VOL. 15 NOTES FROM THE SHOP NO. 86

9{eirtoom 'Project:SLANT FRONTDESK

No. 86 April, 1993

Editor Donald B. PeschkeManaging Editor Douglas L. HicksAssistant Editors James M. Dolan

Philip A. TottenJonathan Garbison

Creative DirectorArt Director

Senior Illustrators

Illustrators

PhotographerDesign DirectorSenior Designer

DesignerShop Manager

Ted KralicekRod StoakesDavid KreylingChris GlowackiDirkVerSteegCinda ShambaughCrayola EnglandKen MunkelJan Hale SvecKent WelshSteve Curds

Circulation Director Liz BredesonSubscription Manager Sandy Baum

Circulation Analyst Rod CainNewsstand Sales Kent A. Buckton

PUBLISHING SERVICESAssociate Editor Gordon C. Gaippe

Sr. Graphic Artist Robert H. WhitmerIllustrator Mark Higdon

CORPORATE SERVICESController

AccountingBookkeeping

Information Serv. Mgr.Network Administrator

Administrative Assts.

ReceptionistBuilding Maintenance

Paul E. GrayLaura ThomasJulianne SpearsJoyce MooreDouglas M. lidsterCheryl A. ScottJulia FishJeanne JohnsonKen GriffithArchie Krause

WOODSMITH MAIL ORDERMarketing Director

Art DirectorCatalog Products Mgr.

Project SuppliesTechnical SupportSystems Operator

Receptionist

Robert MurryCindy JacksonBob BakerLinda JonesJeff JanesLinda MorrowKeriLee

CUSTOMER SERVICEJennie Enos (Supr.), Jennifer Murphy,

Joy Johnson, Sara Kono, Ami Blanshan,Anna Cox, Chris Lo

SHIPPING DEPARTMENTJerry Carson (Supervisor), Gloria Sheehan,Donnie McVey, Chuck Carlson, Sylvia Carey

WOODSMITH STOREDave Larson (Manager),

Wendell Stone, Vicki Edwards,Dominic Bazzocco, Steve Johnson

Woodsmith® (ISSN 0164-41U) is published bi-month ly (Feb., Apri l , June , Aug., Oct., Dec.) byWoodsmith Corporation, 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines,1A 50312. Printed in U.S.A.Woodsmith® is a registered trademark of Woodsmith Corp.Copyright© 1993 Woodsmith Corporation. All rights reserved.Subscriptions: Single copy: $3.95. One year subscription (6issues), 517.95. Two years (12 issues), $31.95. (Canada/For-eign add $5 per year, U.S. funds.)Second Class Postage Paid at Des Moines, IA and at addi-tional offices.Postmaster: Send change of address to Woodsmith., Box10718, Des Moines, IA 50350.Subscription Questions? Call 1-800-333-5075, 8:00 am to5:00 pm, Central Time, weekdays.

E D I T O R ' S C O L U M N

SawdustShortly after we approved the working

drawings for the Slant Front Desk forthis issue, I asked Steve Curtis, our shopmanager, to pick up the lumber. As usuallyhappens at this point, Steve got this eagerlook in his eyes — then disappeared withthe company truck.

A few hours later Steve reappeared witha load of wood. "Not just any wood," hepointed out, "Native Iowa Cherry." It wassome of the most beautiful cherry I've seen.Ten-foot-long boards, 6" to 10" wide. Verylittle sapwood. Perfect for the desk.

Where didhefindthisgreatwood? Seemshe knows a fellow who runs a little sawmill.And Steve has a knack for showing up whenthe best stock comes out of the kiln.

Okay, Don, but I don't live in Iowa, and Idon't know any sawyers. How can I get myprojects to look as nice as your desk?

Although the wood is important, whatyou do with it is more important. You canmake a lot of good things happen depend-ing on how you match and lay out the pieces.

GRAIN PATTERN & APPEARANCE. W h e npicking out wood for a project, I look forpieces with similar color and grain patterns.I may have to go through a whole stack ofboards before I've chosen the ones to use.

Occasionally, I've found two boards fromthe same tree — they have the same colorand grain pattern. If glued up together, thepanel will have a consistent appearance.

When gluing up panels, I try to hide thejoints by matching the grain patterns. Noth-ing will emphasize an edge-glued joint morethan a piece with straight grain next to apiece with figured grain.

CHOOSING PIECES. Selecting the stock isonly half the battle. You also have to decidewhich pieces come out of which boards. Iconcentrate on the most visible ones.

On the desk, the appearance of the doorand drawer fronts was the most importantpart of the project. So I started by laying outthose parts on the best wood.

There are also small details that reallyadd to a project. I wanted the grain to runacross certain parts of the desk. Look at thegrain pattern on the drawers of the pigeon-hole unit (page 24). All three drawer frontswere cut from one long section of stock.

And the pieces for the ogee bracket feet(page 26) are cut so the grain wraps rightaround the corner.

Sometimes it's hard to keep all thesepieces organized when it comes time forassembly. But close attention to detailsmakes the difference between a nice projectand a truly beautiful piece of furniture.

CUTTING DIAGRAMS. This is all good the-ory, but it gets a little tricky to present in acutting diagram in Woodsmith. We don'tknow what the wood will look like that youbring home from the lumberyard. Whereare the knots? Sapwood? Warp?

So the cutting diagrams are often ideal.You could get the pieces out of the boardsspecified. But you probably won't want to.

Cherry, for example, can have as much as30% sapwood. So you'll probably want to cutthat out and use it for another project wherecolor isn't as important. By the time youfinish cutting out the major defects, youwon't get all the pieces out of the boards.

So what do you do? I always buy a fewextra boards so that I end up with the piecesI want. If I'm taking the time to build anheirloom project, it's worth it to spend anextra twenty or thirty bucks.

NEW FACES. Just about the time Stevewas picking up the cherry, Bob Baker cameinto my office. He was applying for a newposition, Catalog Products Manager.Within two minutes I discovered that notonly was he a Woodsmith subscriber, buthe also had a small portable sawmill. (I im-mediately had all kinds of visions of gettingour own cherry logs and Bob cutting them.)

Anyway, Bob told me that his sawmill ispowered by a pull-start Volkswagen engineand could cut through 4-foot diameter, 16-foot-long logs. I figured that anybody whocould keep that thing going should be ableto keep up with the products in our catalog.

Shortly after Bob started work, CindyJackson, the Art Director of our mail ordercatalog, The Woodsmith Shop, pointed outanother of his qualifications—he was "Out-standing Shop Student" when she gradu-ated from high school with him.

And then it occured to me that somehowor other I forgot to introduce her as a "NewFace" when she started here over a yearago. It's Cindy's job to lay out the catalogpages and oversee its production.

Laura Thomas has also recently joined usas an accountant. She will help keep track ofhow I spend the money. (She has her workcut out for her.)

c

Woodsmith No. 86

A L O O K I N S I D E

ContentsTips & Techniques 4 Six tips from fellow woodworkers.

1) Pipe Clamp Spreader. 2) Squar-ing a Saw Blade. 3) Using Biscuits toGlue Breadboard Ends. 4) RoutingLarge Half-Rounds. Plus Quick Tips. Coat Rack & Shelf page 6

Country Coat Rack 6

Gluing Up Panels 11

Shop Notes 14

Slant Front Desk 16

Ogee Bracket Feet 26

Sharp Teeth 30

Sources 31

This Coat Rack is like a closet on thewall. It holds outdoor items right

where they're needed — near the door.

For some projects, solid wood pan-els are a better choice thanplywood.

We discuss the best ways to select wood,match grain, and assemble a panel.

1) Tall Fence for the Router Table.2) Hidden Compartment Behind a

Drawer. 3) Router Edge Guide.

Solid cherry construction makesthis Slant Front Desk an heirloom

project. Inside is a handy pigeonholeunit with drawers, dividers, and a shelf.

You don't have to be a sculptor tomake decorative feet. Step-by-step

instructions reduce it to a series of cove,curve, and smoothing operations.

A close-up look at the business endof a crosscut blade. Plus, how to rec-

ognize a well-sharpened carbide tooth.

Hardware and supplies needed forthe projects in this issue.

Gluing Up Panels page 11

Slant Front Desk page 16

No. 86 Woodsmith

F R O M F E L L O W W O O D W O R K E R S

Tips & TechniquesPIPE CLAMP SPREADER• Recently I reglued a failedjoint in an old dresser. I didn'twant to take apart and reglue allthe joints — just the failed one.But holding the joint open andsqueezing the glue in at thesame time was a problem. Ididn't have enough hands.

To solve this, I came up with a

way to apply an even, outwardforce on the failed joint. I used apipe clamp — but not in theusual way.

First remove both the tail andthe head of the clamp from thepipe. Then reinstall them back-wards, on the pipe, see Fig. 1.When reinstalling the head,

screw the pipe about halfwayinto the threads, see Fig. la.

Then, to provide a runner forthe jaw on the head, you'll needan extra 8"-long threaded pieceof pipe. Screw this piece into theremaining threads of the head.

To open the joint, position theclamp near the failed joint, see

Fig. 2. As you turn the handle,you'll be able to precisely controlthe amount of distance betweenthe head and tail to open thejoint. (Note: You'll have to slidethe handle back and forth dur-ing each turn to clear the pipe.)

Willard F. LeisterWagener, South Carolina

TURN HANDLE TOSPREAD CLAMPAND OPEN JOINT

SQUARING A SAW BLADE• Most woodworkers knowhow to check if a table saw bladeis 90° to the table, see Fig. 1. Butthe method I use is a little differ-ent, and a little more accurate.

First, adjust the saw blade tothe height necessary to cut yourworkpiece. (I make this adjust-ment first because the angle ofthe blade may change slightly asit's raised and lowered.)

Then remove the insert plate

to expose the saw blade, see Fig.2. Using an accurate combina-tion square, extend the blade ofthe square below the surface ofthe table saw, see Fig. 2.

Now when checking the sawblade, I'm able to use the entiresurface of the saw blade. Thisproduces a more accurate read-ing than the other method.

Adam CouttsSanta Monica, California

SQUARE CHECKSONLY PART OF

THE SAWBLADE'S SURFACE

'ALTERNATE METHODCHECKS MOST OF

THE SAWBLADE'S SURFACE

LL

BREADBOARD ENDS & BISCUITS• Over time, end caps (some-times called "breadboard ends")have a tendency to break freefrom glued-up blanks. This isdue to the expansion and con-traction of conflicting woodgrains glued to each other. But amethod I use with biscuits al-lows the wood to expand andcontract, see Fig. 1.

Instead of gluing all the bis-cuits in, I only glue the inner-

most biscuits (usually one ortwo). Also, I only apply gluealong the joint line near theglued-in biscuits.

The other biscuits are allowedto float. And, to keep these fromshifting, I soak them in hot waterfor 15 minutes so they can swell.Then after they're dry (about anhour), push them into the slots.

Keith LukaszekHamtramck, Michigan

1OUTER BISCUITS

FLOAT^-^ K

DIRECTION OFWOOD MOVEMENT

GLUE CENTERBISCUIT ONLY

END CAP

DIRECTION OF END CAPWOOD MOVEMENT

Woodsmith No. 86

ROUTING LARGE HALF-ROUNDS• Recently I made a new banis-ter and handrail for a set of stairsin my home. I wanted the topedge of both to have a matchingrounded profile. But figuring outa way to shape a large half-round(in my case, a profile with a 1 Vz"radius) without a shaper wasquite a challenge.

To do it, I came up with a tech-nique using a router, a straightbit, and a jig I built, see photo.

The jig has two main sections:a carriage and a platform. Thecarriage fits snugly over theworkpiece. And the platform piv-ots on top of the carriage.

The carriage consists of twosupport blocks shaped like thefront of a Marine Corps Quonsethut, see Fig. 1. These are con-nected by stabilizers that ridealong the sides of the workpiece.A pair of end caps made of Ma-sonite prevent the router fromslipping off the support blocks.

When cutting the notches inthe support blocks and end caps,cut them to fit over the work-piece you're going to rout. Youwant the carriage to fit over theworkpiece snugly, see Fig. 2.

The platform consists of abase plate that's screwed to the

router, see Fig. 1. And screwedto the base plate are two archedpivot blocks that ride on the car-riage support blocks.

To use the jig, first set thedepth of the bit so it rests on theworkpiece, see Fig. 2. Then,starting at one end, rout alongthe length of the workpiece.(During each pass, hold therouter at a consistent angle.)

Once you've reached the end,

pivot the platform slightly androut back towards the oppositeend, see Fig. 2. Repeat this untilall the waste has been removed.

After both corners have beenrounded, clean up the profilewith a cabinet scraper and sand-paper. (With the jig built, it tookme about an hour to complete asix foot length of handrail.)

Dave EnderRochester, Minnesota

ROUT ALONG LENGTH OFWORKPIECE FROM END TO ENDPLATFORM

ASSEMBLYBASE PLATE

(1/4" MASONITE)CLAMP WORKPIECE

TO BENCH

PIVOT PLATFORMBETWEEN PASSES TO

ROUND OVER CORNERS2'/2n RADIUSCENTERED ON BLOCK #8 x 11/4"

WOODSCREWS

CARRIAGEASSEMBLY

END CAPS(1/4" MASONITE)

STABILIZERS3/4" X 3/4" X 7"

#8xWOODSCREWS

QUICK TIPSMECHANICAL PENCILS

• Next time you're laying outhand-cut dovetails (or any othertype of layout work), try using amechanical drafting pencil in-stead of a traditional No. 2 pencilor carpenter's pencil.

You'll find the thinner layoutlines a mechanical pencil pro-duces are easier to follow if youwant to cut tight fitting joints.

The mechanical pencil I usetakes lead that is only .5mm indiameter. And whenever itneeds to be sharpened, all I haveto do is press the push-button fora fresh tip.

You can purchase mechanicaldrafting pencils with lead refillsfor under $10 at most office sup-ply stores.

William 0. BargerSan Antonio, Texas

SECURING SETSCREWS• The setscrews in my table sawand router table inserts used tovibrate out of position. To keepthem from moving, I removedand wrapped each one in plumb-er's tape. Since then, the set-screws have stayed put and theinserts have remained level.

Steven R. HardyMarysville, Washington

SEND IN YOUR TIPSIf you would like to share an

original tip or idea, just send itto Woodsmith, Tips and Tech-niques, 2200 Grand Avenue,Des Moines, Iowa 50312.

We will pay (upon publica-tion) $25 to $100, dependingon the published length of thetip. Please include an explana-tion, a photo or sketch (welldraw a new one), and a daytimetelephone number, in case wehave some questions.

No. 86 Woodsmith

W E E K E N D P R O J E C T

How do you fit a door in an opening?With this coat rack, it's all in how you mount the hinges.

The only trick to this Country CoatRack is fitting the door. How do you

end up with a uniform gap around each side?I started with the gap at the bottom — it'sdetermined by the depth of the hingemortises. Then after the bottom gap isestablished, creating the other gaps is just amatter of cutting the door to size.

HANGING SYSTEM. Another interestingchallenge is figuring out how to hang thecoat rack. Instead of screwing it directly tothe wall, the back is beveled and hangs ona mating cleat, see photo on page 9. It's easyto position but still strong.

FINISH. I built two coat racks, one of oak(shown here) and one of pine (see backcover). The oak one was finished with Gen-eral Finishes' TwoStep Sealacell. Togive the pine a rusticlook, I added squarepegs and painted itwith milk paint.

A full-sized pat-tern for the ends andthe back is available,as well as sourcesfor the hardwareand finishing sup-plies, see page 31.

MATERIALS CUTTING DIAGRAMWOOD PARTS

A Ends (2)B Top Shelf (1)C Bottom Shelf (1)D Molding Strips (1)E Back(l)F Hanging Cleat (1)G Peg Rail (1)H Door(l)

3/4x8V4-163/4x7V2-341/23/4x7V2-33V23/4x3/4-60rgh.3/4x'7V4 -33V23 /4x2-323/4x6'/4-33V23/4 x 4V8 - 327/8

SUPPLIES(2)2"x l3/s" Hinges(1) Magnetic Catch and Plate(6) 3 y2° Shaker Pegs(1) 1" Oak Door Knob(24) #8 x 1V2" Flathead Woodscrews(10) 3/8" Oak Flat Top Plugs(14) 4d Finish Nails

3/4" x 9 V4" - 72" (5 Bd. Ft.)

3/4" x 9'/4" - 72" (5 Bd. Ft.)

Woodsmith No. 86

EXPLODED VIEW

OVERALL DIMENSIONS36"L x 9"W x 16"H

ENDSThe Country Coat Rack is held together bythe ends (A). Start by cutting two end blanksroughly 8!/2" wide. (Note: If you can'tfind flatstock this wide, edge-glue a couple of boardstogether.) Then cut them to a finishedlength of 16", see Fig. 1.

CUT DADOES. The shelves fit into W'-deepdadoes cut in the blanks, see Fig. Ib. Thewidth of the dadoes should match the thick-ness of the stock. Position the first dado 5V&"from the bottom edge, the second lOVz".

cur RABBETS. After cutting the dadoes,cut the rabbets for the back pieces. Like the

dadoes, the rabbets should match the thick-ness of the the stock. They're cut along theinside back edge of each blank, see Fig. la.

The next step is to cut the end blanks tofinished width (8V4M), see Fig. 1. Doing thisafter cutting the dadoes cleans up anychipout. Just be sure that you trim off thefront — not the rabbeted edges.

SCREW HOLES. To screw the shelves tothe ends, you'll need to drill counterbores.They're centered on the width of each dado,see Fig. 1 and Ib. Then, drill shank holesthrough each counterbore.

cur our SHAPE. The coat rack gets muchof its country appeal from its curved edges.To cut an identical shape on both ends, car-pet tape them together (dadoes facing in).

Now lay out the curved pattern on oneface of the end pieces and cut just outside thelines, see Fig. 2. Then, to smooth up to theline, I used a drum sander.

ROUND OVER EDGES. To complete theends, I routed a Vi" round-over on all theedges except the back. Note: To prevent anygaps where the shelves meet the ends, don'tround over the edges where noted in Fig. 2a.

NOTE: cur DADOESTO MATCHTHICKNESS

Q. BACKRABBET

CENTER HOLESON DADOES

(SEE DETAIL B)

1/4" ROUND-OVERAS SHOWN

, \\ DO NOTN\ \ ROUT\\ \ THESE

EDGES

No. 86 Woodsmith

SHELVESWith the ends com-plete, I began on theshelves that formthe top and bottomof the storage com-partment. The topshelf is a little differ-ent. It has molding

strips along the front and sides, so it lookslike it extends through the ends.

cur TO SIZE. To begin, rip the top shelf(B) and bottom shelf (C) to width. To findthe width, measure the length of the lowerdado on the ends (A), see Figs. 3 and 4. (Startfrom the shoulder of the back rabbet.)

Next, cut the bottom shelf (C) to length(33 V211), see Fig. 4. Then clamp the shelf be-tween the two ends (A) and measure fromthe outside face of one end to the outside ofthe other. This will be the length of the topshelf (C) (34 V? in my case), see Fig. 3.

TOP SHELF. With the shelves cut to size,set the bottom shelf aside. The top shelf ex-tends across the front edge of each end, socut a notch out of the back corners, see Fig.3. The length of this notch equals the lengthof the top dado in the ends (A). (Again, meas-ure from the shoulder of the back rabbet.)

At this point, I drilled the pilot holes forthe door catch, see Fig. 3. Inset the doorcatch a distance equal to the thickness of thestock plus the catch plate. I attached theplate to the door catch and positioned them3/4n in from the front edge.

BOTTOM SHELF. Next, I went back to thebottom shelf. First, lay out the locations ofthe mortises for the hinges, see Fig. 4.

I wanted a uniform Vie" gap around thedoor. If the hinges were mounted flush withthe surface, the gap between the shelf andthe door would be about Vfe". So I cut themortise on the shelf a little deeper—to halfthe thickness of the hinge barrel, see Fig. 4a.

After the mortises are cut, drill pilot holes

NOTE:INSET CATCH

TO COMBINEDTHICKNESS OF CATCH

PLATE AND STOCKAND DRILL PILOT HOLES

BOTTOMSHELF

THICK)

1 4" ROUND-OVERON BOTTOM EDGE,

STOPPING Vi"FROM EACH END

for the screws. Then, rout a 1/4" round-overon the front bottom edge, see Fig. 4a.

ASSEMBLY. At this point, dry assemble theshelves (B and C) and ends (A), and markthe position of the pilot holes on the shelves,see Fig. 5. After drilling the holes, glue andscrew the shelves between the ends.

To prevent the top shelf from cupping atthe front, I also drilled and screwed the shelfto the ends from the top, see Fig. 5 and 5a.Then I plugged all the screw holes exceptthose covered by the molding strips.

MOLDING. The molding strips cover theedges of the top shelf. (The thicknesses of

each should match.) I started by roundingover the front edges of the 3/4M-wide moldingstrips (D), see Fig. 6a. Then I cut one 40"-long strip, plus two 10"-long strips.

For the molding to fit best at the miteredcorners, I cut the front piece first so the dis-tance between the short points equals thelength of the top shelf, see Fig. 6.

After the front strip is glued on, miter theother strips to fit on the sides. But only applyglue to the front ends of these strips. Thisallows for expansion and contraction withchanges in humidity. Then nail the strips onand set the nails, see Fig. 6.

SHELVES MUST BEFLUSH WITH

SHOULDERS OF RABBETSTRIM SIDE

STRIPS FLUSHWITH BACK EDGE

MOLDINGSTRIP

(3/4" X 3/4")

BLEND INROUND-OVERS

1/4" ROUND-OVERSON TOP & BOTTOM

OF STRIPSCOUNTERBORE,

'/4" DEEP

GLUE SIDESTRIPS AT

FRONT ENDSONLY

#8 x 1Vs" FhWOODSCREW

Woodsmith No. 86

BACKS HANGING SYSTEMThe back of the coatrack is differentthan you might ex-pect. Instead of onewide piece, it hastwo—aback (E) forthe top and a peg rail(G) for the bottom.

The gap between the pieces allows the coatrack to hang on a beveled cleat that's se-cured to the wall, see the box at right.

CUTBACK. The cleat is originally part ofthe back (E). Start by ripping the piece to arough width of 9 V^. Then cut the back pieceto length so it will fit between the rabbets inthe ends (A), see Fig. 8. (In my case, 33V211

long.) Then, I tilted the table saw blade to45° and ripped the back to a width of 1V^.Keep the waste piece. It will be used later asthe hanging cleat (F).

CUT CURVE. The next step is to lay out thecurve on the back side of the back (E), seeFigs. 7 and 8. Mark the centerline on theworkpiece and transfer the half-pattern to it.Then flip the pattern over and transfer it tothe other half of the workpiece. Now, with aband saw or sabre saw, cut out the curve,staying Vie" from the line. Finally, I used adrum sander to smooth up to the line.

CUT PEG RAIL. Now the peg rail (G) is cutto size. To determine the width of this piece,

measure from the top edge of the bottomshelf to the bottom of the end pieces (BW),see Fig. 11. Like the back (E), it fits betweenthe rabbets (33V2" long).

DRILL PEG HOLES. After the peg rail is cutto size, drill holes for the Shaker pegs, seeFig. 9. These holes are centered on a linedrawn 23/4M from the bottom edge. Begin theseries of holes with a hole centered 3" fromthe end. Then drill the remaining five holesat 51/2" intervals (center to center).

ROUT ROUND-OVERS. Before attachingboth the back and the peg rail, I routed a Vi"round-over along the upper front edge of theback (E), see Fig. 8a. I also routed the lowerfront edge of the peg rail (G), see Fig. 9.(Note: To prevent any gaps where thesepieces fit into the rabbets, stop the round-overs Vf from the end of each piece.)

ATTACH BACKS. Now, drill countersunkscrew holes through the back and the pegrail and into the shelves, see Fig. 10. Thenscrew these pieces to the shelves. To holdthe back and peg rail in tight, I also nailedthem into the rabbets. (Shop Note: To avoidsplitting the wood, I drilled pilot holes andused 4d finish nails, angling them slightly.)

BLEND ROUND-OVERS. Some of the round-overs on the ends (A) and the back pieces (Eand G) were stopped short so there wouldn'tbe gaps at the joints. But now that these

Here's how the hanging system works. A bev-eled cleat is cut to length so it fits easily intothe opening in the back of the coat rack. Thenthe cleat is screwed to a pair of studs in thewall. After it's finished, the coat rack is hungon the cleat so the mating bevels interlock.

pieces are assembled, you can finish round-ing them over. Unfortunately, your routerwon't work in some places, so use a file toblend the round-overs, see Figs. 6a and 10.

EACH SQUAREEQUALS 1"BACK HALF-PATTERN ROUND-OVER

Vi" FROM EDGE

ALIGN PATTERNWITH CENTERLINE

ON BACK SIDE

NOTE: ALIGN THIS EDGEWITH CENTERLINEON WORKPIECE

HANGINGCLEAT

BACK(3/4" THICK)

BLENDROUND-OVERPEG RAIL

(3/4» THICK)CENTER SCREWS

ON SHELVES

1/4" ROUND-OVERON BOTTOM EDGE,

STOPPINGFROM EACH END

#8 x 1 1/T FhWOODSCREW

COUNTERBORE,V8" DEEP

No. 86 Woodsmith

DOORAll that's left is thedoor. It should havea consistent gaparound each side.To get this, I cut thedoor to fit tight andtrimmed it for aneven gap later.

cur DOOR. Start by measuring the open-ing and cut the door (H) to fit. Then rip itVie" narrower than the height of the openingso you can close the door when the hingesare mounted.

Now, attach the hinges to the bottom shelfwith a "stubby" screwdriver. Then, to markthe position of the hinges, clamp them to thedoor, see Fig. 11. Note: The door should becentered across the opening.

cur MORTISES. Next, cut the hinge mor-tises on the edge of the door, see Fig. lla.Since the mortises in the shelf determinedthe gap along the bottom, these mortisescan be cut to the thickness of the hinge leaf.

TRIM DOOR. After screwing the hinges tothe door, measure the gap along the bottomand mark the top and sides so they'll haveuniform gaps. Then remove the door andtrim the top and sides. I also softened thefront edges with sandpaper.

DOOR KNOB AND CATCH. Finally, drill pi-lot holes for the catch plate and door knob,see Figs. 11 and 12. Then apply finish to thecoat rack and mount the hardware.

CENTER DOOR INOPENING AND MARK

HINGE LOCATIONS

DOOR(3/4" THICK)

H

NOTE:BEVEL DOOR SLIGHTLYTO CLEAR SHELFWHEN CLOSING

MORTISE ISTHICKNESS OF

HINGE LEAF

12

I

DOOR SHOULD BE CUTTO PRODUCE A UNIFORM

£ [ GAP AROUND OPENING

————————————————————— J1'1

/4" /*v*-^- — DOORP'L/*""^ KNOB

T CENTERLINE

© © © © © 0

1

1

DESIGN ALTERNATIVES

I wanted to add a hundred years or more tothe appearance of the Country Coat Rackthat I made out of pine. To do this, I finishedit a little differently than the oak one.

SQUARE PEGS. Instead of round plugs, Icovered the screws in the ends and the topwith traditional square pegs, see below.

MILK PAINT. Then, to finish the pine, I

used what a country craftsman may haveused — milk paint. (Note: For informationon techniques for applying milk paint, referto the article in Woodsmith No. 80.)

DISTRESSING. Finally, I distressed thewood, see photo at right. Adding dings andscratches can make a project look aged, butdo it a little bit at a time—it can be overdone.

To make square pegs, first cut a %"-squarepiece to a rough length of 18". Then, usinga disc sander, shape the end to a slightpyramid and cut the peg about %" long.

Next, square the screw holes with a chisel.The pegs 'will fit easier if you round theirbottom edges with sandpaper. Finally, addglue and tap the pegs in place.

To give the Coat Rack a worn appearance,sand some of the edges after painting, andround the comers that would get the mostwear. Then add a few dents and scratches.

10 Woodsmith No. 86

W O O D W O R K I N G T E C H N I Q U E

Gluing Up PanelsIt's not easy to make a bunch of boards looklike a single, flat piece of wood. But whenmaking a solid, edge-glued panel, that's ex-actly the goal.

The colors should match. The grain ofone piece should merge into the grain of thenext. The joint lines should be practicallyinvisible. If the panel looks like a bunch ofboards slapped together, it will draw atten-tion to itself — detracting from the appear-ance of the entire project.

And that's only half the battle. While anedge-glued panel should look like one, widepiece of wood, it better not act like it. A widepiece of wood can cup or bow with changesin humidity. An edge-glued panel can warptoo, but if the pieces are arranged and pre-pared properly, this can usually be avoided.

SELECTING & ARRANGING BOARDSWhen edge-gluing, the easiest step to rushthrough is selecting the wood. But carefullychoosing and arranging the boards into thepanel are essential for good results.

CHOOSING LUMBER. Selecting straightboards makes clamping much easier. Someslight warp is unavoidable and can be cor-rected. A cupped board can be ripped in two,and a slightly bowed piece can be forced flatwhile clamping. But don't use a twistedboard, it's very difficult to twist it straight.

After selecting the lumber, I arrange theboards as they will appear in the panel—it'slike putting together a puzzle.

APPEARANCE. First, I match the color.Then I try to fit the pieces together, turningand flipping them until the grain patternsseem to match, see photo. Straight grainshould run next to straight grain. Curvedgrain should merge into curved grain.

But while the appearance is the most im-portant consideration, it isn't the only le.

GRAIN DIRECTION. After the panel isglued up, you'll need to smooth it. Unlessyou use a sander, you'll probably plane it byhand or with a planer. If the grain on variousboards runs in opposite directions, somepieces will probably chip out while planing.

I determine the direction of the grain bylooking at the edge of the board, see Fig. 1.Grain that's consistently curving the sameway makes the job easy. But frequently, youhave to pick the direction it curves the most.

Shop Tip: Draw an arrow on each face tonote the direction of the grain, see Fig. 1. Itwill be easier to arrange the boards later.

END GRAIN. There's one more thing toconsider in solving the puzzle — how willthe panel cup with changes in humidity?

For a panel that's anchored (such as a ta-

1 GRAIN DIRECTION

ARRANGE BOARDSSO EDGE GRAINGOES IN SAME

DIRECTION

END GRAIN

GROWTH RINGSNOT ALTERNATED:

WHOLE PANELCUPS WITH CHANGES

IN HUMIDITY

GROWTH RINGSALTERNATED

INDIVIDUAL BOARDS CUPIN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS -

ble top screwed to aprons), cupping is rarelya problem. But a panel that's not secured (achest lid, for example) can cup pretty badly.

For those panels that won't be anchored,alternate the end grain from board to board,see Fig. 2. By varying the growth rings, thewhole panel won't cup in one direction. Thisis because each board cups in the oppositedirection of the boards on either side of it.

MARK ORDER. Once the boards are ar-ranged into a panel, I chalk Roman numeralsacross the joints, see Fig. 3. The Roman nu-merals prevent the boards from gettingmixed up, especially if you're gluing up anumber of panels.

Okay, so which criteria is most important:appearance, grain direction, or end grain?For me, it's appearance. I try to get the graindirection and end grain arranged correctlyas well, but often, it's a compromise.

FIRST:ALIGN BOARDSFOR BEST GRAINMATCH

SECOND:NUMBEREACH JOINT NOTE:

USE CHALK TOMARK BOARDS

No. 86 Woodsmith 11

JOINTING EDGESWhen you're arranging boards into a panel,you may have to compromise a bit. But joint-ing the edges of the workpieces requiresprecision. If the edges aren't smooth,straight, and square to the faces, you willhave problems when gluing or clamping.Either the glue won't bond properly, or thewhole panel can cup across its width.

CUPPED PANELS. A strong joint is as easyas cutting smooth, straight edges. Unfortu-nately, strong joints don't always mean a flatpanel. If the edges aren't square to the faceof the board, the panel will cup as it'sclamped together, see Figs. 4 and 4a. Toprevent this, make sure your machine is setup correctly. When using a jointer, set thefence exactly 90° to the table. And when us-ing a table saw, set the blade 90° to the table.

JOINTER. My first choice for cutting asmooth, straight edge is to use a jointer, seeFig. 5. A jointer takes a uniform amount offeach board, and you don't have to adjust thefence with every pass. I slowly feed the work-piece urith the grain, see Fig. 5a. After a fewlight passes, the board has a smooth edgethat's ready to be glued.

TABLE SAW. If you don't have a jointer, youcan joint edges with a table saw and a goodcombination blade, see Fig. 6.

For the smoothest edge, I use a double-cut method. To do this, begin by ripping theboards straight. Then repeat the cut, thistime only removing about half the thicknessof the saw blade, see Fig. 6a. This second,lighter cut results in a very smooth surfacewith virtually no saw marks or burning.

SPLINES

IF EDGES ARENT SQUARE TO FACES,PANEL WILL CUP WHEN CLAMPED

NOTE: TO CORRECT,SET JOINTER FENCE OR SAWBLADE EXACTLY 90°

a.END VIEW

EDGES NOTSQUARE TO FACE___________y

FOR BEST EDGE,JOINT IN LIGHT,SMOOTH PASS

TO AVOID CHIPOUT, ..CUTTERHEAD SHOULD \, CUT WITH GRAIN \DIRECTION ON FACE

\\

FIRST:RIP BOARDSTRAIGHT HALF THE THICKNESS

OF THE BLADE

SECOND:TRIM EDGE ABOUT

HALF THE THICKNESSOF BLADE

LIGHT CUTLEAVES SMOOTH

I STRAIGHT EDGE

I only use splines when I need help withalignment-they don't add muchstrength to1

a joint. If I'm clamping slightly bowed stockor gluing a panel too thin to sand much off, Iuse splines to keep the panel as flush acrossthe surface as possible.

Shop Note: I smooth completed panelswith a thickness planer. If a panel will be toowide to do this, I'll glue it into narrow sec-tions first, see Fig. 2. Then, after planing, Iuse a spline to glue the sections together.

SLOTS. I rout the slots for the splines witha router and a slot cutter, see Figs. 1 and la.(I cut the splines after the slots are routed.They should fit into the slots easily, see Fig.2a.) To keep the slot a uniform distance fromthe face, rout them by hand, not on a routertable. A hand-held router closely follows theshape of a bowed board.

If the end of the panel will be exposed,start and stop the slot short. (Shop Note: Irout until the outside edge of the router baseis at the end of the piece, see Fig. 1.)

ON PANELS WITH EXPOSEDENDS, USE OUTSIDE EDGEOF ROUTER BASE ASGUIDE TO START/STOP SLOT

-77

NOTE:SPLINE SHOULD FITSLOT WITH LIGHTHAND PRESSURE

CROSS MASONITESECTION ^SPLINE

WIDTH OF SPLINE SLIGHTLYLESS THAN GROOVE DEPTH

12 Woodsmith No. 86

GLUINGI don't like to take chances when gluing —by this point a lot of time and energy hasbeen invested into selecting and preparingthe boards. So to make sure there aren't anysurprises, I always dry assemble the panelbefore gluing. And then when adding glue, Imake sure there's enough for a good bond.

APPLYING GLUE. Some woodworkers putglue on only one edge of each board anddon't bother to spread it out. This does have

some advantages. It's quick, and the gluedoesn't set up quite so fast. But I want toknow that there's a thin, even film on bothedges, so I spread the glue on with a brush.

Shop Note: If a glued surface appears dullrather than glossy, the glue has penetratedinto the wood and more should be added.

REMOVING GLUE. Another thing I'm cau-tious about is removing the excess glue.Many suggest wiping it off with a damp rag

as soon as you can. I've never been comfort-able with that approach.

Removing glue this way can dilute it andforce it into the pores of the wood, sealingout the finish. Dried glue is hard to see —until a finish is applied. Then it's quite obvi-ous. But it's too late to do anything about it.

Instead, I let the panel set a few hours oreven overnight. By then, the glue has had achance to set, and I can scrape it off.

A A strong joint requires a thin, consistentlayer of glue. For a good bond, apply it toboth edges and spread it out with a brush.

A If the right amount of glue and equalclamping pressure are applied, an evenbead of glue should form along the joint.

A A common paint scraper will removeglue that's set overnight. A light scrapingusually causes the beads of glue to"pop off."

CLAMPINGWhen I'm ready to assemble the panel, I typi-cally use 3/4" pipe clamps. I space them 6" to8" apart and alternate them above and belowthe panel to equalize the pressure and pre-vent cupping, see Fig. 7.

Shop Note: The iron in the pipes will reactto the glue's moisture and the wood, leavinga black stain on the wood. Adding a strip ofmasking tape to each clamp prevents this.

FLATTEN THE BOARDS. I begin by lightlyclamping the boards in place. Then I makesure the boards are flush across the top.

There are two ways to flatten a panel. If theboards aren't flush across the middle of thepanel, you can pound it flat with a mallet anda block of wood, see Fig. 8.

If the boards aren't flat near the ends of thepanel, sandwich the ends with scrap piecesand clamp them together, see Fig. 9. (Note:Be sure to use waxed paper under the scrappieces so they can be removed later.)

CLAMPING PRESSURE. After the boardsare flush, tighten the clamps until tiny beadsof glue appear along each joint line. Theclamps should be tight, but the importantthing is equalizing the pressure along thejoint line — not "cranking down" on theclamps as tight as you can.

To make sure there's equal pressure,watch the glue beads carefully. If they aren'tconsistent along the panel, the clamps arenot distributing the pressure evenly.Tighten or add more clamps to the sectionswhere there isn't any glue oozing out.

NOTE:FOR EQUAL

PRESSURE ALONG PANELALTERNATE CLAMPS

AND WATCH FORCONSISTENT GLUE LINE

8 USE MALLET ANDBLOCK TO POUND-

BOARDS FLUSH

TO FLATTEN ENDS,SANDWICH BETWEEN

SCRAP PIECES

No. 86 Woodsmith 13

S O M E T I P S F R O M O U R S H O P

Shop NotesTALL ROUTER TABLE FENCE• When I was building the SlantFront Desk on page 16,1 wantedto use sliding dovetails for join-ing some parts of the desk. Butthere was a problem.

To rout a dovetailed tongueon the router table, the work-pieces must stand on edge,see photos below. Butmy router table fencewas too short to easilyport a large panel while routing.And I ran into the same problemwhen I tried to rout the ends ofthe tall, narrow rails.

So to solve this, I built a tallfence that clamps to the top ofmy router table, see photos be-low. The fence offers a lot of sup-port when routing the edges oflarge panels. And when usedwith a miter gauge, it's great forrouting the ends of long pieceslike the drawer rails or evenholding pieces at an angle.

BASE & FENCE. To build thefence, begin by cutting a basefrom 3/4M-thick plywood. Thelength of the base should equalthe top of your router table.Then cut a 9"-high fence to thissame length, see exploded view.

BIT NOTCH. Both the base andfence need a notch for the routerbit. To cut the notches, I used asabre saw and cleaned them upwith a drum sander.

CUT GROOVE TO FITMITER GAUGE

RUNNER

CROSSSECTION

MAKE TWO7"x7"

SUPPORTS

MITER GAUGE GROOVE. Next,cut a groove along the fence toguide your miter gauge. (Thewidth of this groove shouldmatch the width of the runner onyour miter gauge.)

Safety Note: The position ofthis groove is critical—don't cutit too low. The miter gaugeshould easily clear any router bityou use when the bit is set at itshighest point.

AUXILIARY FENCE. I added anauxiliary fence to hold the mitergauge in a vertical position. Thisfence is screwed to the mitergauge and hooks behind therouter table fence so the mitergauge can't fall out of the groove.

Note: When screwing the aux-iliary fence to the miter gauge,position it Vie" above the surfaceof the table. This allows the mi-ter gauge to be tilted in either

direction to support angledpieces, see photo below at right.

BRACES. Now, cut two 7" x 7"triangular braces to support thefence. (Note: One corner of thetriangle must be exactly 90°.)

Finally, glue and screw all thepieces together. Then, after theglue dries, wipe a coat of wax onthe face of the fence as well asthe miter gauge groove to get anice slick surface.

LARGE PANELS. Routing a dovetailtongue on the ends of a panel can be diffi-cult with a short fence. This tall fence keepsthe panel exactly 90° to the router bit.

LONG PIECES. Long narrow pieces needeven more support than panels. Adding amiter gauge with an auxiliary fence keepsthe piece from tipping forward or back.

ANGLED PIECES. The miter gauge andauxiliary fence are able to tilt forward orbackward, which really helps when you'rerouting grooves for splined miters.

Woodsmith No. 86

HIDDEN COMPARTMENT• After building the pigeonholeinsert for the Slant Front Desk, Idecided to add a hidden com-partment behind one drawer.

The compartment fits thedrawer opening exactly, so youcan't see any gaps around theedges. This way, when the com-partment is in place, it looks likethe back panel of the desk.

To open the compartment,you have to know exactly whereto push. The "sweet spots" are at

the sides — push either one andthe opposite side pivots forwardso you can pull it out, see Fig. 2.

There's really nothing diffi-cult about building the compart-ment, but there are a couple ofthings you need to keep in mind.

Start with the front piece.When it fits perfectly, build thesides and back. Also, the com-partment pivots open easiestwhen the back corners areslightly rounded, see Fig. 1.

The back of any drawer opening can conceal a hidden compart-ment — all you have to do is build the drawer shorter to create alittle pocket behind it. To get at this compartment, you have toreach inside and push at just the right spot, see Fig. 2 below.

ROUNDCORNERS CROSS

SECTION

COMPART-MENT

PIVOTS ONROUNDED

EDGESNOTE:

PUT PRESSUREON EITHER END

AND OPPOSITE ENDPIVOTS OUT

NOTE:BUILD FROM

3/S"-THICKSTOCKBOTTOM -^

(SEE CROSS SECTION)WIDTH OFOPENING

ROUTER EDGE GUIDE• A typical edge guide for rout-ing grooves or dadoes across apanel works great—except thatit only works with one size bit.But I use an edge guide thataligns the bit to the center of thegroove, not the edge. So routerbits of various sizes can be used.

This edge guide uses a hingedspacer. The width of the spacerequals the distance from theedge of the router base to thecenter of the bit, see Fig. 1.

Note: With some routers, thecenterpoint of the bit isn't ex-actly centered in the base. When

building and using this guide, al-ways keep the same point of thebase against the jig. I markedmine with tape, see Fig. 3.

The spacer aligns with a lay-out line that marks the center ofthe groove, see Fig. 2. When thespacer is aligned, the other half

of the jig is clamped to the work-piece, and the spacer folds backlike a window shutter, see Fig. 3.

Shop Note: I found a pianohinge works best — there's lessslop than with other hinges.When installing the hinge, clampthe halves together tightly.

No. 86 Woodsmith 15

H E I R L O O M P R O J E C T

Slant Front DeskJoining solid wood to solid wood can be a problem. Sliding dovetails

are one answer. A dovetail tongue fits in a dovetail groove so the piecesof wood can move. It's a strong joint that doesn't need any glue.

Wjod movement. It's a big concern withnany projects. As solid wood expands

and contracts with seasonal changes inhumidity, joints can pop and boards may warp.Since this Desk is built with a number of widesolid cherry panels, it required special joinery todeal with the problems of wood movement.

JOINERY. Sliding dovetails are one answer.With this joinery technique, the wide side panelsare free to float independently of the frames thathold the panels together. But the drop-downdoor required another answer. To keep thispanel flat I used "breadboard" ends.

EXTRAS. Ogee bracket feet complete the caseand raise it off the ground. Since these can bebuilt for other projects, we're featuring separatestep-by-step instructions on how to make thefeet, see page 26. The pigeonhole unit inside thedesk is also treated separately, see page 24.

WOOD & FINISH. All the visible parts of thisdesk are solid 3/4M-thick black cherry. Only thedrawer sides—and some other parts that aren'tvisible — are different. For these I used Vfc"-thick maple for more wear and less expense.

I went an extra step for the finish — four topcoats of General Finishes' Royal Finish (satin).

16 Woodsmith No. 86

EXPLODED VIEW MATERIALSPIGEONHOLE

UNITSEE PAGES24 &25

DRAWER 4

OVERALL DIMENSIONS:40"Wx21"Dx42"H

OGEEBRACKET FOOT

SEE PAGES26 TO 29

CASESides (2)Top(l)Top Lip (1)Shelf (1)Drawer Rails Fr. (4)Drawer Rails Bk, (4)Drawer Runners (8)Dividers (2)Drawer Guides (2)Rail Lip (1)Dust Panel (1)Molding Strip (1)Door Panel (1)Door Ends (2)Door Supports (2)

3 /4X21 -37'/23/4Xl215/16-403/,6 X 7/8 - 381/23/4 X 203/4 - 39 1/4

3/4 X 2 - 39V43/4 X 2 - 39V4

3/4X23/4-171/23/4 X 2 - 4V8

3/4X3/4- 16'/23/4 x 1 - 38 V21/4 ply-343/4 x!7'/2V2 x ]i/i6-96(rgh)3/4 X 15-35'/8

3/4x2' /2-153 /4X39 /16-18

Door Supp, Ends (2) 3/4 x 2 - 39/i

6

Case Back (1) V4 ply - 36 V& x 3V V4Ogee Foot Blanks (3) 1 Vfc x 5'/4 -16

DRAWERSS Drawer 1 Back(l)T Drawer 2 Back (1)U Drawer 3 Back (1)V Drawer 4 Back (1)W Drawer 1 Front (1)X Drawer 2 Front (1)Y Drawer 3 Front (1)Z Drawer 4 Front (1)AA Drwr 1 Sides (2)BB Drwr 2 Sides (2)CC Drwr 3 Sides (2)DD Drwr 4 Sides (2)EE DrwrlBott(l)FF Drwr2,3,4Bott(3)GG Drwr Stop Blks (8)

'/2x3'/2-35i/41/2 X 43/8 - 383/8'/2 X 5V4 - 383/8'/2 X 6'/8 - 383/83/4x31/2-351/43/4 X 43/8 - 383/8

3/4 X 5'/4 - 383/83/4 X 6V8 - 383/8

l/2X3'/2-193/81/2x43/8-193/81/2x51/4-193/8V2X6'/8-19%V4 ply -343/4Xl 91/4'/4 ply-377/8xl 9'/43/4 X 11/4 - 3

CUTTING DIAGRAM3/4" x 5V5" - 96" (FOUR BOARDS @ 3.7 Bd. Ft. Each)

A A R

3/4" x S'/2" - 96" (TWO BOARDS @ 3.7 Bd. Ft. Each)

D K

3/4" x 7" - 96" (4.7 Bd. Ft.)

D —————————t

3/4" x 7" - 96" (4.7 Bd. Ft.) — L

B

3/4" x 6V2" - 96" (4.3 Bd. Ft.)————————— E —————————

3/4"x5V2" -96" (3.7 Bd. Ft.) VJ

Y R

3/4" x 5" - 96" (3.3 Bd. Ft.)

X W

3/4" x 5V2" - 96" (3.7 Bd. Ft.)

D M

1 0 |1

E NE N ^

B

Vi" x 4 - 84 (2.3

SUPPLIES• (2) Brass Hinges- 2" x3'/i6"• (8) Lg. Brass Drawer Pulls• ( 1 ) Brass Escutcheon Plate• (6) Sm. Brass Drawer Knobs

Sq. Ft.) Maple

S AA AA H l2" x 5 - 84 (2.9 Sq. Ft.) Maple

T BB BB PUPH^^ ^-7? '/211 x 6 - 84 (3.5 Sq. Ft.) Maple

* J-. I t \ « |z i

R

illlllilli^

U CC CC

n" x 7 - 84 (4.1 Sq. Ft.) Maple

V DD DD

1/4" x 3" - 84" (TWO BOARDS @ \ .8 Bd. Ft. Each) MapleG I G G | G

mW////////A

i/4" x 5'/2" - 84" (3.2 Bd. Ft.) Mapler-

> » - . . . . . - . - - ' . - , . . .,....'.'?

——————————— F ———— Y///777777MZ,

ALSO NEED: One 4x8 Sheet '4" Maple Plywood, plus One 4x4 Sheet '4" Cherry Plywood NOTE: Materials for Pigeonhole Unit on Page 24

No. 86 Woodsmith 17

RABBETED MITERSCASE SIDES & TOP

I started work on theSlant Front Desk bybuilding three solidpanels for the out-side case, see Fig. 1.But building a pro-ject with solid woodpanels calls for someplanning. Since each

of the panels must be glued up from severalboards, it's important to select these boardsfrom stock that looks like it came from thesame board. (For tips on gluing up large pan-els, see the article on page 11.)

cur TO ROUGH SIZE. After gluing enoughboards together for three oversize blanks(two for the sides and one for the top), cut thesides (A) to finished width and roughlength (39"), see Fig. 1. (The sides will be cutto finished length after the rabbeted miterjoint is cut across the top.)

Then cut the top (B) to rough width(133/411) but finished length (40"), see Fig. 1.

Note: The top end of the sides and thefront edge of the top should be finish-qualitycuts. That is, flat, smooth, and square to theiradjacent edges.

RABBETED MITER JOINT. In order to hidethe end grain where the case sides meet the

top, I used a variation of a miter joint, see boxat right. A common miter joint would work,but by rabbeting the miter, the joint isstronger and assembly is easier. (The pieceswon't shift as much when they're glued andclamped together.)

Cut the rabbeted miter joint on both endsof the top (B) and the top end of the sides (A)as explained in the box at right.

SIDESAfter cutting the rabbeted miter joint, cut thesides (A) to finished length, see Fig. 1. Note:Do this by cutting off the bottom endssquare to the edges.

The sides of the case are held together bya shelf and web frames that are built later,refer to Fig. 8 on page 20. To hold the shelfand web frames in place (and also allow thesolid wood sides to move), sliding dovetailjoints are used.

This joint involves a dovetail tongue onthe ends of the shelf (and web frames) thatlocks in a dovetail groove on the insides ofthe case sides. (Refer to the box on page 21.)

LAY our DOVETAIL GROOVES. The framesthat fit in the dovetail grooves do more thanhold the sides of the case together. The webframes also support the drawers inside the

TOPLIP

RABBET ONBACK EDGE

(SEE DETAIL b.)

RIPFENCE

' *" LESS THANTHICKNESS OF

WORKPIECE

'/»" TOP & SIDES

The, rabbeted miter joint starts out thesame on all the mating pieces (the topand side panels). Cut a V$"-deep kerfacross the inside face of all three pieces.

ATTACH RUB STRIPTO WORKPIECE

WITH CARPET TAPE

Cutting the miter is critical — the blademust align to the kerf. To help, stick apiece ofMasonite to the workpiece. Thenadjust the fence and sneak up on the cut.

The last cut is a rabbet on the top pieceonly. Again use the Masonite rub strip,but this time to help position the bladein relation to the long point of the miter.

18 Woodsmith No. 86

case. And since all the drawers are differentheights, the dovetail grooves are differentdistances apart.

To lay out the position of the dovetailgrooves, measure up from the bottom of thecase sides, see Fig. 1. Then draw a lineacross the inside face of each side panel toindicate the center of the dovetail grooves.

Note: Since the sliding dovetail joints areto be hidden on the front of the case, thesegrooves stop 3/sM from the front edge, seeFigs. 1 and Ic.

ROUT DOVETAIL GROOVES. Now the dove-tail grooves can be routed. To do this, I useda Vf dovetail bit and guided the router alonga straightedge clamped to the workpiece,see Fig. 2. (Refer to Shop Notes on page 15for information on building a self-aligningrouter edge guide.)

Now rout the five stopped dovetailgrooves on each of the sides, see Fig. 2.

ANGLED CORNERS. After the dovetailgrooves have been routed, the next thing todo is cut off the front corners at a 35° angleto produce the slant front, see Fig. 3.

To do this, first lay out the angle on bothof the case sides, refer to Fig. 1. Then theangle is cut in two steps. First, cut to withinabout Vie" of the line. (Make this rough cuton both side panels.)

To get the same angle on both side pan-els, they could be clamped together andhand planed to the mark. But I did some-thing different. After the rough cut, Iclamped a straightedge along the pencil line(on the right-hand panel) and used a flushtrim bit in the router to complete the cut andsmooth the edge, see Fig. 3. Shop Note: Toavoid chipout along the edge, rout from thelower corner to the upper corner.

To cut the second (left-hand) side panelidentical to the first, I clamped the two pan-els together so they were flush along the top,back, and bottom edges. Then I ran the bear-ing of the flush trim bit along the smoothedge of the first panel to trim a matchingedge on the second panel.

RABBET. Finally, cut a rabbet along theback edge of the side panels to accept a ply-wood back panel, see Figs. Iband 2.

STRAIGHTEDGEGUIDES ROUTER(SEE PG. 15 FORSELF-ALIGNING

GUIDE]

a. CROSS SECTION

DOVETAILGROOVE

TRIM EDGE SMOOTHUSING FLUSH TRIM

BIT IN ROUTERCLAMP

STRAIGHTEDGETO OUTSIDE FACE

Of SIDE PANEL

TOPAfter flush trimming the angle on both sidepanels, set the panels aside and work cancontinue on the case top (B).

ATTACH LIP. Before cutting the case top tofinished width, I first glued a thin top lip (C)to the underside of the front edge, see Figs,la and 4. This lip acts as a stop when thepigeonhole unit is installed inside the as-sembled case, refer to Fig. 5 on page 25.

RIP TWO BEVELS. After attaching the toplip, rip a 35° bevel along the front edge of thecase top, see Figs. 5 and 6. Note: The angleof this bevel must be exactly the same as theangle on the two side panels so the door willfit tight to the case when it's closed.

Cut this bevel with the top face against thetable, see Fig. 5.

Next, rip an intersecting bevel along thefront edge, this time with the bottom faceagainst the table, see Fig. 6. Note: Becauseof the lip on the front edge, the workpiecewon't lie flat on the table for this second cut.That's okay — only the angle of the firstbevel is critical.

RIP TOP TO WIDTH. Now the case top canbe ripped to finished width (with the bevelededge against the fence). Note: Sneak up onthe finished width until the top aligns to thesides at the front and back edges, see Fig.l.

To accept a plywood panel for the back ofthe case, cut a rabbet along the lower backedge of the top piece, see Fig. 7.

NOTE: OPPOSITEEDGE RIDES AGAINST

RIP FENCE

TOP LIP

NOTE: OPPOSITEEDGE RIDES AGAINST

RIP FENCE

7

RIPFENCE

• x x x

\\

AU~.

\

FENCEt

1;!/

i ir -

i,-;

['

^I -

'/i" DADO 3

BLADE

S

' I !1 i i

TOPI

=

CUTVA" x WRABBETALONGBACK

EDGE OF

\TC.Ml

11/4"

k I —1

No. 86 Woodsmith 19

SHELF & FRAMESWhen I finishedbuilding the casesides and top, I be-gan work on theshelf and the webframes that hold thesides together.

SHELF. The shelf(D) is built from

glued-up stock just like the case sides andtop. Then it's ripped to finished width tomatch the width of the sides (less the widthof the rabbet for the back panel), see Fig. 8.

To determine the finished length of theshelf, measure across the underside of thetop, from the shoulder to shoulder. To thisdimension add the combined depth of theopposing dovetail grooves (3/4M). Now cutthe shelf (D) to this length.

FRAMES. All four web frames are built thesame way. Two side drawer runners fit be-tween a front and a back rail with stub tenonand groove joints, see Figs. 8 and 9.

Note: Since the back rails and drawer run-ners will be hidden, I used a less expensivewood (maple). But for the visible front rails,I used cherry.

Start by ripping all the frame pieces tofinished width, see Fig. 8.

Next, cut the front and back drawerrails (E and F) to finished length to matchthe length of the shelf (D).

To determine the length of the drawerrunners (G), measure from the front edgeof the case side to the shoulder of the rabbetat the rear. Then subtract the width of bothdrawer rails. To this number add 1" (for aV2M-long tenon on the end of each runner),then subtract Vi" (for an expansion gapwhere the runners meet the back rail).

GROOVES & TENONS. The next step is tocut a groove centered on the inside edges ofall the frame pieces, see Fig. 9. Note: Cutthese grooves to match the thickness of theVV'-thick plywood to be used as a dust (androdent) barrier for the lower panel.

Now cut stub tenons on both ends of allthe drawer runners, see Figs. 8 and 9.

SLOT MORTISES. A pair of vertical dividersseparate the top drawer from the two slidingdoor supports, refer to Fig. 8 and the Ex-ploded View. These dividers have stub ten-ons on the ends that fit into slot mortises,refer to Figs. 10,11, and 15.

TOP DIVIDERS. After routing the mor-tises, I ripped two dividers (H) to finishedwidth to match the front rails, see Fig. 11. Todetermine the length of the dividers, meas-ure between the centers of the top two dove-tail grooves and subtract W.

After cutting the dividers to length, cutthe stub tenons on the ends, see Fig. 11.

DRAWER GUIDES. Next, I cut a pair ofdrawer guides (I) for the top drawer to rideagainst, see Figs. 8 and 11.

DRAWERGUIDE HJ DIVIDER

NOTE: ALL FRAMESTOCK 3/4" THICK

DUSTPANEL

(1/4" PLYWOOD)

RAIL LIPCUT TO FIT

BETWEEN SIDESAFTER CASEASSEMBLY

DUST PANEL

RAIL UP

DRAWERRUNNER

CUTSTUB TENONS

TO FITGROOVES

CUTGROOVESTO MATCHTHICKNESS

OF PLYWOOD

10"i

31

V

i

L_

f

-'1

19,16"—— /

h*- 1/4" SLOT MORTISE1 1/4" DEEP

UNDERSIDEOF SHELF

'C ®^-^ ROUT 1/4" MORTISESFOR DIVIDERS TOWARDBOTH ENDS OF SHELF

FRONT EDGE^

DRAWERGUIDE

G

DRAWERRUNNER

DRAWERGUIDE ALIGNSWITH EDGESOF DIVIDER ROUT 1/4"

SLOT MORTISESFOR DIVIDERS ON

BOTH ENDS OFFRONT RAIL

20 Woodsmith No. 86

DOVETAIL TONGUES. Now I routed thedovetail tongues that fit the dovetail groovesin the case sides (A), see box at right.

Note: Rout dovetail tongues on the ends ofall eight web frame rails, see Fig. 12. Also,rout a tongue on both ends of the shelf (D)and on the edges of the drawer runners.

NOTCHES. Before the front rails (E) andshelf (D) can be glued in place, notches mustbe cut at the ends, see Fig. 12. Also notch thefront edge of both dividers (H), see Fig. 11.

RAIL LIP. Next cut a narrow rail lip (J) tofit between the shoulders of the front rail ofthe bottom web frame, see Figs. 8 and 8a.(This supports molding attached later.)

SLIDING DOVETAIL JOINT

NOTCH DOVETAILTONGUES ON

ENDS OF SHELFAND FRONT RAILS

CASE ASSEMBLYHere's where all the parts get joined to cre-ate the carcase of the desk.

Shop Note: Because the solid wood sidesmust be allowed to expand and contract withchanges in humidity, the case is assembledwith glue only in certain spots, see Fig. 14.Don't put glue on the tongue of the front rail.(It will scrape off in the dovetail groove.) In-stead, apply glue to the front end of thegroove. Also, do not apply glue to thetongues on the edges of the drawer runners.

ASSEMBLY. Start assembling the case bysliding the shelf (D) in place in the upperdovetail groove. This holds the sides to-gether while the web frames are installed.There's a sequence for installing the frames.

With the shelf in place, continue by sliding

APPLY GLUE APPLY GLUETO BACK HALF IN FRONT HALF

OF TONGUE OF GROOVE

A sliding dovetail is a two-part joint. Evenwithout glue, the angled sides of the tonguefit the angled walls of the groove exactly. It'sa strong way to join two pieces of wood.

Routing both parts of the joint must beprecise — a tight fit holds the project to-gether. But the joint shouldn't be too tight.(You must be able to assemble the parts.)

The secret to the best fit is sneaking up onthe final cut until the tongue just fits thegroove. To help, I built a tall fence (page 14).

FENCE

1 i

1 1 ! iiIjiDOVETAILTONGUE

AJs"

TT^F ——— - -- r-NOTE: SNEAK UP

ON FINAL CUT

GROOVES. Dovetail grooves are routedwith a hand-held router. Set depth of cutand then run router against a straightedge.

TONGUES. Dovetail tongues are routedon the router table. The height of the bitmatches the depth of the dovetail groove.

in the front drawer rail until the front edgesare flush. Next slide in both drawer runnersso the tongues at the front fit into thegrooved edge of the front rail, see Fig. 14.

PLYWOOD PANEL. Now cut a dust panel(K) the same length as the drawer runner tofit inside the web frame. Note: I installed apanel only in the lower web frame. But sincethe other frames have grooves to accept apanel, you could install a panel in these aswell. (Extra panels add weight and cost.)

Finally, slide in the back rail. This shouldfit flush to the shoulder of the rabbet for theback panel. Note: There should be a Vi" gapbetween the back of each runner and thefront edge of this rail. This lets the case sidescontract without splitting the frames.

TOP WEB FRAME. The assembly sequencefor the top web frame is a little different thanfor the lower frames. The difference is thedividers (H). These are glued in the mor-tises between the shelf and front rail beforethe drawer runners are installed, see Fig. 15.Here, the extra-long mortises (on the under-side of the shelf) permit the tenons to slidein even though the rail and shelf are in place.

Now install the remaining sections of thetop web frame as you did the lower frames.Then install the top (B) between the sides.

UPPER GUIDES & RAIL LIP. Complete as-sembly of the case by gluing the drawerguides (I) onto the upper frame runners, seeFigs. 8 and 11. Also, glue on the rail lip 0),see Figs. 8 and 8a.

14DONT GLUE

RUNNER INTOGROOVE ORBACK RAIL

GLUE DUST PANELINTO FRONT RAIL

AND DRAWERRUNNERS

ONLY

No. 86 Woodsmith 21

OGEE FEET & MOLDINGA Chippendale piece of furniture like this isdistinguished by its short, sculptured feet(called ogee bracket feet). On page 26 we'reshowing how to build the ogee bracket feet.

MOLDING STRIP. After making and install-ing the feet, cut a blank for the molding (L)to finished width and rough length, see Fig.16. Then rout a profile along the edge with a3/s" round-over bit, see Fig. 16a.

Now miter the molding to fit around thefront and sides of the case. Glue on the frontstrip, but for the side strips only apply glueto the mitered corner. Anchor the back partof the strips with screws from inside the casethrough slotted shank holes, see Fig. 16.

ATTACH SIDEMOLDING WITHSCREWS FROM

INSIDE CASE

MOLDINGGLUE

SIDE MOLDING ONLYAT MITERED CORNERS

DOOR & DOOR SUPPORTSThe fold-down dooris made up of threepieces — a glued-uppanel and two"breadboard" ends,see Fig. 17.

DOOR ENDS. Afterthe door panel (M)is trimmed to fin-

ished size, cut a pair of door ends (N) tolength (to match the width of the panel).

TONGUES, GROOVES & RABBETS. Now thedoor ends are joined to the door panel withtongue and groove joints, see Figs. 17 and 17b.Note: To allow the wide panel to expand andcontract, the ends are glued only along themiddle third of the tongues, see Fig. 17.

After the door unit is built, rout a round-over (with a small shoulder) around all fouredges on the outside face, see Fig. 17a.

Then, to allow the door to fit inside thedoor opening, rout a rabbet on the insideface of three edges, see Fig. 17b. (Don't rab-bet the bottom edge.)

DOOR SUPPORTS. Now rip a pair of doorsupports (O) to width Vie" less than theheight of the opening to fit between the caseand dividers. Then cut the door supports tofinished length, see Fig. 18.

Next, cut a pair of support ends (P) tolength to match the width of the supports,see Fig. 18. Then rip the support ends tofinished width, and attach them to the sup-ports with tongue and groove joints.

RELIEF NOTCH. Next I routed a shallownotch along the top edge of each door sup-port, see Fig. 19. This allows the support toslide with a minimum amount of binding.

DOWEL PIN & BRASS KNOB. Now glue adowel pin into each door support as a stop,see Fig. 20. Then a small brass knob can beattached to the front of the support end.

INSTALL DOOR. Before starting on thedrawers, I installed the door with a pair ofbrass hinges mounted flush to the surface ofboth the door and the shelf, see Fig. 21.

APPLY GLUEONLY TO CENTER

OF TONGUE

ATTACH KNOB &ESCUTCHEON PLATECENTERED 2" FROM

TOP EDGE

DRILL1/2" HOLE1/2" DEEP

Q. ROUTER TABLEFENCE

DOORSUPPORT

ASSEMBLY

v- ROUT RELIEFDEEP

POOR SUPPORT END (f

1/2"-Dl A.DOWELTLONG

NOTE:MORTISE

HINGEINTO SHELFAND DOOR

22 Woodsmith No. 86

DRAWERSAt this point the pro-ject becomes morelike an ordinary cabi-net with dovetail-joined drawers.There's only onesmall difference. Onmost chests of draw-ers, all the drawers

are the same width. On this desk, all thedrawers are the same width except the topdrawer (because of the door supports).

DRAWER PARTS. I began the drawers bycutting the drawer backs (S, T, U, V) Vg"smaller in each dimension than the draweropenings, see Fig. 22. Note: I used V2M-thickmaple for all the drawer backs and sides.

Next, cut the drawer fronts (W, X, Y, Z)to the same size as each drawer back. (I used3/4M-thick cherry for the drawer fronts.)

After that, cut eight drawer sides (AA,BB, CC, DD) to the same height as thefronts and backs. Note: Cut the sides 15/8M

shorter than the depth of the drawer open-ings. This allows for the stop blocks (GG),plus Vs" for the drawer backs, see Fig. 22a. Italso allows for a 3/8M overhang on the frontwhen the drawers are closed, see Fig. 22b.

DOVETAIL JOINTS. After cutting all thedrawer parts to finished size, rout half-blinddovetails on the ends of each. (I used a dove-tail jig with a router and a Vfc" dovetail bit.)

Before assembling the drawers, rout a V^"-deep groove around the lower inside face ofeach drawer part to accept a 1/4" plywoodbottom, see Fig. 22. (Note: Measure yourplywood and cut the groove to this size —VV1 plywood is usually less than Vi" thick.)

ROUND-OVERS. Also, rout a round-overaround the face of each of the drawer fronts,see Fig. 22b. This profile should match theprofile around the door, see Fig. 17a.

DRAWER BOTTOMS. Now cut the drawerbottoms (EE, FF) to fit, and glue up thedrawers. (Note: I used VV1 maple plywood forthe drawer bottoms with the grain direction

A Half-blind dovetails are customary on awell-built drawer. We routed the joints us-ing a hand-held router and a dovetail jig.

running from front to back. You could cutthe bottoms so the grain runs from left toright, but it will take extra plywood.)

GLIDES & STOPS. To keep each drawercentered in its opening, I glued thin drawerglides to the sides of the case and runners,see Fig. 23. Finally, cut and glue a pair ofdrawer stop blocks (GG) to the back railfor each of the drawers, see Fig. 24.

22 DRAWER 1BACK (Vz" STOCK)

fs). 35 '/41

DRAWER 1SIDE

(1/5" STOCK)X^v-X(AA

DRAWER 1^j BOTTOM ('/n" PLYWOOD)

DRAWER 1I FRONT1 (3/4" STOCK)

-*" 351/4" LONG

DRAWER 2383/S" LONG

DRAWER 3383*" LONG

No. 86 Woodsmith 23

PIGEONHOLE INSERTThe top of a desk can get awfully cluttered.So it's helpful to have a way to organize thestuff inside. Thaf s the reason for this pigeon-hole unit, see photo. It's a separate assemblythat slides into the desk from behind.

The unit is just a large egg-crate dividermade from W-thick stock. (I started withV^"-thick cherry and planed it to 3/&" thick.)Two compartments have vertical dividersthat fit into dadoes in the horizontal pieces.

But the best part are the drawers. Theseare just boxes that slide into three of theopenings. Note: If you have something espe-cially valuable to hide, you can add a hiddencompartment behind the middle drawer.(For more on this see Shop Notes, page 15.)

EXPLODED VIEWNOTE:ALL HARDWOODIS 3/8" THICK

CUTTING DIAGRAM3/S" x 6" x 60" (FOUR BOARDS @ 2.5 SO. FT. EACH)

A & B

3/S" x 6" x 60" (TWO BOARDS @ 2.5 SO. FT. EACH)

G G G G G G %

y/3/i" x 4Vi" x 60" (1.9 SQ. FT.)

K

KH

3/S" x 4 W x 60" (1.9 SQ. FT.)

3/s" x 6" x 66" (TWO BOARDS @ 2.8 SQ. FT. EACH)

ALSO NEED: 1/4" PLYWOOD LEFT OVER FROM DESK BACK

MATERIALSCASEA Top(l)

Bottom (1)Sides (2)Case Dividers (2)Middle Shelf (1)Outside Shelves (2)Storage Dividers (6)

DRAWERSH Mid. Drawer Fr/Bk (2)

Mid. Drawer Sides (2)

3/feX 113/4 -387/163/fcX 113/4 -387/163/&X 113/4 -llH/163/feX 113/4 -HH/163/fcX 113/4 -127/163,15X113/4 -125/fc3/feX H3/4 -95/16

X 4^16-12^X 45/16-111/5

Mid. Drawer Bott. ( 1 ) 1/4 x 1 1 % - 1 1 1/4IJK Out. Drawer Fr/Bk (4)L Out. Drawer Sides (4) % x 1 15/16 -i i v$M Out. Drawer Bott. (2) 1/4 x 1 1 13/16 -] 1 1/4

24 Woodsmith No. 86

PIGEONHOLE ASSEMBLYFor the best fit inside the desk, I built thepigeonhole unit from the outside in.

RIP TO WIDTH. To start, first measurefrom the back edge of the door lip (C) to theshoulder of the rabbet at the back of thecase, refer to Fig. 5. Then rip all the caseparts to the same width (1 !3/4" in my case).

CUT TO LENGTH. Next, I cut the case top(A) and bottom (B) to length to fit from sideto side in the desk opening. Note: I actuallycut them V\ e" less than the openings so theycould slide inside but still be fairly tight.

After the top and bottom are cut to length,the sides (C) and dividers (D) can also becutto length. To determine their length, meas-ure the height of the desk opening and sub-tract V£" (since they fit in dado joints). Thensubtract another Vie" for ease of installation.

RABBETS & DADOES. When cutting therabbets and dadoes, I cut opposing pieces atthe same time. This way, all the joints will bealigned opposite each other.

SHELVES & STORAGE DIVIDERS. After thedadoes and rabbets are cut, the case can bedry assembled. Then the shelves (E, F) canbe cut to length to fit inside the case.

Next, cut the storage dividers (G) to fitbetween the case top and outside shelves,see Fig. 3. Then, to make it easier to pull filesfrom the compartments, I cut an arc on thefront of each of the dividers, see Fig. 2.

ASSEMBLY. Now the case can be assem-bled with glue and No. 4 screws to hold thejoints together, see the Exploded View.

DRAWERS. The last thing to do is build thedrawers. Design Note: To add a hidden com-partment behind a drawer as explained onpage 15, that drawer must be built shallower.

The drawers are made using 3/8M-thickstock. (Again, I used solid cherry.)

First cut the fronts and backs (H and K)Vie" less than the height and width of theopening, see Fig. 4. Then rip the sides (Iand L) to the same height as the front/backpieces, see Fig. 4.

TOP NOTE: CUT ALL PIECESTO WIDTH OF 1 1 3/4"

38 7/i6"

[*-- 123/14"—.-- »j [+ . +\ U-V*j |«*/-»J U

V-213/14'J

2'5/l6"

BOTTOM NOTE: ALL DADOES ARE1/8" DEEP x 3/ft" WIDE

NOTE: STORAGE DIVIDERSARE NOT GLUED

IN PLACE

ASSEMBLE CASEWITH GLUE AND

#4 x 3/4" FhWOODSCREWS

RABBETS. Next, cut a rabbet joint at bothends of each drawer front/back, see Fig. 4a.Now the sides can be cut to length to fit be-tween the rabbets. Note: When the drawersare closed, the fronts fit flush with the case.

DRAWER BOTTOMS. I used W plywood forthe drawer bottoms (J and M), see Fig. 4.Then cut a groove around the inside of thedrawer parts. Finally, assemble the drawerswith glue in the joints and in the grooves.

OUTSIDEDRAWER

(MAKE TWO)

NOTE:DRAWER BACKS

AND FRONTSARE SAME SIZE

-x ~-— GROOVESFOR DRAWER XBOTTOMS ARE

1/4" WIDE x 1/8" DEEP

MIDDLEDRAWER

5 INSERT PIGEONHOLE UNITFROM REAR OF DESK

NOTE: DO NOT c,~^ .., . ——.11 IE IKI DI &re

>&A/

a

,;- ~ - , •v_"\ '- .

__^-^

\ PIGEONHOLE\ UNIT BUTTS

\ UP TO BACKj OF LIP1

1

/r-"'~~~'~ — "--\ • - . f'~-~~ -~~^ -'

.^-—^/s/

INSTALLCASE BACK (Q)USING #4 x 3/4"

/ Fh WOODSCREWS

• •'-;• " ' • -- - "- ;-;^ t - ' - " " " " .- / : ". ••'."" - • • " . - -

CROSS SECTION

No. 86 Woodsmith 25

W O O D W O R K I N G T E C H N I Q U E

Ogee Bracket FeetEven though the ogee bracketfeet shown in the photo look liketraditional ogee feet from twohundred years ago, they'remuch easier to make. Back then,these feet would have beenshaped with hand tools — I useda table saw and a band saw.

The results are the same,great looks and plenty ofstrength, without the hard work.

PROFILES. When you firstlook at a foot like this, it may behard to figure how it's made. It'snot one big block as you mightexpect. Instead it's two pieces ofwood joined with a miter joint.

Also, each piece has two pro-files. There's a large S-shapedogee profile cut in the face, and a

scalloped cutout to form a sup-port bracket. (For full-size pat-terns of these profiles, seeSources, page 31.)

POWERTOOLS. In the earl \days, the S-shaped profile wa^usually shaped with a big planethat had a huge cutter. But theproblem was pushing it throughthe workpiece. It required a lotof effort.

Today, most of that hard,physical work can be done withthe table saw. (I'll have to admitthough, I did use one "modern"hand tool — a Stanley Surformfor some final shaping.)

And originally the scallop wasprobably cut with a fret saw.Here, I used the band saw.

CUTTING A COVEThese ogee feet start out as long, thickblanks. For the Slant Front Desk on page 16you'll need three blanks. One for the backfeet and two for the front feet.

GLUING UP BLANKS. The blanks are madefrom two pieces of 3/4M-thick stock gluedface-to-face. Once the glue dries, they can becut to rough size (5 W x 16"), refer to Step 3.

CUTTING A COVE. Now work can begin onroughing out the profile. To do this, first setup the table saw to cut a cove on the front ofeach blank. (The cove is the concave area of

TAPE

RAISE BLADETO MAKE

Mi" DEEP CUT

MARKTOOTH

EXIT

I To begin, raise the saw blade to thefinal depth of the cove (W)- Then

mark on strips of masking tape where theteeth of the blade enter and exit the saw.

the S-shaped profile.) What the blade is ac-tually going to do is plow through the work-piece at an angle — much like a snow plowremoves snow.

SAW SET-UP. To set up the table saw, afence has to be positioned at an angle to thesaw blade. The problem is determining thatangle to get a certain width cove. (For thedesk, the cove is 2" wide.)

The angle of the fence to the blade willchange based upon the diameter of the sawblade. The angle will be steeper for a smaller

ALIGNTEMPLATEWITHMARKSON TAPE

2 Next, make a template with an insidedimension equal to the width of the

cove (2"). Then angle the template so theinside edges of template touch the marks.

diameter blade, shallower for a larger blade.The best method I've found for setting up

the fence to the correct angle is to use atemplate that looks like a little window. I cutit out of posterboard, refer to Step 2.

What you're actually doing with the tem-plate is figuring out what angle the work-piece must pass through the blade. Then it'ssimply a matter of clamping a straightedge(fence) against the template.

Once the fence is clamped in place, thecove can be cut, see Step 3.

SAFETYNOTE:

KEEPFINGERS

CLEAROF CUT

3 Clamp the fence in place and raisesaw blade to a height of Vie". Raise

blade in Vie" increments between passesuntil full depth of the cove (W) is reached.

26 Woodsmith No. 86

ROUGH OUT PROFILEWith the coves cut, the next area of the S-shaped profile to work on is the convexshape near the top, outside corner. To com-plete this part of the profile, two things haveto happen. The cove must be elongated atone end so there's a smooth transition be-tween it and the face of the blank. And thetop, outside corner has to be rounded over.

TRACE PROFILE. Before you start remov-ing any waste, it's a good idea to mark what'swaste and what's not. To do this, trace theS-shaped ogee pattern on the ends of eachblank, see pattern at right. This will give youa general idea as to what the S-shaped profilewill look like once the waste is hogged out.

Then to elongate the cove, I used a V^"-wide stacked dado set. A rasp or file wouldwork, but the dado set makes it easier to takeout the majority of waste, see Step 4.

FINISHED WIDTH.At this point theblanks could be cutto finished width.But, because theystarted out widerthan necessary, thelip below the covemight be too wide.So before rippingthem to finishedwidth, first rip theblanks to leave a W-wide lip, see Step 5.Then rip the blanksto finished width from the opposite edge.

ROUND-OVER. After the blanks are rippedto width, the round-over located on the top,outside corner can be roughed-out. Again I

1

11

J

*"

*"

PATTERN TE(FOR SLANT FRON1

MAKE TEMPUOF POSTERS

WASTE

/ h

3/fc"* —

/*1

-—

(V

MPLATEDESK fO

kTEOUTOARD

————— 2

is

OT)

WASTE >r-^ -<

_LV GRID)

W FINISHED WIDTISV4" ROUGH BLANK

/

/

H ————————— •»

1/4"

X4 —

3.*"

1

t

used the table saw to remove most of thewaste, see Step 6. (This could also be donewith a 3/4M round-over bit, see page 31.) Lateron, this rough profile will be smoothed over.

n

REMOVE WASTEIN MULTIPLE PASSES WASTE

WASTESTACKED

DADO SET

4 Lay out pattern on ends. Then elon-gate cove with dado blade set at angle.

Sneak up on layout line by adjusting ripfence and blade height between passes.

5 Now rip a strip off the blank to leavea ty'-wide lip along the bottom edge.

Then cut each blank to finished widthby ripping the opposite edge.

6 The final step in roughing out theprofile is to trim off the top, outside

corner of each blank. To do this, tilt sawblade to 45°. Then sneak up on layout line.

MITER & SPLINE JOINTAfter all the rough out work is complete, cutall three blanks in half. Then mark, and keeptrack of which pieces go together. This way,the grain on both sides of the front feet willmatch up and wrap around the corners.

MITERS & SPLINES. Usually ogee bracketfeet had some type of mechanical reinforce-ment in the miter joint. For my feet, I usedsplines, refer to Step 9.

And because a desk like the Slant Front

Desk is usually against a wall, only the foursections used for the front feet are mitered.The back feet are not mitered—they're sup-ported with a gusset (bracket). (There'smore about this gusset on page 29.)

AUXILIARYFENCE

7 With the profile roughed out, the nextstep is to cut all the blanks in half.

After that's done, cut a miter on the fourpieces that will be used for the front feet.

8 Now cut a 3/s"-deep kerf in each mi-tered end for a spline. Position the

groove Wfrom the inside face. This way,the spline will be hidden by molding.

TOP VIEW

— CUT SPLINE1/16" LESS THANDEPTH OF KERF

9 Next cut splines from W-thick Ma-sonite to fit across the kerfs. When

cutting splines to width, cut them slightlyundersize. This will make glue-up easier.

No. 86 Woodsmith 27

SCALLOPED PROFILENow the blanks are ready to have the scal-loped profile cut out of them. This fancy cut-out makes each foot look like it has a large,overhanging bracket.

SCALLOPED PATTERN. Because the ogeeprofile is shaped on the front face of eachblank, it's easier to lay out the scalloped pat-tern on the back of each blank. When tracingout the pattern, make sure you're using thecorrect reference line on the template forthe front and back feet, see Steps 10 and 11.

Since I used a V^'-dia. drum sanderchucked in the drill press to sand out theprofile, I found it easier to sand the profileright after it was cut (rather than after thefeet were glued-up into an L-shapedbracket). The individual sections of the frontfeet fit on the drill press table better than alarge glued-up bracket.

ALIGN SHORTLENGTH OF TEMPLATE

TO THIS EDGE

scalloped pattern ontoback side ofmitered pieces. Then

cut out scalloped shape. Next, remove sawblade marks with a W-dia. drum sander.

SCALLOPED PATTERN

ALIGN WITH SQUAREEDGE OF BACK FOOT

ALIGN WITHMITERED EDGE

OF FRONTFOOT

NOTE:LAY OUT GRID

INTO 1/4"SQUARES

NOTE:CUT TEMPLATE FROM

POSTERBOARD.COMPLETE FULL-SIZE

PATTERNS AVAILABLESEEPAGE31.

GLUE ANDCLAMP WITH

HAND PRESSUREFOR A FEWSECONDS

ALIGN FULL LENGTHOF TEMPLATE FLUSH

WITH EDGE

n Next, transfer scalloped patternonto back feet. Make sure template

is aligned with edge ofworkpiece. Then cutto shape and sand out saw blade marks.

After scallop is sanded, glue-upthe L-shaped blanks for the front

feet. After glue is dry, trim spline flush withthe top and bottom of the foot.

FINAL SHAPING & SMOOTHINGUp to this point, all the profile work has beenrough shaping. I waited until now to do thefinal shaping and smoothing because of themiter joint on the front feet.

Had the individual blanks been shaped

before they were glued up, there would havebeen a good chance the joint line would havewandered from side to side. To end up witha straight joint line, work both sides of thebracket, toward the glue line.

Now the feet are ready for finalshaping. Start by smoothing over

the roughed out round-over on the top, out-side corner of each foot.

To complete ogee profile, create asmooth transition between the

round-over and cove. Enough wasteshould be removed to form a gentle curve.

SANDING TIPSanding a contoured profile can be diffi-cult. Power sanders won't work. Andholding a piece of sandpaper in the palmof your hand doesn't provide even pres-sure. But sandpaper wrapped around ashort length of plumbing insulation pro-vides just the right amount of support andflexibility to sand most any shape.

28 Woodsmith No. 86

MOUNTING THE FEETWith the final shaping and sanding com-pleted, the last step is to mount the feet to thebottom of the desk. And to do this, the firstthing I did was lay the desk down on its back.

FRONT FEET. To provide a frame formounting the front feet, I used two supportcleats for each foot, see Step 15. First screwthe cleats to the desk. Then screw the cleatsto the feet, see Step 16.

After the front feet are in place, you'll prob-ably notice the spline in the miter joint is

exposed at the top. Don't worry about this. Astrip of molding that's added later to dress upthe bottom of the desk will cover the ex-posed splines.

BACK FEET. The back feet are mounted alittle differently than the front feet. Since theback feet are only viewed from one side, Iused a gusset (support bracket) to help holdeach foot in place and offer additional sup-port, refer to Step 22.

Shop Note: To lay out the gusset, I used

CROSS SECTION1/4" OFFSET

NOTE:ALL CLEATS

AREMADE OF 4123/4" X 3/4"

STOCK

FRONTCLEATS

Now, all the feet are ready to be ing the cleats to the desk and the feet to themounted. The front feet are held in cleats. When drilling the holes for mount-

place by two mitered cleats. After the cleats ing the cleats to the desk, drill them slightlyare cut to size, drill pilot holes for mount- off center, see Cross Section above.

the 45° angle on a combination square —working off a line drawn down the center ofthe workpiece, see Step 17.

Unlike the front, the back of the deskdoesn't have a lip for attaching the cleats. Sothe cleats used to attach the back feet areslightly offset from one another, see Step 20.

Once the back cleats are screwed on,mount the back feet in place to complete theinstallation of the Ogee Bracket Feet, seeSteps 21 and 22.

NOTE:MARK PILOTHOLES FORFEET THROUGHHOLES IN CLEATS

#8 x 1 Mz" FhWOODSCREW

Before screwing the front feet inplace, first position them on the

cleats. Then mark and drill pilot holes inthe feet so the screws don't split the wood.

GUSSET BLANK

The back feet are supported by two3/i"-thick gussets. When laying out

the gussets on the workpiece, make sure thegrain is oriented for maximum strength.

18 Next, cut a rabbet on the back, in-side edge of each back foot for the

gusset. Sneak up on width of the rabbet tomatch thickness of gusset.

GUSSET

8 x 1 Mi"Fh WOODSCREW

19 Before screwing gussets to feet,mark where the pilot holes are to

be drilled in the rabbet. Then drill the holesand screw the gusset in place.

#8 x 2"FhWOODSCREW

1/2" OFFSET

#8xFh WOODSCREW

NOTE:ALL CLEATS ARE3/4" X 3/4" X 4V211

Now cut 3/4H-square cleats for theback feet and gusset assemblies.

The back cleats are positioned so gussetscreate ^"-ivide ledge for the back panel.

NOTE:DRILL PILOT

HOLESTHROUGH

GUSSETINTO CLEAT

4% 'i Before screwing the back foot in•** I place, position the foot against the

cleats. Then mark and drill pilot holes inthe foot so the screws don't split the wood.

22 To complete the installation of theback foot, first place the desk on

the floor in the upright position. Thenscrew the gusset to the back cleat.

No. 86 Woodsmith 29

I N T H E W O O D S M I T H S H O P

Sharp TeethBefore starting an heirloom pro-ject, I check my saw. It must beadjusted correctly for cleancrosscuts. But a perfectly ad-justed saw doesn't guaranteeperfect cuts. That's the job of thecrosscut blade, and there's acouple things to check. I start byinspecting the teeth.

INSPECT THE TEETHThe condition of the teeth willdetermine if the blade cutscleanly or leaves ragged,chipped-out edges, see photo.

No blade will cut well if theteeth are all gunked up withpitch and resin. So, if necessary,first clean the teeth. I soakblades in a pizza pan filled withcommercial blade cleaner.

MAGNIFIER. When the bladeis clean, use a magnifier to lookclosely at the teeth. (I use a 30Xilluminated pocket microscope,available at Radio Shack foraround $10.) Check the top,front, and edges of a few teeth.

TOOTH EDGES. Each toothhas two cutting edges. "The firstis the edge between the top andfront of the tooth, and the second is the edgebetween the front and the side of the tooth.These are the critical parts of the tooth,where the actual cutting takes place.

If the edges of the teeth look ragged, it'sprobably time to have the blade sharpened.But just to be sure, make a test cut with theblade. If it's really dull, it will show up on thewood. So take a good close look at the cut.

HOOK AN OLE. When the faceof a tooth is sharpened, the sameangle must be ground on all teeth.

TOP BEVEL. Sharpeningshould maintain the top bevelon the teeth of a crosscut blade.

INSPECT THE CUTA blade doesn't have to be brand new to cutwell. More important is the look and feel ofthe cut-off piece. So I take a piece of scrapand cut a 3" piece off the end. If the teeth aresharp, there shouldn't be any chipout on anyof the edges, see photo above.

Next, examine the cut-off end. The end

should look shiny and feel likeit's been sanded. Note: You cansee this best when holding theend up to a bright incandescentlight. If the blade is dull, youll beable to see rough tooth marks orburns. And if the cut is unsatis-factory, it's probably best to havethe blade sharpened.

SHARPENINGNot all sharpening services arealike. The key is the equipmentused and the coarseness of thegrinding wheel. The best resultscome from an automatic (com-puter controlled) machineequipped with a fine (up to 600-grit) grinding wheel.

The sharpening service I usegrinds the face of each tooth inone operation, then the top ofthe tooth is ground in a secondoperation. Together, thesegrinding operations producetwo sharp edges on each tooth,see last photo below.

TOOTH FACE. When the toothface is ground, only a few thou-sandths of an inch of materialshould be removed. And an ac-

curate sharpening process won't change thehook angle, see Fig. 1. This angle deter-mines how aggressively (and smoothly) theblade will cut.

TOOTH TOP. The alternate bevels on thetops of the teeth must also be ground accu-rately, see Fig. 2. This step produces twofresh edges—the teeth should look as goodas (or better than) the original factory grind.

TOOTH CONDITIONS

DIRTY. Dirty teeth don't cut ef-ficiently, and the extra frictioncan cause burn marks on a cut.

CLEAN & DULL. When ablade is cleaned off, it's easier tosee if the teeth need sharpening.

COARSE GRIND. A coarselyground tooth won't cut assmoothly or stay sharp as long.

FINE GRIND. The sharpest—and longest lasting — edgecomes from, a fine-grit grinder.

30 Woodsmith No. 86

P R O J E C T S U P P L I E S

SourcesCOUNTRY COAT RACK

Woodsmith Project Suppliesis offering a hardware and pat-tern kit for the Country CoatRack on page 6. (Wood is not in-cluded.) We're also offering thefull-size patterns and finishesseparately, see below.W86-786-100 Coat RackHardware/Pattern Kit..... $10.95• (1 pair) Hinges, Solid Brass

13/8» Open Width x 2" Long,with Mounting Screws

• (1) 1" Oak Knob and Screw• (1) Magnetic Catch and Catch

Plate, with Mounting Screws• (6) Oak Shaker Pegs, 3V2"

Long, V2M-Dia. Tenon• (10) 3/8" Flathead Oak Plugs• (1) Full-Size Patterns of Back

and EndsPATTERNS. We're also offer-

ing separately a sheet of full-sizepatterns for the back and ends ofthe Country Coat Rack.W86-8005-221 CountryCoat Rack Patterns............ $3.50

SLANT FRONT DESKWoodsmith Project Suppliesis offering a hardware kit for theSlant Front Desk on page 16.(Wood is not included.) The kitincludes enough full-size pat-terns (two views) for all of theogee bracket feet.

We're also offering the full-size patterns and finishes sepa-rately, see next column.

W86-786-200 Slant FrontDesk Hardware Kit with OgeeBracket Feet Patterns..... $87.95• (1 pair) Solid Brass Hinges, 2'

Wide, 3 Vie" Open, with Screws• (8) Solid Brass Pulls with

Screws, 4 W Overall Width• (6) Solid Brass Drawer Knobs

with Mounting Hardware• (1) Solid Brass Back Plate for

Door, with Escutcheon Pins• (1) Full-Size, Two-View Pat-

terns of Ogee Bracket Feet.PATTERNS. We're also offer-

ing separately full-size patternsfor the ogee bracket feet.W86-8005-222 OgeeBracket Foot Patterns....... $3.50

FINISHESWe stained the Coat Rack withMinwax's Golden Oak finish. It'savailable through retail storesand the catalogs listed below. Af-ter it dried we applied two coatsof General Finishes Arm-R-SealOil (satin). Woodsmith Pro-ject Supplies is offering theArm-R-Seal, see next column.

The Slant Front Desk was fin-ished with one coat of GeneralFinishes' Sealacell and fourcoats of Royal Finish (satin) . Weused almost two quarts of RoyalFinish for the desk.W86-4003-601 SealacellSealer (Clear) .......... $9.95 quartW86-4003-602 Royal FinishOil and Urethane Top Coat(Satin) $9 95 quart

W86-4003-620 Arm-R-Seal W86-1514-400 3/8» RabbetingOil and Urethane Top Coat Bit (V4" shank) .................... $24.95(Satin) .......................$9.95 quart W86-1512-450 3/8» Rabbeting

MILK PAINT. We finished the Bit (V2" shank) ................. $26.95pine version of the Coat Rack W86-1514-885 Flush Trimshown on the back cover with Bit (VV1 shank) ................. $15.95Soldier Blue Milk Paint. W86-1512-887 Flush TrimWoodsmith Project Supplies Bit (V2" shank) ................. $17.95is offering milk paint in a variety ROUND-OVER. When makingof colors. Each 6 oz. bag of pow- the ogee bracket feet for theder will mix up a pint of paint. Slant Front Desk, we cut an an-W86-4001- Milk Paint gle off the top edge, and then(6 oz. bags of powder) filed it to a round-over, see pages342 Bayberry .................... $7.95 27 and 28. Another way of doing343 Oyster White.............$7.95 this is to use a 3/4M round-over bit.344 Barn Red ....................$7.95 (Available in V2" shank only.)345 Soldier Blue...............$7.95 W86-1512-835 3/4" Round-346 Lex. Green .................$7.95 Over Bit (V2" shank) ....... $44.95

ROUTER BITS MORTISING BITWe used a variety of router bits To cut the slot mortises for theto build the projects in this issue, divider between the door sup-Woodsmith Project Supplies port and the top drawer on theis offering these high-quality, Slant Front Desk, we used acarbide-tipped bits. Order the mortising bit in the drill press,shank size to fit your router. W86- 1 505-647 W MortisingW86-1514-643 V2" Straight Bit........................................ $8.95Bit (Vi" shank) .................$13.95 CUABB TBBTUW86-1512-676 V2" Straight SHARP TEETHBit (V2" shank) .................$14.95 There are a lot of ways to cleanW86-1514-814V411 Round- saw blades and router bits.Over Bit (V4M shank). ....... $23.95 We've heard people use lye,W86-1512-823 V$ Round- oven cleaners, and a variety ofOver Bit (Vfc" shank) ........$24.95 household cleaners and chemi-W86-1514-817 3/8" Round- cals. We thinkthatthe safestandOver Bit (VV1 shank) ........$24.95 best way to clean blades and bitsW86-1512-826 3/8" Round- is to use a "pitch and resin re-Over Bit (V2" shank) ........$25.95 mover" that's designed just forW86-1514-550 V2" Dovetail T that purpose. They're availableBit CV/i" shank") ................. $15.95 from the sources listed below.

ORDER INFORMATIONBY MAIL

To order by mail, use the orderform that comes with the cur-rent issue. The order form in-cludes information on han-dling and shipping charges,and sales tax.

If the mail order form is notavailable, please call the tollfree number at the right formore information on specificcharges and any applicablesales tax.

BY PHONEFor fastest service use our TollFree order line. Open Mondaythrough Friday, 7:00 AM to7:00 PM Central Time.

Before calling, have yourVISA, MasterCard, or Dis-cover Card ready.

1-8OO-444-7527Note: Prices subject to change

after June, 1993.

MAIL ORDER SOURCESSimilar hardware and supplies may be found in the following

catalogs. Please call each company for a catalog or information.Constantine's The Old-Fashioned Woodworking Unlim-

800-223-8087 Milk Paint Company ited/ShopsmithCoat Rack & Desk 508-448-6336 800-543-7586Hardware, Shaker Pegs, Milk Paint Coat Rack & DeskPlugs, Milk Paint, WnnHrmft Hardware, ShakerRouter Bits 800- 25 1153 Pe9s> Plu9s> pitch &

Craftsman Wood Service tf Maker Pegs, Plugs, Resin Renwver, Router800-543-9367 *** Stouter & Mortising Bits, mts

Coat Rack & Desk Pitch & Resin Remover The Woodworkers' StoreHardware, Minwax Woodworker's Supply r2"?2!"32!!0* n frVan Dyke's 800-645-9292 Coat Rack & Desk800-843-3320 Shaker Pegs, Plugs, Hardware, ShakerDesk Hardware, Plugs, Desk Hardware, Pitch Pe.9s.' Plugs, GeneralShaker Pegs, Wood & Resin Remover, F™\she?' M™wax'Knobs, Milk^aint Router Bits ^r^POck &

No. 86 Woodsmith 31

A L A S T L O O K

Final DetailsSlant Front Desk

A Pull-out door supports prop up the largewriting surface. When not in use, they slidein flush with the front of the desk.

A The graceful curves on the ogee bracketfeet don't require any hand carving —justordinary shop tools and some sandpaper.

Country Shelf

A This country project can hold cups andlinens as well as coats. Here, it's beenpainted with milk paint and distressed.

32 Woodsmith No. 86