Vol.12 - Tables and Desks

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THEARTOFWOODWORKING

HOMEWORI$HOP

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WORKSHO GPU I D E SAFETY TIPS POWER TOOTS . Wearappropriatesafetygear:safety glasses, a faceshieldfor extraprotection, and hearingprotection. lf thereis no dust collection system, weara dustmask.For exoticwoodssuchas ebony,usea respirator;sawdustmaycausean allergic reaction.Wearworkgloveswhenhand l i n gr o u g hl u m b e r . o Drapethe powercord of a portable powertool overyourshoulderto keep it out of the way. . C o n c e n t r a toen t h e j o b ; d o n o t r u s h .

' Neverworkwhenyou aretired,stressed, or havebeendrinkingalcoholor using medications that inducedrowsiness. o A l w a y sk e e py o u rw o r ka r e ac l e a n and tidy; cluttercan leadto accidents, and sawdustand woodscrapscan be a fire hazard. o K e e py o u rh a n d sw e l la w a yf r o m a t u r n i n gb l a d eo r b i t . . Do not usea tool if any part is worn or damaged.

HANDTOOLS . Usetheapproprrate toolforthejob; do nottryto makea tooldosomething forwhichit wasnotintended. o Clamp yourworkpiece to freeboth hands foranoperation. o Cutawayfromyourself rather than towardyourbody. . Donotforcea tool;if possible, try removing lessstockoneachpass. . Keeptheedges of cutting toolssharp.

GLUING UPLEG BLANKS Face-gluing Formanytableanddesklegs,youwill needthickerstockthanis commonlyavailable. Thesolution is to makeyourownlegblanksbyfacegluingthinnerstock.Startbypreparing thestockslighilylarger than thef inalsizeof the leg.Toensure a seamless fit, jointthematingsurfaces.Thenglueup theboards faceto face,alternating theendgrain of thepieces andarranging thestockto maximize grainandcolor.The process is identical to edge-gluing boardsintopanels(page93),except thatC clamps shouldbeused.Asshownat right,space theclamps at 3- to 4-inchintervals pressure to provide constant across theentireioint.

J(lINERY ADHESIVES TYPE

CHARACTERISTICS

USES

White glue

. Strong Polyvinyl-acetate based; nottoxicorflammable bonding; working time3 to 5 o Setting minutes timeabout30 to 45 minutes; curesfullyin 24to 72 hoursr Dries r Doesnotsandaswellasyellow clearandcolorless glue

General woodworking

Yellow glue

Aliphatic-resin based;not toxic or flammableo Betterimmediateadhesionfor faster General woodworking grabthanwhiteglue;working time3 to 5 minutes. Settingtimeabout30 to 40 minutes; curesfully in 24 Io 72 hourso Driesopaque(fadedyellow);moreheat-resistant for better sandingproperties thanwhiteglue

Epoxy glue

Resinand hardener mustbe mixedpriorto use;not flammablebut maybe toxic o strong,waterproof bonding;workingtime 5 minutesto 2 hours(depending on type) r Settingtime 5 minutesto 2 hours(depending on type);curesfully in 24 hours

Hideglue

Protein-based; available o Strongbondin granular or liquidform;nottoxicor flammable Cabinet construction, antique ing,workingtime 3-5 minutesr Settingtimet hour;cures'fullyin24hourso Sandable, restoration, veneering, andfine driesa darkcoloro Notwater-resistant, gluebondcan besoftened withwaterfor disassembly woodworking

Plastic resin

Urea-formaldehyde-based, availablein powdered form;not f lammablebut toxic ' Strongbonding,workingtime 20 minutes. Settingtime 4 to 6 hours;curesfully in 3 dayso Waterresistance higherthanthat of aliphaticglues,doesnotstainacidic w000s,sanoscteanlv

Bonding acidicwoods suchas oak;useon exoticwoods that bondpoorly withotherglues

V e n e e r i nl agm , i n a t i nagn,d edge-gluing hardwood

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THEARTOFWOODWORKING

TABTES ANDDESI$

THEART OF WOODWORKING

TABLES AI\IDDESI$

TIME-LIFE BOOKS VIRGINIA ALEXANDRIA. ST.REMYPRESS MONTREAL. NEWYORK

I I I I THE ART OF WOODWORKING was produced by ST. REMYPRESS PUBLISHER KennethWinchester PRESIDENT PierreLdveill6 Series Editor SeriesArt Director SeniorEditors Art Directors Designers Research Editor PictureEditor Writers Research Assistant Cont r ibuting Illu strators

Administrator ProductionManager SystemCoordinator Photographers A dministrative Assistant Proofreader Indexer

PierreHome-Douglas FrancineLemieux Marc Cassini(Text) HeatherMills (Research) Normand Boudreault,Luc Germain, SolangeLaberge Lina Desrochers,H6ldneDion, Doiron,MichelGigudre Jean-Guy Iim McRae Christopherfackson Andrew Iones,Rob Lutes Bryan Quinn GillesBeauchemin,RolandBergerat, Michel Blais,Jean-PierreBourgeois, RonaldDurepos,facquesPerrault, lamesTh6rien NatalieWatanabe MichelleTurbide Jean-LucRoy RobertChartier,ChristianLevesque Dominique Gagnd Judith Yelon ChristineM. Iacobs

Time-Life Booksis a division of Time Life Inc., a wholly ownedsubsidiaryof THE TIME INC. BOOK COMPANY

TIMELIFEINC. Presidentand CEO Editor-in-chief

JohnM. Fahey JohnL. Papanek

TIME-LIFEBOOKS President Vice-President, Directorof Marketing ExecutiveEditor ExecutiveArt Director

lohn D. Hall NancyK. )ones RobertaConlan Ellen Robling

ConsuhingEditor ProductionManager

lohn R. Sullivan MarleneZack

THECONSUTIANTS fon Arno is a consultant,cabinetmaker,and freelancewriter who livesin Tioy, Michigan. He alsoconductsseminarson wood identificationand earlyAmericanfurniture design. I(am Ghaffari is a freelancewriter and editor. He hashis own business in RhodeIslanddesigningand building one-of-akind and limited production furniture. Kam'sbackground alsoincludesworking professionallyin furniture reproduction and fine carpentryand studyingwith furniture patriarchsWendellCastleof the U.S.and England'sFred Baier. Giles Miller-Mead taught advancedcabinetmakingat Montreal technicalschoolsfor more than ten years.A nativeofNew Zealand,he hasworked asa restorerof antiquefurniture.

Thbles& Desks p. cm.-(The Art of woodworking) Includesindex. ISBN0-8094-9s12-0 l. Thbles2. Desks3. Furniture making I. Time-Life Books. II. Title: Thblesand desks.III. Series. TT197.5.T3T33 1994 684.r'3-dc20 93-49732 CIP For information about any Time-Life book, pleasecall l-800-621-7026, or write: ReaderInformation Time-Life CustomerService P.O.Box C-32068 Richmond,Virginia 23261-2068 @ 1994Time-Life BooksInc All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproducedin any form or by any electronicor mechanicalmeans,including information storageand retrievaldevicesor systems,without prior written permissionfrom the publisher,exceptthat briefpassages may be quoted for reviews. Firstprinting.Printedin U.S.A. Publishedsimultaneouslyin Canada. TIME-LIFE is a trademarkof Time WarnerInc. U.S.A.

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CONTENTS 6 INTRODUCTION 12 14 16 18 19 2L 22

TABLEAND DESK BASICS Wood movement Selectingand orderingwood Lumberdefects Preparingstock Designingtablesand desks Tableand deskstyles

28 30 32 33 4L

DESK CASEWORK TWotypesof deskcasework Caseworkjoints Buildinga carcase Buildinga frame-andpaneldesk

54 56 57 58 59 60 63 66 68 69 72

LEGSAND RAITS Legstylesand hardware Leg-to-railjoints Tiipod table Pedestaltable Thperedlegs Cabriolelegs Ttrrnedlegs Pedestal legs Octagonallegs Leg-to-railjoinery

88 90 92 93 96 101 II2

TOPS Inventory of top designs Hardwareand accessories Preparinga top Attachinga top Adjustabletops Decorativeelements

116 118 I20 131 133 138

DRAWERS Anatomy of a drawer Drawerjoinery Drawerhardware Mounting drawers Drawerstops

140 GTOSSARY I42 INDEX I44 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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INTRODUCTION

SimonWattstalksabout I

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HIS RECYCLED DESK andsmall buildingfurniture,houses, f haveworkedwithwoodfor ahalf-century, However, asI possibilities of thematerial. I boatsandstillI marvelattheendless hada career getolderandthetreesgetfewer,I preferto usewoodthathasalready if youcountbeinga treeasthefirst. asabridge,aboat,or abuilding-two careers, the woodstretches Farfroma limitation,I'vefoundthatworkingwith recycled chalingenuity. Usedboatlumberisthegreatest andtakesconsiderable imagination fastenings. spaced it iscurvedandfull of closely lengebecause apartment usingDouglas-fir I madethedeskin thephotofor mySanFrancisco I wireyard.Afterremovingallvisiblefastenings, reclaimed froma localwrecking planer.I madeno attempt andrantheboardsthoughathickness thesurfaces brushed of thetimber'spreviouslife; bolt holes,iron stains,andotherevidence to conceal I incorporated themintothedesk. instead, The I makenow thisoneknocksdowncompletely. Likemostof thelargerpieces strucwithoutglueandthesupporting together fourboardsof thetoparedoweled jointsanddrawpins.Drivingthetapered pegs of mortise-and-tenon tureconsists Thestretcher istenoned throughthelegsandsecured homepullsthejointtogether. with loosewedges. of grandeur, thereis no point in makinga working youhavedelusions Unless reach whensittingdown.Thatmeansa you can comfortably larger than surface maximumof 6 feetlongandno morethanhalfthatin depth-thesizeof thisdesk. writingmatein thedrawers: withdesks I preferto keeponlytheitemsI associate printers, and monitors' Computers, paper stapler, and so on. clips, rials,stamps, I like in unit. don't housed a separate I think, much better are, associated equipment piece monufurniture files make a of Drawers frrll of into a desk filestorage built filingneedschange, soI Also,a person's in aDpearance. mental,evenintimidating, remodel or replace a desk. file than to change units thinkit isbetterto addor andthewoodagainturned It mayhappen thatthisdeskwill outliveitsusefulness joints fastenings, thatwouldbe glued and no hidden no else.With intosomething piece. Thedeskwill recycled nature of the perhaps the suitable considering easy-and in the next century. bemygiftto awoodworker

He nowlivesin writer,and teacher. SimonWattsis a woodworker, classes in wooden whereheoffersnationallyrecognized SanFrancisco boatbuilding.He isalsotheWestCoasteditorfor AmericanWoodworker magazineand lastyearpublishedthreeboat-buildingmanuals.

INTRODUCTION

Kam Ghaftaridiscusses

DESIGNING TABLES everytypeof furniture,fromdecorative high-sryle chairs I nu* built practically I to kitchencabinets, but I'm fascinated bytables. Boththefirstpieceof furniture I madeandthefirstoneI designed weretables. It'sanundeniable challenge to createa beautifulchairthat is alsocomfortable, or anelegantentertainment center designed specifically aroundthesizesandfunctionsof its contents. Butfor sheer simplicityanddesignfreedom, youcan'tbeata table. Sooneror later,manywoodworkers wantto startdesigning theirownfurniture. It'ssomething I stronglyencourage; designing greatlyincreases thesatisfaction derivedfromwoodworking. A tableis a greatplaceto start.A tablehasrelatively fewstructuralelements andtechnical requirements: If you'vegota flattop anda solidsupportsystem to holdit up,youhavegota functional table.Therestisup to you.Takeintoaccount strength requirements, use,andsizewhenplanning thepiice. Will thisbea heavy-duty kid-proofkitchentableor a delicate decorative halltable, for example? Thenbringin formsandshapes thatplease you.Subtlepointssuchas joinery,a cleverhandmade a delicately shaped leg,decorative mechanism, or a particularlyhandsome pieceof woodcanbeshowcased in a table. Yourpiececanbesimpleor complex, asaustere asShaker or asostentatious asrococo,basedon designs of the1930s or the1730s-orsomething uniqueandimaginative.Itsdesigncanalsoaddress aparticularneednotmetbycommercially available furniture,likea telephone table,or abackgammon or chess table. Thetablein thephotowasinfluenced by theclassic Danishdesigns of Hans Wegner, aswellasbymyappreciation of theaspen leaf,hence thename, AspenThble. Thiswasdesigned for streamlined productionwithoutsacrificing its handcrafted look.I wanteda tablethatknockeddownflat for shipping,yetwassturdywhen assembled. A light-durythree-legged tableisstable if thelegsareevenlyspaced and farenoughapart.It alsodoesn'trequireleveling on uneven floors. I tenoned theturnedlegsintotheshaped rails,thendevised aremovable grooved metalplatethat,with screws goinginto threaded insertsin therails,tiesthemall together. Therailsarealsocountersunk for screws thatfit intothreaded inserts in the stable multi-plytop.Theinlaysin thetopsareroutedwitha collarridingin a female template. Theivory-colored material istintedpatching resinfor solid-surface countefiops.Thegreenaluminumveinsarecomputer milledto ensure a precise fit time aftertime.Fora singleinlay,thispartcouldbecutwith ajeweler's sawandfile.

Kam Ghaffaridesigns, builds,and writesabout RhodeIsland. furniture at hisstudioin Westerly,

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TNTRODUCTION

Tory Seareron

ASPANISH-STYLE DESK furnitureshop,creatinga uniqueandpleasing \ A f henyourun a commercial islistening Foremost in theprocess Y V designcanbeaninvigoratingchallenge. practicalandestheticconsiderations. to thecustomerandbalancing sculpturalpieceof furThebuyersof thedeskin thephotowanteda handsome niturethat wouldalsoallowthemto displayart objects.Otherdesignconsiderationsinvolvedincorporatingthreehangingfile drawersaswellasnumeroussmall light source. with a self-contained drawersandcubbies travelingdesks Thedrop-frontdesignwasinspiredby the originalvarguefio broughtfromoldSpainto thefrontierof NewMexico.Thecarvedmotifsandturned Colonialera.Theentire thatsurvivedfromtheSpanish legsarederivedfrompieces pieceis madefromsugarpine,awoodnativeto thewesternUnitedStates. Thereisanenduringandrichtraditionof carvingandfurnituremakingin norththis centuriesernNewMexico.RamonMartinez,sittingat the desk,exemplifies mostasashopforeman,have oldHispanictradition.Thirtyyearswith thecompany, In buildingthispiece,Ramonmadethedesk himintoatruemaster crafsman. shaped within thecontextof thedesign.All theprimaryjointsare asauthenticaspossible Theraisedpanelsfloatfor whichis historically appropriate. mortise-and-tenon, is hand-forged. Thedeskfeaturesan inset hardware expansion andthedecorative to concealed boltsthat leatherdeskpad.Theknobson theoutsideareconnected leather surface canbe pad place. The be released so the leather in bolts can holdthe replaced. easily Theendresultisa compactandfunaionaldeskthataddsaverywarmandpleasingdesignelementto theuser'shome.Thedeskhasbeenin usefor someyearsnow of varioushand-rubbed oils andtheantiquedfinishweapplied-a combination improved with age. lacquers-hasonly andsprayed

TonySearerownsSouthwestSpanishCraftsmen,a furniture shopin in SpanishColonial.Spanish SanteFe,Nm Mexico,that specializes styles.Previously,he Provincial"and its own classicsoutlr,vestern designed andbuilt exhibi*for theMuseumof Nnv Mexico.

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TABLEAI\TDDESKBASICS the mationyouwill needto purchase of I tttroughthefollowingchapters woodfor yourproject. ,t \ thisbookfocuson thenutsand With vourstockin hand,onecrucial boltsof tableanddeskconstruction, stepremainsbeforeyou canstartto thereismoreto buildingapieceof furpreparingthe put yourworktogether: niturethancuttingjointsandassemincludes stock(pagel9). Thisprocess Beforeanyof this blingcomponents. jointingandplaningroughwoodsoit is canhappen,sometimemustbespent andcuttingstockto smoothandsquare, and thepiece,andselecting designing lengthandwidth.Forrough,unsurfaced preparingthe lumber.This chapter lumber,firstpasonefaceacrosthejoinfocuses on the skillsyou will needto two surtet thenoneedge,producing steps.For carryout thesepreparatory faces at90oto eachother.Next,planethe thepreliminaries are somecraftsmen, otherfaceof theboardto makeit paralaspects of a amongthemostenjoyable lel to thefirst.Whenthestockis square project.Hand-pickinga mahogany andsmooth,youarereadyto rip it to or unwrapboardat thelumberyard, it to length.If you widthandcrosscut pinga package Lumberqualityvarieswidely,even of exoticwoodfrom a which already hasboth grade. Takingthe time buy S2S stock, within the same for example, can mail-ordersupplier, pass edge across the carefully faces surfaced, one to examine and selectboards berewarding experiences. jointer, you rip it to size. then and crosscut you kind at alumberyardwillhelp obtain need the of First, to select preS4Sstock,whichhasall itssurfaces thebeststockfor your project. tableor deskthatsuitsyourneeds.The pared, immecan be ripped and crosscut gallery styles illustrated oftableanddesk suchasboards thatwill bejoinedtogether, beginningon page22 canprovidea startingpoint in your diately.Onlyedges jointed. need you to make a tabletop, to be The incorporate being edge-glued for a suitable design. dimensions search yourproject important piece. Finally, remember that it is to tackle of the andsuitability will affectboth theappearance greatest your page For efficienry,lay out toolsin the 21. methodically. arediscussed in detailon dimensions Standard (or your wood follows a relatively direct routefrom yourshop so that one a design sketched Onceyou haveselected jointed you your When have rough stock to final assembly. on wood self),it is time to buy thelumber.Thesections joints (page16), (page your all comit to size, fashion and sand andderiving stockandcut 14),orderingwood movement beforeassembly. a cuttinglistfroma sketch(page17)providethebasicinfor- ponents

thetopofa doubleAn orbitalsander smoothes pedestal desk. Afterafinal pass withafinegritpaper,thedeskwill beready for afinish.

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WOODMOVEMENT \ [ f ood gainsandlosesmoistureas V V therelative humidityof thesurrounding air changes.And as the wood'smoisturecontentchanges,so do its dimensionsand weight.These changes cancauseproblemsfor a piece of furniture,somemerelyirritating, othersmuch more serious.Knowing how moistureaffectswood and making the appropriateallowances will help vou avoid difficultv. ' The watercontainedin a pieceof wood is measured asa percentage of the wood's oven-dry,or water-free weight.For example,if a 50-pound pieceof woodweighs40 poundswhen it is oven-dry,the weight of the shed water-10 pounds-divided by the wood'sdry weight---4O pounds-is the moisturecontentof the originalpiece: in this case,25 percent. Wood containswaterin two ways: asfreewaterin its cell cavitiesand as bound waterin its cell walls.When wood is cut and exposedto the air, it shedsits freewaterfirst. When all free wateris expelled,the wood is saidto be at its fibersaturationpoint (FSP), which is typicallybetween23 and30 percentmoisturecontent.Up to this point, asshownin the illustrationat right, therehasbeenno changein the dimensionsof the piece;it simply weighsless.Aswooddriesfurther,however,water is removedfrom the cell walls,and the boardshrinks. Undernormalcircumstances, wood neverregainsits freewater,but changes in humidity in the air do affectthe amount of moisturein the cell walls. At 100percentrelativehumidity,wood reaches its FSBholdingasmuchbound wateraspossible. At 0 percenthumidity, wood is devoidof all moisture. Usuallv,becausethe watercontentof wood reflectsthe moisturepresentin theatmosphere, themoisturecontentof mostwoodsrangesbetween5 and20 percent.The fluctuationin relative humidityof nearly80 percentbetween

typicalNorth Americanwintersand summerscan causesubstantialwood movementoverthe courseof ayear. Becauseof their size,tabletopsand desktops proneto moveareespecially ment.A 3-foot-widetouwith thewood grainrunningalongits lengthcanexperienceannualmovementof morethan I inch acrossits width. This cancause seriousdifficultiesfor anextension table, for example,which relieson the perfectalignmentof variouscomponents. You can do severalthingsto compensatefor the effectsof humidity changes on wood.In your shop,usea humidifierin winter and a dehumidifier in summerto keepthe humidity level asconstantaspossible.Also,make

allowances for wood movementin the constructionof your work. With an extensiontable(page90),for example, orientthewoodgrainof thetop to run acrossthewidth of thetable,not along its length.This way,wood movement will not affectalignmentof the pieces. The methodyou useto attacha top is equally important. Severaleffective methodsareshownstartingon page96. Usingframe-and-panel construction (page31)for thecasework of a deskwill allow wood to expandand contract without affectingthe stabilityof the piece.Somewoodstend to swelland shrinkmorethan others.Yourlumber dealercanhelpyou selectdimensionally stablespeciis'foryour projects.

Moisture content above 30% (no chanqe)

Moiaturecontent at FOF26% (no chanqe)

Moist.urecontent at 17% (1" ahrinka7e)

Moiaturecontent.at. 13% (/o" ehrinka1e)

Moiature content at B% (h" ehrinkaqe)

Vhen themoisture contentof a 2-by-10plain-sawn plankof softwood lumber dropsbelowitsfrbersaturation point (FSP),thewoodshrinks. At 17percent,the boardis',/o inchnqrrowerthan it wasat lrsFSP;it losesqnother%inch of width whenkiln-driedto 8 percent.Shrinkage partly on thedensityof the depends wood;generally, a denserspecies shrinksand swellsmorethana lessdenseone.

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TABLEAND DESKBASICS

WOOD SHRINKAGE Tangential andradialshrinkage Wooddoesnotshrinkuniformly. Asshown bythethedottedlinesin theillustration paralat right,tangential shrinkage-roughly growth lelto the rings-isabouttwicethe radial shrinkage, whichoccurs across the rings.Thisdifference causes boards and panels to warpwhentheyshrinkorswellas Shrinkage along relative humidity changes. thelength of a boardis usually insignifiwhich cant.A Z-by-IOplank,forexample, itswidthmightlose shrinks %inchacross lessthan%einchalongan 8-footlength. anddesks, Whenbuilding topsfortables orient thegrainin thedirection thatwill causethefewestproblems. Quartersawn stock,whichhasgrowthringsthatareat rightangles to theface,haslessof a tenfortops. dencyto cupandis a goodchoice

WOOD GRAIN ANDJOINERY

Tanqential

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Tan7ential PEne

graindirection 0ptimizing Woodmovement canhaveaneffecton thestrength of a joint.Orient thegrain pieces of themating of a jointsothey willmovein thesamedirection. ln the jorntshownat left, mortise-and-tenon planes theboards'tangential areparallelto eachother,Consequently, the woodmovement thatoneoieceexoerienceswill beclosely matched bythe otherandthejointwill notbeweaka jointwiththetanened.Assembling gentialplanes of thetwopieces at right angles couldweaken thejointor even forceit aoart.

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SELECTINGAND ORDERINGWOOD T umberfor yourtableor deskproject l-l cancomefrom several sources, each with its own advantages anddrawbacks. The locallumberyardis the mostobvioussupplier,andoftenthe mostconvenient,but the selection maybe limited to constructionwoodssuchas pine, spruce,and other softwoods.Though you may find the occasionalcacheof hardwood,moreoftenthannot youwill haveto venturefartherafield,consulting the YellowPagesor woodworking magazines to find dealerswho specialize in someof the lesscommonhard-

woodsusedfor fine furniture.Youwill usuallypaymore,but the qualityof the woodshouldbehighertoo. Thereareotherlesscostlyootionsfor finding the wood you need.A lumber mill maysellyou boardsat a reasonable price,but thewoodwill mostoftenneed to be seasoned and surfaced,which meansthatyou mustown a jointerand planer.Also,largermills areoftenreluctant to fill smallorders.Rerycledboards arebecomingincreasingly popularwith woodworkers,a resultof the scarcityof certainwoods.Salvaged wood is rela-

tivelyinexpensive and,becauseit often comesfrom old-growthtimber,it can be visuallyandstructurallysuperiorto recentlyharvested lumber.Regardless of your chosensupply,defineyour needs carefullybeforeorderingwood.Thetips that follow will help you get what you needat a reasonable cost.Beingwellpreparedwill alsospeedthe processconsiderably. . Species: Ask for the specificwood species, ratherthana broadfamilyname. For example,orderWesternred cedar, not simplycedar.Tobesureyou getwhat

CATCULATING BOARD FEET Ordering lumber bytheboardfoot The"boardfoot"is a unitof measurement usedto calculate thevolume of a given amountof stock.lt is commonly usedwith hardwood lumber. Asshownin theillustrationat right,the standard boardfootis equivalent to a piecethatis 1 inchthick, 12 inches wide,and12 inches long.To calculate thenumber of boardfeetin a pieceof wood,multiply itsthreedimensionstogether. Then,dividetheresultby 144 if thedimensions arein inches, or by 12 if iustonedimension is in feet.

l" x 12"x 12"= I 572111urd board foot

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NUMBER FEET OFBOARD IN 8 tINEAtFEET OFDIFFERENT SIZED BOARDS 1-by-3=2boardfeet

Theformulafor a standardboard: I"x12"x12"+I44=I (or1"x12"xI'+12=I) plankthatis 1 Soif youhada 6-foot-long inchthickand4 inches wide,youwould calculate theboardfeetasfollows: 1"x 4" x 6' + 12 = 2 (or2 boardfeet).Otherexamplesareshownin the illustration. Rememberthatboardfeetarecalculated onthe basisof the nominal ratherthanactual dimensions of thestock;consequently, the boardfeetcontained in a 2-by-4thatactuallymeasures lYz-by-3% inches wouldbe calculated usingthelarger dimensions.

1-by-6=4boardfeet

1-by12=Bboardfeet

2-by-4 = 5% board feet

2-W-6=Bboardfeet

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you want,Iearnthe botanicalnameof the wood you want and askfor it. . Quantity: When orderingwood, specifywhetheryou want the stockin board feetor linealfeet.A linealfoot is merelyan expressionof a board's length,regardless of its width or thickness.Theboardfoot is a soecificvolume of wood;it is usuallynecesiary for ordering hardwoods,which areoftenavailable in randomwidthsonly.Seepage16for informationaboutcalculatingboardfeet. . Size Woodis soldin nominalrather than realsizes.so makeallowances for

the difference whenorderingsurfaced lumber.L2-by-ais actuallyl/"'-by-3Y.". The thicknessof hardwoodsis often expressed asan improperfractionin cuartersof an inch.A 1Z-inch-thick hardwood board, for example,is expressed asfl4. The nominal and real greenboards dimensionsof unsurfaced, arethe same. . GradeWthin thehigherhardwood grades,the primary differencebetween the variousgradesis appearance rather than strength.Consideringthe differencein price,it isbestto reserve thebest stockfor the visiblepartsof your projects,usinglessexpensive, lower-grade woodfor hiddencomponents. Consult

yourlumberdealerfor achartof thedifferentgrades available. . Seasoning: Lumberis soldeither kiln dried(KD),air dried(AD),or green. Kiln-driedwoodisgenerally the moststable. It hasa moisture content (MC)of 8 percent, whereas air-dried woodhasaMC of 12to 20percent. Airdriedwoodisoftenpreferred bycarvers. . Surfacing: refersto how Surfacing thestockis prepared at themill before it comes to thelumberyard. Softwood lumberisusually surfaced onbothfaces; hardwood is oftensoldrough.If you haveaplanerandjointer,buyingrough lumbe.r it yourselfwill andsurfacing less expenslve. Prove

A CUTTING LIST Making andusinga cutting list A cuttinglistrecords thefinished sizesof lumberneeded for pieceof furniture. a particular lf oneis notincluded with youwill haveto makeyourown theplansyoupurchase, based on a sketchof thedesign. Usetheformula shownon page16 to totalthenumber of boardfeetforeachcomoonent of the project;add20 to 40 percent (depending onthegrade) to account forwasteanddefects in thewood. Alsousethenominal C (indicated in parentheses) thickness | l/ in yourcalculations. of thepieces Forthesimpletableshownat right, whichtotals25/oboard feet,you shouldourchase 30 to 35 board feetof lumber. Assign eachcomponent a letterfor laterreference. CUTTING IIST

26Yr' ash 29' ash

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LUMBERDEFECTS areflawsthat reduce T umberdefects L a board'sstrengthor workabiliryor adversely affectits appearance. Theycan resultfrom the way the lumber is preparedat the mill, the methodsof seasoningandstoring,or,moreoftenthan not, the naturalgrowingconditions experienced by thetree.

Not all defectsareunwelcome. Some naturalimperfectionscanmakea piece of wood moredesirable for someuses, particularlywhentheyproduceavisually stunningfiguresuchasbird's-eye.If their strengthis not compromised,defective boardscanbeusedfor concealed partsto greatlyreducea project'scost.

In the end,it is the eventualuseof the lumberthat determines what is an acceptable blemish.By recognizing the lumber defectsillustratedbelow and inspectingyour wood carefullybefore buyingyou canincrease your chances of gettingthe qualityyou want for the right price.

DEFECTS INW(l()D CHARACTERISTICS

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REMEDIES

A tightknotappears asa whorlencircled bysurround- Tightknotscanbecutoutor used, ingwoodtissue; a deadknotis encircled bya dark asappearance dictates; deadknots gradually ring.Formed asgirthof treeincreases, shouldberemoved before working enveloping the branches. Livebranches integrate withstock. withsurrounding wood;deadbranch stumps cannot integrate andformdeadknots. Anaccumulation of resinonthesurface of theboard Donotusestockif a qualityf inish or in pockets withintheboard. Usually develops when is required, asgumwillbleed a treehassuffered an injury,exposure to fire,or through mostfinishes. insectattack. Lengthwise ruptures or separations in thewood,usuCanbecut off. allycaused byrapiddrying. Splitsgorightthrough board, fromonefaceto theother.Maycompromise strength andappearance. Anendto-end curvealongtheface,usually caused Flatten bowedboards onthejointpieces, by improper storage. Introduces internal in stresses er,or cut intoshorter then thewoodthatmakeit difficultto cut. usethejointer. An edge-to-edge curveacross theface.Common on tangentially cut stock,or boards cutcloseto thepith. Alsooccurs duringdryingif onefaceof a boardhas lesscontact withtheairthantheother.

Cupmaycorrectitselfif bothfaces areallowed to dryto thesamemoisturecontent. Cupped boards canbe rippedintonarrower onesonthe bandsaworflattened onthejointer. End-to-end curvealongtheedge,caused by incorrect Highspotscanbeflattened on seasoning or having the pithof a boardcloseto the iointeror cut off ontablesaw. boardedge.Weakens thewood,makingit unsuitable forweight-beari ngapplications. Uneven warping whereonecorneris not or irregular aligned withtheothers. Results fromuneven dryingor a crossgrainpatternthatis notparallel to theedge.

Boardcanbecut intoshorter pieces.

Lengthwise separation of thegrain,usuallybetween Cutoffshake, allowing forpossibilthegrowth rings.Results fromimproper dryingof itythatthedefectmaycontinue woodor fellingdamage. lengthwise underthesurface.

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PREPARING STOCK TUMBER SURFACING

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Jointing a board startbyjointing oneface. lf youareworking withroughlumber, facedownontheinfeed tablea fewinches Laytheworkpiece thefence,andplacetwo fromtheknives, buttitsedgeagainst pushblocks between the squarely on thetopface,centered (Usepushblocks withangled handles to keepyourhands edges. Feedtheboardslowly andsteadily across fromhittingthefence.)

t h e k n i v e s( a b o v e )a, p p l y i n gd o w n w a r dp r e s s u r teo k e e pt h e b o a r df l a t o n t h e o u t f e e dt a b l e ,a n d l a t e r apl r e s s u rteo h o l dr t . ith f l u s ha g a i n stth e f e n c e .N e x t j, o i n ta n e d g eo f t h e b o a r dW t h e f a c ey o uj u s tj o i n t e dr e s t i n ga g a i n stth e f e n c ea n dt h e e d g e o n t h e t a b l e ,f e e dt h e b o a r dw i t h a h a n d - o v e r - h atnedc h n i q u e . Next,planethe board(stepbelow)to createtwo parallelfaces.

Planingstock Setthe cuttingdepthto Xoinch.Standto e n d u s eb o t h o n es i d eo f t h e w o r k o i e c a h a n d st o f e e dt h e s t o c ki n t ot h e m a c h i n e , k e e p i n tgh e e d g e so f t h e b o a r dp a r a l l etlo . n c et h e m a c h i n ge r i p s t h e p l a n etra b l e O t h e b o a r da n d b e g i n st o p u l l i t a c r o s tsh e c u t t e r h e a ds,u p p o r ti h e t r a i l i n ge n d t o keepit f lat on the table (/eff).Thenmove r n ds u p t o t h e o u t f e e ds i d eo f t h e p l a n e a p o r tt h e w o r k p i e cw e i t h b o t hh a n d su n t i l i t c l e a r st h e o u t f e e dr o l l e r .T o p r e v e n t s t o c kf r o mw a r p i n ga, v o i dp a s s i n og n l y o n ef a c eo f a b o a r dt h r o u g ht h e m a c h i n e ; i n s t e a do. l a n et h e s a m ea m o u n o t f wood from bothsides.

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TABLEAND DESKBASICS

t CUTTING ST()CK T()SIZE

(

Ripping a workpiece Ripstockto widthonyourtablesawusingtheripfenceasa guide.Raise thebladeto about%inchabove theworkpiece. P o s i t i otnh er i p f e n c ef o rt h ew i d t ho f c u t ,t h e nf e e dt h e stockintothe blade,pressing it against thefencewithyour lefthandandpushing it withboththumbs(above). Standto

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t h e l e f to f t h ew o r k p i e caen ds t r a d d lteh ef e n c ew i t hy o u r r i g h th a n dm , a k i n cge r t a i tnh a tn e i t h ehr a n di s i n l i n ew i t h theblade.Onceyourfingers approach theblade,usea push (Caution: pass. guardpartially stickto complete the Blade retracted forclarity.)

Crosscutting stock Cutyourstockto length onthetablesaw. Withtheworkpiece f lushagainst themiter g a u g ea, l i g nt h ec u t t i n gm a r kw i t ht h e blade.Position theripfencewellaway from thestockto prevent thecut-offpiecefrom j a m m i nbge t w e et n h eb l a d ea n df e n c e , you.Hookyour andkickingbacktoward gauge, thumbsoverthemiter holdthe boardagainst thegaugeandflatonthe t a b l et,h e nf e e dt h e b o a r da c r o stsh e table(right).(Caution: Bladeguardpartially retracted forclarity.)

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DESIGNINGTABLESAND DESKS of buildinga pieceof I crucialpart on its final A furnitureis deciding A deskthatis toohighor dimensions. a tabletop lowwill beuncomfortable; thatcrowdsits dinerswill makemealOnce experience. timeanaggravating youhavechosen a particularstylefrom starting thegalleryoftablesanddesks on page22,it is timeto sizeitsparts. forawiderangeof dimensions Standard

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TABTES (nighttable) Bedside Butler's table lytable Butterf stand Candle Cardtable Coffeetable table Conference table Console Dressing table table Drop-leaf Extension diningtable Gateleg table

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Library table table Occasional

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Officedesk Pedestal desk

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the floor andthebottom of the tableor however,that these deskrail. Remember, figuresareguidelines;furniture should fit thoseusingit. A tableor a deskalsoshouldfit into its environment.For desksand dining tables,rememberto allowfor theheight of the accompanyingchairs.Bedside tablesshouldnot risemorethan6 inchesabovethe bed.

DIMENSIONS TABIEANDDESK STANDARD

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traditionaland moderntableand desk stylesareprovidedbelow.Dining tables shouldprovide24 inchesin width for eachdiner.Allow at leastl2 inchesfrom thetableedgeto the centerfor eachplace setting;an additional4 to 6 incheswill providespacefor servingdishes.Toallow legroom,leaveabout7 'linchadequate esbetweenthechairseatandtheundersideofthe top,andat least2 feetbetween

Round diningtable Tilt-toptable table Trestle

WIDTH

HEIGHT 24',-30" 24',- 36', onuse Depends 2 5 ' -3 1 ' 25',-29'. 12'- 22',

[ENGTH

28"- 36' on use Depends

28',-36',

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on use Depends

30' 2 9 ' -3 0 ' onuse Depends 2 9 "- 3 1 ' 2 9 ' -3 0 ' , 30" 27"- 29', 29',-3r', 26',- 28', 29',- 31',

36',-72', 40'- 48', on use Depends

Depends on use 16' 20' 18' - 22',

48',- r20',

At least30"

20' - 26', 2 9 ' -3 0 ' , 29',

48"- 50' 72',- 84',

24" -30', 36',- 42',

60'

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30'- 42', 60'- 66'

18"

18'

36'- 48'

20'

Depends on use

Depends on use 12"- L7',

60" Open:96";closed: Depends on use 60'- 84' 24',- 28',

20'

Depends on use 36',- 42', Depends on use

on use Depends

24',-36', 24',- 28',

24',- 28', At least40" 24',- 26',

DESKS desk Computer desk Executive

desk Secretarial Secretary

30" -86"; Totalheight:74" 29' - 30' Writingsurface:

Typewriter stand

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DIAMETER

30'- 44'

18-22" 30"- 32' 18'- 22',

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TABLEANDDESKSTYLES f.f undredsof table and desk L I styleshaveevolvedthroughout the ages,eachwith its own specificpurpose.Thebutler'stable,for example,alsoservesas a serving tray.The secretary(page26) combinesa bookcase, a desk,anda chest of drawers,supplyingamplestoragespacefor books,papers,and otheritems,and a writing surface that canbefoldedup out of theway when not in use.The following pagesillustrate more than two dozentypesof tablesand desksto inspireyour designs.

Card table A aquare table, aomet.imeawith dishedcornero for holdtn4coina. Oneaide ta normally left undecorated and placed aqainet a wall whenthe table ie not in uae.Thetop folds in half and the aide raila fold inward to move Lhe le4ecloeer to4ether

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The knockdowntrestletable is a design that tracesits rootsback to the Middle Ages. The example shown above was built from cherry by Thos. Moser Cabinetmakersin Auburn, Maine.

Eutterfly table An Americandropleaf table, uLiltzinqa prvotinqeupport to hold up wideleavee on eiLhereideof a narrow,central tabletop

Coffee table A lowoccaatonaltable deeiqnedto be uaed with eofa and chaira

Eutler's table A portable table, the eideeand ende of which fold up Lo form a qallery, or fence,and handlea

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Extenaion table Any table whoaelen7th can be increaaed with one or more leaves;the top eep' aratea alonqelidee,enablin7 a hinqedleaf to ewinqup or a aeparate leaf to be added

Conaoletable A side,or entry, table with two front legethat are eet cloeer Lo7etherthan backleqo; 6ome exampleaare aecuredLo a wall with brackets and eupported by only LwofronL leqe Droo4eaf table Kefbra u any of oeveraleLyteeof table with htnqedleaveethat hanqdownwhennot in uae:whenopen,the leavesare eupported in a variety of waya, includin4qate lego, ewin4le4a,or bracketo fastened to the raile

Gateleg table A eLyleof drop-leaf Lable with extenatonleavee eupported by ewin1in4 le4aattached to bottom Ieqatretchere

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Handkerahief table A trianqular drop-leaftable; whenthe table ia opened, the top io equare

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Harueat table Any of variouaAmerican otylea of larqe diningtableo, often with leaveeon both aidee of a narrow top

I T I I Nest of tablea A aet of occaaional tablea eizedeo that they can be etored oneineidethe other whennoLin uae

Pedeetal table A table with a top fagtenedLo a central column;the columnie uaually mountedon three (Lripod)orfour le4e

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Trestle table A larqe tabletop eupported by Lreetlea;Luektenonajoin leqo Lo aLretcherEallowinq for eaay disaeaembly

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5tand Any omall table deaiqnedto dieplay objecta; a candleatand is one example

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Tilt-top table A variation of the trrpod pedeatal table fea' turin7 a top that pivote verEicallyto con?erve9Pace

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Night table A amalloccaeional table uaedto eupporElampeand other bedaideaccesaorrea; ofLen with one or moredrawerqand a ahelfor amall atoraqe compartment

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Pembroketable A type of drop-leaf table with leavea oupported by brackete hin4edto the table raila;commonIy feat.ureoone or two drawera

SeattlecraftsmanHank Holtzer built the "Morrison table" shown abovefrom walnut. The extension table features a S-footdiameter top that opensto 8 feet. It will seatfrom 6 to 10 people.

Taverntable Lowrectan7ularor circulartable with etretchera and turned leqo:occaeionally,the tabte hae carvedeupporte at the enda connected by a stretcher

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Fall-front desk A desk with a workingaurface that "falla" downinto the openpoaition, held up by eupporte that btideout of receeaeain the deakfront

9earetary A otyle of elant-top deek featurin4a fall-front wriLinaeurfacewith a cheat of drawera belo-wand a bookcaeewith wood or 4laoa doore above

Pedestal deak (kneeholetype) Featurea a top eupporLedon both aidee by drawer carcaoeacalledpedeotala:the kneeholeis cloeedat the backand mav contain a

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t Writing table Any flat-topped deak with a writinq eurface and drawere below the top

Lap deak A amall lift-top deek held on the lap whilein uae

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Writing deek Aleo knownby the Eriilah term Daven' porL,thie amalldeek 'hau u, an4led,tifLin4 top wrth etoraqe epaceunderit; draw erq or cuPvoaraqare locatedon the Eidee of the carcaee,rather than in thefront Pedeetal deok (partner'e type) Similar to the kneeholepedestal desk,but the Lop ie lar4er and Lhegap betweenthe pedeotala ta lefL open on boLheidea-oriqinally to allowtwo peo' ple Lo uee the deEkat the aametime

Roll-top deok A deak wtth a elidinq cover,or tambour, that can be drawn downto coverthe wrrtin4aurface;the top may be eupporred by pedeetaleor lege

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5tanding deek Alao knownae a clerk'edeak,thia ta ll, ela nti n4 |ifL-top desk typrcally hae one or two amall drawera and may havea shelf belowthe wriLin7eurface

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Suggestive of an openfall-front desk,thepieceshownat left incorporatesotherdesignelements, includinga gracefulcurvealongthefront edgeof the top. Thedeskwasbuilt from cherryand mapleby ludith Amesof Seattle.

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DE,SKCASEWORK

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As illustratedon andshrinkage. aseworkis the fundamental page individual frame-and-pan31, most desks. buildingblockof joined are to form a el assemblies four-sided It canbe assimpleasa in each frameis case. The opening frame-andbox or aselaborateasa panel grooves rests in filled by a that as panel cabinet.Suchelements frame. in inside edges of the cut the dividers, shelves,drawers, face pieces glued the frame are Although panels provide frames,and dust panel is the together at the corners, refinementsthat transform this frames without adheinto the set caseworkinto a pieceof furniture. siveto allowit to swellandshrink. This chapterwill showyou how around Thepanelis oftenbeveled to apply caseworktechniquesto that decorative touch the edges-a the constructionofa two-pedestal into it fit more easily also allows to requires many clamps. Gluingup a largecarcase desklike the one shownopposite. itsgroove. ln thesetupshownabove,bar clampsare Carcases are easierto build than panek The methodyou choosefor and with of thecarcase alignedwith the frame-and-panel cabinets.Asshown joined acarcase or frame-andsides. assembling to thecarcase thedustframesbeing consistof on page30,all carcases joints panel joined will influence thecharpressure the case on all of Applyinguniform to form a box. four panels your individuality of desk. acter and squareand solid. will helpmakethecarcase Make surethat the wood grain of joinery are shown Various options all thepanelsrunsin thesamedirecjointworlawellwitheithersolidwood tion. Thiswill allowthepanelsto swellandshrinkat thesame onpage32.Therabbet panels. aremoretime-conThroughdovetails or plyr,vood a carrateasrelativehumidity levelschange.If you assemble andconsidered sumingto makebut theyaremoreattractive casewith the grainof adjacentpanelsat right anglesto eachothassemblies can Frame-and-panel asignof finecraftsmanship. er you risk splittingoneof the panels. more decoor the with mortise-and-tenons The secondtype of casework-frame-and-panel-solves beput together joint. the problemofwood movementby allowingspacefor swelling rativecope-and-stick

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Thedouble-pedestal deskshownat leftfeaturestwo identicalcarcases joinedtogetherby rails,whichareconcealed sit by thetop.Thepedestals drawers. and aredividedby dustframesto accommodate on moldedbases

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TWO TYPESOF DESKCASEWORK

I CARCASE CASEWORK

9pline .)

Duet frame (page 56) A frame-and-panelaaaemblythaL adde etrenqth to the carcaee and oupporLadrawera; frame ia connected to carcaeeeides by twin morLiee-and-tenon and blind jointo. A larger frame eupportoa spline-and-qroove middle drawer betweenthe two deak pedeatale

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Back Typically%-inch plywoodnailedand glued into a rabbet routed around the back edgeof panela;can alao olip into qrooveo routed ineidethe facee of panele

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Twin tenon

Rear connectin7 rail (pase 53) ConnecteLheback of the two deak pedeatalawith blind morLtge-and-tenon joinLa;alao hidea backof middledrawer

Cornerjoint (page 33) )ec urea panele togeLher. KabbeLjointia ahown,but through doveLailand plate jointe are aleo popular choicee:for a aelectionof joints, eeepaqe 32 ?topped groove Accepto opline of duELframe

/--l \ Dovetail halflap joint \

---------'

Frontconnectins ) rail (paqe 39) ,/ ConnecLaLhe --/ front of Lhe two deokpedeatale: jotned to the carca9e50y aovetailed half-lapo

Panel Ueed Lo form the top, boLtom, or eidee of a carcaae.Canbe madeof plywoodor solid lumber; if aold, typically made from qlued-upboarde

Eaee molding

Qaseao)

-__----f Eraae 9upporto back of carcaae

A decorative frame of moldedetock beveledat Lheende andjoined witn plate (or biecuit)joinLe. Carcaaeaite in rabbeLa routed around top edqe of frame; brace at back providee oupport

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DESKCASEWORK

CASEWORK FRAME-AND-PANEL

Rear aonneatingrail

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Dovetail

Haunahedmortiaeand-tenonjoint

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) Middledrawerrail (pase52) ConnecLa two frame-and-

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twtn mora,oeand-tenonioint

Rail Hortzontalmember of frame-and-panel aooembly:bottom railo may feature a decorativearch alon4 bottom edqe

Front conneating rail

paneldeekpedeataleand eupporto middle drawer; joined to pedeetala by twin mortt ee-a nd -te non I ointe

9tile Verticalcomponent of a frame' ana-Panel aeeembly;ettle ehownia parAof both rear and aideaeaembltea

Drawer rail Qaqe a9) Supporte drawere and 7trenqtheng caee;joined to eLilee fo twin mortiae-andf,enonjointo

Blind mofiieeand-tenonjoint

Panel (page 4) )olid woodpiece that. fite into qroovetn frame:can be flat.or haveita edqearabbet"raiae" ed or beveledto cenLerof panel

lnner frame-andpanel asaembly Featurea lar7er Lop rail than ouLeraoeembly,and omaller correopondin4ly panel:rail te lar7e enou4h to accept duatframe below center drawer

Decorative bot'tom rail

Ledger etrip (page 51) Ueed to faef,en bottom panel to ca6e; one edqe ie acrewed Lo inatde facea of bottom raila while the other edqe ie screwed to bottom

Bottom (page 51) Attached to caee by led4eretdpe on raile, or seL into groovecu1, around ineideed4ee of bottom ratla

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CASEWORKIOINTS

lr I Rabbetjoint

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(pase33) Ueedto join carcaae panele toqether; end of one panel fita into rabbet cut in the matin4 panel. Kabbet ia typically routed in carcaae aidee to conceal end 7rarnof top and bottom panela Stopped groove-and- epline (pase 57) Ueedto join etretchere and duaL panele to carcaae aidee.)topped qroovez are routed in both the edaeof the atretcher or the duat frame rail and the ineide face of the carcaae aide; a floatinq eplineallowa .....-: for wood 1!.e* movement

Twin mottiee- and-tenon

Blind mortieeand-tenon (pase 36) Uaedto aeoemble duet framee and connect deekpedeotala toqether; connecte raila and atilea in frame' and-Panel aeoembliee

Qase5a)

Ueedto join duat panele to carcaee aides and drawer raila to frame-a nd-pa nel etil ee Stopped tonqueand-dadojoint An alternative to the etopped for 4roove-and-epline atta chin7 atretchera to carcaoesidee;a atopped tonque cut in edgeof stretcher fita into atopped 7roove cut in carcage ./

^s\ q '--\.,. . .

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Made on connectinq raile to join deek pedeatalo

?late (biaautt) joint Uaed to ioin carcaae panela to4ethei without havi'nqto ahape the piecee:biacuita of compreeeed wood fit into elotg cub in the matinq boards. Slota are typically cut into enda of top and bottom panela

Eeveledplate joint (page 4O) Uaedto aasemble pieceaof baee moldinq Loqetherybiecuita of compreaaedwood fit into alote cut in beveledenda of mattnq aurtacee Cope-and-atiakjoint A decorative alternative to blind and haunchedmortiae-and-tenonafor frame-and-panelconatruction. A aet of router bile cute matching profilea in raila and atilea; 7roovefor floating panelie cut srmultaneoualy

32

Haunahed mortiee-andtenon (page 41) Uaedto join raila and etilee in frame-and-panel aesemblies:tenon haunchin rail filla panel4rooveo routed tn atilea Through dovetaila (pase 125) Taperedpina on top and bottom panele interlock with an7ledtaile cut into the eide panela:uoed wherethe joinery ie an important element of deoi4n

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BUILDINGA CARCASE joinedto forma box:The I ourpanels l- carcase isthesunplest andmostbasic buildingblockoi furnitureconstruction. providestherigid framework A carcase for itemsasdiverseasa bookcase anda drawer.Buildtwo boxesandjoin them togetherand you havethe heartof an attractivetwo-nedestal desk.The section that followi showshow to do this. Carcase Danelscanbe constructed from plyruobd,but for fine furniture, the panelsaremost frequentlymade joint into The twin mortise-and-tenon from narrowboardsedge-glued wider panels(page93).The panelsare offersmoregluing surfaceand structurthenplaned,jointedon oneedge,cutto al stability than a simplemortise-andpanels To allow the to tenon,and k oftenusedtojoin size,andsanded. with in stretchers to carcasesides.Here o contractand expand changes grain panels in twin tenon is being test-fittedinto its humidirythe of all a carmortises in the side of a desk. caseis alisnedin the samedirection. mating

with several Carcases canbe assembled typesofjoints (page32).Therabbetjoint is a popularchoice:Thejoint offersa largegluingsurfaceand is simpleto make.As illustratedbelow the rabbets arebestcut into thesideoanelssothat t h ee n dg r a i no i t h et o p a n d b o t t o m panelswillbe covered. Theendgrainof thesidesis oftenconcealed bv thetoo. Whenplanninga carcase, ii iswiseto takeinto consideration thetypeofshelving or drawers(page116)that will be built into it. For example,the desk shown on page 2B fiatures dust frames(page 34)Ihat both supportthe drawersandprovidestrenghto thecarcase.Theioinervneedsof theseframes mustbe takeninto accountbeforethe is gluedup. carcase

PREPARING THESIDES:RABBET J()INTS rabbets in thecarcase sides 1 Cutting I T h er a b b ewt i d t hs h o u l e d q u atlh e thickness of thecarcase top;marka cutt i n gI i n ef o rt h er a b b e tosnt h e l e a d i n g edgeof onesidepanel. Install a dadohead widerthantherabbet onyourtable slightly woodfenceto the saw.Attachanauxiliary ripfenceandraise thedadoheadto cut a notchin thewoodfence.Setthecuttingheight at one-half thestockthickness andadlust thefenceforthewidthof cut. Clampa featherboard to thefencedirectly above thebladeto holdthepanelsecurely against thetable,thenmakethecuI(left). Cuta rabbet attheopposite endofthepanel andbothendsof theothersidepanel.

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r) Cutting grooves for the backpanel L Oncevou haverabbetedthe carcase sides,you needto preparethe four panels t o a c c o m m o d at hee b a c k ,w h i c hc a n b e set into a rabbetor a groove.Forthe rabbet, repeatstep 1, but makethe cut along t h e b a c ke d g eo f e a c hp a n e la n d a d j u s t t h e c u t t i n gd e p t ht o t h e t h i c k n e s so f t h e b a c k - t y p i c a l l y% i n c h .F o rt h e g r o o v e , adjustthe dadoheadto a widthof % inch, e ill t h e np o s i t i o tnh e f e n c es o t h e g r o o v w b e % i n c hf r o mt h e b a c ke d g eo f t h e p a n e l (left).CUIthe backfrom %-inchplywood t o f i t t h e o p e n i n gi n t h e c a r c a s ea,d d i n g the depthof the grooves to its dimensions.

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MAKING DUST FRAMES

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Cutting in thefrontrails twintenons 1 I Thedustframes thatwillsupport the drawers arejoined to thedeskpedestals joints(page withtwinmortise-and-tenon 36).Startbycuttingthetenons in each f r o n tr a i lo ny o u rt a b l es a w t; h e yw i l lf i t i n t om a t c h i nm g o r t i s ei n s t h ec a r c a s e s i d ep a n e l s( s t e p3 ) . E q u i py o u rt a b l e sawwitha dadohead%inchwide,then i n s t aa l l t e n o n i nj igg i n t h em i t e sr l o t . Marka twintenonat eachendof therail, andsetthecutting height at X inch.Clamp therailto thejig end-up andshiftthejig sideways to alignoneof thetenonmarks withthedadohead. Tomakethecut,push thejig forward, feeding thestockintothe (right). blades Turntherailaround to cut theothertenonshoulder. Repeat thecuts at theotherendof therailandat both e n d so ft h er e m a i n i n r agi l s .

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r) Clearing tenons thewastebetween Z . S t r i ttth et e n o n r nj igg t o l i n eu pt h e thetwin dadoheadwiththewastebetween passes until tenons?ight).Makeseveral wood. awavtheexcess vouhavecleared

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in thecarcasesides thedoublemortises Q Chiseling r - J M a r kl i n e so n t h e i n s i d ef a c eo f t h e s i d e p a n e lf o r t h e l o c a t i o no f e a c hd u s tp a n e l .P l a c et h e r a i lf a c ed o w no n t h e p a n e l ,a l i g n i n gt h e e d g e so f b o t ha n d p o s i t i o n i nt gh e e n d o f t h e r a i lf l u s hw i t h t h e t o p l i n e .0 u t l i n et h e t w i n t e n o n so n t h e p a n e l ( a b o v e /, e f f ) .R e p e a ft o r t h e o t h e rr a i l s .T o c h o p o u t t h e m o r t i s e sc,l a m pt h e p a n e lt o a w o r ks u r f a c eT. h e n , , o l da m o r t i s i n cg h i s e l s t a r t i n ga t a n e n d o f o n eo u t l i n e h l n ds t r i k et h e h a n d l ew i t h a s q u a r et o t h e f a c eo f t h e p a n e a

w o o d e nm a l l e t U . s ea c h i s e tl h e s a m ew i d t ha s t h e m o r t i s e s . ontinue a n d b e s u r et h a tt h e b e v e l e sdi d ei s f a c i n gt h e w a s t eC m a k i n gc u t sa t i n t e r v a losf a b o u t% i n c hu n t i l y o ur e a c ht h e o t h e re n d o f t h e o u t l i n e U . s et h e c h i s e tl o l e v e ro u t t h e t ortise w a s t et o t h e r e q u i r e d e p t h .C h o po u t t h e a d j a c e nm ( a b o v er,i g h t )a n dt h e o t h e rd o u b l em o r t i s e st h e s a m ew a y . w r t ht h e T e s t - f itth e j o i n ta n dw i d e no r d e e p e nt h e m o r t i s e c h i s e l a. s r e o u i r e d .

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Making thedustframes

Kear rail Ort roove for,r apltne

Groove for ,/ floaLinq panel

9tile

Float;inqpanel

9trte

.9Lub tenon

,r' _l

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I

Front dust frame ratl

---t

P r e p a rae r e a rr a i l ,a f l o a t i n g% " p l y w o o d p a n e l a, n dt w os t i l e sf o r e a c hd u s tf r a m ea s y o uw o u l df o r a n o n - r a i s ef d rame-and-panel a s s e m b l y( p a g e4 8 ) , s i z i n gt h e f r a m et o f i t t h e i n t e r i oor f t h e c a r c a s eI .n s t e a d of cutting groovearoundthe rabbets, routa %-inch-deep i n s i d ee d g eo f t h e f r a m et o a c c o m m o d a t e s i l l a l s os e r v ea s m o r t h e p a n e lt;h e g r o o v ew t i s e sf o r t h e s t u bt e n o n st h a tj o i nt h e r a i l s a n d s t i l e st o g e t h e rA. l s or o u ta g r o o v ea l o n g t h e o u t s i d ee d g eo f e a c hs t i l et o a c c e p t h e s p l i n et h a tw i l lf i t i n t oa m a t c h i nggr o o v e in a carcasesidepanel(page37).

Gluingupthedustframes f, r-,f Sandanvsurfacesof the framethat w r l lb e d r f f r c u lt to r e a c ha f t e rg l u eu p . Spread a d h e s i voen t h e t e n o n sa n dt h e i r m a t i n gg r o o v e sD. o n o ta p p l yg l u ei n t h e p a n e gl r o o v et ;h e p a n e m l u s tb e f r e et o m o v eG . l u eo n eo f t h e s t i l e st o o n eo f t h e r a i l s ,i n s e rtth e p a n e lt,h e na s s e m b l e t h e o t h e ro i e c e sC. l a m ot h e d u s tf r a m e a c r o stsh ej o i n t sw i t hb a rc l a m p sc, h e c k i n gf o r s q u a r ea n d u s i n gw o o dp a d st o protectthe stock(below).

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UPTHECARCASE GLUING

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drill du'tl lliliiil,illdtlll llilrllliillllii,illllllJllllililli )HO? Tt? 5 crewing d rawer's uppo rt' frames to a carcase oupporl lf you are ineLalltnq framea,woolocrewsoffera quick and eaoyway No fix f'hemIo lhe eid,esof a carcase,Ueetwo ocrew;L,osecureeachframesLile clearin place.Sorean elongat'ed ancehole(paqe96) for each the etileand inlo ecrewNhrouqh lhe carcaEeside,makinq -..' s u r e N h el w o h o l e s for Ihe same elile a r e Ve r -ef c L l ya l i q n e d .

thecarcasesides Grooving to the I E a c hd u s tf r a m ei s s e c u r e d carcasesideswith stoppedgroove-ands p l i n ej o i n t st h a t w i l l e n a b l et h e f r a m e t o m o v ew i t hc h a n g eisn h u m i d i t yE. a c h j o i n tc o n s i s tosf a h a r d w o osdp l i n et h a t routwill sit in matchingstoppedgrooves e d i n t h e c a r c a ssei d ea n dt h e s t i l eo f the dustframe.To cut the groovesin the c a r c a s ei ,n s t a l al % - i n c hs t r a i g hbt i t i n y o u rr o u t e ra n ds e c u r eo n eo f t h e s i d e p a n e l si n s i d e - f a cuep t o a w o r ks u r f a c e . C l a m pa n e d g eg u i d et o t h e p a n e sl o t h e b i t w i l l b e c e n t e r eodn o n eo f t h e d o u b l e youcut for the drawerrails.For mortises eachdustframe,routa stoppedgroove s t a r t i n ga b o u tI i n c hf r o mt h e m o r t i s e s ( a b o v ea) n d s t o p p i n ga b o u t3 i n c h e s f r o mt h e o p p o s i t e d g e .R e p e afto r t h e o t h e rc a r c a ssei d e .

DESKCASEWORK

r) Installing thedustframes L Cuttwohardwood or plywood splines f o re a c hf r a m eT. h es p l i n essh o u l b d ea youcut in littleshorter thanthegrooves step1 to allowforwoodmovement; for maximum strength, thegrainshould run across thesplrne's width.Place oneside of thecarcase inside-face up on a work surface, applyglueto thetwinmortises a n dt e n o n sa,n ds e tt h ef r a m eisn p l a c e , m a k i n sg u r et h a tt h e yf i t s n u g l oy v e r (/eft). thesplines

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Assembling thecarcase Q \,, Withallthedustframes in place and theremaining splines setin theirgrooves, assemble therestof thecarcase. First a p p l yg l u ea l o n g t h er a b b e ti sn o n es i d e p a n eal n ds l i d et h eb a c ka n db o t t o m in (right). position Next,setthetopin place. Spread someglueontheremaining twin mortise-and-tenons andcarefully lower the othersidepanelontopof theassembly, guiding thesplines intotheirgrooves and thetwintenons intotheirmortises. Install barclamps across thefrontof thecarcase, aligned witheachdustframe, andacross boththetopandbottomof theassembly. Usewoodpadsto protect thestock,Reinjointsandthebackwith forcetherabbet countersunk nailsorscrews whichcanlater beconcealed withplugs.

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RAII A CONNECTING INSTALLING half-laps dovetailed 1 Cutting rail I inthefrontconnecting are desk.thecarcases ln a two-oedestal g i l sa n da d u s t l o i n e db y c o n n e c t i nr a The drawer. framethatsupports a central railisjoined to thecarfrontconnecting joints.To half-lap withdovetailed cases prepare eachrail,cut it to sizeandsaw half-lao in eachendwitha a dovetailed dovetailsaw(right).

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)pline qroove for central dust frame

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r') Cutting themating Z dovetails inthecarcases youcut half-laps Useoneof thedovetailed themating dovetail in step1 to outline Thenusea saw mortise in eachcarcase. (/eft).Next, andchiselto cutthemortise makea dustframe(page36)to fit between andsupport thecentral drawthecarcases andmortises ontheouter.Routgrooves to accommodate the sideof bothcarcases joinery. Alsocui a railto spanthecarcases at thebackandhidethebackof thedrawer (page53).Jointhisrailto thecarcases joints.Assemwithblindmortise-and-tenon (page53) bleandclampthedesktogether

TwinmorEiaee for central duat frame

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BASEMOLDING 'l

Makingthebasemolding I T h e b a s em o l d i n sf o r t h e c a r c a s ei s m a d ef r o mt h r e ep i e c e so f m o l d e ds t o c k a n da b r a c eT. o p r e p a rteh e m o l d i n gr,o u t a decorative detailalongoneedgeof each boardu , s i n gy o u rt a b l es a wf i t t e dw i t h a m o l d i n gc u t t e rh e a do r a t a b l e - m o u n t e d r o u t ew r i t ha m o l d i n gb i t .T h e nc u t a r a b b e t i n e a c hp i e c ea l o n gt h e o p p o s i tsei d e o f t h e s a m ee d g e t; h i sw i l l f o r ma l i p t o s u p p o r t h e c a r c a s eS. a wt h e b o a r d st o l e n g t hb, e v e l i n bg o t he n d so f t h e f r o n t p i e c ea n do n l yt h e f r o n te n do f t h e s i d e s . A l s os a wa b r a c i n gp i e c et h a tw i l l f i t , f a c e u p , b e t w e e tnh e s i d e sa t t h e b a c ko f t h e m o l d i n gb; o r ea h o l ef o r a s c r e wt h r o u g h t h e b r a c eT. h es c r e ww i l l a t t a c ht h e b r a c e t o t h e c a r c a s eT.h em o l d i n gi n t h e i l l u s t r a t i o ni s a s s e m b l ewdi t h p l a t el o i n t s T . he boardswill mateend-to-end, exceptat the b a c ko f t h e m o l d i n gw , h e r et h e b r a c ei s . l o i n e dt o t h e i n s i d ef a c e so f t h e s i d e sA platejoinerwithan adlustable fencemakes i t e a s i etro a l i g nt h e t o o lw h e nc u t t i n gt h e slotsin the beveledends//effl.

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r) Gluing upthebasemolding L Workingquickly, applyglueto allthe slots,insert onebiscuit foreachjoint,and assemble thebasemolding. Secure the brace to thesides witha barclamp,using woodpadsto protectthestock;installa webclampwithcornerbrackets around t h em o l d i nagt t h em i t e jro i n t sT. i g h t e n thewebclamp,using provided thewrench (right),thentightenthe barclamp.Once theglueis dry,install thebasebyapplyingglueonlyalong therabbet in thefront (This pieceandsetthecarcase in place. willcause anywoodmovement in theside pieces to takeplacetowards thebackof preventing themolding, themiters atthe frontfromseparating.) Attachthebraceto thecarcase bydriving a screw through the h o l ey o ud r i l l e idn s t e pl

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DESK BUILDINGA FRAME-AND.PANEL offers Tl rame-andpanelconstruction -F on. solutionto theperennialprobTheprincipleis Iemofwood movement. "floats" in a groovecut simple:A panel on the insideedgeof a frame.The panel can be flat, asin a dust frame (page "raised," with bevelscut alongits 4B),or edge.The bevelingallowsthe panelto fit into a groovein the frameand presentsa decorativefaceto the public. A oanelcanbe raisedon the router table (page44)or the table saw(page45). desk To constructa frame-and-panel Iiketheoneshownon page31,you need to join four individualframe-and-panarearassembly(page47), el assembliesi a front assemblywithdrawershdes(page 49),foursiderails,andtwo sidepanels. (Thestilesin the front and rearassembliesdoubleasstilesfor thesideframes.)

"raised," beveled, or Traditionally,panekfor frame-and-panelconstructionwere task.Modernpowertools,like handplanes-a time-consuming with specialized a tablesawwith a tilting arbor,havemadethisoperationmuchsimpler.

JOINTS MORTISE.AND.TEN()N HAUNCHED

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in therails tenons 1 Cufting /efti.Position thefenceto leavea haunchequal frame-and-paneleachrail(above, I to tointherailsandstilesof individual groove forthepanel;settheheight of the width to the depth in install a dado mortise-and-tenons, withhaunched assemblies Withthe inch intothetenon. cut about % your dado head to of the on table of the tenons widerthanthelength headslightly guide gauge it intothe to fence and miter use the stock on edge, head to notch raise the dado fenceand saw.Attachanauxiliary (above, side haunch on the other to cut the right). Repeat blade To cut the length. it. Setthewidthof cut equalto thetenon has no which rails of the front assembly, For the of the tenon. miter fence and the the buttthestockagainst tenoncheeks, (page panel, equal 42), making the shoulders cut blind tenons and repeat the gauge, thenfeedit facedown.Turntherailover tenons. at theotherendof to thewidthof thenotchvoucut intothehaunched cutontheotherside.Next,cuttenoncheeks

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I t I A TENONING JIGFOR THETABLE SAW Youcanusethejig shownat rightto cut blindtenons on thetablesaw. Adaptthedimensions suggested in the illustration to customize thejig foryoursaw,if necessary. Cutthejig fenceandbackfrom plywood %-inch andsawa 45" bevel at oneendof eachboard: theoieces shouldbewiderthantheheightof yoursaw'srip fence.Fasten two pieces together faceto faceto fashiontheback,thenusecountersunk screws to attachthefenceandback in an L shape.Makesurethefastene r sw i l ln o tb e i n t h eb l a d e 'osa t h whenyouusethejig.Next,cutthe bracefromsolidstock,bevelitsends, andattachit flushwiththetopedges of thefenceandback,forming a triangle. Maketheclampbyfacegluingtwopiecesof %-inchplywood andcuttingtheassembly intothe shapeshown. Usea hanger bolt, washer, andwingnutto attachthe clampto thejig back,leaving a gap between theedgeof theclampand thefenceequalto thethickness of thestockyouwilluse.Offset the boltsotheclampcanpivoteccentrically,(Youcandrilladditional holes in thejig backsoyoucanshiftthe clampto accommodate different stockthicknesses.) Next,cuttherunnerfromsolidwood.Whenattached to thejig fence,therunner willstraddlethesawfence,eliminating any wobble. youwill Forsomemodels, haveto milla groove downthelength of the runner, asshown, to fit the r i pf e n c eF. i n a l l yc,u t a p i e c eo f c sa b l a d eg u a r da n d c l e a rp l a s t i a screwit to thejig backf lushwith its frontface.

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Kunner 1"x2"x24"

I I I I Fence '1"x5/,"x24"

Groovefor rip fence T o t t s et h e i i p . s e t i t o n t h e s a w l l b '

v v !

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tablein frontof thebladewiththe r u n n ear n df e n c es t r a d d l i nt hger i p fence. Clamp theworkpiece in thejig andposition theripfenceto alignthe cuttingmarkontheworkpiece with

theblade.Feedthejig intothecuttingedge.(Your firstuseof thejig willproduce a kerfin theback.) Flip theworkpiece around andrepeat to cuttheothercheek(below). Remove thejigto cuttheshoulders.

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r) 0utlining inthestiles themortises on each locations of the mortises L ltrarV, theaooroximate stile (Seeoase52 foran overhead Thenuseoneof the view.) h n dw i d t ho f t h e r a i l sy o uc u t i n s t e p1 t o o u t l i n teh el e n g t a thecheekof thetenonflushagainst Startbyholding mortises. thefaceof oneof thestiles;makesurethattheedgeof the hf . u t l i nteh el e n g t o r a i li s a l i g n ew d i t ht h ee n do f t h es t i l e O

width,holdthe lefil.f o markthe mortise thetenon(above, faceof thestileand themarked edgeof a tenonflushagainst the lines right).ExIend of thetenon(above, outlinethecheeks Once asdottedlines). in theillustration alongtheface(shown a l lt h em o r t i s easr eo u t l i n e dc ,h i s et lh e mo u ts l i g h t ldye e p e r thanthetenonlength,usinga mortisechisel@age35).

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grooves forthepanels Cutting marklocations 0n therailsandstiles, f o rt h eg r o o v et hs a tw i l lh o l dt h e p a n e l . in two Youwill needto makea groove thecuts sidesof eachrearstile,aligning youcutin step2. Then withthemortises setup yourtablesawwitha dadohead % typically thesamewidthasthegroove, in therails, ceninch.Tocutthegrooves overthedado tertheedgeof a raildirectly the thefenceagainst headandposition to %inch.Use stock. Setthebladeheight bya support board, a featherboard, braced against thefence to holdtheworkpiece in the duringthecut.Tocutthegrooves do notmovethefence,butadjust stiles, andsupof thefeatherboard thepositron portboard.Feedthestockwitha push stick(/eft).

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MAKING A RAISED PANEL ONTHEROUTER TABLE thefence 1 Setting I Startbycuttingthe panelto size. Test-fit therailsandstilesof theframe, thenmeasure theopening between them. Add%inchto eachof thedimensions to allowthe beveled edgesof the panelto restin thegrooves routedin theframe; thiswillleaue lqinchon eachsideto allowforwoodmovement. Thenfit a router witha panel-raising bitandmountthetool in a table.Toensure thatthecuttingdepth position is uniform, thefencein linewith theedgeof the bit pilot.Withthetool switched off, placea scrapboardalongthe fence. Adjust thefenceuntilthebit pilot turnsasthe boardtouchesit (/efil.Set therouterto makea shallow cutatfirst.tvpically %inch.

r) Making thecut L Lower theguardoverthebit andturn ontherouter. To minimize tearout, cut the endsfirst,beveling thetop andbottomof thepanel.Feedthestockintothe bit outside-face down,keeping it butted againstthe fence(right).Repeat for the twosides.Test-fitthe panelin thegrooves youcut in the railsandstiles(page43). lf the panelsitslessthanYoinchdeep, increase the cuttingdepthby %einch passaround andmakeanother thepanel.

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SAW PANEL ONTHETABLE A RAISED MAKING theendsof the panel 1 Beveling I C u t t h e p a n e lt o s i z e ,t h e ns e t t h e b l a d ea n g l et o y i e l dt h e p r o p ebr e v e lT. h e "reveal," o r b e v e l eadr e ao f a 3 A - i n c h usual y ^i n c h e s . t h i c k p a n e lr s a p p r o x i m a l e Il Y groove, beginby marking Fora %-inch-wide alo-inchsquareat the bottomcornerof the p a n e lT. h e nd r a wa l i n ef r o mt h e f r o n tf a c e o f t h e p a n e tl h r o u g ht h e i n s i d ec o r n e ro f t h e s q u a r et o a p o i n to n t h e b o t t o me d g e % inchfromthe backface(inset).Installa y o o df e n c e ,t h e n 6 - i n c h - w i d ae u x i l i a r w a d l u s t h e a n g l eo f t h e b l a d ea n dt h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e f e n c eu n t i lt h e c u t t i n ge d g e a l i g n sw i t ht h e m a r k e dl i n e .N e x t ,r a i s et h e beyondthe bladeuntil onetoothprotrudes frontfaceof the panel.Clampa guideblock t o t h e p a n e sl o i t w i l l r i d ea l o n gt h e t o p o f t h e f e n c e .M a k ea c u t i n o n ee n d o f t h e p a n e l( r i g h t ) ,a n d t e s t - f i tt h e c u t i n a groove.lf the panelrestslessthan %inch deep,movethe fencea littlecloserto the . e p e atth e b l a d ea n d m a k ea n o t h epr a s s R p a n el. o f t h e c u t a t t h e o t h e re n d

Auxiliaryfence

CutLin4line

r) Beveling thesides Z - B e v e l i nt gh es i d e sa f t e ry o uh a v e b e v e l et dh ee n dg r a t nh e l p sm i n i m i z e Setthepanelon edgeandfeed tearout. keeping thebackflush it intotheblade, against thefence.Turnthepanelover edge(left). to cut the remaining

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A PANEL.RAISING JIG FOR THETABTE SAW To raisea panelon the tablesaw withoutadjusting theangleof the jig shown blade,usetheshop-built at right.Referto the illustration for suggested dimensions. Screwthe lip alongthe bottom edgeof theangled fence;makesure youposition the screws wherethey willnotinterfere withtheblade.Prop theangled fenceagainst theauxiliary fenceat thesameangleasthecutting linemarkedon a panel(page 45), usinga slidingbevelto transfer theangle.Cuttriangular supports to fit precisely between thetwofences, thenfix themin placewithscrews. Countersink the fasteners so the panelwillslidesmoothly alongthe angled fence. Tousethejig,position it onthe sawtablewiththejointbetween the l i p a n dt h ea n g l e fde n c ea p p r o x i mately%inchfromtheblade.Butt thetablesaw'sripfenceagainst the jig'sauxiliary fence,andscrew the twotogether. Turnon the sawand crankup the bladeslowlyto cut a kerfthrough the lip. Next,seatthe panelin thejig andadjust theheight of thebladeuntila singletoothprotrudesbeyond thefrontof thepanel. Makea testcut in a scrapboardthe samethickness astheoanelandthen checkitsfit in thegroove; adjustthe position of thefenceor blade,if necessary. Thencutthepanel,beveling the ends(right,bottomlbeforesaw-

Anqled fence

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Auxrliary fence I x30' LiP 1%"

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DESKCASEWORK

THEBACK FRAME-AND.PANEL ASSEMBLING thepanelin theframe 1 Fitting you thepanel, I Onceyouhaveraised arenowreadyto glueup theframe-andpanelassemblies thebacks thatprovide fora two-pedestal of thetwocasesneeded desk.Startbytest-fittingthe parls(right) a n dm a k ea n yf i n a la d j u s t m e nltfsa. n y of thejointsaretootight,usea chisel to pareawaysomewood.Onceyouare the iedwiththe f it, disassemble satisf thatwill be frameandsandanysurfaces has difficultto reachoncetheassembly a l s od e c i d e b e e ng l u e du p .Y o us h o u l d youwilluseto install a top whichmethod (page96); someof thesetechniques require boringpocketholesin therailsor grooves in therailsandstiles. routing

r") Gluing up as thesamewidthandthickness Donotinsertanyadhesive thestockwithwoodblocks L npplyglueto thetenoncheeks. g lue o f t n t u r n u n t i a l t h i n b e a d Clamptheframe t h er a i l sT. i g h t eena c hc l a m p thepanelmustbefreeto move. in thegrooves; joints. (above), protecting outof the squeezes the rails andpanelusingbarclampsacross

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DESKCASEWORK

BUILDING A NON-RAISED FRAME ANDPANEL a rabbet around 1t Routins theframe -

I Lrkedustframes(page34), the panels o f f r a m e - a n d - p a ndeels k sc a n b e m a d e flatinstead o f r a i s e dT. o b u i l dt h i st y p e o f a s s e m b l y ,o uc a nf o l l o wa l l t h e s t e p s (page for a raisedpanelframe-and-panel 41)

cvrenl

fnr hpriplino fhc pdooc nf tho

p a n e lA . n a l t e r n a t i vt o e placing t h ef l a t p a n e il n a g r o o v e i s t o a s s e m b lteh e f r a m e w i t h b l i n dm o r t i s e - a n d - t e naonndsr,o u ta rabbetaroundtheframeto receive the pane l .T o c u t t h e r a b b e tg, l u eu p t h e r a i l s a n ds t i l e sa n ds e c u r et h e a s s e m b ltyo a w o r ks u r f a c eI.n s t a lal % - i n c ho i l o t e dr a b betingbit in yourrouter.Setthe depthof c u t a t l e a s t% i n c hd e e o etrh a nt h et h i c k nessof yourpanelto leaveroomfor decor a t i v em o l d i n p( q t e n2 ) R o u tt h e r a b b e t a r o u n dt h e i n s i d ee d g e so f t h e f r a m e , keeping t h e b i t p r l o tp r e s s eadg a i n stth e stockthroughoutthe cut (far left), Ihen squarethe corners with a chisel(nearleft). b

thepaneland O Installing L decoraliue molding C u t a p a n e fl r o mv e n e e r epdl y w o o tdo f i t t h e r a b b e t s(.A s o l i d - w o opda n e lw o u l d splitthe frame,sincethe rabbetsprovide n o r o o mf o r w o o dm o v e m e n t S . )p r e a d s o m eg l u e i n t h e r a b b e a t n d s e tt h e p a . o rt h e d e c o r a t i vme o l d i n g , nel in placeF s h a p et h e e d g eo f a % - i n c h { h i cbko a r d l o n ge n o u g h t o y i e l dm o l d i n fgo rt h ei n s i d e edgesof yourframe;makesurethe board i s w i d ee n o u g ht o f e e ds a f e l ya c r o s tsh e tablesawor routertableyou useto shape t h e m o l d i n gR. i pt h e m o l d i n g f r o mt h e i e c e sT. h e n b o a r di n t o Z - i n c h - s q u apr e c u t f o u rp i e c e tso f i t t h e i n s i d et h e f r a m e , mitering t h e e n d s .G l u et h et o pa n db o t t o m s t r i p so f m o l d i n gt o t h e f r a m ef i r s t , p o s i t i o n i nt hge mt o h o l dt h e p a n e il n p l a c eT. o c l a m pt h e m o l d i n gu, s et h i n stripsslightlylongerthanthe gapbetween the moldingpieces(right).

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4

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DESKCASEWORK

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lnstalling molding sides along thepanel thetopandbottom Oncethegluesecuring m o l d i nsgt r i p sh a sc u r e dg, l u et h em o l d ingalongthe sidesof the panel(right). A g a i nu, s ec l a m p i nsgt r i p st o h o l dt h e m o l di n gi n p l a c e .

CASE A FRAME-AND.PANEL BUILDING

surfaces of thejoints Applyglueto all thecontacting tenons.) upthefrontassembly 1 Gluing across eachof the pedestal frame. Install a bar clamp and assemble the fora desk,begiq' a frame-and-panel I Toassemble of the assembly pag*37, the top and bottom rails, alternating between on bygluingup thefrontframe.Forthedeskshown protect pressure possible. and the clamping where To distribute of top andbottomrails,twostiles,anda thisframeconsists joined little at a Tlghten the clamps a clamping strips. withtwinmortise-and-stock,usetwo rails to thestiles of drawer series joints. (above), ( T h e glue out of the until squeezes continuing w i t hb l i n dm o r t i s e - a n d - Iime b o t t o mr a i li s i o i n e d tenons.

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DESKCASEWORK

Assembling thepedestal T o c o m p l e t teh e p e d e s t a bl ,u i l ds i d e

assemblies to fit between thefrontandrear (page assemblies 47).Eachsideassembly needs onlya panelandtworails,sinceit w i l ls h a r e s t i l e sw i t ht h ef r o n ta n dr e a r assemblies. Fora double-pedestal desk, t h et o pr a i lo f t h ea s s e m bflay c i n gt h e s e c o n od e d e s t sa hl o u l d b ew i d e trh a n theheight of thecentral drawer between (page31).Once you thetwopedestals haveprepared alltheparts, test-f it them, glueto thensandtheirinside faces. Apply allthejoints-withtheexception ofthe panel grooves-and assemble thepedestal. Clamp thepedestal withbarclamps spanning thesiderails(left);usewood padsto protect thestiles.

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C h e c k i nl g orsquare Q r - , 1 M e a s u rteh e d i a g o n a lbse t w e e o nppol mediately s i t ec o r n e r o s f t h e p e d e s t ai m a f t e rt i g h t e n i n gt h e c l a m p s( r i g h t ) . I h e y s h o u l db e e q u a l ;i f n o t ,t h e p e d e s t ai sl o u t - o f - s q u a rTeo. c o r r e ctth e p r o b l e m , i n s t a l al b a rc l a m pa c r o s st h e l o n g eor f t h et w od i a g o n a lTs i. g h t e n t h i sc l a m pa I r t t l ea t a t r m e ,m e a s u r i nags y o ug o u n t i l t h e t w o d i a g o n a lasr ee q u a l .

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DESKCASEWORK

THEBOTTOM INSTALLING I n s t a l l i nl ge d g esr t r i p s 1 I T o i n s t a lal b o t t o mu s i n gl e d g esr t r i p s , r eo o ds t r i p st o f i t c u t f o u r 1 - i n c h - s q u aw a l o n gt h e r a i l sa t t h e b o t t o mo f t h e c a s e . T h ee n d so f t h e s t r i p ss h o u l db u t ta g a i n s t t h e s t i l e s .B o r et w o s e t so f c o u n t e r s u n k dl o n g h o l e si n e a c hs t r i p :o n ec e n t e r e a o n ee d g e f, o r s c r e w i ntgh e s t r i pt o t h e r a i l , a n d a n o t h ear l o n ga n a d j a c e net d g ef o r . t a g g et rh e a t t a c h i n tgh e b o t t o mp a n e l S will notcontacteach holesso the fasteners o t h e r .W i t ht h e p e d e s t aul p s i d e - d o w n , p o s i t i o an l e d g esr t r i po n t h e i n s i d es u r f a c e of a bottomrail about1 inchfrom its top of the screwholes edge.Markthe positions . sing w i t h a n a w l a n d b o r ep i l o t h o l e s U c l a m p st o h o l dt h e s t r i pi n p o s i t i o ns,c r e w t h e s t r i p i n p l a c e( r i g h t ) .R e p e a ft o r t h e nfhpr lpdopr ctrins

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r) Installing thebottom p a n etlo f i t t h ec a s e , L C u ta b o t t o m its to fit around thestiles. notching corners Tn mnrrni lhp nanpl

cpi tho nodpci:l

nn

i t s b a c k .H o l d i n tgh e p a n efl l u s ha g a i n s t t h e s t r i p sw i t h o n eh a n d ,m a r kt h e s c r e w h o l e sw i t h a n a w l a n d b o r ep i l o t h o l e s . Thenscrewthe bottomin position(/eft).

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DESKCASEWORK

t JOINING DESKPEDESTALS thejoinery 1 Planning I Oncebothdeskpedestals areglued up,youareready to jointhem.Thediagram at leftshows thejoinery involved. At the backof thedesk,a rearconnecting railis attached to thestilesof thepedestals with blindmortise-and-tenons; thisrailprovides structural support andhidesthe backof thecentraldrawer. At thefront,a conn e c t i nrga i l ,w h i c hp r o v i d essu p p o rf to r thetop,is joinedto thestileswithdovejoints.Directly tailedhalf-lap below this (visible railis a support board in theillustrationbelow) forthecentraldrawer. lt is connected to thestileswithtwinmortiseand-tenons.

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r) Attaching theconnecting rails L anddrawer support Test-fit therearconnecting railandthe drawer supportin the pedestals. Forthe frontconnecting rail,cuta dovetailed halflapat eachendwitha dovetailsaw(page 39).Usethehalf-laps to outline thematingmortises at thetopendsof thestiles, thencutandchiselthemout.Test-fit the (right),paringthehalfrailin the mortises lapsif necessary to ensure a tightfit.

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DESKCASEWORK

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jlljtlllilillll llllllllll||llllllllllllillJlltllllllllllll lllJllllllll )HO? TI? Uoingpipeclampsin paira lf your'Viipe clamVoare not,lonqenouqhlo glueup adeok,double Todo thie, upIwo shorLerclampoto lunctionao a einqleuniN, pooilionlhe two clampoalonqNhedeskeo the laweaL the handleendqriplhe deekwhilet'heNailetoVo TiqhLen oneof the clamVounLilt'he overlaV. you conLacl,,Ae tail eNoVo .make :-:6-g c o n N i neu t i g h b e n i 4n , t h e d e e k

willbe pulledtogebher lueL ae il you wereuoin7a singlelongclamV.

Gluinu g pt h ed e s k Q r - , 1 A p p l yg l u et o a l l t h e j o i n t sb e t w e e n t h e c o n n e c t i nrga i l sa n d d r a w esr u p p o r t a n dt h e p e d e s t aal sn da s s e m b lteh e d e s k . C l a m pt h e u n i ta c r o stsh e b a c kw i t ha l o n g p i p ec l a m p( a b o v e )u, s i n gw o o dp a d st o p r o t e c t h e s t o c k .I n s t a l la s e c o n dp i p e c l a m pa l o n gt h e d r a w e sr u p p o r at t t h e f r o n to f t h e d e s k .C h e c kt h e o p e n i n g for squareby meabetweenthe pedestals c o r n e r sI.n s t a lal t h i r d a c r o s t s h e suring i f n e e d e d . clamo.

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LEGSA}{DRAILS

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of the piecebeforechoosingan egsandrailsarethestructural legstyle. appropriate and desls. most tables heartof The delicate cabrioleleg (page provide vertical legs Thefurniture popular featureof a 63) has been and and the rails connect support, for more furniture high-quality legs while also supportbracethe Simple to cut two centuries. than framing the drawingthetop and is the cabriole band saw, on the er assembly. leg ofa leapto suggest the designed in must be andbeauty Strength legs(page60) ing animal.Tapered andproharmonyhere:Theshape jointer a or tablesaw can be cut on rails must portionof thelegsand rangeof for a wide are suitable and of the otherelements complement They are a simpler tables and desks. the pieceof furniture,balancing (page legs 66). to turned alternative weightof thetop andthesizeof as the A is only as sturdy table a matter leg is simply a turned Smoothing for example. thedrawers, joinery leg-to-rail for the used allowing on the lathe and it rotating of leaving Thefollowingchapterdemonjoints,suchas Traditional assembly. to do itswork.Theprocess thesandpaper for making stratesthetechniques (page34)or paper the mortise-and-tenon and worles with 8}-grit typically begins manyof themostcommontypes joint reliable. If thepiece are grit dowel 180 or up to its way of tableanddesklegs,including finer. frequently, commerwill be moved pedestal, turned, cabriole, tapered, (page thatallows the legsto be hardware 84) shop-made cial or instructions pieces. bydetailed Thisisfollowed andoctagonal your tableor In designing your best option. removed may be joining legsto rails. for you attach the will use to the method into account desk, take in constructing Makingthelegsis usuallythefirststep you plan to use wood buttons for rails. If, example, is top to the than a tableor desk.Sincemostlegsrequirethickerstock in therailsbefore mustface-glue thinnerstock (page98),youwill needto cutthegrooves youusually commonly available, rail, stretcher, canbe legs. A lower or (see fastened to the are Make sure they size frontendpaper). into ablankof appropriate gateeffect; or decorative for extra strength to any table height added to theintended thelenghof theblankisproportional rails to serve as anchoring these bottom may require leg tables without of thetableor desk,andthatit will bestrongenough thedesignandplanneduse pointsfor anyextralegs. toobullcy.Alsoconsider appearing

thestretcherto thelegsof a A tusktenonjoint connects trestletable.Thetenonwill extendbeyondthethrough mortisein thelegsothat a tusk-likewedgecanbeinsertedto lockthejoint whileallowingit to bedisassembled.

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LEGSTYLESANDHARDWARE

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Cabriole Ieg

(pase63) Ite 9-ehapedcurve imiLatea,the aweep or an antmal le4

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Tapered leg (paqe 60) A equareleq with two adjorntn7facee or all four facea tapered; vtrbuallyae atronq ae untaperedleq

Tripod/pedeatal Ieg (pase 68) Typtcallyaawnin a ehallowcurve;Lop end iejoined Lo a central columnwith oltdin4 jotnt doveLarl

Octagonalleg (pase69) A etratqhL le4 wr1;hetqht etdee

Turnedleg (pase66) FeaLures decorative beadE and filleLe; ohaped on a lathe

COMMERCIAL tEGHARDWARE

Leg braaee Hinqedatrute that allowleqato fold undert.ableLop

Corner brace Allowa lega Lo be removed;aLtached to leq with hanqer bolt and to raila with ocrewo Tableglide and leveler 9prtn4-loaded nylon feet automaLicallylevelfurntture on uneven floora:mounted with T-nuLand bolt

Castera Allow leqa to roll; wheele availablein braae, wood, porcelain, nylon, plaotic, or leather mountedtn braaa,wood. or caet-iron brackeLa.Clockwiae from too lefL: equarecup,plate, atem, and clawfoot caetere

Adjustable levelers Flastic feeL screwedinto bottom of leqe f,o levelfurniLureon unevenfloore; mountedwith T-nut and bolt

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LEG-TO-RAIL IOINTS

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Elind moraiseand-tenonjoint (pase 76) joint An invieible with excellent otrenqth. Tenonin rail fita into matinq mortioe in leg

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thop-made corner brace (paqe O6) Allowa leqo to be removed. Woodencorner blockte faa' tened to le7 and raile; 4roovea and aplineareinforceconnectton betweenblockand raile

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Doweljoint (pase74) A retnforcedcorner butt joint; dowele extend into leq Commeraial hardware (page 84) Allowa leaa to be removed.Corner brace ia bolted to le7 and ecrewed to raila;to accommodatebrace,Ieq ie notchedand raila are arooved

Tuak tenon joint (page 72) Commonlyuoedto join f,heleqeand etretcher of a treatle table. Tenonextende beyondthe throuqh morDise;tuak, or wedqe,ia inaerf,edto lockjoint and removedto dieaeeembleiL

57

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TRIPODTABLE " .. The simpleappearanceof a tripod toblebeliesthe precisejoinery neededto build it. The three legsare fastenedto the centralcolumn with liding dovefails,ctrt with angledshouldersto sit tight againstthe turned column. The legsmust be exactly120oapart and the column centeredunder the top. Togive the legsaddedstrength,a metalplate can be mountedunder the legsand cohrmn. The top end of the column isjoined to the rail with a round mortise-and-tenon.

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ANATOMY OFA TRIPOD TABIE

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TABLE PEDESTAL As on thetripod table,thelegsof a pedestaltableare attachedto a centrqlcolumnwith slidingdovetails,usuto thecolumnwith ally reinforcedwith a metalplate.Therailsaresecured joint edge halflaps and of crossing consisting bridle a typeof interlocking two setsof legs by at right is supported table shown mortises.Thelarge casters havebeen weight, considerable of the table's and columns.Because piece to move. easier to make the anechedto thelegs

TABLE ANATOMY OFA PEDESTAL

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Detail of dovetaile Mortiae for interlocking bridlejoint

Column

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Dovetail socket Leq

Dovetail

TAPEREDLEGS CUTTING A FOUR.SIDED TAPER

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TaperatarL line

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Thpered and stop-tapered legslike those shownabovearefrequentlyusedon drop-frontand rolltopdesksand a wide assortment of tables.Theylightena piece'sappearance withoutseriously diminishingitsstrength.

upandstarting thecut 1 Setting I Youcantaperlegsquickly andaccurately ona jointer. Startbyoutlining thedimensionsof thetaperonthebottomof thelegblankwitha cuttinggauge (above, top).fhen marklinesonthefourfacesof thestockto indicate where thetaperwill begin.Install a clampto holdtheguardoutof thewayduringtheoperation. Setthedepthof cutfor x inchand,holding theblankagainst thefence, alignthetaperstartlinewiththefront of theoutfeed table.Butta stopblockagainst thebottom of thelegandclampit to the infeedtable.Tostarteachpass,carefully lowerthe blankontothecutterhead while holding it firmlyagainst thefenceandthestopblock(above, bottom). Makesureboth handsareovertheinfeedsideof thetable.

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r) Jointing thetaper L feedthe legacross the cutterhead witha pushstick,pushing downon the endof thestockwhilepressing it trailing flushagainst thefence(left).Keepyourleft Makeas handawayfromthecutterhead. manypasses untilyouhave as necessary t r i m m e tdh es t o c kt o t h et a p e o r utline, thenrepeatthe process to shapethe remaining faces. Makethesamenumber on eachside. of oasses

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A STOPPED TAPER J()INTING

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Usingtwinstopblocks wherethe Marklineson all facesof the legblankto indicate l l c l a m po ny o u jro i n t e r ' s t a p e r i nwgi l lb e g i na n de n d .I n s t a a depth infeed tableto holdtheguardoutof theway.Seta %-inch thefencewiththetaperline of cut,thenbuttthe blankagainst table.(Theextra about%inchin frontof theedgeof theoutfeed forthefactthat,asthe infeedtableis %inchwillcompensate lowered later,it willalsoslideback.)Butta stopblockagainst thefootof theblankandclampit to theinfeed table.Nextalign thetaperendlinewiththebackendof theinfeedtable.Butta

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second stopblockagainst thetopendof theblankandclamp it to theoutfeed table.Tomakethefirstpass,lowertheworkpieceontotheknives, keeping it flushagainst thefenceandstop usinga push blockon the infeedtable.Feedtheworkpiece the stick (above); useyourleft handto pressthe blankagainst Makeone fence.Keeobothhandswellclearof thecutterhead. passoneachface,thenlowertheinfeedtable%inchandrepeat theprocess onall foursides.Continue, increasing thecutting depthwitheachpassuntilthetaperis completed.

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t A JIGFOR TWO.SIDED TAPERS Tapering legson a tablesawcanbe d o n ee a s i l w y i t ht h er i g h jt i g .T h e o n es h o w nb e l o wi s m a d ef r o m %-inchplywood, somesolidwood, andtwotoggleclamps.lt is sturdier models; thanmanycommercial the clampsensure thatthestockis held f irmlyin placewhilethecut is being made.Referto the illustration for suggested dimensions.

Toassemble thejig,setthesaw bladeto itsmaximum cuttingheight, buttonesideof thejig baseagainst theblade, andposition theripfence against theothersideof the base. Lower thebladeandmarka cutting lineforthetaperononesideof your legblank,thensetit on the base, aligning themarkwithoneedgeof thejig. Holdtheworkpiece securely guidebar andbuttthe plywood

against it. Press thelipsnugly against theendof theblank.Screw theguide barto thebaseandthesolidwood shimto thebar,making certain that theiredges arealigned. Attachthe t o g g l cel a m ptso t h es h i m C . lamp downto secure theblankto thejig wiihthetapermarkaligned withthe edgeof thebase. Screw thehandle to thebaseat least6 inches awayfrom thesidethatwillpassbytheblade. T oc u t t h ef i r s tt a p e rc, l a m pa featherboard andsupportboardto thesawtable,making suretheywill notinterfere withthe blade.(The featherboard shouldpress onlyonthe jig base,notontheworkpiece.) Set theblade height andslidethejigand legblankacross thetable,making surethatneither handis in linewith thebladebeloil. Tocutthesecond t a p e ro n a n a d j a c e nsti d eo f t h e blank,repeat the passwiththetwo untapered sidesof theblankagainst thejig baseandguidebar.(Caution: Bladeguardremoved for clarity.)

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LEGS CABRIOLE MAKING A CABRI(ITE LEG

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theleg 1 Designing to the samelength I Fora template, cut a pieceof stiff cardboard or hardboard Thedesign at topwillyielda stable and andwidthasyourlegblanks. shown above Begindrawing well-proportioned leg,butyoucanalterthedesign to suityourproject. thelegbyoutlining the postblock.Makeits lengthequalto thewidthof therailthat willbeattached to it; thepostblockshouldbewideenough to accept therailtenons. Next,sketchthetoeandthefrontof thelegfromthetoeto theankleusinga French point,the ankleshouldmeasure abouttwocurve(above, bottom); at its narrowest a gentlecurvefromthe post fifthsof thestockwidth.Moveonto the knee,sketching blockto thefrontedgeof thetemplate about3 to 4 inchesbelowthe block.Then jointhekneeto theanklewitha relatively line.Complete straight theoutline at the backof theleg,connecting the bottom of the legwiththebackof theankle,then a curvefromtheankleto the bottomof the postblock.Youmayneedto sketching redraw several timesuntilyouaresatisfied withthedesign. thecurves

63

Despite its delicate appearance, a cabriolelegprovides excellent strength.A well-balancedleg should be able to stand by itself.

LEGSAND RAILS

r') Transferring thedesign

a ^ L U U IO U ty o u r l e m p t a l e0 n a D a n os a w , t h e n s a n d t h e e d g e st o t h e m a r k e do u t -

l i n e .T o t r a c et h e o u t l i n eo n t h e l e gb l a n k , o l a c et h et e m o l a tfel a to n o n eo f t h e i n s i d e f a c e so f t h e b l a n k ,m a k i n gs u r et h a tt h e e n d so f t h e t e m p l a t ea n dt h e b l a n ka r e alignedandthatthe backof the postblock i s f l u s hw i t ht h e i n s i d e d g eo f t h e b l a n k . f rzcp alans ihp pdopc, nf ihp ipmnl:to

T u r nt h e b l a n ko v e ra n dr e o e atth e o r o c e dureon the otherinsideface(/efil.At this point,somewoodworkers preferto cut morjoinery. tisesor drill holesfor the leg-to-rail ( l t i s e a s i etro c l a m pa n dc u t j o i n t so n a r e c t a n g u llaergb l a n kt h a no n a l e gw i t h D r o n o u n c ecdu r v e s .0)t h e r w o o d w o r k e r s c u t t h e l e gf i r s ta n dt h e nd o t h ej o i n e r y .

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Cutting outtheleg S e tt h e l e sb l a n ko n t h e b a n ds a wt a b l ew i t ho n eo f t h e o u t l i n e sf a c i n gu p a n d t h e t o e o f t h e l e gp o i n t i n ga w a yf r o my o u . A l i g n i n tgh e s a wb l a d ej u s tt o t h e w a s t es i d eo f t h e m a r k e dl i n e f o rt h e h a c kn f t h e l e p f e e dt h e s t o c ki n t ot h ec u t t i n pe d p eT r r r n o f f t h e s a wa b o u th a l f w atyh r o u g ht h e c u t a n dr e m o v teh e b l a n k . T h e nc u t a l o n gt h e s a m el i n ef r o mt h e o p p o s i t e n d .T o a v o i d d e t a c h i ntgh e w a s t ep i e c ef r o mt h e b l a n ka n d l o s r n tgh e m a r k e d

o+

o u t l i n eo n t h e a d j a c e nf ta c e ,s t o pt h e c u t a b o u tZ i n c hf r o mt h e first kerf, leavinga shortbridgebetweenthe two cuts (above, / e f f ) .R e t r a ctth e w o r k p i e c et h, e nc u t a l o n gt h e l i n ef o r t h e f r o n to f t h e l e g ,a g a i nl e a v i n gb r i d g e sT. u r nt h e b l a n ka n d s a w alongthe markedlineson the adjacentside (above,ilghil.fhis t i m e ,c o m p l e t e t h e c u t , l e t t i n gt h e w a s t ef a l l a w a y .

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thebridges Cutting Turnoff thesawandrotatetheblank sothatthefirstsideyoucutfacesup.Slide theblankforward to feedthebladeiniothe kerfat thefrontof the leg.Turnon the m a c h i naen dc u tt h r o u gthh eb r i d g teo release thewastepiece.Thencut through thekerfsat theback the bridgebetween of the leg(/eff,).

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andsmoothing theleg f, Shaping r-,f Tof inishshaping legand thecabriole remove blemishes left bythe bandsaw witha spokeblade,smoothits surfaces shave, followed bya raspandsandpaper. Beginbyfixinga barclampin yourbench v i s et,h e ns e c u rteh e l e gi n t h ec l a m p . at Holding a spokeshave withbothhands thetopof a curved edgeof the leg,pull you,cuttingwiththe toward thetoolslowly grain(right).Repeat untilthesurfaceis Turnthelegin thebarclampto smooth. cleanup theotheredges. Usea raspto cannot smooth an areathatthesookeshave reach.Thistoolworksbestwhenpushed diagonally across thegrain.Finish thejob withsandpaper, usingprogressively f iner gritsuntilthesurface issmooth.

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TURNEDLEGS TURNING A LEG

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Most turned legsfor tables,like the one shown at right, feature a squtre section, or pommel, at the top. This enablesthe leg to bejoined to the teblerails without cutting or attaching hardware to the turned segments.

Defining thepommel 1 I Toturna legon a lathe,startbyseparating thepommel fromthecylindrical (step section. Thecylindrical section is thenturned 2) and,finally, the beads and hollows areadded(step3). Beginby marking thepommel onthe legblank,then mounttheblankon thelatheandmovethetoolrestascloseto theworkpiece as possible without touching it;thepommel shouldbe longenough to accommodate joinerymethod youwill use.Next,usea skewchiselto cut a V-shaped the legto-rail pommel notchat themarked line.Bracing thebladeagainst thetoolrest,begin withthecuttingedgeangled slightly to onesidesothelongpointof thetip cuts intotheblank.Thiswilldefineonesideof theV. Now,anglethebladeto theother sideto definetheothersideof theV nolch(above). Continue angling the blade fromsideto sideuntilyoureachthedesired depth.Asmuchas possible, keepthe bevelof thebladerubbing against thestockat all times.

r) Turning thecylinder gougeto round 1 tlsea roughing-out thecorners of theblankbelow theoommel. Withthetip of thegouge tiltedupagainst t h er o t a t i nbgl a n kg, r a d u a lrl ya i s et h e handle u n t i lt h e b e v eul n d etrh et i p i s rubbing against thestockandthecutting edgeis slicingintothewood.Workfrom below thepommel toward thebottom of the (right). leg Keepthetoolat a rightangle to theblankthroughout thecut.Continue untiltheblankis cylindrical andsmooth.

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Adding b e a d sa n dh o l l o w s T o f o r mb e a d sw, o r kw i t ha s k e wc h i s e l a n dl h e s a m et e c h n i n r rues e dt o d e f i n e t h e n o m m e lS l a riln s e a c hc u t w i t ht h e t o o la l m o s ht o r i z o n t ar la, r s et h e h a n d l e . u to n e u n t i lt h eb l a d es l i c e si n t ot h es t o c kC s i d eo f t h eb e a da t a t i m eb yt i l t i n gt h ec u t t i n pe d p e ' i r s1t oo n es i d ea n dt h e nt h eo t h e r ( a b o v e )F.o rt h e h o l l o w su, s ea s p i n d l e onrrop

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. a i s et h e h a n d l es o t h e t i p t h e h o l l o wR i n t ot h es t o c kT. h e n s, w e e p b e g r nssl i c r n g t h et o o lt o w a r dt h eh o l l o w 'osp p o s i teed g e , r o l l i n tph e h l a d es o t h a l ,a t t h ec e n t eor f t h e h o l l o wt ,h e c o n c a vsei d eo f t h e b l a d e . e m o v teh e g o u g ea n d i sf a c i n gu p ( l e f t )R rono:l

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t h e h o l l o ww , i t ht h e c o n c a v sei d eo f t h e b l a d ef a c i n gt o w a r dt h e h o l l o wC. o n t i n u e s w e e n i napn dr n l l i n p t h e b l a d ef r o ms i d e t o s i d e a, l w a yw s o r k i ndgo w n h i lul ,n t i l t h e h o l l o wi s s y m m e t r i caanl ds m o o t h .

PEDESTAL LEGS The pedestal,or tripod, leg is bestcut on the band saw. The legshavea flat sectionat the bottom and a dovetailat the top that fits into the centralcolumn. Becausedovetailsare tnore dfficult to cut in a contoured workpiece,it is bestto prepare the leg blank for joinery (pages79and 82) beforeshapingit.

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CUTTING A PEDESTAL LEG

I I I I I I I I I 'l I Sawing thelegonthebandsaw Cuta dovetail onthetopendof yourlegblank,usingeither the (page tablesaw 79)or a routertable(page82).Then,outlrne thelegonyourblank;usea pencilanda French curveasyou wouldfora cabriole leg(page 63).fherearethreeabsolute rules fordesigning a pedestal leg:Thegrainshould followtheslopeof

theleg,thetopandbottomendsmustbeperpendicular to each other,andthespread of thelegsmustbelessthanthediameter of thetabletop. Onceyouaresatisfied withthedesign, cutthe firstlegon the bandsaw(above) anduseit asa template for theothers. Keepa copyof thetemplate forfutureprojects.

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OCTAGONALLEGS LEG AN(ICTAGONAL SHAPING

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Cutting thelegonthetablesaw thesaw, unplug Tosetupthisoperation, setting, and to itshighest cranktheblade a d j u stth ec u t t i n ga n g l et o 4 5 " .T h er i p sothatthe fenceshouldbe positioned bladeis tiltedawayfromit. Layoneface of the legblankonthebladewitha coronthesawtable,thenbuttthe nerresting andlock fenceagainst thestock(above) place. To makethef irstcut,buttthe it in against theripfencea stockface-down fewinchesin frontof the blade.Adjust thecuttingheightuntilonetoothjustprothefaceof theworkpiece. trudesbeyond straddling Feedtheblankintotheblade, the leg thefencewithyourhand.Rotate thecut on the andrepeat 90' clockwise f at c e C . o n t i n ui n e t h i sm a n n e r adjacen (right)unlilthe sidesarecut.

The attractive octagonal leg is simple to cut on the tablesaw.

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CUTTING GR(|(IVES FOR INLAY

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Commercialmarquetry banding adds a decorativetouch to a tapered leg.

Using a tablesaw groove Tocuta straight for inlay,usea tablesawwitha dadoheadthesamewidth astheinlay.lf youareworking withthickshop-made inlay,setthecuttingheightto slightly lessthan thethickness of the inlay;forcommercial inlay,setthecutting heightto its exactthickness. Makea cut in a scrapboard, testthefit, andadjust thewidthandcuttingheightof the blades, if necessary. Next,marka lineforthe groove ontheleading endof thelegandalignit withthedadohead.Butttherip fenceagainstthestock,thenfeedit across the blades(above). Usinga router Tomakea groove thatrequires morethan onestraight cut at different angles, use a routerwitha commercial edgeguide. Secure the legto a worksurface, thenfit the routerwitha straight bit the same widthasthe inlayandsetthecutting depth.Remember, thegroove shouldbe slightly shallow forshop-made inlay,but full-depth forcommercial inlay.Outline thegroove on theleg,alignthebit over oneof thelinesthatrunalong thegrain, andbutttheedgeguide's fenceagainst thestock.Gripping therouterf irmly,cut thegroove; remember to movethetool against thedirection of bit rotation. Repeat (left).Fortheshort to cuttheothergrooves cutsagainst thegrain,clampa wooden edgeguideacross theleg.Finally, square thecorners witha chisel.

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THEINLAY DOWN GLUING Setting theinlayinthegroove lf to f it thegroove. Cuttheinlayto length youareusing inlay, usea table shop-made in a miterbox;forcomsawor a backsaw Toinstall inlay,usea woodchisel. mercial groove make shown, inlayin thefour-sided mitercutsat theendsof theinlaypieces. to cutanddryJitonepieceat It iseasiest a t i m e ,m a k i n sg u r ey o ua l i g nt h em i t e r With of thegrooves. cutswiththecorners tryto match inlaymarquetry, commercial to formoneconatthecorners thepattern t i n u o uds e s i g nO. n c ea l lt h ep i e c easr e a thinlayerof gluein cutto size,spread endsof the thegroove andonthemitered i n l a y I. n s e rot n es t r i pa t a t i m e .W h i l e theinlaywithstrips secure thegluedries, tape. of masking

A LEG DETAILING Routing edgedetail . ark S e c u r et h e l e gt o a w o r ks u r f a c e M l i n e so n t h e l e gf o r t h e b e g i n n i nagn de n d o f t h e c u t ,t h e n i n s t a lal d e c o r a t i vbei t i n y o u rr o u t e rA. p i l o t e dq u a r t e r - r o u nb di t i s s h o w nt;h i s b l t w i l l r o u ta r a i s e db e a d a l o n gt h e f r o n tc o r n e r so f t h e l e g .S e t a c u t t i n gd e p t ha p p r o p r i a t eo t h e p r o f i l e y o uw a n tt o m a k e t, h e na l i g nt h e b i t w i t h t h e s t a r tl i n e .H o l d i n gt h e t o o lw i t h b o t h h a n d sg, u i d et h e b i t a l o n gt h e c o r n e or f t h e l e ga g a i n s t h e d i r e c t i o no f b i t r o t a t i o n . K e e pt h e b a s ep l a t ef l a t o n t h et o p surfaceof the legandthe bit pilot pressed the operation againstthe stockthroughout ( / e f f . S t o pw h e ny o ur e a c ht h e e n d l i n e , reposition the legon the worksurface,and makea secondpass,ridingthe baseplate o n t h e a d j a c e nf ta c eo f t h e l e g .T h i si s u s u a l l yd o n eo n l yo n t h e l e g ' so u t s i d e c o r n e rb, u tt h e o t h e rc o r n e rcsa na l s ob e r o u t e dd e p e n d i nogn t h e l e gd e s i g n .

LEG-TO-RArLIOTNERY TUSKTENON JOINTS Marking thelocation ofthewedge 1 I Cuta four-shouldered tenon(page76) longenough to extend beyond thelegby a t l e a s2t i n c h e st h; i sw i l lp r o v i dseu f ifc i e n ts t o c kt o r e s i sbt e i n gs p l i tb yt h e wedge. Cuta through mortjse to accommodate thetenonandassemble thejoint. T h e nh, o l d i ntgh ep i e c etso g e t h eorn a worksurface, marka lineonthetopof the cheekwhere thetenonemerses fromthe morlise(lefD.

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a A nrk tenonioins the stretcherto thepedestallegof the tableshownaltove.Although the tuskjoint is assembled without glue so that the tablecan be disassembled, it is as strongas a glued blind nrortise-and-tenon.

r) Drilling theholeforthewedge Z. Disassemble thejointandmakea drillingmarkYta tnchonthe s h o u l dseird eo f t h es c r i b el di n e ; t h iws i l le n s u raet i g h ft i t w h e n thewedge isdrivenintoplace. gauge Seta mortise to one-third the thickness of thetenonandusethegauge to outline theholein the middle thirdof thetopcheek, bordering onyourmark.Usinga bit slightly smaller in diameter thantheoutline, boretheholethrough thetenononthedrillpress(above),

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hole thewedge Q Angling and chisel, enlarge r.J Usinga mortise square theholeyoudrilledto accommothechiselat a Holding datethewedge. 10"angleawayfromthetenonshoulders, bythe slot,as indicated cut a tapered (/eff).Then dottedlinesin theillustration c h o po u tt h ew a s t eh, o l d i ntgh ec h i s e l withthebevelfacingthewaste.

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Inserting thetusk wedge, Cutan angledhardwood is tapered to fit the calleda tusk,that y o u i t sl e n g t h i n s t e p 3 ; slot chopped width. To tenon canbe uo to twicethe j o i n t , i nto t h e t e n o n slide a s s e m btl h ee firmly wedge andstrikethe the mortise witha malletuntilthejointis Iight(right). Donotuseglue,asthisjointis designed to bedisassembled.

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D()WET JOINTS Locating andboring 1 I dowelholesintherails Startbymarking thelocation of thedowel holes. Holding oneof therailsend-up, set a cuttinggauge to one-half thethickness of thestockandscribe a lineacross theend of theboard. Withthegauge at a slightly widersetting, scribe twolinesthatintersect w i t ht h ef i r s tl i n eo nt h ee n do f t h er a i l (lef\. f o avoidsplittingthe stock,use g r o o v eddo w e lns o m o r et h a no n e - h a l f thethickness of therails.Fita drillpress or anelectric drillwitha bitthesamediameterasthedowels andborea holeat each point; location thedepthshould beslightly morethanone-half thelength of thedowe l s .U s et h es a m et e c h n i q ut e o b o r et h e dowelholes at theopposite endof therarl andin theotherrails.

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t I I r) Pinpointing mating dowelhotes C- lnserldowelcenters in theholes. Then alignthetopof therailwiththetopof the leg(right),andswingthe railup sothatits outside faceis %to %inchinsidetheedge l a r kl i k et h eo n e o f t h e l e g .A p e n c im s h o ww n i l lh e l pa l i g nt h er a i l .T a pt h e otherendof therailwitha wooden mald n d so f t h ed o w ecl e n l e t .T h ep o i n t e e t e r sw i l l p u n c hi m p r e s s i oonnst h el e g , p r o v i d i nsgt a r t i npgo i n t fso r b o r i n tgh e mating dowelholes.Repeat fortheother railsandless.

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dowelholes Boring themating Borethe holesin the legsto the same

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more depthasthosein therails-slightly lf of thedowels. thelength thanone-half youaredrilling legona drill intoa tapered partof the press, besureto keepthesquare table. legflatonthemachine's

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thelegsandrails Assembling w i t h a m a l l e t o s e a tt h e s h o u l d e r(.B ec a r e f ual b o u tu s i n gt o o , h i c hc a nc a u s ea l e gt o s p l i t . )F i t e a c he n do f t h e in m u c hf o r c ew of adhesive eachother, thendaba smallamount willcontact scrap. Avoid railontoa leg (above,left) andholdthe jointtogetherwith a bar of thedowelholeswitha smallwood thebottom the legswith woodpads.Alignthe barof the b o i s t u r e clamp,protecting s p r e a d i ng gl u ed i r e c t loyn t h ed o w e l st h; e ya b s o r m righil unlil a beadof q u i c k layn dw i l ls w e l lm clampwiththe rail,thentighteniI (above, t f i t i n t ot h e , a k i ntgh e md i f f i c u tl o j o i n t . g l u e s q u e e z eosu t o f t h e h o l e sI .n s e rt th ed o w e lisn t ot h el e g st,h e nt a pt h er a i ll i g h t l y a l i t t l eg l u eo n t h e s u r f a c eosf t h e l e g sa n dr a i l st h a t Spread

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HAND.CUT BTIND MORTISE.AND.TEN(lNS thetenoncheeks 1 Cutting I Outline thetenons ontherails,markinga shoulder lineallaround theendsso thatthelength of thetenons willbeno morethanthree-quarters thethickness of the leg.Secure oneof therailsend-up in a vise. Cutalong the linesontheend of therailwitha backsaw; tilt thesaw forward andcutto theshoulder lineof the tenon(lefil.f hencomplete thecut withthesawlevel.

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r) Cutting thetenonshoulders L f o remove thewastefromthetenoncheeks, clamptherail face-up protecting on a worksurface, thestockwitha wood padC . u ta l o n g t h es h o u l d el irn eo nt h ef a c eo f t h er a i l ;t u r n overthestockandrepeattheoperation on theotherside (above, left).Tocutawaythewasteontheedges of thetenon,

secure therailend-up in a viseandsawto theshoulder lineon bothedges of therail.Finally, clamptherailedge-up andcut through theshoulder lineson bothedges of therail(above, right).Repeat steps1 and2 to cut thetenonontheotherend of therailandat bothendsof theremainins rails.

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themoftises Q Outlining r-,1 Markthemortise outlineoneachleg in twosteps,usingoneof therailtenons asa guide.First,holdthecheekof the tenonflushagainst theleg,withthetop with of therailaligned theendof theleg. of thetenon Drawa pencilalong theedges mortise, then to outlinethelengthof the lines across usea trysquare to extend the the leg.Tomarkthewidthof themortise, flush holdtheedgeof thetenoncentered against thelegandmarkalongeachcheek (right).With a trysquare, extendthemarks interalongtheleguntilthetwooutlines sect.Repeat the process on theadjacent faceof the leg.

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Chiseling themortises Foreachmortise, clampthe legto a protecting worksurface, thestockwitha woodpad.Then,starting at oneendof the outline,holda mortise chiselsquare to thefaceof the legandstrikeit witha . s ea c h i s etlh es a m e w o o d em n a l l e tU widthasthetenonandbesurethatthe beveled sideof the bladeis facingthe waste.Makeanother cut %inchfromthe first.Continue untilyoureachtheother endof theoutline,levering outthewaste exceeds the length to a depththatslightly of thetenon.Test-fit thetenonandwiden or deepen themortise asrequired. Repeat to cuttheremaining mortises. Thenspread g l u el i g h t l yi n t h em o r t i s easn do n t h e Fitthelegsandrails cheeks of thetenons. together, thencloseupthejointswiththe sameclamping setupusedforthedowel joint (page75).

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TRIP0D TABLE: ASSEMBTING THELEGS, ANDRAIL C0LUMN,

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thetenononthecolumn 1 Turning I Startbyturning therailtenonat thetopof thecolumn, as shown at right.Thenroutthedovetail sockets forthelegsat the column's bottom(step2). Next,cut thedovetails in the legs (steps (stepil. Mountthe 3 and4)andassemble thepieces (page66), columnblankonyourlatheandturnit intoa cylinder leaving a lip andenough stocknearthe bottomfor the leg sockets. Toturnthetenon,usea partingIool(right),moving thebladefromsideto side.Thelength of thetenonshouldbe aboutone-half thethickness of thematingrail.lts diameter should beat least%inchandmatchthatof thebitvouwilluse to drillthemortise in therail.

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r) Routing thedovetail sockets (- tJnplugyour latheandturnthecolumnend-for-end to cut on thefaceplate is vertical andclampthedriveshaftwitha jig consisting (inset). thesockets, usinga router anda shop-made of a handscrew Cuteachsocketin twopasses, firstusinga plywood %-inch boxclamped to the lathebed.Maketheboxas straight bit,thena dovetail bit.Adjusttherouter's cuttingdepth, wideasthe routerbaseplate.Attachthetworunners sothe alignthebitwiththesocket endmark,butta stopblockagainst routerbit willcutthesockets withits baseplatesittingonthem. therouterbaseplate,andscrew theblockto thejig. Holding Next,markthelocation plunge of thethreesockets onthecolumn; they therouterin bothhands, thebit intothecolumn, starting shouldbe I20" aparLAlsomarkthe upperendsof thesockets, at thebottom, andguidethetoolalongtherunners untilthe about3 inches fromthebottom of thecolumn. To helpalign baseplatecontacts thestopblock.Repeat withthedovetail bit thecuts,transfer thesocketmarksfromthecolumnto thelathe (above). Tocutthesecond andthirdsockets, rotatethecolumn faceplate. Now,rotate thecolumnbvhanduntiloneof themarks sothesocketmarkforeachcut is vertical.

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thedovetails Q Cutting r-,1Thedovetails in the legsarecut in twosteps:Thefirstcut to thetableto support theblanks. Alsoclampa guideblockto is madeonthetablesaw,andthesecond byhand.lt is easiest theblank; theblockwillridealong thetopof thefence,helpto cutthedovetails on legblanksbefore shaping thelegs(page ingto guidetheworkpiece. Toformthedovetail, makea pass 68).Adjustyourtablesaw'sbladeangleto matchthatof the to cut onecheek(above), thenrotatetheworkpiece andfeed youcut in step2. Setthecuttingheightto slightlyless theopposite sockets facealongthefenceto sawtheother.Onceboth thanthedepthof thesockets. Outline thedovetails ontheedge cheeks of thefirstdovetail havebeencut,checkthemagainst in thecolumn. of onelegblankand,holding theblankonendonthesawtable, a socket lf necessary, adjust thebladeangleor Butttheripfenceagainst heightor thecuttingwidthandmakeanother aligna cuttingmarkwiththeblade. setof passes. thestockandlockit in place. Clamo a shimmed featherboard Repeat fortheotherdovetails.

I I I I Cufting theangled shoulders Theshoulders of the legdovetails mustbecutat anangle sotheylieflush against thecolumn. Oncethedovetail cheeks areall cut,clampa blankto a worksurface withthecheekcutsextendingoff thetable.Thenusea backsaw to cuttheshoulders to roughly matchthecurvatureof the column(/eff).Test-fit the dovetail in itssocket andtrimtheshoulders,if necessary, untilyougeta suitable f it. Repeat fortheremaining dovetails.

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thelegsto thecolumn f, Fastening r.,/ Onceall thedovetails fit in theirsockets, trimoff thetop % i n c ho f e a c hd o v e t aT i lh . i sw i l lh i d et h et o p so f t h ed o v e t a i l s fromviewwhentheyarepushed all thewayintotheirsockets. Nowyouareready to cutoutthelegs(page68)andattachthem t o t h ec o l u m nS. p r e agdl u ee v e n loynt h ed o v e t a ial sn di n t h e u p s i d e - d oownnt h ef l o o r , s o c k e tT s .h e nh, o l d i ntgh ec o l u m n witha slidethe legsintoplaceandtapthemintofinalposition woodenmallethbove).Tostrengthen adda threetheassembly, armedplatecut fromsheetmetal(page58),Next,cut therail B.o r ea m o r t i sien t h a tw i l lc o n n e ct ht ec o l u m tno t h et a b l e t o o thecenterof therailto accept thetenonatthetopof thecolumn. Usea routerfittedwitha rounding-over or chamfering bit to thebottom edgeof therailallthewayaround. Finally, stand shape glueonthetenonandin themortise, spread fit thetableupright, therailoverthetenon,andscrewthe railin place(righil.

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TABLE: UPTHELEG ASSEMBTY PEDESTAL GTUING

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forthelegs thecolumn 1 Preparing near I Marka lineacross thecolumn the bottomto definethesquare section thatwillbejoinedto thelegs;thearea should b ea sl o n ga st h ew i d t ho f t h e legs.Install a dadoheadonyourtable sawandsetthecuttingheightat rough ly %inch.Using themitergauge, make across thecolumnto several Dasses remove thewastefromall foursidesof thecolumn(above).

r) Cutting thedovetail sockets L plo*a dovetail socket on eachsideof thecolumn ontherouter table.lnstalla andmountthetoolin a table.Marka lineforthesockets straight bit in yourrouter markwiththebit,buttguideboards against downthecenter of eachside,aligna socket across thetableto cut thestock, andclamptheboards to thetable.Feed thecolumn thefirstsocket, stopping thecutwhenthebit reaches theendof thesquare section. Leave in place, turnoffthetool,andclampa handscrew asa stopblock thecolumn Repeat thecutontheothersides of thecolumn, stopagainst theendof thecolumn. pass pingwhenthestockcontacts thehandscrew. Complete thetaskwitha second on eachsideusinga dovetail bit (above).

Preparing thetopofthecolumn

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therailsanda inga square section at thetopto accommodate to conceal thetopsof lipjustabove thebottom square section t h el e g s(.T h el i p i s v i s i b loen p a g e8 2 . ) T h er a i l sw i l lf i t i n t o twointersecting mortises cut in thecolumn's square section. Markcuttinglinesforthemortises downthecenterof eachside widthshould beone-half thethickof thecolumn; themortise nessof therails.Setthesawbladeheight to thewidthof the railslesstheedgerecess shownin step7 (page83),Tofeedthe jig column safely, makea to holdit upright. Takea largepush stickandscrew a pieceof woodto theside,forming an L. With in theL, alignthecuttingmarkwiththe thelegresting snugly bladeandlocktheripfenceagainst thefaceof thepushstick. Laya spacer ontopof thefence(it mustbethesamethickness asthefence) andscrewit to thepushstick;screw a guideboard sothejig formsa channel overthefence.Check to thespacer andmakea sequence of thealignment, clampthelegin place, (left).Repeat cutsuntilthemortise is wideenough all cutson eachfaceto ensure thatthemortises areoerfectlv centered.

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Cutting thedovetails onthelegs Installa dovetail bit in vourrouierand mount thetoolin a table.Setthecutting depthto makethedovetails slightly shorter you thanthedepthof thedovetail sockets cut in step1. Position thefencesothat aboutone-half ofthecutterprojects beyond itsface.Witha featherboard clamoed to the tableto support theworkpiece, feeda leg blank(page68) on endacrossthetable, pressing it against thefence(\efl.f urnthe blank end-for-end andrepeat to complete thedovetail. Test-fit thejointandadlust t h ef e n c ea n dm a k ea d d i t i o n caul t s ,i f necessary. Repeat fortheotherlegblanks.

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thelegsto thecolumn f, Joining r-,f Cutoutthe legson a bandsaw(page 68),thennotchthetopendof thedovetailssothattheystopshortof thesocket end.Thiswillconceal thejointsbetween glueonthe thelegsandcolumn. Spread dovetails andin thesockets andslidethe dovetails intoplace, tapping themwitha malletif necessary. Foradditional strength, y0ucanmakea four-armed bracket out metalto fit under of sheet thecolumn and legs,andscrewit in place, asshown on page58.

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Preparing therails T o a l l o wt h e r a i l st o f i t t h e e r o o v eisn

in themiddie thecolumn, cutrecesses of bothfacesof therails.lnstall a dadohead onyourtablesawandsetthecutting depth h rer a i lt h i c k n e s s . t o a b o uot n e - o u a r t e Screw a n e x t e n s i ot ont h em i t e rg a u g e . Maketestcutsin a pieceof scrapto be inthemorsurethattherailswillfit snugly tises.Marktheshoulders of therecesses ononerailsotheyareaslongasthewidth at thetopof thecolof thesquare section u m nA . l i g na m a r kw i t ht h ed a d oh e a d a n dc l a m pa s t o pb l o c kt o t h ee x t e n s i o n , flushagainst therail,Feed therailwiththe pressing mitergauge, thestockagainst t h es t o pb l o c kF. l i pt h e p i e c et o c u t a s h o u l d eornt h eo t h e fra c e t, h e nr o t a t e t h ep i e c ea n dc u tt h es h o u l d ear st t h e Repeat otherendsof therecesses. onthe otherrail,thenremove thestopblockand remove theremaining waste.

9top block

Edgehalf-lap

J o i n i ntgh er a i l st o t h ec o l u m n I / T o c o n c e at lh e m o r t i s eosn c et h e r a i l sa r ei n p l a c e c, u t a / i n c h - d e e pr e c e s si n t ot h e b o t t o me d g eo f e a c hr a i l ,a l o n gt h e l e n g t ho f t h e r e c e s si n t h e f a c e .N e x t ,n o t c ht h e m i d d l eo f t h e e d g e sT. h i sc a n b e d o n ew i t ht h e d a d oh e a d ; t h ew i d t hs h o u l d e q u a tl h e t h i c k n e sosf t h e l a p p e ds e c t i o n o f t h e r a i l sA . d j u st h e b l a d eh e i g h t o c u t h a l f w a yt h r o u g ht h e r a i l ,t h e n s a wa n e d g e h a l f - l a pi n t h e b o t t o me d g eo f o n er a i la n dt h e t o p e d g eo f t h e

other,making surethenotches arecentered between theshoulrailto dersbbove,/eff).Adlustthebladeheightforthesecond fortheedgerecess. Oncebothedgehalf-laps arecut,round account glueonthe theendsof therailsonthebandsaw,spread some contacting surfaces ofthecolumn andrails, setthecolumn bottomendup on thefloor,andfit the railsin place(above, right).

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COMMERCIAL LEGHARDWARE therails 1 Preparing I Commercial hardware thatconnects legsandrailsshouldbe installed following themanufacturer's instructions. To usethe hardware shownonthefacingpage,testassemble the leg,rails,andmounting plate,thenmarkthelocation of theplate flanges ontherails.Tocuttheslotsforthe flanges, aligneachmarkwiththeblade, thenbutttheripfenceagainst therail. Setthebladeheightto thelengthof the flange, adding%uinchforclearance. Feed therailintothebladewiththemitergauge (left).(Caution:Bladeguardremoved for clari$.)Repeat fortheotherrail.Slipthe flanges intotheslotsandmarkthescrew holesonthestock.Borepilotholesand plateto therails. screw themounting

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r') Notching plate thelegforthemounting I Anotchmustbecut at thetopof each plate. legto accommodate themounting Standthe legup andholdthe rail-andplateassembly ontopof it, aligning the endsof therailswithadjacent sidesof the leg.Marka 45' diagonal lineacross the plate. topof the legalongthemounting Next,alignthetopof the platewiththe topof the legandmarka linealongthe bottomedgeof the plateacross the inside corner of theleg,addingXeinchforclearance.Tocut the notch,setthe legon a bandsawandtilt thetableto 45" to align thebladewiththediagonal line.Butta boardagainst thelegandclampit to the tableasa ripfence.Feedthelegintothe blade, thenclampa stopblockin placeto helpwithrepeatcuts(right).Complete the notchusinga handsaw.

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Preparing the legfor the hangerbolt Q r J T e s t - a s s e m bt hl ee l e ga n d r a i l - a n d p l a t ea s s e m b layg a i na n d m a r kt h e h o l e on the stockfor the hangerbolt provided w i t ht h e h a r d w a rkei t . F i t y o u rd r i l lp r e s s w i t h a b r a d - p o i nbti t a n d b o r ea p i l o th o l e f o r t h e b o l tu s i n ga s h o p - m a dVe- b l o c jki g (right).Repeatfor the other legs.

u A t t x6 " x 7 "

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Fastening thelegtotherails lnsertthe screw-thread endof the hanger boltintotheprlotholerntheleg. a hanger bolthas Unlikeotherfasteners, screw threads at one twotypesof threads: endandmachine threads at theother;it twonutsontothe alsohasnohead.Screw them machine-threa n da n dt i g h t e n r i t ht w ow r e n c h e s , a g a i n seta c ho t h e w f o r m i n ag t e m p o r a hr ye a do nt h eb o l t , Tighten theboltwithoneof thewrenches intotheleg,then to drivethescrew threads unscrew thenutsfromthebolt.Slipthe rail-and-plate assembly overtheboltand thetopof the screwa nuton it. Keeping r a i l sf l u s hw i t ht h et o po f t h e l e g ,t i g h t enthe nut (/eff).

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SH()P.MADE LEG HARDWARE Youcanattacha legto railsusinga wooden cornerblock,a hanger bolt, andfourscrews. Beginbymaking the cornerblock.Cuta oieceof woodthin enough to drivea hanger boltthrough it intotheleg.Thenmakea 45' miter cut at eachend.Next,sawgrooves for s p l i n ew s ,h i c hw i l lh e l pj o i nt h eb l o c k t o t h er a i l s I. n s t a lal d a d oh e a do n yourtablesawwitha widthandcuttingheight equalto one-third thethicknessof therails.Screwa boardto the mitergauge asanextension, thenalign the midpoint of oneendof theblock withtheblade. Clamp theblockto the extension. Butta wastepiecefrom the mitercutsagainst theworkpiece to serveasa stopblockandclamp it to theextension. Feedthestock intothe blades, thenturnit overand cut a groovein the otherend(above).

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Next,marktwoholeson eachsideof holeanddrillcountertheclearance sinkingholes(facingpage,bottom), a smaller bitto drillcleartheninstall anceholesforthescrewshanks. Tojointhelegandrails,firstfasten thecornerblockto therails.Spread in theblock somegluein thegrooves andtherails,andinsertthesplines in the block.Then intothegrooves therailsand holdthe blockagainst the leg screwit in place(left).Prepare hardware asyouwouldforcommercial (page84),cuttinga notchoutof the topforthecornerblockandboringa pilotholefora hanger bolt.Fasten the a legto therailswiththebolt,slipping washer between thenutandthecorner block.Tightenthe nut (below)unlil together. the legandrailsfit snugly

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the rails, Test-f it the blockagainst in the thenmarkandcutthegrooves r a i l sN . o wc u tt h es p l i n e sm, a k i n g thanthe comthem%.inchshorter Plane bineddepthof thetwogrooves. to makesure the splinescarefully in thematching thattheyf it precisely grooves. make strength, Formaximum runs surethatthegrainof thesplines across theirwidth,ratherthanalong theirlength. andclearNowborecountersinking boltand anceholesforthe hanger the braceto thatwillsecure screws thelegandrails.Installa brad-point brt in yourdrillpressandmarkthe centerof the longedgeof the block for a hangerbolt.Securethe workpiecerna handscrew andclampit to thedrillpresstable,withthecenter withthebit.Thenborethehole. aligned

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TOPS or desktbeing.Thestru 1 1 c e : n u s t ! e I l 1 I 1 n a s | ! l 4 r ! r e I l ! | - l w l l d . J g 2 \ L t l l J t t , l l L d u l t J . I l l L I l L

designofthe tableor d, madeof glued-uppiec

*nhffftrH*ffii;:ffH: ffii#1"*TJl.b';ffH-*1 desls, varietyof topsfor tables.and topmalesa tablemoreflexible; An adjustable fully to createthe illusionthat the 93)to fromgl-uing upthe-top(p.age undera bymountingslidingtableextenders surfaceis madefrom a singlewide attachingit to a base(page96). tablewith a dividedtop,youcanexpandthe board.Todo this,youwill-needto Whileyou qanmakea tabletopby tableto makeroomfor additionalleava. Thke until yousucc€ed. experiment productssuchas veneering.sheet yourtime Fouror fiveplanks,for plywood,solidwoodremainsthebuildingmaterialof choice; to createlitixample,canbeflippedind turnedend-for-end sheetmaterialsrequireedgebandingandareoftennot as combinations. of possible erallyscores visuallyassolid.w-ood. DuringtheMiddleAges,whendiningtookplacein great appealing on thefunctionofyour Thetypeof topyoubuilddepends communilhalls,hugetrestletableswereihenorm:Dozensof storwhile-reducing table.If yourgoal-isto maximizeseating peoplecouldbefedandthetablescouldbeknockeddownfor or adjustable tops!7gSe10I)for drop-leaf,gateleg, roomsfor publicandprivate agespace, itorageafterdinner.Asseparate tablesarea goodidea.If youwantt9 addan-unusuadjustable extension dinin! cameintovoguein thel5ttr Gntury,smaller, (page 112)shows elements on decorative drop-leaf altouch,thesection Theseso-called tableiwith hingedflapsevolved. as elements andtaverns.Othermodifi- youhowto combinewoodwith suchcontrasting tableswereusedin coffeehouses glass, leather,slate,andfelt. cationsincludedtablesthatcouldsplitin twoto makeroomfor

Theedgeof a tabletopisjust asimportant to its asthe wood'sgrain and color.At left, appearance a routerfitted with a rounding-overbit is usedto softenthesquareedgesof a mahoganytabletop.

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INVENTORYOF TOPDESIGNS 5ix-legged gateleg table

(pase1o5)

Drop-leaf type table featuring two 1ate le4ain addition to four etationary leqa; receaeeain raila may be required to allow ewin7ingle4eto be tucked out of the way whennot in uae

Four4egged awing4eg table (pase106) Drop-leaf type table with two of four le4e that ewin4out to eupport leavee: ewin7inqle1a are hinqedto raila of table baee

Tabletops do not haveto berectangularand wooden-or predictable.The "Folia Table" shownat left,built byRhode Islandcqbinetmaker Kam Ghaffari,featuresa curly mapletabletopdyedblackand green,and cut into a stylistic representation of a leaf.The blackhalf of theleafis lower than thegreenhalf; it is coveredby a paneof cut glassthat "veins." restson stainless steel

TOPSHAPES

E[]E Kectanqular

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Koundedenda

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Koundedenda and curved eidea

(lFATTACHING METHODS A T(|P

\

Curvedaidee

/ Round

Oval

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t Tabletop raSf,enera

Deektop TA6Lene16

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TABTES EXTENSION Non-dividing extension table (pase lOO) Onlytabletop and decorativeapron divide:leq-and-railaaeemblyio acrewedto gtationarv center geament of table extendera. (Decorative apron removedfor clarity.)

Dividing ertension table (paqe 1O7) Entire table dividee in two: movinqee4menLaof table extendera are acrewed to both halveaof tabletop from underneath;le7e movewhen tabte ie opened Non-dividing treatle table (page 11O) Breadboard ende pull away Tromcenf,eron treatle table alidea

HARDWAREAND ACCESSORIES Table locke Mounted underextenatontablea to lock halveein place:lonqarma allow eaoyacceoe.9pring-loaded and levermodels available

Elind pivot, hinae

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Table fork cloaure U-ohapedhandlemounted underextenatontablee to tocktabletop halveain place

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u e e d i np t a c ao 7 \ ) a dowelin a ,Q1 y pivot rail or \)D/ butLerfly Lable Table leaf latchea Mounted underexteneiontablea to [ockleavesin place;availablein brass and steeL Modelshownbelow(lefI) featurea eccentricalot thaL drawa the leaveeanuglytoqether whencloaed

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leaf tablee to ali4n leavea or halvesae they are cloaed

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Of ratlE and gcrewed intc +t4b +a^. 7-

ehaped LableLopf^ *tr ti' i" u"[tr1a to top and maLeewith 0roove6routed along inaideof table raila Table leaf alignment pina Ueedto alian tabletopa and leaveafluai on extenLionf,abtee; braaa, hardwood,and plaatic tmodela nuuote a available vauauro I

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Steelfastenera Q/z/n',. UeedLo aL.tachLope.to ./ V teq-ana-rail a'aem2teo.\ f Deektop,or fiqure-eight, V faetener ie tnetalledflueh wtLhtop

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Cranked hinge Uaedto tnstall the adjuatableleqeof fourlegqedewinq-leqtablea: whencloaed,hinqeholde le1 flueh with table rail Rulejoint hingea Ueedto connect leaf and top of drop-leaf table with rulejoint; lonaerhtnqe htnae ioint: lonqer leaf brid4eo the ./-

coved half of

the joint

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Drop-leaf aupport Mounted underneathdropleaf tabletop to suppor, leavea. Metal bracket mounta to underside of top; movablewood alide eupporto leaf

Table extendera Mountedin paira underboth dividingand non-dividin7 extenaiontablea. Outer eeaments,acrewedto eiLher half oftabletop, are puahedaway from each other by rack-and-pinionmechaniam;center eeqmenLrematneetationary. Typical lenqthaare 26 and 3B inchee

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Treatle table slide Hardwoodolidea with d ouble-aliding dovetail jointe mountedin paire underneath breadboard endo of a LreaLlef,able; typically exLendafrom 26 to 40 inches ,-/

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PREPARINGATOP

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Theedgesof a rectangulardesktopor tabletopare oftenshapedto softenits contours.Herea routeris usedwith a jig to roundthecorners commercial of a tabletop.For a galleryof top seepage90. shapes,

osttopsfor tablesanddesksare madeby edge-gluing boards Fewboardsareavailable that together. arewide enoughand mostof those wouldbeunsuitable, because of thetendencyof wideplanksto twistandcup. However, by selecting boardscarefully andmatching themfor colorandgrain youcancreate theillusionof direction, thecolor a singlepieceof wood.Assess andgrainof lumberbyplaningthesurfacelightlyto revealwhatliesunderneatha plank'sroughexterior. A sturdy,flat top startswith proper preparation of stock.Makesureyouuse kiln-driedwoodor woodthathasbeen storedlongenoughin theshopto have 8 and 12 a moisturecontentbetween percent. A lowmoisture contentmeans thatthewoodwill berelatively stable. Alsosteerclearof bowedor twisted boards. Sincemanytopshaveafinished thickness of %inch,4/4rough-sawn stockisanidealchoiceasit allowsyouto planeandsandoffupto %inchofwood. Widetopsareseldomgluedup allat it ismucheasier to thickoncebecause

A TOP MAKING theboards 1 Jointing I Prepare eachboardbyfirstjointinga faceandan edge,thenplanetheother face.Next,roughly crosscut the boards, leaving themabout1 inchlonger thanthe top'sfinallength. Ripthestocksothatthe combined widthof alltheboards is roughly 1 inchwiderthanthefinished top,then jointall thecut edges(/eff).Next,arrange theboards forappearance, takingintoconsideration anyleaves if youaremaking drop-leaf, orgateleg table. anextension, (Leaves gluedup separately aretypically fromthetabletop.) Tominimize warping, arrange theplanks sotheendgrainof adjacentboards runsin opposite directions. Whenyouaresatisfied withthearrangement,usea pencilor chalkto marka referThiswill encetriangle ontopof theboards. helpyoucorrectly realign themforglue-up.

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nessplaneseveral smallerpanelsthan you onelargeone.Theglueupsequence will depend followfor yourprojects on thefinishedwidthof yourtop,andthe if you sizeof yourplaner.Forexample, owna l2-inchplanerandwanta 30inch-widetabletop, it isbestto glueup panels three8-to l2-inch-wide andplane themindividually, beforegluingthem intoasingletop.Tohe$ keeptheboards alignedduringglue-up,somewoodworkersusedowelsor biscuitsspaced every6 to 8 inches, althoughthisisnot essential. Unlikestandard tables.the grainfor topsfor extension tablesshould to thetable'slength. beperpendicular Ideally, usequartersawn stockfor these tops,aswellasfor theleaves. Afterthegluehasdriedandthepanofthetop elhasbeenplaned,theedges (page 95).WithdropJeaf canbeshaped thisshaping is done andgateleg tables, isthe beforethejoinery.Oneexception rounddrop-leaftable; itsleaves should beinstalled(page101)beforethecircle iscutto ensure thatthetablewill beperfectlyround.

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Applying theglue Toholdyourbarclamps upright duri n gg l u e - u pc,u t n o t c h e w d o o db l o c k sa n d s e tt h e c l a m p si n t h e b l o c k sS . p a c et h e clampsat leastevery24 to 36 inches.To a v o i dm a r r i n gt h e e d g e so f t h e p a n e l w h e ny o ut i g h t e nt h e c l a m p sc, u t t w o w o o dp a d sa s l o n ga n d a s t h i c ka s t h e . p p l ya n a r r o w b o a r d sb e i n gg l u e dA bead o f g l u et o o n e e d g eo f e a c hj o i n t a n d u s ea s m a l l s, t i f f - b r i s t l ebdr u s ht o s p r e a d t h e a d h e s i veev e n l yo n t h e b o a r de d g e s ( a b o v e )M . o v eq u i c k l yt o s t e p3 b e f o r e

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Tightening theclamps Q r.,l Laythe boardsface-down on the bar c l a m p sa n da l i g nt h e i re n d s m , aking sure t h e s i d e so f t h e r e f e r e n ct e riangla e r el i n e d u p .T i g h t e nt h e c l a m p su n d e rt h e b o a r d s j u s te n o u g ht o b u t tt h e mt o g e t h e T r .o b a l p r e s s u raen dk e e pt h e a n c et h ec l a m p i n g p a n efl l a t ,p l a c eb a rc l a m p sa c r o stsh et o p l e t w e etnh e o n e su n d e r n e a t h . o f t h e p a n eb F i n i s ht i g h t e n i nagl l t h e c l a m p si n t u r n (right)until there are no gaps between t h e b o a r da s n da t h i n ,e v e nb e a do f g l u e squeezes out of the joints.Remove excess g l u ew i t ha s c r a p eor r a d a m pc l o t h .

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TOPS

A TOP SIZING Cutting a rectangular top Oncethetophasbeengluedup,rip it to widthandtrimit to finallength. lf thetop istoolargeto cutonyourtablesaw,usea routerfittedwitha straight bit.First,secure andcut it thetooon a broadworksurface saw,leaving about roughly usinga circular %inchto trimonallsides. Clamp anedge guideto thetabletop nearonesidesothat router will remove aboutone-half the the wastewiththefirstpass;resetthedepth of cut to trim the restof the wastetighil. Repeat fortheotheredges.

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Making a round top S c r i ba e c i r c l eo n t h eg l u e d - utpo pa n dm a k et h ec u tw i t ha comrouter. Forsmall-diameter tops,youcanusea commercial jig shown passjig;to cut larger tops,usetheshop-built compass in theinset.Makethedevice from%-inch hardboard, sizingit to suityourrouter. Cuttherouter endofthejigto thesizeandshape ofyourtool'sbaseplate,andmakethearmat least2 inches wide youwillbecutting. Borea andlonger thantheradius of thecircle holeforthebit in thecenterof therouter clearance end.andfix

thetoolto thejig.Drawa linedownthecenter of thejig armand marktheradius of thetabletop on it, measuring fromtheedgeof markandscrew thebit.Drilla holeat thiscenter thejigto the with center oftheworkoiece. Secure thestockto a worksurface cleats anda scrapboardunderneath. Plunge thebit intothe (above). stockandroutthecirclein a clockwise direction Make thecut in twoor morepasses, increasing thedepthof cut between eachpass.

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ATTACHINGATOP a topto a tableor deskis a 1\ ttaching f 1" straightiorward task-so longasyou wood movement. a top consider Screwing place providing for in without theswelling andshrinkingthat occurswith humidity wood. will resultursplitor cracked changes Because wood expandsalongthe grain muchlessthanit doesacross it, mosttoDs arernadewiththeplanksrunninglengthwise.Oneexceotion to thisruleisexlension tables,wherelhegrainmustbe aligned acrossthe width of the tableso that the two halvesdo not expandin width at differentrates,causingtheslidesto bind. popularmethodsfor securing Several toDSto tablesanddesksareshownin this section, includingscrewing therailsto the rop (seebelow)andusingwood buttons (page98),ledgerstrips (pnge97),screws in pocketholes(page9B),andsteeldesktop (pnge100).For eachof these fasteners methods,the rails of the leg-and-rail for thetop assembly needto be prepared beforethelegsandrailscanbegluedup.

THERAILT()THETOP SCREWING D r i l l i ntgh eh o l e s 1 I T o a t t a c ha t a b l e t o po r d e s k t o pt o a l e s - a n d - r aai ls s e m h l vb o r ea s e r i e so f c o u n t e r s u nhko l e si n e a c hr a i l f o r t h e s c r e w sb, e f o r et h e l e g sa r ej o i n e dt o t h e r a i l .D r i l lt h e h o l e so n a d r i l lp r e s si n t w o stepsF . i r s t ,b o r eh o l e sa t 6 - i n c hi n t e r v a l s a b o u th a l f w a tyh r o u g ht h e t h i c k n e sosf t h e r a i l .C l a m pa n e d g eg u i d et o t h ed r i l l o r e s st a b l et o k e e ot h e h o l e si n l i n e .T o h e m o v e m e not f t h e t o p , accommodate t h e h o l e ss h o u l db e l a r g etrh a nt h e d i a m e t e ro f t h e s c r e wh e a d sy o uw i l l b e u s r n g . I n t h e s e c o n ds t e p ,b o r ec l e a r a n c h eoles s l i g h t l yl a r g e trh a nt h e s c r e ws h a n ka l l the waythroughthe rails (right).

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Itr the Trestletnblesore often desigred to be disasserrrbled. exantpleshownabove,tlrc screwsnttaclrirrgtlte ltoseo.l'thcttble lo The cottntersurtk screwholes the top can easilybe rerrroved. across the groirr. are elongatedto allowfor wood rrtoverrretlt

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llllffiIII fiI'llll''fi1'"1ll1]ll tlllllltlllllll'lltllIIlil lfll'llll'fil 1HO?Tt? Addingledgerotripo lf you havea Labletopor deekLop wilh thin raileLhaI wouldbe weak' enedby enlar4edocrewholee,you can ocrewledqerolripo Io Ihe ineidefaces of the rails.Cut,four olripo lo fiI alonqNheineide of Lhe rails,and boreIwo oelo of oversizedholeein adiacenl edqeeof each .*d.= eNrip(paqe96).)crew ,,..-nl Ihe ledaerstrips to all four ratrs,lhen'atlach 4 Ihe oIriVoNothe IoV.

r) Attaching therailsto thetop Z- Setthetooface-down ona worKsurface,andcentertheleg-and-rail assemblyon it. Screwonesiderailto thetop fisl (above), usingwashers to allowthe woodto move.Square thetop(page100), siderailin place. thenscrew theopposite Lastly, screwthetwoendrailsto thetop.

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P()CKET H()LES D r i l l i n tgh eh o l e s Y o uc a nu s ea n e l e c t r idc r i l la n da c o m m e r cialjigto drillpocketholesforattaching the t o p t o a l e g - a n d - r aai ls s e m b l yF. o l l o w the manufacturer's instructions to adjustthe lig t o t h e d e s i r e d e p t ho f c u t a n dc l a m pi t t o a worksurface with a backupboardagainst t h e s t o c k .P l u n g et h e b i t i n t ot h e w o o d , m a k i n gt h e p o c k e tc u t ( l e f t ) .T h e n ,f i t a d r i l lw i t ht h e b i t s u p p l i ew d i t ht h ej i g a n d borea clearance holeconnecting the pocke t h o l et o t h et o po f t h e r a i l ,u s i n gt h e k i t ' s g u i d eb u s h i n gt o d i r e c t h e o p e r a t i o n /lnsef).Spacepocketholesevery6 inches. Screwthetop in placeasshownon page97.

\Tocket cut

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W()OD BUTT()NS Makingthebuftons 1 I T o a t t a c ha t o p u s i n gw o o db u t t o n s , youwill needto placea woodbuttonevery 6 i n c h e sa l o n gt h e r a i l s .B e g i nb y c u t t i n g a g r o o v eo n t h e i n s i d ef a c eo f e a c hr a i l a b o u l7 i n c h f r o mt h e t o p . Y o uc a n c u t s e v e r all" - b y I 1 l " b u t t o n sf r o m a s i n g l e boardm ; a k et h e t h i c k n e sosf t h e s t o c k equalto the gapbetween the bottomof the g r o o va e n dt h et o po f t h e r a i l s l,e s sX ei n c h . Cut a rabbetto frt the grooveat eachend o f t h e b o a r dt,h e nr i p t h e b o a r di n t o1 - i n c h s t r i p so n a b a n ds a wa n d c u t o f f t h e b u t tonsabout1%inchesfromthe endslinset). T o m a k eh o l e si n t h e b u t t o n sf o r i n s t a l l a t i o nu , s ea n L - s h a p ecdo r n e 1 r i gf a s h dn d i o n e df r o ma s c r a po f l - i n c h p l y w o o a t w o p i e c e so f w o o d .C l a m pt h e j i g t o y o u r d r i l l p r e s st a b l ea n d s t e a d yt h e b u t t o n s w r t ha h o l d - d o wfna s h i o n e fdr o ms c r a p w o o d .B o r et h r o u g ht h e c e n t e r so n t h e portions unrabbeted of the buttons(rrghf).

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ill llrirl,lJlilllfiIlllr1lllljlllllrfiIlllllll[llillllilltllliliJ 5HO7Tt? Ueingeteel tabletop faetenere f aesteelNableLop Commercial LenersworklikewoodbuLNonst Theyare screwedLo NheIabletop and qripa groove from underneath rouf,edor cuL in the ineideface of the rails.Secaueecommercial f a e t e n e r e a r e L h i n n e rN h a nl i -' w o o d b u L l o n o , l h eq r o o v a

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doesnot haveLobe cut wiLha d,adoblade:iNcan be madewiLha strandard eawblade,or with a Nhreewinqeloiting culler in mounledroul,er. a t,ablemake Toensure?roperLengion, the groovea little farLherfrom lhe top lhan',,tou wouldwith the woodbuLlons,

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r) Installing thebuttons L C e n t et rh eg l u e d - ulpe g - a n d - r a i l it to onthetabletop andscrew assembly youcut thetopusingthewoodbuttons endsof the in step1. Fittherabbeted in oneoftheside buttons intothegroove Screw rails,spacing themevery 6 inches. in place(above), leavinga Xthebuttons inchgapbetween thelipped endsof the to buttons andthebottomof thegroove thetop allowforwoodmovement. Square (page100) andinstallthe buttonsat side.Lastly, install thebuttheopposite theendrails. tonsalong

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DESKTOP FASTENERS Installing thefasteners Desktop fasteners area popular choicefor attaching tops.lnstalled in shallow notchessotheylieflushwiththetopof therail, theyarethenscrewed intotheIop(inset). Thefasteners canpivotslightly backand f o r t ha st h et o ps w e l l as n ds h r i n k sT.o i n s t a lt lh ef a s t e n e rrso,u to r c h i s eol u t recesses forthemin thetopof eachrail, spacing thenotches every6 inches. Screw thehardware to therails(/efl),thencenterthe leg-and-rail assembly onthetop andscrewit in placethrough thefasteners.

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Checking for square B e f o r es c r e w i n a g topto a leg-and-rail a s s e m b l ym, a k es u r et h a tt h e s u r f a c ei s centered a n d s q u a r eA. b a rc l a m pa n d woodpadswill do this. Placethe top goods i d ed o w no n a w o r ks u r f a c es, e tt h e l e g a n d - r a ial s s e m b loy n t o p , a n d a t t a c ho n e s i d er a i l t ot h e t o p . B u t to n ej a wo f a b a r c l a m pa g a i n stth e e d g eo f t h e t o p a t o n e e n d ,a n dt h e o t h e rj a w a g a i n sat l e ga t t h e o p p o s i t e n d .U s ew o o dp a d st o p r e v e n t m a r r i n gt h e s t o c k .M e a s u r teh e d i s t a n c e between t h e e d g eo f t h e t o p a n dt h e e n d r a i l sa t s e v e r apl o i n t sa t b o t he n d s .A l l y o u rm e a s u r e m e ns thso u l db e e q u a l l. f n o t ,s q u a r et h e a s s e m b lby y t i g h t e n i n g t h e c l a m p ( r i g h t ) .C h e c kt h e m e a s u r e m e n t st,h e ns c r e wt h e o p p o s i tsei d er a i lt o t h e t o p . R e m o vteh e b a rc l a m pa n ds c r e w t h ee n dr a i l si n o l a c e .

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TOPS ADIUSTABLE for alarge hasthespace \J ot everyone theextra table, although l\ dining needed. One soluis often surface area top. with an expandable tion is a table you. to open choices Thereareseveral Drop-leaftablestypicallyhavelong parallelwith thegrainthat hang leaves out of thewaywhennot in use.Small by a pull-out maybesupported leaves Extensiontablesfeaturedividing tops more thandouble that bar.Largeleaves that openin themiddleto makeroom legs or the surfacearearequireswing spacer leavel Themahoganydining gatelegsto beadded. for aboveslidesopenusing table shown part of a four-legged Swinglegsare (page extenders installed gate commercial table 106); leg-and-railassembly of thetop.Steel both halves under legsarean additionalsetof legsused (page togetherwhenthe eveners lock tabletop 105).Ifyoa for support specifically aflush surface. ensuring top is closed, a table'slength,extenwantto increase

TABLE A RULE IOINTF(|RA DROP-LEAF MAKING thecovein theleaves 1 Routing wavto makea ruleiointis I Theeasiest byusinga matcheisetof pilotedcoveand round-over routerbits.First,installthe bit in yourrouterandshapea round-over andthethree thetabletop beadaround Makethecut outsideedgesof the leaves. passes, lip leaving a %-inch in several theedge.Theninstallthepiloted around covebit andmountthe routerin a table. Alignthefencewiththe bit pilotsothe thecutter one-half widthof cut eouals at diameter. Setthedepthof cutshallow passes to reachyour first;makeseveral Feedthetable finaldepthgradually. theedgeof the leafintothe bit, pressing firmlyagainst thefence(/eff). workpiece Aftereachpass,test-fitthe piecesuntil andthe leafmeshwitha thetabletoo thetwo. veryslightgapbetween

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siontablesfeaturetopsthatsplitopen additionalspacer on slidersto accept tablescanbebuilt so leaves. Extension thattheentiretableopens(page107), or justthetop (page108). Adjusabletopsaremadein muchthe samewayassolidwoodtops(page93), Drop with a fewimportantexceptions. leaves arebestgluedup from quartersawnwood,wherethegrowthringsare at right anglesto the face.Thiswill of thewoodto cup. reducethetendency Sinceit shrinksand swellslessthan woodis plain-sawn stock,quartersawn tables, alsoidealfor thetopsof extension thewidth wherethegrainrunsacross of thetable.

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r) Installing therulejointhinge Z. Position theshorter hingeleafagainst theunderside of the tabletop andthelonger hingeleafagainst thetableleaf;the hingepinshould bealigned withthestartof theround-over cut (inset). onthetabletop OffsetthehingepinYzz inchtoward the

edgeof thetabletop for clearance. 0utlinethe hingeon both t h et a b l e t oapn dt h el e a fa n dr o u to u tt h ew a s t eC. h i s eol u t themortises to accept the hingepins(above), thenscrewthe p l a c e . h i n g eisn

SUPPORTING A DROP LEAF

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Using a commercial drop-leaf support Cuta notchin themiddle of therailadjacentto thetableleafto accommodate the (Fordropleaves support. morethan3 feet long,usetwosupports, located about 6 inches fromeachend.)Withtheleaves installed andthetabletoo attached. set thetableupside-down ona worksurface. positioning Slidethesupport in thenotch, i t s ot h a ti t f u l l ys u p p o r t sh el e a,f a n d screwit in place(right).

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DROP.IEAF SUPPORTS supports are drop-leaf lf commercial toobulkyforyourtable,youcaneasily thatwillcomplement makesupports yourdesign. thelegBefore attaching cut to thetabletop, and-rail assembly in thetop edgeof each twonotches a dropleaf. The siderailadjoining shouldbeabout6 inches notches fromtheendsof therailandsizedto youwill make.For frt thesupports fromthe eachleaf,cuttwosupports samestockyouusedto buildyour shouldbesuffitable.Thesupports cientto holdthedropleaf;theone at rightis cut 2 in the illustrations longfrom wideand14 inches inches stock. %-inch-thick youneed To prepare thesupports, downthemiddle to routtwogrooves screws of eachoneto accommodate halfway Cutonegroove andwashers. widerthan slightly through thesupport youwill use(inset);centhewashers groove in thefirstone, terthesecond widerthanthescrew makingit slightly the andcuttingrightthrough shanks shouldstop2 Bothgrooves support. fromeachendof thesupport. inches Attacha knobto oneendof the support to makeit easyto slidein the rail notch.Setthef ullyassembled tableupsidedownon a worksurface, intothe notch,and slidethesupport position the leaf. it sothatit supports washer into thetop screw and lnstalla groove, driving inside end of the at the thescrewuntilit meetsthewasher (right,top).Thisscrewwill bethesupport'soutward stop.To mountthe inwardstop,retractthe slidesothe is f lushwiththerail,and knob-end the screwandwasher installa second (right, bottom). samewayasthefirst

Outwardetop

Support tL"x2"x14"

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PIVOTING DR()P.LEAF SUPP()RTS

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illllllllllrilIlljltllllllllllltt]l]illjtjllllllt]ililtlllllilijtlljlll 9HO7Tt? Levelingdrop leavee OroVleaveothal droop can be leveledeaeily with a ehallow wedge.Glue lhe pieceof woodto the underside of Lheleafin linewith lhe droVleafeuVVort. Thewedqewilljack the leafup whenthe oupporlie elid inLopooition.

Making andinstalling thepivotrail Analternate method of buttressing drop leaves is withpivoting supports. Housed in a notched section of thetablerail,the pivotson a dowelto holdthe support d r o pl e a fw h e nt h e l e a fi s e x t e n d e d (above, left),thenalignswiththe rail whenthe leafis notneeded. Beginby cutting thesupports fromthesamestock usedforthetable:Makeonefora drop leafthatadjoins anendrail,andtwofor a l e a fa d j a c e tnot a s i d er a i l T . h es u p portsshouldbeasthickastherails,onehalftheirwidth,andtwiceaslongasthe distance between therailandthemiddle of thedropleafwhenthetableisassembled.Angletheendsof thesupport and notchthetopedgeof therailto match. Thiswillallowthesupport to closealmost f l u s hw i t ht h er a i l .B o r ea h o l ei n t h e centers of thesupport andthenotchfor t i n g ee; a c h a d o w eol r a b l i n dp i v o h holeshould beslightly deeper thanonehalfthedowel or hingelength. Gluethe dowel or install thehingein theholein placethesupport therail(inset), onthe dowel, andassemble thetable.

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TABTE A SIX-LEGGED LEGS F()R GATE thegatelegs 1 lnstalling gateleg aresupported thetableleaves tables, I 0n six-legged gatelegshinged to thetablerailsandstretchbytwoswinging leg-andfour-legged at righthasa standard ers.Thetableshown installed setof rails,calledstretchers, railassembly, anadditional is nearthebottomof the legs,andtwogatelegs.Thetabletop fhe 101-102). withrulejoints(pages to twoleaves connected thanon a drop-leaf of thetopcanbe narrower centralportion theheight should notexceed table,butthewidthof theIeaves willtouchthefloorwhentheyarenot of thetable,ortheleaves afterthebaseisjoinedto the in use.Thegatelegsareattached rails:twoto jointhe 96-99).Cutfourgateleg tabletop(pages thelegsto gatelegsto thetablerails,andtwomoreto connect to holdthegate belongenough Therailsshould thestretchers. Jointhegaterailsto thelegs of theleaves. legsnearthecenter joints(page76);usehingesto fasten withmortise-and-tenon andtablerailstight), therailsnearthemiddleof thestretchers thefixedlegs makingsurethegatelegswill restbetween aredown. whenthe leaves

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gateleg stops O Installing ,lse stops to holdthegate L wooden place arein use. legsin whentheleaves down on a worksurSetthetableupside gate legsuntil faceandswrng openthe leaves. Butta onthe theyarecentered outside of the smallwoodblockagainst gate undereach legandscrewit to the sideof the leaf(left).

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Swing legswere traditionally attached to table rails with wooden hinges.Sometimes called knucklejoints, thesewere made by cutting interlockingfingers into the hinge rail and the swing-Iegrail. The two rails were then connectedby a wooden or metal pin. Thesejoints qre still usedon reproductionsof antique swingleg tables.On most modern tables,a metal crankedhingeis now used.

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Using a cranked hinge In a four-legged swing-leg table,therearetwofixedlegsand (abovd.fo twoswinglegsthatpivotoutto support the leaves joinl (pages assemble thistable,firstprepare a topwitha rule 101-102), thenmakefourlegsandrails,making anynecessary preparations youwilluselaterto attachthetop forthemethod (page96-99).Joinonlytwolegsto therailsat opposite corners; joinls(page76).Setthetwootherlegs usemortise-and-tenon asideasswinglegs,andjointherailsat thetworemaining corners withdovetail or boxjoints.Next,cut the hingeand swing-leg rails,onefor eachswingleg.Cutrecesses in the t a b l er a i l st,h es w i n g - l er agi l sa, n dt h eh i n g er a i l sf o rt h e cranked hinge; thiswillallowtheswing-leg railsto sit flush against thetablerails.Alsocuta notchrnthelegssotheywill wraparound thetablerailswhentheleaves aredown.Screw thehingerailsto thetablerailsandjointheswing-leg railsto joints.Fasten theswinglegswithmortise-and-tenon theswing legsin placewithcranked hinges, screwing oneleafof the (teft). hingeto thetablerailandtheothertotheswing-legrait place Now thetabletop top-side down,position theswing-leg assembly in place,andscrewthetwotogether.

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TABTES EXTENSI()N DIVIDING thetableextenders 1 Positioning table extension I To makea dividins whenthetop withlegsandrailsthat-move assembuilda leg-and-rail is expanded, thanattaching blyanda top.Butrather them,cut bothin halfonyourtablesaw. (Toensure halves do not thatthetabletop ratesas a resultof at different expand changes, alignthegrainof the humidity its width.)Attachthe leg-andtopacross making to thetophalves, railassemblies surethecut edgesof the railsandtops a l i g np e ref c t l yT. h ec o m m e r c itaalb l e shownonthispagearescrewed extenders halves. of thetabletop to the underside of theextenders, theposition Todetermine upside downona work setthetablehalves surface andmarklinesonthe underside fromtheside of thetoos4 to 6 inches perpendiculines are To ensure the rails. thetop halves, larto thejointbetween square(right). usea carpente(s

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r-) Installing thetableextenders of the centerof eachsegment L ltiarV,the pencil. posiwitha Then tableextenders facedownontheundertiontheextenders thecenter aligning sideof thetabletop, tablehalves markswiththejointbetween s e g m e nw t si t ht h e l i n e s a n dt h e i n s i d e youmarkedin step1. Before screwing theextenders down,openthemslightly; t h i se n s u r et sh a tt h e r ew i l l b e n og a p whenthetableis thetop halves between halves butted Withthetabletop closed. together andendsflush,screwtheoutto the sidesegments of the extenders through the predrilled top,drivingscrews holes(/eff).Cuta leafto f it theopening thetophalves. between

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apron 1 Makingthedecorative I 0 n a n o n - d i v i d i negx t e n s i ot n a b l e - w i t ht a b l e t o p h a l v etsh a t assembly foreachtabletop halfandscreweachin place(above, openwhilethe leg-and-rail assembly remainsstationary-thetop right),Theaprons posts and areloined(page76) andattached to halves areattached to the outsidemovable segments of the exten- thetop(page 96)inthesamefashion asa leg-and-rail assembly. d e r sa n dt h e r a i l sa r ef a s t e n e tdo c r o s s p i e c e t hsa t a r es c r e w e d Fasten thetableextenders to thetophalves asyouwouldfora (page t o t h e m i d d l ef i x e de x t e n d esr e g m e n t (sa b o v e/,e f t ) .S t a r tb y dividing extension Iable 107).At thispoint,theassembly c u t t i n gt h e t o p i n h a l f .N o wb u i l da d e c o r a t i vaep r o n - a n d - p o s t islikeanordinary posts dividingtable, withcorner in place of legs.

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r) Preparing the leg-and-rail assembly L t o s u p p o rtth e t a b l e .y o um u s tn o w b u i l da l e g - a n d - r aaisl s e m b ltyh a tw i l l f i t i n s i d et h e d e c o r a t i vaeo r o n T . oattach thecrosspiece t hsa t j o i nt h e a s s e m b l y t o t h e t a b l ee x t e n d e r sc,u t f o u r n o t c h e s i n t h et o pe d g eo f t h e s i d er a i l su s i n ga chiseland a woodenmallet (right).Make s u r et h e n o t c h e si n o o o o s i t rea i l sa r e p e r f e c t layl i g n e dS. c r e wt h e c r o s s p i e c e s t o t h er a i l s .

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theles-and-rail 1