popular woodworking #199 october 2012

7/21/2019 Popular Woodworking #199 October 2012

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October 2012 ■ #199

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FEATURES

CONTENTS OCTOBER 2012

26 Bow-frontEntry Table

The legs curve to match the apron in

this bird’s-eye maple veneer and cherry

occasional table with a hidden drawer.

BY MATTHEW TEAGUE

ONLINE u

‘It’s a Secret’Find out from Charles Bender how to use a

hidden lock on a secret drawer.

popularwoodworking.com/oct12

34 Acanthus LeafLearn how to carve this classic detail. Follow

the step-by-step photos, keep a few rules in

mind and it’s surprisingly simple.

BY MARY MAY

ONLINE u Sharpen a V-chiselWatch our free video to find out how the

author sharpens an essential carving tool –

the V-chisel.


40 ‘Gizmozilla’This marriage of a Moxon-style vise and

router mortising fixture is a workshop

workhorse (and it’s cheap and easy to build).

BY KENNETH SPEED

VIDEO u Where Does the

Glue Go?When you glue up a mortise-and-tenon joint,

what happens to the glue? Find out in this free

video and blog entry from Glen D. Huey and

Robert W. Lang.


44 Roorkhee ChairTen sticks of wood, some cowhide and basic

skills are all you need to make this sleek,

ultra-comfortable and portable chair.BY CHRISTOPHER SCHWARZ

ONLINE u Tapered TenonsWatch as the author demonstrates how to cut

tapered tenons and mortises in a free video.


50 SpokeshavesLearn how to set up and use these traditional

shaping tools (used correctly, they’re far more

versatile than you might think).

BY JAMES MURSELL

ONLINE u Metal-bodied

SpokeshavesRead Christopher Schwarz’s 2004 article and

review on modern metal shaves.


54 Drawers DateFurniture

A quick inspection of a drawer’s joinery and

bottom can reveal much about a piece of

furniture’s age and origins.

BY BOB FLEXNER

ONLINE u Four Good WaysTo Build Drawers

Learn four solid construction approaches for

drawers that will last for centuries.


COVER PHOTO BY AL PARRISH; ACANTHUS LEAF PHOTO BY LAURA SPARROW;

ROORKHEE CHAIR PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER SCHWARZ; GIZMOZILLA

& SPOKESHAVE PHOTOS BY AL PARRISH

34 40 44

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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/popular-woodworking-199-october-2012 6/724 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE October 2012

REGULARS

60 ShakerCarry Box

I CAN DO THAT

BY MEGAN FITZPATRICK

64 A Chest

For EveryWoodworker ARTS & MYSTERIES

BY ADAM CHERUBINI

68 It Comes DownTo the Cut

END GRAIN

BY WILBUR PAN

CONTENTS OCTOBER 2012

BLADE PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER SCHWARZ; PROPORTIONING PHOTO BY GEORGE R. WALKER;

CHEST ILLUSTRATION BY ADAM CHERUBINI; SH AKER BOX PHOTO BY AL PARRISH

Number 199, October 2012. Popular Woodworking Magazine (ISSN 0884-8823,USPS

752-250) is published 7 times a year, February, April, June, August, October, November

and December, which may include an occasional special, combined or expanded issue

that may count as two issues, by F+W Media, Inc. Editorial and advertising offices are

located at 8469 Blue Ash Road, Suite #100, Cincinnati, OH 45236. Unsolicited manu-

scripts, photographs and artwork should include ample postage on a self-addressed,

stamped envelope (SASE ); otherwise they will not be returned. Subscription rates: A year’s

subscription (7 issue s) is $24.95; outside of the U.S. add $7/year ■ Canada Publications

Mail Agreement No. 40025 316. Canadian return address: 2835 Kew Drive, Windsor, ONN8T 3B7 ■ Copyright 2012 by Popular Woodworking Magazine . Periodicals postage paid at

Cincinnati, Ohio, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send all address changes to

Popular Woodworking Magazine , P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-02 35 Canada

GST Reg. # R122594716 ■ Produced and printed in the U.S.A.

14 18 64

6 Always anApprentice

OUT ON A LIMB

BY MATTHEW TEAGUE

8 PeriodPocket Screws LETTERS

FROM OUR READERS

12 Use Car JacksIn the Shop toLift & Level

TRICKS OF THE TRADE

FROM OUR READERS

VIDEO u More TricksRead and watch some of our favorite tricks.

popularwoodworking.com/tricks

60

14 New ‘Top-Secret’ SteelFrom Veritas

TOOL TEST

BY THE EDITORS

ONLINE u Tool Test ArchivesWe have many tool reviews available for free

on our web site.

popularwoodworking.com/tools

18 Honing in onProportions

DESIGN MATTERS

BY GEORGE R. WALKER

20 The Right WoodIn the Right SpotWOODWORKING ESSENTIALS

BY ROBERT W. LANG

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OUT ON A LIMB BY MATTHEW TEAGUE, EDITOR

Always an Apprentice

I’ve got a lot to learn. But when itcomes to woodworking, I wouldn’thave it any other way. In fact, it’s one

of the things I like most about the craft. Whenever possible, I try to tackle a newskill or technique with every project Ibuild. Figuring out exactly how to pulloff the things that I draw or imaginekeeps me up at night – in a good way– and pulls me out of bed in the morn-ing. It’s those smal l breakthroughs

that got me hooked on woodworkingin the first place. In this,I doubt that I’m alone.

It isn’t always easyto replicate our earlywoodworking suc-cesses. I remembercarving a whistle froma green hickory branchwhile sitting on a swingwith my grandfather ina South Carolina milltown. Several years laterI nailed together a blan-ket chest on the backporch with my fatherlooking on. And just after college, Iassembled my first hand-cut mortise-and-tenon joint in a sweltering Missis-sippi basement.

With each skil l you pick up, yougain membership to a small societyof men and women who have a need

to understand something with boththeir heads and their hands – peoplewho get that glint in their eyes whensomething finally comes together andmakes sense.

I can think of no woodworker whomore clearly gets that glint in his eye ordoes a better job of sharing that passionfor woodworking than Roy Underhill,long-time host of the PBS show “The Woodwright’s Shop.” It worked on me:Between 30 years of Roy’s shows and his

many books, I’ve learned loads underhis tutelage – mere mention of Royreminds me of yet another basement

shop where I cut mitered dovetails on a Jefferson bookcase using Roy’s advice.

Like me, many others have longbeen clamoring for vintage episodesof “The Woodwright’s Shop.” So I amespecial ly proud that we have part-nered with Roy and UNC-TV to bringthose old episodes back to life. Showsare now available as full-season DVDsand as streaming video on shopclass.popularwoodworking.com. Five sea-

sons are currently available, and wewill add a new seasonevery month. Or, for asmall taste, visit popularwoodworking.com.The episodes not onlyhold up, they improvewith age.

While watching thefirst episode of CharlesBrock’s web TV show,“The Highland Wood-worker,” I noticed thesame pas sion for thecraft and a bit of thesame glint that’s seen in

Roy’s eyes. Which makes sense – Roywas featured on that first episode. Andyou can tell that the show strives to getto the heart of the matter – it’s made bypeople who love the craft for peoplewho love the craft.

So I am also proud to announce that

we are now a sponsor of “The Highland Woodworker.” Episode 2 features BrianBoggs (another of my woodworkingheroes) as well as the first in a recur-ring segment from our editors. In thefirst, I walk through the steps for peg-ging mortise-and-tenon joints. I stillremember the first time I pulled it off.A square peg in a round hole. It’s simpleand logical – yet somehow amazing. It’swoodworking. PWM

OCTOBER 2012, VOL. 32, NO. 199

popularwoodworking.com

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[email protected], x11407EDITOR ■ Matthew Teague

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LETTERS FROM OUR READERS

Period Pocket Screws

I’ve really enjoyed the Arts & Mys-teries series on boarded furniture(an eye-opener to simple yet durable

construction methods), but was leftwondering how tops are attached inperiod examples.

Nailed on through the top seems arecipe for problems. Figure-8 clips arenot period correct. And wedged mortiseand tenons are not simple.

Something else must have been

employed. I’m thinking some sort ofglue block(s). Wood movement in thesepieces should allow for rigid attach-ment. Who knows: There may havebeen 18th-century pocket-screw jigs.

Jeremy WrightMonticello, Illinois

Saw Burn Removal MethodsHave you any suggestions for remov-ing burn marks from cherry from a sawblade, both with and across the grain?

Harold W. Haft

via e-mailHarold,You can always sand away saw burns, butI usually reach for a scraper.

Cherry burns easily, but using a nice,sharp and clean saw blade helps. I also findthat you can push cherry through a bladea little faster than you can oak and otherespecially hard hardwoods, and movingthrough the cut quickly and at a steady ratealso helps minimize burning.

We all deal with it; I had to scrape some

burn marks off the cherry legs for the table featured on page 26 in this issue.

Matthew Teague, editor CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

ILLUSTRATION BY MARY JANE FAVORITE

What is the Campaign ChestTime & Materials Cost?How much did the campaign chest inthe August 2012 issue (#198) cost tobuild with the hardware and finish?

Also, how many hours did it take tobuild the project?

I know that my costs will be dif-ferent, but I still would like to knowwhat the author, Christopher Schwarz,spent, as well as the number of hoursit took to build the pieces.

Wilson Stevens,via e-mail

Wilson,The materials costs for the chest totaledabout $1,000 for the wood – I bought 16"-

wide mahogany and used no secondarywood for the sake of authenticity.

The hardware shown is from Horton

Brasses; it cost me about $700.The project took about 80 hours of shop

time.

I wrote several blog articles this springon how to achieve the same result with lessmoney, including this one:

popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/chris-schwarz-blog/campaign-chests-on-a-budget.

Christopher Schwarz,contributing editor

Inspiration for Young WomenI caught Megan Fitzpatrick and PeterFollansbee on “The Woodwright’s

Shop” rerun thi s weekend (episode#3107).

I pointed her out to my 7-year-olddaughter as the lady who will help pub-lish my story about my workbench. Sheexclaimed with great excitement, “Girlscan do woodwork too?” She lit up likea lightbulb!

“Or course they can, honey!” It hadnever occurred to me that she mightthink woodworking was strictly a malething.

She spent the rest of the day ham-mering and sawing all my scraps andshe just had a blast in the shop – for thefirst time ever.

I want to let Megan know what apositive role model she is. I wonder howmany other young girls she will inspire?

W. Paul Olsen Wildwood, Missouri

Ed note: (Paul’s End Grain about his work-bench will appear in an upcoming issue of

Popular Woodworking Magazine).

Any Suggestions for a ShinyFinish on Red Cedar?I’ve turned a few pieces out of red cedarthat I finished with Danish oil – butI’ve never been thrilled by the exteriorappearance.

I like bright, shiny finishes. Do youhave any suggestions on how to achievethis on cedar? It’s about time to makesomething else because I still have a

nice chunk of the wood.Dale Larson

Slidell, Louisiana

Jeremy,Many pieces I have seen had nails throughthe top. I would expect they were alwaystoenailed in, which would make them holdbetter. But you never know if this was theoriginal builder’s intention, or what some-one did when the original builder’s intention failed. Buttons (wooden clips) or glue blocksare excellent options.

But pocket holes easily date as far backas the 18th century, and there were special-

ized bits for the operation (or the pocketcan be made with a few chisel cuts). I havea couple bits (though none from the 18thcentury). The upper bit shown here probablydates to the first half of the 19th century. Itwas made to fit Sheffield-style braces. Thelower bit appears to have been made to fit themetal auger braces of the early 20th century.

Adam Cherubini, contributing editor

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/chris-schwarz-blog/campaign-chests-on-a-budget






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LETTERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

10 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE October 2012

Letters & CommentsAt popularwoodworking.com/letters you’llfind reader questions and comments, aswell as our editors’ responses.

We want to hear from you.Popular Woodworking Magazine welcomescomments from readers. Published corre-spondence may be edited for length or style.All published letters become the property ofPopular Woodworking Magazine.

Send your questions and comments

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Customer ServiceHow can I contact customer service with questionsregarding my subscription, including a lost or damagedissue?Visit popularwoodworking.com/customerservice. Or writetoPopular Woodworking Magazine , P.O. Box 420235,Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. Or, if you prefer the telephone,call 386-246-3369 and a customer service representativewill be happy to help you.

When does my subscription expire?The date of your subscription expiration appears on yourmagazine mailing label, above your name. The dateindicates the last issue in your subscription.

Can I get back issues of Popular Woodworking and Woodworking Magazine?Back issues are available while supplies last. Visit popularwoodworking.com/backissues. Or if you knowthe exact month and year of the issue you want, call ourcustomer service department toll -free at 855-840-5118to order.

What if I want more information about the projects andtools I read about in Popular Woodworking Magazine?For all editorial questions, please write to PopularWoodworking Magazine , 8469 Blue Ash Road, Suite 100,Cincinnati, OH 45236. Or e-mail [email protected].

DoesPopular Woodworking Magazine offer groupdiscounts?Group discounts are available by special arrangement withthe publisher. For more details, send an e-mail to DebbiePaolello at [email protected] or call 513-531-2690 x11296.

Our Privacy Promise to YouWe make portions of our customer list available to carefullyscreened companies that offer products and services webelieve you may enjoy. If you do not want to receive offersand/or information, please let us know by contacting us at:

List Manager, F+W Media, Inc.10151 Carver Road, Suite 200Blue Ash, OH 45242

Safety NoteSafety is your responsibility. Manufacturers place safetydevices on their equipment for a reason. In many photos

you see in Popular Woodworking Magazine, these havebeen removed to provide clarity. In some cases we’ll use anawkward body position so you can bet ter see what’s beingdemonstrated. Don’t copy us. Think about each procedureyou’re going to perform beforehand.

Highly RecommendedThere are many good marking and cuttinggauges available – but years from now,someone will have to pry my three Tite-Mark cutting gauges (Glen-Drake Tool-works) out of my cold, dead hands.

The Tite-Mark is micro-adjustable withinsane precision and it locks down tight –using one hand. The circular brass registerplate and fixed A2 cutter means I can useit in whatever orientation I pick it up. The

gauges are spendy, but I’m worth it – andso are the tools. The Tite-Mark is availablein several sizes at glen-drake.com.

— Megan Fitzpatrick

Dale,Shellac would be your best option. It’s glossy.You could also apply a first coat of shellac

to seal in the aromatic oils that can cause a finish to not dry well, then coat over it withwhatever finish you want.

You could do the same with the pieces you’ve already finished. Apply a coat ofshellac, then more shellac, or whatever youwant. It should work well, even though you’recoating over the Danish oil.

Bob Flexner, contributing editor

Campaign Chest GalleryThe August 2012 (issue #198) article

“Campaign Furniture” by ChristopherSchwarz was fantastic and long over-due. I made my first campaign chest in1976. I was an Air Force officer at thetime, so the idea of portable furnitureappealed to me. I had nothing much toguide me, so I made a few mistakes – butthe piece has held together for 36 yearsand through several moves.

I completed a one-piece writing desklast year. The mechanism I used for itwas sort of made up; as you pull out thesupports, the writing top comes with it.

I didn’t have the k nowledge tobuild the kind of gallery arrangementas Christopher did – and I’m still a bitmystified as to how the gallery slidesout. At any rate I hope this isn’t the lastarticle on this most intriguing, and Ithink elegant, style.

Randall WrightBemidji, Minnesota

Randall,

The gallery in Christopher’s chest is a sepa-rate carcase sized to fit inside the top drawerof the upper chest, with just enough clear-ance to slide in and out (in fact, the gallerycan be pulled out completely from the chest,should the top drawer ever need repurpos-ing). You can make the gallery however your tools and skills allow, and can adoptconstruction methods from any piece thathas a gallery (from nailed-together dividersto friction fits in V-grooves).

Be on the lookout for a book on cam-

paign furniture from Christopher in thenext year or so.

Megan Fitzpatrick, managing editor

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER SCHWARZ

Drawboring WorkbenchesI am in the process of building my work-bench. It is in the Roubo style, and I will

be using drawbored pins through thelegs and stretchers. I was wondering ifI should do the same with the leg-to-benchtop joint. I plan on connecting thetop to the base with a sliding dovetailand a tenon.

Also, I’m reading Eric Sloane’s book“A Reverence for Wood,” and he men-tions using “nicked” pins for drawbores.I was wondering if this would make aneven stronger mortise-and-tenon joint.

Tom Conover,

via FacebookTom, A drawbored mortise-and-tenon joint (pinnicked or not) will absolutely be strongenough for the joints in the base.

I read the passage in Sloane to which yourefer, and I’ve neither seen nor used a nicked pin (which sounds as if it simply has a slightbarb cut into it, rather like a bee’s stinger,so that it can’t easily be pulled out). I askedChristopher about it, and he’s not encoun-tered it, either. He did say, however, thathe’s seen pins work their way out of a jointwhen there is little or no offset. So the key isto make sure your drawbore holes are suf- ficiently offset (on a workbench base, that’sbetween 1 ⁄ 8" and 3 ⁄ 16", depending on pinsize and the species of wood for your base).

You needn’t pin the top – the weight willbe more than enough hold it in place atopthe tenon and tail. PWM

Megan Fitzpatrick, managing editor

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TRICKS OF THE TRADE BY CONTRIBUTOR


TRICKS OF THE TRADE BY STEVE SHANESY

Shallow-angle Drilling TrickI recently took on a project to organizeour walk-in closet by making a wallrack to store belts and ties. It’s a simpleproject: just a narrow (3 ⁄ 4" x 2" x 24")oak board with a routed edge and a rowof 15 equally spaced pegs mounted atabout a 7° angle.

To drill the holes for the3

⁄ 8"-diam-eter pegs at the angle I wanted, I cameup with the idea shown here.

The stop is made by ripping a 7°bevel on one long edge. The stop isthen fastened securely to a base. Next,set one long edge of the work againstthe beveled edge of the stop with thefront (good) side facing up. Then, tiltthe work until its edge is flush to thebeveled edge of the stop. Slide a riserunder the workpiece and parallel to

the stop to hold the work edge flush tothe stop bevel. Hold the riser in placewith clamps or hot-melt glue.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARY JANE FAVORITE

Use Car Jacks in the

Shop to Lift & Level

Ihave long used my car’s scissor jackfor house and shop projects includ-ing lifting a settled deck and level-

ing workbenches. And when I needed

to install a new set of cabinets in myshop, I realized that a pair of these jackswould be perfect for positioning andleveling them.

I picked up a second scissor jackand clamped both to a scrap piece of3 ⁄ 4" stock to provide stability. I alsoblocked them up so the scissor exten-sion was sufficient to lift the cabinetsinto position. The arrangement at leftshows the jacks on my workbench,securely holding the cabinets. I can

easily raise and level the cabinets with just a few turns on the jacks. I now usethese whenever I install cabinets.

The benefit of a scissor jack is thatit is strong, lifts smoothly and can beprecisely adjusted. And you won’t strainyour back hefting heavy cabinets. Youcan pick up a used jack or two at an autosalvage yard for a very reasonable price.

Bill WellsOlympia, Washington

THE WINNER:

Magnet fitted ina pocket screwdriver

Pocket Screwdriver on BoardI modified several of my Lee Valleypocket screwdrivers so I can use themto adjust the cap-iron screws as well asthe lever cap screw on my handplanes.I jammed a magnet into the hole of thepocket screwdriver so I can attach oneto each of my various planes.

Charles MakCalgary, Alberta

Base

Work

Riser

Stop

Set the assembly on the drill presstable and locate the centerline of therow of holes with the center of a Forst-ner bit in the drill chuck and clamp thebase to the drill press table.

Drill the holes to the required depththen slide the work along to the next

hole location. John Cusimano

Lansdale, Pennsylvania



Holes allow F-styleclamps to beplaced in a variety

of locations

For links to all online extras, go to:■ popularwoodworking.com/oct12

TRICKS ONLINE: We post tricks from the pastand film videos of some Tricks of the Tradein use in our shop. They’re available online,free. Visi t popularwoodworking.com/tricksto read and watch.

Our products are available online at:■

ShopWoodworking.com

Cash and prizesfor your tricks and tips!Each issue we publish woodworking tipsfrom our readers. Next issue’s winnerreceives a $250 gift certificate from Lee Val-ley Tools, good for any item in the catalog oron the web site (leevalley.com). (The toolspictured below are for illustration only, andare not part of the prize.)

Runners-up each receive a check for$50 to $100. When submitting a trick,include your mailing address and phone

number. All accepted entries become theproperty of Popular Woodworking Maga-zine. Send your trick by e-mail to [email protected], or mail it to Tricks ofthe Trade, Popular Woodworking Magazine,8469 Blue Ash Road, Suite 100, Cincinnati,OH 45236.

ONLINE EXTRAS

Tapered Sliding Dovetail JigI finally solved an issue I’ve encoun-tered many times with sliding dove-tails. I used to make the sockets the

same size as the pins but the longer the joint gets the more difficult it is to slidetogether. I made this jig that tapers theslot just a tiny bit (1 ⁄ 8" over 39") so thepin glides easily.

To make the jig, I used piece of lami-nate flooring that’s about 44" long, butBaltic birch plywood would also work.After ripping off the tongue and grooveon the board, drill a centered 1" holeabout 3" from one end and a 11 ⁄ 8" holeabout 3" from the other end. Clamp the

board on a straightedge making surethe holes line up perfectly against thestraightedge. Using a router outfittedwith a flush-trim bit, rout along one side

between the holes, then spin the piecearound and rout along the other side. Iended up with a 39"-long slot taperedfrom 1" to 11 ⁄ 8". Before breaking downthe setup, make sure a 1" guide bushingfits perfectly in the 1" end.

To use the jig, clamp it to the work-

piece where you want the slot and rideyour router, outfitted with a 1" guidebushing, along both edges of the jig’sslot to make a perfect tapered dovetail

The Moxon Quad-screw ViseI built a couple dozen kitchen cabinetboxes at work and got frustrated withhow finicky and time-consuming it wasto clamp each corner, line it up, thenflip it over to drill and screw. Thingswould often shift while flipping every-thing over or the clamps would just getin the way.

I had read the post on ChristopherSchwarz’s blog about building a Moxondouble-screw vise with F-style clamps– and one day things clicked. I realized

I could quickly build a Moxon quad-screw vise that would support bothpieces, make them easy to align andkeep the corner that needs to be drilledand screwed facing up.

After building the vise, I found itworks for many other things. Whencutting dovetails I can quickly trans-fer the tails onto the pin board witheverything fully secured. If you have aless-than-ideal bench (too low, no viseor no bench at all) you can build it tobe a comfortable working height andit isn’t permanent. Any time you needto rout the end of a board for a slidingdovetail or a tenon, you can clamp it

flush with the top and have plenty ofsupport for your router. If you needto cut a biscuit or Domino in a smallpiece, you can clamp it and the top will

support the tool. Overall, it’s apretty universal fixture thatcan be built to suit the size of

work you do.The quad-screw I built was

about 18" tall, 24" deep and 32"wide. I used a 21 ⁄ 2" hole saw to drillholes for clamps in locations that

fit my work. PWM

Jeremy Lindorff-TrnkaMinneapolis, Minnesota

Slot tapers from 1"to 11 ⁄ 8" over 39"

1" guide bushingmounted in router base

slot. Frankly, I don’t bother tapering thepin side. If the slot is short, the gap isminor. If the slot is long, I rout from theback of the workpiece, which locatesany gap in an inconspicuous area or inthe back of the project. The 1" guidebushing will accommodate up to a 3 ⁄ 4"-wide sliding dovetail.

One more thing: Make sure your jigis wide enough for the router to clearthe clamps.

Serge Duclos

Delson, Québec






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TOOL TEST BY THE STAFF

Veritas’s New Top-secret Steel

I’ve long been suspicious of the so-called “super steels” that promiselong edge life between sharpenings.

That has always meant that you have tospend a long time sharpening the toolon your stones or – even worse – youhave to buy fancy equipment to evenget a serviceable edge.

Plus, no new steel I’ve tried has everhad the feel of old-fashioned high-car-bon steel. Until now.

Veritas is using a powdered steel (aclosely guarded formula) that seems todefy many of the normal laws of high-carbon and alloy steels. Powdered metalis nothing new in woodworking. Dur-ing the last decade, I’ve tried out severalplane irons and chisels that were madeusing the sintering process.

In a nutshell, powdered metalsare where you take your raw materi-als, combine them in liquid form andthen atomize them to form a powder.The powder is sifted through a screenfor consistency, put into a mould andthen heated to form a solid billet. Thissintering process allows you to makematerials with remarkable consistencythat can have properties that would beimpossible to make by smelting.

For most of 2012, I’ve been testing a

sample of Veritas’s new metal, which iscalled PM-V11. I’ve been using it side-by-side with a Veritas A2 iron, swappingthe irons back and forth in the sametool. Both irons were set up from scratchin my shop.

Canadian company creates a steel combining the best of the old and new.

Both PM-V11 and A2 sharpen readilyon waterstones and sandpaper. And thefirst surprise was how easy the PM-V11was to polish. It polished up much fasterthan the A2 iron (and all other A2 ironsI’ve used on waterstones).

In use, the PM-V11 held its edge lon-ger than the A2. How long exactly I can-not say. I’ve been working in mahogany

and oak exclusively since January, andit was obvious that I was getting morework from the PM-V11 iron betweensharpenings.

But to be candid, edge life doesn’timpress me terribly. As long as I’m notsharpening the tool every hour, I’m OK. What I really care about is sharpenabil-ity – how easy the tool is to sharpen –and how keen an edge it takes. On thisfront, the PM-V11 is a real champ.

In fact, the biggest surprise came

when I tried sharpening the PM-V11on my oilstones. It was exactly likesharpening high-carbon steel. The soft

Arkansas bit right into the cutter andturned a burr with ease. The hard andtranslucent Arkansas stones did their jobs quickly and easily. Honestly, if Ididn’t know better, I would have swornI was sharpening high-carbon steel.

The development of PM-V11 hasrequired thousands of laboratoryand real-world tests and more than

$250,000 in development cost s forVeritas, according to Robin Lee, presi-dent of Lee Valley Tools and Veritas.The company plans to offer it in manyVeritas tools, plus replacement irons forStanley blades. Blades using PM-V11should cost about 30 percent more thanan A2 or O1 blade, on average, Lee said.

PM-V11 is a big deal for traditionalwoodworkers like myself. It allows youto sharpen it with almost any medium –quickly – and enjoy a long time between

sharpenings. It is the best of the oldworld and the new.

— Christopher Schwarz

VERITAS PHOTOS BY CHRISTOPHER SCHWARZ, FESTOOL & M-POWER PHOTOS BY AL PARRISH

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

PM-V11 Steel Veritas ■ leevalley.com or

800-871-8158Street price ■ see leevalley.com

■

BLOG Read more about PM-V11: popularwoodworking.com/oct12.

Price will vary depending on tool and size.

Feels old, looks new. This new powderedmetal from Veritas is as easy to sharpen ashigh-carbon steel and holds an edge like aalloy steel. In fact, you probably will think you

are using old-fashioned steel.


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TOOL TEST CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

Festool recently released the DominoXL DF 700, big brother to its revolu-

tionary Domino DF 500, one of themost innovative tools of the last fewdecades. Aside from the size, the loose-tenon joints created by the XL are thesame as with the earlier version. From amachine that resembles a biscuit joiner,a router-type bit both plunges and oscil-lates to cut mortises in mating parts.Into each mortise fits a loose tenon, or“Domino.”

How’s the fit? As good as I’ve seen,whether cut by hand or power. And

lining up the joint couldn’t be easier.

Cut butt joints on square orangled parts, align the two

mating pieces and markthe tenon location on bothpieces with one quick swipeof your pencil. Line up themachine and m ake theplunge cuts. The XL alsohas an improved indexingsystem that allows for evenless measuring.

For the combination ofspeed and strength, this joinery system is tough to beat.

While the original machine (7 lbs.)handles loose tenons in five thick-nesses (from 4 to 10mm), the noticeablyheavier XL (11.4 lbs.) handles Domi-nos 8,10, 12 and 14mm thick. But themore meaningful difference is thatthe Domino XL plunges much deeperthan the original. Instead of maxingout at 28mm like the original, the XLcuts mortises from 15 to 70mm deep

Domino XL DF 700Festool ■ festoolusa.com or

888-337-8600Street price ■ $1,200

■ VIDEO See a collection of XL reviews: popularwoodworking.com/oct12.

Price correct at time of publication.

(which means loose tenons can be as

long as 51 ⁄ 2").If you often tackle large-scale proj-

ects such as doors, beds or hefty archi-tectural elements, the Festool DominoXL deserves serious consideration.

The basic kit is $1,200 (it includesthe tool and loose tenons). Pricey? Yes.But you’ll be amazed by the time savedwithout sacrificing strength.

— Matthew Teague

Festool Domino XL DF 700

M-Power Tools offers an aftermarketrouter base that offers a number of fea-tures at the very reasonable price ofabout $90. It can be mounted to anyrouter that has 5 ⁄ 16"-diameter edge-guide holes spaced between 35 ⁄ 64"and51 ⁄ 8".

One key feature is an indexed micro-adjusting wheel that lets you dial in the

router bit to a measurement or layoutline – it’s particularly useful when rout-ing dados or grooves in combinationwith a guide rail or circle-cutting jig.

And speaking of cutting circles, thebase comes with a pivot pin and pre-

drilled holes for cuttingcircles as small as 3 ⁄ 4" andup to nearly 9" in diameter.

Of course, as a large sur-face router base the CRB7provides a more stable plat-form when routing. Thebase is easily offset to putmore surface on the work; a

large knob quickly attachesto provide a good handle. Italso comes with a height-adjustable stabilizing footto help prevent the router from tiltingon the outboard side.

The CRB7 can also be set up for rout-ing mortises, either centered or offset.The mortising function is achieved byattaching two posts that extend belowthe base. These posts are rotated clock-wise contacting the work and holding

the router in position when making aforward cut. Adjustments to the routerfence’s guide rods provide the offset

CRB7 Router BaseM-Power ■ m-powertools.com or

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VIDEO See the CRB7 in action at popularwoodworking.com/oct12.


mortise capability.An accessory edge-trim kit is also

available. It attaches to the CBR7 baseand will f lush-trim edge banding. Ituses a ball bearing riding against theoutside edge of the banding to guidethe router.

The CBR7 is available through Infin-

ity Cutting Tools and delivers manyfeatures at an affordable price. PWM

— Steve Shanesy

M-Power CRB7 Combination Router Base

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Honing in on Proportions

How do you dial in the propor-tions on a furniture design? Iused to pose that question a lot.

Perhaps what makes this puzzling isthe fact that small differences can havea dramatic effect. The line between themerely good and the dazzling is oftenblurry. Face it: Most of us aren’t setting

out to create a masterpiece; we’d justlike to be able to make solid, confidentdesign decisions and create furniturewe’re proud of.

For many years, whenever I’d spotan eye-catching bookcase or chair de-sign, I’d question the maker about howhe or she found that sweet spot. Buteven experienced builders often havedifficulty answering that question. Ioften heard, “trust your gut.” That’scode for, “Build a lot of furniture andeventually your eye for proportionsbecomes second nature.”

No doubt – there’s no substitute forexperience. But for many of us it soundslike a long journey. Even if you accept along journey as part of the equation, aroad map would be nice. I don’t want toset out on a journey to Savannah, Ga.,and end up in Newark, N.J. (no offenseto the Garden State). The good newsis that our woodworking tradition of-

fers some helpful insight to help us cutthrough the fog. With a little practiceyou can begin to trust your gut and nothave to wait until you’ve designed andbuilt a lifetime’s worth of furniture.

Tapping Into Your Sixth SenseRegardless of any self-doubt you mayharbor, you already have a strong senseof proportion. Leonardo da Vinci il-lustrated this vividly with a series ofdrawings called grotesques. He took a

normal human face and exaggerated just one or two proportions out of kilter.Our natural reaction to those images is

Small changes can make a big design difference – and help train your eye.

a testimony to our inherent sensitivityto proportions. The key, then, is learn-ing how to tap into this proportionalsixth sense, and learn to consciouslyunpack a design to begin to see pro-portional relationships.

But before we tackle the subject ofdialing in proportions on a furniture

design, it’s important to acknowledgethat our individual sense of propor-tions is subjective. There are broad

principles of design that most of usfind compelling, but individuals havea range they find pleasing. It’s similarto our preferences in music. We mayenjoy different types of music – jazz,rock, bluegrass or classical – but un-derneath all it’s held together with justa few simple notes. Just like we have anear for musical notes, we can develop

an eye for proportions.

Who’s Related to Whom?Design is largely about connections,and as a builder it’s most important tolearn how to find a way to connect withyour inner eye. As you work through adesign or a build, you may sense some-thing is off. It may be a just a sense thatthe design is too heavy, or clunky.

Often it’s a border element that looksa bit out of whack. By border, I mean

any element that defines an internalspace within a design. It can be a verti-cal border, such as the stiles that frame

PHOTO & PROPORTION ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR; FACE ILLUSTRATION BY LEONARDO DA VINCI, PUBLIC DOMAIN

DESIGN MATTERS BY GEORGE R. WALKER

Start small. Learning how to make small adjustments to a design can actually help train

your “designer’s eye.”

Quite a difference. Just pull one or two facial proportions out of what’s considered average,and the effect is glaring.



a raised-panel door or the legs at eachcorner of a table. Likewise, horizontalborders can be the rails on a door frameor the cornice at the top of a chest. Ifthese border elements are off it’s usuallyquite apparent.

Let’s use an example of vertical stilesthat appear too heavy flanking a doorframe. Before you begin taking randomstabs at it, start by picturing clearlywhat is related to what, proportionally.

Sometimes sorting out a designto make adjustments is like gettingdragged to someone else’s big familyreunion. All those confusing aunts,uncles and cousins – who’s related towhom? That stile may look a bit heavy,

but in relation to what? Keep in mindthat border elements always relate tothe space they define.

A vertical border such as a door stilerelates to the width of door space itframes. Just making that connectionalone may free you to simply eyeball itand move on. But if you want to reallycement a solid proportional image inyour inner eye, pull out a set of dividersand take a moment to experiment withthe proportions in that space. Dividethe width of that door opening into fiveequal spaces and use one fifth to definethe stile. That may be too heavy; that’sOK. You can try dividing the space bysix, seven, up to 12 equal spaces. This

allows you to gradually creep up onthe sweet spot for which your eye issearching. Also, by physically step-ping off the space with dividers, youreye soaks in a powerful image of theproportional dynamic.

It’s not really important what pro-portion you settle on; the key is thatyou begin to make the connection be-tween the spaces. As you continue totweak it down in proportional incre-ments, at some point the width of therail will cross a line and look weak – asignal you’ve shifted past where youreye (gut) wanted to take you. This sameprinciple applies to horizontal borders,only they relate to the height of spacesthey define. PWM

George is the author of two design DVDs

(Lie-Nielsen Toolworks) and co-author (with Jim Tol- pin) of a forthcoming book on design (Lost Art Press).

For links to all these online extras, go to:■ popularwoodworking.com/oct12

BLOG: Read more from George R. Walker onhis Design Matters blog.

IN OUR STORE: George R. Walker’s DVDs.

Our products are available online at:■ ShopWoodworking.com

About This Column

Design Matters dives intothe basics of proportions,

forms, contrast and compo-sition to give you the skill to tackle furnituredesign challenges with confidence.

ONLINE EXTRAS

Is one better? These door stilesand rails are related proportionally tothe adjoining dooropening space.Does one appearmore pleasing?

Borders. The heavy top, sides and base formthe visual borders in this composition. Theseare exaggerated to show the effect that bor-ders can have on a design.

H

istoric design books from the pre-industrial era had a thing about divid-ing an element or space into six equal parts and using a sixth to nudge a

proportion one way or another. That may sound odd but actually has somesolid logic behind it. If you tweak an element by something smaller than asixth, it’s hardly detectable to the eye. Conversely, if you adjust by a coarser

proportion, it can be too large ofa bump. Sort of like a bad haircut.Somehow a sixth is just like a dashof salt – enough that the eye picks upon it but not too far. — GW

Past proportions. Frequently in historicwork, a rectangle that defined a space (suchas a small chest or table) was bumped by a

sixth taken from the width. Here is a squarethat’s bumped wider. Historic design bookscalled this “a square and a sixth.”

A DASH OF SALT



http://georgewalkerdesign.wordpress.com/



http://www.shopwoodworking.com/unlocking-the-secrets-of-traditional-design-moldings?pwtnart072012










WOODWORKING ESSENTIALS BY ROBERT W. LANG

The Right Wood in the Right SpotThe end grain holds the secret to what stock to use where.

The single-most important factorin the appearance of any wood-working project is the selection

of the material. This isn’t what speciesto use or what color of finish; it is thechoice of which board goes where. Thewrong grain pattern in the wrong lo-cation can make even the most finely

crafted piece look like junk. While appearance is always subjec-

tive, there are traditional approaches tograin placement and orientation thatare based on how wood behaves overtime. In the grand scheme of things,these arrangements also appear har-monious to our eyes.

This is similar to music. You maywant to write a non-traditional song,but the best-sounding notes and chordswill be those that have evolved andbeen used for centuries. Good furnituredesign, regardless of style, calls for ar-ranging the wood in ways that makesense both visually and structurally.

The key to understanding how anyindividual piece of wood will appearand function stems from where thatpiece of wood was when it was in thetree. It is rather simple to discover thatby examining not the face, but the endof an individual board.

Moisture MattersA living tree contains a lot of water,and when it is cut down and made intolumber that water migrates into theatmosphere. As the water leaves, thecells shrink first as the water withinthe cells disperses. Then the cell wallslose their moisture, and in the processthe cells get smaller and change shape.

This is what causes lumber towarp as it dries, and the vast majority

of warpage occurs during the initialdrying process. Wood will always bein the process of releasing or absorbing

moisture in response to changes in theenvironment.

Properly dried and conditioned

wood won’t likely change shape af-ter milling, unless it is subjected toextremes of humidity. The Architec-

tural Woodworking Institute’s “QualityStandards” recommends keeping rela-tive humidity between 25 percent and

55 percent to avoid problems.This includes the storage of lumber

before milling, the conditions of theCONTINUED ON PAGE 22

PHOTOS & ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR

Character. Every piece of wood is an individual, and its appearance is determined by where itwas located in the log.



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WOODWORKING ESSENTIALS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20


shop during project fabrication andthe environment where the finishedpiece will be placed. Extreme levels ofrelative humidity, less than 20 percentor higher than 80 percent, are likely

to cause problems. If you work withinthese guidelines, problems related towood movement aren’t likely to occur.

Even so, it is essential to understandwhat direction any piece of wood youuse will move, and the consequencesof that movement. Tradition is here tohelp you out, and if you follow traditionthe chances of your finished projectlooking good are greatly increased.

As Wide as You Can

Much of what is written about usingwide pieces of lumber only applies if

you’re using material that is either notyet dry, or in the process of reachingequilibrium to a dramatic change inenvironment. If your wood is dry, atequilibrium with your shop environ-

ment, and conditions in the shop areclose to those of your house, there is nogood reason not to use wide boards forpanels, case sides or tabletops.

Ripping wide boards and gluingthem back together, with or withoutflipping them over (as you may haveheard suggested), won’t do a thing butwaste your time and make your projectuglier than it ought to be. That tech-nique entered the literature as a wayfor factories to minimize the problems

that come from using substandard andimproperly dried material.

Wide pieces are often the most vis-ible in a project, so you should takeextra care in selecting the wood if youneed to glue up a workpiece from nar-rower stock. The goal is to make the

glued-up piece look as much as possiblelike a single board. Plan these glue-upsfirst as you select your material. Oftenyou can use two rift-sawn (or partiallyrift-sawn) pieces on either side of aplain-sawn piece (see “Consider theSource,” below).

Generally speaking, wood looks nic-est if it is placed in furniture in the sameorientation that it had in the tree. Onplain-sawn pieces, orient the cathedralsso that they all point up, and arrange

adjacent panels so that the upper peaksare at about the same level.

There are three main classifications of lumber, based on the pattern of theend grain on the board. These patterns are related to where the board was

in the log. As wood dries, most of the shrinkage is in the circumference of thegrowth rings across the grain. Imagine therings as elastic bands that have been stretchedout. As they contract, each ring gets smaller,and longer rings in a board influence shorterrings adjacent to them.

Plain-sawn lumber is most likely to warp,twist and cup, because the concentric ringsare disproportionately dispersed through theboard. Trees are larger at the bottom than atthe top, so the ring patterns taper along thelength of a board. When the flat surface pro-duced by milling crosses the tapered rings, itproduces an arched pattern on the face, com-monly called a “cathedral.”

Quartersawn and rift-sawn lumber are

more stable, both in initial drying and overtime because the arrangement of the rings ismore consistent throughout the board. Thetrade-off is in appearance; quartersawn andrift-sawn lumber exhibit straighter and tightergrain lines than plain-sawn material.

Most boards will have a combination ofgrain patterns. Plain-sawn faces show quartersawn edges and vice versa. Rift-sawn boardswill have straight grain on both the faces andedges. In many boards, the grain pattern willchange across the width, with a rift-sawn pat-

tern on one side and a plain-sawn pattern onthe other. — RWL

CONSIDER THE SOURCE

Plain-sawnEnd grain is between 0˚ and 45˚ to face.Typical arched or “cathedral” grain pattern

QuartersawnEnd grain is between 60˚ and 90˚ toface. Typical straight grain pattern,flecked in some species

Rift-sawnEnd grain is between 45˚ and 60˚ to face.

Typical straight grain pattern on both faceand edges

Plain-sawn

Rift-sawn

Quartersawn




ARTICLE: Read ”Why Wood Warps,” by GlenD. Huey, from the Summer 2009 issue ofWoodworking Magazine.

MAGAZINE: For an in-depth look at “Com- posing With Wood Grain,” read the Spring2009 issue of Woodworking Magazine.


ONLINE EXTRAS

For the outer elements of pieces, ori-ent the grain with the widest spacingat the bottom; if the grain slants, makeeach side slope toward the middle. Thiswill give your furniture a solid stance; it

won’t look as if it is leaning to one side.

On the Straight & NarrowDoor frames and other frames are theideal place to use quartersawn or rift-sawn material. The narrower, straightgrain won’t detract visually from thepanel, and the stability of this mate-rial is good insurance to keep thingsstraight – regardless of what happensenvironmentally.

Harmonious composition. Rift or quartered

lumber for the stiles and rails and a plain-sawn panel make an attractive and stabledoor. Even if glued from more than one piece, panels look best with this grain pattern.

Disturbing noise. Wild grain, or grain runningoff the side of stiles and rails, detracts fromthe panel and the overall look. Mismatched panels should be avoided.

Plain-sawn. Growth rings that arch across theend of a board create “cathedral” shapes onthe face of the board. While attractive, plain-sawn lumber is most likely to cup or twist.

Quartersawn. The growth rings in quarter-sawn lumber are vertical, or nearly so. Thistype of wood will move more in thicknessthan in width.

Rift-sawn. The growth rings slant across theend of rift-sawn lumber. The grain pattern onthe faces and edges is straight and this cut isstable.

Lumber can’t read. Most pieces of wood willhave a combination of grain patterns, with adifferent appearance on one side of the facethan the other.

Rift-sawn material is also the bestchoice for legs or other square ele-ments. The straight grain will lookgood from the front and the side. Ifyou use quartersawn or plain-sawn

material in this circumstance, you’llhave to choose between a nice front ora nice side – you can’t have both. Thisis especially important if the legs arecarved or turned. The straight grainwill make those tasks easier, and thefinished appearance will be similarwhen viewed from any angle. PWM

Bob is the executive editor of this magazine. He canbe reached at [email protected].



http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/why-wood-warps





http://www.shopwoodworking.com/digital-issue-woodworking-magazine-issue-13-spring-2009?lid=pwtnart702012
















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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/popular-woodworking-199-october-2012 28/72 POPUL R WOODWORKING M G ZINE

POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE October 2 12

October 2012

Bow-frontEntry Table

This contemporary design isThis contemporary design is

an easy, affordable introductionan easy, affordable introduction

to curved work and veneer.

B Y MA T T H E W T E A G U E



Learning to work with veneers

and curves enables you to design andbuild almost anything. This bow-frontentry table serves as a good introduc-tion to both – without costing a smallfortune or requiring you to attemptan overly intimidating project. Veneerintroduces to you to a world of beau-tiful grain patterns and species thatare prohibitively expensive to buy insolid hardwoods. Having theconfidence to add curved andveneered surfaces to your work

also allows you to tackle a widerange of period, contemporaryand original designs that werepreviously off limits.

This petite design teeterssomewhere between a traditionalbow-front table and a sleekermodern piece. The veneeredbird’s-eye maple top panel andaprons are framed and high-lighted by the darker, contrast-ing solid cherry used for thelegs and top frame. A subtle butgraceful detail is that the frontfaces of the front legs are angledto visually extend the curve ofthe front apron. Like this littledetail, which you may not noticeat first, I think all furniture should havea few secrets to be discovered only oncloser inspection. The hidden draweron this table qualifies as well; its non-traditional placement on the side of

the table is completely disguised by adrawer front that is piston-fit betweenthe legs. Unless someone points it out,you’d never know it was there.

If you’re new to veneering a curvedsurface or veneering altogether, this isa perfect project for expanding yourskills. Thanks to a hand-pumped vac-uum veneer press that costs only $60for the complete setup, the veneeringis easy, requiring no additional veneer-ing tools. You could, of course, skip the

veneer work completely and cut thecurved apron from 10/4 stock. For thatmatter, you could even skip building

order. For more on the process, which

worked seamlessly for me, see “Hand-pumped Veneer Press” on page 29. Whatever method you use to ex-

ecute the curve, be sure to make thefront apron first. Begin by drawinga full-sized version of the table basefrom above, as shown on page 28, butbe prepared to alter the curve on thedrawing if necessary. Laminates have

a tendency to spring back afterthey are bent. Once the aproncomes off the form and has a

chance to acclimate, check tosee if there was spring-back. Ifso, adjust your full-sized draw-ing. Otherwise, the curve of thetop may not run coplanar to thecurve of the apron.

Build the Form FirstThe first step in making thecurved apron is to make a bend-ing form with a curve matchingthe drawing. My form is madeof 3 ⁄ 4" MDF, but plywood wouldwork, too. On a scrap 5" widex 28" long, draw out the arc asshown on page 28, bowing from91 ⁄ 2" to 12" over 24" in length.Be sure to draw the arch an ad-

ditional 2" long on either end. Thisextra length allows you to square andtenon the ends of the front apron. Onceyou’ve band sawn the arch, refine andfair the curve with a rasp or belt sander.

Making the form takes five layersof 3 ⁄ 4" material. Once you’re happywith the fairness of the first, simplytemplate-rout subsequent layers using aflush-trim bit on your router table. Thenscrew all the layers together.

It’s easiest to add only one layer at atime, clamping it in place and gettingthe edges flush before you drive thescrews. Once the form has reached fullthickness, use a flexible sanding block(sandpaper glued to1 ⁄ 4" plywood works

well) to make sure the whole surface issmooth and fair. Laminate the apron asshown in “Hand-pumped Veneer Press.”

and installing the drawer. But where

would be the glory in that?

Start With the CurveI stayed away from veneer work foryears; I have a small shop and didn’twant to spend hundreds of dollars ona vacuum veneer press that I don’t haveroom for. When I needed to veneer theoccasional panel, I borrowed a press.

But lately I’ve admitted that it’s difficultto regularly find solid stock that looksas good as fine veneers. And even if Icould, I’d get better yield by sawing itinto thick veneers. So I started looking

around for an affordable solution.There are many ways to veneer

curved surfaces, any of which wouldwork for this project: You could use avacuum veneer press to attach veneerto an MDF substrate; hammer veneerover a brick-laid curve; or clamp uplaminates or bending plywood be-tween male and female forms. But I’vebeen curious about the hand-pumpedRoarockit veneer press system, origi-nally designed to make skateboards,

since it came out in 2002 (perhaps be-cause much of my youth was well mis-spent on a skateboard). So I placed an

OPENING PHOTO BY AL PARRISH; STEP PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR; ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROBERT W. LANG FROM THE AUTHOR’S MODEL.

A hidden drawer. A false drawer front fits snugly betweenthe legs so that when the drawer is closed you can’t eventell it’s there. A small cove routed on the underside of thedrawer front allows you to pull it out from below.



While the glue sets on the curvedapron, mill the rest of the table partsto rough size and then focus on thelegs. Because tenoning is the next stepfor the curved front apron, go ahead

and cut all of the leg mortises beforeyou taper the legs. I cut 5 ⁄ 16" mortisesusing my hollow-chisel mortiser andthen cleaned up the walls with a chisel.

Tenon the Front ApronOnce the front apron comes off the form(you should let it sit overnight), checkthe curve against your initial full-sizeddrawing to make sure there isn’t ex-cessive spring-back. Using relativelythin veneers, I wound up with so littlespring-back that I didn’t need to adjustmy drawing at all. (Spring-back may bean issue if you use thicker laminatesand on more extreme curves.) If neces-sary, adjust the curve on your drawingand mark out the location, length andthickness of the front apron tenons onthe drawing. Then mark the length, in-

Draw the apron curve. Bow a batten be-tween finish nails driven into MDF and markthe curve. Remember to add length beyondthe nails to allow for trimming and tenons.

Build the form. After band sawing the curves,template-rout multiple layers of MDF andscrew them together. Once the form is assem-bled, make sure the face is smooth and fair.

Seal it off. Skip the finish or wax altogether – a layer of slick packing tape is all you needto make sure glue squeeze-out won’t stick tothe form.

MAKE THE FORM

24" 3 ⁄ 8"

3 ⁄ 8"

31"

301 ⁄ 4"

15 ⁄ 8"

"

37 ⁄ 16"41 ⁄ 4"

radius=301 ⁄ 16"

91 ∕ 2"12"

24"2"

15 ⁄ 8"191 ∕ 2"

3 ⁄ 16"13 ⁄ 16"15 ⁄ 8"

15 ⁄ 8"

2

1 ⁄ 8"

51 ⁄ 4"13 ⁄ 16" 15 ⁄ 8"

1 ∕ 2"

13

⁄ 16"

223 ⁄ 4"

FRONT VIEW

TABLE BASE PLAN

TOP PLAN

Roarockit Skateboard Companyroarockit.com or 888-857-7790

1 ■ Thin Air Press Kit 26" x 28"#01301, $60(The company also sells a variety of thickveneers that will work for your core andunseen face layers.)

Carlton McLendon, Inc.Rare Woods and Veneersrarewoodsandveneers.com or866-727-3966

Bird’s-eye and plain maple veneers, sizesand prices vary according to stock onhand.


SUPPLIES

http://www.roarockit.com/


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Originally designed to enable non-woodworkingskateboarders to build their own boards, the

Roarockit veneer press works almost exactly like avacuum veneer press, but it’s small enough to stow awayin a drawer when not in use – a boon for those who have

small shops. Also, if you’re not sure veneering is some-thing you’ll do often, the setup costs only $60 – a fractionof the price of a traditional vacuum press. If you find it’snot your thing (you won’t), you haven’t risked hundreds ofdollars. The price covers everything you need, includinga 26" x 28" vacuum bag. Roarockit offers bags of varioussizes or will make whatever size you request.

Using the Roarockit is almost identical to using atraditional vacuum press. To make the table’s front apron,simply follow the steps outlined in the photos here. As youwork through the process, keep a few things in mind:

Though you could veneer over an MDF or brick-laid

form using this press, I glued up the apron similar to theway a skateboard is glued up. I simply laid up multiplelayers of 1 ⁄ 16" veneers until I reached the13 ⁄ 16" thicknessI was after. This process is similar to laminate bendingwhere you cut multiple layers from a single board andthen glue them back together over a form. Another optionwould be to put the face veneer over bending plywoodand a bending form. Any of these methods would work,but because the system was designed for skateboards, Iborrowed as much as I could from their methods.

The only downside to simply stacking up veneer is thatyou have to spread a lot of glue quickly. Using thicker lami-nates or bending plywood – either of which would workseamlessly with the Roarockit – speeds the process. Thatsaid, I had an extra set of hands in the shop on glue-up day.With my helper and I both spreading glue we had no trou-ble managing the clock. Another strategy would be to use aslow-setting glue, such as urea formaldehyde or epoxy.

While skateboards are typically glued up using PVAglues (Roarockit recommends Titebond II), I took theadvice of Franklin International, maker of Titebond, andused its Cold Press Glue for Veneer. In brief, regular PVAsare less brittle, which is great for, say, a skateboard that

gets banged around as a matter of course. But Cold PressGlue for Veneer is a little more rigid, a bonus for furniture.It’s more prone to spring-back than urea formaldehyderesin glues or epoxies (both of which are common choicesfor veneering and laminate bending) but it is easy to usestraight out of the bottle and spring-back has never been anissue for me, especially on mild bends such as this one.

Once your form is made, the glue-up process ispretty straightforward; mine went off without a hitch. Justremember to make your veneers and form a little over-sized so that you can square the apron’s edges and endsafter it comes out of the form. This project was my first

experience with the Roarockit veneer press, but I suspectit’s the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship. — MT

HAND-PUMPED VENEER PRESS

8

Pump out the balance. Usethe hand pump that comes

with the veneer kit to remove thelast of the air from the bag.

4 Line everything up. Applya flexible 1 ⁄ 8" Masonite or

plywood platen over the top andtape the entire stack to the form.

2 Stack it up. After your firstunglued face is on the form,

stack subsequent veneer layers in place with the glued face down.

7

Take the easy way out. Oncethe bag is sealed, a shop

vacuum sucks the bulk of the airout of the bag.

5 Slip it in. With the gluedbundle of veneer taped in

place on the form, slide the as-sembly into the vacuum bag.

3 Roll again. Spread glue on theopposing face (that way, if you

miss a spot on one face the glue-up will still be OK).

1 Roll on the glue. Spread athin, even layer of glue on one

face of the veneer. A 4" paintroller makes this work easy.

6 Give air an escape route.Netting over the top of the ve-

neered stack provides a pathwayfor excess air to be sucked out ofthe bag once it’s sealed.



cluding the tenons, on the actual frontapron using your drawing as a guide.

Before tenoning, square one edgeof the apron at the jointer, as shownin the photo below. Then trim the op-posite edge to final width by running

it through the planer.


Square an edge. Joint one edge of the as-sembled front apron. Be sure one hand holdsthe apron flush to the fence as you square theedge to the face.

Plane the opposite edge. With the flattenededge facing down, guide the curved apronthrough the planer to square and bring theother edge parallel to the first.

SQUARE & TENON THE CURVED APRON

Square the apron with a jig. Made of scrap band sawn to the shape of the inner curve andscrewed in position, this simple jig positions the workpiece against a miter gauge to trim the endssquare at the table saw.

Use a stack of jigs. With both the jigand apron cut to length, turn the jigupright against a right-angle guideand a tall fence to cut the tenon.Clamp the workpiece to the jig and

the right-angle guide, align the bladeto the tenon location and then cutthe cheeks. The tenon shoulders arebest sawn by hand.

To help square and tenon the frontapron, make a quick holding jig byscrewing together a few pieces of scrapand band saw them to match the curveon the inside of the apron. At the tablesaw, position the jig against your miter

gauge with your workpiece on top of

the jig. Holding the assembly firmlytogether (with double-sided tape if nec-essary), align the cut and crosscut theends of the apron square to the edges.Because you’ll use this jig again, trimthe jig at the same time you trim the

apron, as show in “Square & Tenon theCurved Apron.” With the apron cut to length, mark

out the location of the tenons, whichyou can transfer from the full-sizeddrawing. Attach a tall auxiliary fenceto your stock table saw fence. Make aright-angle guide by attaching a guidefence flush to one edge of a 10" x 10"square of MDF or plywood. Orient theright-angle guide against the tall fenceso that the guide fence allows you to

hold the stock upright. Then positionthe curved jig you just used to cut theends to length against the right-angleguide, and the workpiece against the jig and guide. Set the height of the tablesaw blade to match the length of yourtenon and align the blade with thetenon location. Then make the cutsand test the fit of the tenon thicknessin the leg mortises.

You could trim up the shoulders ofthe tenon at the table saw as well, butbecause it would take more extensive jigging up and there are only two ofthem, I used a backsaw to make theinitial cuts and then fine-tuned the fitusing a shoulder plane and a chisel.

Prepare the LegsNote that the front legs of this table arecut from blanks that are wider front toback than side to side. Cutting an angleon the front of the front legs (shown on

page 31) visually continues the curveof both the front apron and the table-top. The process is simple but it lendsrefinement to the design. I then taperedthe legs at the band saw and cleaned upthe faces with a handplane.

Building the balance of the base ispretty straightforward. I veneered theside apron and the false drawer front(both to solid maple) at the same timeusing the same vacuum set-up I usedto make the curved front apron. The

side and rear apron were tenoned at thetable saw, but you can use whatevermethod you prefer.



Assemble the BaseI’ve always thought that a table withouta drawer, even if it has to be a small one,is a lost opportunity. Though drawersare traditionally placed at the front ofa table, a drawer on the front of thistable would be prone to racking andtoo short to find much use. That, plusthe fact that I simply like the idea of ahidden drawer, led me to put a draweron the end of this table. The drawer onmy table is on the right end, but you

could switch it to the left end if thatmakes more sense for the spot whereyour table will live.

READY THE TABLE FOR THE DRAWER

Mark the stretcher. The stretcher above thedrawer is marked to length, notched anddovetailed. The dovetail is then transferred tothe top of the leg. The bulk of the dovetail slotis routed out, then chiseled to fit.

Glue it up. Clamp up the long aprons andadd the drawer runners and kicker. Runnersand the kicker are tenoned at both ends. Therear runner is also glued to the rear apron.

How the drawer works. The assembled baseis outfitted with drawer runners, a kicker and guides. The false drawer front looks like anapron when the drawer is closed – you can’teven tell it’s there.

PREPARE THE LEGS

Taper the leg. Use the band saw to rip taperson the two inside faces of the legs. Thenclean up the faces using a handplane. Makesure your tapers stop at least 1 ⁄ 4" below theaprons.

All in one plane. After thetenons are fitted and the legsare ripped at an angle, the frontfaces of the front legs match thecurve of the front apron.

Rip an angle on the legs. Set your table saw blade to matchthe curve of the front apron and then rip the faces along theirfull length.

The drawer itself is set in a fairlytraditional drawer opening – it’s justsideways. A stretcher below the draweris tenoned into the table legs and wrapsaround the legs. The stretcher abovethe drawer also wraps around the legsbut is secured to the legs from abovewith a single dovetail. If you’ve neverused this technique, it’s much easierthan you might imagine. Just cut thetails on the stretcher and then knifethe outline of the dovetail directly onto

the table leg. To get a flat bottom on thedovetailed slot in the legs I use a 1 ⁄ 8"straight bit to rout out the bulk of the

waste. Then I fine-tune the dovetailslot with chisels.

Before assembling the base, cutsmall mortises (mine are 3 ⁄ 16" thick) onthe upper and lower drawer stretchers,as well as on the side apron, to accepttenons cut on the ends of the drawerrunners and kicker.

After a quick dry-fit, you’re ready toglue up the sides. When the glue hashad time to cure, do another thoroughdry-fit to make sure that the joints on

the front and back apron close up com-pletely. Once you’re satisfied with thefit, glue the front and rear apron, as



well as the runners and kicker, to theassembled sides.

Build the TabletopI used a mitered frame on the perimeterof the tabletop because the look fits thecontemporary feel of this design. I typi-cally reinforce my miters with splinesor keys, but for a sleeker, cleaner lookI used loose tenons to join this frame. When choosing stock for the cherryframe, look for straight grain for thestraight pieces and use a piece with

arched grain to match the curve onthe front piece of the frame. Start bycutting the three straight parts of theframe to size. Leave the front piece ofthe frame oversized and square at thispoint – it makes cutting the angle onthe end much easier.

The joints at the back of the tabletopare mitered at 45°, which can be doneat the table saw or on your miter saw.The angle on the front joints can bepulled off the full-sized drawing us-

ing a bevel gauge and transferring theangle to your table saw or miter saw.

Before moving on, take time to test

Bow-front Entry Table NO. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) MATERIAL T W L

❏ 1 Front apron face 1 ⁄ 16 37 ⁄ 16 195 ⁄ 8 Bird’s-eye maple veneer*

❏ 12 Front apron cores 1 ⁄ 16 37 ⁄ 16 213 ⁄ 8 Veneer*, 3 ⁄ 4" TBE**

❏ 1 Side apron core 3 ⁄ 4 37 ⁄ 16 63 ⁄ 4 Maple, VBS†, 3 ⁄ 4" TBE**

❏ 1 Rear apron 3 ⁄ 4 37 ⁄ 16 21 Maple, 3 ⁄ 4" TBE**

❏ 1 False drawer front 1 ⁄ 2 37 ⁄ 16 51 ⁄ 4 Maple, VBS†

❏ 2 Front legs 15 ⁄ 8 21 ⁄ 8 301 ⁄ 4 Cherry

❏ 2 Rear legs 15 ⁄ 8 15 ⁄ 8 301 ⁄ 4 Cherry

❏ 1 Upper drawer stretcher 5 ⁄ 8 15 ⁄ 8 65 ⁄ 8 Maple

❏ 1 Lower drawer stretcher 5 ⁄ 8 15 ⁄ 8 65 ⁄ 8 Maple

❏ 1 Tabletop panel 3 ⁄ 8 87 ⁄ 8 207 ⁄ 8 MDF*, VBS†, RBE‡❏ 1 Tabletop frame rear 3 ⁄ 4 2 24 Cherry

❏ 2 Tabletop frame sides 3 ⁄ 4 2 91 ⁄ 2 Cherry

❏ 1 Tabletop frame front 3 ⁄ 4 4+ 24 Cherry*

❏ 2 Drawer runners 5 ⁄ 8 11 ⁄ 2 205 ⁄ 8 Maple, TBE**

❏ 2 Drawer guides 5 ⁄ 8 5 ⁄ 8 191 ⁄ 2 Maple

❏ 1 Drawer kicker 5 ⁄ 8 11 ⁄ 2 205 ⁄ 8 Maple, TBE**

❏ 2 Drawer side 1 ⁄ 2 23 ⁄ 16 201 ⁄ 2 Maple

❏ 1 Drawer back 1 ⁄ 2 23 ⁄ 16 51 ⁄ 4 Maple

❏ 1 Drawer front 1 ⁄ 2 23 ⁄ 16 51 ⁄ 4 Maple

❏ 1 Drawer bottom 3 ⁄ 8 45 ⁄ 8 197 ⁄ 8 Cherry

* Cut oversize to match layout, trim to final dimensions ** TBE=Tenon both ends† VBS=Veneer both sides ‡ RBE=Rabbet bottom edge to fit groove in frame

EXPLODED VIEW

“A straight line is a

missed opportunity.”

—Jere Osgood (1936-),American furniture maker

1 ∕ 2"3 ⁄ 4"

3 ⁄ 4"13

⁄ 16

"

3 ⁄ 4"

2"

37 ⁄ 16"

31"301 ⁄ 4"

12"

SECTION VIEW




ARTICLE: ”It’s a Secret,“ by Charles Bender.

BLOG: Learn a quick method for dovetailingthe upper drawer stretcher.

Our products are available onl ine at:■ ShopWoodworking.com

ONLINE EXTRAS

the fit of all the joints and make surethey close completely. To tweak themfor a perfect fit I use a piece of sandpa-per glued to a flat scrap of wood. Onceyou’re satisfied with the fit, band sawand fair the curve on the front piece.

To mortise for the loose tenons Iused a plunge router outfitted with astraight bit and guide fence, as shownabove. Place the mortises so that the joints won’t poke through the edgesof the frame or panel groove. Oncethe mortises are done, cut the loosetenons to thickness and width at thetable saw. Then round over the edgesand cut them to length. To house thebird’s-eye maple panel in the tabletop,use the router table to mill a 1 ⁄ 4"-wide x1 ⁄ 2"-deep groove centered on the insideedges of all four frame members. Onthe inner top edges of the frame pieces,

mill a3

⁄ 16" x3

⁄ 16" chamfer.Having glued up the curved front

apron, veneering the flat panel is easy.I used the same vacuum bag set-up andused bird’s-eye maple veneer on the topand plain maple veneer on the bottom.For the core of my panel, I used 3 ⁄ 8"MDF because I had it on hand, but aquality plywood would work, too.

Rabbet the bottom edge of the panel.Before you glue up the top, apply a fewcoats of finish to the panel. I like to

glue up tabletops or any flat assemblyon an assembly jig made from a pieceof 3 ⁄ 4"-thick melamine to which I’ve

screwed two guide boards at a rightangle. After applying glue, I butt adja-cent flat frame parts against the guideboards. For the curved front piece ofthe frame I cut a few scraps to matchthe curve. Once clamps are appliedto close up the joint, make sure thetabletop is flat to the melamine. If it’snot, add a few clamps to hold it down.

To give the table a lighter feel and asense of lift. I routed a3 ⁄ 8" x3 ⁄ 8" chamferon the bottom edge of the top.

Add a Drawer & FinishThe drawer can be made in whateverfashion you prefer. I dovetailed a simplemaple box and installed a cherry drawerbottom just to add a little contrast. Oncethe drawer is built and fitted, using afalse drawer front allows you to size itfor a piston-tight fit between the legs.

I routed a cove on the inside edge atthe bottom of the false drawer front so Ican reach underneath and open it eas-ily. A nice touch for the hidden drawerwould be a hidden locking mechanism,such as one of those that Charles Benderwrote about in his article “It’s a Secret”(Popular Woodworking Magazine, Nov.2009, issue #179; you’ll find a link tothat article in Online Extras).

Though I finished the panel on thetabletop prior to assembly, I still sand

the frame and lay on a few more coatsof Waterlox before attaching it to thebase. Additional coats simply build

Mortised frame. Clamp scrap stock flush to the ends ofthe frame members to steady the router and use double-sided tape to a guide fence on your router base. Thentake plunge cuts until you reach full mortise depth.

Loose tenons. Plane and rip stockto fit the mortises in the frame mem-bers of the tabletop. Then roundover the edges at the router tableand trim the tenons to length.

Tabletop glue-up. To make sure the tabletop goes together square and flat, use a quicklymade and self-squaring assembly jig thatallows you to register two adjacent sides off ofright-angle guides.

MAKE THE TABLETOP

the sheen and lend a little more protec-tion. The base of this table got threecoats of finish, and the top got aboutsix. Before the final coat, I wet-sandthe entire piece with #600-grit wet-drysandpaper, apply a thick coat and thenwipe it nearly dry after a few minutes.

To attach the top to the base, Iscrewed directly through the drawerkicker and into both the top panel andthe sides of the tabletop frame. To allowthe front and back of the tabletop toexpand and contract just a little, I usedfigure-8 tabletop fasteners to secure itin place and prevent warping.

It’s a satisfying build and a handsomelittle table. The contrast of the cherrysurrounding the bird’s-eye maple paneland aprons serves to highlight the beau-ty of the veneer. And the drawer is a nicesurprise – one you can keep to yourself

or show off to your friends. PWM

Matthew is the editor of this magazine. He can be

reached at [email protected].





http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/joinery/installing-a-drawer-stretcher














The beauty and elegance of the acanthus leaf has in-

spired artists, architects and craftsmen for centuries. Amongfurniture makers, carving this classic detail is a rite of pas-sage, much like making your first hand-cut dovetails. If youare interested in carving, the acanthus leaf should certainlybe in your repertoire.

The acanthus plant, also known by the common nameof “Bear’s Breeches,” is native to the Mediterranean. It hasthick, spiny leaves with serrated edges and produces large2'- to 3'-long spikes of white or purple flowers. The wordacanthus comes from the Greek wordake, meaning a point orthorn, and anthos, meaning flower. The acanthus plant most

resembles the dandelion, thistle and artichoke plants.The acanthus first appears in the decorative and architec-

tural arts of Greece around the 5th century B.C. The most

OPENING PHOTO BY AL PARRISH; STEP PHOTOS BY LAURA SPARROW; TEA TABLE PHOTO COURTESY OF MESDA34 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE October 2012

B Y MA R Y MA Y

Learn how to carve this

classic detail – follow a

few rules, and it’s simple.

It’s a real plant. While the acanthus leaf isoften a stylized decorative detail, it is basedon a real plant native to Italy and Greece.

Acanthus Leaf



familiar historical use for the acanthus on a curved or turnedsurface is on the capitals of Corinthian columns.

At first, the designs based on the acanthus leaf wereaccurately portrayed and extremely lifelike. As this motifgrew popular, it became more stylized and has now evolvedinto an imaginary leaf of many uses. The acanthus designcan be seen in everything from embroidery to architecturaldesigns and furniture details.

Acanthus leaves in wooden, carved furniture becamecommon in the 18th century. Many European-trained fur-niture makers settling in America brought different stylesand techniques to this new furniture style. These craftsmen

were able to achieve an amazingly high level of design duringthe Queen Anne and Chippendale periods. The acanthusleaf design was incorporated into furnishings such as table

bases, chairs, highboys, tea tables and bed posts.If you study the details of acanthus leaf designs, you will

notice that no two are alike. There are some designs wherethe leaves are hollow, some are rounded and some have acombination of both rounded and hollow sections. Theyvary so greatly in style and shape that they are sometimesdifficult to identify as an acanthus leaf.

One way I like to advise students on how to becomefamiliar with the design of acanthus leaves is to start todraw examples that they see – whether from photographsor drawings, or actual examples of the carving on furniture.

popularwoodworking.com ■ 35

Inspired by a basket. TheCorinthian capital was saidto be the brainchildof Callimachus, aGreek architectand sculptor whoworked in the second half

of the 5th century B.C. Hewas inspired by having seena basket next to a youngchild’s grave with a piece ofmarble sitting on its top andacanthus leaves growingthrough the basket.

Turned leaf. This is an acanthus leaf detail on a turned post for a four- post mahogany bed. (The bedpost was turned by Greg Guenther, ofSavannah, Ga., and features the author’s carving.)

About face. This green man (a traditional motif related to vegetativedeities) was carved in white oak. Note how the acanthus leaves flowout from the face.

On the knee. This acanthus leaf is a traditional style typically seen onthe knees of cabriole legs.

“Carving is easy; you just go down to the skin and stop.”

— Michelango Buonarrotti (1475-1564)



The more you understand how to draw the leaves, the moreyou will be able to recognize the subtleties of this versatiledesign. Carving the acanthus leaf is similar to drawing it.Because these leaves are often carved in shallow relief, youare virtually drawing with your chisels.

Step-by-step ProcessBeginning on the next page, I show the step-by-step process ofhow to carve an acanthus leaf design; this particular design isbased on the turned pedestal of a Charleston, S.C., tea table,dated 1755-1775. I’m carving the design onto a turned bed-post, which is part of a four-post bed made by Greg Guenther.

As you work through the carving, make sure you finisheach step completely before going on. In many ways, each step


you take prepares or sets you up for the next step. If you cankeep to a structured process as shown, all the leaves aroundthe bedpost should have a similar shape and appearance.

When I first began to carve, I was not even aware that thesecommonly seen decorative leaves were called “acanthus leaves,”and the thought of carving one seemed pretty daunting. It

took quite a few attempts at drawing and carving this leafbefore I felt confident that I was on the right track. My advicein carving this beautiful and versatile design is to pick up achisel and just make that first cut – and have fun doing it. PWM

Mary works in Charleston, S.C., and offers classes at her shop and in a variety of

other locations. She also has instructional DVDs available and offers an online videoschool. Find out more at marymaycarving.com.

On a pedestal. This Charleston tea table isdated 1755-1775 and is in the collection ofthe Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) at Old Salem, in Winston-Salem, N.C.(MESDA Research File 9035).

Detail look. Here, we can see the details ofthe acanthus leaf on the tea table’s pedastal.

The simple way to tackle drawing or

carving any acanthus leaf is to remem-ber that there is no definite right or wrongway; there are just a few basic rules orguidelines to follow.1. Most acanthus leaves have “eyes”

which are teardrop-shaped holeswhere the separate sections of theleaves appear to overlap. When thesesections of the leaves do not overlap,this “eye” is then simply the area wheretwo parts of the leaf join together.

2. Where there are “eyes,” there shouldbe a raised section gently flowing fromthe eye toward the center vein. This iscalled the “pipe.”

3. Quite often, there will be little finger-nail-shaped notches cut out of the“pipe” that represent wrinkles in theleaf.

4. Make sure all detail lines in the leafflow gently toward the center vein.

5. Try to make sure all of these detaillines have a slight curve. If any of

the lines on the leaf are straight, itwill cause the leaf to appear flat.The more curved the lines, themore shape to the leaf.

6. Try not to make any of thesedetail lines parallel to each other.They should all gently convergeand eventually meet at the centervein.

RULES FOR DRAWING

Common details. No matter what the styleof an acanthus leaf, most have “eyes” and“pipes” with all detail lines gently flowinginto the center vein.

Eye

Pipe

Pipe

Eye

http://www.marymaycarving.com/




6 Hollow the leaf. With 8mm No. 7 and 14mm No. 7 gouges, hollowout the various lobes of the leaf. Make sure that the high ridge lines

that are created by these hollow cuts gently flow into the center vein.5 Lower the leaf. With a 14mm No. 3 gouge, carve a gentle slope

down to this V-cut from the main part of the leaf to give the appear-ance that the center vein is raised.

4 Carve the vein. With a 5mm V-chisel, make two small 1 ⁄ 16-deepV-cuts up both sides of the center vein of the leaf.3 Lower the background. With 3mm No. 3, 6mm No. 3 and 13mm

No. 3 gouges, lower the background between the leaves. Try tomake this surface as smooth as possible – as if it just came off the lathewith leaves placed on top of it. You can also use flat chisels for this process.

2 Define the leaf edge. With gouges that accurately fit the edge ofthe acanthus leaf design, make vertical stop cuts 1 ⁄ 16" deep along

the entire edge of the leaf. I used a 12mm No. 4 gouge, and a 6mmNo. 3 gouge. By removing the bulk of the wood with a V-chisel beforedefining the edge with vertical cuts, the small delicate leaf corners are protected from breaking.1 Outline the leaf. With a 5mm V-chisel (60° angle), carve just out-

side the outline of the leaf edge 1 ⁄ 16" deep, leaving the line visible.



10 Draw vein lines. Draw lines down allsections of the leaf where a vein line

will be carved. Make sure these lines gentlycurve toward the center vein line.

9 Leaf’s end. With an 8mm No. 7 gouge,make a small cut at the end of the leaf as

shown. This creates a nice shadow and givesthe leaf a little more shape.

8 Carve a pipe. With a 3 mm No. 11 gouge, carve a groove on both sides of the eye so that along raised area is created. This area is called a pipe. This raised pipe flows gently into the

center vein. With a 6mm No. 3 gouge, round over or soften the sharp corners of the pipe.7 Soften the ridge lines. With a 6mm No. 3

gouge, soften or round over the ridge linesthat were created in the previous step.

German, Swiss and Austrian-made tools are generally

quality examples. Long-handledgouges are safer to use and easierto control than palm gouges.Fishtail-shaped gouges are pre-ferred over straight-shaped ver-sions because their sharp cornershelp to get a cleaner cut in tightspots. The “No.” in the tools

below refers to the “sweep” – asthe numbers increase, so does theblade curvature:• 3mm to 5mm V-chisel (60°angle)• 3mm No. 3 gouge• 6mm No. 3 gouge• 14mm No. 3 gouge• 12mm No. 4 gouge• 5mm No. 5 gouge• 8mm No. 7 gouge• 14mm No. 7 gouge

• 3mm No. 11 gouge• Mallet (optional) — MM

THE TOOLS YOU NEED



For links to all online extras, go to:

■ popularwoodworking.com/oct12

WEB SITE: Visit Mary May’s web site to see

more of her work, and find out when and

where she’s teaching.

VIDEO: Watch as Mary May shows you how

to sharpen one of the essential tools for

woodcarving – the V-chisel.

IN OUR STORE: Get DVD instruction from Mary

May on carving the traditional acanthus

leaf in relief (bonus: includes instruction

for carving a leaf on both a cabriole leg and

turned bed post).

ONLINE LEARNING: Mary May has just launched

an online video school to teach carving; find

out more.

Our products are available online at:

■ ShopWoodworking.com

ONLINE EXTRAS

16 Finish. To complete the carving, make several small notches with your V-chisel on theends of certain leaves to give a little shadow effect. Lightly sanding the background to

remove any facets created by the gouges should be done after all the carving is finished. You canalso lightly sand the surface of the leaf, but be careful not to sand out the details. Caution: If youchoose to carve more after sanding the surface, the grit deposited from the sandpaper will dullyour gouges.

15 Center vein. With a 14mm No. 7 gouge, carve down the center vein line

to create a slight concave shape.14 Make a “wrinkle.” With a 5mm No. 5

gouge, make several little cuts on the pipe that appear to be wrinkles. Make one cutvertical and make a second cut at a 45° angleto notch out a fingernail shape.

13 Carve a notch. With a 6mm No. 3 gouge, make a little notch cut between

each of the lobe sections. This really bringsout the three-dimensional and slight overlap- ping appearance of the leaf.

12 Soften the edges. With a 6mm No. 3 gouge, round over all theoutside edges of the leaf.11 Carve vein lines. With a 5mm V-chisel, carve all vein lines in the

leaf. Let these cuts fade off before they reach the end of the leaf.












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http://www.marymaycarving.com/carvingschool/














This fixture, which I’ve chris-

tened “Gizmozilla,” grew out of my gen-eral dissatisfaction with the methodsavailable to small shops to cut mortises.At one time I used a small hollow-chiselmortiser but I never found the resultssatisfactory. I tried an open-sided box jig for router mortising, but by the time Ihad everything in position and clampedI was completely out of patience withthe whole procedure. Finally, I resorted

to drilling out mortises on my drillpress and doing the final chopping outby hand. While I was generally happy

with the resulting mortises, the processwas far too slow.

Then I happened on an article inan old woodworking magazine thatdescribed a basic router mortising fix-ture. It was a wooden beam with anattached channel for the router edgeguide; it used Jorgensen hold-downclamps to secure the workpiece. Theauthor nailed stops to the beam to limitrouter travel. While the basic idea was

sound, it seemed less than fully devel-oped. Nailing stops to something I’d just worked hard to make smooth and

square seemed a little crazy, so I addedT-track and moveable stops.

I also added wooden clamping caulsof various lengths outfitted with steelbars and rare earth magnets to holdthem to the clamps while allowing forsome adjustment. The cauls and Giz-mozilla’s 4' length adds to its flexibility.

I soon realized that by adding thelower feet I had a variant, and possiblyan improvment on, a Joseph Moxon-style

vise. The feet raised the fixture slightlyand allowed me to position the face of thefixture forward of the edge of the bench.

PHOTOS BY AL PARRISH40 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING MAGAZINE October 2012

An evolving hybrid. “Gizmozilla” started as an improved router mortising fixture but has numer-ous capabilities. It works well as a Moxon-style vise for holding hand work. In router-fixture modeit’s well-suited for making other joints and edge profiles. Above, it’s set up to mill mortises inidentical locations on two different table legs.

‘Gizmozilla’B Y K E N N E T H S P E E D

A perfect union between an improved router

fixture and a Moxon-style vise.



setting additional router stops. Again,the adjustability of the router fenceand depth of cut enables Gizmozilla tobe used to cut tenons as shown aboveat top, or half-lap joints and bridle joints. I can also route edge profiles

by clamping stock to the side of thefixture, as long as the cut is shorterthan the fixture’s overall length. Simi-

larly, edge-routing doors and mosttabletops and making stopped cuts,such as routing finger pulls in doorsor drawer fronts, are all quickly ac-complished. For many operations,Gizmozilla is easier and more intuitive

to set up and even safer to use than arouter table. I’m still discovering moreuses for this fixture.


Every mortise needs a tenon. The variety of setups using theclamping system and router fence makes cutting tenon cheeksa snap. For clean cuts, use an upcut-spiral bit and the plungerouter’s depth stops.

Just stop it. Repetitive stop cuts, such as these drawer edge pulls, are simple to set up using therouter stop blocks. A variety of other stopped cuts, such as mortises, are similarly done.

Look, it’s a vise! Want to cut some dovetailsby hand? No problem. When used as aMoxon-style vise, Gizomilla’s wide clampingcapability even allows for holding case sides.

Gizmozilla was born. When the fixture is paired with a

plunge router equipped with a guidefence, the adjustment features allowGizmozilla to excel at numerous func-tions. It enables a woodworker to make

repetitive mortises in precise locationson multiple parts such as table legs, ormake multiple mortises on one part by

SUPPLIESLee Valley

leevalley.com or 800-871-8158

2 ■ 48"-long T-track, #12K79.28, $15.50

8 ■ 11 ⁄ 2" T-bolts, #12K79.71, $3.70 (pack

of 10)

2 ■ 1" T-bolts, #12K79.70, $3.20 (pack of

10)

10 ■ T-bolt knobs, #00M50.10, $1

4 ■ 3 ⁄ 4" rare earth magnets, #99K32.11,

$8.40

Woodworkers Supply

woodworker.comor 800-645-9292

4 ■ Jorgensen 1623 3" hold-down

clamps,#125.030, $14.69

Prices correct at time of publication.

Cuts Tenons Acts as a Vise

Makes Stop Cuts


http://woodworker.com/





TIPS ON USING GIZMOZILLA

GIZMOZILLA DETAILS

Using Gizmozilla as a Moxon-style vise is probably self-explanatory, butusing it as a router fixture isn’t. Here are some tips on how to use it:

• The easiest way to position a piece for height is to simply butt the face ofthe piece to be worked to the bottom of the unplugged router when it is inposition for mortising or tenoning operations.

• Set the travel stops to the router base so the bit aligns to layout marks onthe workpiece. Alternatively, spacer blocks can be used to set the lengthof a mortise.

• Opposing pairs of mortises (such as on table legs) may be machined at thesame time using multiple stop blocks. Care must be taken to maintain cor-

rect orientation of the two pieces.• Multiple mortises may be machined using multiple stop blocks or posi-

tioning blocks.• When cutting tenons or bridle joints, always position the workpiece so

that the side being cut is away from the beam. When tenoning it may bebest to cut the tenon a little heavy until the final length of the tenon isreached, then make a light full-length cut on each face to finish the tenonto thickness.

• Edging operations may require that the piece be clamped to the fixturewith F-style clamps rather than with the Jorgensen hold-down clamps.

• Upcut-spiral bits work best for milling mortise-and-tenon joints; youshould take light, multiple cuts using the plunge router’s depth stops.

• If making light cuts doesn’t prevent tear-out, place a waste block at theend of cuts. In most instances, for best results it easier to guide the routerwith one hand and hold the router fence with the other.

• A little beeswax or paraffin enables the edge-guide shoe to slide moreeasily in the trough. — KS

Hold it. Jorgensen hold-down clamps are

secured to the fixture with carriage bolts (withmodified heads). The bolts pass through thefixture body to hold the clamps in place. Fourholes allow for a variety of clamping set ups.

Wood, steel & powerful magnets. Because

we aren’t equipped with an extra set of armsand hands, Gizmozilla’s wooden clamp caulsare outfitted with a steel strip and use rareearth magnets to hold them on the clamps.

An end in sight. The end of the beam tells

it all. Note the trough on the rear face usedto partially house the router fence, the feetlocations, clamps, cauls and magnets, and thestop block in the T-track.

Gizmozilla also performs as a conve-nient and adaptable Moxon-style vise.The beam provides both a vertical anda horizontal surface at right angles toone another so marking out and cutting

dovetails is quickly accomplished. Thesize of Gizmozilla enables me to clampmultiple pieces side by side (drawersides for example) or to dovetail widecarcase sides. Pieces can be clamped

down to the top of the fixture to makeit easy to test-fit and adjust dovetailedcomponents. The addition of T-trackto a Moxon-style vise allows me to setangled stops for easier dovetailing.

Build the FixtureThis fixture is easy and affordable tobuild; many of the pieces can come fromyour scrap bin. To begin, glue up twopieces of 8/4 hard maple for the beam(any stable, close-grained hardwoodwill work.) The length isn’t specific;it’s simply what I had – but the size hasproven to be very handy. While theglue dries, set the beam aside and makesome other parts you’ll need.

Go ahead and cut out the two pieces

for the wooden trough at the back of thebeam. Use 3 ⁄ 4" stock the same length asthe beam. Make the shoe that fastens toyour router edge guide and fits into thetrough. This piece will probably needto be fitted after the trough is attachedto the beam so that it has no play butslides smoothly. You may need to makeother adjustments to fit your particularrouter edge guide. Then go ahead andcut out the two feet for the beam.

When the beam is dry and out ofthe clamps, dress and square it to finalsize. Use a dado stack in the table sawor rout a channel for the T-track on thetop of the beam about5 ⁄ 8" from the frontedge. The other channel is located about1" down from the top of the beam on



fixture to be clamped to a bench and

the extra depth allows the fixture toprotrude past the edge of the benchwhen necessary.

Travel stops for the router are sim-ply 3 ⁄ 4"-thick rectangular blocks madefrom scrap. Drill two holes in them sothey can be positioned on the top ofthe beam and square to the front faceusing T-bolts with knobs or wing nuts.

The positioning stops are 1 ⁄ 4" thickand long enough to reach past the work-piece and clamps, but are otherwiseidentical to the router travel stops.Angled or L-shaped positioning stopsor other special stops may be made asrequired.

Gizmozilla grew and evolved as Ibuilt it. And as I continue working withit, the evolution carries on as I discovernew and better ways to use it and ex-pand the versatility of this fixture. PWM

Kenneth is a professional woodworker now semi-

retired. He’s been a shop foreman, purchaser, estima-

tor, woodworking teacher and project manager

and owned a cabinet business for many years. Kencontinues to make furniture and cabinets in his

semi-retirement.


VIDEO: Find out where the glue goes inside amortise-and-tenon joint.

TO BUY: ”Getting Started with Routers” DVD.

IN OUR STORE: ”55 Best Shop-Made Jigs” CD.


ONLINE EXTRAS

Gizmozilla NO. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) MATERIAL COMMENTS

T W L

❏ 1 Beam 31 ⁄ 2 31 ⁄ 2 48 Maple

❏ 1 Trough side 3 ⁄ 4 21 ⁄ 2 48 Maple

❏ 1 Trough bottom 3 ⁄ 4 11 ⁄ 4 48 Maple

❏ 1 Router guide shoe 3 ⁄ 4 23 ⁄ 4 24 Maple Fit to your router

❏ 2 Feet 11 ⁄ 2 6 6 Maple

❏ 1 Clamp caul 7 ⁄ 8 21 ⁄ 4 48 Maple

❏ 2 Clamp cauls 7 ⁄ 8 21 ⁄ 4 19 Maple

❏ 2 Clamp cauls 7 ⁄ 8 21 ⁄ 4 11 Maple

❏ 4 Router travel stops 3 ⁄ 4 2 31 ⁄ 2 Maple

❏ 1 Positioning stop 1 ⁄ 4 11 ⁄ 2 6 Maple

A Bit of Metal WorkAs mentioned earlier, these cauls stickto the Jorgensen clamps using rareearth magnets. To stick the magnetsto the cauls, it’s necessary to attach asteel strip on the caul along its length.To make mine, I routed a 1"-wide x3 ⁄ 16"-deep groove down the center ofcaul. In the groove I fastened pieces

of 1"-wide x3

⁄ 16"-thick mild steel flatstock. Drill countersunk holes and useflathead screws to install the steel.

The carriage bolts require a slightmodification to fit the recessed slot inthe clamps. Grind or hacksaw them,then file the heads of the carriage boltsto fit the recess. When done, cut the T-track to length and drill countersunkholes in it before screwing the tracksinto the channels in the beam.

Next screw the feet to the bottom

of the fixture. The feet are flush on thefront but protrude to each side and tothe rear. This positioning allows the

the front face. Be sure the grooves are just deep enough for the T-track to sitslightly below the fixture’s surface. Nextdrill four 11 ⁄ 32" holes through the beamfor the bolts that hold the Jorgensenclamps. I drilled my holes 8" and 16"from either end, and centered 3 ⁄ 4" upfrom the bottom edge of the beam. Drilladditional holes if you wish.

Now take the trough bottom pieceand clamp it in position on the back ofthe beam. The beam bolt holes mustmatch up and continue through thispiece so grab one of the bolts to markthe hole locations by tapping on it. Un-clamp the trough piece and drill it, thenuse it as a guide to drill the trough side. When done, line up the inner and outertrough pieces using the carriage boltsand screw them to the back of the beam.

Prepare some clamping cauls and be

sure to make one as long as the beam.Make shorter ones to fit the spacingbetween the Jorgensen clamps.

“An idea is salvation by

imagination.”

— Frank Lloyd Wright(1867-1959)

American architect

11 ∕ 2"

31 ∕ 2"

21 ⁄ 4" 21 ∕ 2"

48"

48"

6"6"

31 ∕ 2"

3 ∕ 4"





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The

RoorkheeChair

Ten sticks of wood andTen sticks of wood and

basic skills are all you needbasic skills are all you need

to make this ultra-comfortableto make this ultra-comfortable

and portable) seat.(and portable) seat.

B Y C H R IS T OP H E R S C H WA R Z




PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR;

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROBERT W. LANG FROM THE AUTHOR’S DRAWINGS

TURN THE LEGS

Furniture historians tend to paintthe Arts & Crafts movement as a turn-ing point for modern furniture design

– where style turned its back on theornate excesses of the Victorians toembrace the simple lines of what was tobecome the more utilitarian furnitureof the 20th century.

I won’t dispute that assessment, butit neglects a long-overlooked piece offurniture: the Roorkhee chair. Namedafter the British headquarters of the In-dian Army Corps of Engineers in India,the Roorkhee chair was developed inthe final years of the 19th century as

the British military become more mo-bile following humiliations it sufferedin South Africa during the Boer Wars(1880-81 and 1899-1902).

Weighing less than 13 pounds, theRoorkhee chair breaks down quickly,takes up little space and is shockinglycomfortable. Because it has no fixed joinery, the legs and stretchers moveto accommodate uneven terrain andany sitter.

It was a mainstay of the British armyand navy up until World War II, accord-ing to Nicholas A. Brawer’s book “Brit-ish Campaign Furniture” (Abrams).And it also appears as a popular itemfor campers, adventurers and thoseon safari.

While all that is quite interesting,what is more fascinating is how thework-a-day Roorkhee chair directlyinf luenced generations of modernfurniture designers. Marcel Breuer’s

“Wassily” chair (1925), Le Corbusier’s“Basculant” chair (1928), WilhelmBofinger’s “Farmer Chair” (1966) andVico Magistrett i’s “Armchai r 905”(1964) all owe a tremendous debt tothe Roorkhee chair.

This summer I built a run of thesechairs for customers and for a book I’mwriting about campaign-style furni-ture, and I selected one of the simplerforms of the Roorkhee to reproduce. Tobuild it you need only 10 sticks of wood,

a handful of tools and some upholstery.You can easily get the upholstery madein canvas by anyone with a sewing ma-

chine, or you can take the route I didand use cowhide, which is surprisinglysimple work. Either material is histori-

cally correct.

Begin with the LegsThe 13 ⁄ 4"-square legs are beefier thanmodern examples of Roorkhee chairs,so resist the urge to skimp on material.The historical examples I’ve examinedare made using mahogany or oak, soyou can take the high road or the lowone, depending on your budget.

Begin by shaping the legs. The cylin-der at the top of each leg and the ankle

at the floor are both 11 ⁄ 4" in diameter.So if you aren’t confident in your latheskills, you can waste away some of thematerial by using a dado stack in yourtable saw before chucking the work upbetween centers in your lathe.

Turn the round sections of the legdown to shape using a roughing gouge.Get the cylinder and ankle to size us-

ing a parting tool and skew. Use a skewto finish up the taper on the legs andthe transitions, and a spindle gouge tocreate the 3 ⁄ 4"-tall astragal that makesthe foot. (Just FYI, I turned these legswith one tool from Easy Wood Tools.The full-size Easy Rougher will do allthe operations on these legs with ease.)

Once you have the legs turned, makethe 7 ⁄ 8"-radius curve on the top of eachleg. Cut it to rough shape with a copingsaw, then finish the job with a rasp or

disc sander.

Tapered JoineryLike a Windsor chair, Roorkhee chairsare assembled using tapered tenonsand conical mortises. Unlike Windsor


Careful now. Turn the cylinder at the topof the leg with care. If your tool catches thesquare section above or below, game over.

Divide & divide again. To make the astragal

at the foot, turn 45° chamfers on the corners.Then turn chamfers on the arrises of thechamfers. Then turn arrises on those chamfersuntil you get an astragal.

Angled & easy. The transition between thecylinder and the square section is a snap ifyou ease into the cut slowly.

Round the top. The top of the legs all have

a7

⁄ 8"-radius curve for the leather armrests.Cut this a with saw and refine it with a rasp orsandpaper. If you are making a run of chairs, adisc sander is a huge help.



chairs, however, these joints are leftloose – no glue and no wedges. Still,you want a good fit.

A Roorkhee chair has four 1"-diam-eter round rails, which you can makesimply by using dowel stock (or turnthem on your lathe). Original chairswould offer a seat that was about 161 ⁄ 2"wide and deep between the legs, whichis skimpy for modern backsides. Thesizes shown in this article will cre-ate a chair that has a seat that’s 18"square between the legs. If you needmore room, use longer dowels. But don’tgo overboard – longer dowels weakenthe chair.

Begin by drilling a 1 ⁄ 2"-diameter holefor the dowels through your legs in the

locations shown in the illustrations. Allthese holes are 90°; if you’ve ever builtchairs, this should be a relief.

Now ream the holes into a cone. Iused the Veritas Pro Reamer, whichI chucked into a brace. You can alsogrind a cheap spade bit to the shape youdesire, which will scrape the sides ofthe mortise to the correct taper.

With the mortises reamed, shapethe tenons. Cut the dowels to finishedlength and then turn the ends to a cone

shape on your lathe. Alternately, if youused the Veritas Pro Reamer, you canbuy the 1 ⁄ 2" Tapered Tenon Cutter from

Lee Valley Tools and shave the dowelsas if you were using a pencil sharpener.

The Back BracesThe back of a Roorkhee chair tilts to fitthe user. The tilting occurs on 5 ⁄ 16"-di-ameter all-thread steel rods that passthrough the back legs and the two backbraces. The braces are secured to thelegs using nuts, washers and wing nuts– all available at your local hardwarestore.

First drill holes through the legs toaccept the 5 ⁄ 16" rod. The holes should

be at the center of the 7 ⁄ 8" radius thatdefines the top curve of the legs. Theholes should be just a smidge larger

than 5 ⁄ 16" – whatever you have in yourshop.

Now make the back braces. Thesetwo pieces taper from 11 ⁄ 2" wide at thecenter to 1" wide at the ends. Mark thetaper on the braces and taper them witha handplane (or make the cut with aband saw). To complete the braces,drill a clearance hole for the steel rodthrough the braces in the center of thewidest part of each brace.

Finish the WoodRemove all the tool marks from the

parts, break the edges and finish all thewooden parts using three coats of garnetshellac. The wood is only one-half of this


Roorkhee Chair NO. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) MATERIAL COMMENTS

T W L

WOOD

❏ 4 Legs 13 ⁄ 4 13 ⁄ 4 211 ⁄ 2 Mahogany

❏ 4 Rails 1 dia. 231 ⁄ 4 Mahogany Over-long, trim to fit

❏ 2 Back braces 5 ⁄ 8 11 ⁄ 2 201 ⁄ 2 Mahogany

LEATHER

❏ 2 Leg straps 3 oz. 1 ⁄ 2 213 ⁄ 4 Leather Overall joined length

❏ 1 Seat support 3 oz. 41 ⁄ 2 35 Leather

❏ 1 Seat 3 oz. 17 33 Leather

❏ 1 Back 3 oz. 20 27 Leather 31 ⁄ 2" w. x 41 ⁄ 4" notch

ADJUSTABLE JOINERY

Easy reamer. A tapered reamer is the best practical solution to making the conical mor-tises. A sharp reamer is a joy. (A ground spadebit will also work.)

Sharpen those dowels. The Lee Valley ToolsTapered Tenon Cutter works like a high-quality pencil sharpener. It produces cleanand crisp work.

Check it. After every reaming operation, con-firm that your rails are 90° to the leg in bothaxes. Use your reamer to adjust the attitudeof each leg.



Tandy Leather tandyleatherfactory.com or 877-532-8437

1 ■ craftsman oak tooling leather side#9157-35, $6.49 sq. ft. (need about 22sq. ft.)

1 ■ rapid rivets#1271-15, $3.99/100 ct.

2 ■ halter buckles, 3 ⁄ 4"#1505-00, $3.99 ea.

1 ■ 1 ⁄ 8" drive punch#3777-02, $9.99

1 ■ rivet setter#8100-00, $3.99

1 ■ Aussie leather conditioner#2199-00, $14.99

4 ■ button studs#11310-01, $2.49 ea.

Prices correct at time of publication.

SUPPLIES

211 ∕ 2"

3"

35 ⁄ 8"

3 ⁄ 4"

13 ⁄ 4"

131 ∕ 2"

18"

5 ∕ 8"

101 ∕ 2"121 ∕ 2"

18"

201 ∕ 2"

13 ⁄ 4"

1"

FRONT VIEW

EXPLODED VIEW

SIDE VIEW

project. And you can choose to handoff the upholstery to a professional ordo it yourself. (You can do it. It’s easy.)

Leather & HardwareThe leather upholstery is stuff that isabout 3-4 oz. cowhide – one typicalskin should be more than enough for

one chair. Begin by making the strapsfor the legs. These straps restrain thesides of the chair. Unbuckling them

disassembles the chair. You can cut thestraps using a straightedge and a sharputility knife. Repeat: sharp utility knife.

Punch the holes for the buckles us-ing a 1 ⁄ 8"-diameter drive punch, avail-able at all leather-supply stores. To at-tach the straps to the buckle you’ll needto rivet the leather into a loop. Riveting

is simplicity itself. Punch two holes inthe leather. Fold the leather over so theholes meet up – wet the leather if you

want to make it more bendable.Put the male end of the rivet through

the hole and place it on a hard surface(such as your table saw). Place the rivet’scap on top. Strike the rivet three timesor so using a hammer and a rivet-setter– a steel rod with a concave end. Thismakes a permanent join.

Screw the straps to the inside sur-faces of the legs. Use #10 x 11 ⁄ 2" brassscrews and brass finishing washers

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/



17"

33"

20"

27"

71 ∕ 2"

31 ∕ 2"

9"

41 ⁄ 4"

13 ⁄ 4"

28"

41 ∕ 2"

35"

2"

1 ∕ 2"

R oorkhee chairs were covered in canvas, leather or leather-trimmedcanvas. Of the three options, plain old leather is the simplest of the three

solutions. However, if you prefer canvas but don’t have sewing skills in yourhousehold, I recommend you outsource the job.

I think you’ll be surprised how economical leather can be. I bought the

skin, rivets, buckles and tools I needed for this chair for about $130.I chose to rivet the leather pieces together for this chair. The other optionis to sew them together. I decided against the sewing. Here’s why.

To sew the leather together I’deither need a sewing machine thatcan pierce 3 oz. leather (I don’thave one) or punch all the holesfor the thread. I didn’t want tobuy or borrow a sewing machineso I decided on riveting, anothertraditional leatherworking joint. Itrequires only a punch, rivets and

a rivet setter. Once you try rivet-ing you’ll be amazed how easy itis. In fact, punching and rivetingleather is so easy that you mightstart making your own belts,suspenders or tool rolls. I’m mak-ing some chisel holders with myscraps (just be sure your leather isvegetable-tanned if you do this).

— CS

Rivet this. Simple small rivets join all the

leather in this project. A steel rivet-setterand mallet does all the leather joinery.

RIVETED LEATHER – NOT CANVAS

ARM

SEAT

SEAT SUPPORT

LEATHER PATTERNS

BACK

Feeling punchy. The 1 ⁄ 8"-diameter drive punch will do all the leather work on thischair. Keep it sharp and lubricated withbeeswax or paraffin.

Template work. Make your templates for yourleather using 1 ⁄ 2"-thick material – I used someMDF left over from another job.




BLOG: See how the tapered tenons and coni-cal mortises are cut.

BLOG: Learn how to age the steel hardwarefor this piece.

ON THE WEB: Read all of the author’s articlesabout campaign-style furniture.

IN OUR STORE: “Chairmaking Simplified,” byKerry Pierce.


ONLINE EXTRAS

Assembled. Here you can see theback braces bolted to the rear legs.The acorn nuts were later replacedwith wing nuts.

– two screws in each leg. Rememberthat the leather will stretch in use, soinstall it on the tight side.

The Seat Support, Seat & BackYour bottom and your back are sup-

ported by three pieces of leather in theRoorkhee. The back is stretched andriveted around the back braces. Theseat is two pieces of leather. There’s anarrow seat strap that runs from sideto side, plus the main seat that runsfrom front to back and sits on top ofthe seat strap.

These three pieces are all installed inthe same way. Stretch the leather overthe wood and mark where the line ofrivets should go. This is mostly by eye,

but space the rivets about 1" apart fromone another. Punch all the holes forthe rivets using your 1 ⁄ 8" drive punch.

Before you rivet the leather, it’s bestto finish it. You can burnish the edgesand simply add a wax/oil solution,which is available at leatherworkingstores. Or you can color the leather witha dye, finish it with an oil/leather solu-tion and then rivet the flaps together.After you finish these leather pieces,thread everything together and pull thechair together. It should hold togetherand sit well. The only things left to addare the armrests.

ArmrestsThe armrests were the biggest chal-lenge to construct because the hard-ware to attach them to the chair isn’tstandard stuff. You can use 13mm ballsocket studs, which are used to attachgas struts to car bodies – these are thestruts that hold up the glass on the backof a pickup truck’s camper top.

Or you can take the hard road andmake your own. I used “Sam Browne”

buttons from Tandy Leather. These arethe stud shape you need, but insteadof having a screw that goes into thewood, there’s a threaded hole in thestud. I found a metric machine-screwfastener that screwed into this hole inthe stud. This created a fastener thatI could insert into the leg in a 7 ⁄ 64"-di-ameter hole.

Whew. Or just go to an auto partsstore and get the 13mm ball socketstud. It’s simpler. Screw these studsinto the legs.

To attach the leather to the studs,make a slot at each end of each leather

armrest. Use your 1 ⁄ 8" drive punch todefine the extents of the slot, then useyour utility knife to join the holes. Thisshould make a hole that will button overthe studs. Remember: Make the leathertighter than you think you should. It

will loosen up.OK, sit in the chair. Lean back andfeel how it supports your lower back.Awesome, no? What? Don’t fall asleep.I’m not done yet. There are still other legprofiles of Roorkhee chairs to discuss.

Oh, never mind. Enjoy your nap. To-morrow you might have to fight. PWM

Christopher Schwarz is the editor of Lost Art Press LLC

(lostartpress.com) and is working on a book about

Roorkhee chairs and other pieces of campaign-style

furniture to be released in 2013.

“The British Army is a social institu-

tion prepared for every emergency

except that of war.”

— H.O. Arnold-Forester,Secretary of State for War, 1903

Leather options. Here’s the Roorkhee withbrown leather, the steel 13mm ball studs andno straps on the legs. This arrangement is alsohistorically correct.






http://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/chris-schwarz-blog/aging-hardware-with-jax-chemicals



http://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/chris-schwarz-blog?s=campaign+furniture



http://www.shopwoodworking.com/chairmaking-simplified?lid=pwtnart070212





http://www.lostartpress.com/











B Y JA ME S MU R S E L L

Learn how to choose

and use these versatile

shaping tools. A

s a Windsor chairmaker and

spokeshave maker, I use a spokeshavemore than any other tool. I have three:two straight shaves (large and small)and, for hollowing wood, the curvedspecialty shave called a travisher.

My introduction to spokeshavescame at school where we had traditionalwooden shaves with the blades held inplace by friction. When they were sharpand set correctly they were great, butbecause they were old and well-used,the tangs often slipped in the body.

That resulted in a sometimes unexpect-edly thicker or finer shaving – not anendearing feature.

OPENING PHOTO BY AL PARRISH; STEP PHOTOS BY RAY FOXLEE;

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROBERT W. LANG FROM THE AUTHOR’S DRAWINGS

SpokeshavesI’ve spoken with many people at

woodworking shows, and I am amazedby how many still have their grandfa-thers’ spokeshaves, but rarely use thembecause of the same problems I sufferedduring my training. This is a shamebecause spokeshaves are remarkablyversatile tools for shaping wood.

The first spokeshave that I boughtwas an inexpensive metal shave. Itworked after a fashion, but it was nota pleasure to use. Years after purchasingit, I read some of David Charlesworth’s

articles that explained all that should bedone to make this type of shave func-tion satisfactorily. In my opinion, tools



should work “out of the box” – and thatone didn’t. I am sure that similar expe-riences have put off so many potentialspokeshave users.

I began to make and sell my ownwooden spokeshaves about 15 years

ago when I was unable to buy tools ofthe quality that I wanted.Spokeshaves fall into two broad

categories:1. Low-angled, usually wooden-

bodied2. Higher-angled usually metal

bodied While there are today several metal-

bodied shaves available that don’t sufferfrom the same problems as the toolsthat I’ve encountered, I prefer wooden

spokeshaves.

Metal (High-angle) ShavesA fine example of a metal shave is BrianBoggs’s spokeshave, available from Lie-Nielsen Toolworks. It is a beautifullymade tool with a bronze body and ablade set at 40°. The blade is made ofhigh-quality steel that holds a fine edge.The throat, or gap between the bladeand the nose of the tool, is narrow toproduce very fine shavings and a perfectfinish, even on difficult woods. The soleof the tool, both in front of and behindthe blade, is absolutely flat (a versionwith a curved sole is also available).

A few years ago I had a conversationwith Boggs about our respective toolsand we decided that we had designedthem for quite different purposes. Histool is designed for fini shing cuts,particularly on challenging woods,while mine are for removing wood

quickly while leaving an excellent fin-ish for most purposes – particularly onstraight-grained wood.

The flat sole of the metal shavemeans that it is designed as a plane withhandles to either side. The tool worksbest when the surface being shaved isflat or convex. Concave cuts are dif-ficult to make with a tight-mouthedtool because the blade cannot touch thesurface; it’s held away from the woodby the front and back of the sole.

The alternative version with thecurved sole is fine for concave work– but the curved tool is not ideal for

straight or convex work. Thus, twospokeshaves are required.

Another limitation I see for mostmodern metal spokeshaves is the sizeof shaving that can be taken with thetools. If the goal is solely to produce a

fine surface on wood that has alreadybeen shaped, then this is the tool foryou. But if you wish to shape the wood toany extent first, I find a tight-mouthedmetal shave to be problematic; with it,one just cannot remove enough woodquickly enough. This, of course, is theopinion of a professional chairmakerwho operates in a world where timeequals money. But even if I had all thetime in the world, I would be frustratedby what I see as a limitation.

Wooden (Low-angle) ShavesAs I’ve inferred, low-angle spokeshavesare quite different from their (usually)metal, high-angle cousins. The biggestdifference is in the geometry of theirdesign. Unlike the metal shave, on the

Body Body

Blade

Cutting angle = 33˚

BladeBrass wear plate

wooden shave there is nothing behindthe blade to interfere with the work-piece; the blade is set bevel-up and thebase of the blade is set at an angle tothe wear plate (6° in my shaves), andthe resulting cutting angle, betweenthe blade and wear plate is around 33°.

The bodies of the low-angle toolsare typically made of wood (thoughVeritas makes a metal-bodied low-angleversion). As a result, they are warmto the touch and many experienced

woodworkers consider them morecomfortable to use.

The spokeshaves I make have a solidwooden surface directly behind theblade (it does not project below the bot-tom of the blade and therefore doesn’tinterfere with concave cuts) and this

Brass wear plate

Rounded front edge ofwear plate allows atighter curve to be cut

Blade

Metal spokeshave. On most metal shaves, the blade is bedded at an angle ofapproximately 40°, the sole of the tool is flat and the mouth is tight. This makesdeep concave cuts difficult to achieve.

Wooden shave. In a low-angle spokeshave, the blade is set at approximately 33°to the wear plate.

Concave cuts. Shallow concave cuts can be made with a low-angle spokeshavedue to the angle between the base of the blade and the wear plate. Make thewear plate narrower, and a tighter curve can be cut.

“We shape our tools and after-

wards our tools shape us.”

— Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) Canadian scholar

LOW-ANGLE CURVES

BLADE BEDDED AT 40°

BLADE BEDDED AT 33°



allows the fingers or thumbs, depend-ing on whether the tool is being pulledor pushed, to be directly behind thecutting edge. Apart from being com-fortable, this minimizes any tendencyfor the tool to rotate in the hand as itis being used.

These tools are for removing woodquickly. On straight-grained wood andend grain they will leave an excellentquality surface. If, however, you aremainly working with wild-grainedwoods such as curly maple, then afine-throated high-angle shave wouldbe the better choice.

Adjusting the CutThe position in which the blade is setrelative to the wear plate is the firstmeans of setting the depth of cut on

both a wooden and metal spokeshave.Many woodworkers set the edge of theblade so that it is not parallel to the wearplate (when seen from the front). This

means that there is a continuous rangeof cutting depths from fine to coarseacross the blade. If a tool is used like thisfor even a short time, one gets used tothe variation and can take advantage ofit, depending on how much wood needsto be removed at that particular point.

I find this technique more effectivewith wooden shaves because the bladesare usually longer. In my experience,the comparatively shorter blade of ametal shave means it can handle onlya small variation in set. Setting a metalshave is more like setting a plane.

Anyone using a low-angled spoke-shave for the first time may initiallyhave trouble with the blade digginginto the wood, especially if the blade isset coarsely, as I prefer. However, oncethe user learns to maintain contact be-

tween the wear plate and the workpiece,all problems evaporate.

Conventional cutting with bothmetal and wooden spokeshaves requires

good contact between the surface of thewear plate and the wood being shaved.In this situation, the position of theblade sets the depth of cut. For cuttingend grain, for example, set the bladefinely and make sure the wear plateachieves good contact with the work-piece for long, continuous shavings.

I find that low-angle (typicallywooden) spokeshaves come into theirown when one gets away from this con-ventional mode of working – but toofew people use them enough to developa knack for the following techniquesand to appreciate the flexibility thetools provide.

I mentioned that I favor a coarsesetting for my shaves – not because Iam always taking heavy cuts, but sothat I can take the greatest range of

cuts from very fine to coarse, withoutever having to reset the tool.

To achieve a very fine cut (as I useto finish a shaved spindle in a Windsor

Front of spokeshave

Canted blade provides variable depth of cut

Brass wear plate

Brass wear plateBlade

Reverse grip. A spokeshave can be used effectively with both a push

and pull stroke. This is particularly useful when working on pieces suchas spindles, where the grain often reverses. Notice the fingertip grip.

Thumb grip. The sole on this shave allows you to put your thumbs

directly behind the blade for excellent tool control, without causinginterference with the cuts.

Typical low-angle cut. The conventional cut with a low-angle shave hasthe tool running on the wear plate; the depth of cut is set by adjustingthe height of the blade.

CONVENTIONAL CUT

VARIABLE-DEPTH CUTOut of parallel. Set the blade at an angle to the tool ’s sole andone shave can make a variety of cuts.



chair), the contact with the wood is atonly the leading edge of the wear plate.The blade skims over the wood takingthe lightest possible cuts. When work-ing in this manner, concentrate entirelyon maintaining very light contact atthe front of the tool and let the bladefollow on behind. If you try to push orpull the blade it will begin to dig in andtake more than desired.

I frequently demonstrate this tech-nique using just two fingertips to holdthe tool. While this is not a realisticway of handling the tool for real work,it serves to illustrate just how lightlyone should hold it.

In order to take a slightly deepercut when working in this way, simplyadd a little more pressure on the backof the tool.

But this is not the end of the tool’sflexibility. Continue to apply more pres-sure to the back of the spokeshave untilthe sole of the blade runs on the wood,with the wear plate up in the air andtouching the workpiece only at the veryback. At this point you will be takingthe maximum thickness of cut that ispossible with that blade setting.

Although a little extreme, this is auseful technique when wood needs tobe removed quickly. I use it, for example,

when shaving spindles from green woodand when shaping seats along the grainin soft wood, such as tulip poplar.

Finally, a plea to all woodworkerswho don’t currently use spokeshaves:Spokeshaves can do so much more thanround over an edge or cut a bevel. Theycan create complex shapes that wouldbe virtually impossible with a machine.So the next time you design a piece,why not shape the wood the way thatyou want, rather than be limited to theshapes a machine can achieve?

One last thought: Spokeshaves andrasps as a combination are absolutelyunbeatable for shaping wood. PWM

James is the founder of The Windsor Workshop and

a toolmaker in West Sussex, England. He can be

reached at [email protected].

Get a GripI have always emphasized that a spoke-shave should be gripped with the fin-gertips directly in front of and behindthe blade. Only this grip will providethe sensitivity of feel that is necessaryto set the wear plate rubbing on eitherthe front (minimum cut) or back (maxi-mum cut) and anywhere in between.

Most people who are new to usingspokeshaves grip the handles firmlywith their fists. This usually leads tothe tool running on the sole of theblade rather than on the wear plate,and results in an unexpectedly thickand uncontrollable cut. Control comesonly when the tool is rotated forwardonto the wear plate.

Rotating a tool with your fists is notas controllable as applying pressure

with the fingers directly to the wearplate (front) or blade (back) to controlthe cut. This is the reason I emphasisethe fingertip grip so continuously.

Parting ThoughtsTwo other tips apply to all shaves: Keepthe blade sharp; and skew the bladeacross the direction of travel. This low-ers the blade angle, giving a slicing cutand producing a better finish on harderwoods. Skewing also reduces the thick-

ness of cut, giving yet another methodfor changing the cutting depth withoutchanging the setting of the blade.

Rapid removal. To remove a lot of stock quickly, ride on the base of the

blade with the nose of the tool up in the air. Notice my grip on the tool:My fingers are pinching in front of and behind the blade

For links to all these online extras, go to:■ popularwoodworking.com/oct12

WEB SITE: Visit James Mursell’s web site to findout about his spokeshaves and other tools,and details about his chairs and classes.

TOOL: Find out more about the Lie-NielsenBoggs spokeshave.

BOOK: Get James Mursell’s book, “WindsorChairmaking.”

IN OUR STORE: Several “Woodworking in Action” DVDs feature Windsor chairmakerDavid Wright.


ONLINE EXTRAS

Blade

Brass wear plate

Blade Brass wear plate

Fine cuts. To achieve the finest cut, run only the leading edge of thewear plate on the workpiece and trail the blade behind. Virtually allthe downward pressure should be exerted on the front of the tool.

Deep cuts. Achieve the greatest possible depth of cut by running the

back of the wear plate and the base of the blade on the workpiece,by applying pressure on the trailing edge of the tool.

PRESSURE ON THE FRONT

PRESSURE ON THE BACK




http://www.woodenspokeshave.com/




http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1222



http://www.popularwoodworking.com/articleindex/spokeshaves


















A while back, my wife and I were

visiting friends who wanted to showus their collection of antique furniture.At one point we went into their bed-room and I headed directly for a veryold-looking chest-of-drawers. I pulledthe top drawer open about 3", lookedat the side of the drawer and felt theexposed bottom.

The husband yelled out from behindme, “No! That’s my wife’s private draw-er.” Followed immediately by my wife’sreassuring, “Don’t worry. He doesn’teven see what’s inside the drawer.”

And that was true. I just wanted todate the piece by how the drawer wasmade.

Over the years of working on hun-dreds of pieces of antique furniture, I’vedeveloped a quick and fairly accuratesystem for dating and determining theorigin of any piece of furniture contain-ing drawers. Here’s how I do it.

ConstructionDrawer construction has changed sev-eral times in the last 200 years. Becausethis construction is visible on the sur-face (unlike mortise-and-tenon anddowel joints, for example), it’s usuallyeasy and quick to determine the roughage of furniture, and its authenticity asa true antique, using drawers. Simplypull a drawer out a few inches, glanceat the joinery on the side and feel thedrawer bottom underneath – essen-

tially a single motion.In addition, the wood used for the

drawer sides and bottoms helps deter-

PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR

Date FurnitureB Y B OB F L E X N E R

Quick inspections reveal much about a piece’s age and possible origin.

Inspect the construction. A simple glance at the drawer joints, com-bined with feeling the drawer bottom, provides a powerful clue as towhen a piece of furniture was made.

Drawers



mine whether the furniture is Americanor European.

How a drawer is constructed andthe woods used is revealing, but thereare two important caveats.

First, dating furniture is a fine art.Seldom does one clue provide confir-mation of anything. Also important arestyle (including hardware), shrinkage,nails, screws, locks, the primary andsecondary woods used, the type of fin-ish, tell-tale tool marks, areas of wearand general appearance.

Second, many clues aid only in es-tablishing that the furniture isn’t olderthan a certain date. Any technique ormachine that was once used could stillbe used, and often is used, for example,by many readers of this magazine whobuild reproduction furniture. So, forexample, hand-cut dovetails alonecan’t be used to date furniture before

the machine age. On the other hand,machine-cut dovetails definitely estab-lish that the furniture is no older thanabout 1895, when the dovetail-cuttingmachine was invented.

JoineryThree clearly distinct drawer jointshave been used on quality furniture:hand-cut dovetails, pin-and-scallop joints and machine-cut dovetails.

Hand-cut dovetails are the oldest

and are usually easy to identify. The sizeof the pins and tails is typically uneven,with the pins commonly narrower than

the tails. Also, clearly visible scribemarks and saw or chisel overcuts fre-quently remain on the wood. If you’renot sure by looking at the outside ofthe drawer, open it farther and look atthe inside corner where overcuts aremore likely to appear.

The pin-and-scallop was the firstmachine joint used on drawers. Themachine was patented by Charles B.Knapp in 1867 (so the joint is some-times called the “Knapp dovetail”), butthe first factory installation didn’t occuruntil 1871. So you can be sure that any

drawer with a pin-and-scallop joint isnot older than the early 1870s.

From the outside, this joint appearsto be dowels inserted through a scal-loped drawer side into the drawer front.But the “dowels” are actually pins cutinto the drawer front. The pin-and-scal-lop joint is exceptionally strong andlong lasting, a far better joint than ma-chined dovetails because of the muchgreater glue surfaces.

Machine-cut dovetails are identifi-able by their perfect symmetry. Pinsand tails are the same size, the spacingis even and there are no saw or chiselovercuts. The machine that cuts these joints came into use in about 1895 andquickly spread throughout the furnitureindustry because dovetails were asso-ciated with quality. Today, router jigsare available for cutting the same joint.

BottomsBottom panels in drawers have also

changed as machinery has becomeavailable and more sophisticated. Five

Hand-cut dovetails. Hand-cut dovetailsindicate the furniture was made during the19th century or before – as long as other cluesdon’t point to a more recent time period.

Pin-&-scallop joint. The pin-and-scallop jointwas used from the early 1870s to the end ofthe 19th century. It’s easy to date furniturecontaining this joint.

Machine-cut dovetail. A machine-cut dove-tail establishes that the furniture wasn’t madebefore 1895 when the machine that cutsthese dovetails was invented.

CONSIDER THE JOINTS

“Every man at the bottom of his

heart believes that he is a born

detective.”

—John Buchan, (1875-1940) Scottish Politician

The other drawers shown in thisarticle use a white wood for the

secondary wood which indicatedthey are likely American-made. Thesides on this drawer (and also thebottom) are oak, which is a goodclue that this furniture is not Ameri-

can. Most likely it is English becausethe wood is English brown oak.

EUROPEAN-MADE FURNITURE



INSPECT THE BOTTOMS

Handplaned drawer bottom. Drawer bot-toms made before the machine age are typi-cally thicker and are beveled on three edgesto fit into narrow grooves cut into the drawerfront and sides.

distinct panels have been used: riven,handplaned, machine-sawn, machine-planed and plywood.

Handplaned panels, which werecommon before the mid-19th century,are about 1 ⁄ 2" thick. If the grooves cut

into the drawer sides and drawer frontto hold these panels were 1 ⁄ 2" wide,the likelihood of the wood splitting inthis weak area would be greater thannecessary. So bevels were handplanedon three edges of the panels to narrowthem to about 1 ⁄ 4" to fit 1 ⁄ 4" grooves inthe drawer sides and front. These bevelsare easy to feel with your fingers.

By pulling the drawer out farther,you can often feel the ripples left bythe handplane used to rough out the

panel. These ripples were often left onthe bottom side.

As large table saws and band sawswere introduced into factories afterthe mid-19th century, panels for thebottoms were often sawn rather thanhandplaned. The bottom side wasusually left rough with the saw marksclearly visible while the topside washandplaned smooth. The thicknessof these panels was still more than de-sired so rabbets were usually cut intothe edges to reduce the thickness forsliding them into grooves cut into thedrawer sides and drawer front.

You can feel the rabbet on the drawerbottom just behind the drawer front.

By the late 19th century most facto-ries had large planers, so drawer bot-toms could be planed to the desiredthickness (about 1 ⁄ 4") and no bevelsor rabbets were necessary.

Before 1920, plywood became widely

available, and drawer bottoms werecut from this material. A few factorieswere making their own plywood panelsbefore this date, however, so you can’tuse the teens as an absolute date. But itserves as a good guide.

American vs. EuropeanGenerally speaking, machinery en-tered factories in Europe much laterthan in the United States, so all datesneed to be pushed forward on European

furniture. There is one significant dif-ference in drawer construction that isat least helpful in determining if the

furniture is American or European –the wood used for the secondary partsof the drawer.

Before the mid-20th century, oakwas often used in Europe for drawersides and bottoms, while pine, pop-lar, cottonwood or some other “white”wood was commonly used in America.Adding this factor to others can oftenaid in determining the origin of a pieceof furniture. PWM

Bob Flexner is author of “Flexner on Finishing” and“Wood Finishing 101.”


BLOG: Read Senior Editor Steve Shanesy’sreport on his repair of a valuable antiquedrawer.

ARTICLE: Learn four great methods to con-struct drawers.

IN OUR STORE: “Flexner on Finishing”– 12 yearsof updated columns in a hardcover bookillustrated with beautiful full-color photos.


ONLINE EXTRAS

Rabbeted drawer bottom. Drawer bottomsmade in the late 19th century after the intro-duction of band saws and large table saws areoften rabbeted on three edges to fit narrow grooves cut into the drawer front and sides.

Machine-planed drawer bottom. With the in-troduction of planers in the late 19th century,drawer bottoms could be planed thin enoughto fit into narrow grooves without the need forbevels or rabbets.

Plywood drawer bottom. By the 1910s manu-factured plywood was available and it quicklyreplaced solid wood as the drawer bottommaterial of choice.



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Shaker Carry Box

This form is typically called aShaker silverware tray – but itcomes in handy for ferrying all

sorts of things hither and yon.I got lucky at the big box store in

finding some perfectly straight, flatand clear 1 ⁄ 2"-thick white pine with abird’s-eye-like pitch-pocket pattern.

At my home center, thin stock isavailable in nothing longer than 3'lengths. So to be sure I’d have plentyof that pretty “bird’s-eye” for all myparts, I picked up three 3'-long andtwo 2'-long 1 ⁄ 2" x 6" boards.

A design note: The dovetailed piecethat inspired this version (which canbe found in the October 2007 issue ofPopular Woodworking Magazine, #164)has half-pins at the bottom (and top)of the ends, which helps to support thesides as you lift. And for the notchedconstruction shown here, it wouldarguably be a bit stronger to have the joints reversed so that notches on theends support the front and back whenyou pick up the box.

But reversing the notches wouldmean two more shoulder cuts to bringthe box ends flush with the outsidefaces of the front and back – technically,you would be cutting one box joint by

hand at each corner (and a box jointis typically a machine joint). Thoseadditional shoulders would make thepieces harder to fit well, and for ourfirst handsaw cuts in the I Can Do Thatcolumn, I elected to keep it simple. Be-sides, I’m not planning to put anythingheavy in the piece; the nails will holdit together just fine.

You could also choose to simplyreverse the joints and inset the endsso as to avoid a box joint – but I don’t

think that looks as clean (you’ll finda bonus SketchUp drawing online forthis approach).

Notched and nailed joints add visual interest to this simple project.

Whichever approach you choose,the size of the workpieces remainsconstant; only the joint layout changes.

First CutsThe ends are 51 ⁄ 2" wide – which is theactual width of 6"-wide dimensionallumber – so those two pieces need onlybe cut to their final 91 ⁄ 2" lengths, whichI did at the miter saw.

The front and back are 161 ⁄ 2" longbut only 4" wide. So before cutting themto length, mark out the cutline and use a jigsaw to cut them to width. If you have alittle practice under your belt, you don’t

really need to set up a straightedge forthis rip cut. Yes, you need the cut to bestraight – but you can arrange the fac-tory edge at the top and turn your cutto the bottom (and of course, you canquickly clean up your cut if necessaryusing a block plane). Now cut the frontand back to length.

Joinery LayoutSet your adjustable square to 1 ⁄ 2" – or formore precise work, set it to the actual

thickness of your wood. Put your woodface-down (or up) on your Workmate,then set the square’s stock on the wood

and drop the rule down over the edge ofyour workpiece until it meets the tablesurface. Then tighten the thumbscrewto lock the rule in place.

Using that setting and a pencil, mark(or scribe with an X-Acto knife) a lay-out line on both faces and the top andbottom edges of both end pieces andthe front and back. This is more easilyaccomplished with a marking gauge ifyou have one.

The notched cutouts are all 2" x 1 ⁄ 2".Reset your adjustable square for 2",then on each workpiece, mark a linefrom your first layout line to the edge

LEAD PHOTO BY AL PARRISH; STEP PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR; ILLUSTRATION BY ROBERT W. LANG FROM THE AUTHOR’S MODEL

I CAN DO THAT BY MEGAN FITZPATRICK

Pinch for precision. Just shy of your cutline, pinch with your fingers to form a guide forthe cut. Slight changes in finger pressure willmicro-adjust where the sawplate falls.




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Ash .............................. 4/4 Select $ 2.60 ........................................ $ 94.00Basswood ................... 4/4 Select $ 1.95 ........................................ $ 80.00Birch ............................ 4/4 Select $ 3.55 ........................................ $ 108.00Butternut ..................... 4/4 1C $ 2.95 ........................................ $ 88.00

Cherry ......................... 4/4 Select $ 4.90 ........................................ $ 117.00Hickory - Pecan .......... 4/4 Select $ 3.00 ........................................ $ 100.00Mahogany (Genuine) .. 4/4 Select $ 4.70 ........................................ $ 112.00Maple (Hard) ............... 4/4 Select $ 3.45 ........................................ $ 108.00Maple (Soft) ................ 4/4 Select $ 2.50 ........................................ $ 88.00Poplar ......................... 4/4 Select $ 1.80 ........................................ $ 78.00Red Oak ...................... 4/4 Select $ 2.70 ........................................ $ 96.00Walnut ......................... 4/4 Select $ 4.90 ........................................ $ 115.00White Oak ................... 4/4 Select $ 2.70 ........................................ $ 96.00Cedar (Aromatic Red) . 4/4 1C+Btr. $ 1.80 ........................................ $ 78.00Cypress ....................... 4/4 Select $ 2.60 ........................................ $ 90.00White Pine................... 4/4 F.G. $ 1.25 ........................................ $ 70.00Yellow Pine ................. 4/4 Clear $ 2.30 ........................................ $ 82.00

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I CAN DO THAT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 60


of the piece on both faces, and acrossthe end. It doesn’t matter off whichlong edge you register the square forthe front and back; the layout line is at

the centerline of the board. On the endpieces, register off the bottom edge.

Time to Saw We recommend a dozuki as your firsthandsaw, in large part because you canget a decent one at the home center. This Japanese saw cuts on the pull stroke,and the one in our kit has a back thatstops short of the end of the sawplate,as you can see in the picture on the pre-vious page. That’s important, because

the 2"-deep shoulder cuts can’t be madeif you don’t have 2" of sawplate underthe back – and this saw doesn’t. So as Ifinish each long cut, I nibble away mycutline with the toe of the blade.

To make these cuts, pinch across the

work with your off-hand using the padsof your fingers to align the sawplatewith your cutline. With your indexfinger extended toward the end of thesaw, grasp the handle just enough tokeep it from flying out of your grasp.

To start the cut, “hover” just barelyon the work and pull the saw towardyou. Align your body so that you canpull the saw straight back (and push itforward) using your shoulder to supplya locomotive-like motion. Saw straight

down to your baseline, then make theshorter cut – and on to the next one.

After all your notches are cut, dry-fitthe pieces to ensure that you’ve sawn

the mating surfaces on each one flatand straight. If necessary clean up yourcuts with a sharp chisel.

Once your joints are fit, lay out thecurve across the top and the handleholes on the two end pieces. Cut thetop curves with a jigsaw. Then drill ahole inside the handle waste on eachend piece, into which you can insertyour jigsaw blade, then cut those, too.If clean-up is required, use a rasp, fileand/or sandpaper.

Hammer TimeIt’s almost time to nail everything to-gether. But first, cut cleats to fit insidethe joined pieces, and glue and clampthem in place aligned with the bottomedge of both sides and the front andback. The notches make it easy to prop-erly align the workpieces while youclamp them square. Drill two pilot holesthrough the long grain and into the endgrain of each joint, then sink 5d fin-ish nails to secure it together. Rip yourbottom boards and cut them to lengththen drop them in place. A coat or twoof clear Watco, and you’re done. PWM

Megan is the managing editor of this magazine. She

can be reached at [email protected].

Shaker Carry Box NO. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) MATERIAL COMMENTS

T W L

❏ 2 Ends 1 ⁄ 2 51 ⁄ 2 91 ⁄ 2 Pine

❏ 2 Front/back 1⁄2 4 161 ⁄ 2 Pine

❏ 2 Bottom boards 1 ⁄ 2 41 ⁄ 4 151 ⁄ 2 Pine

❏ 4 Cleats 1 ⁄ 2 1 ⁄ 2 Pine Cut to fit

Trim for precision. Hold your chisel at 90° tothe work and gently pare toward the shoulderto create a flat mating surface for your joint. Ifyou need to pare the end-grain surface, takelighter cuts – and use a sharp chisel.

For links to all online extras, go to:

■ popularwoodworking.com/oct12PLAN: Download the two free SketchUpmodels for the “Shaker Carry Box.”


About This ColumnOur I Can Do That column fea-tures projects that can be com-pleted by any woodworker with

a modest (but decent) kit of tools in less thantwo days of shop time, using materials fromany home center. Our free PDF manual

explains how to use all the tools in the kit.Visit PopularWoodworking.com/ICanDoThat to download the free manual.

ONLINE EXTRAS

151 ∕ 2"

4"

81 ∕ 2"

51 ∕ 2"

1 ∕ 2"

2"

2"

1 ∕ 2"

151 ∕ 2"

41 ⁄ 4"

1 ∕ 2"

1 ∕ 2"EXPLODED VIEW



http://www.popularwoodworking.com/projects/i-can-do-that-shaker-carry-box





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Icurrently store my woodworkingtools in a traditional cabinetmak-er’s/joiner’s tool chest. In building

that chest, I leaned heavily on survivingperiod chests as well as images dat-ing from the period. Over the yearsI’ve been an advocate for these sorts ofchests. But I’m not convinced of their

popularity with modern woodworkers.This year at the “Woodworking in

the 18th Century” conference in Co-lonial Williamsburg, North BennetStreet School (NBSS) instructor DanFaia showed images of chests made bythe school’s cabinetmaking students.NBSS focuses on traditional cabinetryand many students and graduates buildreproduction furniture. So I was a bitsurprised to see no chests resemblingmine. The students’ chests were moresimilar to Gerstner’s machinist’s cheststhan to 18th- or 19th-century-style cabi-netmakers’ chests. I pondered how suchchests could hold any cabinetmaker’stools. Where would one store a half setof hollows and rounds? A ripsaw? A tryplane? What are these students beingtaught?

It took me a minute to arrive at an an-swer: Most woodworkers don’t have oruse any of the tools I consider absolute

necessities. These boxes probably heldsome tools familiar to me (such as chis-els and dovetail saws), but they likelyalso contained hex keys, screwdrivers,dial indicators, combination squares,rulers and other things either I don’t useor don’t associate with woodworking.

What really attracted me to the NBSSchests was how unique each was. Sure,they are all based on machinist’s chests,but each student arranged and sizedthe drawers to fit his or her own sen-

sibilities.Aesthetically, each chest was unique

as well. Students experimented with

veneers or different species of solidwood. As Dan explained it, the goalwas to encourage each student to findhis or her own way and style.

When I got home I looked afresh atmy cluttered shop. My traditional toolchest does a great job of holding my

cabinetmaker’s tools, but what abouteverything else? A five-minute trip toChris Vesper’s booth at Woodworkingin America 2011 left me with a samplingof his very fine layout tools. Since thenI’ve collected a few other bits and piecesI felt necessary for toolmaking. Thesereally deserve better storage than thecardboard and plastic storage boxes inwhich they currently reside. So I decidedto build my own version of a mechanic’sor machinist’s chest. In keeping with

the NBSS students’ chests, I wanted mychest to serve my needs and reflect mysensibilities.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR

ARTS & MYSTERIES BY ADAM CHERUBINI

Design Survey Just as I did on my cabinetmaker’s chest,

I began this project with a survey ofexisting chests. The standard machin-ist’s chest has a few features I wantedto reproduce. These chests are char-acterized by a bank of small drawers.The uppers often flank a central dooror drawer. In some chests this held acopy of “Machinery’s Handbook,” aninvaluable reference for machinists.Another useful feature is the hideawayfront panel that covers the drawers. Thefront piece is also lockable, providing

after-hours security at the factory. Thetop typically hinges to reveal a well forbulky items.


A Chest for Every WoodworkerDesign your tool storage from the inside out.

Conceptualized. This sketch of a machinist’schest shows several key features: A bank ofthin drawers holds tools in single layers (notin piles); the top lift s to reveal a large well; aflap resembling a writing slope slides underthe bottom drawer, and can be pulled out foruse (as shown) or folded up to conceal thefelt-lined drawers.



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ARTS & MYSTERIES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 64


Aesthetically, most machinists’chests have features that suggeststeamer trunks. They traditionallyincorporate three-sided metal corners

and have foot-locker style hasps, andmany have leather handles on the lid.Perhaps these features recall a timewhen these chests were significantlysmaller and realistically transportable.

I’m sure that once upon a time, ma-chinist’s chests were probably beauti-fully dovetailed cases with dovetaileddrawers. I’ve not seen one, but I wouldn’tbe surprised if someone reading thishas one. The early chests I’ve seen wereall factory-made finger-jointed cases

with machine cut dovetailed drawers.Modern chests primarily use tongue-and-groove joinery.

The chests I saw in many ways re-sembled 17th-century-style cases. Isaw fastened cases, cross-grain jointsand side-hung drawers. To some ex-tent, being true to these chests meansacknowledging their early roots andmodern incarnations. I don’t plan tocopy factory joinery, but I won’t usedovetails for everything either. As Isee it, this is yet one more example of“boarded” joinery.

Sizing Your ChestI’m an advocate of designing from theinside out. I arranged the tools I wantedto store in each drawer, then measuredthem to determine the size and depth Ineeded the drawers to be. I also photo-graphed each drawer layout. With thatdone, I attempted to squeeze the desired

drawers into a reasonably sized case.I held the width of the chest to 261 ⁄ 4"because there are steel-base cabinets(Kennedy, Craftsman etc.) available thatI may some day wish to use as a base.The depth of the case was driven by acombination of the drawer volume andstock I had on hand.

The drawers on these chests are of-ten not graduated as they would likelybe on a piece of furniture.

Before you get cracking on this

project, there are a few more detailsI’d like to share. It’s best to have all thehardware on hand before you start con-

struction (I’ll write about the hardwareI chose in my next column). Second,before you assemble the carcase, I rec-ommend having all the drawer runnersaccurately installed. More informationis coming on the drawers and drawerintegration, but here’s a spoiler: I used1 ⁄ 2" x 1 ⁄ 4" ultra-high-molecular-weight(UHMW) plastic strips (the same stufffolks use to make table saw fences slip-pery) as drawer runners. I was nervousabout how I would cut and work withthis material. Turns out you can hand-plane it.

ConclusionI see this project as a nod of respectto the vast majority of woodworkerswho work with a mixture of hand andpower tools. In the process, I recognize

how limited my usefulness is to you. Ihope you can laugh along with me asI apply 18th-century-style tools andtechniques to modern work. In my nextcolumn, I’ll be making brass hardwarewith simple hand tools and I’ll saw ply-wood with handsaws. Of course weshouldn’t lose sight of the point here:Everything we do as woodworkerspresents us with the opportunity togrow, improve our skills and expressour design sensibilities. PWM

Visit Adam’s blog at artsandmysteries.com for morediscussion of traditional tools and techniques.


BLOG: Read Adam’s Arts & Mysteries blog.

VIDEO: Watch our video visit to Gerstner &Sons, in Dayton, Ohio, makers of machin-ist’s tool boxes.

IN OUR STORE: “The Arts & Mysteries of HandTools” on CD.


ONLINE EXTRAS

No graduation. The drawers on these chestsare very often not graduated as they might beon a fine piece of furniture. This plan assumes

all stock to be1

⁄ 2" thick. Assume1

⁄ 8" gapsaround the drawers and the flap.

261 ⁄ 4"

61 ⁄ 4"

23 ⁄ 4"

11 ⁄ 4"11 ⁄ 4"

11 ⁄ 4"11 ⁄ 4"

11 ⁄ 2"11 ⁄ 4"

193 ⁄ 4"131 ⁄ 2"

31 ⁄ 4"

67 ⁄ 8"

131 ⁄ 2"

Well

Flap sticksout 1 ⁄ 4"whenstowed

Plywoodwell base

Plywooddivider

Flap

Front flap. The flap dimensions are 131 ⁄ 4"high (1 ⁄ 8" gaps top and bottom) and a hairunder 251 ⁄ 2" wide. When stowed, theflap bumps against the backer boards and protrudes 1 ⁄ 4" at the front, which allows youto grab it from the sides to pull it out. Theflap covers the drawers, which must be sizedwith hardware in mind. Ensure there is a gapbetween the center divider and the flap whenclosed. Also, the dado in which the flap runs

should leave an 1 ⁄ 8" gap under the flap so youdon’t scratch it every time you pull it out.

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END GRAIN BY WILBUR PAN

It Comes

Down to the Cut

Because I’m of Chinese descent,it’s probably not a surprise that Ifound myself drawn to Japanese

tools when I started woodworking, andthat I wanted to learn how they workedand how they were used. At first thiswas frustrating. Part of the issue wasthat I don’t speak or read Japanese atall. But a bigger hurdle for me was thatmany of the sources I found spent a lotof time talking about the Zen of using

Japanese tools, and there was much talkabout how this method of woodwork-ing was shrouded by Eastern mysticismand philosophy.

I found it curious that there wasso much talk about Zen and Japanesewoodworking. After all, articles about18th-century woodworking seem toavoid (for the most part) discussingVoltaire, Locke and Goethe. The thingis, despite the obvious interest of oth-ers in the Asian worldview and how itimpacted the use of these tools, I wasn’tinterested in that aspect of Japanesewoodworking at all. I just wanted to

learn how Japanese tools worked, andmy feeling was that despite the obvi-ous differences between Japanese and

Western woodworking tools, at the endof the day it all came down to sharppieces of steel cutting through wood –and that was the level of understandingthat I was trying to get to.

Although I’m a long way away fromknowing all there is to know about

Japanese tools, I think I now have abetter understanding of why Eastern

philosophy keeps coming up for dis-cussion where Japanese woodwork-ing is concerned, and my own family

Thoughts on woodworking and

the art of growing up with Zen.

gave me insight into this. My wife isCatholic, went to Catholic school allthe way through high school and wasoften called to read at Mass when shewas growing up. I, on the other hand,am not. My religious upbringing con-sisted of hearing my parents talk aboutConfucian and Buddhist principles, andwatching two local Sunday morningTV shows when I was a kid – one thatshowed the music of Baptist choirs fromChicago’s South Side, and another showfor Jewish kids that featured storiesfrom the Torah.

When I attended Mass with my wifefor the first time, I found it completelyfascinating. I wanted to know aboutevery aspect of the liturgy. The sym-bolism behind receiving Communionwas something I thought about a lot. Mywife, on the other hand, doesn’t havethe same degree of fascination, becauseshe grew up with it. I think she finds itamusing that at times I’m the one who’smore insistent that our kids perform thesign of the cross properly.

I’m sure that most of the woodwork-ers in the U.S. who use Japanese toolsdidn’t grow up with Eastern religion

and philosophy,and that lear ning

about this later in life has

something to do with whythey are more enthusiastic about

this aspect of Japanese woodwork-ing. Because I grew up with Easternthought, I’m not so excited about howthat impacts Japanese tools. Thinkingabout the best bevel angle to put on Jap-anese plane blades, on the other hand,

just rocks my world. I’m not immune tothis type of enthusiasm, either. I know Iam more enthusiastic about woodwork-ing and hand tools than fellow wood-workers who grew up building things.

It’s easy to focus on the differencesbetween what Western and Japanesewoodworkers do, just like it’s easy tosee the differences between Federaland Arts & Crafts furniture. But in thiswoodworking thing of ours, it’s good totake a step back and look for commonground. I know I’ve learned a lot abouthow Japanese planes work from listen-ing to Frank Klausz talk about Western

planes, and overall, I’ve learned a lotmore about woodworking by takingthat approach. Because it really doescome down to sharp pieces of steel cut-ting through wood. PWM

Wilbur lives in New Jersey and writes about wood-

working on his blog at giantcypress.net.

PHOTO BY THE AUTHOR


BLOG: Visit Wilbur Pan’s blog for morethoughts on Japanese tools.

ONLINE EXTRAS

http://giantcypress.net/










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popular woodworking #199 october 2012

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