmd-9 o f f i c e s .Pmmsster:SendehangeofaddresstoShopN(7fes,P.O.Box87108,Boaoe,IA6W37-2103.SubsoriplionQuestions?Wtite to:ShopNotasCustomer Service,PO Box 842, DesMoines, IA 5(1304-9961.Or ca l l 1-80a3335851,%W m t o 6$0pm. CenWTYne,weekddaysFAX 515-283-0447Email:SbopNates@shopnotetemmInternet:http:ihmv.shopopott.mm

CutoffsI njoy a challenge. And, as youknow, woodworkingis certainlyWedwith them. They pop up whenwe're w o r k onaprojectandusnallydeal with some aspect of joinery,assembly, orfinishing.But in this issuewe startedwith adifferentkind of challenge:what canyoubuild from just one sheet ofply-wood?It also had to he practicalandstand up to everydayshop use.

Ifyoutakealook atthe frontcoveryou11see we ended upwith not justone, but five great shop projects.There's a pair of folding sawhorses,an easy-to-build workbench, a roll-aroundcutoff storagehim, omewallcabinetsand a coupleof tooltotes. t'shard to believe you canget a shopfnlofprojectsfromjustfivesheetsofply-wood. I guess sometimesyou need achallengejust to see whats possible.New Store. Speaking of chal-lenges,quiteafewof the peoplehereatAugustHomePublishinghavebeenworkingon another h i i project.TnissnmmertheWoodsmithStoremoved

to a newlocationhere inDesMoines,Iowa Thisnewstorehas over20,000squarefeetof space, adredwith tools,lumber, hardware, and supplies.Everythingawoodworkercouldwant,includingthreef u k isplayshops.If you're in the area, be sure andstopbyfora visit Formore informa-tion and directions on how to getthere,visit the website: g;:*.www.WoodsmithStore.com ~2

c :

We're looking for a couple of experi-enced people to join us here at AugustHome Publishing as an editor and agraphic designer/illustrator. Ifyou'reenthusiastic about woodworhg andhome improvement and enjoyworking as part of a team, then wewould like to hear from you. Send acover letter and a m e ighlightingyour experience to: HumanResources, 2200 Grand Ave., DesMoines, 14 50312. Or you can sendan email to: [email protected].

PRINTED INU.S.A.-ShopNotes No. 7


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ContentsFeatures

Stow-Away Router Table 6This space-savingshop essentialhas features some b~ggerrouter tablesonly dreamabout Itstowsaway whenyou don'tneed it and mounts toyour Workbench n less thana mlnute

Super-Strong Box Joints 12Cutting small box joints is one thing, but cutting them withfingers 2" ong requires a little different technique. Weshowyou how to do it with our step-by-step instructions.

Shop-Made Benchtop Vise 14Round stock, carvings, odd shapes- hls benchtop vlsecanhandle itall We've designed it w~th varietyoflaw facesand updated a classic des~gno meet todayk needs

Working with Plywood 22- Do you dread the thought of moving, storing, or cutting alarge, heavysheetofplywood?Learn a few of thetechniqueswe use to make working withplywood hassle-free.5 b o o d Shop Projects 26

It won?take a lot of time,effort or material tooutfityour shopwith storage, worksurfaces,and several handy accessoriesEach project can be built from a single sheet of plywood.

DepartmentsReaders' Tips 4

Shop-tested tips to solve common woodworkingproblems.Too1 Chest 32

Block planes have been around for a long time But we'vefound one that incorporates some new features andaccessories thataresure tomake ~toneofyour favoritetoolsShop Talk 34

Glue doesn't keep forever.Herek what you need to know todetermine if it's "tooold to hold onyour nextproject.Sources 35

Mail-order sources and supplies to help you complete theprojects featured in this issue. 5 Plywood Prqjeds page 26No. 71 ShopNotes


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A To keep router bits frombottoming out ~n he collet, SergeDuclos of Delson,Quebec,Canada preveputs a dab of silicone on theend. from I

Routing Parallel Miter Iw The box joint j i i from ShopNotesNo. 62 makes it easy to make boxjoints on the table saw. But I adaptedthe design so that it works on myrouter table, as shown in the photo.The benefit of this is that sinceouterbits are a consistentdiameter.

rit's even easierto set up.However, the j i i has two runnersto fit both miter gauge slots on thetable saw. So I needed to rout asecond miter gauge slot on myrouter table. And for the jig to workcorrectly, the new slot has to be per-fectlyparallel to the originalslot.To do this, I made a simple jig fora hand-held router, as illustrated inthe drawing below. Its made from apiece of 3h" plywood. I attached the

L Donald Slabe of Swissvale, PAeeps h ~ sordless dr111with~nasy

/s reach by hanglng ~t rom a hooks screwed to the ce111ng f his shop

I using the existing ning parallel : lot I installed anonnting hole screws. A 3h"-dia. straight bit and then routedrunner that rides in the the groove in two passes.gets screwedto thezepsthe routerrnn-VU..U I.. ."U. Y.., - iIfyou have a unique shop tip, we3d&e 1;oconsiderfeaturingit inoneormore of ri:ourprint or electronicpublications. &e'll pay up to $200for a tipwe pub-lish. Just write down the tip and mail itto SheNotes, Attn.: Readers'Tips, 2200Grand Ave., Des Moines, L4 50312. OrFAX it to 515-282-6741, or send us anemail at [email protected] include your name, address,and daytimephone number in casewe i.:


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,etstowsawy ea

challengeinmostshopsiskding roomforallA our ools. 'Ihe router tabe shown abovesolvesthe I" To make set uloutthe center~h o t oproblemof alwayshaving aroutertablehandy,yetitdoesn'ttakeupvaluable shopspacewhen its not inuse.

Themmpad sizeof this tablemakes iteasyto storejustaboutanywhere.Butwhenyouneed touse it,thetablecanbe pulled out and mounted easily to any workbench. Ifyour bench has a facevise, clampingit inplaceisa snap,as in the photo above. Oryou can simplymount it to thebench with clamps Oeft photo below).

J evenbelow

quicktto see

:r, chechowth

router is held in the table. set of quick-release toggclamps allows you to install (or remove) the routerseconds. Unlike most router tables, you won't bwasting a lot of time getting your router in place oremoving it onceyou're done.

Finally, the aluminumtracks dong thekont andsideof h e able make it easy to quickly and accurately postion thefence r afeatherboard (lowerright photo).

1 IA Alternative Mount You can also A Toggle Clamps. Qu~ck nd easy, A Accessories. An alum~numracmount therouter fableusmg clampson toggleclampsmake~t snap toremove allows the use of a mfter gauge or ththe tabs at the back of the table. (or ~nstall)he muter ~nhe table. featherboardshown above


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GUARDMOUNTSTOFENCEWlWSTUDDEDKNOBANDWASHER

TOGGLE CLAMPSALLOWQUICKANDEASYREMOVAL(OR INSTALLATIOFROUTER

Materials & HardwareA Table (1) 17% x 2 4 - /4 Ply.S Front t i p (f) I ~ / ~21% ~ r y .C Rear Ss lppon (1) Y/z x 2% - 3/4PIy.0 Side Support (1) H/z 11% -% Ply.E Fence Face6 (2) Y/4 xZ1 - 9 4 Ply.F Fenoe Brackets (2) 1% x 3 - 4(I Dual TrackI ?=Track 132"ha1{3) 2 1 3 4 D k - ~ t a - G ~ o g g ~ ebamps(8) %@-I0rae6 Inse r ts(0) %6" Washers(2) %@"x" Studded Knobs(2) 5 h e " ~%" 5 tudded Knobs(41 5%6"-18Through Knobs(4) 5b6"x1%" Flange Bo l ts(4) # 8 x f/4" Fh Woodscrewa(2) #6 2"Fh Woodsmw6.2) # 8 x 2'/ar' Fh Woods~rews(6) # 6 x */em h Woodscmws(0) # 6 x 5/e" FhWoodsorews(M) # 8 x 5/s" Ph Woods~ rews) Ou6t Hood- (f) Guard* (1) Featherboard

N o t e To order a c o m p t . . hardware kB,t u r n t o Souffies on page 35.

FENCESLIT - TWK FOADJUSA

REARS UF'ROVlRffiWSEMOUNOPnONSWITCHEDOUTLET

SIDESUPPORTPREEN* TOPFROM SAGGING

I i - DUALTRACK

QUICK-RELEASETOGGLE CLAMP


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TableJ I G S & A C C E S S O R I E S

A quick look at Figure 1 howsthatthe top of this router table is largeenough to do serious routing. Butwhat makes the table really versatileis the aluminum dual track and T-track installed in the top.T-Track- Iwanted tomakeit easy to secure thefence to the table

and easy toadjust after-ward. T-trackis the answer.This is just anextruded alu-minum channelthat allows you to use aflangebolt andknob to attach a

fence or accessories, like a feather-board. Iikewise, dual track uses themrlminum Track. same extruded channel. But it's

a dual track paired with an L-shapedextrusion toand T-trackto the create a groovefor a miter gauge.

tablemakes it Size theTable - Beforeyoucaneasy toposition the addeither track,youll need to make

fenceand the table. The table (R) startswith aaccessories. redangular piece of 3/4" plywood. (Iused Balticbirch.) Then toprovide asmoothworksurfaceandhelp stiffenthe plywood, I applied plastic lami-nate to both sides.It's best to apply an oversizedpiece of plastic laminate to each sideofthe table andthentrim hem flush.Once that's complete, you can turn

IW

DE-STA-COTOGGLE CLAMP

your attention to the work uustratedinFigures2 and 3.Mounting the Router - To pro-vide a quick means of mounting therouter, yet make it easy to removewhen I needed to use it for a hand-held operation,Iused toggle clamps.But the clamps won't prevent therouter from moving around underthe table. To solve this problem, Icreated a "pocket" for the router on

TABLE 15 MADEON E PIECE OFBALTIC BIRCH RECESS MATCHESBASE OF ROUTERBOTH S IDES

BACK' SUPPORTSUPPORT

the bottom of the table.To see howI did this, take a look at the box othe opposite page.Cut Grooves for SupportsWith the recess complete, the nexstepis to cuta seriesofshallowgrooves inthe bottom of the table, aillustrated in F i e 2. Thesgrooves serve the purpose olocating the two plywood supporthat help stiffenthe topof the table

CUTOUT FORMSTAB AT BACK

OF TAB

8 ShopNotes No. 7


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You'll also notice a shallow ('/a1')rabbet along the front edge of thetable. This is for a plywood lip that'sadded later. The lip supports thefront edge of the top and also pro-vides extra material forscrewing hedual track in place.Add Grooves for Tracks -Now yon can lip the table over and

work on the top side. The pair ofgrooves shownin Figure 3 run fromthe front to the back alongeach sideof the table. These grooves accepttheT-trackused to attach the fence.I used a dado blade sized tomatch the width of the T-trackandcut just deep enough so the T-trackwas level with the top of the table,like you see in Figure lb. And likethe bottom of the table, there's arabbet along the front edge. Youcansee in Figure3bthat this rabbetis cut a little deeper to accommo-date the extra thicknessof the dualtrack (Figure la).

Now all that's left to do to com-plete the top of the router table is tomake a cutout along each sideof thetable.These cutoutsleave tabsalongthe back edge allowingyou to clamp

.,,,SUPPORT(31h" 11%")E L -the router table to a beuchtopwith a pair ofclamps.Attach the Supports & Lip - n

the bottom view shown in Figure 4you can see how the table supportsandfront lip are attached.After cut-ting the 3/4" plywoodfiont lip (B) tosize and beveling the ends, it'ssimplyglued in place.

Next, cutthe table supports (C, D)to sizeandknockoff he outsidecor-ners.Thenthesepiecescanbegluedand screwed in place. Note: Locatethe screws for the back support inthe groovesfortheT-track

- WOODSCREWAdd the Hardware - All that's

left to do at this point is install thehardware. To locate the toggleclamps, it's best to a p he tableoverand set the router in place. Thisway,you can position the clamps clear ofthe router handlesandcontrols.

Next, cut the dual track to lengthand position it so your miter gaugeslides smoothly Finally, cut the T-track to lengthand screwit inplace.

The toggleclamps do a great job &r d d h g a Vei'-dia. pipotof holding the router against the hole in the table, rout a l/4"deeptable. &t they won't keep the eirde. Once that'scomplete, yourc&er from moving from side to candrilltheZ1'-dia.learanceholeside.Asimple solutionto h i s t o for the router bit. Then al l that'screak a pocket in the bottom of lefttodo is remove the rest of thethe table tohouse the router. waste from the recess so theGi-Cutting Jig - To cut routerwill slip& place,&I

out the pocket, I I e simple see in the photo at right.arcle-cuttkg jig from a piece ofhardboard. P;fter dding a holefor a pivot pin (2 used a I/d1machine saw), I *bed therouter to the jig with a couplepieces ofcape$ ape,as shown inthe&axing atright.The touter is located so that

No. 71


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Add a Fence a. , OODSCREWB x 2m' h

-# BACK FACE5FX FRONT FACE . ..

&m i t s t a s y@ c l i ~ ; l i d e * -pimalougthefme a8yourduR% & h - m w & eM a t e flush on boihb ees,Stou catlm y o w ~ ~ ~ t i o nocaag.Plem.tbewwkm@badkfQ%FlgCpe; 5. skom aI*&e;dfalar

&oa &ed dmq the bbttnmedge af-ttreb&>he. TI& opening& m & e d W k a * *pit& updust aad chim as &i$* ma%&lvnaabigthtapeilge dtbebtak

~ p f l / ~ f a y ~ u r b Ee~mq+flefc)wkbesthusha@hfbits, h f s Be ranksGI@ndh ysut h e ~ m u I ~ r @ m ~ ( f ~ h ~ p m v l c l e s . b e ~ r ~ ~ a r a ~ c e ~ ~ ~ p ~ b i t S .hpBon*.10 %opNote# No, 9


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END C U D ONBAND SAW

THIRD: curBRACKETSTO LENGTH

W'-DIA. \HOLES A

NOTE: 6RACKETSTARTS OUT A SAN EXTRA-LONGPIECE OF 1%"-THICKHARDWOOD

Mounting the Fence. Heavy-dutybrackets keep the fence square to thetable To reposition the fence, youjustlwsen theknobsand theneasfvshdethe fence rghtwhereyou need it.I

Because the brackets are some- After sanding the surfaces Once that's complete, you canwhat small to work with, I started smooth, you can drill the holes for trim each bracket (F ) to final size.with anexIra-longblank that Iplaned mouuikg the brackets to the back Then screwthem tothe backtre a,to final thickness and cut to final faceaswell as the holeforthe knob, they're flush alongthe bottomedge,width (F'lgure 6).Then I removed the washer, and flange bolt used to likeyou see in Figure5awaste at each end by making the attach the fence andbrackets to theamled cutsonthe band saw. T-trackin the table. ELECTRICALSWITCHAlthoughthe router table is ready touse at this point, there's one more

thing you might want to consider.

MU a holeandthen With the router plugged into a

need to turnthe routeroff inahurry.To see a complete hardware list

No. 71 ShopNotes 11


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be intimi-by big boxThey'reso simple toyou don?need a jig.

M king traditional box joints using ajig is really the only way to to be an easier way. What I cameuwith a jig is a job that typi- get consistentiy good results. with is a simple technique thacally requires a lot of fussing On the other hand,when it came doesn't require ajig.nstead,youcuaround with stops and index pins to to making a handful of extra-large the box joints "by eye" on the tablget a perfect fit But if you're boxjoints for the benchtopvise (see saw. It might sound difficultat firstmaking long rows of tiny boxjoints, page 14),I figuredthat therejusthad but because these boxjoints are s

I MARK WASTEAREA5 WITH 'X'1 tartby layingout thefingerson Using the mating workpiece as of the success dependson a carefuyour workpiece and marking a gauge, set the blade about layout I started by measuring andthe waste areas with an "X "

2%2" higher than the workpiece. layingoutthe fingersof the boxjoin

3 o cut the fingers, start by cutting along the waste side of the layout A chisel is used to remove thlines. Then remove the material in between with additionalpasses. A 4 .fdges left behind by the sawtall auxiliary fence helps toback up the workpiece andprevent tearout. blade at the ends of theslots.

-a -I.IL...~I ! !

fewand so large, they are fairly forgiving.The truth is thatyou canhavall the box joints cut and fitted iabouthalf the time itwould takeyouto set upand adjust ajig.

The technique I used to makthese boxjoints is to simply lay ouand cut the joints on one of thworkpieces. Then I used that piecto lay out the joints on the face othematingworkpiece.Layout -As with anyjoint, muc

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things that ancdmy facev k W'LTo start with, the whdg vise swkk so FWly, un&e other v i e that areyou m n t t at an angle to the fmntofthe bench. ?hid h ou ta Bnd the mount this vise just alnnit anywhqre onmu& conwnient d n g positton . bench where there's a dog hde. And

when clamping a worEcpke in the you'rr done with it youcan ercsilymandstore itoutafthem.Amfifthesearentencugh- .try &&ing a look at the &@art-

, 'mtofvi~cjawfncwmpsge20, ,aaweIlaathe+nal*-rrbm h i mw rge2l.

mematerials listM)page15and:igure 7 onpage18 show th e rearjaw face as 8%"long.


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UmLODEDMEWOVERALLDIMENSIONS:41/4WxflYa/s"Hx189/s"L

BRONZESHOULDER BUSHINGPREVENTSBINDING ANDWEARTOJAW

(10) #6 s/4" Fh Woodscrews(141 #0 x */4" Fh Woodemwd(1) */4" Hex &It (length ta su i t )(1) 5 / 4 " ~5'/2" Threaded Rod. 1J '/a"% 'I2 - 36" lum. S t r l p(1 ) 2"x 2" xlta"- 36" Alum. Angle. 1) 3/4"Nut(5) 5/4" Washer6(2 ) 3UCoupIitrg N u t s(1 ) 9/4" 1. V.Shoulder B w h i n g

* (I) Clamping Handle(2 ) Wdia,Steel Rods(4Wong)(4 ) '/aa'-dl- Rare-Earth Magnet6(4) *e l Cups fo r Magnets(4-16) Seeel Washem fo r Magnets(0 -2 0 ) #4 '12" Fh Wo o d s ~ re w s

A F m n t Ja w (l)B Base Runner6 (2 )C Filler Blook (1)0 Top Plate 0)E Rear Ja w Face (IJF Rear Ja w Sides (2)G Rear Je w Cap (1)H Nus Block (1)I N u t Block Retainers (2 )J Handle (1)K Plain Ja w ,%3c06 (2 )

NO. 71 ShopNotes

HANDLE QUICKLYSECURESVlSETO BENCH


16/39

Front Jaw & Base -,The vise is made up ofthree main sections-kedfrontjaw, abase, anda rear jaw. Th e front jawand base are joinedtogetherwith box jointstocreate a single assembly,just like you see in P i e1.So I built these two sec-tions of th e vise first.Front Jaw - If youtake a look at Figure 2,voull see that th e h n t

FRONTJAW

BRONZECOMPOUND SHOULDERTO SE CU RENUT AN DCLAMPINGHANDLE TO CLAMPING

jaw (A) is cu t from apiece of 13/4"-thickhard-wood stock.(Ised oak)There's not much tomaking the front jaw. First, acounterbored hole is drilled in thejaw blank for a bronze shoulder CUT BOX JOINTSAFTER BASEbushing that will hold the vise screw IS A SSE M BL E D( E i e 2). Then a pair of smallerholes are drilled in the face of thejaw for a couple of rare-earth ma- After lavina out th e ogee on th e smooth. Then vou can se t the iawClampingHandle.This large,handleallows you to reallytfghten down thejaws of the vise

(See p a g e 35 forsources.)

hets that d b e sed to bold some blank, 1-cu;it to shape with a band aside while y& work on the h i e .replaceablejaw faces. saw. An oosciUating drum sander orTo complete the jaw, all that's left a drum sanding atttachment BkSliis to add the ogee prose to the op mounted in your drill press makes If you take a look at Flgure 3 oof the blank as you see in F Y e . quick work of sanding th e ogee the opposite page, youY se e tha

FRONTI .IAW "1

the base is actually made up of fouseparate pieces. At *t you mighwonder why I didn't just use a soliblock of wood. Th e reason is the Tslot in the bottom of the basewhich you can see in th e CrosSection on page 15. This T-slot isized to hold the head of a bolt thafastens the vise to the top of thbench. But instead of trying to cuthe T-slot out of a solid piece owood, I found it's easier to createby gluing up four separate pieces.

To build the base, I started bmaking a pair of bm0mnners (B ) ashown inFigure3.These two piecestart ou t as identicalblanks.The kstep after cutling them to su e is tcu t a rabbet along one edge.Once you've rabbeted botpieces, you can trim off part of thshoulder on each piece, as showin Figure 3. But be careful hereYou're going to be creating a leand right runner, so pay attentio16 ShopNotes No. 7


17/39

to which end of the workpiece youare trimming. Jf you need to, takeanother look at Figure 3 to seewhat I'm talking aboutFiUerBlock&TopPlate -Withthe runners complete,you canmakethe other two parts of the base. Thefiller block (C ) is just a smallblockof wood that gets sandwiched inbetween the two runners. And the

topplate (D)s a 3h"-thickpiece ofhardwoodthat is sized to fit ontopofthe other three pieces of the base.After cutting the fiuer block andtop plate to size, you can glue up allthe pieces.Tohelpkeep the runnersaligned duringthe glueup, Imade a

WITH THE AIDOF A SPACERBLOCK.GLUE UPASSEMBLY(SEE DETAIL 'a') IFILLERBLOCK

SECOND:REMOM WASTEFOR FILLER BLOCK

TOPPLATE

-FU?STiCUT%" x 'Yte"RABBETIhI @I BA5ERUNNER(1W x 1W - IT')

Rsmall, temporary spacer to fit inbetween them, as shown in Figure3a. Just make sure that you don'taccidentallyglue the block inplace.Box Joints - Once the base is vglued up, you can cut the largeboxjoints on the base and front jawpieces. You can read all about how Icut these inthe articleon page 12.Before gluing the box jointsogether,there are acoupleof thingsleft to do on the base. F i t , you'llneed to createa coupleof "tracks" inthe sidesof the base forthe rear jaw

MD EWto run along. To do this, just cut agroove along each side of the base,as shown in F i e . Since thesegroovesare 3/16" wide, youll have tocut each one in a couple of passesusing a singlesawblade.To prevent wear to the base fromthe sliding action of the rear jaw, acouple of aluminumwear stripswillbe added to the sides of the base

later. O e s e are shownin Figure 1.)These stripsare let in to the sidesofthe base so that they end up flushwith the surface.In order to do this,youll need to trim back the edgesofthe base, as you see in Figure 5aOnce this is done, you can glue thebase and front jaw together. Tohelp reinforce the box joints, Idrilled a couple holes through thesides of the frontjaw and glued in apair of steel pins (see F i e a andphoto in margin at right).

The last stepis to add the hardwareto the front jaw/base assembly Istarted by attach'ig the aluminumwear strips to the sides of the base. A Pinned Box JThe strips are cut to length with a Tostrengthen thack saw and then simply box joint, 1add7 rilled and screwed in place, par of steel rodas you see inFie . act as reinforciNext, I installedthe magnetcupsand magnetsin the holesin the front jaw. F d l y , Iadded the bronze shoulderbushing,the threadedrod andhandle, a pair of washers, anda hex nut as shown in FimveYY -I 1. (Seepage35forsources.)

No. 71 ShopNotes 17


18/39

Rear Jaw AssemblyNowthatyou've gotthefrontjaw andbase finished, you can startworkingon the rear jaw assembly The box-like rear jaw is built out of fourseparate pieces F i r e 6).Aluminum mils at-tacbed to thesides of the rearjaw allow it totravel back andforth in thegrooves in thes~desf the base.And the thread-ed rod in thefrontjaw threads I, .into a large nut

captured in-~idehe rear,aw. So whenyou turn theI large handleonthefrontofthe vise, the rear

ARare-EaMMagnet. This rare-earthmagnet is

mounted in a steelcup to increase itsstrength. The

washer getsmounted to a

jaw face.

jaw opensor closes.To build the rear jaw, startby cut-ting outblanks for the rear jaw face(E l andthe twojaw sides (F). f youtakealook atFigure7,you'll seethatthe 6rst step is to drill a large holethrough the jaw face for the visescrew.And just like on the frontjaw,acoupleof holes are drilledto hold apair of rareearth magnets that willbe added later. Once this is done,

you cancutandsandthe ogeeprofileon the top of the blank to match theprofle of the front aw.If you take a look at F i e s and8, you'll see that the jaw face isnotched and the sides are rabbetedon the ends so that the pieces locktogether when assembled. To dothis, I started by cutting notches inthe edges of the jaw hce Frgure 7).

/ ' / I I,REAR HEW

I just used a dado blade to nibbaway this material.Once this is done, you can cutshallowrabbetat the end of eachjaside piece. Youll want to size therabbets so that the side piecesflushwith the edges of the jaw faceJaw Cap - With the face ansides of the rear jaw complete, yocan set these pieces aside on yobench while you start working o

the jaw cap. The purpose ofthe jacap (G) is to simply protect ththreads of the vise screw from dand debris.The cap is cut from 3/4thick stock Then the edges are rabeted to fit over the jaw sides.Wheyou've finished makiug this piecyon cangoaheadandglueupthejaface,sides, andcap.Nut Block -It soundslike somthing you mightget as a holiday gfrom your great aunt. But the n

C' ' - -


19/39

d. Ordinary playing cards act as sduring the installationof the rails to create the nececlearancebetween thebase and the rear jaw

block (H i is really just what thename says- ts a block of woodwith aholedrilledinittohold alargecouplingnu t I gluedthe nut inplacewith a twepart epoxy.To prevent the rear jaw kombiding, the nut block is only heldloosely inplace by a pair of r e t a i wshps (I).These are just a pair ofthinwood stripsthat aregluedto thesides of the jaw, just behid the nutblock andwasher, as inF i e .This lets the nut block "float"

inside the jaw a little to give the visescrew some freedom of movementwhenyoureversediiection.Rails -The lastthing o addtotherear jaw are the rails.As youcan seein Figure 6, I made the rails by cut-

ting down a couple of pieces of alu-minum angle stock. Then I drilledsome countersunkholes in the alu-minum for themountingscrews.To attach the rails, I set the rearjaw on the base of the vise with acoupleof playingcardsinbetweento

N m ; O BUILD JAW FACES.

act as spacers. Then I clamped therails to the rear jaw, drilled somepilotholes, andadded the screws.Assembly - To add the rear jawto the vise, k t lip the washer andnut block into place behind the rearjaw face.Thenslidethe rearjaw ontothe base so the rails enter thegroovesinthe base andthe threadedrodentersthe hole inthe rearjaw. (Ithelps to turn the vise upside downwhile doing this to prevent the nutblock from falling out of the rearjaw.) Now all you have to do is turnthe handleon the frontof the vise tothread the vise screw into the nutGE 20 J/4"

HEX BOLT(LENGTH TO SUIT)block in the rear jaw.

HANDLEThevisecanbe attachedtothe topofaworkbenchwith a largehexbolt, acouplingnut, and a pair ofwashers.The only thing left to make at thispoint is a wood handle for the nut@@re 9).Thiswayyou cantightenor loosen the nut without having toget outawrencheach time.The handle (J ) is made from a1"-thick hardwood blank. Afterlaying out the profle on the blankand drilliog the hole for the nut(see drawing in margin), you cancut the handle to shape and roundover the edges. Finally, glue thecoupling nut into the hole in thehandle with epoxy and tighten itonto the hex bolt F i e a).


20/39

Jaw FacesThe last thing to do to complete thevise is to make a set of replaceablejaw faces.In fact, I madefour sets-a set of plain ones and then threeoptional sets of special-purposejawfaces. The nice thing about all ofthese jaw facesis that they are heldin place with rare-earthmagnets.Soit's easyto swapin anotherse tPlain -Theh t airofjawfaces(K ) I made are just plain hardwoodfacesasyou seeinthe photo onpage14. If you're only goingto make onepair of jaw faces, these are the onesto make. They are made from 1/21-thickhardwood stock.The magnetic system I used tohold the jaw faces in place consistsof three parts. The rareearth mag-nets fit into steel cups that aremounted in holes in the vise jaws.Then a pair of washers are screwedto the back of each jaw face so thatitwill "stick" to the magnets.But instead ofcountersinkingthewashers, I just screwed them inplace on the surfaceof the jaw facesso they stand proud. Sincethe mag-nets are recessed into the jaws onthe vise, the washerswill fit into theholes for the magnetcups and keepthe jaw facesaligned.

JAW FACE) -.NOTE: D IMENSON 5FOR PLAIN JAWFACES AREIDENTICAL

NOTE:JAW FACESARE CUT FROMW-THICK STOCK

The only tricky t h i i about doingthis is that you have to be carefulwhen it comesto layingoutthe posi-tion of the washerson the jaw faces.They need to match up exactlywiththe position of the magnets.Soft Jaws -The plain jaw facesare tine for most work. But whenyou don't want to take a chance onmarring your workpiece,it's nice tohave a set of soft jaw faces (see leftphoto below). These are identicalto the plain hardwood faces, butthey are lined with leather for asoft, non-slip grip (Elgure 10).

Prismatic Jaws - For holdinround objects like pipe or doweI made a set of "prismatic" jaws.you take a look at Figure 11,yocan see that these jaw faces amade from 3/4''-thkk stock Thhave V-grooves routed on thfaces in two different directionsthat you can hold round objecvertically or horizontaliy (scenterphoto below).Swiveling Jaw - The k a l jafacethat Imadeisonethat swivelshold tapered workpieces (see rigphoto below). You can see how th

aorr Jaws . For nolalng aelicare Prismatic Jaws. The V-grooves in a w r v e ~ ~ r r y ~ a w .rirr~ye rruws thobjects (like carvings), these this pair ofjaw faces allows you to jaw face to swivel, makingleather-linedjaws provide a firm but hold dowels or round stock either possible to clamp up taperednon-marringgrip. horizontally or verticaily. non-parallel workpieces.20 ShopNotes No. 7


21/39

jaw face is put together by taking alook at F i e 2. The jaw face isactually made up of two halves thatarejoined together with a hinge.

After cutting the two pieces ofthe jaw face to size, you3 need tocut a couple of bevels on one sideof each piece. Whis orovides clear-ance so-the front half can swivelfrom side to side.)In order to attach the hingebetween the two pieces, you11 needto use a h i e with a removable oin. b

BEVELSmiThisallows$ou to separate hehingeinto two halves so that each half canbe screwed in place. Once this isdone, all that's left is to line the faceof the swiveling aw with leather. & P_

1"HINGEREMOVABLEPIN)

Although the benchtop viseworks great, it does have onedrawback. It takes quite a fewturns of the handle for the rearjaw to travel from one end of thethreaded rod to the other. Tospeed up this process, we cameupwith a quick-release option.

The secret behind the quick-releasemechanism is a "half nut"to replace the nut block. (Imadethis by sawing a coupling nutdown the middle.) A spring-loaded cammechanismisused toengage and disengage the half

U he campresses the halfnut wainst the threaded rod. the I-vise operates as normal. But asimpleflip ofthe leveronthe sideof the rear jaw releases the camand allows the half nut to disen-gage fromthe threaded rod. Nowyou can slide the rear jaw tposition along the base.nutwith the threaded r


22/39

ShopSecretsfor Working with Plywood

Plywood has its challenges. It's heavy and cumbersometo work with. And the edges and veneer are prone tobeing damaged. But with a few of our shop secrets, youcan meet each and every challenge.

H The first step in dealingwith plywood is just getting it into yourvehicle- nd then back out onceyou get it toyour shop.I came up with a way to do thiswith an old appliance cart (seephoto).With the cart resting on the*ate (with the wheels uo). I liftoneend if the sheetontothet;heels.Then I pick the other end up off heground and "roll" the sheet into thebed of the pickup. To get the sheetou t simply reverse the process.

Move itAlongw Onceyougetthe sheetofplywood To ensure the plywood doesnhomeandoutof thetruck,youllneed slip off the top as you're moving thto move it into the shop. To avoid sheet around, there's a shalloI aving to carry it around the shop, I groove cut down the center of thmade a "skateboard" from a piece of top, as illustrated in the drawinscrap2x6andasetof casters,likeyou below. And to make it easy to steesee in thephoto at lefL the caster at the front swivels.

IVdS-WIDEx%"-DEEPGROOVEPREVENTS

SLIDING OF F

PROVlDES- SOLID SUPPORTFOR PLWOODALLOWS EASYSTEERING

No. 7


23/39

W Rollinga sheetof plywoodaroundis quite easy. But sooner or lateryou11need to carrya plywood sheetto get it right where you need it.When thaes the case, I use the"bandy" tote shown in the drawingandphoto at right.

Thetoteisdesignedtohookunderthe bottom edge of the plywood. Around handle that fits into the sidesofthetoteiseasieronyourhandthanthe sham edges of the olvwood.And

#8 3" hWOODSCREW

. -the extended sides on Zhe tote makeit possible for me to pick up a heavy 9sheet by lifting with my legs - WOODrather than my back. w

Note:Whenusingthetote,be sureto center the plywood sheet on the CHAMFERsupport for better balance. And toprevent the plywood sheet from tipping,placeyour otherband atthetop wof the sheet tosteadvit I-'& UpAgainst the WallI liketocutupthe plywoodformy

project right away. But there aretimes I can't always do that. So Icameupwith awayto storeplywoodsheetsnice andflatuntil I can.

All you need to do this is somefree wall space and the storagebracketshown in the photo andillus-trated in the drawingbelow.

The wall bracket consists of twoparts: a hinged bracket attached tothe wall that holds the plywood inplace, and an index bar that adjusts

the opening of the bracket to allowforvaryingamounts ofsheetgoods.

The hinged bracket is nothingmore than two 2x4s joined togetheratone endwith a3"butthiige. You'llalso notice that there's a 1/2"-dia.dowelglued intothe topof each 2x4.

These dowels fit in holes drilledinto the index bar so you can adjustthefrontbracketpiece.Theplywoodis held against thewallwith another' /zl'dia. dowel (8" long) thats gluedinto the bottom of the frontbracket.

I ripped the index bar to widthfrom a shortlengthof 2x4.Onceyouhave it cut to size, the holes can bedrilled. Then, to soften the sharpcorners and allow the index bar toclear the wall, I sanded a radius ateach endof the bar.Tousethestoragebracket, selectahole in the index bar that takes themost slack out of the front bracketWhen you want to sort through thestack, just set the index bar so thedowelsare in the outsideholes.


24/39

'*,.,-.-..d.A CircularSawBlade. Tohelpchipout, the

- ,@ Build a 2-in-1 CuttingGuideOne of the biggest challenges

when working with plywood is cut-ting a large sheet down into piecesthat are alittleeasier tohandle.Evenwith help,it's ahassle tocutplywoodonatablesaw.To avoidthis,I use mycircular saw and a cuttingguide likeyou see in the photo at right

The cutting guide not only solvesthe problem of makinga straightcut,but it makes it easy to position thesaw so you know exactly where thecut is going tobe.AnAccurateReferenceEdge -The way this works is simple. Theedge of the guide acts as a referencethat indicates the path of the blade(or router bit,but more aboutthat in

mexpenslve, steel aminute). Ensuring an accurate cutsaw blade shown isjust a matter of aligningone of the

above has tiny, edges of the guide with the layoutrazor sharp teeth lineon the workpiece.that remove small Build the Guide - There's

nothing too complicated aboutmaking the cutting guide. Start outwith an extra-wide base made hornl/4" hardboard (see drawingbelow).

The next step is toglueand screwa piywood fence to the base. Sincethe fence is going to establish thereference edge, it's important toattach it so it's perfectly straight

ENDVIEW4

START WITH OMRSED BASE+WASTE

HOLD SA W OR ROUTERTIGHTAGAINST FENCEWHEN CUTTING ORR O U ~ N GASETO wimn

Oncethe fence is inplace,you cancreate the reference edge by trim-ming off the waste with a circularsaw. The nice thing about the &awidth on the base is that by using ahand-held router and a straight bit,you can create a second referenceedge on the other side of the guide.

Although the guide will make astraightcutwitheither a circular sawor a hand-heldrouter, itwon't alwaysguaranteeyou a chipout-free cu t

When I'm usingmycircular saw,liketo use asteelsawblade designespecificallyforplywood,like the onshown in the margin. But wheusing mytable sawor router, I usedifferentblade orbit Tolearn a littlmore aboutthese, check out the bobelow and Sourcesonpage 35.

24 ShopNotes No. 7


25/39

f&reaking Down Big SheetsBefore making any cuts, you'llneed to lay out the pieces on the ply-wood first. Ifs a good idea to allow a

minimum of l/4" extra all the wayaround toprovide enoughmaterial tomake the finalclean-uppasses later.Still, cutting plywood to roughsizedoesn't mean you want a raggedcut.The goal is to end upwith clean,straight edges that can ride againstthe rip fence (or be placed against amiter gauge or an acudliary sled).Foam Support - To accomplishthis, I use the cutting guide and saw

blade I mentioned ear-lier. In addition to theguide, you2 also need away to support the ply-wood d u r k the cutThe best way I've foundtodothis istolaytheply- =---wood on a sheet of foaminsulation,as in the photo at right @ faceof the ply- '&; ,a,,&got mine ata local home center.) wood is likely to *Keep the Good Side Down - splinter. So even with aOne thing to be aware of is the hlade specialtyhladethat reduceschipout,on a circular saw cuts on the ifs best to place the plywood with itsupstroke. This means the top sur- good facedown onthe foam.

1.2Get a Pedect Finish CutI ne of the reasonsfor allowing alittle extra material is to remove the"factory edge." You can usuallycount on this edge to be straight andtrue. But its often dented or nicked.So if s best to trim t off.To do this, adjust the rip fence tomake an &-wide cut, as in Flgure1.Then, after readjusting the fence,run the 'Tust-cut"edge against it andril, he ~ ieceo finalwidth.One problem area is crosscuttinga wide piece. Trying to do this oftenresults in the bar of the miter gaugenot being fully supported, resultingin a less than accuratecut.SlidingPlatform -The solutionis a large, slid'mg platform that provides extra support for the work-piece, like you see in Figure 2.The platform is just a plywoodbase that carries the workpiecethrough the blade. The base isguided by a hardwood runner thatslides in the miter slot.As youmakea cut, a fence keeps the workpiecesquareto the blade.Flush Trim It - Sometimes aworkpiece is too wide even for theslidingplatform.Thafswhen ahand-held router comesinhandy.Wip th: cuttingguide and a com-presslon b ~ tseeoppos~teage),youcan uta clean, straightedgewithoutanychipout Figure 3). &

FENCE

No. 71 ShopNotes


26/39


27/39

Too, '""8As much as I enjoy woodworking inmyshop,I findthat1 pendalmostasmuch time working on projectsaround the house. And because thatusually involves carrying tools towhere I'm working, ir s nice to havesomething to carry them in. That'swhere these tool totes comein.Eachtote is open on one side to make iteasy to load and unload your tools.And a narrow cleat along the frontedge of the opening prevents smallitemsfrom fallingout.Not only does the tote hold anarmful of tools, hut it's just theright height for sawing the end offa board. In fact, you canmake apairof them to use as mini-sawhorses.And when you want to take a break,the tote makes agreat little stool.The tool totes are so small thatyou only need half a sheet of 3/4'1 plywood tobuild apair of them (seecnt-ting diagram below). To build thetool totes, start by cutting the ends(A) to sizeas shown inF i r e 1.The"feet" can then be cnt out on theendsusing a hand sawor ag saw.After you've finished making theend pieces, you can set them aside

while you cut out the hottm (B),

CORNERBRACE

totes are assembled withyellow glue and screws.To make sure everythinglined up accurateb I dryclamped all the pieces Itogether &t and thendrilled the pilot holes forthe screws. Then Iremoved the clamps,glued the pieces together,and added the screws. Istarted by screwing thebottom and back together and thenadding the frontcleatThe bottomback assembiy getssandwiched between the two endpieces. Again, I used screws andglueto attach the ends.Top -The last piece to add is thetop. The twp (E ) also doublesas the'%andlee' or the tool tote (seephotoabove). So after cutting this piece tosize, you11 need to cut out an

opening in the center. I made this

slot by simply driUing a starter holeat each end point of the opening andremoving the waste in between witha jig saw. Then for a more comfort-able grip, I eased the edges bysandingthem lightlyTo attach the top, I used somemetal corner braces (see photo inmargin). These are just mewed tothe insidefacesof the endpiecesandthen to the underside of the top, asyoucan seein Figure lb.

1Vdx 5%"5WT.CENTEREDONTOP \

ARE CUTFROM%"PLYWOOD

A corner ~racThesemetal cobraces providequ~cknd easyof securely attathe topof the t

GKArNDIRECTION


28/39

b PianoHinge.Also known as

inges,plan0 h~nges re

used to attach theends to the legs of

the sawhorse

Sawhorses are a necessity in justabout any shop. But these saw-horses are a little dierent in thatthey fold up for storage. Thismakes it easy to carry them any-where and they don't take up muchroom when they aren't being used.But don't let the foldingdesign foolyou- hese sawhorses are plentysturdy for just about any taskIags - Before you start cu.ttingout the pieces for the sawhorses,it's a good idea to take a close lookat the cutting diagram at right. Inorder to get all the pieces for twosawhorses out of a single sheet ofplywood, you11 need to do somecareful laying out before you startcutting. And because of the shapeof the legs, you'll need to cut thesepieces out to rough size with a jigsaw and then sand the edgessmooth. Or you can trim them witha router and a straightedge guide.Ends -After you've cut the legs(A) to size,you can startmaking theends. If you take a look at Figure 1,you'll see that each end is actudlymade up of two separatepieces thatare hinged in the middle, as well as

to the legs. This is what allows thesawhorseto fold up.After cutting out all the ends (BJthey can be attached to the legswith piano hinges. (You11 need to

-v' wLEG(96' 26%")

:UTOFF CORNERSOF CLEAT FOR

NOTE: ALL PIECESARE CUT FROM%"PLYWOOD

cut the hinges to length first.) Its alot easier to attach each half of theend to a leg of the sawhorse k s tThen the two halves are connectedwith another piano hinge.Top -The top of the sawhorse isnothing more than a narrow, rectan-gular piece of plywood. The top (C)rests on the legs of the sawhorse-

it isn't permanently attached. But thelp lock the top nplace, a couplecleats (D) re screwed directly tthe undersideof the top.To use the sawhorse, simply opeit up by pulling the legs apart anfolding out the ends. Then se t thtop in place so the cleats fit s e wbetween the legs.

28 ShopNotes No. 7


29/39

Cut -Of f Bin-Dealing,with short cutaff pieces oflumber 1s a problem that just aboutevery woodworker has to face. Nomatter how neat you try to stackthe cutoffs, it doesn't take long fora smallpile to turn into a mountain.And this makes it almost irnpossible to sort through the cutoffs todnd a piece that you canuse.Which is exactly why you need astorage bin like the one you seehere. It's hkly small, so it doesn'ttake up much space. But it holds alot of cutoffs. And dividers insidethe bin allow you to sort the cut-offs, making it easier to End thatone piece that you're looking for.Construction - To build the cut-offbin, startby cuttingthefront (A),back (B),andbottom (C ) to size (seethe cutting diagram below). Aftercutting out these pieces, you canglue and screw them together. Thebottom is trapped between the frontand back to create a U-shapedassembb. But when you're doingthis, make sure that the ends of thepieces remain flush.

BACK @

-7 6"h L

Dividers -The next stepis to add Ithe dzvzders (D).hese three piecesare all identical. They are cut to fitinbetween the front and back of thebin. After cutting the pieces to sizeand cutting the taper on the frontedge of each piece, the two enddividerscanbe glued and screwedinplace so that they are flush with theends of the front, back, and bottomof the bin. The center divider sepa-rates the space inside the bin intotwo equal sections. Tnis divider iscentered between the two ends andthen glued and screwedin place.Interior Dividers - The last

Ipieces to make are the two interiordividers Q . These pieces help toseparate long and short cutoffs by

Idividing the bin into smaller com- move it occasionally to clean behindpartments. The interior dividers are i t The only problem is that once itscentered between the front and the loaded up with lumber, moving it isback of the bin. After cutting them no simple task. So to make t h i ito size, they're attached with corner easier, I added some casters to thebraces @ la). bottom. (Ise two k e d casters andMost of the h e , his cut-off bin two swivel casters.) As you can seewill probably just sit in a comer of in Figure lb, the casters are justyour shop. But you may want to screwedin placenear the corners.

NOTE: ALL PIECESARE CUT FROMPLWOOD L Casters. Tom'e cut-off bin et .J move aroundadded casters

CUTTING MAGRAM


30/39


31/39

Wall CabinetThe last project I made was the wall shelves. I did this on the drill press.cabinet that you see in the photo at After you've hished d l ll theright. Actually, this project is two shelf pin holes, you can assemblecabinets- ne with a door and one the two cases. The sides, top, andwithout. You can stackthem orhang botiom are all wrapped around thethem on the wall sideby side. back panels and then glued and

ICases The casesof the two wall screwed together. Icabinetsare identicalexceptfortheir With the cases assembled, youdepth. One of the cabinets is 3/4" can cut some adjustable shelves (G,shallowerthan the otheroneto allow H) to fitinside them.Thereare threeforthe thiches s of the door. shelvesfor the open cabinet and twoYou can start by cutting all the forthe cabinetwith the door.

sides (A,B,C), q s andbottoms (D, Door -At thispoint, the open cabE), nd backs (F) to size, as shown inet is done. To complete the otherin F i e below. When it comes to cabinet, all you need is a door. Thecutting the sides, you11 notice that door (I) isjust apiece of plywood cutthe cabinet with the door has one to fit over the front of the case. Ksside that is 3/1$ narrower than the attached with a piano hinge.Then toother. This is to allow for the door help keep the door closed, I added ahinge thatwillhe addedlater. coupleof magnetic catches- neatThe next step is to drill some the top of the cabinet and one at theholes in the sides for the shelf pins bottom. Finally, I mounted a handlethat will be used to support the to the frontof the door. &

NOTE: LL PIECESARE CUT FROM3 PLYWOOD

H") TOP

I CUTTINGDIAGRAMSHELFPIN

TOPVIEW

No. 71 ShopNotes

, Door HardwaI w~ndowashmakes a low-coyet practical dohandle. And amagnetic catchensures that thdoor stays shuyou're ready toooen it.


32/39

Veritas Low-Ang e

0 e of the most versatile tools Ihave in my shop is a blockplane. Ikeepithandyinmyapron allthe time. This way, I can quicklysmooth edging flush with a panel,plane a clean chamfer along thecorner of a workpiece, remove sawand mill marks from an edge, oreasily trim some end grain to get aworkpieceto fitjust rightIf you've never had a blockplane, or if you're thinking about

getting a new one, the Veritm ow-angle block plane, shown in thephotos and drawing above, isworth a look. I recently gave it aworkoutandwas glad I did.A Design Difference - Sure,you still get the adjustable mouthand the low blade angle typical ofmany block planes. But Ihritas hasmade a fewimprovements.Oneof thefirstchangeswasinthebody of the plane- he sides areshaped differently.They're not onlyhigher,but they're a littlewider.After using it fora while, I can seethe advantages. For starters, eachside provided solid support when Iwas using the plane with a shootingboard,likeyou see inthe insetphotoat left It felt solid and stable,unlikesomeblockplanes I've used.

Another advantage with thsides of the plane -no matter hoI held the plane, I was able to findcomfortable grip. That's becaumy fingers nestled right into thindentsmachinedinto each side.Many block planes need a "tuup" before you can use them. Bthat isn't the case with the Verita'Ike machining and casting are toquality. The sides are perfedsquare to the sole, which is veimportant for shooting, as Imetioned earlier. Plus, I didn't havetake anytime toflatten the sole.Speaking of the casting, Vkrituses a slightly d i i ren t materialmake the body of the plane- utile iron. That's really just a fancyname for iron that's stronger anmore forgiving of an acciden

32 ShopNotes No. 7


33/39

drop that might crack the castingon a typical block plane. Plus, it justfeels downright substantial in myhand when I'm planing.Adjusting the Blade - On mostblock planes, adjusting the blade canbe a hassle. You have to advance the

blade with one knob and control theskew (angle) of the bladewith a se parate lever (if t has one at all).V a t a s combined these two con-trols in a single lateral adjust/feedlever' (see drawing on oppositepage).As I turned the knob to adjustthe depth of cut, I was able to"twe&'the skew of the blade by piv-oting the same control.Once I have a blade set, I alwaysworried about it moving laterallyduring a cut or when I loosened the

lever cap to make a depth adjust-ment Vwitasadded a nice feature toprevent this that you won't find onother block planes- uides.These "guides" are nothingmore than a pair of set screwsinstalled in the sides of the plane.All I had to do was turn the screwsin until they just touched the blade.This prevented any lateral move-ment unless I controlled it bymoving the adjustment lever.Heavy-Duty lade- Ihe improve-ments to this plane show up in theblade too. Iike the body of the plane,the blade isalsomade from a differentmaterial than typical blades. Veritasuses a material canedA2 tool steeLThis material is tougher than thesteel used in most blades. This

means the blade will stay sharperlonger and resist chipping. Andsince the blade is a l/8" thick(almosthalf again as thick as a typ-ical block plane blade), it practi-cally eliminates any annoyingchatter as you plane.Is ItWorth It? - A typical block BOO-BTI-81plane costs $40 - $50.&you mightexpect, theVeritascosts alittle more

($89).But considering he features ithas and the quality thafs built in, Ithink the price is quite a bargain.Accessories - One last thing.The Veritas has a couple otherthings going for it - ccessories.They're easy to use and install, andthey make the plane more versatile.To read more about them, take alook at the box below.&


34/39

i7oodworkers tend to be a Iwhether its a scrap of wood, a worn-outpieceof sandpaper,or an old,half-emptybottle ofglue.But unlike some other supplies,glue doesn't keep indeMte1y. And ifyouusegluethat istooold,you're risk-inggluejoint Mure down the road.

So, how long is it safe to keep abottle of wood glue around the shop?Most manufacturers will tell you thatyellowgluehasa sheIflifeof twoyears- rom the time it is mannfactured.But there's the rub. When you buy abottle of glue fromthe store, its hardtoknowhowlongitmayhave been sit-tingonthe shelf or inawarehouse.Dak Code - Fortunateb, most ofthe glue manufacturers print a codeon their glue bottles that, once ded-phered, will tell you when the glue

was manufactured. For more onthese codes, see the box below.

A Fresh Glue. Glue from a brandnew bottle is smooth and slick, andspreads out evenly withyour finger.

But the two year rule is reallyjust aminimum.Aclnally, thegluecanlastasmuch as three or fouryears. It all hasto dowith howthe glueages.

WIUUHAPPENS TOMIRYellow glue is made up of individualparticles. These particles each have acoating that prevents them fromsticking to one another inside thebottle.Exposuretoair,h e old, andbacteria allcausethe coatingto deteri-orate.When itdoes, the glue particlesstart to adhere to each other and theglue gets thick and stringy, like youseeinthelowerright photo above.

One way to tell if the glue is stillgood is to spread some outonapiece

prime turns thick and stringy, andoesn't spread out smoothlyof wood with your finger. If the gluspreadsoutsmoothly,itsokay.Butifballs up behind your hger as you trto spread it, itsbeyond itsuseful life.

The amountof time ittakesbeforethglue starts to go bad depends a gredeal on bow it's stored. The moimportant thing is to remember tclose the cap after using the glueprevent air from entering the bottlNothing will cut short the life ofbottle of glue faster than allowing itdry out And if you buy glue in gallojugs, it's a good idea to immediateseparate it into smaller containers.Ayou use the glue, therell be a small

Mostglwr i m t u h ~rlntapradudioqeode volume of air in the bottle than if yoq&t.back of eaah glnr? b o a to Beep tracb:of had left it in thegalloujng.WBmant2whwethe@uew~~ma&.&tt&marr Ideally, yellow glue should b~ u s e s a ~ ~ m tmtingsystem. stored in a cool dry environmen W - * p h o t o a t 3 e f t > W m (55"- 5"Fl. Hot, humid conditioi d c a t s heyear$ =ZW2,3= 2-003).B e eMnd encourage the growth of bacteria th$hmi2mh&ate$ the menth @ -Jam = breaks down the glue. And despi1 F e k w ,&$- lea$rT%&$@d tom i d what you may have heard, freezinemfmionlvith thenmber1.) will not ruin glue. m e glue maIhSte-TbeMnumberden~te$theyearaad thicken, but itwill return to itsnormthenext fbx numbem thek f theyear. P~or state if you stiritupa bit)ample, a mde of 2175 meam the gIue was One last thought When you coraadeonthel75thd$of2M)2. sider how inexpensive glue is,it's juEZm& -%.efsildhristheyear@=2QOZ+ n o t w o r t h ~ a c h a n c e o nf -2% etc.). 'IhedaUowbgtwo numhemunbersarethe project by using a suspect bottleday afthe -.'&is is fdbwedby a letter in& glue.So I use the same rnle with gue~ t h e m o n f hA- Januaty, B-Februaty, &.I as I do with leftovers in the fridge-'Wben indoubt throwitout" %%

34 ShopNotes No. 7


35/39

SourcesRouter Table Hardware Kits Online ExtrasW The stow-away router The kit has the T-track,table requiresabitof hard- dual track, guard, feather-ware, some of which you board, dust hood, toggleprobablywon't find atyour clamps,knobs, and all thelocal hardware store or miscellaneoushardware.home center. The only thing youllTo save you the hassle have to provide is theof tracking everything router, plywood, hard-down, ShnpNotes Prnject wood,andplasticlaminate.Supplies has put together Stow-AuqyRouterTableahardwarekit thatcontains Hardware Kitwerythingyoull need 6871-100.. .$99.95

Benchtop Vise Hardwarew Most of the hardware Valley. The part numberrequired for the benchtop for the l/z"-dia rareearthviseshownonpage 14can magnets we used isbe found at your local 99K31.03. Be sure to gethardware store or home the matchingmagnetcupscenter.But there are a few (99K32.53) and washers.tems youll have to order (99K32.63) to completethroughthe mail. the installation.Handle - The handle Leather-Fially, youllwe used for the vise came need a small amount of

from Reid Ibol. The part leather.We got ours at anumber is ASG7T. Their local leather shop.phone numberandwebsite If you can't find anyare listed inthemargin. lo* give lbndyLeatherMagnets - Tohold the a call at 1 ~ 9 0 1 6 1 1rauxiliary vise faces in check out their website atplace we turned to Lee www.tandyleather.com.

You can also order justthe T-trackanddual trackT-Trackand DualTrackHardwareKit6871-125... .$39.95To order either idt, seethe boxbelow.

If you choosenot to geteither kit,we've listed sev-eral sources for some ofthe hard-bfind hardwareinthemarginat right

If you don't have accessto the internet, we'd behappy tomail a copyof theOnline Extras to you. Justwhichoneyou'd likeand send a self-addressed,stamped#lo envelopeto:ShopNotesNo. 71OnlineExtrasP .O.Box842DesMoines, IA 50304

Plvwood Bits & Blades-If you work with ply-wood alot, youmaywanttoconsider adding some spe-cialty sawbladesandrouterbits that will help makeclean, chipout-freecuts.SawBlades-Whetheryou're cutting plywooddown to size with a cir-cular saw, or cleaning upthe edges on your tablesaw, there's a saw bladethatwillhelp.For drcular saws, lookfor a steelplywood blade atyourlocalhardwarestoreorhome center. They're inex-

- -- -pensive and do a greatjob.And for table saws, a triplechipgrindbladewith aneg-ativebookanglefitsthe biu.We use a Freud LU97Rblade inourshop.Butothersourceshave plywood sawblades (seemargin).RouterBits -To makea chipout-free cut on bothfacesof a sheetof plywood,a compression bit is whatyou need. Freud makessingle (77-106) and double(77-206) flute versions.Sources for these bits arelisted in the margin.&

MAILORDERSOURCESSimilarprojesuppliesmayordered fromthe followingcompanies:

www.mcklr.coKnobs, P l v d aw B

?b@bhWLp8Reid Tool800-253-042

waw.reidtaol.coHandlr,Knobs,l b g g b ClampsMeFeelys800-443-793

www.mdeelys.cKnobs,P l d aw B

W B ~lampsFreud800-472-730

www.hudtools.wCompresmBUS,Pl

SaruBlade8LeeVdey

800-871-815aawv.14ey.co

h & b Blaek PlaAccessonas,Rare-EMagnets, up,& W

WoodsmithSto800.835-5084

Knobs,Plytmd smuBl b g g b ClampsEagle America800-872-251

www.eagle%meriea.CmmssumBzb, Pl

Saw Blades

To order back issues or a hardware kit from

Discover,or AmericanExpress card ready.

) well as any applicablesales tax.-

No. 71 ShopNotes


36/39


37/39

2 3a.

Page 1 of 2 ShopNotes No. 71 2003 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved

O N L I N E E X T R A

This quick-release allows you to

rapidly open or close the jaws

of the benchtop vise in Issue No. 71.

It works just like the quick-release

mechanism on a manufactured

bench vise. Instead of turning the

handle of the vise, all you have to do

is flip a lever and slide the rear jaw to

where you want it. Then flip the lever

back to lock the jaw in position.

An added plus to this quick-

release feature is that the main partsof the vise the base and front and

rear jaws remain basically the

same. The only thing that changes

are the parts inside the rear jaw.

(You will also have to add a bronze

bushing to the face of the rear jaw, as

shown in Figures 1 and 1a.)

As you can see in Figure 1, the

secret behind the quick release is a

half nut. A cam raises and lowers

this half nut to engage or disengage

the threads of the vise.

The first step in making the quickrelease is to make the half nut

assembly. Start by cutting a coupling

nut lengthwise into two pieces, as

shown in Figure 1. This can be done

with a hacksaw. (Note that you want

to make the cut slightly off center.)

Save the smaller half and discard

the larger one.

The half nut is sandwiched

between two blocks of wood. To

make these blocks, I first cut a

groove down the center of a hard-wood blank. Then I cut two blocks

from the blank. After epoxying the

half nut into the groove in one of the

blocks, I glued the two blocks

together (Figure 3).

Like in the standard version of the

benchtop vise, a couple of retaining

strips are glued to the inside walls

of the rear jaw assembly to hold the

half nut assembly in place. Figure 1

shows you the position of these

retaining strips.Rails The rails of the quick

release version of the vise aren

really any different than those on the

Adjust the rearjaw of the vise

quickly andeasily with thissimple option.

Quick-Release

Rear Jaw

1 FIGURE

Correction:ShopNotes 71

The materials liston page 15 and

Figure 7 on page18 show the rearjaw face as 81/2"

long.

The correct dimen-sion for this part is

9" long.


38/39


4is nothing more than ashort length of 3/4"-dia.

dowel. A couple of holes

are drilled in the sides of

the rear jaw to hold the

shaft. Then the shaft can

be slipped through the

rear jaw and the cams.

The cams are secured to

the shaft with a couple

of screws (Figure 5b).

Just make sure when

you are doing this that

you line the cams up so

that they both have the

same orientation (see

Figures 5 and 5a).

Spring With the

FIGURE

Page 2 of 2 ShopNotes No. 71 2003 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.

5

c.

b.

a.

standard version. The only modifica-

tion you will have to make is to cut a

notch in the right-hand rail for the

cam lever that will be added later. I

did this by simply drilling a hole in

the rail and then cutting away the

waste and filing the edges smooth.

Cam Assembly To raise and

lower the half nut, I used a cam

mechanism, as you can see in Figure

5. This is nothing more than a couple

of wood disks that are mounted on a

shaft that passes through the body of

the rear jaw. A lever on the end of the

shaft allows you to tighten or loosen

the cams. And a spring helps to hold

the cams in place.

To make the cams, I just used a

hole saw to create two round disks of

wood (see detail in Figure 5). Then Idrilled an off-center hole in each disk

for a wood shaft.

To mount the cams inside the rear

jaw, youll need to make a shaft. This

cams and shaft in place, you can

add the spring. To do this, start bydrilling a small pilot hole in the

shaft and thread in a screw eye.

Next, drill a hole in each side of the

rear jaw for a steel pin. This pin is

used to anchor one end of the

spring. Its glued in place with epoxy.

The other end of the spring is

hooked over the screw eye on the

shaft of the cam assembly.

Handle The last step is to add

the handle. I made the handle out

of 1/2"-thick hardwood stock. After

drilling the hole in the end of thehandle blank, it can be cut and

sanded to shape. Then the handle

is attached to the end of the shaft

with a single woodscrew (Figure

5c). The key here is to position the

handle so that the half nut is

engaged when the handle is in the

forward position. This way, pushing

the handle back will disengage the

half nut and allow you to slide the

jaw to the desired position.

FIGURE


39/39


Turning a power tool on and offis easy right? Just flip the

switch. Unfortunately, its not

always convenient or even easy to

access a switch quickly espe-

cially on a hand-held router thats

been mounted in a table.

I found this out on the Stow-

Away Router Table in Issue No. 71.

To solve this problem, I added a

switched outlet to the side of the

table. With a switched outlet thats

positioned for easy access, you

wont have to worry about finding

Adding a

SwitchedOutlet

the on/off switch especially ifyou need to get to it in a hurry.

Wire the Switch At first

glance, you might think that adding

a switched outlet isnt a task for a

woodworker. But its not that diffi -

cult. All you need to do is run a

length of electrical cord (with a

plug wired on one end) between a

wall outlet and a switch/receptacle,

like you see in the drawing below.

The hardware youll need to do

this is detailed in the Electrical

Hardware box at the lower right.

With just a handful of hardware andan hour of work, you can add a

switched outlet to any power tool.

ElectricalHardware

(1) 15 Amp., 120 Volt

Switch/Receptacle (1) Switch Box (6) No. 8 Spade Terminals

(16/14 ga.) (2) Grounding Pigtails (12 ga.) (1) Switch Jumper (12 ga.)

(1) 3/8" Cable Connector (1) Wire Nut Connector

(Yellow) (2) #8 x 5/8'' Ph Sheet Metal

Screws (1) Duplex Box Cover (1) 15 Amp., 125 Volt Plug

(Grounded)

Note: The switched outlet I pur-chased also came with its own set

of wiring instructions.

Once youve wired the switched

outlet, just plug the power cord

from the tool into the receptacle

and youre all set. Note: Youll need

to leave the switch on the power

tool in the on position.

One last thing. If youre at all

uncomfortable working with elec-

tricity, you may want to locate a

qualified electrician to wire the

switch for you.

ShopNotes Issue 71

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Transcript of ShopNotes Issue 71