American Woodworker - 84 (December 2000)

 

ntents ToolTest: T est:

Dovetalligs igs 66

Half-blinds, hroughs hroughsand and combos-these jigs can make you an evenmore evenmore versatile versatilewoodworker. woodworker.

HomeTheater 4 8

yesyou Oh yes you can Build this grand,expertly grand,expertly designedentertainment enter entereven even n a smallshop. small shop.

BuildingnAssemblyTable Buildingn 4

A tricked-out assembly assemblyable able s a shop rat's rat's dreamcome dream come rue.

Shaker ewing abinet Sewingnotions,photographs, Sewingnotions, photographs,magazinesm agazineseveryone's ot stuffto store n this versatile abinet.

Lipped rawers A foolprool step-by-step pproach o making thesedrawers these drawerswith with your half-blind dovetail ig.

82

91

ToolTest:

Compoundlide Compound lideMiter MiterSaws Saws Accuracy, apacity apacityand and portability all in one ool. We did the testand test and picked he best.

age 91

page 98 American

 

Woodworker

o e c e v g E Ro o o

98

Contents

DEPARTMENTS EDITOR enCollier EDITORen Collier ASSOCIATEDITORS DITORSom om aspar,im i m ohnson, Dave unkittrick C O N T R I B U T I NDGI T O R SdK r a u s e , Georgeondriska George ondriska ARTDIRECTORS ART DIRECTORSatrick unter,ern unter,ern ohnson,

9 QuestionAnswer

1 4 WorkshopTips

Barbara ederson G R A P H I CE CE S I G NN T E R Nh Nh e l l e y o e n COPY DITOR ary lanagan F A C T H E C K I N GP E C I A L I S T i n a h i I d so so h n s o n PRODUCTION E AM udy odriguez,illSympson EAM illSympson SHOP SSISTANTS e enDavis, nDavis,eff effarson, arson, Al McGregor R E A D E RE RE R V I C EP E C I A L I S o T x i ei eilipkowski ADMINISTRATIVE SSISTANTS o ori riCallister. C allister. Shelli acobsen

2 2 Product eviews

P U B L I S H E R i c h a e l .R e i l l y A D V E R T I S I N GA G A L E SD SD I R E C T O R i c K t r a l a c e MARKETI G DlRECTOR Dl RECTOR obert alandruccio B U S I N E S SM A N A G E R a r r y h u SHOWMANAGER SHOW MANAGER onathan rank 215-862-9081)

34

A M E R I C A NW O O D W O R K E RH RH O WB WB O O T H A L E S KristenMetzner Kristen Metzner 21 5) 321 9662 ext 42 ext42 PROM0TIONMANAGER PROM0TION MANAGER ndrea ecchio P R O M 0 T I 0 NC NC 0 0 R D I N A T O Ro Ro a n n e o 6 ADVERTISI G COOR l NAT0R NAT0RSusan SusanBordonaro Bordonaro

4 4 Small hopTips

A D V E R T I S I NAGL E S 260 Madisonve., Madisonve.,New N ew ork, Y10016; Y10016;21.2-850-7226 21.2-850-7226 CHICAGOJim ord 312)540-4804 WEST OAST arlMischka M ischka949) 59-3450 NEWYOR EWYOR David lutter212)850-7 24,Tuck T uckSifers (212)850-7197 CLASSIFIED D VERTISING DVERTISING heMcNeillGmup, nc. el5)321-$62 P U B L I S H E D Y H O M E E R V I C EU EU B L I C A T I O N S N,C . , a subsidiary f the Reade/sDigest Reade/sDigestAssociation,nc. A ssociation,nc. EDITOR-l -CH EF Gary Havens GaryHavens O F F I C E D M I N I S T R A T I V EA EA N A G E R I i c eG eG a r r e t t

V I C E R E S I D E N T. S , .M A G A Z I N E INANCE Joseph illiams V I C E R E S I D E N TI R , CULATION , AGAZINE SM PUBLISH NGCraig NGCraig eynolds DIRECTORF0PERATIONS homaszoucalis homas zoucalis V I C E R E S I D E N TL O B A LD LD V E R T I S I N G RESEARCHayne RESEARCH ayne adie Q U A L I T Y0 Y0 N T R O L A N A G E Rrnie alto P R E S I D E N TS,M A G A Z I N E UBLISHING Gregory..Goleman Gregory C H A I R M A NH, I E F X E C U T I VF EF I C E R Thomas.. Ryder Thomas I SSN 0 7 4 -9 1 5 2 ; SPS 7 3 8 -7 1 0 ) s Am e ri c a n o o d wo rk e r@ published even imesa imes a year n February, pril,June, pril, June,August, August, ctober, ber,November, November,nd nd December y Home HomeService Service ublications,n nc. c. 2 9 1 5 Co m me me rs ri v e , u i t e 0 0 , Ea g a n , N 5 5 1 2 1 .Pe . Pe ri o d i c a l s postage aid at NewYork, NewYork,NY NY and additionalmailing m ailing ffices.Postffices.Postmaster: end hange f address otice o AmericanWoodworker@ P. O . o x I 3 4 . Ha rl a n .A .A 5 1 5 9 3 -0 3 2 3 . u b s c ri o t i o na t e s : .S . one-year, 23.88; wo-year, 43. Single-copy,3.95. Canada one-year, 3I.88: two-year, 58 (Canadianunds). unds).GST GST Ri22988611. Foreign urface ne-year, 35; two-year, 65 (U.S. funds).Foreign funds). Foreign ir one-year, 42; two-year, 80 (U.S. unds). unds).U.S. U.S. newsstand istribution y HearstDistribution D istribution roup, NewYork, York,NY NY roup,New 10019. In Canada: ostage aid at Gateway, ississauga,ntaric, ississauga, ntaric, CPM 1447866. Send eturns nd address hangeso hangeso American Wo o d wo rk e r@0,. Bo x 1 3 4 , Ha rl a n ,A, ,A, USA5 USA5 i 5 9 3 -0 3 2 3 . Pri n t e dn dn USA. USA.@ @ 2 0 0 0 Ho m eSe eSe rv i c e u b l i c a t i o n sn, c ..Al Al l ri g h t s reserved. We make ur mailing istsavailable istsavailableo o divisions f Reader's tgest and other arefully elected ompanies hose roducts nd services youwould maybe may be of interesto interest o our customers. customers.ff you would ikeyour ike yourname name excludedrom excluded rom hesemailings, hesemailings, imply end our equest equestor or Reader's DigestMailing Digest MailingList, List,Attn: Attn:Circ.Dept., Circ. Dept.,Reader's Reader's igest igestRoad, Road,PleasPleasyouraddressabel. antville,NY antville, NY 10570. Pleasenclude Pleasenclude copyof copyof youraddress abel.

2 8 FinishingTips - TheWayWoodWorks TheVirtuesff No.1C o m TheVirtues

1 10 From Blue ighwayTips Texas: umbo steady est for your lathe.

125;IL?ilHpered Les

How o reach reachus us

We welcome your comments, comments,suggestions, suggestions,or or complaints.Write plaints. Write to us at: American Woodworker, 2915 Commers Dr., Suite 700, Eagan,MN CommersDr., M N 55121 Phone: 65f) 454-9200 Fax: (65I) 994-2250 e-mail: amwood@concentric. net

Backssues Back ssues

Someare available or $5 each. Someare each.Copies Copies of past photocopiesare articles:photocopiesare available or $3 each. articles: For each.For either, write or call: American Woodworker Reprint Center, Center,PO. PO. Box 83695, Stillwater, MN 55083-0695, 715) 2464344,8 AM to 5 PM CST, Mon. through Fri.

Subscription n quiries nquiries American Woodworker,Subscriber Woodworker, SubscriberService ServiceDept., Dept., PO. Box 2134,Harlan, 2134, Harlan, A 51593-0323; 800) 6663l I l: e-mail:AWWcustserv@ e-mail:AWWcustserv@ dsfulfillment.com American

 

page 34

Woodworker

D E c E M B Eo R oo

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Planing Without Jointing

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lifeof of me,l cant ge t Q. Help For he life umberwhen the twist out of rough umberwhen I run it through my planer. don't yet,but but snt there some own a ointeryet, boardswith a planer? way o make lat boardswith Larry Beaucom OR North Bend.OR sayinggoes:"Garbage goes:"Garbagen, A. As the saying a planercan't garbage ut."Normally, ut." Normally,a board; t merely take he twist out of a board; sideparallel parallel o the botmakes he top side To geta geta board lat without a ointom.To tom.

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cheap and widely These shelves re cheapand Theseshelves Woof of them make a really available. Wo spots with sled.Shim Shim the high spotswith stiff sled.

run the bo board ard through shallow cuts,run shallowcuts, the e cleaned dup th the planeruntil planer until youve cleane and overand top side.Then side.Then flip the board over

playing cards aped o the sled.Using sled.Using

plane o thickness.

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What Wood l s That?

look at a magnified view of its en d grain. You can use a powerful hand Hoadley's ook"IdenBruceHoadley's lensand lens andBruce tifying Wood" (ThuntonPress, 32), ProductsLaboratory Laboratory ForestProducts or the Forest right.Th Th e .D.Web Website,listed site,listed t right. M ik eK e K in d e rs le y Wood .D. softwoodsare especially problem s, softwoodsare B is h o p v ille ,C tough to positively dentify. of sampleof Youcan You can also ry taking a sample help n A. Color, exture extureand and odor can canhelp identification, ut the only scientific end grain to your local Extension a crackat crackat t. If akea Officeand Office and et them ake way o verify what wood you have s to

got a bet to settle. think our I'vegot Q. I've chest s made of American antiquechest antique Scandipineand pine believest'sScandiand my wife believest's n a v ia n p ru c e .Ho .Ho w c a n I fin d o u t what wood it really s l

that doesn pan out you can have he wood analyzed or free at the Forest Lab,but but there's ong wait. ProductsLab, Products Forest Products Laboratory Center forWood Anatomy Research Drive PinchotDrive One Gifford Pinchot Madison,Wl 3705 (608) 23 -9200,fax 608) 23t-9592 D/idfact.htm for s/WoodlD/idfact.htm www.fpl.fs.fed.s/Woodl www.fpl.fs.fed. complete dentification.

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Woodworke

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D E C E T \ 4 BoEoRo

Q u e s t i o n Answer

DovetailJig Dovetail Jig Set-Up Q. I've allen n love with my dovetail outer jig,but my big rustration s setting he depthof depth of the dovetailbit b it each time. 've ried measuring ow much he bit should tick out, but that's awkward and I spend oo much time on trial and error test cuts. s there an easierway? easierway? RaymondDell Mll WoodlandPark, Woodland Park,M A. Putawayyour Put awayyour uler Next ime you cut dovetails,set tails, setyour your bit directly rom a gauge n the ig's mounting board.You board.You l needa need a mounting board that's bout bout8-in.longer 8-in.longer han he ig. Cut a 1/8-in. deep-rabbet longone longone edgeon edgeon the ablesaw,hen hen ig. ig attach he up the and adjust he doveSetup Set tail bit to its properdepth properdepthby by trial and error. error.While While holding the router baseagainst baseagainst he edgeof edgeof the ig's mounting board, cut cut a dovetail-shaped roove. Next time you want to use he ig, simply extend the dovetailbit dovetailbit until unti l it fits perfectly nto the dovetail groove.You're Y ou're et

ory, Rugged, and Reliable.

b Site That's Built Like

A DnWAIT Tool.

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Worn Drawers

Q. I've noticed n some a n tiq u ec e c h e s tso ts o f d ra we rs that the pi ne drawer sides lly wo rn . I wa n t t o a re re a llywo build a chest of drawers meant or dailyuse dailyusebut but don't want the drawers to wear awaybefore away before my grandchildren grandchildren et to use t. s there a way o buildbetter, build better, long-lastingrawers? long-lasting rawers? Maxwell SteveMaxwell Steve Shenandoah,A Shenandoah, A A. Yes, here s. Furniture makers often used wood that was fairly soft for drawersides drawersides ecauset ecauset waseasy waseasy o work with. These sides sideswore wore away becausehe because he pine couldn't couldn'thandle handle he repeatedubbing repeated ubbingof of softwood softwood on soft wood. (As a cure, cure,some some Shaker abin e tm a k e rs v e n rie d ta p e rin g h e drawersides drawer makea sides o make a wider bearing

"All

Beforebuilding the drawer sides, Beforebuilding gluea glue a ll4-in. strip of a hard wood to the bottom bottom of the drawer drawerside sideblanks. blanks. Build he runners runners rom the samewood. Why not make the sidesentirely sides entirely from a hard wood?Here wood?Hereare are hreegood hreegood reasons: I Softerwoods woodsare are ess xpensive. I It's much easier o cut dovetails n a softwood. soft wood. I Soft woodsusuallyweigh usuallyweighess, ess, Softwoods esswear. causingess causing wear. W

surface, as shown above.)Sides above.) Sidesmade rom a soft wood arestill are still a good dea, ut for the ongestlastingdrawers, lasting drawers, dd a strip of wearresistant ood onlywhereneeded: onlywhereneeded: n the bottom bottomof of the drawerside. drawerside.

tools he his

TheAccu-MiteP TheAccu-MiteP is a professional miter auge hat makes ertect angles asily. i./a action Shot-pinaction Shot-pin assurdsead-on assurds ead-on accuracyor accuracy or commonans,les common ans,les ptusa prectse Wedo peratingithout ithout do not ecommendperating protractor cale caleor or We the thesaw saw lade uard, s i showi showihere. here. USPatent USPatent5,038,486 5,038,486 everythingn everything n betvveen

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Ask Us

Ifyou havea havea questionyou'd questionyou'd ike answered, send it to lrs at: Question 8g Answer, Anrerican Woodworke r, 29 | 5 Commers Drive, Suite 700, Eagan, MN 55 21. Sorry but the volume of mail prevents preventsus us from answering answeringeach eachquestion question ndividually.

g the New Delta Store.

Thp into the Power of the Pros.

roma The new Detta tore Thenew torehas hasover over5oo products rom a ine-up f unisaws completeine-up complete unisawso o thosehard-to-find thosehard-to-find machn mach nery eryattach E xtensiverod c t nformaattach ents.Extensive tion including ustomer atings n d reviewswill help o uchoose chooseh h e ight oolfor he ob.We'l[ ven yourdoor delivero deliver door oronly or only$S.gg. o your .....-*'*,-*...,,,. -": -

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Optionalaccessories: manualclamy manual clamy pneumatic lamy . 3/8" x 3/4" miter miterbarbar-

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From Our Readers

nary,?

Visit he Delta tore toreat at

l,t/lnfw.aazon l,t/lnfw.aazo n co m de ta com table sa w s radial saws miter saws scroll & band saws planers the Delta store d r i t t i n gm gm a c h i n e s i o i n t e r s wood shapers

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DrillCentering C enteringi g

There are many times when you need to drill holesdown holesdown the centerof centerof a board. board.This This drill-press ig automatically enters entershe he bit. With some magination, his designcould designcould also be used o center centeryour your piece o a saw routerbit. bladeor blade or a router bit.

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PIVOTING POINTS

The ig is madeof made of two wooden side sidebars bars and two met al end pieces. hese heseare are oined to form a rectangle that pivots into a parallelogram. The rectangle is elevated bove bovea a pieceof pieceof MDF with washers nd oined to it by screws unning screwsunning through he center centerof of the metal ends.A sacrificialbackerboard b ackerboard s placed placedunderunderneath he rectangle. To set setup up the ig,lower he bit so he ip is trapped trappedbetween betweenhe he wooden woodensides. sides. "Squeeze"h he e rectangle nto the drill bit and clamp he MDF board o the drill press able. able.The The drill bit will be centered n anypiece any pieceheld held by the ig. David Swanson Tustin,CA Tustin, CA

Clothespinencil Clothespin encil Findinga Finding a sharpened encil n my shopwas shop washopeless. hopeless. he

more pencils left around, he more heyd disappear o,I morepencils madea made a pencil hat canbe can be clippedanywhere y attaching t to a clothespin.Now N ow I haveone haveone clipped o everyblast everyblastgate, gate, near he phone and on my apron. M a rk S ffird Edgar own, own, Mar tha's tha'sViney Vineyar ard, d, M A ^o,, .{t:i::

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If you have n original florkshop ip, send sendtt to uswith uswith a sketch or photo.'S7'e ay ay$200 or each newe neweprint. print.Send Sendo: o: WorkshopTips, Workshop Tips, AmericanVoodwo AmericanVoodwo rker, 2915Commers 2915 Commers Drive,Suite Drive, Suite700, Eagan,MN MN 55f 21. Submissions 700,Eagan, antbe antbe returned and become our property upon accepranceand acceprance and payment.

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Cutting enonsn enonsn LongBoards LongBoards

I built a bed with rails 6-in. wide and more than 80-in.long. I needed o cut tenons on eachend eachend of theseboards theseboardsbut but the boardswere boardswere oo long to cut on the tablesaw. This ig allows allowsme me to router-cut enons enonson on any engthboard. ength board. t also alsoallows allowsboth both the cheeks nd faces f the tenons o be cut in one onesetup. setup. To cut the enons, irst I mark mylayout ines ineson on eachboard. eachboard.The The guideblocks guideblocks areset are setsquare square o an edgeof edgeof the board and clamped.Runninga R unning a router against he pinned blocks,I make a shallow"skim shallow"skimcut" cut" on all four sides o preventchip-out. preventchip-out. I sneak sneakup up to the ayout ineswith ines with additionaldeeper additional deeper uts.When he astcut ast cut s completed,I make a fewmore passeso passeso develop he ength engthof of the enon.I re remove move he uncut end of the board with a handsaw. Finally,I test-fit he tenon nto the mortise and takeadditional take additionalcutson cuts on the tenon o make makea a good fit. Otto Beasler Cedar Rapids,IA

Bobby in inBnd Bnd Holder

SEARS *Maximumtorque

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Here'sa Here's a classic ip that's that'sworth worth repeating: The lasttime last time I nailed molding to a piece pieceof of furniture I whacked ythumb with the hammer. t's ough to hold a smallbrad smallbrad n a tight place. Ve tried to hold a brad by piercing t through cereal-box cereal-boxcardboard cardboardbut but the cardboard cardboardblocked blocked my view. My simple solution is to use a bobby pin to hold the nail in place.Not place.Not only is my thumb grateful gratefulbut but I can see he point of the brad to boot.

THE GOOD LIFE ATA CREAT CREATPRICE PRICE CUARANTEEDS"

A m e r i c a nW nW o o d w o r k e r DECEM BEROO O

 

Workshop i p s

Vacuum lamp

SteveMoroukian Goshen,IN

Last winter I made the snowflake snowf lake ornaments featured n AW #70, 1998,page7l.The page7l.The construction went well but sanding he December1998, December constructionwent roveddifficult.I apebut but removthin snowflakes roved difficult.I tried double-sided ape ing the tape from the flakeswas flakeswas more trouble than it was worth. I deviseda devised a holder that would both anchor he snowflakes snowflakesand and remove

the sanding dust. The snowflakes sit i n a pocket above a closed cavity connected to my shop vacuum. The vacuum flowing through the holes in th e c a v ity b e lo w s e c u re ly h o ld s the snowflake and removes any dust. sandingdust. sanding Iim Culler BeIIvilIe,OH BeIIvilIe, OH

Metal htector or umber Recycledumber Recycled

mortise & tenons easily easilywith with Leigh atachments. And our easy-to-follow user guide will help make it happen fast Call toll free now to learn more.

The Worldts Best Rorrter loinery ligs Thinking Jig? Think Leigh. 'Vhether you're a hobbyist or a

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When you use recycled umber from old buildings, it's essential o find any metal before you hit itwith embeddedmetal embedded beforeyou your bandsaw or worse, he thickness planer. use hand-held,battery usea a hand-held, battery operated metal detector that's reliable to a depth of 6 to 8 n.I figure thas already paid for itself several imes ov over. er.

AdrianFieldhouse AdrianFieldhouse Yorkshire,ngland Yorkshire, ngland Source for m etal detectors:White 's 5900 ($5OO; r their Classic3 Classic3 that scans4scans4- to 6-in. deep ($350);visit theirWeb site at: www.wh itesmetaldetec to rs.com or call (800) 547-691 .

,w 18

American

Woodworker

DECEMBE ORO O

 

New and Int er esting

Shop Stuff

EditedyG eor geVondr iska

troduct

rcvlews

MoreVersatile ocket-Hole ig

Kreg Tool has developed he latestgeneration latest generation of po pocket-hole cket-hole gs, he brand- new K2000.With K2000.With this systemyou system you can drill pocket holes n both thick and thin material in almost anyproject. Most pocket jigs are designed o center th the e pocket hole only on3l4-in.-thick material. They just dort't dort'twork work very well with material hat's hicker or thinner. Kreg hassolved hassolved his proble- by creat-

irg u modular system.You system.Youadapt adapt o different thicknesses y easilyadding easilyadding or removing spacers. ow you can canmake make pockets hat are arecentered centered nll2in., 314 n. and I-Il2-in.-thick material. Drilling in a variety of thicknessesequires thicknesses equiresyou you to reposition the stop collar on the drill bit. Kreg has ncorporated a depth-collar guide, built into the support wings, o makesetting make setting he collar easy. The K2000 K2000also alsoallows allows you to varythe spacing of the pocketholes pocket holesacross across he width of your material. Three holes,lined with hardened-steel rill guides, llow llowyou you to space oles olesat9ll6 at9ll6 in., 7/8 n., or l-7116-in. on center.The center.The drill guides carry Kreg's ifetime warranty. The K2000 K2000comes comeswith: with: . two wing supports for wide or long material . a portable Mini Kreg that can be clamped o your work and used n place . aface afaceclamp clamp to help with assembling assemblingparts parts . a 3/8-in. drill bi bitt . a case or the (w)hole thing This tool solves ots of screwpocket problems, and s priced competitively competitivelyat at $150. The Mini Kreg Kregwith with a faceclamp. face clamp.

$ 146 KregTool (800) 447-8638 www.kregtool.com

22

American

Woo dwo rker

DECEMBE OR OO

 

Pr oductR oduct R eview s

Revolutionry Laminaterim ryLaminate rimBit Bit

I hate cleaning cleaningcontact contact cement rom bearings n flush-trim bits when I'm working with plastic aminate. also

The Euro-Trimmer, 30, seems o havesolved have solved heseproblems heseproblemsby by adding a squareTeflon Teflonbearing bearing o a flus flush-trim h-trim

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hate t when thosebearings thosebearingsscratch scratch he laminatedsurface laminated surface hey're iding on.

bit. According to the manufacturer, glue won't stick to the Teflon,so Teflon,so you

nevergetglue build up. neverget Another benup.Another efit is that the Teflonwon't Teflon won't scratch he laminateon adjacent urfaces. laminateon   30 EuroLimited Euro Limited (800)877-EURO (800) 877-EURO www.eurolimited.com

User-Friendlv Blade lean6r

Saygood-bye o causticblade Saygood-bye causticbladecleaners. cleaners. CMT'S Formula 2050 Bladeand Blade and Bit Cleaner 12 or l8 oz.) s completely non-toxic, non-flammable and biodegradable. I've used his stuff on tablesaw nd band sawblades, sawblades, outer bits and drill bits.Spritz bits. Spritz t on,let t set or five minutes and wipe clean. t also eaves thi thin n film on the cutter o act as asa ubricant.

  t2 CMT (888) MT B|TS MTB|TS www.cmtusa.com

 

Heavy-Duty Router Table Insert

. European-style inges hat allow the insert to pivot up out of the table to make outeradjustments outer adjustments r bit changes easier. he hinges hingesquickly quickly releaserom release rom their mounts,so mounts,so you can use he nsert like an oversized outer base n hand-

ProductReviews ProductReviews you need ots of support to prevent he router rom tipping.

$ 20

Excalibur

(800) s7-4 s7-4r8 r8

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Excalibur'sversatileEXRT2 Excalibur'sversatile EXRT2router router table insert ($tZOl comes comeswith with 1-3l16 n., 2-518n. 2-518 n. and 3-718-in.dia.emovablesteel nsert rings. rings.These These nsertrings nsert rings can accommodate variety of bit diameters and make routing safer saferbykeeping bykeeping the openingas opening assmall small aspossible aspossible or the bit yodre using. In addition to the handy nsert rings, the EXRT2'salso EXRT2'salso eatures: . A steelplate steelplate hat's hat's9164-in. 9164-in.hick hick and measuresl-314 measures l-314 in. by 18 n. It'shard It'shard to imagine this heavy-duty plate bending, even evenunder under the heaviest outer. . A center plate (where your router attaches)hat's attaches) hat's asercut asercut to preciselyit precisely it the main plate.It restson restson ackscrews,o t can be micro-adjustedor micro-adjusted or perfectalignment perfectalignment with the main plate.Youll need o drill mounting holes for your router in the center plate,but plate,but the included centering goid. makes t easyto easytokeep keepyour your router n

BIESEMEYER'

Serving Discrimincrting Woodworkers for More Thctrr Two Decqdes

It's our 20th AnniversCIry, ond we wqnt to congrqtulqte qnd thqnk the thouscnds of woodworkers who hcrve chosen BIESEMryER@qccessories for their shops throughout the yecrs, We toke pride in producing the origincl T-Squcne@ scrw fence system qnd other quclity woodworking qccessories thot hqve set the standard since 1980, ond continue todcry to be the fcnrorite of discriminating woodworkers everywhere. The origincl qnd still the best

the middle of the plate.

BIESEMEYER' Mcrdewith pride in the U.S.A. Mcrdewith

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P r o d u c tR tR e v i e w s

Sturdy olding R outer able Routerable +--._,. 4S*q d}-..,-

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Sturdyand olding? ep,Bosch Sturdyand B osch asdone asdone t. The irst ime I saw his able kept eaning on it trying to get t to tip. Didn't happen.One tip.Didn't egeven O ne eg evenhas hasan an adjustableoo adjustableoo t helpcompensate to help compensateor uneven loors. The fence fenceon on this table s well designedand designedand reminds me of a heavy-duty shaper ence. he guard s adjustable,o adjustable,o t can canbe be kept n position positionover over he cutter

at all times.Shims times.Shimsare ncludedso are ncluded so he outfeed ideof ideof the ence an anbe be offset.Youl offset.Youl need to offset a router fence f you use a bit that cuts into the width of your material, or examplewhen ointing an edge. he ence ccepts 2-ll2-in.dust collection ose.

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The able s a comfortable 6-i n.tall.But B ut t's he ablesize,24 able size,24n. n. by 44 n., hat really sets t apart. reallysets apart.That's That'splenty plentybig big for the the argestwork. w ork. It includesa includesa starterpin, starterpin, for work like cathedral oors,and oors,and a miter-gauge lot. lot.The The routerplate routerplate s predrilled for Bosch outers, nd may need o be drilled or other othermakes. makes. Another great ea ture is the power switch. t's ncluded with the able, able,and and has an 8-ft. power cord. It's significantlysafer significantlysafer to use a table switch lik e th is , n s te a do do f re a c h in gu gu n d e r th e table for the router

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availableccessories, availableccessories, t gives ou thepower the power o handleots handle ots f obs. Use t to carvewood, hape lastic,

If youve struggled struggledwith with 5 ft. by 5 ft.Europeanplywood European plywood like Baltic Birch, look for Europly,a Europly,a new pllvrood from Columbia ForestProducts. ForestProducts.Europly Europly with d o m e s tic -h a rd wo o d e n e e r s expectedo expected o sell or about 80per 3l4in. by 4 ft.by 8-ft. 8-ft.sheet. sheet. The 314-in.-thickmaterial materialhas has 15 plies,madeup m adeup of birch and and a alder, lder, iving it excellent trength trengthand and screw-holding capabilities. t's also available n ll2 in. and l-in. thickness. his is a greatmaterial great material or drawers r anyappli-

g r i n dm dm e t a l , u t p i p e s , o l i s h s ilv e r, h a rp e no no o ls , tc h la s s , andmore. and more. ormorenformation, m ore nformation, all al l 1 800-4-DREM L 1-800437-3635). 1-800437-3635).

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DECEI \ 1 BER O OO OO

 

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ReuseYour Mineral Spirits

REUSABLE SPIRITS

When you use solvent-based inishes, brush cleaning is a pain.It's costly and the dregs you end up with are more than a nuisance-they

could be toxic. Luckily, you can save he dirty spirits and use them over and over.You l get clean brushes,save brushes, savemoney money and practice conservation at the same ime. Here's Here'show: how:

ITTAKESTHREE INSES nd ots of mineral pirits o clean varnish rom a brush.But, brush.But, f you save he spirits rom previous cleaningsnd cleanings nd euse hem as he first wo rinses, ou'llonly ou'llonly needa need a small mountof mountof clean pirits or the final inse. Keepseparate Keep separate ealed ontainers or each inseof inse of recycled spirits.Because spirits. Becausehe he first rinse emovesmost emovesmost of the varnish,ts varnish,ts container ccumulates ost of the sludge nd he spirits ake longer o renew hemselves.The hemselves.Thepirits pirits n the second inse contain ess esidue, nd revive uickly. our he spiritsused spiritsused for the final inse nto the second-rinseontainer. second-rinseontainer. umbering helpsyou helps you keep he containers traight. The irst rinsecontainer rinsecontainer ventuallyets ventually ets ull of sludge. Disposeof Dispose of it properly (see ecommendation t right) and replacett with the second-rinseontainer. replace second-rinseontainer. Then start a new container container or the second inse.

s 2NDRINSE

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SETTLED.OUT SLUDGE

VARNISHSETTLES UT of mineral pirits VARNISHSETTLES piritsquickly.Within quickly.Within coupleof couple of days f ter tercleaninS cleaninS ut a brush he spirits re clean enough o useagain. use again. epeated euseof euseof the samespirits samespirits results n a layered uildup f sludge. Be sure to provide adequate ventilation whenever you work with mineral spirits. Store them in a safe place, away from the risk of fire and out ofthe reach ofkids and pets.

3 R DR DRINSE

lST RINSE

. qG. '

LOTSOFSLUDGE

American

Woodworker

o r c r u a E Ro Ro o 0

 

F i n i s h i n gi gi p s

e Your Own Wood Putty Tired of neverhaving neverhaving reshwood puty when you need it? You've probably opened a can and found its contents dried out, unusableor unusableor the wrong color. If you plan to usea usea clear inish,you can make your own putty from sanding dust (save ome you'resandomewhen when you're sanding your project) and varnish.Justmix andvarnish.

faster, ut putty made madewith with them tends to dissolveunder dissolve under a fresh topcoat of the same inish. Apply the dough with a putty knife and et t dry (at east eastovernight) overnight)before before sanding.Under sanding. Under a clear inish, his putty matcheshe closelymatches closely he wood tone, tone,although although it may be a slightly darkercolor. darker color.

the two into a thick dough by adding the varnish o the dust, dust,a a ittle at a time. Varnish makes a good binder. Even though it takes takesa a ong time, once oncedry, dry, t staysdry. stays dry. Shellac Shellacand and acquer may dry

End Grain SealPorousEnd SealPorous with Epoxy Outdoor furniture will last longer if the egscant egscant wick up moisture from the ground.A ground. A thin-bodied epoxy epoxysoaks soaks n the best. Hobby stores best.Hobby storesusually usuallycarry carry it in several ormulations. Just pick the

runniest one. It'll probably have an extendedopen extended open im e.If you get oo exuberant and drip epo)cF ver the edges, clean t offwith acetone efore t cures. CHAIRLE CHAIR LE G

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Accept o mitationsl Buy he Performax6-32 hePerformax PlusDrum ander,he industry'sriginal riginalru ru m sander,nd sander, nd eceivehe accessoryackage absolutelyREEI Packagencludes: Package ncludes: lnfeed/outfeed ables Conveyorelt Conveyor elt racker et Boxof Box of ready{o-wrap sandpaperizedo i zedo fit $131accessory ackage

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Finishing ips

Make Surface SurfaceChecks Disappear ChecksDisappear Don't et small smallsurface surface hecks eep ou rom using usingan an otherwisegood erwise good board. board.Got Got a minute?You minute?You can make hose checks isappear. Squeezeyanoacrylate Squeeze yanoacrylateCA) glue nto he crack.C CA A glue worksbetter works better han hanyellow yellowglue gluebecause becauset dries driesvery very quickly. Any brand of gap-fillingC gap-fillingC A glue gluewith with a 5- to 15-second open ime will work (about$5 athomecenters homecenters nd hardware ndhardware stores). sea sea ip with a pin-sized ole you can canget get eplace-

ment ips or 50 cents t hobby hobbystores). stores). Immediately and he area, mixing sanding ustwith ustwith the glueand glue and packing t in the cavity. Keep sanding until the crack s filled and the excess glue s removed.You ayneed ay need to repeathe repeat he process. nder ndera a finish, he sandingdust/glue sandingdust/glue mixture is almost nvisible.

/w

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