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bricolage
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
520 views24 pagesWoodsmith #026 (Vol5) - (Mar) 1983
bricolage
Uploaded by
zemihirayaneCopyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
/ 24
Curio Cabinet
Antique Wall Mirror
Joinery: Mortise & Tenon Sawdust
ISSN: 0164-4114
WOODSMITH is published bimonthly January,
‘March, May. July. September, November) by
‘Woodsmith Publishing Company, 1912 Grand
‘Ave., Des Moines, lowa 50308.
years (12 issues) $18. Single copy price, $2.50,
(Canada and Foreign: acs $2 per year)
(Change Of Address: Please be sure to incude
‘both your old and new address for change of
‘address. Mal to: Woodsmith, 1812 Grand Ave.,
‘Des Moines, owa 50308,
‘Second class postage paid al Des Moines,
Jowa.
Postmaster: Send change of address notice,
Form 3579, to Woadsmith Pubishing Co., 1912
Grand Ave. Des Moines. lowa £0908.
BACK ISSUES
‘Ast ofthe contents ofall back esves appears
‘on the wrapper ofthis issue. If the wrapper is
missing, you can send for a booklet describing
‘the contents and prices ofall back issues.
‘SAMPLE COPIES
Ityouhave a riend who would ike o see a copy
‘of Woodsmitn, ust senc he name and address,
‘and wel send a sample (at no cos!)
ABOUT THIS ISSUE. I tend to view eabinet-
rmaking asa series of eonnected steps; each
step important and each leading toward a
‘goal. While the goal might be to build a
nice-looking, functional cabinet, com-
pleting that goal is not the real reward of
‘woodworking.
“To enjoy woodworking you have to en-
Joy the steps along the way —the process
‘and the detail. When the process is eom-
pleted (and the goal is reached), the re-
‘ward is simply the satisfaction of knowing
the care and patience that it took to make
all the details work together.
‘Okay Don, what's the point of all this
‘wonderful philosophy?
Tt has to do with the Curio Cabinet in
this issue. “It's a handsome eabinet, but
'm not sure I could build it.” That was the
reactionof the newest addition to our staff,
Mike Scot.
But Mike was ta disadvantage. He first
saw the curio cabinet when it was com-
pleted, and I admit that it tends to look a
litle intimidating
was more fortunate. I saw the buikiing
‘process — all the individual steps I took a
T was building the cabinet. When it’s
‘broken down into steps like that, it's not
intimidating. I's just alot of work
‘The key to most of this work is the
Joinery, specifically making a mortise and
‘enon joint. And here again, it's all the
details that make the difference. Each
Joints ikea small project initself. . alot
‘of individual steps that lead to one goal.
‘Yet once this joint is assembled, no one
will ever see it. Only you wil know that it
fits just right and that it will last a long
time ... secretly doing its job. That’s the
real reward of woodworking.
ROUTER AND TARLE SAW. If you've been
reading Woodsmith for a while, you know
‘thatthe two basie power tools we use are a
table saw and router. These two tools,
coupled with a drill press (to cut some
mortises), are all that’s required to build
any of the projects in this issue.
‘That's nice, but what’s the point of men-
tioning it?
It’s just that I'm constantly amazed at
‘what you can do with afew basic tools. For
‘example, all of the fancy moldings on the
ects in this issue were made with a
'So once again, I'm giving the old sales
pitch for building a router table. (It really
fs helpful to make these moldings.) The
plans for our version of a router table
appeared in Woodsmith No. 20 (and the
stand was in No. 22). Or, if you want a
six-page plan booklet for the Woodsmith
router table, just send $1 and we'llgetitin
the mail to you.
‘SOURCES. Starting with this issue, we're
adding 2 new regular feature to Wood-
mith: a “Sources” page. This page is an
attempt to give complete information on
the tools and hardware needed for the
projects in each issue.
"AS space permits, we'll also use this
page to include references to a variety of
feneral source information: mail-order
catalogs, books, shows and exhibits; as
well as local woodworking clubs and stores
that specialize in hardwood.
‘Weill be dependent on you for some of
‘his information (particularly the clubs and
stores in your area). Steve Krohmer has
volunteered (that means no increase in
pay) to manage all this information.
‘To start things off, we thought we'd
collect information on woodworking clubs
‘around the country. Ifyou belong to a club
‘or guild, and would like other wood-
workers in your area to know about i, let
Steve know.
‘NEW FACES. Mike Seott has joined our
‘group to help write and edit the articles in
Woodsmith. Besides woodworking, his
“other love” is music, and he's managed to
combine both passions by refinishing sev-
eral grand pianos,
‘Mike's first project here was to build the
antique wall mirror (featured on the
cover). Then I learned another one of his
hobbies is photography. So now he's orga-
nizing a new photo studio and taking the
pictures. (As time goes on, Thope to saddle
him with more and more tasks.)
‘THE MAILING LABEL. We've decided to
change the mailing label a little. We used
‘to put the date ofthe ast issue in the upper
right-hand comer of the label. Starting
with this issue, we're putting the issue
number of the last issue you should
receive, This should give a better idea of
when your subscription will expire (and
when you have to send more money).
‘NUMBER ONE IS BACK. In addition to the
label, we've also changed the protective
‘cover. And in the process we brought old
issue No. 1 back to life.
‘A few months ago I dropped it from the
back issue offer because T wasn't com-
pletely happy with the design and con-
struction techniques used for the Trestle
‘Table inthat issue. Then one of our readers
‘wrote us tosay that we should always keep
‘that issue around . .. if only to remind us
todo better in the future. So, it’s back, and
‘we're trying to do better.
'NEXT MAILING. The next issue of Wood-
‘smith should be in the mail during the
‘week of June 6, 1983.
2
WoopsMITH Tips & Techniques
FINDING CENTER ON SPINDLE STOCK
Te been using a simple way to find the
center on the ends of spindle turning stock
that might interest your readers.
‘AIL T do is use the band saw to eut the
“cross-hair” slots on both ends ofthe stock.
‘To do this, I position one corner of the
stock in the table slot (that’s used to
change the band saw blades), and line up
the opposite corner with the band saw
blade. Then I make the diagonal eut about
¥ deep, and rotate the stock to repeat the
cut between the remaining two corners.
"The center is marked where the two cuts
cross, and the 14° diagonal euts also pro-
vide a ood seat for the spurs.
Robert W. Ziegler
Winter Haven, Florida
COMMON CALIPERS
eame across an idea while I was turning
forty identical spindles for a swinging
‘eral that may be of some help to someone
‘else. To keep the diameter of the round
tenons on the ends of each spindle con-
sistant, I used open-end wrenches as a
sauge, rather than the outside calipers.
First I turned the tenons with a gouge
close to the right size. Then I used a part
{ng tool to trim the tenon down to size until
the respective wrench would slide over the
tenon as it was turning. Often with a litle
pressure, the ends on the opening of the
‘wrench would actually eut the tenon down
to the exact size,
John H. Metzger
Port Washington, Ohio
ROUTER CUT MORTISES
Thave an idea for those readers of Wood-
‘smith who want to make exactly centered
morte, bat who don't have adil pres.
use a simple jig and a router.
"To make the jig, 1 trimmed two 2x4’ to
exactly the same thickness. Then T cut a
spacer to exactly the same thickness as the
piece being mortised. This spacer is
sxrod fe the ie of one ofthe 2
“Then the piece being mort
between ts Bote ciel ogi eo
cer, sd ach wih he top) te
‘whole arran together
Eandwich syle (clamp the end with the
spacer block ina vise, and the opposite end
with a C-clamp.)
To eut the mortise, I use a router
equipped with an edge guide that rides on
the outside of the 2x1, and a router bit
that’s slightly smaller than the mortise.
‘After the length of the mortise is
rmarked out, T make the fist eut using one
side of the fixture as a guide, And then,
‘without changing the setting on the edge
fuide, I make another eut using the op-
posit side of the fixture forthe guide. This
‘assures that the mortise will be exactly
‘centered an the stock.
Tfmore than ane identical mortise isto
be eut, a set of stops can be tacked to the
top ofthe fixture. This set-up ean also be
‘used to cut a groove along the piece to
accept a panel.
‘This method may be of some value to
those “router nuts” who want more infor-
‘mation on how to use the router.
Jerry Schueller
Winona, Minnesota
EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information
‘om cutting mortise and tenons, see pages
711. And for a review of mortising bits,
including router bits, see page 20.
‘BEAM COMPASS
‘There are times when I've needed a larger
‘compass than is commercially available. To
solve this problem, I'made a simple, and
‘ery functional beam eompass that incor-
Porates a sliding dovetail joint. By using a
Sliding dovetail, the heads of the compass
can be easily adjusted along the beam,
‘while automatically remaining at 2 90°
angle to the beam.
‘To make the compass, I used a piece of
"oak, 2 wide, and 36° long (any length
will work). Then the first step is to cut
dovetail grooves on the outside edges of
the beam. To do this, I simply used a
dovetail bit in the router table (see Wood:
mith No. 20).
The next step is to cut a %'-wide
stopped groove (centered on the beam) to
attach the adjustable heads. To mark the
‘starting and stopping points of this groove,
1 drilled two. %" holes, centered 1° from
both ends of the beam. Then I used a
it on the router table to cut the
straight
‘To make the adjustable heads, cut the
shoulders of the dovetails (on the router
table) so that they’re slightly closer
together than needed to fit over the beam.
‘Then remove the waste between the dave-
tails to form a large dovetail groove. (By
removing this waste, I could actually test
the heads against the beam for final fit.)
Finally, the distance between the dove-
tails is widened until it fits on the beam.
After the heads are cut, 4" holes are
drilled for locking bolts (Lused a Ye" x 1"
carriage bolt). Then I made two holding
brackets with eustom-fit grooves to hold a
pencil in one bracket, and a trammel point
in the other. (The trammel point is made
by grindinga sharp point ona #8 finish nail
with the head removed.)
Finally, T used a chamfer bit on the
router table to take off the corners of all
‘the edges. To finish this beam compass, I
used Watco danish oll, anda eouple of coats
‘of Wateo satin wax.
Kenneth Gyldencand
Des Moines, Iowa
{you'd tke to share woodworking tip wih other
readers of Woodsmith, send your idea to:
Woodsmith, Tips & Techniques, 1912 Grand
‘Ave, Des Moines, lowa 50908.
‘We pay a minimum of $10 fr tips, and $15 oF
‘more for special techniques (that are accepted
{orpubicaton).Proase give acomplte explana
‘ion of your idea. Ifa sketch is needed, send it
along; we'l draw a new one.
WoopsMITH _Display Case
IT'S EASY, NO SPOOLING
Maybe I'm just behind the |
times, but just the other day 1
learned that thread no longer
comes on wooden spools.
Nowadays all thread is wound
around plastic spools. As a re
sult, wooden spools have be-
come somewhat of a collector's
item. And worthy of a display
We've had a lot of requests
for plans for a small display
case for thimbles, pipes.
spoons, commemorative can:
and small ear replicas. T don't
| have any of those things, but
pack rat that I am, [ have all
sorts of wooden spools. So 1
‘ecided this was a good oppor-
| tamity to build a display cabinet
for them.
‘THE BASIC BOK
‘The cabinet uses straight-
forward box construction: the
top and bottom are joined to
the sides with a rabbetdado
Joint, and all three shelves are
‘dadoes into the sides. This re-
quires a total of five dadoes on
| each side piece, see Fig. 1
T knew these dadoes had to
| tine up perfeetly on both side
pieces. But rather than trying
to cut identical dadoes on two
individual pieces, I eut only one
set of dadoes.. . none double
‘wide piece. Then after the da
does were cut, I could rip this
double-wide piece to get the
‘two pieces for the sides,
By this time, I was really getting into
making things easy. To eliminate five in
vidual setups for eutting these five dadoee,
T decided to space the dadoes for the three
shelves equidistant from both ends. This
way, the set-up for the top shelf could also
be used for the bottom shelf by simply
flipping the piece end for end.
‘To start this process, I cut the double-
wide piece 15° long by 44" wide. (This is a
little wider than needed to allow for trim
‘cuts if any chipout oceurs as the dadoes
are cut.)
DADOES FOR SHELVES. I cut the dadoes
for the shelves first. The dadioes for the top
and bottom shelves are cut 3%" from each
end ofthe double-wide piece. And the dado
for the center shelf is centered on the
length — 7/4" from either end. All three of
| these dadoes are 1" wide by 1’ deep, see
ERJOINTS. Next, Icut |
the dadoes for the rabbet/dado joint (used
to attach the top, bottom and two sides of
the cabinet). These ¥'-wide dadoes are
positioned so the bottom edge of the dado
{is equal tothe thickness of the top/bottom
pieces, see Fig. 8
RIP TO SIZE. After all the dadoes were
cut, Lripped the double-wide piece into the
two 2-wide side pieces (A). Then I cut a
e-wide by W-deep rabbet on the back |
‘exige of both sides pieces for the 4" ply- |
‘wood back, see Fig. 4.
TOP AND BOTTOM PIECES
‘This same basie procedure ean be used to |
‘cut the pieces for the top and bottom ‘B).
First, [eat a double-wide piece to a length
‘of 9%. (This length allows for 9° between
the side pieces, plus 4s" for the
‘two long tongues.)
‘Next, [ cut a rabbet on the
ends of the double-wide piece
to leave a tongue that fits the
‘dado in the side pieces. This is
the rabbet half of the rabbet/
‘dado joint, (Although it’ called
a rabbetidado joint, the only
purpose of the rabbet is to
leave a tongue to fit in the
dado, see Fig. 3.)
Finally, [ripped the double-
wide piece to get the top and
bottom pieces (B). These
pieces are ripped 1%" narrower
than the cabinet sides to allow
room for the 1%" plywood back.
NOTCHES FOR HINGES. To
‘mount the door, notches have
to be cut for the hinges, But
rather than waiting until the
cabinet is assembled, I decided
to go ahead and eut the notches
‘now (while the sides were still
easily accessible).
To simplify things, I cut
these notches to a depth equal
to the full thickness of the
knuckle of the hinges, see Fig.
3. Then the hinge flap on the
door frame could be surface-
‘mounted (no mortise is needed
‘on the door frame, refer to
Fig. 8 on page 6.)
‘THE SHELVES
I decided to make the shelves
for this cabinet '" thick so
they wouldn't look too bulky
and detract from the relatively
‘small collectibles. This meant resawing
‘stock for the shelves down to thickness.
‘Before resawing, cut to length the three
pieces of stock for the shelves. To deter-
mine the length needed for the shelve
ddry-assemble (no glue) the top, bottom and
‘two sides to form the basie shell of the
‘cabinet. Then measure the distance be-
‘tween the bottoms of the dadoes, and cut
the stock to this length.
‘Next, rip these three pieces toa width of
194. (This is Ye" less than the width of the
sides to allow for the plywood back.)
Finally, the three shelves ean be re-
sawed (ripped on edge) tofit the 4" dadoes
inthe cabinet sides. I's best heretoset the
cut to slightly over %" because you need
Just a little extra thickness so the saw
‘marks ean be removed. (I used a eabinet
scraper to remove the marks, but they
WoopsMITH ‘oul alo be sanded off)
HOLES rox DOWEL. If this cabinet is
used for spools a erie of 3-deep holes
teed tobe dri nthe sees forthe
‘sed a spacing of Ie forthe small.
Ed spools onthe top two selves; and a
19¢ spacing for the large spools on the
bottom shelf snd the bottom the cabinet,
see Fig. 2
PEGS. Then the pegs forthe spols are
cut I long. I chamfered the top eile of
these pegs by mounting them in the dell
press (et ata slow sped), and used file
{0 knock ofthe ge.
ASSEMBLY. Next, the 1%" plywood back
(Gi) et to Bt between the Fabbetsin the
‘bint sides, and equal tothe fll eight of
the cabinet.
inaly, the cabinet top, bottom, sides,
land shelves) can be glue! together, with
the plywoo hack tacked in place to help
hep everything square.
TRIM PLATES
At this point the cabinet is just a plain box.
So to spice things up I added decorative
trim plates (D) to the top and bottom of the
cabinet. Thelength ofthese plates isa total
‘of 9" longer than the width of the eabinet.
(This allows a %«” overhang on the outside
‘edges, see Fig. 5.)
‘The width of these plates is equal to the
depth of the cabinet (2), plus the thickness
‘of the door frame (0), plus 9x” for the
‘overhang on the front. ‘This totals 3%.
But since the door frame isn't built yet, I
‘cut them to rough width of 8" for now,
sed them after the door was built.
a EDGES. Finally, the edges of
these plates are chamfered (on the router
table) to leave an S«'-wide chamfer on the
front edges and both ends. (The edges on
the back of the cabinet areleft square, see
~
> a <
fee Trey
Steere
.
|
[MATERIALS LIST
‘Overall Dimensions: 1914 Wx11'W-3°D
Sides (2) ex 2-15
Tependettom (2) "ex 1%. 9%
‘Shelves(3)
Topi. Plate (2)
oor Stiles(2)
‘Deer Reits (2)
Decorative Scroll(}) "ex 3
Plywood Bock(1) —Y4x10-15
a
.
¢
>
.
'
CUTTING DIAGRAM
WoopsMITH ‘THE DOOR FRAME
‘The door of the spool cabinet is constructed
with simple mortise and tenon joinery.
(See pages 7 to 11 for a detailed deceriptio
‘on cutting this joint.)
‘THE STILES. The first step is to cut the
stiles and rails 14" wide. Then the stiles
can be cut to length to equal the full height
‘of the cabinet.
This dimension is actually a little too
long — the door would ft too tightly be-
‘tween the top and bottom plates. But sinee
the plates aren't. mounted yet, I cut the
stiles to full height first, and trimmed the
door to size after it was assembled.
‘THE RAILS. The rails are cut to length so
the final width of the door frame is equal to
‘the outside width of the cabinet, see Fig. 6.
(The shoulder-to-shoulder length of the
rails equals the outside width of the eabi-
net, minus the combined width of the two
stiles. Then to get the total length of the
rails, T added 1°4" for the two tenons.)
‘Afier the rails and stiles are cut to size, I
ceut ¥-wide mortises in the stiles, and eat
the tenons to fit the mortises. When all the
Joints are cut, glue the door together, mak-
ing sure it's Square and flat.
‘TRIM DECORATIVE PLATES. Once the
door was assembled, 1 backtracked and
ound the final width for the top and bot-
tom plates (D). Then these two plates are
‘trimmed to width and glued to the eabinet
ssothey're centered on the width, and flush
with the back edge.
Finally, [trimmed the height of the door
frame to allow clearance between the
plates. (Trim ahair offboth the topand the
bottom of the door frame, so the width of
‘the rails remains equal.)
[RAMBET FOR GLASS. To install the glass
in the door frame, L routed a Y«-wide by
'Ye-deep rabbet on the back of the frame,
see detail in Fig. 7. (The routing technique
Tused to eliminate any chipout on the edge
of the rabbet is described on page 22).
cuaaen. Finally, I sanded the door
frame, and then routed a chamfer
‘on the outside edge ofthe stiles, see detail
Fig. 6.
THE SCROLLWORK
Now for the tricky part: the scrollwork
with the inlaid starburst, Although this is
not completely necessary, it tured out to
bea lot of fun. (That is, once I got over my
initial fear of screwing it up.)
‘The first step is to mark the outline of
the serollwork on a piece of stock 2° wide
by 84" long. (All of the necessary dimen-
sions are shown in Figure 7.) When the
‘outline is marked, be sure to include the
center point of the circle for the starburst.
‘Then cut the outline on a band save, and
ssand the edges smooth with a drum sander
(on a drill press).
‘CHAMFER EDGES. To soften the edges of
6
the scrollwork, I routed a '-wide cham-
{fer along its front edge. The easiest way to
do this is on a router table with a chamfer
bit equipped with a pilot guide.
Unfortunately, the pilot prevents the bit
from completely chamferin-; the inside
‘corners ofthe profile. SoT wound up using
‘asharp chisel to toueh up the areas missed
by the router bit. 3
MOUNT THE INLAY. Next, a eireular re-
‘cess is cut for the starburst inlay. Since
this inlay is cirel, the recess is relatively
‘easy to cut with an expansion bit on a drill,
press. (The details for cutting the recess
and mounting the inlay are deseribed in
Shop Notes, page 22.)
‘MOUNT TO CABINET. After the inlay is
mounted, the serollwork is glued to the top
of the eabinet.
DETAILS, DETAILS
‘At this point, all that's left are the little
details that always seem to be left until the
last moment (not necessarily because it's
the natural time to do them, but because
finally finished all the fu parts.)
Minwax Antique Oil Finish.
‘WoopsMITH Joinery: Mortise and Tenon
THE BASICS OF BUILDING A FRAME
‘Although we've shown several variations
‘of mortise and tenon joints in past issues of |
‘Woodsmith, this time we're showing only
the basic joint. . . but we're ineluding all
the “tricks of the trade” we've learned to
achieve good results.
‘The procedure we follow is not intended
to cut one pretty joint just to show off
Rather, the point is to eut four joints to
form a good, sturdy frame . . . one that’s
square and has no twist to it.
‘Things get a little complicated when
figuring the length of the tenon. In gen-
tral, the tenon should be at least 4" less
‘than the width of the stile. That is, you
‘want to leave ¥" between the bottom of
the mortise and the outside edge of the
stile, Ifthe stiles are 1%" wide, this would
‘mean a tenon length of 14.
However, another limiting factor for the
tenon is the depth of the mortise, I like to
2 CUTTOLENGTH. To start, I cut rough-
length sections for the stiles and rails 3°
longer than needed. Then the section for
the stiles is eut to final length. (The rails
are cut to final length later.)
‘When cutting to final length, I use @
double-cut procedure, trimming one end of
‘each board square, and then trimming the
‘other end to the final length.
‘To make these cuts, I use the panel
Building a mortise and tenon
frame involves several tech-
niques, yet the entire process
depends on four basic rules:
1) Use good straight lumber.
2) Plan all euts so you're
working with “standard”
ppiecos and settings. That is,
‘once you set up for a cut, don't
‘change it. Go ahead and cut all
pieces with exactly the same
fetting.
3) Make tral cuts each step
othe way.
4) Be patient, There's no
rash to get things done.
"The fill description of this
procedure may seem overly de-
failed — like there's tremen-
lous amount of time and work
involved. But once you're in
the shop and actually start cut-
ting the Joint, things move
cutting jig shown in Wood
smith No. 25, This jig helps
hold the board so you ean make
ood, square cuts.
‘CRIP -TO WIDTH, Next I set
up the saw to rip the stiles and
rails to final width (1" wide)
‘Again, all pieces are. double.
cat, First rip them about,"
Wider than needed, and then
trim them to final width. This
double euting allows you to rip
both edges ofeach piece so you
Jenow you're working with two
clean edges. *
5. CHECK FOR WARP. Al-
though T use good straight
lumber at the outset, some-
times internal stress in the
board causes the pieces to £0
“crazy” as they're ripped
‘The worst thing to contend
with is pieces that are twisted.
‘To check for twist, lay each
along at a pretty good pace...
fast enough to get the job done, but care-
fally enough to get it done right.
THE INITIAL PROCEDURE
Whenever I set out to build a frame, the
first step is to determine the final size 1
‘want the frame to be. There are two
choices: you ean build the frame so the
‘outside dimensions are a certain size, or
build it #0 the inside dimensions are a
‘certain size. As an example, I built a
sample frame with outside dimensions of
12" high by 11" wide.
1. STILES AND RAILS. To build a frame
this size, the stiles (vertical pieces) will be
12" long, whichis the final outside height of
the frame. The length ofthe rails (horizon
‘outside width of frame)
‘minus (2 times the width of the stile)
(@ times the length of the tenon).
use this Thad to fill in the
two variables: the width of the stile, and
the length of the tenon. I chose a width of
1 for the stiles.
use Sears mortise bits which drill eomfort-
ably to a depth of 1°. So T reduced the
length ofthe tenon for the sample frame to
Y" (which is also an even measurement
that's easy to work with so there's less
chance of a measuring error.)
Back to the equation. The final outside
dimension of the frame is 11", Minus 3°
(which is 2 times the width of the stile.)
Plus 2" (which is 2 times the length of the
tenon). Thus, the rail length equals 10”
2. CHOOSING THE WOOD. When choosing
‘the wood to build a frame,
‘choose good straight lumber — no warp,
‘no twist, no cup. No matter how well the
joints are cut, if the wood is warped, or
‘especially if t's twisted, the frame will be
spoofed up.
also try to choose a piece that’s over-
sized so there will be some serap left over
for trial cuts. When the scrap comes from
the same hoard as the rails and stiles, you
know the setting on the trial euts will apply
to the “real” pieces. (For the sample frame
chose & piece of hardwood 3%" wide by
36" long.)
workpisce on a fat’ surface (I
‘use the topaf the table sw), and see if you
‘ean rock it by applying pressure to op-
posite corners. If any of the pieces are
twisted, set them aside and eut replace-
rents that are truly flat and straight.
6. LAY OUT GRAIN PATTERN. At this point
both the stiles and rails have been eut to
“standard” width and the stiles have been
cet to final length. (The rails are cut to final
length later — when the tenons are cut.)
‘The next step is to lay out all of the
pieces in their respective positions to form
{the frame. Then I start shuffling the pieces
until they have their best face forward,
and they're arranged with a nice grain
pattern.
7 MARK EACH PIECE. When all the pieces
are arranged the way I want them, I mark
teach piece s0 there's no confusion later. 1
‘usually just draw an arrow on the face side
(the side that will face out). This arrow
‘ints toward the inside edge ofthe frame.
also mark each piece so I know which is
right (R) left (L), top (1), and bottom (B).
‘Then I'm ready to cut the mortises and
tenons.
WoopsMITH Slot Mortise
The difficulty in cutting a mortise and
tenon joint is that it's two separate oper-
ations. Yet the end result must be
perfectly matched joint. This problem is
‘magnified when balding « frame simply
because there are four joints to contend
with,
‘The key to making four good joints is to
make each mortise and each tenon with
standard settings —so they're all the same
‘and don't have to be “customized.”
‘So which do you cut first, the mortise or
the tenon? I think i's best to cut the mor-
tise first because one ofits dimensions (t
‘width is limited to the size of the bit used
todrillitout. The tenon, onthe other hand,
is exposed and relatively easy to get to i
its dimensions need to be altered.
LAYING ouT
‘The first step for cutting a mortise isto lay
‘out the dimensions (the width, length, and
depth) on the edge of the stile. I make
these layout marks on only one stile. Then
this stile is used to set up a fence ar-
‘rangement on the drill press to cut all the
‘mortises with standard settings.
1. DETERMINE WIDTH. The width of a
‘mortise limited to the diameter of the bit
you're using. In general, the mortise
‘should be one-third the thiekness of the
stock you're working with. For «thick
hardwood, I cut a Ys-wide mortise.
‘2. MARK LENGTH, As forthe length of the
mortise, once again there are certain lim-
itations. The mortise should stop far
‘enough from the end of the stile so it
doesn't split out the end of the stile
Usually "from the end is enough toelimi-
nate any problems.
‘The other end of the mortise is limited
the width of the rail. (Since the tenon can’t
beany wider than the
mortises also limited tot
boundary line on the stile equal to the
width of the rail, see Fig. 1
‘Now the other end of the mortise can be
marked. This is where some consistency
pays off. Since the first mark was made +
from the end of the stile, the second line
should be marked 4" from the boundary
line, see Fig. 2. (This will simplify cutting
the tenons later.)
3. MARK DEPTH. Finally, the depth of the
‘mortise is marked on the end of the stile,
see Fig. 3. Forthe sample frame, I marked
the depth at 1". (Note: when the depth of
cut is set on the drill press, it’s best to
lower the bit just slightly more than this
line to be sure the bit actually euts to full
depth.)
Allof these layout marks are used to set up
the fence, stops and feather board used to
hold the ‘stile in place as the mortise is
drilled. An overview of this setup is shown
in Figure 4. (The construction details for
this fence are described at the end of the
article.)
‘Shop Note: The bottom corners of the
stops should be chamfered to allow a saw-
dust relief. Also the feather board is raised
‘up with a small block soit exerts pressure
‘on the top edge of the stile. This is where
all the action is, so you want the most
‘support here.
| CENTER STILE ON BIT. To set up the
fence, the first step is to position the fence
0 the stile is centered on the bit. This is
the critical step. Although it’s possible to
make alterations later, things will go a
the
whole lot smoother from here on i
‘mortise is exactly centered on the stile.
‘Toget the proper setting, [use a piece of
GETTING IT CENTERED IS THE KEY
serap to make trial cuts, Place the serap
against the fence and adjust the fence so
the bit is approximately centered on the
thickness of the serap.
From here, the procedure varies
slightly depending, on the bit used. (For a
review of five mortising bits, see Tools of
the Trade, page 20.)
‘The bit I use most often is the Sears
‘Mortise Bit. The procedure in this ease is
todrilla shallow test holein the serap piece
— just deep enough so the bit forms a
‘complete cirele. Then flip the serap piece
around so the other face is against the
fence. Lower the bit to see if it drills in
exactly the same hole, see Fig. 5. (Thi
may take quite a few trial cuts, but the
effort spent now will pay off later.)
If T'm using one of the routing bits (ike
the Inca mortising drill), I've found its
‘easier to rout a shallow mortise at the end
oftheserap. Then flipthe serap around and
lower the bit to see ifit knicks one side or
the other, see Fig. 6.
5. DRILL END HOLES. Now you're ready
to drill out the mortise. I start by drilling
‘the two end holes to define the final length
‘of the mortise, see Fig. 7. This isdone with
the face side (the side marked with an
arrow) of the stile against the fenee.
‘CLEAN OUT, After the end holes are
drilled, the rest of the waste is removed.
When i use the Sears Mortise bit, [drill a
series of barely overlapping holes between
the end holes, see Fig. 8.
After this first series of holes is drilled,
‘there will be small V-shaped shoulders
along the checks of the mortise. I center
the bit over each “V" shoulder and drill
straight down on them. The bit may tend
to argue a little when removing the V-
shoulders, so I make repeated, shallow
‘cuts until the V's are drilled to full depth,
1. MORTISE OTHER END. Up to this point
all of these steps were for drilling one
8 ‘mortise on one end of the stile. This stile
‘was positioned with its face side (the side
‘marked with an arrow) against the fence.
‘To cut the other end, the stile has to be
‘turned around. But this puts the face side
‘out. And if the bit is not exactly centered
‘on the thickness of the stile, the mortises
‘at each end will be off-center in different
directions
‘Just to maintain consistency, I cut only
‘one end of all stiles first (with the face side
against the fence). Then I reposition the
stop blocks so I can keep the face side ofthe
stile is against the fence when cutting the
er end,
'S CHOP SQUARE.. When all the mortises
are cut, you should have perfect slot mor
tise on all the stiles. From here you have
‘one of two choices:
1) Leave the ends of the mortise
rounded, and round over the tenon to
match
2) Square up the corners ofthe mortise
with alsharp chisel to accept the square
Comers ofthe tenon. To do this, start by
chopping down on the end of the mortise
witha sharp chisel, see Fig. 8. Make light
{aps and pry out the waste until you reach
the bottom of the mortise. Then clean up
the comers by paring down on the cheeks.
FENCE FOR DRILL PRESS
"Thesig I ue for drilling out the mortises is
simply a % plywood base with a movable
fence. To build this fence arrangement, cut
the base about 12° wide by 48" long. Then
cat two grooves onthe bottom ofthe base,
and glue in the two stiffeners, see Fig. A’
Next, rip three more pieces of plywood
24" wide for the fence. (Two of these
pileces are 30° long, and the bottom piece is
36" long.) These three pieces are glued and
clamped together. When the glue is dry,
rip a clean edge on both faces. Also, eut a
‘chamfer on the bottom edge of the fence as
a sawdust relief
‘To attach the fence to the base, drill a
series of 1" holes at each end of the
fence to form 2'-long slots, and another
series of holes at each end of the base to
form 6"long slots. Then clean out. these
slots with a sabre saw and file. And finally,
use carriage bolts to fasten the fence to
the base.
‘To prolong the life ofthe base, Ieut a3" x
square hole (with a sabre saw and
cleaned up the edge with a router). Then I |
‘glued a backing piece to the bottom of the
base, and cut a replaceable square to fit the
‘square hol.
1 Moe length ofthe mortve i timitd to
the total width of the rail. So the first
step isto hold the rail atthe end of the stile
‘and mark a boundary line.
Droz the Final length of the mortise ig
marked. Mark one line at least '"
from the end of the stile. Then mark the
‘other line %" from the boundary line
3 Mark the dee of cut om the end ofthe
stile. Then when setting the depth of
‘cut, lower the bit a little more than this
‘mare to be sure the bit cuts to full depth
T=
omse oxi
Qe the Kings om the stilt et the top
blocks for the maximum length of the
‘mortise. Then fasten the feather board in
place using a block to raise it up.
sew pize of scrap to center the bit
Place the serap against the fence and
smakea shallow hole. Then flip around ito
see if second hole matches the first
Ge seer the aie if «routing itis
used, rout a shallow mortise om the
‘end of the stile. Then flip scrap around to
‘ee ifthe bit knicks one side or the other.
yf
Pace the tile with the face side
agate the fnce. Thon sat! te mor
tise by drilling the to end holes to define
the total length of the mortise
G Ale theond holes are dred, aril a
‘series of overlapping holes to clean
cout the waste, Then drill down on the V
shoulders, and makea final routing pass.
2, 70m wat a mortise with square
‘corners, start by chopping straight
down at the ends. Then clean up the cor-
ners by paring down on the mortise cheeks.
WoopsMITH
> |
The Tenon
TWO PROBLEMS: THE SHOULDER AND THE FIT
‘When making a mortise and tenon joint
there's tendency to concentrate on the fit
of one tenon in one mortise. However,
‘when building a frame, the rails have two
tenons, one at each end. And this situation
introduces another eritical measurement
the distance between the shoulders of the
‘two tenons.
"This shoulder-to-shoulder distance must
bbe exactly the same on both rails, or the
‘frame will be out of square. The method we
‘use to cut the tenon is intended to get the
tenon to fit the mortise, as well as produce
the correct shoulder-to-shoulder distance.
1. LENGTH OF RAIL. First, the rails have
to be cut to final length. (The rails were
‘only cut to rough length earlier.) The final
length of the rails is determined by the
shoulder-to-shoulder distance, plus the
length of both tenons.
‘Going back to the sample frame, the
problem isto build a frame with an outside
Width of 11°. If the stiles are 1:4" wide,
then their combined width is 3". Thus, the
shoulder-to-shoulder distance of the rails
‘ust be 8". The other variable (the length
‘of the tenon) is equal to the depth of the
mortise (1° deep).
‘Adding these variables together (8° for
the shoulder-to-shoulder distance, plus 2°
for the two tenons) equals the final length
‘of the rail (10°). Trim the rails to this final
length,
12. DEPTH OF CUT. Once you have this
‘measurement, the basie technique for cut
ting a tenon is to lay the rail flat on the
table saw and make multiple passes over
the blade to clean off the face of the tenon.
"The first step here is to set the height of
the saw blade to cutthe tenon tothe proper
thickness. To do this, I use the mortise as
Tdeally, the mortise is centered on the
stile, so it shouldn't matter which face of
the stile you lay down on the table to set
the blade height. But justin ease the mor-
tise is offcenter, I work from the face side
‘of the stile to begin with. (The face side is
the side that was marked with an arrow at
the beginning of allthis.)
Place the face side of the stile down on
the table and raise the blade until the high
‘est point of one tooth lines up with the
cheek of the mortise, see Fig. 1.
2. TRIALCUT. Since the mortise is used as
‘agauge, this setting should be right on the
money. But it's always best to make trial
‘cut on a piece of scrap to check it out, see
Fig. 2
Place the trial cut next to the cheek of
the mortise to see ifthe depth of eu
‘up with the mortise, see Fig. 3. Itmay take
several trial euts to get the correct height
for the saw blade.
4, SHOULDER SETTING. As mentioned
earlier, the tenon is cut by making multiple
passes over the blade. The important thing
here isto stop right at the proper shoulder
line... . onall pieees. To do this, I use the
fence on the table saw as a stop to limit the
length of the tenon.
Shop Note: There is a rule in wood-
working thatthe fence and the miter gauge
cannot be used together. This rule is true if
you're making.a through cut that will lave
1a chunk of waste between the blade and
fence. But inthis ease there's no waste for
the blade to throw, so the fence ean be used
asa stop.
For the sample frame, the shoulder set-
tings 1” (which isthe length ofthe tenon)
‘Adjust the fence so it's 1” from the outside
(eft) edge of the blade.
5, CUTFACE OF TENON. At this point, the
‘depth of cutis established, and the fence is
set for the shoulder distance. Now the
‘tenons are ready to be cut.
Start by placing the rail with the face
ide down on the table saw. Note: Sincethe
depth of cut was established with the face
side of the stile down (the side with an
arrow marked onit), the rail should also be
‘eut with the same face down,
Ct the tenon (with multiple passes) by
guiding the rail with the miter gauge. The
last pass will be the shoulder eut (when the
‘end of the rail is against the fence), see
Fig. 4
‘& SMOOTH THE FACE. As the face of the
tenon is cut, the saw blade will leave a
rather rough surface. To smooth the face
(ater it's completely eut), position the rail
over the apex (highest point) of the blade.
‘Then gently move it back and forth over
the blade while slowly moving the miter
‘gauge forward and back. The high points of
the blade will remove the roughness from
the entire face of the tenon, see Fig. 5.
7. CUT OTHER END. When one endl of the
rail is complete, turn it around (end for
end) to work on the other end. (Again,
‘keep the face marked with the arrow down
‘on the table.)
When the other end is cut, the rail
should look like it has two half_laps, and
the shoulder-to-shoulder distance should
be what you want (8° for the sample
frame), see Fig. 6.
‘CUT OTHER SIDE. Before cutting the
‘opposite faces duplicate these first cuts on
«piece of serap. Then flip the serap over
‘and make a narrow cut out at the end to
‘make a sample tenon, see Fig. 7.
Ifthe sample tenon fits the mortise after
this cut, go ahead and cut the other two
{faces of the tenon.
Tthe sample tenon is either too tight or
too loose, it means the mortise is not
‘entered. In this ease you have to cut the
‘tenon off-center by the same amount asthe
mortise
To do this, adjust the height of the saw
blade and make trial cuts on the serap piece
‘until the tenon fits snugly in the mortise.
t's better to have the fit a little on the
tight side, than too loose.)
9. SRD AND 4TH SHOULDERS. The thick-
ness of the tenon should be perfect now.
All that remains is to cut the 3rd and 4th
‘shoulders so the tenon fits the length of the
‘mortise (all the way to the rounded ends).
T usually just sneak up on this eut by
‘making trial cuts out at the end of the
tenon, see Fig. 8. When the 3rd shoulder
lines up, flip the rail over and cut the 4th
shoulder.
and you want to leave them that way, You
have to round over the corners of the
tenon. I do this with a four-in-hand rasp,
see Fig. 9.
‘As you're fitting the tenon into the mor-
tise, the ideal situation is that the tenon
will slide in with hand pressure only. How-
ever, there's usually alittle chunk of some-
thing in the way.
Before I get out the chisel, I try to
gently tap the tenon home with a hammer.
If gentle tapping doesn’t work, don't try to
pound the tenon in (this may split the
cheeks of the mortise). Instead, use a
10
WoopsMITH ‘myself inside the joint looking around for
problem areas. Then I take it slow. Alittle
bit of correcting can go a long way.
‘Once the tenon does slide in, check tose
ithe shoulders rest firmly on the edge of
the stile. If there's a litle gap, check
around the base of the tenon to see if
there'slittle chunk of waste that needs to
be chiseled away.
Tf the base af the tenon is clear and the
shoulders stil don't rest on the ed
stile, the tenon is probably just a hair too
long. Trim about se’ off the end of the
GLUING UP THE FRAME
At this point all four joints for the frame
‘should ft perfectiy. Now for the big ques-
tion: Is the frame square and flat? To check
‘out the frame, dry-assemble the rails and
‘sles. (Atthis stage, don'tuse clamps, and
dont apply any glue.)
CHECK FOR TWiST. Lay the frame on a
{lat surface and try to rock it at opposite
‘corners to see if it is twisted. Twist isthe
‘worst thing to contend with. Butt usually
doesn't oceur if the wood is straight to
begin with.
‘Once again, use intuition to correct any
problems... and take it slow.
‘CHECK WiTH CLAMPS. When everything
goes together like it to, the
frame ean be dry-clamped (no glue yet) to
test the effect the clamps have on the
squareness ofthe frame. (You only need a
bar or pipe clamp at each end of the frame
— clamping the stiles against the shoul-
ders on the rails.)
Place the clamps on a flat surface and
position the rails and stiles. Then as the
‘lamps are tightened, dont apply too much
pressure (this can twist the frame). Use a
try square to check the frame for square.
‘GLUE UP. If tall cheeks out, loosen the
clamps and apply alittle glue in the mortise
ase a Q-tip). And brush ona litte on the
tits geen potupaeco wor Take
at this stage ean goof up alot of work.
‘as much time as needed to make sure the
frame is square as the clamps are
tightened.
‘Wait about hours forthe glue toset and
then remove the clamps. You should have
a perfect mortise and tenon frame.
To set the depth of cut, place the stile
‘on the table. Raise the blade
40 the kighest tooth lines up with the bot-
2 Although this depth sctting should be
‘correct, use a piece of scrap to test the
depth of cut. Makea cutat the end, guiding
the scrap with the miter gauge.
FB Te heck the dent sting, place the
trial cut next to the mortise (face site
up on both pieces) to se ifthe cut lines up
‘with the cheek of the mortise.
tom cheek of the mortise.
teh,
=
the rail back and forth over the highest
of the blade, while moving the miter
‘gauge forward and back.
1B Teclean of the face f the tenon push
part:
‘Turn the rail end-for-end (keeping the
face side down) and make same cut at
other end. Check the shoulder-to-shoulder
distance between the tenons.
BS
Tresepige ta tenon rite
sup) and repeat Steps
4 lating out athe end ofthe tenon and
nding atthe shoulder cut
To.cut the 3rd and 4th shoulders, turn
the rail on edge and sneak up on the
‘cuts until the width of the tenon matches
the full length of the mortise.
YY, 20% [ef the ends of the mortise
‘round, the corners ofthe tenon need to
‘be rounded to match. Use a four-in-hand
‘rasp to gently rownd-over the corners.
‘WoopsMiTH
UW Curio Cabinet
A CABINET THAT'S WORTHY OF DISPLAY
‘There are two ways to look at a eurio
inet. To someone who has valuable col
Tectibes, a cabinet like this is a nice way to
show them off, while keeping them out of
harm's reach.
A woodworker, however, might, very |
well ignore the items on display and eon
‘centrate on the construction of the eabinet
itself. He/she wouldn't open the door to get
‘better view of the collectibles, but rather
tosee how the glass was installed, ort
ithe joint lines on the back of the door ft
‘as well as those on the front
‘When you set out to build a curio cab
net, you know that the eabinet itself willbe
fon display just as much as its contents
This just means taking alittle extra time to
make sure things are done right.
‘To simplify things, the construction of |
this curio cabinet is based on only two
things: building frames, and cutting |
molding strips. But to complicate things, |
the sequence of construction is a litle
backwards. (The reason for the “back-
Wars” apposch wil be clearer tis |
folds.)
THE DENTIL
‘Most ofthe visual impact of this cabinet is
the result of the molding — especially the
