IESE Es) Se eS) © Shop-Built Router Table e Table Saw Accessories Tips for Accurate Crosscutting ¢ Elu Router ReviewIssue 1 January 1992 ‘eperon Donald 8. Peschle ‘orromat omecron Douglas I. Hick ‘wansama eoeron Terry J.Srohman “assistant eorron Richard & Poters ‘covrmmunna rorrons Gordan ‘A bertan ‘omearve cunecron Tel Kralicek ‘asst anr omecron Cary Christensen uusrnavon Kurt Sohalts ‘comrmeuriva uuu, Chris Gowackt Robert H, Whitmer pemen omeeron Ken Mune ‘eesnen Jan Hae Seo ‘anor uanncen Stove Cuts reomucas wwrmoat Jonathan Garson Conroe soc Lint aro Somes Seria ‘Rosa Mente nero erin der Cn Ginga Brie ey Sppesaranetnae ce oa Sermmniea react, Se non Se ry ns copnin Ereenamomsncomsn Eoeleaeh a rece ean Scone = wr he premiere issue of anew magazine sets the stage forall the ideas and stories to be told in the years to come. This first issue of ShopNotes was born of a trait common to all woodworkers... we like to talk about our shops, the toole we use, the techniques, and the way things work. ‘That's what you'l find in Shop- ‘Notes, The whole idea is to have ‘a magazine that’s dedicated en- tirely to your shop. If you like ‘working in your shop, even when you're not building particular project, maybe just puttoring around, this magazine ought to ‘appeal to you. IDEAS. When we first started talking about the idea of this new ‘magazine, we were in the Wood- smith shop. (Woodsmith is a ma- gazine for woodworkers that has plans for building furniture and small projects, and the tech- niques that go along with them) ‘As we looked sround the shop, wwe began talking about all the tips, shop projects, and new ideas ‘that could be in ShopNotes. ROUTER TABLE. For example, in this issue we're featuring an all-new design for a router table. This all started with the router table shown in Woodemith almost 10 years ago. ‘We've built alot of projects on that old table, and we've had alot of ideas for improving the origi- nal design. ‘The new Router Table is pre- sented in a way s0 you can choose ‘the parts of the table that work best for you. Build just the table top with the phenolic insert, or build the new fence with the Tslot for adding accessories, (If you don't build anything else, the fence is worth looking at.) ‘As a bonus in this premiere issue, we've also added a special plans section for an enclosed router table cabinet. JIGS AND ACCESSORIES. The ‘one area that, probably has the most interest for woodworkers are the special jigs and accesso- ries that help you get the most out of your tools. In this issue we're showing three accessories for your table saw. And in future issues we will show jigs for your band saw, drill press, radial arm saw, router, and all the other tools in your shop. TOOLS. As we began talking about tools themselves, it started a little controversy. How should we approach tool reviews? We didn’t want to list all the routers, for example, on the market’a with chart comparing their features. This approach ‘makes it tough to get a sense for any one tool and how it operates. Sowe decided toselect one tool {in this issue, (the Etu Plunge Rout- er) and concentrate on it with a full- fledged discussion about what we like and don’ lie. This in-depth ap- proach shoold tell you exactly what ‘we think about the tool. ‘TECHNIQUES. And, finally, in every issue we want to highlight 4 particular woodworking tech- nique. This time it's a collection of ideas and tips on how to get the best performance when erosscut- ting on the table saw. ‘THE FUTURE. | hope you enjoy this premiere iasue of ShopNotes. I'm looking forward to its future, yen *Gi E Contents Jigs and Accessories _____4 ‘Three table saw accessories: Small-Piece Clamp, Push Block, and Table Saw Jointing. Elu Plunge Router 10 The Eiu #8998 plunge routeris puto the test and comes out a real winner. Crosscutting 12 Problems involved with crosscutting on the table saw and helptul tips on solving them. Table Saw Cabinet _____ 14 This simple cabinet mounts to the side of a table saw providing storage for blades, a rip fence, various acces- ‘Sories, and even a miter gauge. Router Table ________ 16 This router table is loaded with options starting with a very simple base. (As @ special bonus we've included a set of plans for an enclosed router cabinet.) Router Table Top __________ 18 The sandwich construction of the top provides a heavy, vibration-free work surface, And allows a smooth surface {or the miter gauge slot and the removable insert plate. Router Table Fence _____ 22 ‘Sliding faces allow you to vary the bit opening to fit the bit youre using. The T:slot makes attaching accessories quick and easy. Fence Accessories AA bit guard, free-hand guard, adjustable teatherboard, ‘and shop vacuum attachment make the router table safer and easier to use. Shop Solutions _____ 28 Five shop-tested tips: A Spring-Loaded Sanding Block. ‘A Woodscrew Tip. Sawhorse Tray. Pipe Ciamp Rack. And a Magnetic Too! Bar. Book Review __ ____ 30 A look at The Workshop Book by Scott Landis. Sources CC Hardware, project supplies, and mail order sources for the projects in this issue. No.1 ShopNotes ee page 10 Crosscutting Table Saw Cabinet — page 1 Router Table Fence page 22 3Cutting small pieces safely is easy when you use this simple clamp that at- taches to your miter gauge. TEL Small-Piece Clamp ¢ Re was building a pro- ject that required cutting several small pieces on the table saw. Rather than take any chances, I made a clamp jig that attaches to my miter gauge. ‘The iden of the jig is that two “arms” hold the workpieces se- curely and keep my fingers away from the blade. The clamp consists of three pieces: a back jaw, a front jaw, and an adjustable spreader that connects the two jaws, see Fig. 1. A slot cat in the spreader allows you to adjust the distance be- tween the jaws so you can ent different size pieces. ‘A carriage bolt and wing nut at the other end provide the clamp- ing pressure. When the nut is tightened down on the bolt, it pinches the two jaws together like a vise to hold the workpiece {in place as you make a cut I began work on the lamp by cutting the two jaws and the spreader from 34"-thiek hard- ‘wood, see Fig. | SPREADER. Thespreader has slot in one end to make the elamp adjustuble. To cut this slot, first drill 34" hole214" from the end, see Detail in Fig. 1. Then make two parallel euts up to the hole with w band saw or sabre sav. After the stot is cut, drill coun- tersunk shank holes at one end of the spreader, and serew it to the end of the front, jaw, see Fig. 2 HANGER BOLT. Theslotted end of the spreader fits over a hanger bolt and is tightened down with a wing nut, see hanger bolt into back jaw, see Fig. 2a. (To insert the hanger bolt, refer to tip in margin on the opposite page.) Afler the bolt is installed, thread on a washer and wing nut. When you tighten the wing nut, it pinches the spreader, locking ‘one end of the front jaw in place. ATTACHING THE CLAMP. To at- tach the clamp to the miter ‘gauge, first locate the holes for the screws. Set the miter gauge at 90°, and place the back jaw against the 1 FRONT JAW Sura BACK JAW, Sone ‘ShopNotes:Se fon miter gauge, see Fig. 3. Then slide the lamp over so the end touches the saw blade. Now mark the position of the two screw holes in the baek jaw, and drill pilot holes. A carriage bolt is used to close the jaws around the workpiece at the right end of the clamp. Mark the position of the bolt on the back jaw, see Fig. 3. Then counterbore a hole to accept the head of the bolt, see Fig. 4a, Fi- nally, drill a4" hole through both jaws for the carriage bolt, Now screw the clamp to the miter gauge, insert the earriage bolt and washer, and tighten the swing nut, see Fig. 4. ‘Touse the clamp, loosen the wing nut on the spreader (at the left end of the clamp), and adjust the jaws to the width of your work- piece. Then tighten the nut, Next, insert the workpiece be- tween the jaws at the right end of the clamp, and tighten the wing nut on the carriage bolt, Note: When clamping pieces wider than 1°, the top edge of the Jaws may tip in, To prevent this, fut a spacer the same width as the workpiece, and insert it be- tween the top edges of the jaws. To insert a hanger bolt, thread two nuts onthe shaft and tighten them to- gether. Then use avvorench to ssorew the bolt in Miter Cuts When you tilt the miter ‘gauge to 45°, the end of ‘the clamp is too far away. from the blado to safely hold and sapport a small workpiece, So, you need to re- ‘position the clamp on the miter gauge for 45° miter cuts. ‘Todothis, unscrew the lamp and tilt the miter gauge to 45°, Then slide the clamp along the miter gauge until the front comer of the back jaw just touches the edgeof the blade, see drawing at right, ‘With the elamp in this position, mark new loca- tions of the serew holes, anal dri pilotholes, Then serew the clamp to the ‘miter gauge. ‘Now turn on the saw, and trim off the back comer of the back jaw, No.1 ShopNotesLe ee Push Block e ish blocks get chewed up. But this one solves that by making the parts that get chewed up replaceable. Yet, you can reuse the handle (the part that takes the time to make). ‘A good push block is probably ‘one of the most important acces- sories for your table sav. It should be designed to solve com- ‘mon problems when ripping: (See box on next page.) This push block has three parts: a replaceable main body (a scrap piece of 2x4), a Masonite heel that hooks over the end of the workpiece, and a handle, HANDLE, The handle isthe key tothe whole system, so it's worth making a good one. I cut the handle out of a scrap piece of 2x4, but any 14%. thiek stock will do. Start by cutting the handle blank 31%" wide by 9" long. Now, lay out the shape shown in Fig. 1 on the blank. Then eut the handle to shape on a band saw, and round over the sharp edges by filing them smooth. The handle is. at- tached tothe 2x4 body and the heel with a drywall serew. Drill a shank hole for this serew at a slight angle (about 5°) so when the screw is tightened down it will pull the main body and heel tight into the noteh in the handle, see Fig ta. BODY AND HEEL. When the handle is complete, the next step is to cut out the body and the ‘Masonite heel. @ The hanale > {for the push block is cut trom a piece of scrap 2xd. Just lay out the shape and cut the handle to size, 2a DIEEWALL Note: DONT ROUND ovex| NOTCHED SECON ShopNotes No.1PIR ee For the body, cut-a serap piece of 2x4 T-long. The heel is eut froma piece of 4"-thick Masonite so it's the same width (or even slightly less) than the body, and extends 1" below the bottom edge of the body, see Fig. 18, ShopTip: Sinee the body and heel will get chewed up, its a good idea to cut several of these pieces and keep them on hand for replacements, ASSEMBLY. To assemble the push block, set the parts on a flat surface and clamp them together, see Fig. 2. Then serew them to- gether with a drywall serew. ShopTip: I used a drywall serew because it doesn’t need a pilot hole. ‘This is especially hhandy when it comes time to re- place the heel and body. ‘When the body and heel get chewed up, you don't have to re- place them, see Fig. 3. Instead, Just Mip both parts, clamp and ‘serew them together, see Fig. 3a. r ORIEN SCREW AND REMOVE CLAMPS. ‘A This push block is very helpful when ripping thin strips. The body ‘keeps the thin strip steady, while the ‘hee! pushes the thin strip through the ‘saw blade without kickback. ‘A To prevent a workpiece from pull ing away from the rp fence, center the push block between the biade and fence, andapply gentio pressure toward the fence during the cut. ‘A The angled handle provides ‘comfortable grip — and force in two directions. It allows you to push straight ahead and press the work- piece down (to prevent chattering) No.1 ShopNotes aJIGS AND ACCESSORIES Table Saw Jointing ® ‘ore than one eyebrow was raised in the shop when I ser tnontioned that there was a way re to joint the edge of a piece of Sav 10 @ ood on the table saw. It works Jointer isn't as dif onthe same principle as ajointer, ‘ficult @ you just adapted tothe table saw. might think — if On a jointer, a workpiece ix iyou build his pished along un infeed table which set slightly lower than the Special fence. car lures. Ax a workpiacs pushed over the knives, they ent the wood and joint the edge. ‘An oulfeed table is set fush with the knives to support the [7] | STE yanme rar aS, peor rong iniedscogbol SOSTar rence sa cote toe knives from taking too deep act. You can use this same principle to convert your table sav into a simple jointer. Note: This *jointer” takes off 16" per pass ‘The secret is converting your rip fence into the infeed und outfeed tables, see photo above, CONVERTING THE FENCE Converting your rip fence for Jointing is easy. All it takes is a CaAir sowren rence strip of 34'-thiek plywood and a oer rae piece of Masonite. PLYWOOD. Start by ripping a strip of plywood 4”-wide. To make it easier lo Joint long pieses, ent the plywood 12" longer than the Jength of your rip fence and tem- porarily clamp the plywood to ‘your fence. MASONITE. Next apiece of Ma- sonite is glued to one end of the plywood to become the outfeed side, see Fig. 1. (Note: Lused 4" Masonite since it's thickness is the same as most earbide-tipped saw blades.) To determine the length of the Masonite, measure from the back end of the plywood strip to th center of the saw blatle. This posi tions the front of the strip direetly over the center of the bblade — which provides the maxi- 8PIT MLet mum cut. and exposes the min- imum amount of blade, see Fig. 2. Now cut a 4wide strip of Ma- sonite to length and glue it to the plywood strip, refer to Fig. 1. ‘CUT RECESS. The next step is to cut a recess in the plywood fence for the saw blade. To do this, first clamp the plywood fence to your rip fence. Then slide the rip fence over so it butts up against the blade, Lower the blade andl move the fence to the left an additional 4", see Fig. 2. Now tum on the saw and slowly raise the blade up into the Masonite to a height of 2" (this allows you to joint wood 2" thick).'To prevent the blade from. pinching against the plywood fence, lower the blade, move the fence over an additional ¥42", and raise the blade again, see Fig. 3. ADJUST FENCE. After you've check to make sure the rip fence Note: If after you've adjusted cut the relief in the plywood (and is square to the saw table. the fence, you find that the work- whenever you use this “jointer” Then, place the blade of the try _ piece pivots in towanis the fence, fence), you'll need to adjust the square against the face of the Mia- the blade may be sticking out too position of the fencesotthe face of sonite,andadjust the fenceso the far, see Fig.5. Or, ifthe workpiece the Masonite is flush with thesaw square just touches the outside catches on the Masonite, the blade, see Fig. 4. edges of the teeth on the saw blade is in too far, see Fig. 6. In But before you do this, first blade, see Fig. 4a. either case, re-adjust the fence, Using the Jointer To joint an edge with the table ‘saw jointer, slide edge of the ‘workpiece along the “jointer” fence applying even pressure to both the infeed and ontfeed sides, see Fig. 1. As you finish a pass, apply pressure to only the oiatfeed side — or the workpiece may pivot in toward the blade, see Fig. 2. If you're jointing a long, ‘warped piece, you may want to take off the high points on the ends (or in the center} to prevent the workpiece from pivoting around the rip fence. This can be done by starting at the sections ‘with high points. Then, joint the piece along its full length. A try square can be used to quickly align the table saw jointer with the blade. No.1 ‘ShopNotes 9The toprof the. line Blu 8398 plunge router is loaded with special foatures Elu Plunge fyou weretopay almost At the slowest speed, the $300 for a router, you'd Ein motor is quieter than expect something special ‘my kitchen blender. I've be- With the Elu variable come hooked on the slow- speed, electronic plunge speed option on the Elu. router, you get it. Even when working with Plunge routers aren't hardwoods, I rarely turn new. Bly, 4 Swiss manufac. the speed up past the Level turar, built the five one in 3 potting (16,000 reat), and 1951. (Black and Decker frequently Tuse the Level 1 purchased Elu in 1984, but| setting (8,000 Rat). the Eu line of tools is still ] [like the slowest. speed manufactured in Switzer- - with bits that make partial Jand,) It wasn't until the cuts (like a round-over bit). 1980's that plunge routers Is quieter, und I've ex- became popular in the U.S. perienced no compromise in FEATURES. So what does eutting performance. aplungerouterdo that acon- ‘The biggest advantage to ventional router can't? Just the slower speed though is ‘what the name says —it ab the bit doesn’t heat up like lows you to plunge a bit into the contoured plate positioned right it would in a conventional router workpiece. This plunge feature is by the fingers of your left hand, turning at 22,000 RPM. By using great for routing stopped dadoes, and can be reached without let- only the speed necessary tomake mortises, and surface designs. | ting go of the handle. the cut, the chance of burning the ‘The important thing in making Now, with just slight down- wood or the bit ia reduced. plunge cutis forthe bit toenter ward pressure, push the motor ELECTRONIC CONTROL. As and exit the workpiece at exactly housing down the guiderods until soon as you turn on the router, 90°. The slightest amountofside- it reaches a pre-selected depth. the electronic circuitry takes to-side play can ruinthe cut. This Then lock the plunge lock lever over, and the motor smoothly ae- “sloppy” plunging action is a that's within easy reach of the eelerates up to speed. This "soft problem on some phinge routers. fingers of your right hand and start” feature eliminates the However, the Elu makes start routing wrist-twisting torque you'd ex- plunge cuts with the precision of After completing the cut, re- pect from a big, 214 h.p. motor. Swiss watch. Theguiderodsare lease the lock lever. The motor After the motor reaches oper- made out of case hardened steel housing travels back upthe guide ating speed, it won't bog down in andareturned totight tolerances rods — keeping the spinning bit the middle of a heavy cut. In- (thesame tolerances specified for safely above the workpiece until stead, the speed is electronically most router bits). you turn the router off. That's the increased to maintain the RPM at ‘The rods slide in2"-Jong bush- beauty of using the Elu plunge the level you selected, like the ings made of phosphor bronze (an router — you feelin control cruise control on a car expensive material that isself-In- bricating and has incredible wear torn OEPTN ABJUSTINENT resistance), By comparison, some One of the advantages that the One thing that's always bugged plunge routers have bushings Elu has overa standard router is me about routers is setting the only on one side, or use a pair of its variablespeed motor. Itallows bit height. Youhave to loasen the nylon bushings. ‘you to select a speed from 8,000 motor housing toadjust the bit to USING THEROUTER You can't 020,000 kPa. The idea ofa vari- the exact height you want. When really appreciate the engineering able speed motor is to be able to you retighten it, the height of the ofthe Eluuntil youtake ifoffthe mateh the turning speed to the bit changes just « fraction, and shelf and use it. Grasp the han- material and the size ofbit you're you need Loset the heightall over dles. Flip the “on’"switeh —it'sa using. And — it’s quiet ‘gain. Sound fauniline? 10 ShopNotes No.1‘The Elu's depth setting system liminates all at with aserios of progressively finer adjustments. ‘The heart of the system consists ‘of a depth stop bar and a turret, see photo below. ‘The stop bar is adjusted by a rack and pinion gear. This stop bar determines the depth of cut when it eantaets one of the three ‘screws on the turret. (The three screws allow you to preset three different depths.) The turret fea- ture is particularly useful when making a eat, like a dado, in pro- gressively deeper increments. ‘The point is when you set the depth stop bar and turret, you ‘can be sure that the bit will cut to that exact depth — and you ean return to any setting, exactly. "Toadd to the precision, there's a magnified seale with a hairline Indicator. And finally, a micro-ad- Juster on the end of the depth stop rod allows you to fine tune the depth of cut. All of these depth setting fea- tures are fine in the frechand ‘routing position, but how do they work when the router is mounted upside down in a router table? AA ihre position tunel and a magnitied hairline indicator allow foe precise depth settings No.1 ‘Making micro-adjustments on tomo table-mounted — plunge routers can be a frustrating ex- perience. It's almost impossible to get a good grip on the height adjustment nut. Elu has solved this problem by using an extension knob. Unfor- tunately, you have to pay extra (about $20) to get this option. The Elu's plunge mechanism, variable speed motor, and depth adjustments work great. But it's the collet system that impresses me the most. Ifyou've ever had a bit stip out ofthe collet and ruin a project, you'll appreciate how the Elu system works. COLLET. First of all, the Bhi collet is 194" long, It grips a full fone inch of the shank of a bit, (Other routers have collets that rip as little as 14" of the shank.) But there's more to the holding power of the Eln collet than just a long grip. There are six alits that ran almost the entire length of the collet (compared to two or three in some collets). These slite create “fingers” that exert uni- form pressure around the shank of the bit as the collet nut is tightened. COLLET NUE The collet nut is also designed differently than other routers. The collet snaps into a retaining ring in the collet nat, Then the nut and the collet assembly are screwed to the end of the spindle shaft. The benefit of this comes when you remove the bit. As you loosen the nut the collet is pulled loose from the bit, ‘The only problem is, if you for- get to snap the collet all the way into the nut before tightening it, ‘you'll end up using a pair of pliers, to remove the bit and collet from the shaft, But if you snap the two pieces together, you won't have to worry about a slipping collet. One final thing I liked about the Blu'scollet system—the way ‘ShopNotes the bit is tightened. With many routers, you're always Sighting with two wrenches. On the Ela, youpressa buttonto engage apin Yhat locks the spindle shaft. So you only need one wrench to Joosen or tighten the collet nut, ‘The Blu collet system is about a8 good as youcan get, except you ‘only geta 12* collet (for bits with \ydiameter shanks) when you ‘buy the router. If you want a4" collet, itis a $30 option. couer— court fur ‘ 4 With the Els collet system, loosening the nut pulls the collet tree trom the router bt ‘The closer you look at the El 2828, the more you realize this tool was designed by people who ‘understand woodworking. Details count. Like the fact that the buse is designed Lo ac- cept standard guide bushings from Black & Decker — and also from Porter Cable, Even little things like speing- mounted kniobs make a differ: ence, (The springs prevent the knobs from vibrating loose while you're routing.) ‘The list goes on, but the point is made. They werereally thinking, when they engineered this tool. Bottom line, i it worth $3002 Well, if you admire a nearly perfect router, the Elu 3838 is as lose as you can get. uSatety Note: Always unplug ‘your table saw before making adjustments. To check your blade, first mark tooth. Then, place a square in the siot and adjust t so the ‘end of the square touches the side of the marked tooth Next, slide the ‘square and ro- fate the blade backward until the marked tooth aligns with the square. iit just touches, the slot and blade are aligned. To check your miter gauge, first toosen the locking knob, Then, use a try square and set the head 90° to ihe saw blade and tighten the knob. 'veryone takes crosscutting on the table saw for granted, After all, it should be easy tomake 90" cuts with a miter gauge — but making perfect crossents can be quite a challenge. ADJUSTMENTS ‘The frustrating thing about making precise ‘erosseuts is there isn't usually just one problem. ‘SAW BLADE. An often overlooked problem is that. ‘your saw blade may not be parallel tothe miter gauge slots. A quick way to check this isto use combination square and the procedure in the top two photos below. ‘By using this method, you ean check the blade’s alignment. If the blade is not parallel to the miter slot, the table saw trunnion needs to be adjusted. (The trunnion is the assembly that holds the saw arbor to the bottom of the table.) Normally all you need to do is loosen the bolts that hold the trunnion 2 ShopNotes ‘and tap the trunnion in the direction needed. MITER GAUGE. A more common problem is the ‘swiveling head of the miter gauge isn't exactly 90° to the miter gauge slot — usually because the graduations on most miter gauges aren't accurate. ‘They're really only good for rough positioning. ‘Toget amore accurate setting, loosen the locking knob and use a try square to set the miter gange 90°to the saw blade, see bottom photo at left. DYNAMIC TESTING. However, even this is not as reliable as you might think. To get an accurate setting, you should make a dynamic test. Everything we've done up to this point has been a statie test or adjustment. In other words, we haven't turned on the saw to make a cut, ‘The only way to be sure that you're getting per- fect erosseuts is to do a dynamic test. One method Tse to make a dynamic teat is shown in Fig. 1 Set your miter gauge as close as you can to 90° with a try square. Then make a erosseut on a piece of scrap (the wider, the better). After making the cut, flip one section over, and butttheendstogether: Ifthere’s a gap, the miter gauge is not set at 90°. by (GAP INDICATES MITER GAUGE 15 NOTSET ATO" 4A Fig. 1. To check that your miter gauge Is 90° to the blade, crosscuta piece of scrap, Flipone piece overand butt the cutends together. ifthere's a gap the miter gauge needs to be adjusted. No.1TE @ once you're sure your table saw’ and miter gauge are set up accurately, there are two simple proce- ‘dures to help ensure clean, accurate crosscuts. MAKING A CLEAN CUT. First, always crosseut with the good side of the board face up. This way any tear-out will be on the side that won't be seen. ‘Second, you can ruin a perfect erossent by pulling the board back along the side of the saw teeth after making a cut. Instead, slide the workpiece away from the blade after the cut, ‘Then you can pull the miter gauge and workpiece back. One of the most important things you ean do to make better erosseuts is to use an auxiliary fence. ‘This is nothing more than an extension fence (I use a strip of 4"hardwood) attached to the face of the miter gauge, see Fig. 2. (Most miter gauges have slots or pre-drilled holes for screwing on a fence.) ‘An auxiliary fence improves the quality of the erosseut in two ways. SUPPORT. It provides extra support for the workpiece, preventing it from pivoting during the ct, This is particularly helpful on long, wide pieces that tend to drag on the table surface. WANDER. Even more important, an auxiliary fence can prevent the tendency af a spinning. saw blade to pull the workpiece into the blade eausing a ‘bad eut. (This is sometimes called wander, orereep,) ‘One common way to prevent wander is to glue a strip of sandpaper to the face of the auxiliary fence. The sandpaper provides extra “grip” and keeps the ‘workpiece from slipping. The way I prefer to prevent wander is to clamp a stop block to the fence, see Fig. 3. To counter the pull of the blade, I push the workpiece in the op- posite direction — tight against the block, while making the cut. ‘TEAR-OUT One other benefitofan ausifiary fence is that it can help reduce tearout on the back edge 4 Fig. 2. To provide support along the length of a long board when crosscutting, screw an auxiliary fence to your miter gauge. This prevents the board from dragging or swiveling during the cut No.1 ShopNotes HNIQUE Position oF sro loce beremnes LENGTH OF CUT CLAMP CLEARANCE LOC TO mF FENCE of the workpiece. Just extend the fence 80 it's in the path of the blade, see Fig. 2. This way the fence supports both the workpiece and the waste piece, reducing the chance of the grain tearing out, REPETITIVE CUTS. Besides improving the qual- ity of the cut, using an auxiliary fence with a stop block can also make quick work of eutting several pieces to the same length. Instead of marking each piece with a pencil (and hoping all the marks and euts are accurate), I use a ‘two-cut procedure with an auxiliary fence. ‘The firet cut is made with the stop block posi- tioned s0 the piece is cut slightly (about 44") longer than the finished length you want. (This makes sure ‘that this end of each piece is perfectly square.) ‘Then, just reset the stop block, flip each piece end-for-end, and cut it to final length. By using the same set-up (and pushing against the stop block), you ensure they're all exactly the same length. ‘Note: One minor problem can foul thisup. Besure to cut.a sawdust relief on the bottom corner of the stop block to prevent any sawdust from building up between the stop block and the workpiece. SHORT PIECES. When I need several short pieces all the same length, I clamp a clearance block to the rip fence to use as a length gauge, see Fig. 4, ‘es okay to use the rip fence along with the miter ‘gauge as long as the block provides enough clear- ance 50 the cut-off can't bind between the blade and fence. It also helps ifthe auxiliary fence extends to support the cut-off piece and pushes it all the way through and beyond the saw blade (so the cut-offs don’t stop right next to the saw blade). 13 << Fig. 3. Ciamp a stop block to the fence to crossscut pieces to the ‘same length, ¢ Fig. 4. To cut short pieces, clamp a clear- ance block to the vp fence and push the piece through with an auxili- ary fence. To prevent saw- dust from build- ing up between the workpiece and the stop block, cut a saw- dust relief on the tvottom corner:This space-saving cabinet gives you away to store your table saw accessories 80 they're-right at your finger tips Joes this sound fia- mmiliae? You're just getting ready to rip a board and there's no convenient place to store the miter gauge. ‘And when you're trying tocrosscut, the rip fence isin the way. To store the miter gauge and rip fence lose at hand, T built a eabinet that hangs on th side of my table saw, taking advantage of the unused space below the table extension FEATURES, The cabi net has a door which effectively doubles the storage space — al- lowing you to store the arbor wrench, saw blades, and other ac- cessories inside. ‘The miter gauge hangs in a quiek-aceess holder on the door, ‘And there's a channel on top of CONSTRUCTION To build the cabinet, I started by cutting the back (A) and the door blank (B) from %4'-thiek ply- wood, see Fig. 1. Teut both pieces 1514" wide by 23° long (arge enough to store 10"dia, saw Topmortom. The door and the back are joined together with the top and bottom (C, D). Cut, both of these pieces to the same length as the baek and 416" wide, see Fig. 1. Note: The 412" width will accommodate most saw fences — but you can change the width to fit your fence. After the top and bot tom are cut to size, serew them to the back piece (A), see Fig. 1 END PIECE. To mount the door, an end (E) is cut to fit between the top and bottom pieces, see Fig. 2. To provide more holding power for the hinge serews, I cut this piece from 34'- thick hardwoosl (not plywood). The width of this piece has to allow for the hinge. So measure the cabinet for the rip fence. blades side-by-side). the width of the bottom (4¥2') V] ponwem— BS BACK —_nownpover cxoss secnon sector fetes ror LCs ten \ wagnenc Nore: CAERMATE BQ omy CentER ree GAUGE OWES On DOOR EXPLODED VIEW ‘ShopNates No.1‘and subtract the thickness of the hinge. Then serew the end be- tween the top (C)and bottom (D). DOOR BLANK. Before the door ‘ean be mounted, the door blank (B) is ripped into two pieces. One piece becomes the door. The ‘other piece is screwed to the top (©) to complete the channel for the rip fence, see Fig. 1 BLADE HOLDERS. Before in- stalling the door, T laid out and drilled holes for angled dowels that hold the blades inside the cabinet, see Cross Section in Fig. 1. MOUNT DOOR. When you're ‘ready to mount the deor to the cabinet, cut piano hinge the same length as the door. Then screw the hinge to the door, see Fig.2, Next, screw the other flap of the hinge totheend (E), Finally, add amag- netic catch, see Fig. 1. MOUNT ‘THE CABINET. If the angle of the legs on your table saw interferes with mounting the cabinet, add a couple of spacer blocks. Counterbore holes in the blocks, and bolt them to the side of the saw, see Fig. 3. Now all that's left is to serew the cabinet: tothe blocks. AA quick-access holder is ‘mounted to the cabinet for your miter gauge. Itallows youto slide the miter gauge in place —even with an auxiliary fence attached. No.1 (ee One of the most awkward things to store is a miter gauge—espe- Gilly when it has an auxiliary fence attached to it. Storing it becomes even more ofa problem if you want easy and ‘quick access when you need it. Our solution is this. simple quiek-access holder that mounts to the front of the cabinet door. ShopNotes HOLDER. The holder is just a bracket with a tapered notch, ‘To make it, cut a serap piece of 2x4 BYJong. Then, rip it to a width of 2", see drawing below. ‘Next, lay out the tapered notch and cut it out with a sabre saw or on a band saw, Also, drill two countersunk shank holes. When mounting the holder to the door, tit it at a slight angle to keep the miter gauge fromstiding off the front (open) end.TET Build the cabinet (above) or the open frame (eft), then add the top and fence. Or build the adjustable fence to fit your own router table. Oo ver the years I've kept alist ofall the features I wanted on a router table. ‘This new table is designed with those fea- tures, ut alsowith flexbilitys0 you can use only the parts you want — the new open base orthe cabinet, theriew top with an insert plate, or the fence with a T-slot for accessories. THE BASE. We started out building an enclosed base cabinet that has everything... bit storage on the doors, a removable sawdust bin, an accessory storage area, and the best feature, it's quiet (the enclosed eabinet dampens most ofthe router noise.) ‘The plans for tis eabinet are in the special pull-out section included with this issue. Or, you ean opt for the easy-to-build open frame (plans on next page). ‘THE:TOP. As for the top, I thought three features ‘were essential. First, I wanted an insert plate to hold the router. This way the router ean be lifted ‘oat of the top to change bits, or removed completely. for free-hand routing. I also wanted a heavy top (to dampen vibration), and a miter slot. FENCE. If you don't build any other part of this router table, consider building the fence. It has & ‘T-slot on the face that's designed to accept a variety of accessories (refer to pages 26 and 27), And the clamping system is designed to attach to any table. ‘A. The router is mounted to a remov- able insert plate so it can be lifted out for changing bits or free-hand routing. 16 ShopNotes A The fence has a T-slot for attaching & A channel can be routed to accept various accessories, and sliding faces your miter gauge. This is particularly allow for different sized router bits handy for routing the ends of boards. No.1RA Open-Frame Base EXPLODED VIEW rae CUTTING DETAIL OPEN-FRAME BASE ‘This open-frame base is sturdy and easy to build. The entire base is built out of 2x4’s. But before I started, I cleaned them up alittle by ripping 14" off both edges, re- ducing the with to 8", see Cut- ting Detail above. END FRAMES. The base has two end frames that consist of ‘two legs and two rails. ‘THE LEGS. Each leg is made ota woe f i eas bk} — er} from two 2x4's eut to length and then sandwiched together, see Exploded View. To provide mor- tises for the rails, I pre-cut wide dacloes in each leg piece before glu- ing them together: (This simplified the joinery.) ASSEMBLY. After the dadoes are cut in the leg pieces, glue the legs and rails together to com- plete the end frames, see Fi STRETCHERS. Next, the end frames are joined together with throe stretchers (Note: 'To pro- vide aecess to the router, there isn'ta top stretcher between the front legs.) ‘The stretchers are fastened to the frames with lag bolts. But since the bolts are threaded into end grain, there's @ trick to strengthening this joint. 1 drilled a hole near the end of the stretcher and glued in dowels before serewing in the lag bolts, see Fig. 2 2 You can provide extra holding power when screwing into end grain by in serting a dowel The dowel pro- vides cross-grain strength.FEATURE PROJECT Router Table Top Ine heart of this router table the top. It has three im- portant features: the removable insert plate, the miter gauge slot, and its weight. REMOVABLE INSERT: The in- sert plate is a piece of ¥4"-thiek phenolic plastic (you could also use Masonite) that fits in a recessed opening in the table. 3¢ idea is to screw the router to the bottom of the plate. ‘Then you can simply lift the router out of the table to change bits, or to do freehand routing. TECHNIQUE. The only tricky part to adding an insert plate to the top is routing out the recess. It has to fit exactly. (The tech- nique we used is to rout the recess with a pattern bit ina router, refer to pages 20 an ‘The top consists of a core of ply- wood and Masonite, edged with hardwood, and covered with For- mica on both sides. THE CORE. The core of the router table top is a sandwich of two layers of Masonite glued on top of a 94° plywood base. The idea here is to make a heavy top {to dampen vibration). Also, when the recess (for the insert plate) and the miter gauge slot are routed in the surface of the top, the two layers of Masonite provide smooth, hard edges. EXPLODED VIEW ror ang portom) “1 ShopNotes | D FisBk, Edging (2) %xtlax30 ‘seer | E Laminate (2) 23% rgh.x itz gh. F Insert Plate ()* Vax Zax 1% e |, SInaert made from phenolic No.1» FEATURE PROJECT I began making the core sec- tion by cutting a base (A) to size from 34° plywood, see Fig. 1. Design Note: After the edging is installed, the finished dimen- sions of the top will be 23° x 30°. ‘MASONITE PIECES. After the plywood is cut to size, the next step is to cut two pieces of 14" thick Masonite (B) and glue them con top of the plywood base with contact cement. The trick here is getting the edges of the Masonite to align with the plywood. ‘TRIM FLUSH. ‘To solve this problem, I cut the Masonite pieces slightly larger than the plywood. Then I routed the edges of the Masonite flush with the edges of the plywood by using a ‘flush trim bit, see Fig. La Shop Note: I used a flush trim Dit with a bearing on the top, refer to Fig. 1a. It'.also the bit I used to rout the recess for the ‘insert plate and the miter gauge slot, refer to pages 20 and 21. EDGING. After routing the cexiges of the Masonite, this whole core seetion is then edged with hardwood. 1 used %4”-thick maple edging (C, D). First, rip the edging to match the thickness of the top. Then cut it to length, see Fig. 2. ‘Now, glue and clamp the edg- ing piecos Mush with the edges of the top, see Fig. 2a. SOFTEN CORNERS. When the glue isdry,sand or filea radius on ‘each corner, see Fig. 2b, LAMINATE. The last step is to glue Formica laminate (E) to both sides of the core. Design Note: To prevent one side of the top from expanding ‘and contracting differently than the other, it's important to glue laminate to both sides, see Fig. 3. Here again, I cut the laminate oversize, then trimmed it... but this time with a chamfer bit to chamfer the edge of the top at the same time, see Fig. 3a No.1 Nore: com grea xO CONTACT )PASE CEMENT TO MATING Seemince SORFACES rewoosGuide strips care used to rout a recess inthe top that'seanetly the size of the insert plate, Insert Plate After completing the top, the next step is to make the remova- ble insert plate. | used a piece of Ye-thick phenolic plastic, but V4" ‘Masonite will also work. ‘THE INSERT PLATE, First, cut the insert plate (F) to its finished sive, see Fig. 4. (Ifyou plan to use 44 lange router, make the plate about 1” wider than the handles (on the router, see page 31.) ‘After cutting the plate to size, use the base from your router as a template to locate and drill ‘mounting holes and the center hole in the insert. Also drill two finger holes in the plate, see Fig. Next, sand or file a 14° radius on the corners ofthe insert. (This ‘equals the radius of the pattern it used to rout the recess, later) Finally, chamferll the edges, see Fig 4a. LAYOUT OPENING. Affer the insert plate is complete, I used it as a template for laying out the ‘opening in the top. Position the plate 6" from the front edge of the top 30 it's centered side-to-side, and trace around it, see Fig. 5. Now the problem ix to rout a recess that has a lip around it. to hold up the plate. So, draw cut lines for the lip °34"in rom the outline, see Fig. 6. Now, drill a hole in each corner of aa RO fa} eas Ano Couretesne Mourne Hows te ‘the cut lines. Then use a sabre ‘saw to cut out the opening. ‘THE LIP. The next step is to Tot the lip for the insert plate to sit on. The secret to getting the outline of the lip to perfectly match the plate is touse the plate itself as a set-up guide for posi- tioning the guide strips. place the plate over the opening, 0 it aligns with the outline pre- viously drawn on the top. Now place guide strips around the insert plate, see Fig. 7. These strips will guide a pattern bit to ‘rout ihe lipped recess. ‘The pattern bit [used has eut- ter length of 1*. So, to provide a surface for the bearing to ride 7 cave sters GUIDE STRIPS. To do this, Si se eave ve revwoo0 AND We MADONITE ogee Mane SUPE STIRS ShopNotesagainst, the guide strips need to ier tacete Fig 7 ‘The strips should be 3° wide to support the router. And two of the strips should long enough to match the width of the top. (They're used later for routing the miter slot, refer to Fig. 10.) ‘After sticking the guide strips down with double-sided carpet ‘ape, lif the inaert plate out, DEPTH OF CUT. Before routing the lip you need to set the bit Deen ATE & “TO.SeT DEFY OF CUT > CE OULD JUS [yOUOH THe TABLE © Miter Gauge Slot 1 After completing the recess lip for the insert plate, there's only one thing left to do on the top — rout the miter gauge slot, GUIDE STIUPS, Using double- sided carpet tape, position one of the guide strips 4° from che front edge of the top. This wall form the FEATURE PROJECT depth to mateh the exact thiek- ‘ness of the insert plate. To do this, mount the pattern bit in the router. Then place the insert plate on top of a guide strip, see Fig. 8. Set the router on top of the insert plate and lower the bit ‘until it barely touches the top. Remove the insert plate and rout out the recess lip, see Fig. 9. ‘To improve the air flow to the router, rout a chamfer on the bot- tom of the opening, see Fig. 9a nour c.ociwoe. ‘AROUNG THe GUN BIS inside edge of the miter gauge alot, see Fig. 10a. Now to position the othe guide strip, hold the miter gauge snugly between the two strips, see Fig. 10. ROUT THE SLOT. To set the depth of the pattern bit to rout A Using a pattern bitin a router isa quick way orout the recessed lip inthe top. The bearing on the pattern bit rides against guide strips and cuts a recess exactly the Same size as the insert plate, £68 OF OFeNINS, the slot, use a procedure similar to that shown in Figs. 8 and 9 Place the miter gauge bar on top of the guide strip, and the router on top of the bar. Then lower the bit to barely touch the table top. Now remove the miter ‘gauge and rout theslot,see Fig. 11. No.1 ShopNoteseee Router Table Fence e ether you build any to accept 0 you can adjust the opening to other part of this router ‘Tshaped nuts fit the router bit you're using. table, the fence is worth looking that slide in and let you add a CLAMPING SYSTEM. The fence at, Ithasthreeuniquefeatures— variety ofaecessories, including a is also designed to adapt to any a T-slot for accessories, 2 pair of guard, and a featherboard. (For table (even one yon already own). sliding faces, anda special clamp- more on this, see page 26.) ‘The built-in clamp heads on each ing system, SLIDING FACES. The faces on end (that seeure the fence to the TSLOT, The Tslot is designed the front of the fence slide open table) can easily be adapted to fit, almost any table top. EXPLODED VIEW BUILDING THE FENCE e@ mnreypnceaig: ae: ‘The fence is made up of four sec , wns tions. The split base (A) serves as a platform for adding the top bar (with the T-slot), the sliding faces, and the clamp heads. ‘The base is eventually cut in half to fit around the router bit, refer to the Exploded View. But it starts out as a long strip that consists of two pieces, a bottom piece, and a top piece with four Gadoes cut init, see ‘The idea is to sandwich these two pieces together to form a ‘base with four slots. (Knobs pass through the slots to hold the slid- ing faces in plaee, refer to Ex- ploded View.) To determine the length of these base pieces, measure the length of the router table top (20") and add 6*, Thisallows’" on each end for the clamp heads. ‘After the two base pieces are euttolength, cut dadoes(lots)in the top piece. Spacing the dadoes equally from the ends, see Fig. 1. No.1aT a ASSEMBLY. Now glue the two @ bese cces together Since ined surfaces tend to slide as they're clamped together, used a simple technique to keep them aligned. First, align the edges of both pieces and dry-clamp them to- ether: Then serew the pieces to- gether with a couple of wood serews, see Fig. 1. Now remove the clamps, apply glue, and serew the pieees back together. The serews will auto- matically realign the pieces and keep them from sliding as the lamps are tightened. ‘SLIDING FACES: Later, the base will be eut into two sections (to create an open- ing for the router bit). But for now leave it as one piece and add the sliding faces (B). ‘Each sliding face is one half the length of the base (18°), And the ‘width (height) of each fice is Yaa" less than the height of the base, see Fig. 2, This creates clearance 80 the sliding faces won't bind against the top bar. ‘Thallow the sliding faces (B) to 2 SUIDING FACES: RACH FACE IO ONEWALE J THE LENGTH OF THE BASE wrong re oe ‘yet as close as possible to the router bit, I beveled one end of each piece. [also routed a small chamfer along the bottom edge of both fuces. This chamfer serves asa relief for sawdust, see Fig.2. ‘THREADED INSERTS, The slid- ing faces are almost complete — all that’s lef. is to install the threaded inserts. ‘The problem is making sure the threaded inserts align with the slots in the base. To do this, hold thestiding faces in the elosed position and flush to the bottom ‘SeRive stor LOCATION — Ono FACES Wath AML of the base. ‘Then use an awl to scribe the position of the slots on the buck of the fuces, see Fig. 3. With the slots loeated, you ean rill holes for the threaded in- serts, Center the holes between the scribed lines and near the end of each slot closest to the bevel, see Fig. 4. Note:The hole needed for most. Aa" LD. threaded inserts is 64" deep, Be careful not to drill too deep, see Fig. 4a, Finally install the threaded in- serts in the faces, see box below. Bu) LUNFEATURE PROJEC Top Bar ‘The base of the fence is just a platform for adding the top bar {and the elamps).'The top bar (C) has a 'Tslot which is actually a aoc coror| QD aaa ©ror par system for adding all the accesso- ties shown on pages 26 and 27. MAKE THE BAR. The first step wel istocut two piecesto sizeto make corte = finn the bar, see Fig. 5, The length of retormeacrrnce — ‘Bonou ACE ‘each piece is the same length as ‘the base (A) (36"). And the width of each piece (214") equals the width of the base, plus the sliding face (B) pieces, refer to Fig. 62. (CUT THE SLOT: After cutting the pieces to size, the next step is to make the T-slot. Cutting the ‘Telot is a two-step operation. ‘Sturt by cutting a 9" by %" groove in the face of each piece, see Step I in Fig. 6, ‘Then turn each piece on edge Here again I used the screw GLUE TOP BAR TO BASE. The and trim 4" off the end of the and glue technique (mentioned next step isto glue the topbar(C) “tongue” formed by the groove, on the previous page) to glue to the base (A). see Step 2 in Fig. 5. these pieces together. To keep To help align the pieces, tem- GLUE-UP. By gluing these two the heads of the screws from porarily attach the sliding face @ pieces together,aT-slotisformed showing, screw them in from the _ pieces (B) to the base (A) with inthe top bar, see Fig. 6a, bottom face of the top bar. ‘Inobs (or bolts), see Fig. 6a. ‘Then, tomake sure that the top ‘bur and the base are flush and square, clamp them together (no glue yet) on a flat surface (J used my saw table), see Fig. 6 ‘Once again, use the screw and glue technique, this time serew- ‘ing from the bottom of the base into the top bar. After the gine has dried, re~ ‘move the screws and the sliting face pieces you temporarily at- tached to the base. BIT OPENING. Now that the buse is attached to the top bar, the next step is to eut an opening for the router bit. ‘The opening is 4° wide, and centered on the length of the fence, see Fig. 7. T cut the opening on the table saw by setting a dado blade slightly less than the height of the base, see Fig, 7a. Then | made repeated passes to waste out the ‘stock for the bit opening. rer, rues rice ueae AKO “Tt OFF TONGUE No 24 ShopNotes No.1ea Clamp System @© Me face is almost complete, all that's left is the clamp system. CLAMP SYSTEM. What makes this clamp system work és a ear- riage bolt that passes through the clamp head and up through the fence. By tightening knob (or wing nut) on the bolt, the clamp head pinches against the bottom ofthe table top, holding the fence in place, see Pig. 8a. THE CLAMP HEAD. Buch clamp head consists of two pieces — a spacer that's slightly thinner than the top, and an arm that extends under the table top. ‘The clamp heads are “hinged” to the fence with Masonite splines, see Fig. 8. ‘The only re- quirement i to cut matching kerfs in the spacer and the fence. To cut these kerfs safely, 1 ‘glued the spacers to a long arm blank first, (Later, I cut the arm blank in half to make two clamp @ be2is sce Fie 9 "AKAM BLANK. To make the arm ‘blank (D), cat an8™long blank to the same width as the router fence base (A) (134"), see Fig. 9, ‘SPACERS, Next, determine the thickness of the spacers (E) by measuring the thickness of your router table top. Then, for clear ance, subtmet 6". (This creates a ‘space so the arm can pinch against. the table top, see Fig. 8a) ‘To determine the length of the spacers, center the fence from ‘erAceR Wwe sracees A, PAST Hom (OR wnAe Ht ~ un) side-to-side an the table top. ‘Then measure the amount of overhang on each side (37) and subtract 14" for clearance (274°) Now cut two spacers (E) to these dimensions, and glue them to the arm blank (D), see Fig. 9, [SPLINE HINGES, The next step is to cut kerfs for the 14" Masonite splines, see Fig. 9 To align the pieces, use the tip fence on the table saw to position kerfs in the bottom of the fence, and then, without changing the set-up, cut kerfs in the spacers, Now, cut Masonite splines 14" ‘wider than the combined depth of the kerfs(7s"), And finally, before cutting the blank in half, 1 cut bevels on the ends (for appear ance), see Fig, 9, CARRIAGE BOLTS. These clamp heads are attached to the fence with carriage bolts. ‘The easiest way to get the holes to align in these two pieces is to fasten the clamp heads to the fence with carpet tape, and drill ‘through both pieces, see Fig. 10. ‘ShopTip: If your drill bit isn’t Jong enough, drill as far as you ‘ean, romove the clamp heads and complete the hole, see Fig. 103. FINISH. Before assembling the fence, | applied two coats of tung oil finish to keep the wood. parts from getting soiled. 25Ture en Fence Accessories e Router Bit Guard For safety, you should include a bit guard on the router table, ‘This one is designed to attach to the fence with ‘Tuts and threaded knobs, ‘The guar! is made of two pleces:a V4"-thick hardwood back: iece, and a Plexiglas shield. To make the guard, frst cut the back to size, and cut two 42" slots for adjusting the height. ‘The shield is eut from ¥/4"-thick Plexiglas, and screwed to the back. This whole assembly is simply attached to the fence with threaded knobs, see Fig: 2. t 2 pe mer feensce countersinn || sexew-— Plbecuas ‘Stan HOLE PupnceAs ‘sre youace Guard tr Freehand Routing When you want todo freehand routing, you need a guard that extends out from the fence. This one is made from a single piece of Y-thick Plexiglas, see Fig, 1. ‘To stabilize the guard, two sets of notches are cut. Two straight niotehes are cut on the back edge. And two 45° notches are cut in the sides, see Fig. 1. To install the guard, turn the fence over and pinch the sliding faces against the guard, see Pig. 2, Then install the screws. ‘To remove the guard, simply ‘open the faces and pull it out. fe . morc roe SUD Faces OF ROUTER TABLE Pence 2) sent meecrew wineWASHER supe races into novels 26 ShopNotes No.1 ON z sma ary Sumas yoru paw soquuadt oof anoutar “payrns ar fou ayy smane aun SunTES aiojaq. saved opp sig) fapun ssoqunrad rnd ‘snp puncsre 798, “aouay 2443 YH 03 Spua} put UMOP paaioy st aweuNpeNe umnnoea ayy JO wopog amp ‘smames an WBUIALIp a4,n04 SY "WarTEOMA uy auf 30 yong ay or auaURPETTE aT mars wom pie taINATY ssa OM any) “Hla 998 ‘Sus yy [Lm aso unnaea snof os ayeyd aoe 9tp ‘uy 9(04 mL MON "AZIS ATOR agra aya pue anes anf, asurede ayn WO aaUYDERE ayy eMoTTe sTy,L) “ZA aa8‘sadad apis ay) YpyBU 09 SaH}pe wioy30q pue dor atj uo pojoaaq pue apes 9 31 “oMMOsENY ,Y4 Woy arm da0f w axeus IXON “ALIA AOL. 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When rounded over the edges of the the heel and body are squeezed heel and beveled the other end, together, a sanding belt can be see Fig. 2. Finally, cut off the heel slipped ‘over the block. ‘The and glue the dowels into it. Here's a springs push the pieces apart to To use the block, slide springs different twist, a tension the belt, refer to Fig.2. on the dowels and insert the sanding block thatusesa ‘To make a sanding block for a dowels into the body. Then com- belt from a belt sander. (I made 3*x 21" belt, eut a 2x4 blank the press the springs and slip on a mine to fit a 3* x21" belt, but it same width as the belt (3") and sanding belt. When you need a can be modified to fit any belt.) 8%4"Iong. Then,drill theholesfor fresh surface, squeeze the block ‘The sanding block is actually the dowels, sce Fig. 1. (It's easi- together and rotate the belt. WOTE: SAnomis wioce Sun row snot BELT OAW KOR ~srRINGS rit LOOSELY OVER DOWELS Woodscrew Tip pO Sometimes the threads of a “pocket” for the raised fibers. It's When screwing » two pieces of serew can raise the wood fibers easy to do this by countersinking wood together, between two pieces, causing a the inside face of either theshank the threads can - ‘gap, See photo at left. hole or the pilot hole see Figs. 1 pullupine gran | — Typical, youcanavoidthisby and 2, Note: The only drawback between the clamping the pieces together. But to countersinking the pilot hole is, pieces. This pre- what if you can't clamp them? —_itreduees the holding surface for vents the. One ‘solution is to ereate @ the screw threads. pieces from 2 being drawn tightly together.TIPS & PTTL nhs) Sawhorse Tray WA tray between the legs of @ sawhorse is a good idea. The only problem is if you add a tray, you wor't be able to stack your saw- horses on top of each other. But here's a way to have your tray and stack it, too — make a fold-up tray, see drawing at right, It works like this:a pair of 3"-long roundhead screws act a8 pivot points on each end of the tray, see Detail in drawing at right. The other side of the tray is supported byalight weight chain suspended from the top rail. ‘The tricky part is making sure the tray will clear the top rail ‘when one sawhorse is stacked on top of another. ‘The way to solve the problem is to locate the pivot point of the tray halfway up the leg. Then to find the overall width of the tray, measure the distance between the pivot point. and the top rail, and subtract 1° for clearance. Pipe Clamp Rack It’s hard to imagine a rack for pipe clamps that’s easier to make than this. I's made from a length of 2x4 and broom handle clips from a hardware store, screwed the clips to the 2x spacing them 8" apart, see draw- ing. Then screw the 2x4 to the wall. ‘The pipe clamps snap in the clips and the heads of the clamps rest on the 2x4. ALLOWS SauonsED ‘rostack NOTE: SPACER BLOCK ONLY NEEDED TP SAWMORSE NAS mE CUSSET naar wacanare| no ues tasge. WASHER exo When using the drill press it seems that I'm always looking for 4 misplaced bit, countersink, or chuck key, But « trip to the local hardware store solved all that. 1 purchased a 12"-long mag- netic tool bar (it's just a long bar magnet). The tool bar holds itself to the metal head of the drill press, And keepsmy drill bitsand, accessories handy, see photo. ShopNotes: Finding solutions to préblema is a part of woodworking. Ifyou'd like to share solutions to problems you've faced, send them to: ShopNotes, ‘Attn: Shop Solutions 2200 Grand | Ave., Des Moines, [A 50312, » We'll pay uporr publication up to ‘$200 depending on the published length. Please send an explanation, along with a photo or sketch, 29araees ns Book Review ® new book, The Workshop tem that compresses sawdust outfeed table for the table saw, by Scott Landis, just into brickets that are burned to And the table of his overarm came across my desk. Naturally, heat the shop, router also adjusts to the sume Twas curious to get a close-up height if he needs more support. view of all the professional and _-SPAGE-SAVING IDEAS DETAILS, Clustering work sur- home workshops that Landis vis- If lack of space isa problem (are faces to got the maximum use of {ted while working on his book. there any shops where it isu't2), space and tools may seem lke a ANIDEABOOK. The Workshop youmight getafew pointersfrom minor detail, But its details lke Book is crammed with hundreds Aldren Watson. Watson set uphis these that make a shop work. It’s ofpractical and creative ideas for shop in a laundry room. Ob- also the kind of attention to detail tool and lumber storage, shop- viously limited made tools, jigs and safety acces- in the number sories, ahop location, and layout, of power tools Some of the ideas can be lifted he canhave, he right out of the book. Others can manages with be adapted to fit your situation. just a fold-out One story I found particularly benchtop, a interesting was about Mark band saw with Duginske, a woodworker from infeed/outfeed Wisconsin, Duginske found a supports, and- creative solution to the space still has ade- limitations of a single car garage quate storage shop. He sliced the garage nhalf, space forall his rolled one half to # conerete pad, tools and jigs. and then filed in the open space Landis de- A Detailedplans like these are used throughout the with walls, windows, and a oof. scribes lots of book. Along with large color photographs of wnique ‘A RANGE OF IDEAS. Maybe working shops shops and space-saving solutions. ‘what makes Landis’ book so ap- that have been pealing is there are usable ideas shochorned into closets, atties, that Landis shows throughout for a whole range of wood- and pantries. The important-thing The Workshop Book, workers. For example, Landis isthesespecesavingshopsofferin- Landis has included over s deseribes dust formation that you can use in your dozen color floor plans of shops. Fey collection sys ownshop,nomatter what sie, Everything is labeled the loca- Dicusaeda) terms that range tion of machinery, tools, storage, a from a Sears ‘SHOP LAYOUT and charpening areas, You'll also ees shop vacuum, to While most of us don’t have lots find large, full color photographs ny BL xshop-builtsys- of shop space, we can learn some- throughout the book that show Folemfil tem costing thing from the more fortunate enough detail so you can model BAI) $250, to a very woodworkers whodo. Takealook your own ideas after them. laborate sys at Kelly Mehler’s shop in Beres, The only problem is it may be Kentucky. He lias re- difficult to build wome of the shop claimed 3200 square projects since they're not shown feet from anoldauto ina step-by-step fashion. Bat this dealership is an “lea” book, not a “how-to” Withallof manual. you're looking for atour that space, of great shops, and lots of ideas, itty hard to The Workshop Book wil tthe bill. ‘imagine anyone (Photos reprinted from The having to worry about Workshop Book by Scott Landis, shop layout. But Mehler ©1991 by The ‘Taunton Press. His bench doubles as an Used with permission) 30 ‘ShopNotes. No.1er Ta ® Sources ShopNotes Project Supplies is the router table fence. The kit in- featherbourd requires Attachment offering a variety of hardware kits chides the following hardware: ‘KIL 6801-250.) fand manufactured items for the “#(2)¥4" x6" Carriage Bolts Roater Table. #Q)%" Star Knobs We've also put together a list of other mail order sources that carry the same or similar items. The following items are available «(2)5jq" T-slot Nuts from ShopNotes Project Supplies 4502-525 Featherboard.... $14.95 FREEHAND GUARD. This guard is ‘made from optic orange Plexiglas ‘with flame pobshed edges. Mounting serews are included. 6801-220 Frechd. Guard 815.95 DUST HOOD. The dust collection hood is made from black ABS plastic {6801-200 Router Table Fence and fits a214 shop-vac hose, forthe Roster Table Top, | Hardware Kit $1895 6801-230 Dust Hood....... $12.95 FORMICA. Tro sheets of white For: mica, for the top, oversized to trim to (CABINET KIT (AYTACHMENT KIT final size 24" x32"). you wantto build the enclosed eab- Special Hil for attaching Guard and ‘9018-105 Formica........$26.95 inet shown in the special plans in- Featherbourd, includes ©) Tlot nuts, ‘Themetal mounting brackets used to serted in this issue, a hardware kit is and (2) threaded knobs and washers, attach the topto the base,(4)needed. available, The kit Judes: (6801-250 Attachment Kit... $9.95 6801-110 Mounting Bracket 9(2) 14" x 32" Piano Hinges eh SereWS weyntreene$3568. °@)D-hande Palle ‘COMPLETE ROUTER TABLE KIT INSERT. The \4"-thick phenolic in- (2) Magnetic Catches: A kit is available that includes all of tert forthe Router Table Top comes (4) Mounting Brackets the hardware needed to bud the predeilled with a 1%" for #4)54" x 119" Lag Serews. ‘Top, Fence, and Cabinet (laminate the bit, and two 1" finger holes. The corners are rounded and the edges chamfered, ‘This insert js 7%" wide {6801-150 Cabinet Ki: ACCESSORIES $14.85 not included). Also ineludes the four accessories, see Aceessories heading However, no wood is included, (Geop) and 11%" long and wil St The Acvessories shown on pages 26 6801-300 Complete Kit... $99.00 moet routers, and 27 are also available as manufac- 4502-229 Phenolic Insert for tured versions. ELU ROUTER Router Table. .$1595 BIT GUARD. This is a one-piece The model #3338 router can be found OVERSIZED BLANK We're also guard made from "thick optic at Blu dealers and from come of the offering an oversized phenolic blank orange Plexiglas. Slots are cat and mail order sources listed below. for use with larger routers. Note: jsbenttoanghtangle. (Note: If you ‘This blank ie not drilled, or routed. don't order Fenoe Kit 6801-200, the ‘THE WORKSHOP BOOK You must cut it to shape. Bit Guard requires Attachment Kit This book is available through Taun- 4502-245 11" x 15" Phenolic 6801-250) ton Press and several of the mail Blank. $13.95 4502-206 Bit Guard. PEATHERBOARD. ‘order catalogs listed below. re offering a The Workshop Book by Scott ROUTER TABLE FENCE featherboant made from "thick Landisisalsoavailable through Shop- Ait is avaible that contin allot _poyes the hardware (but not the wood) for MAIL ORDER SOURCES Similar hardware and supplies may be found in the {following catalogs. Please call each company for a cata- log or for ordering information, Constantine’ ‘Tread-Lines *soo-228-8087 00-767 9999 ‘Mowning Brackets Handa, Phenoie od Hardware Williams Took Soozat-aTi8 ‘m0 -0007| Eins2Se, Insert Mate. The Sorkshop Book, ‘al Hardeare art Materia ‘Twunton Press Woodcraft 0. S86 ‘ooe2s-1155 Phe Workshop Book ‘The Workshop Book Too! Crit ‘The Woodemih Store "s00 388-3096, ‘syogssaTs Busee Bbu3828 No. 1 ‘The Woodworkers! Store rea 2109 Pose rbonate. (Note: If you don't Notes Project Supplies. Fence Kit 6801-200, the 2004-185 Workshop Book. $34.95 To order by mail, we the For fustest service use our form enclosed with & eurrent ‘Toll Free order line. Open issue. Theorderformincudes Monday Friday, 8:00 ‘information on handling and AM to 5:00 PM Central Time. charges, and sales Before calling, have your your mail order to: VISA, MasterCard, or Dis- Rainier ‘over Card ready. Project Supplies 1-800-444-7527 P.O. Box 842 Des Moines, IA 50304 “°“,jieumuie’ chan a1.outer tables are one of the R most, valuable tools in the workshop... but they have two drawbacks. They're noisy,and they create alot of sawdust. As we were working on the new Router ‘Table shown in ShopNotes No. 1, we built an enclosed base to solve both of these shortcomings. CLEAN AND QUIET. It's amazing how much an enclosed base qui- ets down a router: The noise re- duction makes it a lot more comfortable to work around. And by adding a removable dust. box inside, you substantially reduce the dust and chip mess. ‘The only problem with enclos- ing a router in a cabinet is heat. ‘To allow for cool air flow through the cabinet, we cut vents in the side and the back. BIT HOLDERS. Enclosing a router base to reduce noise and sawdust is great, but my favorite feature of this cabinet is some- thing you won't see until you open the doors. Screwed to the insides of the doors are a set of unique router bit holders that ‘won't fill with dust and chips. SUPPLIES. I used one sheet of maple plywood for the case (you could also use birch), and maple for the trim. ShopNotes Project Supplies has a complete hard- fare kit for this cabinet, sce Sources on page 31 of issue No, 1 A Supplement to ShopNotes Cony 1862 Woadsnth Coraoa 720 Gand eos, Des Motes. ASOS12Ras ee ee a ly wae Bos .| & Spacer (1) 1S46x3%e- 23%e 1H Frt/Bck. (2) ase ee 1 Sides (2) 1116 x3¥2- 16196 J Frt/Bck. (2) % ply - 5x22 K Sides (2) Yeply-Sx 14 L Bottom (1) Yply- 13t2x21 'M Doors (2) % ply- 11346 x 319% N Edging (2) %x54-31 ° Pp ‘SUPPLIES +(2) D-Handle pull +(2) Mag. catch +(2) 36" Piano hinge -(4) Mt. Bracket #(4) 96° x 179" Lag screw A Sides (2) Yeply-141%6x35 B Back (1) 4 ply- 23/2 x95 © Sholl (1) Yeply 14540 x 22% D Bottom (1) peers 16x 22%— E Edging (1) Yx%-22%2 +| F Molding (4) 1%2x3-31%% 19474 4"- 72" (2 BOARDS @ 4 80.57.) r Sater (280. ) {SHEET (40% 96°) OF Su~THICK MAPLE FLYWOOD.eae ea CASE 5 ‘The ronter cabinet is a plywood case with hardwood trim around the base and at the corners. CASE. The case consists of five basic pieces: two sides, a shelf, a back, und a bottom. The doars are added later. (The top is shown in ShopNotes No. 1, page 18.) Start by entting two sides (A) from 34" plywood, see Fig. 1. ‘Thon, tojoin the shelf and bottom: to the sides, cut Y4"-deep daddoes to match the thickness of the ply- wood you're using, see Fig. 1. The next step is to cut a back (B), a shelf (C), and a bottom (D), “see Fig, 1-'The shelf (C) is cut 4" narrower than the bottom go an. edging strip (E) can be-giued on to cover the plywood edge. VENTILATION. To prevent heat from building up inside the cabi- net, eut a notch at thé top of each side (A), and ent a slot in the back (B); see Figs. 1a and 1b. After cutting the vents, glue and serew the case together, see Fig. 2. 1 {ei ees _ After the case is asserabled, work can begin on the base. The base + consists of four pieces (H, 1) that are Screwed to the bottém of the case, see Fig. 3. SPACER. Before I cut the base Pieces to length, I glued and screwed a spacer (G) to the bot- tom front of the case, see Fig. 3, ‘This stripisnecessary so the base will [protrude uniformly argund the case after the cabinet doors are attached, see Exploded View. ASE PIECES. After the spacer is screwed to the case, cut the base pieces (H, 1) from’84 stock (1Mo" actual thickness) 314" wide “the top edge of each piece. Next, miter the ends to fit around the - bottom of thé cabinet, and glue and clamp the hase pigces in place, With: the clamps still in place, drill shank holes and screw the base pieces to the cabinet. LEVELERS. To compensate for ‘uneven floors, I added four shop- made levelers to.the front and back base pieces. The levelersare simply lag screws that fit in counterbored holes, see Detail B in Exploded View ori page 1. I drilled %"-dia. counterbores 50 I could use a socket wrench to install and adjust. the levelers. ieee para ioes for the lag screws. PACER TO CASE B | BREE 9c prusnanx HOLES FoR ScREWS “SECOND: pieces 10 HF ;AND SCREWtim of each piece, see “three eomers of gach strip, see ~ strips along their length, and at- > thick pl The molding ‘strips (F) that | 4] wouvINc GLUE AND SCREW MOLDING cover the plywood corners are O— ToBAcK comNeRS cut from 14"-thick hardwood. To determine their length, measure froin the top of the base (1),to the top of the sides (3124"). Then cut four molding strips 3 wide and to the meagured length, see Fig. 4. ‘Next, rout.a 16" round-over on “Fig. 4b. Then’ remove the last | corner by a seeFigs.4band5. © ATTACH MOLDING: The two | strips for the back can be glued and serewed in place, see Fig. da. But the two molding strips om the front actually wrap around the doors. I simply ripped the ((p, MONG DEAL tached one strip to the cabinet _ sides, see Fig. 6. (The corner sec- tion is glued to the door later.) WASTE. «| sempasonanere,_ 2) GS] ME MOWING FOR ——— CABINET SIDE LUE AND SCREW) ‘AND DOOR MOLDING STRIP FLUSH WITH EDGE “THicxNess oF 34" PLYWOOD > ‘To catch sawdust and chips 2 fall Garougithe rontecbit hele the table top, I added-a dust oe - that slides into the shelf in the “cabinet, refer to Exploded View. lywood; see Fig. ee ‘sides, cut rabbets on the ends of * the front and back, see Pigs 7a. _ Next, tovhold the bottom-in. ~ place, eut a groove near the Pe Finally, eut.a bottom (L) to fit, fe SeeleaWith the dust box complete, the” next stepisto make the dodrs. Tout them from %"-thick plywood and covered the inside edges with edg- ing strips, and the ontside edges with the door molding strips set” ; aside earlier : ‘To determine the width of the doors, first measure across the front of the cabinet from outside edge-to-edge, and divide this in half, Then subtract 14" for the ‘To determine the door length, measure from the top of the base (Hi) to the top of the sides and subtract 14" for clearance (8134"). Now cut two doors (M) to size, see Fig. 8. ‘ADD TRIM. Then cut two 1%" thick edgings (N) and-glue them to the inside edges of each door. Also glie and screw the door “moldings (set aside earlier) to the outside edges, see Fig. 8b. e Se ee ae : ‘noise, L added an astragat (0) to the back of one door, see Fig. 9. _ HARDWARE. Before mounting the doors, attach the handles, see Pig. 10.°Then mount the doors ‘with two piano hinges cut to the same length as the doors. Screw + one hinge flap to a door and the. other to the cabinet side, see Fig, 11. For clearance, insert a tem- porary spacer under each ‘door hefore screwing them to the side, edging strip and Vig" for the cen-ASTRAGAL. “To prevent dust. Finally, serew magnetic catches ter gap Q1Ae', i from eseaping and to minimize and strike plates to the doors. 3S EDONG Q neTeom] [O] Bis oo ly ee aS is pooR MoLDING —> (SET ASIDE EARLIER) MOLDING. MAGNETIC CATCH ae vd se oar MoLoINe ‘Ser ‘0008 MoLoING|} ee After the doors are mounted, I added router bit holders inside each door. These are, simple holders, but designed so they won't get clogged with sawdust, ‘The holes are drilléd all the way'through the holder so saw- ~ dust falls through. ‘To keep the bits in place, the holders are cut cat an ‘fngle so the bit stops against the door, see Fig. 15a, CUT BLANK. ‘To make each bit holder (P), start by cutting a 10"- Jong blank from %4'-thick hard- wood, see Fig. 14. DRILL HOLES, Next, drill a ser ies of holes the sume size as the shanks of your router bits. Ni If your fouter bits don't slide, easily in and out of the holes, en- large the holes slightly with a dowel wrapped with sandpaper. “Tt’salso easier to drill and coun- tersink the two serew holes used to mount the holders before cut ting the holder at an angle, see Fig. 4. RIP BLANK, After the holes are drilled, the next step is to bevel rip the holder. along its length at 45°. To do this, position the rip fence 6n your table saw toeut the : holder 154" wide, see Fig. 14a, Once the holders are ripped, serew them to the doors, posi- tioning each holder 384" apart and 14" in from the inside edge, - see Fig. 15.” CABINET TOP, Aside. fromthe - wiring (see the section below) and mounting’ the router table top, the cabinet is complete. To mount the top, Iused the same mounting brackets shown on ‘page 18 of ShopNotes No. 1. FIRST: LAY OUT AND RILL MOLES: 14 ‘Tomake iteasy to tun the router on and off, I added a switch. Tt ” controls power to an outlet in the cabinet, see Fig.16. ADDING A SWITCH, "To add a switch, first drill a hole in the cab- + inet side for the wiring to pass through, see Fig.16. Then, screw the electrical boxes to the cabi- net. Next, wire the switch to the outlet. Finally, screw the switch and outlet into the boxes and add an outlet and switch cover, OUTLET STRIP. If you're not comfortable with wiring, consult “alicensed electrician. Or, you can install a “switched” outlet strip, see Fig. 16a, TO CABINET CORD INTO lourter ster