Router Bits

Preparation
 Donald B. Pesehke
0
I
~ ~ 1 1 0 1

v ~m Douglas L. Hicks
~ a n mm
t's not unusual to see people wear- The end result will be worth it. I'll keep
uuralwa 6 ~ l r . m Terry J. Strohman ing hearing protectors around here. you posted on the progress.
uroeurr ED~TOR Rlehard S. Peters We all wear them when working in While the new construction has been
rrnrrmr E o n m Tim Robertson the shop. But lately many of us have a bit inconvenient, it hasn't stopped us
couramunw S D I T ~ Philip A. Tdtten taken to wearing them in the office as from putting together a couple of new
w~lnvr maEnoe Ted Kralicek
well. (As I write this, I'm wearing ear projects for this issue.
plugs and "ear muff" protectors.) WORKCENTER Like many of the
ur M R r r m m Cary Christensen
sewtom , n u m u Kurt Sdrultz If you think this sounds funny, he- projects we design, the work center
~r~usnummr WlV Niskanen lieve me, it looks even funnier. But started out as a solution to an everyday
Roger Redand we're not doing this for fun. We're doing problem. In this case, we were looking
Mark Higdon it out of necessity. Let me explain. for a way to provide work space and
MTOCRIRISR Crayola England REMODELING. Like a growing fam- storage space without taking up room.
nutaw mn~emn Ken Munkel ily that needs a larger house, our"fam- Our first version wasn't much more
s~tdlon DES1BMLI. Jan Hale Svee ily" has grown to apoint where we need than a hinged slab attached t o a wall. A
Kent Welsh more room. So a few mouths back we good work area, hut there wasn't any
MIOP W ~ ~ E RSteve Curtis
started a remodel- storage. The sec-
SMOC-JFLCIUTISS Steve Johnson
ing project. ond was similar to
The plan included New .-
construction. a locker - lots of
addinganother floor New projects. storage, but it took
to the back part of And a new feature. up too much space.
PVBLISWMCSERYIEES
our building, con- It wasn't until
structingnew stair- we decided to
.
Associate Editm. Gordan C. Gaippe. Sr Gm.phic
Designer: Robert H. Whitmer h p h i c A d s t
Cheryl L.Cynor
ways, and installing an elevator. mount it up out of the way on awall that
Except for a few minor problems things started to click. Then we com-
-WIUIEsERVICE.
(like the backhoe that tried to take a bined both ideas and added a couple of
Con~1~:KobinH~te~n~Acc~nting:Laufa
Thomas. Bwkkqing.JulieGdeeeFbdx&bn short cut through one of the windows), other unique features. The final result
M a ~ : C a r o l&uijano. Znfi.Sfo.sMawqsr: work seemed to progress quickly. The is shown on page 16.
JoyceMoore.Eleet Pub. Coardimfm:DouglasM. CHISEL PLANE. The chisel plane that
weather was good. The walls went up,
-
Lidster. App. Spcinlist: Linda Momw -Admi%
Assistants: C h q l S ~ t t ,Julia Fkh Recept,:
JeanneJohnson. Buildkg Maint: Ken G a t h
and the new roof went on. is shown on page 8 is also a solution to
Then winter set in. And when the a common problem. But this time it's
weather turned cold, work began on the finding a simple way to clean up hard to
PROJSET SUPPLIES
inside of the building. reach places like the corners of a
Mavkehw Lbiredm: RobertMw=Ca6dqArt
Dimctor. Cindy ?&on ~ F u 1 f i l lMamgw:
~t So what does this have to do with drawer, door, or panel.
Valerie WlesemCataTq Prodwts Manager: Bob wearing hearing protectors? Well, re- NEW FEATURE. Projects aren't the
Baker-Pmjeet SuppliestLindaJones.Technica1
Supph: Jeff Janes. Recept: Cynthia Kerman
modeling the inside of the building only thing new in this issue. We've also
means lots of drilling, hammedng, and added a new feature - the Finish
-
E U I m W E R SERVICE

Supvi.sm:JeMie Enos Cwtome~S&e Rep-

msentatiw J e d r Murphy, Joy J o h q Sara
eutting-most ofit in concrete. Andfor Room. Here we'll take an in-depth look
the last few days the drilling and a t finishing problems and their solu-
Knno, h Cox, Tammi Aldini, Kristi Andrea,
Stephanie Hagen pounding has been going non-stop. So tions. We'll also talk about new prod-
SWIPP1YO DEPARTYEW hearing protectors have become the ucts and show tips and techniques for
Sup&ol- Jerry Carson . F d f i l l m t : Gloria
''.mI, thing to wear around here. using them. This time we give gel stains
Sheehq DonMcVey, ChuekCarhn, SyIuiaCmy The surprising thing is, I've heard a try (see page 30).
very few complaints (even without my NEW FACE. AS I mentioned earlier,
hearing protectors). Everyone is deal- we're growingrapidly. Carol Quijano is
ing with the noise and confusion the our new production manager. She's
rights-m&ed. "
best way possible. If that means look- here to make sure we're on schedule
subsoliptiorn:si"g1e C~W,%.SS. one year suhaenp ing a little silly for a while, that's okay. and the issue is printed on time.
tian (6iasuea). $19.95.Woyeara (12issues),835.95. Cai-
addForeig", add $5WperyYYY
Second Clasp Postage Peidat Den Moines, IAsnd
ataddxiad o f f i m .
Poetmaster;Send change ofaddress to ShnpNates.
Box 11204.Des Makes, IA 50540-1204
SubserlpdonQvestionsT Cali 1-8W333-5854.8am

PRINTED I N U.S.A.
 Contents
Miter Gauge Fence 4
Make quick and accurate cuts on the table saw with this
shop-built fence for your mlter gauge

Anti-Kickback Bits
An in-depth look at how anti-kickback router bits work
Also, a companson of the different bits available
6 1 '
I
Chisel P/ane 8
Cleaning up hard to reach places (like the corners of a
drawer or panel) is easy w~tha chisel plane All I? takes to
make your own is some slmple hardware, a blade, and a
scrap of wood
Chisel Plane
Stock hparation 12
The foundation of a quality project can be traced back
to how carefully the stock 1s prepared before the actual
building beg~ns

Fold-Down Work Center 16

This wall-mounted work center offers plenty of built-m
storage to keep your tools r~ghtat hand It also features
a bench that folds down to provide a solid worksurface
And a f l ~ p u p
d w r holds an optional shop 11ght

Drill Press Tips 24

Solutions io some of the most common driIIingproblems
in the shop. Also, simple jigs you can make to increase
your accuracy when working with a drill press.

Shop 5o/utions 28
2
Work Center page 16
Five Shop-Tested TIPS Plpe Clamp Caddy, Bench-
Mounted Belt Sander, Shop-Made Chisel Holder, Foot
Pedal Modlhcation,and a TIP for Mixing Powdered Glue

Gel Stains 30
The thicker consistency of gel stains offers a number of
advantages over 11qu1dstalns

50ume6 31
Hardware, project supphes, and mail order sources for
the projects in this issue Drill Press Tips page 24.

No. 14 ShopNotes
 J I G S & A C C E S S O R I E S I

iter Gauge,
Fence
*

A built-in stop block and measuring

tape provide quick a& accurate
set-ups when crosscuttifig.

mL
A waxed 'key"
aligns the kerfs
when glutng
up the fence.
ike many woodworkers, I at-
tach an auxiliary fence to the
miter gauge when crosscutting a
hoard on the table saw. This pro-
vides more support for the board
than the miter gauge by itself.
But what I like best about an
auxiliary fence is you can clamp a
stop block to it and cut several
pieces to the same length. The
only problem is it can be a bit
frustrating to clamp the block em-
actlg where you want it.
To set up repeat cuts quickly
and accurately, I made a miter
gauge fence with a built-in stop
block,seephoto. Ameasuringtape
attached to the back of the fence
makes it easy to accurately posi-
tion the stopblock,seeinset photo.
FENCE.The fence consists of
two pieces of @-thick hardwood,
see Fig. 1.Although the fence can
be as long as you want, make sure
it's not so long that it's awkward
to use. (I cut each piece 26" long.)
T-BLOT. To allow the stop block
to slide hack and forth, there's a
T-slot in the top of the fence. The
bottom part of this slot is cut be-
fore gluing the fence pieces to-
gether, seeFig. la. To keep these
kerfs aligned when gluing up the
fence, see tip in margin at left.
When the glue dries, the T-slot
can he completed by cutting a
centered slot in the edge of the
fence, see Figs. 2 and Za. Next, I
cut a shallowrabbet for themeas-
uring tape (Fig. 2b), and cham-
fered the bottom edges of the
fence for sawdust relief.

BOTH HALVES

4 ShopNotes No. 14
 mACHFENCE.The fence is This is nothing more than a toi- indicator and stop block.
held in place with machine mews let bolt that passes through a cen- INSTALL TAPE. The next stew
that pass through the head of the tered hole drilled in the short is to install the measuring tape.
miter gauge. and into threaded in- piece. When you-tighten a knob Note: Because I place the miter
serts in the back of the fence, see on the end of the bolt, the head gauge on the left side ofthe blade,
Fig. 3a. pinches against the T-slot and I used a self-adhesive measuring
The location ,of the holes for locks the stop block in place. tape that reads from right to left,
these inserts determines the po- INDICATOR. To position the see Sources on page 31.
sition of the fence on the miter stop block accurately, I added an To install the tape, lock the
gauge. I wanted the end of the indicator. This is just a piece of stop block flush with the end of
fence to be right up against the !@-thick Plexiglas with a "hair- the fence, see Fig. 5. Then slide
blade. This requires shaving off linee'etched in the back side with the tape under the indicator so
just a bit of the fence a* it's a utility knife, see Fig. 4a. To the "0"mark aligns with the hair- After filling in the
@ attached to the miter gauge. make the line easier to see, see tip line and press it in place. line with ink from a
Start by placing the miter in margin at right. PINE TUNING. After trimming permanent
gauge in the slot in the saw table. To attach the indicator and al- off the excess tape, the last step marker, wipe off
Then, with the fence clamped to low it to be adjusted later, there is to 'Tine tune1'the indicator. This the excess.
the miter gauge so the end butts are two slots near the top. (I made requires making a test a t and
against the side of the blade (not these slots by drilling a series of comparing the length of the piece
the teeth), mark the location of overlapping holes.) Then, after with the position of the hairline.
the holes, see Fig. 3. screwing it in place, I sanded a If necessary, loosen the screws
Now it's just a matter of drill- chamfer on the top edges of the and adjust the indicator.
ing the holes and installing the
inserts. After attaching the fence,
trim off the end, see Fig. 3b. (To
reposition the fence fg45" cuts,
1 45' Miter Cuts I
see the box at right.) To keep the blade from cutting
STOP BLOCK. With the fence in through the fence when making a TILT MITER
GAUGE TO 46.
place, the next step is to add the 45"cut, yow'll need to reposition
stop block. It's made from two the fence on the miter gauge.
&-thick pieces of hardwood that This requires adding another
are glued together in an L-shape. pair of threadedinserts. The holes
Both pieces are 2"wide, but their for these inserts are located by
lengths are different, see Fig. 4. tiltingthe mj'cer gauge to 45", then
The long (314") piece hangs in positioning the fence so the back
front of the fence and acts as the corner$ Ms" awayfrom the blade.
"stop." Note: The bottom corners Note: Since tlte taw is set upfor
are chamfered for sawdust relief. $0" cuts,it w o n % p r & &aecumte
?
And the short (ll/4")piece holds the readings w k n making 45" cuts.
0 stop block's locldng mechanism.

No. 14 ShopNotes 5
 Anti-Kickback Bits
I n addition to reducing the chance of a dangerous
,
kickback, the large-bodied design of these anti-kickback
router bits oj@r a number of other advantages.

A ny tool or accessory
that makes working
with wood safer is some- II Marketing Manager) at
Freud a call.
He said that the anti-kick-
thing I want to know about. back bits won't limit your
So when I fist read about feed rate under n o m l cir-
router "anti-kickbacknbits,I cumstances. But that the
was intrigued. anti-kickback feature only
really figures in when some-
WHAT'S DIFFERENT? thing unexpected happens.
The most noticeable differ- CONVENTIONALBIT. For
ence between an anti-kick- example, say you're gettiig
back router bit and acon- ready to rout the edge of a
ventional muter bit is the 1 workpiece with a conven-
shape, see Drawings below. tionalrouter bit. If you were
On a conventional router bit, let in front of each cutter is to accidentally slip and jam the
the carbide cutters are supported smaller, I assumed that I'd have workpiece into the bit, you could
by a pair of thin steel wings, see to feed the workpiece slower. But force it in between the cutters,
Drawing below left. But on an I didn't. There wasn't any uotice- see Fig. 1.
anti-kickback bit, the cutters are able difference in feed rate be- If this were to happen, the cut-
attached to a large body that tween an anti-kickback and a ter would slam into the work*
wraps around infront of the eut- conventional muter bit when I piece, taking a large bite. And the
ter, see Drawing below right. tested them. resulting force would create a
THE c u ~ ~ ~ . r . ~ ~ athis
s i cre-a l l ~ danger& kickback.
duce.<thomlllet topeninp~in front ANRKICKBACK FEATURE ANTI-KICKBACK BIT. With an
of each cutter: B; creating this Now I was a little confused as to anti-kickback bit, the workpiece
"shoulder," you limit the size of just how the anti-kickback fea- would actually ram the shoulder
the chip that you can take. In fad, tureworked(if it doesn'tlimit the and only a small chip would be
these bits are often referred to as feed rate). To find out more infor- removed, see Fig. 2. And the
chip-limiting bits. mation about these router bits, I force of the kickback (if any)
DO TREY WORK? Since the gul- gave Jim Brewer (Research and would be greatly reduced.

CONVENTIONAL ROUTER BIT ANTI-KICKBACK ROUTER BIT

 This is particularly important
with alarger bit (like a horizontal
raised panel bit). The larger the
bit is, the greater the possibility
of a kickback. And the more
forcefnl and dangerous the kick-
back can be.
WORKPIECE CAN
Another case where these bits SLIP BETWEEN
can reduce kickback is if yon were C U ~ R AS ND UCES FORCE
TAKE LARGE CHIP
to hit a knot. When this happens,
the knot can break free and slam
back into the bit. With an anti- spection, I noticed the bits manu- theory, I'm sure thisis so -1 just
kickback bit, the knot would hit factured by Freud were different. hope I never have to find out.
the shoulder-reducingkkkback When you look at one straight OTHER BENEFITS. In addition
on, the cutting edge protrudes toreducingkickhackandrunning
METHEY ALL THE SAME? past the shoulder a un$orm dis- smoother, the large-bodied de-
Once I understood how the anti- tance (about 1/16"), see Drawing sign of these bits also helps to
kickback feature worked, I below. On the other bits, the dissipate heat faster and keep
tested bits from four compa- PROFILE5 them cooler. And in the long
nies (CMT,Freud, Leichtung,
and Oldham) to see how
they would perform in a
kickback situation.
Although, none of the hits
O M E R BITS

Asqp
K$'
:%~
run, this can prevent the hit
from getting too hot and
burning (or even losing its
sharp cutting edges).

eliminated kickback corn-

pletely, they did reduce the
1 ARE THEY WORTH IT?
If I were in the market for
force of the kickback eon- a nevi hit (or a set of bits),
siderably if it did occur. I'd buy bits that offer the
What I didn't expect was BODYOF BIT OOESNT sow OF BIT MATCHES anti-kickbackfeature. (Note:
MATCH PROFILE OF CUTTER PROFILE OF CUTTER
that the large-bodied de- Most anti-kickback router
sign also helped to dampen vibra- shoulder doesn't match the cutter bits are available with either 1/4"
tion. And because of this, all of profile exactly. or 1/211 diameter shanks.) They
the bits that I tested ran smooth So what? According to Freud, don't cost any more than other
and chatter free. this means their bits wili take a high-quality carbide router bits.
DIFFERENCES.At first glance, smaller bite in a kickback situ- And when it comes to safety in
all of the bits look the same, see ation. Which means the force of the shop, every little bit helps
photos below. But on closer in- the kickback should be less. In (pun intended).

4 Anti-Kickback Bits: I tested

router bits from four different com-
panies: CMT, Freud, Leichtung,
and Oldham/U.S. Saw. AN of these
bits offer a large-bodied design
that runs smooth and chatter free.
Some of the bits (CMT. Freud,
LEICHTUNG and Oldham) also feature a color-
ful anti-stick heat resistant coating
that makes them more visible. And
at the same time helps to keep the
FREUD OLDHA M bits clean and cool.

No. 14 ShopNotes 7
 Chisel
Plane
A blade that
extends in
S ometimes when you need to
plane into a tight corner, an
ordinary hand plane just won't
This lets you get into hard-to-
reach places without having the
body of the plane get in the way.
good blade. I used a l?zM-wide
blade manufactured by the Hock
Company, see page 31 for sources.
"cut" it. What happens is the front The only drawback to these chisel TWO PARTS. BaSidy,thi~Chi~el
front of this of the plane bumps into the work- planes is the cost - $75 and up. plane consists of two parts: a
chiseLpLane piece and stops the blade short. So rather thanbuy one, I decided wedge-shaped body that sup-
lets You work The solution is a special type of to make my own, see photo. ports the blade, and a cap to hold
into hard-to- plane where the blade sticks out BLADE. AS with any p h e , the the blade tight against the body,
reach corners. in front of the body like a chisel. important thing is to start with a see the Full-Size Patterns at left.
Editor's Note: To use the pat-
terns without cutting them out of
NOTE: ATTACH
PATTERNS TO the issue, you can reproduce
FULL-SIZE II/S1-THICK them on a photocopy machine and
BLANKS
then cut the pieces apart.
PATTERN 4 h BODY. NOWwork can begin on
the body of the plane. To match
the width of the blade, I started
with a 1W-thick hardwood blank
(maple). Then I attached the pat-
tern with spray adhesive so the
sole (bottom) is flush with the
edge of the blank, see drawing
above left.
SLED. Once the pattern is at-
tached, the challenge is to safely
cut the steep angle of the body. To
do this, I used a Masonite "sled"
that carries the blank through
the saw blade, see Fig. 1.

8 ShopNotes No. 14
 FINE TOOLS rn
This requires positioning the W(PLODED I%" * 5/4'. ALLEN HEI'LJ
blank on the sled so the saw blade ~ E W R CAP B ~ R E W
cuts to the waste side of the an-
. on the pattern, see Fig.
gled hne
1. To do this, I ripped the sled to
a width of about 7" and used the
edge as a reference to indicate
the path of the blade.
Now it's simply a matter of
aligning the angled line with the
edge of the sled. Note: You'll need
to extend this line to the edge of
the blank. Then screw the blank 1
to the sled and make the cut.
To complete the rough shape of of the blade, see Fig. 2. Then, like 2x4with the s h a ~of e the bodv
" cut
the hody, I cut thegentle curve on the body, the cap is cut to rough out of it, see Figs. 3 and 4.
the back with the band saw. shape on the band saw. DRILL HOLES. Once the cradle
CAP. Now you're ready to make is complete, you can drill the
the cap. Here again, the pattern MOUNTING SYSTEM holes. Start by laying out the lo-
is glued to a 11/2"-thickblank. This chisel plane is designed with cation of the hole on the side of R

To fit the cap over the blade, I cut a simple, yet effective system the hody, see Figs. 4 and 4a.
a notch in the bottom that's the to hold the blade tight against Before extending this line to
same height (5/16")as the thickness the body. the cap, I fit a spacer in the notch 1 use a cut-ojj bolt
CAP SCREW. The key to mak- for the blade and carpet taped it chucked jn a drill
ing this work is an Allen head between the cap and body. press to turn a
cap screw. I t passes through a After slipping this assembly threaded insert jn
hole in the cap and tightens into into the cradle and clamping it to by hand,
a threaded insert in the body, a tall fence, the next step is to
see Exploded View. drill a counterbored shank hole in
CRADLE. The trick is to get the the cap. Then simply remove the
hole in the cap aligned with the cap and drill a hole in the hody for
hole for the insert. To do this, I the threaded insert, see Figs. 5
made a ''cradle" that prevents the and 5a. Note: While the setup was
pieces from slippingaround when in place, I installed the threaded
drilling. The cradle is just a scrap insert, see tip in margin.

AND DRILL HOLE

a
No. 14
Alignment Peg
After installing the insert, the
next step is to add an alignment
peg. This peg provides a quick
way to position the cap on the
body. And it keeps the cap from
spinning when you tighten the
screw into the insert.
DOWEL. The alignment peg is
just a hardwooddowelthat sticks
up above the body, see Fig. 6. A
mating hole in the bottom of the
cap allows it to fit down over the
end of the peg.
ALIGN HOLES. To make this
work, the holes in the body and
the cap need to lime up. This is a
simpletwo-stepprocess. First, the
hole for the peg is drilled in the
body. Then it's used to help locate
the correspondinghole in the cap.
There's no need to move the
fence when drilling the hole for
the peg. And you can use the
same cradle as before. Only this
time, slide it along the fence to
reposition the body of the plane
under the drill bit, see Fig. 7.
Then just drill a shallow hole for
the dowel, see Fig. 7a.
DOWEL CENTER To align the
tightened the cap down over it
with the Allen screw.
DRILL HOLE. Once the location
with a piece of plywood while
drillingthe hole, see Figs. 9 and 9a.
INSTW PEG. After cutting a
a
mating hole in the cap, I used a is pinpointed, you can drill the short (W) length of dowel, the
dowel center, see Fig. 8. The trick mating hole. The problem is the peg is simply glued into the hole
is positioning the cap so the point finger stop on the cap prevents it in the body. To make it easy to fit
of the dowel center "dents" it in from sitting flat on the drill press the hole in the peg, I sanded a
the right place, see Fig. 8a. To do table. To keep it from rocking, I slight chamfer on the top edge,
this, I used the spacer again and supported the flat end of the cap refer to Fig. 6.

ShopNotes No. 14
i Final Shaping
All that's left to complete the
plane is a bit of fmal shaping.
CROW. To provide a comfort-
able grip, I filed a gradual
"crown" on the back of the plane,
see Crown Detail andFig. 10. But
k t , I tightened the cap down to
ensure that the curve on the body
matches the one on the cap.
Note: To raise the plane to a
comfortable working height,
clamp it in a handscrew that's
tightened in a vise. This setup
also works well when sandingthe
end smooth, see Fig. 11. CHAMFER WRAPS
FINGERRECESS. Next, I made
a recess in the top of the cap to THENTAPERST0
provide a resting place for my FRONT AND BACK
index finger, see Figs. 12and 12a.
Here, I removed most of the ma-
terial with a round file. Then I
used a dowel wrappedwith sand-
paper to remove the fie marks.
CHAMFER EDGES. The final
shaping is to chamfer the edges. I
filed and sanded a tapered cham-
fer on the top edges of the cap, see
Fig. 12. This chamfer is widest at
the finger stop, then uarrows to- A S B E ~ L YAssembling
. the plane on a flat board so the cut-
ward the fsont and hack. plane is easy. Just sandwich the ting edge is flush with the sole,
There's also a chamfer where blade between the cap and body, see Figs. 19 and 138.Then tighten
the cap and body meetat the hack and tighten the cap screw so it's the cap down with an Allen
of the plane, see Figs. 12 and 12a. snug. The trick is to adjust the wrench and make a test cut. If
This chamfer "wraps" around the blade to produce a fine shaving. you need to readjust the blade,
back of the plane and stops where A ~ w i m m . W h a t I found ''nudge'' it down so the cutting
the notch for the hlade begins. worked best is to start with the edge is just a hair below the sole.

Ustng thrt! C h W P1me

% e ~ eare a ooupk? of things to
keep Ih &id whw. as& t k
a s e l plane.
Iu\Nn ~osmo~.To make a
cut+,p8sp the$me and p s h .
~ %

fomctrd with .the pala of yow

b d . &b* *me*e, w
*he f&er&ap to appIy dQW-
dpresstare on the b W
-~s*-Eweadef
1
Use short strokes and ap@
1
~ ~ ~ a l ~ ~ dOwnward s ~ fpressure~ * on @ the ~ d
~ t * x & s ~ ~ ~ wtting
~ edge to pare off athin thM
best fa&we @=$BoQ~~.*P~-
&a wng with the chisel plane.

No. 14 ShopNotes 11
 Stock Q
Preparation
What's the secret to a successful project?
Startina with the surfaees o f each board flat. d r

stGaight, and s&uaret i each other: . .~

i4

's no secret that LAYOUT. After waiting for the wood to adjust
(about a week or two), you can begin laying out
the pieces of the project. To get the best use out
of each hoard, I lay the pieces out around two
easier. Nevertheless, it's things: the figure (grain) of the wood, and defects
in the board (like sapwood or knots), refer to Fig.
1on the opposite page.
Like the actuai building oflthe project, careful Once you've decided the best way to lay out
stock preparation doesn't just happen by accident. each board, make a chalk (or pencil) mark to iden-
It requires time and planning. To ensure accurate tify the pieces, see the photo above. Just be sure
results, I follow a simple five-step process, see the to allow a hit "extra!'As a rule of thumb, I lay out
box below and pages 13 through 16. the pieces about 1"wider and 2"longer than their
WAIT. It's temptingto start right inas soonas you finished size.
haul the boards into the shop. But there's one thing One exception to this rule is if the project in-
I always do frst - wait. The reason for this is volves a lot of small pieces. In this case, I group
simple. It gives the wood some time to adjust to the them together as a single "piece." This saves time
moisture level of the air in the shop. This way, if by not having to machine each piece separately.
there's a problem with the hoard caused by the And the larger pieces are safer to work with.
movement of the wood (say it checks for example), TESTPIECES. Another thing I like to do when
you can plan around it when laying out the pieces. preparing stock is to make a number of test pieces
To ensure that the wood adjusts evenly, I "sticker" that are the same thickness (or width) as the
the hoards. This is nothing more than stacking the "real" pieces. These pieces come in handy when
boards with strips of wood in between to allow air setting up your tools. And they allow you to check
to circulate on all four sides, see photo below. the fit of a joint before cutting the project pieces.

1 Cut to Rough Size. Lay out the project pieces on the board
to allow for extra length and width. Then cut them to rough size.

2 Joint One Face. Use a jointer to get one face perfectly flat,
This face becomes a reference for the remaining surfaces.
Joint One Edge. To produce an edge that's straight and
3 square, run the face that's flat against the fence on the jointer.
ThicknessStock. A planer reduces the thickness ofthe board
4 and creates a face that's flat and parallel to thejointed face. Stacking the boards wlth small
Cut to Finished Size. True up the final edge by ripping the strips in between allows the
5 board to width on the table saw. Then cut the piece to length. wood to adjust to the moisture
level of the ar in the shop. @
No. 14
Cut to Rough Size

To make the pieces more man-

ageable and easier to handle, cut
them to rough s~zeusing the II RIP BOARD INTO STRIP5
TO REDUCE W A W E
I NARROW STRIPS (SEE DETAIL)

chalked layout lines as a guide. 1 1

The first step is to use the lay- to cut them to rough length. Take a board that's cupped for
out lines to cut the pieces to Regardless of the tool youuse, example. To remove the cup
rough size. Depending on howthe rough cutting lets you work across the entire width of the
pieces lay out, I use a band saw around theknots or other defects board would waste a lot of mate-
(or sabre saw) to rip them to in the wood, see Fig. 1.But more rial, see Fig. la. But if the board
rough width. And a radial arm importantly, it increases the is first ripped into narrow pieces,
saw (or circular saw) works well amount of usable wood. there's less waste.

To tell when the

face is flat,
Use a jornter to get one face flat scribble a line
This lays the groundwork for a across the board
board with surfaces that are flat, and continue
straight, and square jo~ntlnguntil all the
marks disappear.
Getting one face of each board you joint the face. runs "downhill," see Fig. 3. This
flat is the "cornerstone" of stock CLIPPED BOARD. If the boardis way, the jointer knives won't catch
preparation. That's because this cupped, I place the '~ollow"face the wood fibers and cause teamut.
face serves as a reference for down on the bed, see Fig. 2. This DEPTH OF CUT. A clean cut also
squaring up the rest of the board. provides two supportpoints which depends on the h p t h of cut. A
JOINTER. Although you can keep the board from rocking. series of light passes (I&") works
use a handplane to create this flat G W N DIRECTION. Another better than trying to remove alot
surface, a jointer saves a lot of thing to be aware of is the grain ofmaterialwith a single cut. Also,
and energy. Still, there are a direction. I feed the board into there's a simple tip to tell if the
few things to keep in mind before the cutterhead so the edge grain surface is truly flat, see margin.

No. 14 ShopNotes
Joint One Edge
0

APPLY PRESSURE

To produce an edge that's

straight and square, run the face
of the board that's already flat
against the fence on the jointer.

O n c e the face is flat, the next

step is to joint one edge of the
board. The goal here is to create a
MAKE SERIES OF SHORT
straight edge that's 90" to the face
you've already jointed.
To produce a square edge, check
that the fence is 90" to the table. hill helps reduce chipout. But CROOKED EDGE. Another thing
Then, with the flat face against the here, I check the grain direction that often crops up is a board that
fence, apply pressure in tzoo diiec- on the face ofthe hoard, see Fig. 44. has a particularly crooked edge,
tions a t the same time -inward The only problem is when the see Fig. 5. In this case, I make @
against the fence, and downward grain changes direction in the several short passes to nibble off
against the table, see Fig. 4. middle of the board. To get a clean the "corners" at each end. Then,
GRAIN DIRECTION. AS before, a t , I set the jointer for a very make a final cleanup pass (or
feeding the hoard into the cut- light pass and feed the hoard passes) m s s the entire length of
terhead so the grain runs down- slowly across the cutterhead. the edge, see Fig. 5a.

If the edge of a board is espe-

cially crooked (or you don't
have a jointer), you can rir, a
straight edge on the table saw.
Because there's no straight
edge to run against the rip
fence, this requires a simple jig.
This is nothing more than a ply-
wood "sled" that carries the
board through the saw blade,

ideaistouse the edge of the sled wood soit's wider than the work- remove hangs overthe plywood.
as areference that shows where piece. Then (without movingthe To attach the workpiece se-
the blade will cut through. To do rip fence), position the work- curely to the sled, I fasten it in
this, start by ripping the ply- piece so the edge you want to place with screws.
0
14 ShopNotes No. 14
 BOARD PASSES UNDER
CUTTERHEAD
CUTTERHEAD

PLACE JOINTED FACE

DOWN AGAINST BED

. . planer not only reduces the

thickness of the board. It creates
a face that's flat and parallel to ..
the jointed face.

W W~thone edge straight and PLANER. The ideal tool for this runuphill as the board passes un-
square, you can concentrateon the job is a thickness planer. As the der the cutterhead, see Fig. 6a.
one remaining face. What you're bottom (flat) face is held tight Shop Tip: Plane all the boards
looking for here is a flat surface. against a machined bed, the of the same thickness at one set-
But to make the board a uniform planer knives cut the top face flat ting before changing it. Then add
thickness, this surfme also needs and parallel, see Fig. 6. To get a thinner boards into the works as
to be parallel to the opposite face. dean cut, the edge gmin should you adjust the depth of cut.

@' Cut to FMshed size

Sometimes you
can use a thick-
ness planer to
trim a board
to width. Safety
Note: To keep
the workpiece
from tipping, I
Atier locking down the rfp fence only do this with
the same distance away from the pieces that are
blade as the desired width of cut, nearly square.
rip the board to final width.
.The last step is to cut each The problem is the blade some- jointer. (For an alternative
board to finished size. First the times leaves saw marks or burns method, see the box above.)
width, then the length. the edge. These marks can he re- LENGTH.NOWall that's left is
WIDTH. Cutting the boards to moved by mdingor scraping. But to trim each board to its finished
width is simply a matter of rip- a quicker way is to use the jointer. length. To do this, I start by
ping them on the table saw. Just In this ease, I rip the board so squaringup one end. Then square
make sure to run thejointed edge it's 1/32'' widerthm the fmlwidth.
0 .
agamt the rip fence, see Fig. 7. Then make a light pass on the
up the opposite end as you cut the
board to length.

No. 14 ShopNotes 15
 A wall-mounted work center that
takes up little space but offers lots of
storage. And a fold-down bench that
provides a large work sueace.

even an extra work center in the shop for sanding,

clamping, or finishing. The possibilities are almost
endless. (See the back cover for some examples.)
FOLD-DOWN. To take up minimal space wherever
it's used, this work center mounts up out of the way
on the wall, see photo on bottom of page 17. When
it's time to work, the front folds down to create a
large, stable workbench, see photo at left.
STOFLAGE.To keep your tools right at hand, there
are a pair of tool boards that swing out for easy

T he reaction to this project was surprising. Al- access. Inside the case there are shelves and tool
though we originally designed this work cen- platforms designed to hold a vise, grinder, or other
ter for a garage (where you need a work surface but tools. There's even a set of drawers to help organize
don't have a lot of extra space), some of the guys in hardware, tools, and accessories.
the shop had some different and interesting ideas. SIMPLE CONSTRUCTION. And best of dl, this @
Ken, our Design Director, said it was the perfect fold-down work center features simple,straightfor-
size for model making. And Steve, the Shop Man- ward construction. So in no time, you can have a
ager, commented that it would be great for carvers. compact work center for almost any purpose wher-
Others mentioned using it as a potting station or ever you need one.

I Materials & Hardware

Case Bench Hardware
A Top (1) -
19/4 x 58p4 3/4 ply. 5 Bench Cores (2) 22% x 57-4 /' ply. (58) # 8 x 2" Fh Woodscrews
B Bottom (l) 1 3 7 4 58V4
~ - 9/4 ply, T Bench 5kIn (1) 22% x 57-V4 Mas (6) # 8 x f/4" Fh Woodscrews
C Sides (2) - 1.
13~/4x 36 9/4 ly U Edging, long (2) -
74 x 13/4 57 (llb.) #4 Finish Nails
D Back ff) -
35514 x 58V4 /4 o h -
V Edaina. short (2) 9/4 x PI4 2 4 12 oz,) 1"x #la Wire Bra&
E
F
Top &If (1)
Vsrtcai Dividers (2)
FI~~'UP
W Door (1)
DO&'
l@/a x 57 - 9/4 ply.
i2) I&"X 30"Piano Hinges
(2) 1Vz" x 28" Piano Hinges
G Drawer Shelves (2) (2) IVY"' 18" Piano Hinges
H Drawer Dividers (2) X Edging, long (2) -
74 x P/4 57 (8) Shelf Rests
Y Edging. short (2) 9/4 x 13/4 1% ( ~Mag. j Catches w/5crews
Storage Z Support Block (2) 3/4%1- 3 (2) Folding Leg Brackets
I Drawer Fmnte (4) -
7 4 x 3% 97/16 AA k s (2) -
1% x 1% 31"! (12) WO x fh"Rh Woodscrews
J Drawer Backs (4) 37/16 X 9%6 - 3/4 ply. i2j~raw catches w/5crews
K Drawer Sides (6) 37/16X 1@/4 4 -/' ply. (4) #6x 1" Fh Woodwrew6
L Drawer Btms (4) -
87/16 x 12v4 -4 Mas Aiso needed: (6) #6 x S/a" Fh Woodsctews
M Panels (2) l8Vz x 18 - 9/4 ply. 12 boardfeet of3/4"-thick hanlwwd. (2) s/a"x IYz" Lag Boits
N Hinge Plate6 (2) 35/4x16-s/dab.'rY This includes 48 Ih.ft. ofY4"-thick by (2) 1V4" Wood Knobs w/5crew
0 Catch Blocks (2) +..xlVz-2 9/4"-wide hanlwwd trim, and the cleat (2) Self-locking LidSupporte
P Shelves(2) -
7614 X 1@/8 3/4 ply. for attaching the case W h e wail. (one left and one right)
Q Tool Platforms (2) 13 x 15% 4- /' ply. (1) 48"x 96" sheet of%+"Ma6onfte
/ R Platformc1eats(2) 94 x 4/' - 1 3 4 (1) Optionalfour foot shop light
Appmpriats mounting hardware to
attach work center to wall
-
I

16 ShopNotes No. 14
 FLIP-UP DOOR
OVERALL DOOR
EDGING
DIMENSIONS:
CLOSED: 69Y2'H H 5 8 W W x 153/d"D
OPEN: 6 9 W H x 58%"W x 38"D

W -
x 9BY Sf4" PLWOOD 48" x 96"-a/+" PLYWOOD 48"XSB'- s/4" PLYWOOD

, rw A CompactDesign:This work cen-

ter IS des~gnedto take up minimal
space wherever it's used. The
bench 11ftsup to lock ln place, and
the legs fold up like a card table

No. 14 ShopNotes
 The work center basidly con-
sists of a case, afold-down bench,
and a f l i h door. I started by
building the case. It's just an open
box with dividers, see Drawing.

To make the case, begin by cut-

ting the pieees to make the open
box, see Fig. 1.The top (A), bot-
tom (B), and sides (C)are all cut
from4~"-thiekplywood(Iusedma-
ple). The bottmn (B) and sides (C)
have dadoes cut in them to accept
shelvesanddividers that are added
later, see margin Detail at left
RABBET a DADOES.T~ make it easy to
DADO DETAIL slip the shelves and dividers into
CUT TO MATCH the basic box after it'sassembled,
THICKNESS it's best to cut these dadoes
slightly wider than the thickness
of your plywood. (In my case,
they're Y4"wide.)
R A B B ~Since
. I planned on
screwing the top and bottom to
the sides, the next step is to cut
' rabbets on both ends of the side
pieces, see Fig. 1. These rabbets
are cut extra deep (543"), see Fig.
la This was I could use long
screws (for strength) and nm
them straight in.
But before you can assemble
the m e , there's one more thing
to do. You11 need to cut W-deep
rabbets on the back edges of all
the case pieces (A, B, and C).
These rabbets are for a plywood
back that's added afterthe caseis
assembled, see Fig. Ib.
Assmamy. Once all of the rab-
bets are cut, glue and screw the
top and bottom to the sides, see
Figs. 1and la Then cut a back
ID) from 34" d o o d to fit the
ease and glue serewit inplace. and dividers, see Figs. 2 and 3. to locate the dadoes. The Mck is
Since most of these pieces will to slip each piece into the ease and
SHELVES & DMDERS have dadoes cut in them to match mark the dado loeatio~mwith it in
I With the basic box complete, those in the case, they need to be place. Then the piece can be re-
you can start adding the shelves cut in order using a simple method moved and the dadoes cut.
TOP SBELF. Start by cutting a
twp shelf (E) to fit between the
upper dadoes in the sides, see
Fig. 2. The next step is to cut @
No. 14
 MAKE DRAWER

I J
dadoes in this shelffor the verti- case with trim (I used maple), see
eal dividers that fit between the TRlhl Fig. 4. The trim is '#-thick and
top shelfand the bottom, see Fig. All that's left to complete the case cut to match the thickness of the
2. gmce you've already cut the is to cover all of the exposed ply- plywood. Thenit's attached to the
dadoes in the bottom (B), the wood edges on the front of the ease with glue and brads.
tricky part is cutting a matching
set in the top shelf.
STORY STICK. The easiest way
I've found to do this is to use a

a story stick, see box below. This

way, you don't have to measure
anything. Instead, mark the stick
and transfer the dado locations.
Once the dadoes have been cut
in the top shelf, you can glue and
nail it in place. Note: For extra
strength, I screwed through the
back (D) andinto the edge of the
top shelf (E).
v E R n C A L DIVIDERS. NOWYOU
can cut a pair of vertical dividers
(F) to fit between the top shelf
(E) and bottom (B), see Fig. 2.
Before you install them, use the
story stick again to locate dadoes
for the drawer shelves. Then,
glue and screw the dividers to the
back and bottom of the case. (I
used nails to secure the top shelf.)
DRAWER GHELVES & DlWDERS.
AGAINSTINSIDE OF CASE
With the vertical dividers in-
stalled, use the same procedure
along with the story stick to cut
two drawers shelves (G) f m t and
then two drawer dzvtvzders (H).
When they're cut to size,glue and
nail them in place.

No. 14 ShopNotes 19
 BACK AND SIDES
ARE a/4" PLYWOOD
the case complete, I began
work on a set of pull-out drawers
that fit in the opeuingd near the
bottom of the case, see photo.
Each drawer consists of ahard- RABBETS.TOjoin the drawers tered notch is cut in each drawer
woodfront (I), and a back (J) and together, 1/2"-deep rabbets are front (I),see Fig. 5a.
two sides (K) cut from %'-thick cut in the ends of eaeh front and ADD BO'ITOM. Second, a 1/4"x
plywood. For clearance, each back piece, see Fig. 5. %" groove is cut near the bottom
piece is cut less than the CUT NOTCH. Before you can inside edge of each drawer piece,
height of the opening (37/1en). assemble each drawer with glue see Fig.5b. This groove is for a ,
Likewise, the front and back are and nails, there are two more bottom (L) made from 1J4"-thick
cut 4is" narrower than the width thin@ to do. First, to make the Masonite that's cut to fit inside
of the opening (97/16",in my case). drawer8 easy to pull out, a cen- each of the drawers, see Fig. 5.

a hinge plate for attaching the cuttomatch the height of thepauel

panel to the case, see Fig. 6. (18").Then a W-deep grooveis cut
PANELS.BO~~ pawls TEA) are centered on the plate to accept the
To keep my tools handy, I mount cut from 3/q" plywood to a length panel, see Fig. 6a.
them on T-shaped tool boards (height) of 18".As for the width, ASSEMBLY. Once the grooves
that swing out of the large open- measure the width of your open- are cut, glue and screw one hinge
ings on each side of the case, see ing and subtract 11/4" for clear- plate to each panel. Then cover
photo above. ance. (In my ease, it's 18%"wide.) the exposed plywood edges by
Each tool board consists of a
panel for mounting the tools and
WGE PLATES.The plywood
hiwe plats CN) is 3w wide and
gluing and nailing on %"-thick
trim, see Fig. 6. a
20 ShopNotes No. 14 A
 om BOARDS. I used an 18" see Fig. 7a. Then screw it in place. a wood knob is screwed to the
length of piano hinge to attach Next, for each tool hoard to front of each board, see Fig. 6.
aeach tool board to the case, see
Fig. 7. To do this, center a hinge
in between the top shelf and the
swing open completely, insert a
temporary 4/sN spacer between
the board and case before screw-
And to keep the hoards closed, I
used a magnetic catch, see Fig. 8.
Note: Each catch is screwed to a
drawer shelf with the knuckle ing the hinge in place, see Fig. 7a. catch block (0)that's glued to the
flush with the front of the case, Finally, to pull open the boards, case, see Fig. 8a.

For additional storage, I added 3Q-thick plywood with a series of

an adjustable shelf behind each ?4" holes. To use it, just press it
tool board, see photo. against the case (or vertical di-

6. SHELF. Each plywood shelf(P)

1s 73Q wide (deep) and cut to fit
vider) and with the aid of a depth
stop, drill the holes. Note: Make
between the sides andvertical di- sure to always butt the same
viders, less an ?if for clearance edge against the hack (D).
(195/8"), see Fig. 9. Once they're TOOL PLATFORMS. Finally, to
cut to size. the front edge is cov- make it easy to clamp a vise or
ered with 1/4"-thicktrik
SHELF RESTS. The shelves sit
on metal shelf rests that fit into
grinder to the bench, I mount
them on tool p l a t f o m (Q) that
fit in the center opening of the
I
holes in the case. To drill the holes case, see photo. sits on a pair of 3Q-square tool
so they're evenly spaced, I made The lower tool platform is de- platfomn cleats (R) that are
a template, see Fig. 10. signed torest inthe hottomofthe screwed to the vertical dividers,
The template is just a scrap of case. But the upper tool platform see Figs. 9 and 9a.

No. 14
22 ShopNotes No. 14
 The Legs
To support the bench in the open
pos~tlon,I added a pair of folding
0 legs, see Fig. 14. The legs (AA)
"

are glued up from two pieces of

EG IS GLUED UP FRO
!+"-WIDE PIECES OF
s&~'-THICK STOCK

W-thick stock, see Fig. 14. Then

I screwed lag bolts in the bottom
of each leg to act as levelers on
uneven floors, see Fig. 14h.
MOUNT LEGS. With the level-
ers in place, the next step is to
mount the legs. The legs attach to
the bench with heavy-duty fold-
ing brackets that work similar to
those found on a card table, see A This heavy-duty
margin photo. (For more infor- folding leg bracket
mation, see sources on page 31.) locks securely in
To attach the brackets, first either the open or
screw one to each leg, see Fig. 14. closed position.
Then position the legs and screw
themin place,seeFig.l4h..Finally,
I added a pair of stops to support
the legs when they're folded up,
see Figs. 14 and 14b.

Mounting the Work Center

a . Now that the work center is com-
plete, it can he mounted to a wall.
To support the case while attach-
ing it to the wall, I used a cleat.
This cleat also allows you to accu-
rately position the height of the
work center and keep it level.
WALL CLEAT.The cleat isjust a
piece of %"-thick hardwood cut to
match the width of the case
(58W), see Fig. 15. Then bolt it
to the wall so it'slevel and the top
edge is 33W from the floor, see
Figs.' 15 and 15a.
Note: If you're mounting the
cleat to a wood framed wall, make
sure that you screw into the wall WALL CLEAT
studs. Then, with the help of a 34" x 3%"- 58%")

friend, lift up the case and set it

on the cleat.
Finally, to attach the case to LEVEL AND BOLT
CLEATTO WALL
the wall, lower the bench and lift
up the door. Now it's just amatter
of drilling holes in the case, and
installing lag bolts and washers.
(Here again, make sure you hit
th.e wall studs.)

ShopNotes 23
 : Drill Press
Tips
Quick and simple solutions to the
everyday p r o b l e m you can en-
counter when boring holes
with a drill press.

D rilling a hole in a workpiece

is simple. It's not until
you're faced with an odd-shaped
you have to figure out a way to
hold or clamp the workpiece in
place for drilling.
workpiece, or drilling multiple Over the years, we've encoun-
holes that it becomes difficult. tered these same ~mblemsinthe
Whenever these situations shop. And the solutions to most
arise, you're usually faced with are simple -usually just a scrap-
two different challenges. First, wood jig. The next four pages de-
there's theproblemofpositioning scribe our solutions to the most
and aligningthe workpiece. Then common shop drilling problem..

Table and Fence

One of the simplest ways you can splintering and chip out. shop. One is large to provide ex-
improve the performance of your FENCE. Attaching a fence to tra support to a workpiece and is
drill press is to add an auxiliary the tahle allows you to quickly screwed (or clamped) to the ta-
table and a fence, see Fig. 1. and accurately position a work- ble, see Fig. 1.
TABLE. Clamping or serewing a piece. This is particularly useful The other style is smaller and
wood tahle to your drill press p m whenever you need to d d simi- features a built-in fence, see Fig.
teds the metal table (and your bits) lar holes in multiple workpieces. 2. To use it, just place it at the
as you drill through aworkpieee.It TWO STYLES.I use two differ- desired location, and then use
also backs up the hole and reduces ent styles of auxiliary table in my spring clamps to hold it in place.

24 ShopNotes No. 14
 Dri,rng Deep Holes
@ Index Pin
Drilling a hole in a workpiece can
be tricky when the hole is deeper
than the length of the hit. One
simple solution is to drill from op-
posite ends of the workpiece.
But then you're faced with
aligning the two holes. To solve
this, I use an index pin, see Figs.
1 and 2. This method guarantees
that the holes will line up.

Rlser Block
A different problem occurs when
the bit is long enough to drill the
hole, but the spindle travel of the
quill limits the depth you can drill.
You could drill as far as possi-
ble, then raise the table. But then
the workpiece has shifted. My so-
lution is simple. Instead of raising
the table, lift the workpiece with
' a riser block, see Figs. 1 and 2.

Drilling Holes in Dowels

Alignment Jig 0 HOLD DOWEL

Centering a hole in the erzd of a

short dowel is a challenge. But
holding it in place to drill the hole
can be even trickier.
To solve both problems, I use
an alignment jig, see Fig. 1. I t
automatically centers the bit in
the dowel end. And with the help
of a handscrew, it makes it easy
to hold the dowel, see Fig. 2.

V-Block
I t takes a different jig to center a
hole in the silde of a dowel and
keep it fromrolling around. Here,
I use a V-block, see Drawing.
To center a bit on the block, I
insert a pointed rod in the chuck
and align the point with the bot-
tom of the V-block, see Detail.
Then just clamp the V-block to
the table and drill the hole.

No. 14 ShopNotes 25
Drilling in Long Object5
Vertical Drilling AGAINST CLEAT
Occasionally, you may need to AND CLAMP

drill into the end of a workpiece

that's too long to sit on the table.
One solution is to tilt the table of
your drill press to 90" and clamp
the workpiece to it, see Fig. 1.
If your table doesn't tilt, you
can build a right-angle jig, see
Fig. 2. Then secure the jig and
clamp the workpiece to it.

Another way to position a long

workpiece for drilling is to use a
handscrew, see Drawing.
A small guide strip screwed to
the top of the handscrew helps
square up the workpiece, see De-
tail. And at the same t i e it al-
lows you to drill holes of the same
depth in multiple workpieces
(such as the legs of a table).

Enlaying Holes e
How many times have you drilled Plugging the hole with a dowel hole, see Fig. 1. Now clamp the
a hole only to discover that you will give you the support you workpiece to the table and re-
needed a larger one? Or needed need. But how do you make sure tract the bit from the hole.
to drill a counterbore a&r the that the bit is centered exactly to Next, replace the first bit with
qilot hole was already drilled? drill the second hole? the one for the larger hole, see
The problem with either situ- The answer is to use the same Fig. 2. (Note: To support the
rtion is the drill bit will drift off centerpoint. To do this, start by point of spade bit, insert a tight-
:enter or wobble because there's chucldng a bit the same size as the fitting dowel in the first hole, see
lo thing to support the point of fnst hole in the drill. Then with the Fig. 2.) Then just drill the hole -
the bit as it enters the hole. power off, lower this bit into the it won't drift off center or wobble.

No. 14
Indexing Jig DRILL HOLES IN

a series of evenly spaced holes

(such as shelf supports), 1 use a
simple indexingjig, see Drawing.
It's just a scrap fence with a set
of holes drilled to match those of
the project. An index pin (a dowel)
fits in the holes to position the
workpiece at even increments.

U TAB1
Corner Jig ILE LOC

A lot of projects I build require

holes in all four corners of a work-
piece (such as pilot holes for as-
sembly or hardware).
You could spend the time to lay
them all out. Or you can build a jig
that automatically positions the
by ROTATE
WORKPIECE
TO DRILL
ALL FOUR
CORNER5
workpiece to drill an identical
hole in each corner, see Drawing. - SCREWCLEATS TO JIG I

Contour Jig
Whenever I need t o drill accurate
- CLAMP JIG
TO FENCE I ..>:.
'.
?-.
~ ~

i,
holes in odd-shaped pieces, I ;2,> :

make a jig to hold the workpiece

CUT OUT
securely in position on the drill SHAPE OF
press table, see Drawing. RKPIECE
Just trace the contour of the
workpiece on the jig and cut it
out. A shoulder on the end keeps
the workpiece from sliding.
 Shop Solutions
Pipe Clamp Caddy
I used to store my pipe clamps gluing up a project, see photo. fectly, I carpet taped two of the
on the wall. But I got tired of And it serves to store and organ- panels together before laying out
trying to juggle an armful of ize my clamps as well. and drilling the holes.
clamps every time I glued up a The clamp caddy consists of a Once all the wood parts are
project. To avoid this, I made a plywood box with "sleeves"(l~/4"- glued and screwed together, four
pipe clamp caddy that can be dia. PVC pipe) to hold the clamps heavy-duty swivel casters are
rolled around to wherever I'm upright, see Drawing. To keep screwed to the bottom, near the
the sleeves vertical, I added a corners. Finally, cut the PVC
plywood support panel in the sleeves to length and slide them
middle of the box. in place.
Since the holes in the support Richard J. Gotz
panel and the top must align per- Plymouth, Minnesota

'i;'. .
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,I.. : :
;

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i
. .-;:.*.. .,.'
_'

:,
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~

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li.

Foot Pedal Modification

.I modified the foot pedal in
ShopNotes No. 12 to solve two
other problems I had with my
drill press. First, it doesn't have
a depth stop. And second, the
quill doesn't lock in place.
By cutting a slot down both
side pieces, you can insert' a car-
riage bolt either above or below
the pedal, see Drawing. When it's
above the pedal, the bolt serves as
a quill lock. To control the depth,
place the bolt below the pedal.
Jeffeery D. Everling
Sylvan Lalce, Michigan

28 ShopNotes No. 14
 Occasionally I need a bench- To use the sander, lock the
top belt sander. But rather than power switch in the "on"position.
b.uy one, I made a simple jig that This h e r up both of my hands so
allows me to clamp my hand-held I can safely hold the workpiece
belt sander upside down in my against the spinning belt.
bench vise.
The jig is just a short length of Buckley, Washington
2x6 with two holes for hose Editor's Note: Notall belt sand-
clamps, see photo. To use the jig, ers have aflat handle. So it may
first clamp the 2x6 to the handle be meessay for you to file or
of the belt sander with the hose bandsaw one edge of the 2x6 to
clamps. Then clamp the sander m t c h the shape of the handle on
upside down in the bench vise. your sandee

I like to have my chisels within

easy reach. To do this, I store
them on my workbench in a CUT GROOVES He''
shop-made chisel block that's LARGERTHAN CHISELS

similar to those used to store

knives in the kitchen.
The chisel block consists of
seven pieces of ah"-thick stock,

*
see Drawing. Three pieces have
grooves cut in them that form in-
dividual pockets for each chisel.
And to make it easy to pull a
chisel from a pocket, I cut one end
of each.piece at 80"so the block is
angled at the top. '
I GLUE STOP IN BOTTOM
-
Before ~luinp:UD the chisel \- OF GROOVE

block, I added a small block of I

wood in the bottom of each grows, you can easily add on to the block, it's a good idea to only
groove. This prevents the chisel the block to extend its size. glue up two pieces a t a time. Ij
from gouging the workbench as Charles Gray ycnc glue up more than two, they
it's dropped back in the slot. Lyons, Colorado could slide around as you apply
Also, as your chisel collection Editor's Note: When gluing-up clamping yessure.

Mixing Resin Glue

' , -
W When mixing up powdered water into the powder alto-
If youPdiikiki to share .&a,. cri&
resin glue, I always end up with a gether. The trick to getting a
~ sprobletp ydu've f$ced, '
i o ~ n t i b to
batch that's either too mnny or creamy consistency is to mist the
too lumpy. The problem is, it's dif- water into the powder. To do this, ..send thehem'to:SwH@d8,Attn:Shop
&lutio~s, [email protected] A~enue~ h s
ficult to gauge exactly how much 2 use a spray bottle (like the type
Ed&nes,, I& (Or if iVs d e r;
water to mix in with the powder.
I've tried mixing in a little
used to mist plants).
The misting eliminates the
, .
FAX them tp rls.8$:6f6-282-=4741.)' .
We'lt gay up& @a0 w n d ' i on
-
water at a time. But when I add large water droplets that seem to
the water, it lumps up - even cause the clumping. thq ppubfis&d kng%.Plea& indade
when it's poured in gradually. Merritt Brcnun Jr.
" a i & ~ m he n n u~k b ' s o weem .
The solution is to quit pouring Panama City, Florida

No. 14
 W I'm
Gel Stains
considering using a gel blotches you some-
stainonaprojeetI'mworkingon. times get with liquid
How do they compare with the stains, gel stains pro-
liquid stains I've used in the past? duce a much more uni-
Mark Osterberg form color.
Red Wing, Minnesota The reason is simple.
There's less solvent in a
Like their name implies, gel gel stain. (Both oil and
stains have amuch thicker consis- water-based gel stains
tency than liquid stains. Because are available). Because this sol- brush over it, you'll get lap marks
of this, a gel stain doesn't run all vent is what carries the color into where the wet stain covers a sec-
over the workpiece and the floor the wood, the stain doesn't pene- tion that's already dry.
- even when you apply it to a trate as deeply. As a result, you W E OFF. SOonce the surface
vertical surface like a chair leg, don't get as many splotches-es- is covered, I use a clean rag to
see photo above. pecially on end grain. wipe off as much of the excess
The thickness of a gel stain de- APPLICATION. There's nothing stain as possible, see photo below
pends on the brand youuse. Some complicated about applying a gel right. To prevent streaking, the

1 have the consistency of a milk stain. The best way I've found is idea is to wipe in the direction of
shake and are saueezed -
out of a bottle; while
- the main until the work-
piece is almost "dry."
others are more like a A thick consistency not only keeps Note: When working on
thick malt. gel stains from running. It results flat areas, youmay want
NO STIR. One other in a more even color as well. to save some of the stain
nice thing about gel before wiping it off, see
To recycle stain,
scrape off the
stains is $u don't have
to keep stirring them as you to use a foam brush, see photo
margin ti; atleft.
WET EDGE. TO prevent lap
work. Because they're thicker, below left. Don't be dainty here. marks when working on large ar-
e
excess with a
squeegee, the color pigment stays sus- Just load up the brush (or squeeze eas, I divide it into smaller sec-
pended instead of settling out in the stain onto the wood). As you tions and keep a "wet edge"
the bottom ofthe can. This means brush the stain around, the gel between each section. Unfortu-
you get a consistent color from flows across the workpiece. nately, this doesn't always work.
the top to the bottom of the can. Just because the gel doesn't In this case, you can remove
REDUCES BLOTCHING. But the soak into the wood as much, don't some of the stain with a cloth
real test of a stain is whether or be fooled into thinking you have dampened in mineral spirits (or
not it creates a nice, even color a lot of time to work the stain. water if it's a water-based stain).
when it's applied to the work- Like liquid stains, if you leave it Then apply more stain as you
piece. Unlike the light and dark on too long in one place and then work both sections together.

. I
A When you spread a gel stain around with a foam A After covering the surface of the workpiece,
brush, it flows across the workpiece. Stop brushing,
and it changes back to its gel consistency.
wipe off the excess stain with a rag. To avoid
streaks, wipe in the direction of the grain. a
30 ShopNotes No. 14
 Sources
ShopNotes Project Supplies is of- features an extra-thick Hock ble, it rests on a pair of legs that
fering some of the hardware and blade that extends out in front of fold up and down on special leg
supplies needed for the projects the plane body. brackets. These heavy-duty met-
in this issue. We've also put to- ShopNotea Projact Supplies is al brackets are designed to lock in
gether a list of other mail order offering a hardware kit for the either the open or closed position.
sources that have the same or Chisel Plane. It includes all the LID SUPPORTS. Above the work
similar hardware and supplies.
.. hardware you'll need including surface,there's aflipup door foran
the Hock blade. All you need optional shop light. It's held in
MITER GAUGE FENCE su~wlvis
" 1M"-thick hardwood. dace with suecial lid suvvorts
The Miter Gauge Fence (shown (Note: You can also order the that lock au&matically when you
on page 4) helps to increase accu- Hock blade from the sources be- lift up the door.
racy whenever you crosscut on low. But be aware that these ShopNotes Project Supplies is
the table saw. An adjustable stop blades come with a cap iron that offering a complete hardware idt
block slides in aT-slot in the fence isn't used for the chisel plane.) for the Fold-Down Work Center.
and quickly locks into position. 514.6814-200 Chisel Plane (The shop light is not included.)
The built-in indicator and measur- Hardware Kit ...................$27.95 All vou need to suw~lvis W-
ingtape allow youtoxcurately set .thick plywood, '/4" ~ G n i t eand ,
up and make repeat cuts. FOLD-DOWN WORK CENTER w-thi& hardwood. ~ ~youqlt ~ :
ShqNotes Project Supplies is Com2act storage. And a large, also need mounting hardware to
offering a hardware kit for the solid work surface. Those were attach the work center to a wall.
Miter Gauge Fence. The kit has the two things I had in mind when 514-6814-300 Work Center
all the hardware vou'll need, in- I desirned the Fold-Down Work Hardware Kit .................. $46.95
eluding the measuring tape and center shown on page 16.
indicator. All you need to supply To take up minimal space, the ANTI-KICKBACK BITS
.19 1/2" and 5h"-thick hardwood.
514-6814-100 Miter Gauge
work center is mounted to a wall.
Then I added tool boards, draw-
The article on anti-kickback
router bits (shown on page 6) de-
Fence Kit ........................... $17.95 ers, and shelves to provide plenty scribes how these new bits work.
of built-in storage. And it provides a look at the vari-
CHISEL PLANE But best of all, the front of the ous bits currently available.
A chisel plane is the perfect tool case folds down to create a stable You may find these bits a t
to clean up those hard to reach work surface that's large enough woo.dworking stores and home
places (like the corners of a cabi- to handle almost any job. building centers. If you can't find
net, drawer, or door). Our shop- LEG BRACKETS.To make this them locally, see the mail order
made version shown on page 8 work surface as sturdy as possi- sources listed below.

-
ORDER I
Similar hardware and supplies may be found i n the
following catalogs. Please call each cmnpany for a catalog
or for wdering information.
1 BY MAIL
To order by mad, use the
BY PHONE
For fastest service use our
CMT Tools Leichhmg Wmdsmitbh order form that comes with Toll Free order line. Open
!
8OQ531-5659 MW1-6840 51Fr2558979 the current issue. The order Monday through Friday, 700
M.kdibodcRnder& MMbadcRouter& HockPhBkda foun includes information on AM to 7100 PM Central Time.
c00stanthiae8 Tbendlinw Woodworker's Supply handling and shippingcharges, Before calling, have your
SW-Z34087 MG767-9989 MlM4&9292
Foldin0" Lso- B7aek& Thw& Im&. P h - M- bits and sales tax. VISA, Mastercard, or Dis-
J-Wmdwonker he Knobs WmdwmkdStme If the mail order form is not cover Card ready.
m37-1820 SW-27941 available, please call the toll
Hock Plane Blades T h W Im*, Plas- free number at the right for
tie Knobs more information on specific
charges and any applicable Note: Pnces subject to change I
sales tax.

No. 14 ShopNotes
F
csed out in the garage as a workbencl
basement for your favorite hobby,
Vork Center offers a large work surja~