Woodsmith - 064

NO. 64

I

NOTES FROM THE SHOP

$3.50

No. 64

EDITOR'S

August, 1989

COLUMN

Sawdust EdllOr Donald B. Peschke OosIgn00t00l0< Ted Kralicek MMaging Editor Douglas L Hicks AssIstant Edit"'. Douglas M. Lidster Kent A. Buekton Terry J. Strohman ProjGct Dosigntl< Ken Munkel

Technlcalllluslt8lOodkit"'.

SMOOTH OUTSLDI cultvt AntJt ~"OLSltIlllNG"

- CUTSUT

l--...,..:u::....

.

{_

'.;

.,' ,) "'_000

CUI RICfANGU OUT OF Q.OI CORH Ell:

rOAM

room i8 placed all lopoflhesetU1uith. Cut (. pi"". of fabric to a .l.I" ., ~4" CellI('/' tI·.I(/(lm and the plywood on 4 the bcv,tfacillg dOWICUmUt-ctating .qua,· e, 1'0 keep tn» fabric from 5 6 110.back .iod back of thoplll~oood.S14pledowlt Oil

glU!

IQ(k thAf.bric ill plate every 2"OrS'.

No. 64

the laid i.ilt I)" 110lch.Stapl. 14b dowll.

Wooosmirh

fabric

wform

(}crea •• at Ihe ""rller.

19

DESIGN

ALTERNATIVE

Formal Dining Chair A

up the first cut on the slat blank, Attach the templatealong one

lier building the setotladder-baek chairs shown on page 12. [ decided to modify the design and build another style wuh vertical slats.The basic constru ction of (Ids eh ai r is very similar. but changing the direction and size 01 the back slats gives the chair a more traditional or formal look - especially when iI's built with • dark wood like the Honduras mahogany chair shownherc. CONSTRtlCTIOl x 1'/16 -:20¥. BOCk·Cf'

PARALI.l'L WfTH

fRONT fACE OF StAT

To cu; a 8Iat'of'ltltiforrJ~thickness, allsi" bMk .urt8 are.cut, sand over aU edullS of /!(leI!. 4 owmp 5A/I6r !ofinaUJricknes. /)yfeedin{j thembe6Romul. bacJ,; slat 1.it" a V,s" /'(>I",d·ove,·bitoil. !Jltideblock 1))itkapointed.end '/16" o:wq.y from IiUJ aatll blade. TIll{/!trim. tween, d)'lt"n sauder a1zd a guide block !Ire roiaer roble. Rout1Uil" liz. pie\T. After the chair is assembled, glue. back cleat (I) to the front face o( the back seat rail (E), see Fig. 13. Position the cleat so it'sJ,l.j"down (rom thetonedgeofthe back seat rail. SEAT. Since the plywood seat(J) on this chair has to fit lll.side the back slats, i\,s cut shorter (14%'1) than the ladder-back chair and rests on the cleat; see FIgs. 12 and 13. After the .!>air is finished and the. seal upholstered, the seat can be screwed down 10the cleat and froot rail.

22

11

121

SECOND: DRY A$SEMau;

:

BACKSLAlS INTO RACK

NOleH

.~ PLYWOOD

51tier table by plunging th« DEP1l-IWtITt\TIONS. First, the l(:ood piecedoum. 011.tire bi't? mortise is limited in depth 10tne Jolm H. Righi length 01your router bit and how Onekama, Michigan high the bit will stick above. the top of your router table.Adrill bit Without a doubt, it'seasier to gel can usualJycut adeepermortise. .a cleo ne~'mortise with a router REPE.~TPASSES. Next, unless bit. But I sliU usually drililhem the morlise is shallow. you will out by making a series of holes probably baveto rout il.in anumwith the mortise bit and tech- ber of successively deeper nique shown on page 10 of this passes to keep from buming. issue. Then I clean up the Ifyou have 10 make a number eheekscnhemorusebymeking' ofpasses, sometanesthesecond repeated cuts with the mortise pass is cut.in a sUghUy diffetenl position from the first pass (rebit. or I use a sharp chisel. So. why not use the router sulting ina stepped,mortise). • Why tloe» 'Yoodsmilh

This happens

with some

arr CONCJ;:RJSS. Pinally, mOSI standardstraight routerbits (explay io the depth tightening cept spiral end mills and special mechanism. As you increase the mortising bits) are made to cut depth of Cui and retigHlen the on the.ide of the bit, not O.e end base cellar around the motor. like a drill bit. This means that thebitwon't be in theexactsame the plunging operation can be position and, cuts at a slightly especially hard on the bit, differenl point. (This doesn't SOMlITL'lES t DO sour, Okay, happen with aplunge router.) would you ever consider using a ItIDDEN cur; Also. when morrouter to cut mortises? ,H the tising on a router table you have mortise is shallow enough (V4" to plunge the workpiece down or less) to rout in one pass. and over the bit. You can't see I'm working with a number of whether you are routing exactly pieces which need mortises in where you want tile mortise. exactly the same locauons, yes, One solution is to clamp start Iprobably would use the router autl stop blocks 10 your router table. Because then the lime of table, but this can be time con- setting up start and SlOP blocks suming to geuhescaccurate. iSjllSlilied.

routers because there's so much

MITER JIG REVISITED .In Wo~",itl!No. 60 we fea- table saw wiU. a hardwood runt'oted a shop-made miter jig U,.I ner in the miter gaull" 5101. It was a Iiule different from other runs on the lefl side .01 the saw miter jigs we had seen. Since blade and the waste piece falls Ihat article appeared last winter. away to the right. oflhe blade. we've received a number of letWHY TilE KJ C){8ACK? The ters and calls-about tbejig, and problem seems \0 come when we've had (he opportunity 10 use cutting the second miter at the backofthejig, Since thefinished itin our shop for overayear. The general consensus is that piece is on tile jig. it's always cut it's one of the easiest and most off clean. But the waste piece accurate jigs for cutting miters. doesn't have any support. But we've also heard of a probWhat happens is this-There's lem: occasionally a waste piece a uttle triangle Sj)linter or wood Will kickbackas itfaJlsolfthe jig. on the trailing edge of the waste The jig consists of a :v.1" ply- piece that never gets cui wood base that's guided on the completely off. seel''ig. la. Since

there's very tittle support behind the waste piece at this point. the 100Ul doesn't cut the triangular splinter 0(1Clean. As the blade comes.around, one of the teelh can hook onto 0\01 lillie splinter.H It catches it just right, it can throw the waste ~iecedownagainstthe table and then U.e piece can bounce back (kickback),see Fig. 1. K1CKBACKVARtEl). \Ve'vetried to produce the kickback on all kinds orwoods, saw blades, and molding profiles. Sometimes il kicks back, sometimes it doesn't, Changing the feed rate

...ol"""-PLATJORM KffPSWASTE PI(CE FROM FAWNG

AND tUCkiNG BACK

No. 64

\Xloodsmith

doesn't seem to help prevent it. It there's a 'Situation where it seems worse, it's when you have a cut-off piece about 6" long.

Then it weighs enough so ifs Ihrown out with some force. SOl.lJl10NS.There are a few

simple solutions to the problem. As we said in thearticlein No. 60, ies a good idea to start by rough cutting your pieces straight off only 1·'oversize beforemitering, Also, while cutting, stand to lheleftofthe blade.And don't let scrap pieces collect near the blade. This just provides more clutter for uie waste oieceto get caught up on and kick back. The best solution is to attach a plywood platform to the "ight of the blade, see Fig. 2. The platform should be the same thickness as thejig base. '1l1~as the waste pieces are cut away they won'tfall down off the jig. To hold the plywood in position on top of the saw table (it doesn't slide with the jig), I screwed a runner under the plywood lor a lighl friction fit in the right nliler,gaugeslot.

23

PRO

ECT

SUPPLIES

Sources CHAIR UPHOLSTERY In addition to the. lumber. ply. wood. and screws, the only sup plies needed for Ibe chairs are for the upholstery. (For more informatioa, see page 19.) When I upholstered the chairs I used professional quality materials. The cost of these materials may seem a little high in the beginning, but Ifeel that it's worth it in the end. 1'H"E FOA~t. The 211 polyurethane foam that [used for Ole SC8llladding is sold 01 a standard sheet size or 24" x 108".That's enough lor six chairs and it cost SilO at. local upholstery shop. THE "AJlRlC. There are so many different fabrics to choose from thall had ahard timedeciding which to use. When I fmaUy decided on the fabric. [foundout itcost$25 a yard. I ihought Ibat price seemed awlully high until it was explained 10me. Upholstery fabric comes in a standard width 0154". Sine.. the fabric I liked was 54" wide. (only needed 2 yardsoflength recover six chairs, The total for my upholstery supplies came 10 about $80, or (as I like to think of it) a little under $13.50 per chair. We have listed a mail order source lor foam padding. see

CatalogSourcesbelow. Look lor code Cf' after the address. CHAIR PArrERN Wood.smith Project Supplies is offering a luU·sjm pattern for the chair parts. tile pattern includes a leg profile with aU the mortise locations marked, plusa pattern lor both the horizontal back slats and the vertical back slals. Chair Pattern '764·300 Chair Pattern, $3.95

BY MAIL To orderby mail. use the form on the protectivecover ofacurrent issue or write your order on a piece of paper, and send it with your cheek or money order (please include $1.50 shipping Charge wilh each order). fA residents.add 4% sales tax. Send order to: WoodsmithPrqjcctSupplies P.O. Box 10350 Des Moines, IA50306

inlh.folltlwll't{JcaUl/ODS.HO!l)qversl!Jles al'ihizes-mayvary. f01'

orcleringinformation.

Grizzly Imports P.O. Box 2069 J3eUingharu,\VA98227...RB

Van Dyke's P.O. Box 278 Woonsocket, SO 57385...cr

M.L.C.S. Limited P.O. Box 4035 Rydal., PA 19046... RB

Wood.craftSupply P.O. Box 4000 Woburn. MA Ol888 ... MB, RB Woodline 1731 ClemenlAve. Alameda. CA 94501...RB

24

for the code MB after the supplier's address. Mortising Bits • 278·654llitSet $25.95 (1) 1I." Mortising Bit (l) :Va" Mortising Bit (l) !I'l" Mertising Bit Individually priced Mortise btts, ·278.647 \I.." Bil $7.95 • 278·650 %" Bil. $8.95 • 278·653 \.'~"Bil S9.95

ORDER INFORMATION

Simi/al'/141viwal" anti-supplies mall befrn",d

The Source 7305 Boudinot Drive Springfield. VA221S0 ...RB

bitsa "Forsmer'Type'tbit.) Look

HANGER BOLTS. MOR'ISING BI'S The Vennont American mortis- TIle hanger bolls thaI I used on ing bits that we talked about on the Dining Table arc 5" long. page 10 are available as a set or These S" bolts are available individually tlirough \Vood· through \Voodsmith Project smitb Project Suppljes, or Supplies.

ALTERNATE CATALOG SOURCES Pleaeerefertc eaclt cat"log

from the source listed below. (VCl1)lOnt American calls these

BY PHONE For laster service use our roll Free order line. Phone orderscan beplaced Mon. H'nJ E'ri.. S::SOAM·4:30 PM CSf. Before you call please fillout the order forO! completely. VISA or MC orders only.

1-800 444-7002 AIIo,.4 106 jL~ek.f'l"di!!if1iectto cha"ue

oft"" 1~89.

Flanger Bolts • 764-100 BoIl5 $3.95 (4) %" x 5" Hanger Bons with

nuts and

washers.

Some local hardware. stores may carry hanger bolts. but they may only be 4" long. You can

counterbore the

hole on the

back of the corner block 10 a depth oil". Then you willgel the same threads into the leg. ROUTER BITS \Voodsmilh Project Supplies is offering a collection 01 high quality router bits needed to make the chairs and table in this issu.e. All 0.1 these bits have carbide cutters and steel bearings, Router Bits • 271·885 Flush Trim ...$16.95 'This bit has a I" cutter length and a Vo." shank. .27.1-8,1 1lIs"Rndover.$23.95 v.."Shank • 271·821 lis" Rndover ,$26.95 !I'l" Shank '2'71·81411