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ountry l ssics

Q UILT R AC K B LA N KE T C H ES T

N O TE S FR O M T H E S H O P

O 3

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WOODSMITH

W elles' technique for applying it (de

sc rib ed o n p ag e 7.)

This is a real hands-o n ap pr oa ch to

f in is hin g. W i th

other

f in is he s ( li ke

var

n ish or lacq uer), yo u p ut it on , stand back,

a nd h op e it turns out a r igh t whenit .' sd ry .

B ut w ith p olym erized tu ng o il (and Frank

Welles' m eth od o f p uttin g it 011) , you rea lly

get inv olv ed w ith the w hole p rocess.

When I t rie d th is t ec hn iq ue , I f elt t ha t

f in i sh ing wasn' t just a c ho re at th e end of a

project . . . was

an esdensiou of t.he

project. A nd for the fitst tim e I'm begin

n in g to en joy the art of finish in g.

DOVE ,\Jl.8.

Just the opposite is true of

th e jo in er y 0 1 1 th e blan ket chest,

wanted to tryout the new Leigh jil; for

c ut ti ng dovet ai ls. O n one hand, [hav e

to

marvel at this jig for its versatility, pre

cision, and conv enience. Bul I lost

the

f ee li ng o f

involvement,

T fl bad to b uild a co up le o f d ozen d raw

e rs w ith th ro ug h d ov eta ils, (w ou ld prob-

ably choose the Leigh jig to speed things

along. But for

tbe

bla nk et c he st,

wish

no w I h ad g on e back to lhe old w ays.

CARVING.

Kay

M u ld er jo in ed o w' g ro up

th re e is su es

ago,

and since then has been

learning the ~w ay$ of

Woodsmith K a v

d es ig ne d th e quilt rack for this issue. an d

as it was n ea rin g c omp le ti on , s ug ge ste d

that

so me c arv in g m ig ht b e

a

nice addition.

Iagreed.

T he n sh e ask ed , \Vho sbould w e get in

to

do it? W ho should w e

ge l in?

re

sponded. If yo u w ant carving, get. some

tools and you do it. l wasn't qu it. as

harsh as th at sounds.)

One wee k Iater, th e v in e a nd le af d esig n

was part of

th e

quilt r ac k. T ha t's r ea lly

nice, 1 said. How did yo u do it l

K ay quick ly responded , I r you want to

learn

carving,

get so me to o ls,

an d

(1 0 it

For years I've wanted to learn how to

carve, an d fo r years I e mad e

U{

excuses

for w hy couldn' t.

It

ta ke s an a rtistic

talent on't have ... W hat ife t h nlf

w a y th ro ug h a nd t he c his el s lip s ...

don' t

kno w w hat to ols to u se.

No

more

excuse . got

a

set of tools

(d esc rib ed in S ou rc es, p ag e

24) lind tried

it .

It s

easier than

ho ug ht it W ou ld be,

and ev en more fu n. B ut ra n in to so me

problem s, 1 thought I'd do som e carv ing

whi le wa tch ingT.

V.

Bu t n ow th er e's a pile

o f shav ing s im bedd ed in Lbe living room

carpet,

an d ol so

involved,

missed

th e

la te st e pis od e o f D a lla s.

NEXTMAIUl

Archie Krau.e

ABOUT rm s ISSUE: W henever w e build a

project for an issue of

W

(1(),/ mit l , o ne of

the Iirst

d ec is io ns we h av e

to

m ak e is w hat

kind o f design

Or

sty le sho uld it

be .

Two

p l'O je cts in th is is su e

(the

blanket

chest and quill rack) are designed along

country

J ines

which

is ou r

way

of

saying

we don 't know exactly w hat to call

Lb.

d esig n. B oth p ro jec ts a re so rt o f E arly

American, sort of'Sha ke r, an d m ostly g oo d

o ld -f as hi oned c lean d es ig n.

M uch of the sam e could be said of the

wood w e cho se f or b oth p ro je ct s. Cherry is

u sual ly thoug ht o f i n c on ne ctio n w ith E ar ly

American or Sh aker furniture. It' s a good

old-fashioned w ood that cuts easily (al

though it does hav e a te nd en cy to burn if

y ou h es it ate d ur in g a cut), and it responds

w ell u nd er th e k nife fO I'carving,

A ll in all. cherry is

a

n ice w oo d to w ork

w ith and fits th e co un try sty le o f b oth

pl'ojects. B ut there's one characteristic of

c he rry th at I r ea ll y l ik e.

ft

ba s to do with

o ne of m y fav orite words: patience.

You know how

go Oil and on about

being patient in alm ost. every aspect of

wcodworking. W ell. cherry is one of the

best examples o f w hen patience pay' off.

It has to do with the finishi ng s ta ge . 1

th in k e ve ry on e expects cherry to have a

d ee p rich red

colo r -

e ven b efo re it's fill

ished . B ut in

truth,

ch erry is o ften m ore o f

a pale salmon color (01' maybe

a dull

red

w hen it's fresh ly cu t.

To

fix

th e c ol or , th e e as y s olu tio n is to

ap ply a stain to giv e the wood that deep

burgundy

color

i t' s supposed

to

h av e. B ut

the b est w ay to finish cherry is w ith pa -

tience - just let it sit.

In

a

matter

ot

m on th s. c he rry

ca n

go

from a pale salm on co lo r to

a

ric h red . G iv e

it. year 01 two, and i t w i ll t urn a deep rich

b urg un dy c olor .

This ch ange is the result of exposure to

ultra-violet lig ht. W hich m ean s YOII have

to b e som ewhat c ar ef ul with projects made

of cherry. OIexample, if y ou w ere to put

a

p illo w o n th e to p

of

th e

blanket

c he st a nd

leave it th ere (01' six m onths, that area

wou ld not be exposed to light and w ould

n ot ag e

(darken).

It's the pict ure on the wa l l syndrome.

Po r the

first year

or two, you have to

be

c arefu l th at all parts of the project get

s o mewha t ev en ex posu re to tigh t.

OIL FIN.ISIIl S.

One other thing about

cherry and this country style. W e

thought both projects w ould look

best

if

th ey wer e f in is he d w ith

a

nat ur al o il f in is h.

B ut instead of the usual dull o il lo ok ,

wanted m ore of

a

s at in l us tr e.

W e decided to use Sutherland W elles

p olym erized tung oil, and follow Frank

Mar/Apr, 1984

umber 32

wdust

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First, 1

rem oved the original thumb

screw

and

bolt

Irom

t he b as e,

and.replaced

t hem wi th

a Y,' x I

sq ua re h ea d b olt, three

smal l wa shers (w hi ch ac t

as

s pa ce rs ), o ne

medium sized washer, an d a hex n ut.

Then I use

;t

so ck et on a ratchet to

t ig hte n th e nu t a lter acljustingthedepth

of

cut.

j

also use a sho rt e x te ns ion arm so the

handle of the ratchet clears the moto r of

, < . . . . . ._ . a . . T l J b ~ - - : /

US RATeHn fOtIGHTEN NUT

3

OOOSMITH

I I you d lik e 1 0s ha m a

woodWOrking

Up

with

om er

reader

of Woodsmlth.

send your idea 10 ;

Woodsmlth

TIps TechnIques 2 20 0 G ra nd

Ave.,Des Moi ne s Io w a 5 03 12

W e pay a

m lninwm

01

10 fo r

tips.

and 15or

more

fo r

special techniques

(thal

are

a pted

f o r p u bUca tion . P le as e g iv e a c om p le te e xp la na

t lo n o f yo ur fdea . t a S ke tc h is n ee de d s e n d

i t

along:well

draw

a n ew o ne.

SEND IN YOUR IDEAS

Carl Lampl

/a t ( J . r e J J .

Florida

saw . the thin sheet m etal legs w ould twis t

aro un d as the casters ro lled ov er rough

a re a. T his

no t

o nly m ad e it a real h assle to

m ove th e saw , b ut

it

also.ma de c ip pi ng th e

s aw ove r a re al po ss ibility

To solve the problem , Iadded braces

between the legs of the stand that are

made of I thin wa ll ed t ub ing. lb attach

th e b ra ces,

1

fla tte ne d th e

ends

of the

tubing in

a

vise, and drilled

1 4

holes

through the ends. Then the braces are

attach ed as low on th e leg s

as

possible.

The addition of th e

braces prevents

th e

legs

from

tw is tin g, and the c asters e asily

ro ll o ve r th e rough areas of m y shop floor.

ATTACH WITH I 80LTS

T he w re nc h is sim ply

a

sma ll p ie ce o f

V : ,

th ic k h ar dwood w ith

a

14

g ro ov e d ow n th e

center r cu t the g roo ve by d riIH ng y, en d

ho le s, a nd

routing out

th e w aste u sin g a

y ,

st raight bit on the router table. Then

1

added

a

14 hole

at

on e end fo r h an gin g t he

tool

from

I he d rill

press

table. N ote: T ho

o ve ra ll siz e c an b e

varied

t o what eve r

di

m en sio ns fe el g oo d ill

YQm

hand.

To usc the tool, just slip the v , groove

ove r th e head of the thumb

screw,

Jo lt n Se ide l

Atlanta G6oryi.a

REPLACEMENT THUMB SCREW

In Woodslltilit No.

31 ,

y ou m en tio ned b ow

painful it was

whenever

y ou tried

to

UghLen the sharp edged thum b screw on

th e S ea rs

9-HT-1749 router

hen

I first

b ou gh t m y S ears ro ute r,

r was

h av in g th e

s ame p ro blem. But 1 solved it by usin g a

t ot al ly d if fe re nt l ock ing s ys tem .

sc re w. T he w ren ch is m od eled a fte r a sm all

tool used ago

by apothecar-ies

fa,

loo sen in g grou nd glas s

of

medicine

bottles.

F L A T I E N _f:~

~

~~

SHEETMlAt tEGS

I.~

I

: i i = = = : I .

i

~

T li IN WA l lED J \

ruli

r

A l W U lla ll $

Westlake, Ohio

SPIDER LEGS

Recently , I purchased a Sears 10 radial

arm

saw.

including their four- leg ged shee t

metal

stand. 1

a lso purchased

a

set of four

retractable

casters

50

the saw could be

m oved around the shop .. needed.

It w asn t long afte, the saw w as set up

and the casters were attached that the

rough

0001'

in my shop

started

creating

problems.

E ve ry tim e

1

tried to m ove the

th e r ou te r. W hen the ratchet is not in use,

I keep it in the storage cabinet of th e

router

table, w here it s alw ay s h an dy .

T his sy stem w orks w ell for m e w hen th e

router is hand held,

as

w ell as w hen it s

mounted

on the router table.

THUMB SCREW WRENCH

Adjust ing and t igh ten ing

th e

thumb

screw

on the depth stop m echanism of m y

Sears

floo r m odel d rill press h as alw ays b een a

real hassle. rt never stays put. I ve tried

tightening the thumb screw with

my

fin gers, b ut it alw ay s w ork s lo ose f rom th e

v ib ra tlo n o f th e d rill p re ss .

Ive

even t ri ed

keepi ng a pair o f p lie rs n ea r th e d rill press,

but they alw ays seem to disappear just

w hen th ey re n ee de d.

Finally, [ d ec id ed to .make a smal l. spe

cialized wrench to tighten th e th umb

EdiWr's Now: Mr . M i lew sk i's 7 ll el ./ t{ )( lf or

temporary sal/ i.ing sleeves also , < Irk.

118illg 1/,. pressure sensitive adJlesi1Jl'8 for

disc sanders. The a .dvantage tg .

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WOOOSMITH

th e to ps

th e uprights, f ir st d r il l

tw u IIi h ole. - on e in ea ch COr

n er o f t he h an dle. D rill the h oles

rig ht o n th e m a rk ed

line

a n d th en

c u tou t the rem a in in g sha pe o f the

ha ndle w ith a

sabre

sa w . A ga in

cuta

little

wide of

th e lin e t o a llow

f or s an d in g la te r.

SAND EDGES_ To san d the

curved

edges

a t

th e L op an d b ot

tom of the u pright,

I

used

a

1

sanding drum mou n ted ill d rill

press.

T he n to

sand

th e s tr aig ht e dg es

ofthc 'Waste section.

Imou n ted a

fencetothedrillpressanduseditas

a g u id e lomov e t he u p ri gh te e n ly

__ across

the d ru m .

se e

Fig.

4.

On

the bottom c urve of the w a ste

sec

tion,

sw itched to a sa n din g bloc k to

smooth o u t th e p ro flle. A n d fin a lly , to sa n d

the h an dle o pen in g,

I

used a II

sanding '

drum o n th e d rill p re ss .

ROUND

OVER

EOGES To c om plete the

uprights. o un ded ov er the o utsid e edg es

(on ly) w ith a y rou n din g-ov er bit w ith

pilot. (T he in sid e ed ges a re left

square.)

However,

th e e dg es o n /x lth .sid es o f th e

h a n dle o pe n in g

are

rou nded ov er to m ake

the ra ck m ore

comfortable

to pic k u p.

STR T H RS

To jo in the tw o u prights a nd su pport the

qu ilt, fo ur stretc hers a re m ou n ted

in

th e

mortises.

AU

fou r sta rt ou t a t a rou gh

len gth of 29 . The tw o m iddle

stretchers

(B ) a r e r ipped to

3

f in a l w id th .

The

bottom

stretcher

0

is rip ped to a f in a l w i d th of

4 .

TOPSTRETCIJ 'ER.

Asf or th e to p s tr et ch er

e ,

it's m ade by la min atin g tw o piec es of

holes a n d en din g a t the other. The

secon d pa ss is m ade a t the fu ll

o

depth.

U se th is sa m e pro ced ure to ro ut th e (ou r

mortises on both uprights. Then I w en t on

to cu t

out

t he p ro fi le .

UT OUT PROFIL

To save time, a n d to

makesure that

th e

p rofile is c ut exa ctly the same on a ll fou r

edges,

made

8

tem pla te. T ra nsfer the

dimens ions

shown

in

Fig, 1 to II

piec e o f

h ea vy p oster b oa rd.

Then c a r ef u ll y

cut,

o ut th e tem pla te w i th

an X-a c to kn if e, tapeit down a n d markth e

p ro file o n o n e h lllf o fth e u prig hts. F lip th e

pa ttern ov er a nd repea t the

process

o n th e

ot her ha lf of the u pright.

CL.OUT PROFILE . Use a sa bre sa w (o r

band saw

to

remove lb e w a ste. Imade

the c uts just a little w i d e o f th e pencil

marks so 1 cou ld san d the profile to the

ex ac t size later.)

C UTOUT HAI 'IDLE.T o m a ke th e h an dles in

DISPLA Y AN HEIR LOOM

My grandmother (w ho is n ow in her you ng

9 0s) h as sp en t tw o a ftern oon s a

w ..

k fo r

th e

past

30 yea rs w ith

a

grou p of her

frien ds keepin g the a rt of

quilt

making

a l iv e . \Vhe n

e ceiv ed o ne o f h er q uilt.. a s a

gift,

w a n ted to fin d

a

w a y to c omplemen t

h er h a n diw o rk w ith som e of m y o w n. S in ce

sh e h ad added some special to uc hes to m y

q uilt (g ra nd mothers c all it lo ve), dded

some spec ia l tou c hes - c a rv in g - to the

q uilt ra ck [ bu ilt to d isp la y m y n ew heir

loom qu i lt .

This qu ilt ra c k is styled a lon g sim ple

co lonial ine s s o it w on t co mpete fo r atten-

tion w ith the quilt tha t w ill be displayed

o n it.

The ra ck con sists of tw o u pright sides

w h ic h a re sp an n ed b y fou r stretc hers m or

tised

into

t he u p ri gh ts.

TH UPRIGHTS

1

st a rted this projec t by edge glu in g

',.'-th ic k c herry

stock

together to

form

th e u prigb ts (A ).

U. .' NAT.E 511 ) 5.

To c rea te the 9 wide

by

32

high

uprights,

c u t three pieces of

stock

( fo r e ac h u p ri gh t) to

n

r ou gh le ng th o f

88 ' an d rip them to a rou gh w idth of 3v.. ,

see Fig. I. Then glu e a n d c lamp them

tog ether. W hen th e g lu e w a s dry ,

laned

b oth u prights fl a t.

(See

page

13

fo r

a

com

p le te e xp la n a tion of this tec hn iqu e).

TRIM TO FINAL SIZE.

Then [

trimmed

th e

u prig hts to th eir fin a l le ng th (32 ) us ing

a

pa n el c u ttin g jig on the table

s aw .

a n d

rip ped eq ua l a mo un ts off b oth ed ges to get

ea ch u pright to its fin al w idth (9 ).

ROUT MORTIS S

B efore c uttin g the profile on the edges of

the upr igh ts , m a rk ed th e po sitio n of th e

fou r :Y .-w i de

by

yt-deep m ortises o n ea ch

s id e p ie c e, s ee F ig . 1.Then r u sed a r ou te r

a nd a gu ide (en ce to rou t the m ortises.

POS ITIO :< PE I'CE .

T o po sitio n th e fen ce.

first

drill 1 4'- de ep p ilo t h oles to ma rk the

e n ds o f e a c h mo rti se . 1used a

y,,'

Forstne r

b it fo r th ese h ole s.)

T hen to p osition th e gu id e fen c e.

mount

a

0 /.' s tra ig ht b it in th e ro ute r a n d p la c e

the

stra ight bit in on e of the pilo t ho le s.

Trace

a rou nd the edge of the rou ter ba se w ith a

pen cil to m ark its ou tside a re, see Fig.

2.

R epea t the process w ith the rou ter posi

tion ed in th e sec on d p ilo t h ole.

N ext, c lamp tbe gu ide fen c e to tbe

w orkpiec e so the edge of the (en ce ju st

tou ches the tw o c irc les, see Fig.

3.

ROUT MORTIS.ES.

WIth the rou ter

set

to

c u t a b ou t d ee p, [m ad e

thefirst

p ass for

t he mo r ti se by starting

in

on e of th e pilot

Quilt Rack

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WOODSMITH

5

}

fiGURE 5

fl-G UR E 6

00 NOTMOVE FENCE'

ro

CU T

fOP AND OnOM

SHO UlD ER

UPRIGHT

Im,,2tl...~

'V,.

x

3',:'- -

72,~

3 80 AR OS )

I A A l0 3

V ,.

II

5YJ - 96

CUT T ING DIA G RAM

Overall Dimensions: 28 'W x 9 D x 32H

A Upright(2) 10/,.

J(

9

x

32

8 Middle Strotch.n (2)

11

x 27

l

3-

C TopStretcher (1) 1 x 27; x 1

o ottom Stretcher (l)

1)/,.

x 270/. )( 4/ ,

PlACE

ROUTER a lT

, 1 1

GU IO

1 f O t .

2

AG URE 3

.

' RADIUS

PlATE DOWN,

I

PAnERN.

R AN b RpE AT

prosnE fOGE

I R A D J U S . I- - _ _

,. M O R T I S E - , ~ O E i P

n

EN TEUO ON

U ~GHf

~

V

I

11I~

.

~.

.

,,, -1

II

1

~h

L

~

I li 1 l\lli~

.0 ;.

MORtiSE ,

'h

OEEP

I

3

I

TAP E lE M

fRAC:

FUP

ovs

01 10

14 MORTISE . VI

DtU

C N TE RfD Q N U PR IG HT

I

r :~

ir

~-r

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f - - i

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u

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9

U PR IG H T T1 MPLAlt

U SE fR ENCH CU RV E

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1 - - 4 - - 1 C U R V

-F-~~=l I

AG UaE 1

y,. -thick by 1)

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6/24

WOODSMI I H

r \ \ .

6

i

IGUflf

FlGU~E

B o n o _ STJl fTCHll t CARVING PAn~

RGURE

IGU IE

~~ tENONS

CfNTtREO ON SlO I

I_

I

o~tl (,I~as an iden

t ic al p au er n, 8~hown in th e

photo. To a ch ie ve th is e ffe ct,

th ere's a little

trick

involved.

lAMINATE PI ECES

B ut before gettin g to the

trick,

th e

fi t

~tcp i.o

laminate

enough .crap

10

get three

b lan k., w ith a ro ug h s ize o f 100/,

x 16 , se e Fig. 2. (I made the

three blank . out of m aple,

wal-

n ut a nd e he rr y.)

CIIO'CE OF ci.r. To glue-up tlrese

blanks, [ used W ilhold M arine Plastic

Resin glue. (This is a po wdered glu e t ha t's

m ixed with water to form a lhi n paste.)

This glue is w atorp ro of (in cold water) -

making it n ice for projects that will be

s ub je cte d to a n o cc ru ;io na l s o ak in g.

R ua

utting oards

A NICE COMBINATION ANYWAY YOU SLICEIT

7/24/2019 Woodsmith - 032

11/24

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uS ( S O U_ I:I TO E X TtN O U N ES______

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T A CI( I A C H IO A a D T O

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12/24

12

WOOOSMI1 H

/

~yo AOlUS ON

AU

fOUR CORH S

)

,o.:Lo v ao

E DGE O F HOl E

DONOT SEl IT TO FUll DfnH

FINISHING STEPS

To complete these boards, cut a j

Y

radius

on al l four corners, and drill a j- diameter

hole in one corner, Then round the edges

with a

v .

round-over bit, and al so round

over the edges of the hole, see Fig. 16.

To finish these boards, Iused Martens

Wood Preservative. This is an oil and wax

finish that meets FDA requirements as a

foodadditive. (It s safe around food, but is

not intended for internal use.)

-_,_\

r -..

CENTER ,. HOLE

ON 1 y RA .D IU S MAaK

1 HOlE ,

CROSS SECtiON

CU T t RA D IU S O N EA CH CO RNER..... -

FIGURE 16

'0

-

tRiM

rw o

IL ANK S 1 0 FINAL SIZE

NO IE: DO NOI

TItIM

COMMON eOOES

I

.L .f-L.l-L....L...J

I~.- . . . . J

COMMON

EDGE

13/1

COMMON G

_../

--.. . ---- --

COMMO N ED GE- COMMONmGE

~

COMMON EDGE\

MUl S

PlACE WAXED PAPER SINEAtH BOARDS

rRiM BOTTOMfDGE to FINALWIDTH/

JY;

- r -

,

,

,

.

,

'r

.

FlGUR 14

-l'-

,0 '

-

: lRlM EOUAl AMOUNTS OfF

: B01H ENOS OF EACH BlANK ;

: I

It t ARRAN GE PI E CE S T O fORM THREE DI F feRE NT

GOM .IINA tlON5

NU,M8ER CODEr I) MAPl 2, WAlNUT 3) CHERRY

1

2 1

2 3

t

31 3 2

I~

\

ASSEMBLE THE PIECES

Since the segments were cut from a three

blank set, a of the segments are com

pletely interchangeable.

I

re-arranged

them (as shown in Fig. 12) to make the

three mix and match culling boards.

GLl;E UP.

After the pieces are arranged,

they can be glued together. But this can

quickly get out of hand (especially

if

there

are curved pieces).

To help bold all the segments in tine

wbileclamping. arrange them on

a

piece of

scrap plywood and nail cleats tight againat

the ends to keep the segments aligned, see

~ig. 13. TheIl befote applying the glue,

pick up the pieces and lay a piece of waxed

paper down to prevent them from being

glued to the plywood.

Apply glue to the edges of each segment

and clamp them together with pipe clamps.

Vh.n the glue is dry to the touch, lake off

the pipe clamps and serape the excess glue

off the joint lines. Then plane each board

Oat.

RAIS~O GRAIN. One problem [ usually

run into with cutting boards is raised

grain. The

first

time they get wet, the

grain raises and creates a very rough

sur-

face. To prevent this, sprinkle some water

Oil

the surface of the boards after they )

e

planed. Then when the water

dries

off,

sand lhesurface with 220-grit sandpaper.

Repeat this

p rocess

until ~hegrain

doesn t

raise any more.

cur

TO SIZE

One of the nice Lhings about this set of

cutting boards is the variety

of sizes.

But

before cutting them to the three sizes

shown in Fig. 15, all three boards should be

trimmed to one a standard si ze .

Trim J o ff both

n s

of each board so the

final length is I;lY, . (This should remove

the nail holes and any chipped out areas on

the ends of ~he boards.)

Then trim m l y one edge (as shown in

Fig.

14)

so th e final width is

10 .

(Note:

A ll

three

board

smust be trimmed exactly the

same way, if you want the pattern on the

final three-board set to match.)

To make the middle-sized board, trim

2W on the bottom end, and 2otTthe right

edge, see Fig.

lb. For

the small board,

trim 5 off the bottom edge, and 4 off the

right edge.

fiG U RE 12-

PAnERN ARRANGEMENTS

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1

OODSMITH

COMMON fOlMS

Of W IJIIN

C RPfNfttS

TR I NGLE

RIP TO RO~CII WIDTH. This

ripping process should actually

be donein two stages.

First

the

boardsare cut to roughwidth

but they don't

have

to be the

g a m e rough width. When I wa

gluing up the panel for the top

(lid)ofthe blonket chest (show

on page16), I knew I wanted to

end up with an Ill -,,;de panel.

Some of the

strips

in this

panel are only

2 wide

while

someare

4 - w id e

(t

W8 a

mat

ter ofgetting the most (the bes

parts) out of the woodthat was

available.

ALLOW ~:X1RAII'WTII.

As the

boards are ripped to rough

width. it's best to allowan extra

or so on each board. (The

secondStage of ripping

ill re -

long board. Sometimes tist doesn't ap- duce the width of the boards, sometime

pear until after a longboard is cut down to by as much 8

V .

smaller sizes. If a board is twisted (no ('IIECKOB TW IST . After the boards l o

matter howslight the twlat), don't use it. ripped to

rough

width, place them ona fia

GItAI)I

ASD COLOR:

After selecting surface (the topofthe table saw)and chec

bo.rd. that seem to be in pretty gond .ach board

lor

twist. (Place your fingersat

shape, llook at the grain pattern and the the ends of

th e

boards and

try

to rock

color of the boards. Thi. should be done them. (f they rock, they're twisted and

\\ith a degree of sensiuvity. \\'hen strips .houldn't be

used

from several boards are glued together,

SQt:AREr;PEDGES.

Irthe boards are

free

you want to be able to see them as a fin- of(\\;gt, (go ahead to the secondstage o

ished panel - without the distractions of the ripping process, The edges o( each

variauons in color and grain patterns be strip must be squared-up - so they're

tween adjoining atrips, straight along their length and exactly

Althoughit's difficult to findboards that perpendicular with the faee of the board

match perfectly in color. they should at

H O lI d o Y O l ge t lilt N ig rs s qu are ?

lea.t be kissing cousin. Then they should This is a procedure that'. open

to

much

be arranged SO the grain patterns looklike debate. The old-timers used a hand plan

they melt together. to lI

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WOODSMITII

4

When I need some help aligning the

board,1IO they're flush (which r duce' the

amount of planing later), I prefcr to UM

splines M:t in

groo\ es

refer

I

Fig, G,

The critical thing here is to cut the

grooves (for the splines) so they're all

exactly the same distance from the fal (

ll i~ :fI= ~~. f WIOTHOf SI UN :

L . _ : : . . . . : . . . . : __

LE SS HA H

OlP1 H

Of

GlOOYIS

r:

However, the only way to tell the grain

direction on thefatt of

a

board is to look at

the grain on the

tdgt

of lhe board,

se e

Fig. 5.

If

you're lucky. the grain tines on the

edge

wil l

gently cu...... ((lone face of lhe

other for the entil'( I.n,,'th of lhe board.

\Vben gluing up the boards, a Tange them

SO

the grain curves to the .ame fa on the

entire panel. (I draw arrows on both faces

of each board to keep things straight.)

But

\\,_1 i

wood, and sometimes the

grain pattern on the edge is WlI\,) - it

switcbes back and forth. When confronted

with this tuaticn, I make a democratic

decision: the majority of the grain pattern

win. That 18 , I

arrange

the b oa rd s t he

mnjerity of the grain angles lowul'll one

face of tl' panel to reduce tear-out prob

lem.

when

planing.

MAliK IIO,IIIiJ'S.

After all the board. arc

arranged for color and grain pattern, I

mark them to keep things straight tluring

the IIlu('-up

>tage.

The

easiest \\ a~ In do

thi. it o with carpenter s triangi., ~f.r to

~ill1.

J

ust draw a large triangle across all the

board s. Then, through the confusion of

what follows, the

board.

can easily be re

turned to their intended sequence,

DOWELS AND SPUNES

The

boards

have been chosen fo)'grain

an d

color, the edge< are cut square.

an d

I'm

,ady to glue them together.

\\ai/, [ o,, t

lOt( haoe

to

nse doire or

. I i . .

10

fltl 0

good joint?

AJr. ,in,thi, b a question lhar olK'n to

debate. It'.u u.II~'said that dow.1 ,hould

be UAt )for edge-to-edge joint..

I 1)('r80naUydon't ever use dowels fOI

edge joint~. It'sdifficult enough to gatlll'u

oPJlIl~ingdowel holes aligrn..fI, much leet of light

pa.,-..e,

on the edges of the

board .

Of eourse, this process ill reduce the

final width of eaeh

b o ar d -

by

as

much

as

v,', So, there has to be enough extra width

when you start out so there will be enough

lelt

to

make the panel.

In addition, the total width ol'the boal~ls

should allow an extra

v

(01' the width of

the panel before it's glued up, (Thig allows

enough

I

trim the panel to final giw alter

it'$ glued and clamped.)

A.IlANGE GItAIN PAnERN

AJ\erthe edges

are

squared up, the

boards

c i d

be glued together. But sp ( a

~'reud 5Otoothcarbide combinauon blade,

(Although

8

rip blade

can

be

use d ,

it

usually produces a very rough ~dgo,So I

prefer combination bJades.) The econcl

requirement is to make sure the bJade is

exactly perpendicular to the table, (~ute:

If the blade is even slightly off, the edges

will be beveled. 'Then when the boards are

clamped together, the panel will bow

aero.

it. width,

see

Fig. 3.)

7/24/2019 Woodsmith - 032

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side (top) of the panel.

assembly time). can get iL Then let it rest (at least over-

To do this. place the race side o( the

APPLY CLUE.

To apply the glue, run a night) sa the glue in the joints has. chance

board against the fence of the table saw

bead down the edge of the first board.

to

dry

thoroughly.

and cut a groove on one edge. (Here 1use a Then spread it evenly over the edge with a CIlECK tO R WARP. The next day, check

40tootb carbide rip blade.) Then

cart

small brush. Tuse a nat artist's brush with for warp. Place a steel rule over the width

wheel the board (flip it end for end

SO

the \4 .long nylon

bristles

Another choice of the panel to see if it's cupped. Then

same face is still against the fence) and cut

would be a \4paint brush with the bristles check fOI'twist by placing the panel on the

groove on the other edge. cut back to about y long.

top of a table saw and try to rock it.

As for the splines, 1 like to use

V . Bow m uch glue

Sh llld

b< >app lied?

It's not unusual for one or both of these

Masonite. (It

fits

the kerf of the Freud After running a bead down the edge and problems 10show up. But they shouldn't

blade nicely.) The splines should be cut to spreading it with the brush, the glue be severe because the panel can be flat

width so they're a smidgen narrower than should have a kind ofglossy appearance

all

tened only to a small extent by planing or

the combined depth of the

grooves,

(This along the edge. If'the glue appears dull in a sanding.

allows a relief for the glue.)

spot or two, it means it 's soaked in. Apply a If the panel is excessively cupped Or

TESTCLAMP

little more. It's difficult to get too much twisted. there's only Onesolution: cut the

glue on - it willjust drip off the edge. It boards down the joint, lines and start over.

All of this work is for one purpose: to glue won't hurt the joint, but it makes a mess. ['ve had to do this more than once. It's

the boards together. Everything is ready, Note:

If

splines are used, you can glue frustrating, but it's the only solution ifyou

aUthat's needed is the glue and clamps ... them into the grooves, but it's not neces- want a Oat panel. (This is also why the

and patience. sary. After applying glue to the edges of panel should start out axtra-wide.)

Refore ~pplying any glue. I make. dry the boards, just slide the splines in the

sMOOTHING THE PANEL

l eSt run to cheek things out. This l~ tm- grooves, and push lhe beards together.

portant because it's the 18Stchance to catch After glue is applied to one edge ofeach Although every effort has been made to

any problems (and correct them) before

board, lay the boards Oat on the pipe make the pane as Oat as possible during

the glue goes on. clamps. Then

Ja y

strips of

waxed

paper the glue-up phase, it still has to be

CLA)IPS.

When clamping, 1 like to use over the top of the panel and position the smoothed. The easiest way to do this is to

pipe clamps. You need enough clamps S remaining pipe clamps. take the panel to a cabinet shop equipped

they're spaced nomOI'l1han 6 to 8 apart. TIGHTEN CL,IMPS. Then tighten the with a large drum or stroke sander. and let

Also, they should be alternated - one on clamps. Tfyou're using hand screws, place them do it. But that's no fun.

top, the next on the bottom, etc. This tends waxed paper on the ends of the panel, and One of the nicest experiences in the

10 equalize the cupping caused by the

tighten the hand SCI-e,,,,,first.

world (of woodworking) is to use a hand

clamping pressure, see Fig. 1.

As the pipe clamps are tightened, an

plane

to

smooth a panel Granted, it takes

Also, the clamps should be laid out on even line of glue should seep out between some IVOI'k, but it's a thoroughly reo

O lt surface. If they re on an uneven sur the board (This may appeal' as a line of wardlng- task,

face. it's more likely

that

the panel

will

be beads of glue.) That's good. You know A panel can be smoothed to near per.

warped.)

there's enough glue in the joint so it's not

feetion IVnh one plane: a jack plane. The

Now tighten the clamps just enough so

starved, but not so much that glue is slop. one

use is a 14 corrugated bottom

the gap between the boards disappears. ping allover the place. Record 05jack plane.

It

costs about $65.)

Then lay a long steel rule or framing AI..lCN BOARllS . Just as in the test clamp- When the plane iron is sharp and it's set

square across the width of the panel. You ing procedure, check lhe surface or the [ust right, there's no better feeling in the

may findUlepanel iscupped. This problem panel with a steel rule 01framing square to world.

should be solved before the glue gael on. make sure it's not cupped. If you're 1I0t There isn't enough room in this issue to

II you're SUI-ehe edges are square, then using splines 10align the boards. you rna

go into all the details ofplaning a panel, but

the problem is usually with the pipe

have to tap the boards flush. (1 like to use

the steps necessary to adjust, sharpen,

clamps. Loosen and tighten them, hying

one of those Stanley Dead Blow black and use a hand plane are discussed indetail

1

ge~ the boards Oush across the top. It plastic hammers to do this. You can make

in ood~mitll

No. 23.

may also help

to

fasten hand screws across pretty hefty taps without marring the sur-

CUT PANEL TO SIZE

the ends of the panel, see Fig. 1. Loosen race of the panel.)

the pipe clamps, tighten the hand screws.

S h ou ld l/I e= g lW i I II 4 s qlU lez u ou t

After the panel is planed smooth, the last

then tighten the pipe clamps.

be 1Uiplld off Wit/I d l rn p c lo th ?

step is to eut it to final size. Since the ends

GLUING UP THE 8 ARDS

The instructions on most glue bottles

ofthe boards are probably staggered, 1use

recommend that you wipe up excess glue. I

7

'When the boards are flush and fl-ee of

don't. 1 think that wiping with adampcloth

f Ef oK E S REWE

warp, 1 loosen all Lheclamps and turn the at this point dilutes the glue and forces it

TOpt WOOI)-

boards on edge. Then, before applying the into the wood - making it very difficult to

PlYWOOD

glue, place strips of waxed paper OVCl the remove later.

bottom clamps. (Ifany glue is-squeezed out l leave the boards clamped up Just the

and touches the pipe. there will be a ehemi-

way they are for an hour or two-s-unnl the

cal reaction forming a black splotch on the

squeeeed-out glue along the joints isdry to

woed.) Now I'm ready

to

glue. the touch. Then I take off the clamps and

I I J l I J . i ghtt i~est to use

use a paint.scraper (the kind used to scrape

The vast majority of the time I use paint off lhe side ofa house) to serape awav

Franklin 'I'itebond or Elmer'. Carpenter s the dried glue.

a simple panel cutting jig

to

trim off the

glue. Both ofthese are yellow glues that

ends, see Fig. 7. (Making this jig is dis-

set up rather quickly.

If

I need more as-

WHAT WENT WRONG

cussed in lVoocl$>IIithNo. 18.)

scmbly time, switch to Wcldwood Plastie After the excess glue is scraped off, place Aft:er it's cut to length, the edges are

Resin glue (8 powder ed glue that's mixed the panel on one end and lean it against a ripped down to final width to produce a

with water and allows 15 minute wall so it's M straight up and down as you smooth, finished panel.

WOOOSM ITH

15

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WOODSMlTH

6

LOCA tiON OF

ROOV

OmMJNED Y

tHI CKNESS OF CEDAI

WIDTH Of FR ME

~ = = = = = = = = ; ; ; ; = = = = = = = = = ~EM BER S 2V ~ ~

II

GROOVIS CUT I

V~

I

ON 8 TH S IO fS

I

V lC~ EE P

@

I

OF CENTia 13V .

II

I

SnlES

GROOVE

0li o W

1411.

Iq.

FRAME

MEMMItS

16V

t

I

@

I

T

ev .

1 4

MASONITE

PA NEl

c

CR OS S S fCD ON

FIGURE 1

end stiles A ); and on botJ t edges of th e

center stiles (B), see Fig. 8.

APRONANO DIVIDER GROOVes. The next

step is to cut grooves for mounting the

aprons and drawer dividers between the

frames, See Fig. 3. For mounting the

aprons eu t a v . . x

v . .

g ro ov e o n o ne face of

the back rails (C) and end stiles (A),

Y

from tbe inside edge, see Fig. 3. For the

drawer

div iders cut a Y .. x 1 / . . 1 g ro ov e o n

one face of the center stiles, centered on

their width.

III E RINGI II FRAlIle. Once the grooves

are cut, the frame members are mitered to

final length. The front and back rails (C)

are mitered

43W

long.from point to point.

and the end

stites

(A) are mitered to 18 11

lengths, see Fig. 1.

sonite panels, and cedar closet lining

(available at local lumberyards) attached

over the panels.

The

first

step is to cut the stiles

A

and

B

and

rails C

for

the

upper and lower

frames l to 2 longer than their finished

lengths, and to a final width of 2 \4 , see

Fig. 1.

PANEL GROQVES .Next, grooves ar e cut

for attaching the Masonite panels on inside

edge of each frame member. Using a piece

of the cedar as a guide, the groove is posi

tioned so that the cedar

will

be Hush with

the frame members after it s attached to

the Masonite panels, see Fig. 2. Then a

V.i -widegroove (matching the thickness of

the Masonite) is cut .deep on the

imi

edges of the front and back rails (C), the

Have you ever noticed how dovetails are

always hidden away on the corners of a

drawer? ft s never seemed quite right to

me that , one of the suongesc, and most

astheticaUy pleasing joints used in wood

working is constantly kept from view.

This hasn t always been the CAse. In the

18th and 19th centuries, country furniture

often used dovetail joinery because of its

strength and durability. Rather than

spending a lot of time and effort hiding the

joinery, craftsmen used the exposed dove-

tails as both an integral part of their de

sign, and as 8 display of their skill.

This is one reason why country fu r

niture, with its Simple. functional design

has always fascinated me. So it was only

natural to use this country style wben

I

decided to incorporate exposed dovetail

joinery in a typically old-fashioned project

- a blanket chest.

Unlike many of the modern hope chests.

with their overabundance of frills, this

chest is modeled after some of the original

country versions. The

drawers

are a good

example. Unlike

the

false fronts that

are

tacked on the modern versions, all three

drawers on this chest are

functional,

In keeping with the traditional theme,

1

decided tobuild the chest out ofcherry. . .

a wood that

was

very abundant. and often

used during this period. Although moths

aren t the problem today they were

at

one

time, Iadded cedar to the bottom of the

main box S O that every time 1open the lid,

the aromatic scent fills the room.

THE FR MES

The blanket chest consists of three sec

tions: the main box, the drawer carcase

that houses the drawers, and the kick

board assembly. I started by building the

two frames that form the drawer carcase ,

Both of the frames that form the drawer

carease are identical, and use typical web

frame construction that includes V I Ma-

Blanket Chest

A COUNTRY CLASSIC

7/24/2019 Woodsmith - 032

17/24

17

Cw.lP

U PP ER fR AM E O NLY

,/,-

1 2V ;

ROOVEfOR

l OW E ll f R M E

PfU FtAME

IG UR E

snus N D R IlS

ARE2 WIOf

O N lO WES t

FR~

N O G RO OV E

fRONT

RAILON 80TH fRAMES

. . -

W

RGUIlE 5

43;. 1

NO GROOVEON ONT IAtl

@

l--Jl'4'-- OH 18'1.

@

l V.

B Cf R il

lGURf

IOnOM fRAME Ci;OSS SEcnON

T OP F R AM E C R OS S s nO N

WOODSMITH

CI)TT>;KOl'S.

To join the center stiles (B)

between the front and back ails, stub

tenons are CUl on both ends to lil the

grooves in the rails. The final shoulder-to

shoulder length of the center stiles should

equal the

heel-to-heel

length of the end

stiles (1 30 /. ,).

~ANF.LS.

Once the tenons are cut, the end

panels U a'. cut 1(W. x 140/;' ,and dry

assembled

with the

frame

to

find the di

mensions for the center panel V . Then

measure the

center

opening, and cui

a Y o

Ma.~onitepanel to fit the groove to-groove

dimensions see Fig. 4.

ASS.:~IijI.'Y.

After the panel.

arc cut to

Size, dry clamp both frames together to

make sure that everything fit. and the

assembly is square, Once everything

checks out, glue both frames together ...

with the panels glued in place.

MOL ING

When the frames are d,,] .y. is trimmed

off all four sides of the L P J X i frame. see

Fig.

5. B y

cutting an equal amount

orr

all

foul' s id e s, t he grooves for the apron a n d

drawer dividers inthe upper frame remain

pe.fectly aligned with the grooves in the

lower frame, (In this case, the upper

f r am e

will

be a total of% smaller in both dimen

sions than the lower frame.)

IUllU~TTUE LOWErtt \A1E,Next, a rab-

bet is cu t on the bottom edge of the lower

frames so the ldckboard can bejoined 10 it.

Note: When cutting thi~ rabbet, be sure

it~n the face without the ix i groove.

see Lower

Frame

detail in Fig,

6.

IWIT

T n .: E O G . :

The top outside edges

on both frames

ar e

outed using

a V, co r

ner round bit, [eaving an

W

shoulder.

Note: On the upper f r am e, this molding is

cuton th e face ,q i thout the 1 4 x Vo groove,

se e Fig. 6. On the lower frame, this cu t is

made on the face ,uitlt the groove.

After the corner ro un d w as cut on both

frames,

1

softened the bottom edges ofthe

upper frame, se c Fig,

6.

This edge ca n be

amoved with a sander, or with a v ;

l'ounding over bit set for a ery shallow cut.

CDAII lANL G,

Next, the cedar

closet

lining is attached

over

the panels. First.

trim off the tongue and groove moldings on

the edges of the cedar. Then I ripped five

equal width pieces to fit the panel opelling,

leaving a small gap between each piece Ior

expansion, and cut the cedar

to

fit snug

lengthwise in the panel opening.

To glue the cedar to the frames, I used

yellow glue and clamped the slats inplace

using clamping boards and pipe clamps.

see Fig. 7.

SA:-1I , With the cedar glued in place,

lightly sand both the cedar and the frame.

(Note: Be careful not to oversand the

edges of the frame that mate with lhe box

and drawer carcase.) Then the frames are

joined with aprons and dividers 10 form the

drawer carease.

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WOODSMITli

T HE D RA WE R C AR CA SE

Aprons and drawer

dividers

are used to

connect the two web frames, and complete

the dr-awer carease assembly, see Fig. 9. I

started by cutting the aprons (D and E),

and the drawerdividers (F) 5 wide, and to

rough lengths, se e Fig. 8.

TON(JU

es. The next step is to form

tongue. on the aprons and dividers that fit

th e

V. widegrooves in

th e

frames.

On

the

drawer dividers (F), rabbets are cut on

both edges to form tongues centered on the

thickness of the divider, see Fig. 8. The

shoulder-to-shoulder width between the

rabbets should be 4 1:.

On the apron. (0 and E), rabbets are eut,

so the tongues are Gush with the insid.

race of the apron, Be sure that the

shoulde ..-to-shou lde r width is exactly the

same as on the drawer dividers

(4Vi ),

MITtRS. The back COI Oel'Sf tho aprons

are joined with a

mitered

spline joint to

help keep everything lined up during as

sembly.

Miter

the back corners of the side

aprons so th e tongue is

01\

th e h eel side of

the miter, se e Fig. 9. Then the front edge

on both end aprons is trimmed so the over

all length is 1 6 1 . Also, trim

back

the

tongue Onthe aprons to lit the grO()VC8n

the f rames, ;CeFig, 10

Next, 1inserted both end aprons D in

the upper frame, and mitered the back

apron

(El

to tit between them,

Mrr~REO SPLINE. While

the

saw

is still

setat4S, cut 14deepkerf'on the faceofthe

miters for the v , , thick Masonite splines,

se e Detail in Fig.

9 .

TRIM I)IVIOtRS.

Then the drawer divid

ers

F

are trimmed to the length of the end

aprons,

less the thickness of the

ba ck

ap

ron (s o the front edges of the dividers an d

aprons are flush).

I)RAWER GUII)ES, To complete the

drawer carease, [ cut Y x

0 / , .

drawer

guides, and glued them to the end aprons

and drawer dividers as shown in ~'ig, 10

11. Although all the parts for the drawer

carease are finished at this point, it's not

assembled

until after the kickboard as

sembly and the main box are built.

KIC KBOA RD A SS EM BLY

The kick board assembly consists of a

molded frame that's joined with miter and

splines, see Fig. 12.

The kickboard sides are cut 3 V wide

and long enough to fit the rabbet on the

bottom edge of the lower

Irame,

see Fig.

12.Then the patterns shown in Fig. 18are

traced on the kickboard sides, cut out

using a band saw, and the kickboard as

sembly is glued together,

MAIN BOX

Wit~ both the drawer car ease and kick

boar d

assembly finished, it's finally time to

cut some dovetails.

,,. .

51 .----1

18

FIONtlUCI TfMIlA Tf

I

~~ I Yo

/ ~ 't'

~~~1TI

~1-3-...j--_,....

- I - - s s - t . . - = i - l

-- .JI.-1.~

OP V IEW Cg NE DETAIL

F IGURE 13

~~~~ ~w

I(K: K80ARD SI DE t

s=

KtCk80ARD FRONlieACK

IGURe 12

I

@_../

r- -V--- ~

COINEa DETAIL lOP VIEW

~2Ao ONG

Mn1 IEO

SP lINE

CORNER

JO INT

lU~i A80VE HOULDER

F IGU RE

t

lENGTH OF DRAW ER DI V IDER 1S1S~~~~1

16~

ES S f.H ICk NE SS ~

OFGACI APRON-

ROUIE 1

c~ II; . \ 1 . y _

DRAWER GU ID E

frAIl

BUll JOiNt

TO LONG P O T

DR AW lR CARCA SE ASSEMBLY

G U itE 9

. t . . . .

t

TONGUES

DRAW ER OI V ID ERS

-ROUGH lINGTH4.. ---

I L - 0 1 1

_=~Cc.:.;;.;~:.=ON

~ . . l li l

--1

1--1, ,,'--1 '1

1 -'''' --1

j_ [@ I I

0

n

INO .... ON, 12 )

.L

O lO W OIVlOIAS (2

I

1 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . - 1 I 7 6V

I

OUGH OfMENS IONS

1 42\. 1

FIGURE 8

7/24/2019 Woodsmith - 032

19/24

19

G Lu t A ND C LA MP TO fO l OG E

OF lOX ON A U SIO(S

,

I 'SIOt CO'NEt

AGUI

fGUI 16

,~ UP MOlI>'NG

lOU NO O VU :

.

l~~

-

-

T

,.

~

, + . ' .

.

1

OV E

1--

. J

,

f . DEEP

I

R O UT T O W I DT H O F

eo x

SI DE

x

s

DlAWII OMDII

1

, .

t

O

o~

PlOH

.-

t. ..........

I

LOWE . f lAME

18\',,

(oi ),

1 4

< H I

tO W( 1 ' tA ME

~

K fC IC O O

KICKIOAIO

L.

CROSS SlCt ON

2~ ~ r-

t t

..)

N O

.)

_ rtACK

4 . .

1

11

NOll. II\lASUllMINTS INClUOf AN

IXl ,..- ,.. UHGntJOlt

CumHG DOVOAll JOINT

l OX C M M IN 1 40 N S

fIGURE'.

WOOOSMITH

CLl I~ ;I P.

The first step is to glue up

enough stock to produce two sol id-wo o d

pane].,;for the front and back

1)

with rough

dime,...ion. of 1 2 ~ 1 2 ,and two panels for

the end. (J)wilh rough dimensions

of

l2 x

IT. Secpage 13 for the step-by-step pro

cedure Iused.)

After the panel. a re glued together,

flatten them u.ing

a

hand plane or belt

sander. Then trim the panels for the front

and back to final dimensions of

1 1

y x

41Y and the end panels to 11

V

x 16\'\.'.

Note: S c the dovetail comers can be

sanded I luah after assembly, the mea

su rement s g iven 1 1 1 '0 Y

longer than

th e

final dimensions of the box.

UOVETAIL.~. used the layout shown in

Fig. H. and cut lhe dovetails using the

router jig s hown on p ag e 22. Of course.

if

the spirit move you, the dove ta ils can also

be

CUI

by hand (see lVood8mitlt No.

19).

After the dovelail. are cut, the box isglued

together,

and the

dovetail

comers

are

sanded

f lush.

ASSfMIILY

Once the main box is glued together, the

drawer carease is attached to lb. bottom

edge of the box,

I ~IEHFHAM.:,The first

step

is to attach

the upper ','ameor the drawer earease

to

the box. To

c lo

this, center

the

molded edge

of the upper frume a ro u nd th e bottom edge

or the box, see I ig. 1 5. Then clamp the

f r ame to the box, and drill pilot ho les for

'8 x I woodscrewa

1 \ 0 1

from lbe out

side edge or the rrame members. Finally. I

unclamped the f rame applied glue to the

bottom edge, and screwed the upper frame

to

the box.

_ PRO S.

To assemble the rest of the

drawer

earease glue

the

aprons

(with the

spli_ in the mitered corners), thedrawer

dividers and the lower frame in place.

Note: Be sure to keep the front edges of

tb e drawer dividers and end aprons inline.

KJCKlIOAlUI.

After

the

drawer

carease

assembly has dried, the klckboard isglued

to

th e rabbet

01 1

th e

bottom edge of

th e

10wN

clruwer earc ase trn m e, see Fig.

1 5.

LIP MOLDING

)Vith the bottom section completed, 1Dip

ped the cabinet light side up and started 01 1

the lip molding ror the top edge of the box.

To make lhe lip molding, rip enough

stock I-V.- wide for all (our 'ides of the box.

Then cui a 1Io' ,k-epgroove , from the

outside edge of the molding, see Fig. 16.

(Note: Adju.t the .. idth of this groove to

fit the top edge the eabinet.)

Ne,t, rout a Yo cove on the bottom

outside lodge or the lip molding, and re -

move the sharp comers on the inside edges

using II rounding over bit set at a very

shallow depth. Finally, miter the lip

molding to fit the rim of the box, and glue it ([)

in place, see ~ i lC~.17~, ~ ~ = = : - _ _ - = = = = = = = = = : . .~ = = = _ - = = = = = = = = =

7/24/2019 Woodsmith - 032

20/24

WOODSI-IITH

0

.

F IG U R E 1 8

THE LID

-

43Y ,,

Even though the first thing most people

-

ighig

come. in two models, a

12 (SH().$I50) a nd

a

24' ($25().$275)

version, (Xote: The dove

tails on the Blanket Che>;t

can be

cut with

either .ize jig.) Both models are available

from Garrett \\'8d~ or \Voodcraft Supply.

see Source.

on page 24 .

AlthOUgh th., price of the jig i. high,

after addillj( the cost of the long-shaft

carbideLipped bits and the propel' bush

illgs, the cost ofthe

1 2

jig can jump

as

high

as $220, and the 24 jig a lm o s t r equ ires a

second mortgage

lit

around $.~30.

Evcn though

the

LeighJig cuts beautiful

through t1ovetllil~,this kind ()finvestment

seems to make sense only ifyou have to cut

a 101of dovetails. In most eases, I think I

would take the time to cut dovetails by

hand, and pocket the difference.

V

diameter shank, and requires using a

router with a ~ . collet . . . something

many

roUlc

simply don't have.

Although most of these bits appear to

b e

fairly common,

1

discovered the bits we

had in our ~hop w ere to o short to a llo w a

full depth of cut below the template

fingers. The only bit. Iould lind that were

long enough are >old by the catalog

firms

offering th~ jig, see Sources. page 24 .

Note: The Y dovetail bit is icluded with

the

: or

\'en;ion of the Leigh jig.

ADJ~~TA8L SI'CI~CS.

Setting the

idlh

a nd

.pacinl between the

dovetails

simply require.

removing

the tOP slide

bar, loo~ning the finger scr e w s with the

wrench

provided, and reposhioning

the

fingers ' needed. The limitations on ho w

close the dovetail pins can be positioncd

are shown in the chart below. (Note: Each

finger extends to both Rides of the te rn

l)lale. So as they're moved, the size and

spacings fOl'bolh the tails and the pins

are

urrecled equally.)

Trying to HcLhe fingers on the template

for cutting dovetails to a predetermined

spacing (as on the Blanket Chest) is kind of

a headache. Although the jig comes with

instructions that clearly show bow it's

Traditionally, dovetails have

been eu t using nothing more than

a

fcw hand tools and a steady

hand. But recently, a new

method for cutting through dove

taU. - u~inl(a 1' 0 11 tel' jig - has

been developed by a Canadian

firm called Leigh. We purchased

the new Leigh jig to see how it

works,

and how ils dovetails

compared to tho~e cut using the

time tested method ... by hand.

What

we d iscovered

was that

the lA>ighjig cut through dO\'e

tail. that looked identical to those

cut by hand (their width and spac

ing>;can even be also(the template fingers.

R()U Tlllt 1 111'l .The Leigh jig can produce

three dirrerent size dovetails. using vari

ous combinations of straight and dovetail

router bits, see chart below. One major

drawback is that the

1 -

dovetail bit has a

L E IG H D O V E T A IL R O U TE R JIG

Tools

the Trade

7/24/2019 Woodsmith - 032

23/24

OODSMITH

Talking

Sho~

N OPEN

FORUM FOR OMMENTS ND QUEST IONS

G L U E B RU SH E S

accurate ouUine for lhe hinge mortise.

rI

7/24/2019 Woodsmith - 032

24/24

Allow 4 to 6 w eek s fo r

delivery,

Pr iees subjec t

to

change. call

Wood. ,ith Projccl.Supp1ies

P.o. Box 10350

Des Moines, 1A50306

800 444 7002

B Y PHON E

F or r as te r s er vic e u se o urTo ll

Free order line. P hone o rder s

can be p laced M onday th, u

Fr iday. 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Central StandardTime.

Before call ing. have your

VISA,

'M asterCard, or D ts

cover ca rd r eady .

B Y MA IL

T o o rd er by m ail. u se the form

enclosed

with

a current

tssue,

T he o rder form inc ludes

infOl'-

mation o n h an dling and ship

p ing charges and sales tax.

S en d y ou r m ail o rd er to:

Garrett Wade

~22l*12

/ ) }t.tJl J il J~qll

lt lt- i:n9

Boord 1 )t ,

i ~

O r f f l J f l . J () }a f Jt , d l oot~

P la.tJ. I ic

R n w

G ftt /\ l1 t V () ,l} in

/J e l l , . . / (

Tb eWuodworker8 Sto re

612-128-2199

8I I J Hk r l

C~I ~tf(1rtJlJ.v~.

C lt al ogor I nformat ion ,

LTERN TE T LOG SOUR ES

RDER INFORM TION

Tread t.lnC6

S r I ) . .

f n.l)9 ) .

l)Q l fd a, f J i J J f.

,,, ti ~ u

JtJ(,r( i f i ~

Woodotnfi

S II J..6;li).+J.S4

BI(lllkt:l

( / l .fot

H Q

I d . ,. , . , . . . :,tli,P

Bo o rd Ftlti lttlt C (tn.ln91 ~bt.

P l( I A tk R a b t ;ll l~

C AR VIN G PA nER N

'1 'h e f ull s iz e p at tern

fo\

the vine and lea

design on ttl(l ; Qtdlt Rack

as

IihO\VII Qt, I)~

6isavailable I re e, ( Th ere is a 1 .50

shippin

charge

Quilt Rack Pattern

8005-014 _ Fr e

TU N G OIL FIN IS HES

The f ou l' t u n~ o il f in is he s m e nti on ed i n t h

interv iew w ith Fran k Velie. (sealer, lo

lu st er , medium lus te r, an d h ig h lu ste r) a r

av ailable fro m th e s ou rc es l is te d bel ow . O

yo u

can call Suth er land We lle s a t ( 800)82

1245lo find a

dealer

near

you.

CA RV IN G B OOK S

If

) OU

would like more infermacion o

carving,

check

your

local

library

01 boo k

store. 'tVe have found the follow ing tw

b oo ks h elp fu l. T hey a rc a va ilab le from th

so urces listed helow in the M ail O rde

Sources

section.

,1f llc O/ QjTm.di tionn/ W ood Cal illg,

Tl Rook of \Vood CaJ 1Jill{l:Tech?IU/l

D e 8i gm a nd P ro je ct s.

Now: Al l or us h ere at WO< J< ll< mitiLf

The Book

oflVood

Ca l v ing : Tee /Ill/ que , De

~ i g Y l J < and Project.. ve'y h elp fu l. E ven

th ou gh it w asorig in al lyp ub li sh ed i n 1942.

remain s one of th e

best

im ro du ctc ry b oo k

Onlile techniques of

incise carving tha

, ,,e lve seen.

carv ing . W ith these carving tools, the

handle is placed in lhe palm of your hand

a nd you r

f ia ger s g \dde

t he cut ti ng edge.

Note: A s w ith all edge tools, we rec om

men d sharpening and honing these tool

before u sin g th em .

B LA N K ET C HE ST

Woodsmitb Project Supplies is offer-

in g three diifeJ'ent hardware Kits fo r th e

Blanke t Chest .a s shownonpage 16.The k i ts

include YOU1 'ch oice o f pulls (see photos

b elo w) and all th e n ec essary hardware to

complete Ute project.

B lanket Chest Hardware K its

732-100 Kit A 59.95

732-200 Kit n 59. 95

732900

Kit

C

59 .95

Al lo f t h e kits above include:

(2) 2' x 3

So li d Bras s H inges

1)Fu ll Mor ti se Ches t. Locl c'V itb Bras s

Key Esc utcheon

1)Sa tin Bra ss L id S up port

(Featuring

an ad jus tabl e tensio ning ro d.)

No te : F o r

the

aromatic

cedar

used

to

line

th e B la nk et C he st, c he ck at y ou r loea l lum

bel yard, home improvement center orhar-

ware sto re fo r b o xe d sets o f c ed ar p an elin g

used to lin e c lo se ts .

Blanket Chest Pull Types

t-'-'.

Pierced brass pull ,

l:

with a matc hin g k ey

.._. escuscheon ar e in-

e luded in this

kit.

KitA. (Chippendale-Style)

, This is a t radit tcna l

t

~

1 ~ style solid brass p ull

with a matching

escu tcheon p late.

Kit

B (C olonialS tyle)

LEIGH D OV nA IL JIG

Since wereviewed th e Leigh dovetailjig, in

198 4, th e c ompa ny has introduced a new

model. The new jig produc es bo l.h

lh, Ough

an d half-blind dovetails. The new

jigs

ar e

s t il l available in 12 an d 24 widths, Because

of the w id e

variety

o { op tio ns a va ila ble we

suggest that you get a cata lo g f rom on e o f

the com panies listed below in the Mail

O rd e r S ou rc es before

ordering.

CunlN G B OA RD S

Fo r the cutting boards, we used a p lastic

re sin g lue. (Itcome. in a p ow de red f orm a nd

m ixe s w i th

water.)

T his ty pe o{g lu e can be

found in m os t

hardware

stores and lumber

yards, or it can be ordered from th e s ou rc es

listed

below in th e M ili l O rd er s ec tio n.

he Ilnish

we

used on

the

cutting

boards

is c alle d M arte ns W o o d

Preservative,

it's a

o il an d w ax combinatio n that' s safe to use

aro un d fo od. It's a va ila bl e f rom th e s ou rc es

listed

below.

A s an alternative fi ni sh, \ \ oodsmith Pro-

ject Supp lie s is o ffe,;ng Preserve NuL O il

finish Preserve is 8 blend of natural oils

f , Omexotic nut m eats and p rovides an ex

c el le nt , non- tox ic f inish to, toys a well a s

b ow ls a nd w oo den k itchen u tens il s.

Nut OilFinish

4001-275

Preserve Nut

Oil

Finish .

s z Bottle . 8.95

CA RV IN G TOO LS

There are a number of sources [or the

ca rv in g to ols we u se d to in cis ath e de sig n o n

the Q uilt R l'ck as show n on p age 4.

Forthis

type

o f c a rv in g we would r ec om

m end a starter set. Woo dcra ft S up ply

(see ,\iail O rder So urce be low) ha .' \ se t

th at in clu de s a sk ew c hise l. th ree g ouges, a

,'eining

tool, and a V tool. T he se to ols w ill

be more than adequate for most incise

our es