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OTES FROM T  

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WOODSMITH

It 's messy, an d the ends of your fingers

tu rn a lot of different co lor s, but m ixing

your ow n stain is an in terestin g

proce ss .

The article st .. ting on page 19 gives an

overview

o f the different

t.~pes

o f s tains

av ai lable. Then in Talking Shop (page 23 )

of th is issue, w e give a fo rm ula for making

yo ur

own

home

brew 

It ope ns a lo t o f

posslbilit ies

fo r colo ring

w ood,

TIll S artic le c ontinues our serie s on

fin

ishing, \V e re already at w ork On the up

co m ing articles on top co ats. va rnish, shel

lac, and ur ethane.

1 MUOUns .

While I'm on the subject of

discovering new w ays to dO i  & ,hings,  

found

iI

new

use

fo r

a

tambour. A lthou gh

the typ ic al ap p lication

I S

to use it as a

Sliding lid (a s on a 1  Oll -to pde ~k)_ it doe s

have at least one other intereating

ap p lication .

  used a tambou r to form cylinder to

buJld the um brella st and and p lante r stan d

show n in this issue . (See page s 6,  nd 10.)

(By the w ay ,

in

ease you > 'e w ondering

about the w ord  b a mbe rs hoot in the sub-

title on page 6, it's English slang

f o J

umbrella .)

SOURCEBOOK.Last

yea r in S ep tembe~

w e

se nt out th e fl l' St edition of t he

lV ood·

8 l i r i t l t SOl lTce l>Qok .

The

response to that

fi rs t. e ffo rt \V AS

o ve rwh eb ning ' - -mcre

ord ers w er e pla ce d than w e (o r the ad ver

tisers) thou ght p ossible. W hich indicates

one thing: the SOl, , , ,e~ k pr oved to be a

use ul guide to ~he info rm ation that's

ava ili lb le on woodw orki ng catalogs , to ols,

and s up p lie s.

Tbis

year; w e're

do ing an

encore

with the

SO l ,, Cebook .

Itwill be maile d out the end of

August so you shou ld re ceive il by the

m iddle of Sep tember,

F or th os e o fy ou 'Yho have subsc ribed to

1V 00dsm itlt recently, th e Sou )  c e boo k may

cem e as a surpris e. Almosteveryone likes

the fact th ab the pages of

lV o odsmi lh

aren 't

cl utte red w ith a lot of ads .

On the other ha nd, m any of ou r subscrib

ers m iss some of the inf ormation th at ad

vertising provides. So , w e init ia ted the

iVootL .mit / . Sou r cebook to PI 'Ovidea sin gle

so urce

[0

ord ering catalogs an d product

dn form atlo n.

In side th is ye ar's

SO l<1 Ce ix Iok

yo u'll find.

des crip tio ns of 43 woodw orking cat ;J logs

an d p rodu ct s. Yet, the lll'go s oflVooo$l>li t i t

m aga zine stay jus t the w ay everyone

lik e s

them - advertjsi ng fre e.

r ho pe you lind th~ S . l< ,e lxx>k he lpful in

providing the in formation you nee d to buy

shop to ols an d supp lies .

J: (IlX'I''Atl-' ' 'C. The september /October

iss ue of \V oods , i 1( (No. 41 ) w ill be mai ted

dm iog th .. w eek Qf October 15, 1985.

WOODSMITH (ISSN 0164·411 4)

is

publ lsj1fl ( j

b im on th ly

(January,

Ma rc il. M a y.

Ju ly,

Septem ·

ber. NOII .moor)

by

WoodsmithPubl i shing

Co,

2200 G rand A ve., D es M o in es, Io wa 5 03 12,

WOODSM ITH Is a reglstere d u ad em a l<of the

Wo6dsmlthPublish ing Co.

<Copyright 1985 by Wood sm illtPub lishlng Co.

A ll Rights R... ,o d.

Subscript ions :

O  ~

year (6 ISSU B S) $10. Tw o

yea (1 2

Issues}

~18.

Slngle

copy Pl loo>$2 .50

(Ganada and Fote lgn: a dd $ 2 p er y e~ r.)

C hange

Of

Add res s: P lease be s ure (0 Include

both

y o u r o J d

and ne w

add ress ,

Second class postage paid at O es M oines_ ,

Iow a.

Po:s tmaste r: Send change of address notice.

Form3579 ,

to Woodsm lt l1 pubnshlng

Co•. 2200

Gran d

Ave . •

Des

Mo in es. towa

50312 .

BACK ISSU ES

All ba ct

i s s u e s

Q f  oo with ar e

s t i ll

avaIlable.

S e n d o r   t r e e booklet d e s c r i b i n g _ th e C O n l9 1 1 S

and price

01 all

back issue s,

SAMeLE CaPlES

If y ou have a 'riend w ho would like to soo a

copy

of W oodsm lth , ju st send Ih e nam e and ad dress.

and w e'lI

S O < ld sample

ta t n o cost).

Editor

Do nald B. P eschke

Des lgn D irector

Te d KrallC<lk

Assistant

E dttOf S

S teve K ro h m er

Dougl.s L. Hicks

D ouglas M . L idster

Art lil1rectOl

K ay M ulder

Technica l

lliustrators

David K reyl lng

Mike Henry

S u bs crip tio n M a ne ge r

Sandy

J.

Saum

Subseiipti on Assistants

C hrls1e l M ine r

V lc ii:y R o b ln .$ on

Jackl .Stroud

Diana Sterr

Compuler 0j )eraUons

Kon M ine r.

ClreulaJloo M anager

JeH farris

A dm in is tra tiv e A ss t$tan l

Chery l Sco tt

B ul kU ng M a in te nanc e

'A rc h ie K rause

Sllt\.ttP.· A couple of w ee ks ago I w as helping

• friend, se t up an d sharpen a brand new

jack pla ne. A s he to ok it out of th e box for

th e firs~ tim e. He

was

a little surp rised

w hen I looked at it and sa id . Boy. this is

go ing to take a

1 0

of work.

rt's

brand new,'

he

argued,  why

should

 t

need a lo t o f work?  

The problem is tha. we usua lly think of

  11e\v ' mean ing l hai iio J; ne thing is in the

best condition possible. Bverything n   o m

there on jus .t wears

 t OUI.

Rut w ith ,vO C)(iw ork ingtools (espeeially

ha nd tools) . just

th e

opposite is

tl ~ 

A

new to o l usually nee ds a lo t o f w ork -

.'pecia lly ,ifi t's on e that has (or'i s supposed

to

have) a sha rp edge. Plane irons,

chisels,

and car vi ng tools all n ee d to b e s harp en ed

w hen theY 'e new . And th is ( ask co ntinues

a s~ long as the ,tool is u sed.

O k a ) ,  ~\fe a d e

 nj

c a s e fo r l: l h a i · J > e n in .g

- alb eit not. very

centroversial

one, es·

p<tcially w hen we  r e ea lkJng l\OOU~pla ne;;

and chi sels. But how about Forstner bits?

This is one tool most of us w ould

never

drea m of

sharpening 

;' he fi rR t

one I

bought co s~ $1 5 (for

0 . ~ .

bit). A nd all it

took w as one look at the i5 usil'ess el,d to

convince me that there s no \yay to sharpen

a.Ferstner bit. Even if it could be done, it

w ou ld ee rtain ly require

an

expensive ar

ray of mac hine shop equipment.

So, the only alte rn ative.

was

to a ss ume

that

  new '

in this c as e

mean t

that the bit

was

th e b est it

was

going to

be .

Ane]when

it gol dull, 1 w ould ju st have to

toss

it.

\V aitam inute. Throw aw aya$ l~ bit just

because irs dull. No w ay.

Tha t's w hen   ecided to lea nn how to

shar pen Forstn,,.. bi ts . (S ec p age 4.) It

di dn't take long before I discoveJ ;e( l that a

FOJ;Stnel 'bi t is l'elat iv~l)i easy to sharpen.

And then com es the fun part.

Just

like

work in g on a p lane an d seeing th e first

cI' isp shavings; it's a th rill, to see the long

•ibbon of shavings that em erges fl Oma

w el l-sh e r p ened ['orstnel' bit. In fa ct, it's

b e t l 6 than ,nC. \\T.

S'mf S . F t 's obvious that I can got excited

ab out sharp ening. But th e. subject of an

other article in this issue - wo rking ,\ ,itb

stains - is one

1   0

never been too inter

ested

in .

Pari of it is that I like nat ural w oo d.

Stain alw ays seems a rtifie ia ]. But the

ot her pal .. is ~hat J never knew w hat to do

w ith a s ta in if I didn '. like th e p artic ular

tone 01 'co lor. T~e big questlon forme waS :

liow do I get the colo,· 'l w a llt?

 

tu rn s ou t that the an s \Ve l ' i s no t much

dif ferent th at the an sw er for how to

shai<pen   F'ol'Stner . A ll it takes is some

e pel'im enting.

  wdust

July /Aug ust , 1985

umber

40

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3VOODSMITH

Ifyou d 1 ,1<810oh 8l 8 a ~

lip

W llh 01 ll e f

readers of Woodsmilh. send YOU Idaa to:

Woodsmlth,Tips

 

Tocnnl<tuos,2200 G,and

Avo.. Do. Moln. , Iowa50312,

Wo pay 8 m fn imum ofSl 0 to r tip s. an d  1 5 or

more 'or spe cia l techniques  that 8 6 oc cep ted

t o r

publication).Please give a compIote•• p I -

b O O

of

Y O U l idea_ H

a _ is needed, s en d ~

along; we draw a new one.

SIND IN YOUR IDEAS

Tb« Dmi)l.

Woodland. ,<,./tillglon

Editor'« Not«: w e lrird str: Drain' .

~ tthodRJtd

it lc ori ;8jiJre.

But

~I  t'd

like to

add

a CQI plt

C(llltio ~3:Be

c o . / , , no t

to

siort o> ld,lo p 'h_ cuI 100fa r in to

tilt

to bl.

 (l ICll  ofella 80 U8

to

gouge III(  C(lrttl r .

(Stop blor k. co uld

be

olUlcllcd10 Ii i. [en ••

t o p )'eu<,, lI,ig), A,1d lU il tlu: E gli. '.1 1

Lantern, th6 cut is bei'llg

~ Olttcdill

fJ'Ild

orallt. Be 8  ' · 10 /w ld 01l ttcCI'J'f ly

  M

a

router

bit

ttray

··gra /) the end

0 1 ; 1 1  

the bit the same as the depth

o r

the table

sawn

no tches.

This should

be

just deep

enough to clean off the

1',..

and stl'llighten

up the uneven edges.

USllfHCf TOaUIOf

WOIltQ ttct IN

Slu.JGHT lIHE

a.f1W1(N

N01CH( 

CLEANING UP NOTCHES

Since I dOJ1'town a bandsaw, I used nly

sabre

Kl \

to cut

ou t th e notches

In

th e

top

an d bottom pieces when I w ns building th e

English W all Lan te r n (Wood.mit/, No, 36 ).

But  wasn t able to get an even, smooth

edge. The router table solved the problem.

AfWr making ~ -wide. full-depth end

cuts on the ,ble saw. mark a c t-<lff line

about V   .less than the full depth. Then CUt

along this line with a sabre saw ,

Next, mount a 1 1 . . straight bit on the

router [ubi. and raise it up  ntllit's above

the th ickness of the workpleee .

Set

the

di stance from the fence to the out sid e of

\\'endtll ;\,Idenwll

Ho'n~lrood, Illinoi.s

ofsemp

fU l

n sto p th at sju at th ie k e no ugh

lO

wedge in the groove.

SCREW B lOCK

OWeOJTOM

to

HOL O

JIO IN VISE

MITERtNG SMALL STOCK

I ve made a number o f l)roj< ClS that re-

quire 'I. quarter ..round moldings as glass

stops. These usually require a precise

miter, it's difficult to hold the, smnll mold

ings t ight ancl in the co rrect po si tio n on a

tnblc sa w

01

trad itional m ite r box,

~l)' solution was to make a miniature

miter box. The work surface is u piece of

44 .tock with a V.·-\\;de x l(.·.decpgroove

cut down the center to hold the molding.

( The .., measurements co uld be altered

to

fit the piece to be mitered).

little deeper and then gluing

1 1

r.nit;hing

nn il in to th e slo t w ith epoxy ,

Ro~rl K. Graul

,111 0 11 , 1I 1;'lO i$

screws twisted rather th an tightened as 1

turned the wing nuts. I solved this by

cutting lh~lot in the top or each screw a

To

cut

the 45 k ,-r in the work surface,

fi1'8Llayit out with a pencil, Then clamp a 

temporary guide board to the line and cut

with a baeksaw along the board until  

there's a ~ -deep kerfin the work surface.

No.t Oip the piece over and drill a

II  -dia. finger hole centered on the

groove nnd about S from Iho kerf. 1'h  hole

Jn ttkc ~ il cnsie1 to hold all(1 _ 01 l1 0v e the

\I/Q l'k l) icc c an d he lps elen l' OU l8 a\ \f( lu s t b e

lween Ctlts.

Then screw a block to Lhebottom of the

jig toclamp it in a \ise. F · in. ,lIjr', ( Uta pi~

Afiercuttingtheguide bo , to fit th e slot,

CIIlI11J)he bar to the bottom orthe feather

board. Line it up parallel with the feath

ered end (that is, at a 46· angle to the edge)

and over the adjustment slots.

Using the slots as a gauge, mark their

locations on the guide bar w ith an awl.

Unclamp

and

drill

a

~ -dia. countersink

nnd 1 1 . -dia, hole centered on the guide bar

at each m a rk ed l oc at io n .

Afier the two holes

nro

drilled,

CUL a

v.. -stopped slot (kerf) centered on the

hole•• 1 1 the w ay through th e guide bar.

To

do this. clamp

the piece

down

to

the saw

table so it's width is centered right over

the blade. Then lowly ra lse the blade until

there's an 8 long slot, Finally, the bar can

be cut to 12  long.

A•• emble the fe_therboard with a

couple 2 .long, y. -(Iia. nllthcad machine

8C rC \ s.washers, and ,vl ng nuts , llighten~

lnA the \\ ring nu ts

enU  CS

th e

sca'e\v s

to slid e

up into the countersink, As they slide up.

the 1 > , slot is opened and   P ' . ' ' ' th bar

to hold it   Iy in the mller jr.Iug slot.

One problem I discovered was that the

GUIDIaAa/

NO-CLAMPS FEATHERBOARD

Fumbling with clamps to f.. ten a feather

boanl to a saw table always seemed like a

lot of trouble to make one

CUL

Recently

 

built this no-clamps featherboard to solve

the problem.

It

an ordinary featherboard

with thin guide bar (Mten.d to lhe bol

tom th at mounts in th e cnblo SJl\\f S mite r

gauge slot.

 egan bymaking n (eatherboard oulof

61 4

stock.

Overall.

mine

L . 5 

wide by

18

long and has a 45· cut on the feathered end.

The indi idual barbs o(the feather are  ,;

wide by 3   long.

After the feather end is cut, rout

two

V,'· ide by 6'-longa<iju~tment slots all the

WaY through the featherboard, The slots

aro 2 -' l ' apart and start

I 

n'olll the barbs.

Next, cut a guide bar

to

width and thick

ness so it fi ts p re cis ely in th e m ite r gauge

slot of your table saw , Make it at least as

lo ng as th e en tire table (o r no - late r it s

cut to 1 2 ' .

 ips  

echniques

------------- ---------------

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WOODSMITIf

If the bit is sharpened, it

will

sli e

tfirough the

woo d

with very little resis

tance

(w hich

reduces heat build-up). And

instead of clog~ng, it will actually

produce

long ribbons of shavings, see photo.

TOOLS NHDED FOR SHARPENING

However; a11

it

takes is one look at the

business end of • Forstner bit

to

real;: .e

that there s  1  3)

to

sharpen

it

The rim

can only be reached from the. insi de, and

the lifters are.impossible 10·get to.

Ok ay, it.~sno secret that sharpeni ng a

Forstner bit is trickier than sharpening

other edged tools. But it can be done. And

with the hell>of a few tricks and the .ight

equipment, it s really pretty ensy. J use

tw o

small e01·

ve

  S slip

st ones

(medium and

fi ne),

and a simple jig to

hold

the bit.

SI.I~STON~. The slipsIse are made for

sharpening carving tools: a small   o/~ x

2V< medium-grit India and a hard A   · -

kansas make a

nic e combination 1. 01 

barp-

ening

Forstn er

bits. (See

Sources,

page

24.) rho India is used in lheinitial

stagesto

rough down the edge, and then the hard

Arkansas

is

used to

 hone

th~ edge.

A.ltJtough rve used the Indiah\l kansas

  M

stones for years/ I ve recently

switched 10a pair of Japanese

water slip stones in

1000

and

4000

grit,

These stones mea

sure 2 x

4 .

(See Sources, page

24.) Because they re larger

than the India/Arkansas

stones, feeling for the o.oigil lal

L

..J bevel is more difficult. But

I

find

my ••

lf

putting up with this incon

venience because the J apanose stones

cut faster and produce a better edge.

BOLDINGnc.   b help bold the F9rstnel

bit at the proper angle when using the

stones, Ise a simple holding jig. This jig

isn t. f ancy, it s j ust a piece of scrap with a

hole the iSi?.e

of

the bit shank,

see

,Flig.I.

Shop Note: Cut a

kerf

through the hole

so when the

jig

ts placed. il l a vise, the

amount of pressure on the bit can be ad

justed by loosening or tightening the vise.

This

will

allow the bit

to

spin freeor be held

securely ill the hole.

SHARPENING THE LInERS

Once

the

sharpening equipment

is col

leeted, I start working on Ihe lifters.

SHARP};N LIf TER U,\CK.

The back of the

li.fter has to be

Oat

and smooth before t.he

bevel can be sharpened. The first step in

flattening the back requires getting Ihe bit

into position so the back of the lifter can b.

.reached comfortably, see Fig. I.

I find that-securing the jig in a vise so the

bi~ is parallel to the Door and pOinting to

the left feels comfortable. Tllis puts the

back of the lifter in line \,· ith my arm for a

Unfit fV l

  EN T E R

POINT

f

crstnerbits

Can

do IhillgSno other bit can

do. Fu r- example. ifyou want t~rl ll a hole

at

an

a ng te (e ve n a

very

ste ep an gle), a

Forst ner

bit will

do

the

job.

U ) ou want to drill overlapping holes

(for roughing.ouLa mortise, for example), a

Fo rs mer bit is the one

to

choose. Or . if you

need to drill. nat-bottomed hole,

or

if you

nave to

drill

into end grain 01  wild grain

... you guessed it.

The reason Forstner biM ca n accoltlillish

these tasks when other bits can t is be

cause the rim, rather thn)\ the center

point, guides the bit through the wood.

Although there is a

sm al l

center point in

the culting head, it s used only to position

the bit at the starting location. It playS no

role in guiding the bit through the

wood.

The rim scores the circumfere nce of the

hole being drilled. Then. while the

rim

is

holding ehe

bit in position, two chisel-like

lifters (radiating from the center of the bill

pare away the wood  vith a pJanit g act ion.

A HEAT-SENSITIVE BIT

But with all it s abilities, Forstner bits are

not without problems. The most serious is

it. tendency to overheat.

Fo

rs

tner bits were developed for use in

a bit brace (hand brace •• nd not intended

for the speed of. motor-driven driD pres •.

Since the entire rim of the bit is

in full

contact with the wal l of the hole, F orstner

bits must be run

at

slow speeds (less

tha n

400 rpm) or they will overheat.

If

the bit

is

run

too fast,

a

t.remendous

amount of beat will be built up 8S the

rim

rubs against the

cir cumference

ofthe hole.

 P his heat can

draw

 t he temper from the

steel very quickly.  If the steel tW1lSblue,

the temper

is

drawn.)

Once the temper is

(l1 3}\ I1 ,

the rlm will

be

t o o scft, to

hold

n

sharp cUlting edge.

Then

it s

usuaDy for e into the wood. or

the spee d is incr eas ed to

II a l. ·   e

itcu t, which

just ruins the bit.

Another problem with Forstner bils is

that they re very 1 00   ~t ejecting wood

chips, especially when they re not sharp.

 I he

eJection throats tend to clog and then

it s difficult to feed the bit into the wood,

when this happens. t6e most common

solution

is to jog  the bit - drill. Iitlle,

lift up, dlill a tittle more, lift up.

If

the

e.logging is really bad. you bave to stop bhe

drill press and use an awl or ~malJ nail to

clear the ejec~ion throats.

But, there s a

better

solution,

Forstner

pits clog for one

reason:

they r e

not

sharp.

In facti even a brand new bit

isn t

as-sharp

as it should be.

  ha~ening

orstner its

HOW TO GET A SHARPEDGE ON A BORING BIT

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5OODSMITH

6

Rtltl t t

th t

wi

e dg e m ise d w tn

.harpening th. rim by rotating the

lrueo llJt

rim

lighUyagainst the.tone. 8.

C d I , , 1

not

10

lu ,e a negal;'.. bl t..I_

5

Sharpen i•• idt 0/nlll by rotati,lUthe

bil (held 1008<ly

l l , ,, .

jig) again., the

edgo

of the

.1011e.

U..

In

cellltrpOint

to

pi.'OtllJe bil 0> 1 the .'fd

 

th•• Ion•.

I-ClHTU POI... ,

. / = -

.... StOHl   .

'< : . ~   ,

r . t . . . . . . . . . . ~ ~ ~ _ ) , : , :

IN S IO E tl E V ES ~   ~

  C _ . ; I

I\ /

 tOTAl' '  ~

{I

3

S I I I U 1 , 1 1

Iii_ lijler be.el by strokillg

lit e

ston «

ttlll ilf

,, ail(ioi, ing tIle

orig·

jnai

be, ·rl. C lrol <l c~.Dlck allows ( lCC

u 1 thou leP lda l lg r riug r i) )l e dge.

$tone on the in-side bevel of the rim. ~

Fig. 5.

T o

  L

a eonsistenr

hon ing ang le .

slide the end of the stone inso it rests 011

the bit's center point.

Now it's just a matter of holding the

st o n e .tcudy and rotating the bit so the

entire edgo of the rim rubs against tho

edge of the

s lip

atone. Justspin the bit with

your- nng ers.

When the i.. ide of the rim is uniformly

smooth. repeat the process on the opposite

rim. Then swileh 10 the fine stone to hone

both

rims smooth.

Rt;~ O\

8   IRE EOCE.

The last step is to

remove

the wire edge

from

the outer

sur-

fa ce

of the

r im.

This takes just

a

second.

Hold the

faee

of the stone flush against the

.ide of the bit and rotate the bit against the

stone, see t llI . G .

M ilke su re the ston e

is fiat on the  in>of

the bit. You don't want it to tilt in and

er ea te a negative bevel on the outside of

(he rim. (lrthe cutting edge is beveled in.

it willeut 8 circumference smaller than (he

rest

of the rim -

so

the bit won't feed.)

T>;;, TTilt £00.:.

Once the bit is sharp.

the final te-t takes place on the

dri U p r e . , , _

Set it for lhe s lowest speed possible and

find • piece of scrap to bore a test hole.

The bit

should slice

a bole

smootbly

without clogging. If it's really sharp, (he

bit will cut. a conttnuous strip of sha ings

- e v e n

in

m a pl e AS s h ow n

in the photo.

Now, holl' could anyone call thal boring?

~  ~.~/)~~:

: : . . . / . . / V  

.

Platten tlte Iif/o l·/tack by . tl ON ng ti le

sUmeflat against th. surface.

COIt

tinue till all tool marks oro

 

e, Ihe

hone to fr,irror jin;4h   ill fil~ 8tOrl~.

R£1I0\, E rue II1R6 F.I)G':. As the lifter

bevel is honed,

a

wire edge i. raised on the

back (nat) side. To remove the wire edge,

position the jig and bit as the )' were when

flattening the back, S eC Fig. I. Then very

lightly rub the fine hlminl 'stone across the

back to hone off tho wire .'Ige.

SH ARPEN TH E R IM

The next step

is

sh,lI-penlng(he lim

s,

Ifthe

bit is in really bad _hOI><.',r h.. sloppy

grinding from the factory. the inside con

t o u r

of the rim

h as

 0

b e s h a p e d

before it

c an b e sharpened. Thi. requires a rather

unorthedox technique.

I scrape the edge  ith the sharpened

edge of a triangular liIe.

1 0

do this, lightly

grind the three sides at the tip oflhe file to

make three sharp cutting   .  lg C 8 . BCC3l1se

the file steel is con.idc,· .bl~' harder than

the Forstner bit, this tool will actually

s h a v e the metal.

Now hold the bit in one hand and

use

a

sharp comer of the me to make several

smooth

strokes

.lonlC the entire rim.

see

Fig. 4_ It.'s easier than it s o u n d s to c a r v e

the inside be'-el to • ~mooth shape.

sro~1 GnlF

RIM.The technique I useto

sharpen the rim is to rotate the bit against

the rounded edge of the slip stone, Put the

bit

in

the jig. and c l u m p the jig in a v ise so

it's roughly at. 46 angle. Make sure .he

bit is fI'ee to plvot.

Now plaee the l'(fund edgo of the slip

c _ 1

I

J  Y  '~T SlON. flAT ON

k~• I U IT l Ea l ACK

' f - 1 L ' - (

,- - - O M

lACK

- , ~ - ? - .

J .

\I ~

I

HOIOING

 0 \.. \\ ___

 

S Ira t e i lside o j nvr U..ilil

Bha~n.td

f> ld 1 lriallgular file to uniform an-

gl<. Rotat. lilt and bit in opp<nil~ di·

  liO)1810 scrape a smooth

M t.l.

na(ur& b 'k-and-forth sharpening motion,

Onee the throat

is

lined up comfortably,

6tart   ith the medium-grit

stone

to

.mooth the back. Rock the stone on the

back o f the lifter until it   ,51<> f iat. Then

~(rokoback and forth. see F'ig. 2. '[1,. key

il to be consistent in the stroking mo tion .

Keel) ~toning until the backs of both

liftol'lIlook smooth and nat. Then switch to

a

fine honing stone and go

through

the

s a m e p ro c e du r e.

snARI'f. LIl T&Rsevecs.

When both

lifter backs are fiat

an d

mirror

smoetb

the

Ufter bevel. can be sharpened. At lil'$t. it

nul) look like this part of the lifter

is

im

po 'l;ibleto ~t to. But there's. ~m.1Icleat'

anee noleh in the rim right next to the

lifter. This notch allows enough c lea ra n c e

for the stone 14 rest fiat on the lifter bevel.

To sharpen t.he lifter bevel, I begin by

clarnl)ing thcjig in the vise so (he bit i. hold

almost upright, see t'ig. 3. Then place (he

medium-grit slip

stone

on the bevel and

foci for the original angle.

\ V b e n

you lind the angle, rub the stone

back and forth. (Although it look$ like

~ o u 1 1

ro n into the

rim

as the s lip sto ne i~

streked, the angle of the lifter i ouch that

the stone i. actually guided up and away

from (he rim, see Fig. 3.)

After one lifter is stoned. rotate the bit

and st ene the opposite lifter. Then repent

the I,roce$. with the fine stone to hone (h.

 il'lers to • sharp edge.

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 ----

WOODSMITII

ROUlER

tAO

1

  .

 

1/ ,, ·

ItOUN~Ovt. III

ST R tP fACE·SIOt

DOWN

USEKHCI

. . . .

flAJHlI

IOARO

fAlHER

SOAi O

 

\JXIU ~

FINer

 

t t

12 .~ lOHO

uSt : lUSH

STlCIt

AGUUl

f''lIlne to keep

1.\VOlJTPRA''':. The frame is

just

two Oll'1lightboards clamped or tacked at

right. angles to one another on a work sur

fnee, sec Fig.

3.

It .critical that the co , er

b. exactly 90 , so recheck before the

boa l.

ar (; e lamped

down.

C l 1 VP..s£ER.Now the veneer can be cut

to .i,.., using a knife and straight edge.

t· i ... t cut it to length to equal the length of

the strips (22¥. ). (Note: The grain on the

veneer runs the same direction as the

strips.) Then cut the veneer to width to

equal the combined

width

of the .trips (2(1

times lW equals 25 ) pI ll . ;

2

r

trim. or 3

total   ZT

The startinl edge

sbould

be trimmed to

a right angle before applyinl the conUlcl

cement, To trim the edge. butt the lon~

edge oCthe veneer against tbe bottomedl e

ofthelayoulframc.

Pia

ce a Cr..minp:,;quare

on the right edge an d trim with • knife.

APPL1' CO \L\CT C£~lt: I.Vhen

t

-

ae e r ~ squ are , c ont8C l c e m en t c an be ap

plied to the veneer back and the backl<01

the strips. Apply two ev en coat. of conwcl

cement.

As

the cement is brushed on lhe

strips be careful it doesn t run down on the

edges of the strips. (You don't want the

edges to stick together when the cylinder

is

formed.)

ASS~MBLY.Now the strips can be as

sembled to the

ve n e e ,· .

Begin the assembly

process

by putting lhe veneer

race

down in

the. corn e r of the assembly frame, (I

[)lIt

couple of sma ll p ie c e s   d o u ble - fa c e d t ap e

on the bble BU I Caee to keep

th e

veneer

from shining.)

Al'I'LYING rns S1'lt}llS, No '. a»I)ly the

first

  llip by butting the

end

of

the

.trip

against the bottom edge of the assembly

frame and  tipping the st ip down onto

the veneer, As it's towered, make SU ) C the

right edge of the strip rubs .gail'~l the

right frame

pieee .

This will

ensure

the first

strip is square

just

before it cont.'ct$ the

veneer,

When the strip contacts the veneer,

press it firmly in 1'18 an d pound it down

with a block of wood and hammer for good

adhesion on the entire surface.

Apply each su e e e ss iv e strip like lhe

first, rnakingsure the end is butted tightly

against the bottom edge of the o...,,,,,mb[y

frame. and the right side   the strip i.

tight against the previous strip.

The column of thls umbrella stand i. an

adaptation of the tambour

  > e J

in

roll-

top

desks - it's t'iml»)~' a

~rit :o.

of 2 .lntiflht

slats fastened t. a flexible

b a c k

On

P Y > -

\ ;OUS projects.

 

sed

C 8n\ ~ fo r the back

mg. However, since the inner ~urra,* is

,wble on the umbrella stand, I decided to

use flexible veneer (see Source- PII. 24)

rath er th an

can\'8b

fo r t he b . w :: kin g.

THE STRIPS

1 started by CUtting the slrips needed to

make the column. Youneed only

20

strips.

but 1 made a fe,\ extra. jU~l in case. To

make the strips, start

with

12 pieces of ·1/4

stock Ilh ide b.)' 24 long. Then resaw

(rip on edge) these pieces into strips ¥ o

thick.

se e

Fig.

I.

RESA\\ lSGTIJE STRII  . When resu\\ ing

the strips,

Leentered

the blade Ilreei,ely so

I c ou ld c u t two strips in one pass, se e I- ig.

I.(Depending on the thickness

of the

stock

YOUstart 'lith, the strips Ina~ un) out

thicker than 0 That'. okay.)

Shop Note : 1\) resaw the strip a c e u

rately (and safely) usc II fenth e r b oa 11 to

hold the strip fi mly against the felice. (Sec

page 3 for.

lip

on making this

fe..therboard.)

MOI1NI),.,,. : f:D(lf:S . Aner nil the .trips

h av e b e en resawn t o th ic kn e ss , c ut th em to

final length of2Z¥.'. Then the outer edges

a re ro u nd e d QVe] with u V , I oun(l ·ovc r bil

on the router table, se c Fig. 2.

Shop Note: The strips lire thin that

the pilot won't guide the bit. instead.

U H O

the fene e to control the width of the cut,

se e C ro ss

Section ill Fig.

2.

MAKE THE TAMBOUR

After al l the $trips have been rounded.

they can be glued to the veneer. Howeve r ,

keeping everything lined up and abso

lutely square t. eritical, 1 used • layout

 mbrella tand

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7

H O LD ,lAP UNnL EDGESOf nasr )

ANOlAST STllPSAilE aunto TOOITHU

 

USE LA ItO I IAU. ot

MllONGBOWl

TO

S'.fAD

T~1I0U  INTO

DUE CYUNDI.

MEASUREINSIOf

DlAMfT11 t

I O U  

INTO«UHorl

T OP VIEW

\

m ll

w.o

fIll

T

VIN.I. StOEUP

NOlE:

L A s r

STRIP

M U S o r

'AtlAlLEl Wlr~ 'IRSt STRI,

OS( DTiA ST

AS WIDTH

GAUGI

,Olt ClJrflNG S -I'

 

US 'RAMING

SQUAll' to

CHIC'; fOil:

5QUA.fN(S$

, G II 5

fUXl f

VEHEEl l

stCllI:£ V(NUI

 

WOII SUlM(:£

....... WIT11oouatE.S1DtO tAPE

 2 1   ••

\VOODS~UTH

flGUR 3

After several ~trip$ are positioned,

cheek for square, see Fig. 4.

COlltinuC to ,

check periodically lind if the stril).< are

getting out of

l i ne,

increase the plleing

ever so slightly. The key is to make .ure

the u.sl strip i~ parallel with the Ii 'l.

(These t\\'O will meet when the cylincl( r 

formed.)

  -1 £ C I. .UB .  .. \1  .

Whc.rt

2 0

strip nrc in

place, there

should b. an

ext ... flap of

veneer lofl,  V e l 'rhi. tJap is trimmed to

form a glue flap,

Remove lhe tambour from the layout

frame and place one of the extra .trips

(t.hal doesn't have contact cement on it)

tight against the I..

t

strip, see Fig.5. Wit.h

 

s ha r p k n ife trim ofTthe excess veneer

lea \ i n g a glu e OSI>th at s-exa c tly n it w ide as

one strip (lY.r).

RABBI;:1TI:<GTllf: £~IlS

To

complete

the

t ambour ; the top an d bottom

e d g e a re

rabbelted to produce a 'I< ·~hicktongue to

lit inti>

g r o o v e s

in the top and bottom rinll

of

theumbretla

stand, see Detail in I il .

6.

The flex ofthe tambour presents a

llute

pr o b l e m

soit helps

1 0

use a featherbonrd to

holdthe endsdown tight against the table.

Also. use. dado blade to cut the rabbet in

one pass. se e rig. 6.

S.\~ l)WlI:l0' R.Aller rabbets are cut on

bothends. s a n d the tambour and it's ready

for

f ina l

assembly into a cylinder.

FO RM T HE C YLIN DER

 1

form the

t ambenr

into

a

cylinder, the

glue flap is Iastened to the back (veneer

side) of the tambour. refer to Fi ll . 8. The

glue ilap

a lre ad y h a s c o n ta c t

cement on it.

so

JUSt

the veneer side on the cpposite end

ba s

to be ccsted.

To do this, murk the width of the glue

nap on the back (veneer side) of the tam

bour. Then apply masking tape to the edge

of this line. an d apply contact cement to

this

area, se e

Fig. 7. When the cement is

d,y. the masking tape can be removed. and

the tambour is ready for assembly.

ASS£>U lU · . To formthe cylinder, lay the

tambour downwith the glue

flapto

tho fal'

side, Then   01 1 the tambour into cylinder,

ooing careful to bend the glue nap toward

the inside of the cylinder. see Fig. 8.

Butt the edltesofthe

fit St

and last strips

tightly to8 ther. making certain the

cnd.

line up properl)'.

Be

very careful not to let

the glue nap down until the edges lire

alignecl.   t helps to have someone else

hold the edge. tightly togethel:)

When the edge. are aligned.

pres.<

the

glue tJapagainst the contact cement onthe

v en e er s u rf ac e to form th e cylinder.

)IEASt'R& THE OIAMET£R. In order lO

make the top and bottom rings to complete

th e umbrella stand , y o u have to knowthe

 ough inside diameter of the cylinder.

Place

a b a sk etb all

in one end of

th e

cylin.

del to force

it

into a c i rc l e. Then you can

measure the rough diameter,

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8

ROUTt THROUGH 'lYWOOO TO fOl M 10 TTO o\

. . .

.  

lOUT

COUNlft

OOC«WlS<

CY UNOU MU ST

 f

~UGt.yNlO

T tST GI tOOVI

LAYnlAlGHt fOGt

ACaOSS JOINT lmlS

ADJUST

C U T T IN G

IAb lUS INWA ID

UNlit CYUNDf lt

 r rs INTO

CIOOVE

'IOUR  

-HEXAGON nAME

t

ttE 1 2

StiAVE

ENDS

  fftUl'

JO INT l iN tS

 

HOlD HA   H(XAGO N TIGHT AGA lNST FENCE

-e-

  ~

 

2

uS( WAXlO''''liON

RAI SUR'ACI ,OlD

rOOITH(1 \ FOR AIOUT

ONE MlNUf l

StA.Jn  YGlUING MI.'

US( YlUOW

GW f

TO .M)CHrtECU

ffGURE 11

U SE ••

t'''>.,

S IOCJC

WOOOSMITH

MAKE THE RINGS

Oncethe tambour cylinder i. complete. the

lop and bottom lings can be made. There

are actually four lings (two for tho top and

two for the bottom), refer to fig.

21

Each

of

th

esse lings starts out as a hexagonal

(six-sided) frame.

lUTERTII&S1'OCK.Tomake the segments

for

the

four hexagon.'.

start

with

2 1

pieces

of

4; 4

ffi ) stock :r

wide

by 71 - long.

s e e

Fig. 10. Then

cut a

60' miter on both end.

.f

each piece so the final lenjtth (from point

to point) is 

To do this. first miter 0 end of a ll 2 1

pieces to

a

rough length of 7 1.

ue

the

point of the miter). see Step 1 in Fig. 10.

Then reverse the miter gauge in the .Iot to

miter the other end. see Stop

2.

(Thi. way

YOluon't

have

to change the setting on

the

miter gauge.)

Use a mitered stop block to hold the

mitered

end ofeach block in 1,I3cot<>cullhe

second miter

S O

the point-tc-point lenjtth

is

7  

MAKE IlAL'·· IIEXAGONS. Aft..r nil the

blocks

are cut, they re

glued togothel' to

form hexagons, The secrei to makin jr hex

agons

with

tjght-fi t.til lg jo ints is lo

make

half-hexagons

first.

Startby gluing pairs o(hexagon .ection~

together. Plac e 8 piec e

Or,~ lts.ccll)apcr

on II

nat work surface

and

hold lhe pail' down

nat on the work surface while pl ,~ging tho

ends tightly together fOI'about 1 I minute

(hand pressure if; enough). see . ig  II.

Glue up eight pair  like this. and thon add 1I

th iJ d section to each pail' to fOI'11l half

hexagon.

TRUETOEEIlG~S.

When the giu~

i

dry.

true the edges on lhe table saw.

'lb

do this.

mount the hau-bexagon to   pleee of ply

wood (screwing from the bottom side) and

shav e the ends to fo rm a $traig ht line, see

De tail in Fig. 11. Th.n glue the oppo.inl

half-hexagons togetber.

MAKE ROUTING JIGS

After the four hexagon. are formed,

thev're routed into eirel e s. To do thi s,

meum each hexagon to a plywood 1 > 0se.  I

mounted each hexagon to ill ow n base so I

could make duplicate CUi withou; having

to reset the router each ume.)

F,\SfE TlIE I.&XACO~.Fasten th e h ex a

gons to the plywood bas •• with three

..,.,..W5. drilling &om the underside of

the

base. Locate the sere

ws I~

rom the out

.ide edge so the points won't project into

the bit's path, see Fig. 13.

~lAf K

TIlE Ce TER  A L . o . mount a

piece

of scrap to serve as a cent-er (o r the tram-

mel point.attachmem, see Fig. 12. Then to

locate the centerpoint for the trammel, lay

a straight edge across Ihe joint lines and

draw three intersecting lines on the bloek.

see Fig. 14. Drill a hole 8tthi. point f .   · the

trammel po int.

2

. 1 1

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9

 

'II'RD.

ovea 8 1 T

)

NOTE:

ClUt fACtS

WJTH SCIIW

HOUS FACI

TOfAeI

GItOOYt

M ID Q L E RI,tI.Il

. - - - -

~ .~OM

OGlE an

I •

10.

0 ,

y

SHOUf. .OIl

A GUR f

'J

I

00 NOT lOUT

RJLlI tOHLE

IN

OH[

,,us

~

SECOND,

S UO [ A U lO UARY

F(Ne' OVtl TO

FRAM E. C lAMP

IN'LACE FIRST: . ..oSlftON RING

-jLJ- AG;:;Al=N':::T

f, l i w c e

AND  LOT

lOUT AU OIJTSlOEOIAMfIDIS

 4- COlUMNliNG orA 10

.._ UIt fNG DfA. . 1

- tAU

tiNG OIA. 11v. ' ...

3

2

1

~lQNEDVtEW

\VOODS~ ITH

ROUT GROOVE

When thejigs are set up. the firat step is to

rout, a v..~·\\ridegroove rOJ' the

rabbetted

edge on Ihe top and bottom of the column.

sec Step 1

in

Pig. 18. The trick is to lind the

exact diameter for

t

c groo\'e to hold the

rabbeted ends of

th o

cylinder.

TRI.\t.

CL'T.The procedure I used was to

rout a test groove in a pieee of

  4 -

plywood,

Se t the trammel attachment to cut a circle

.lightly larger than the inside diameter of

the column, see Fig. 15. Theil make a trial

cut

ill

piece of

plywood,

Reduce the diam

eter and rout another  >  U l ) until the eylin

de,'

fit 

snugly into the groove,   Pig. 16.

Ttll: 8<Y1 'TO)'. When I had the final radius

setting,

1

made sever-ill more successively

deeper passes in the plywood until a full

eirele

\\ 3

cut out of the plywood. This

circle is

used

later •• lhe bottom of the

umbrella stand.

ItOL T TH E CROQVE ol.

\Vilh

this same

  tldillS setting onthe trnmmel attachment.

ro ut ;Y ,, .dcep grooves in the '

t,\VO

middle

hexagons. see Fig. 17.

1( 0(.; ' 1'  T O R L.'iG S . N ow t\ 1I ( ow ' h ex a go n s

can be routed into linin'. 1b eIlt the Inside

diameter of the linin' .... t the trammel

auaehmem

to

rout a radius 1 t4   1('55than

the ....diu. of the groove for the rabbets.

(TlII~ should be about 3  Y r.

ItO \lt

a groove at

th is 1 5e tlin g in aU fo ur

hexagons, see Step 2 in ~·Ig. 18. Then

J J rogressively lower th(_lbit to deepen th e

groove unril the center is r r e < . ( 1 .

TilE OL 1'3IDEIIA.  C  T . : n . Tocomplete the

linin'. the outside edge or the hexagons ls

routed to tbrcc dirrerent diameters, sec

Step 3 in F'ig. J8. The cap ring is 101'.·,the

two middle rings arc 10 ,and the base ring

j

11

v

in diameter.

PROFILE THE EDGES

\V J1(' n

a n

th e riJ lgs

are

cu t to siz e , remove

them rrom the jigs

_0

the edge. can be

routed on the router table. I

used

the bits

~holl'n in Fig. 21 to rout profiles on the

  llIide

edge

of each ling.

Shop Not,,: 1b support the ling while

routing the profiles, I attached an auxil

illr~' fence at right nng'lc~ to the router

table renee, see Figs. 19 and 20.

(11 .V .: T H E R L~C :ST<><1r. 'r Il F :Il .After rout

ing the profiles, apply glue lo the inner

surfaces of each ring and elamp the pairs

together. For strength. make certain the

joint lines <ofthe he.'qlgon.)do>l  t line up on

both lings (jog them about

Y. ).

rlSAL. SSt,mL\ .

Before l.~uingth Iings

to the eylinder to form the umbrella stand.

inflert the plywood bottom into the oy in.

dc'·. Then, glue the rinll' onlo the .alr

betted ends of the eylinden

.'ISI$H. When the glue WIIS dry, I fin

ished this stand with two coats orMin'~'a.x

Early American Slain. and two coats of

Hope's 'lUng Oil \·amish.

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WOODS~UTH

pla ce a basketball in it to determine the

inside diameter. Then the rings (or the top

and base can

be

made,

'nl' sc lings

start

out .., four hexagonal (~ix-.irled) frames.

~lt\K-';Hf:S ~(:)I~ ~'TS.

tart by cutting

241)iece. fro m ·   atoek :3 ' wid e b y 8  long.

Then. miter t,he end. o( Ihe bloeks to 60',

making certain

t . J 1 C

(inol point-to-pciut

length o(the seg m ents i. 7W see Fig. 3.

The a .c :; semb l~ 'SCCIUCllt'C to (01'111 th e four

hexagon s is th e sam e  l~Qr

the

umbrella

stand • see

page

8. fig. II.

THE R INGS

After the (our (ram. , • re IIlued up, they're

routed into eirele» to form the end rings.

Theproeedure here b different (rom on the

umbrella stand because the cylinder

doesn', fit ina groove. lnstead, it's glued to

a rabbet routed on tho eutstde edge oft we

rings. S A l < fig . 7.

Routing this rnbbct call. for some (airly

precise work with u router and trammel

attachment. r started by making some test

cuts on a pieeo of :y ,/' plywood.

'I'FSTCUTS.The fi~test cut ismade with

the trammel attachment ndjustcd

to

cut l

ci. 'CJeslightly I ' le l' than the O Ili.,;d diam

eier o( the tambour cylinder. Mount.a II,·

stlaight bit in the ro uter nnd cut. a circu lar'

groove. see Fig. 2.

10

SfCONOour ptOOtfssrvm

Slr4AWI OfAMfTUS UNnt

COlUMN fI'S SNUGl 'l

IN TlSTGlOOVl'$

IHSlO DlAMnlk

TO .P V I~:ol>

FJRSflRour r E S T

G RO OV E 1 21r.~

OUT$tOE D IAMET£1t

  JKT

lEOUI'.S

2, STIltS

the same as the length of the strips, Then

cut the edge. $ 'IUl l  lS O the f inal width is 2

longer than the combined width o( the

28

tambour strips (abcut ~7·1.

APP1.\' (~(')I\ 'A(~T

; ~1\ II -;N 'f ,

After the ve

nee r is eu t to ij iv.f',carerUu), bru sh co ntact

cement on the hack. of Ihe str ips an d the

back

o(

the vene ••· .

A1 ~-\(:11TII ~sru n-s . While  he cement is

drying. aSllcmbic the l'ight·angle layoul

frame shown 011 page 7 , Flit. 3 . Then pi aee

the veneer in the frame and attach the

strips. when . 1 1 the slrips are 1 ) 1 ( : . . . . . .

down. trim the exeees backing to ronn a

glue flap that', <'<IUJlI IOthe width of one

tambour strip. ($(,c page 7, Fig. 5.)

R.'ORF.T £I)(:E. Next. cu t • ~ ;..-x Y rab

bet on thotol> and bottom edges. see Fig.

I. This rabbeted

('(Ige

is not mounted inwa

groove. Instead. the  ,boot forms a border

area between Ihe nat .trip and the cir-

cular cap and 1 > 1 > 1 • • inl(l;, I cut it \\ -ith a

dado set and then sanded il smooth.

FOIl. . TIIF. (:YI.INnEn. A fter rabbets ate

cut 011 bolh encl. of Ihe Iarnbeur; ''011the

t ambour in to n c:~ 'lind(lr.(A g ain , th is is tJ 1e

same

as

on

Ow um bre lla iumbeu« .• 00page

7. Fig. 8 fO l  all$embly dctails.)

THE HEXAGONS

when the tambour c)tlindcr is formed •

W hen I tini.hed build ing the umbrella

stand (page 6), I wondered itthis same

l<:ehn iq uc co ul d

be adapted to a more con

ten'IJOrtI.·ystyle. It only took a li ltle ex

pe rir n< 'nL jn g to com e up w ith th is new

verslcn.

Dc~lglI Note: Mony of the basic tech

niques

us  <1 to

build thi.

plan te r/w as te

baskeVgl ,, (01) table are the same as used

on th e' tlmbreUn stand, 80there are several

reterelu..es in lhi~ article to the one on the

umbrelle stand,

T HE C YL IN D ER

The sequence (or making the cylinder is

almO>I exactly ihe same as (or the um

brella stand except (or th e number o(

$lrips

and

lh() dimensions.

The finn step is to

cu t

2 tambour strips

(plus. (ew exira just in ease.) Begin

by

cutting  1   4 ~tock into pieces 114' wide by

13 \<. long . Then r e s aw these pieces in to

¥,,, -thick strip«, see page 6 for set ..up.

A

Iter nil

the .trip are cut to final dimen

I; OI\,

round the'

t'{ lge g

with a I ~ round

ove r b it on

the

ro ul< l 

table.

TA~lll0Ult  ·\·I,INI .:R.The cylinder  ~

fo rl lwd

by

mnkillll. tambour (just like on a

1'011

top de.k). except flexible veneer is

used (or the tarnbeur I, eking.

Trim the veneer to a length o( laW -

CONTEMPORARY TAMBO UR IN THE ROUND

lABan &01. 'NOS

OF TA M & O U It   ,'TIR

ASS EM B lY

 

.

ItOUNOOVIR

 lanter tand

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\VOODSMITH

 

When the gille is dry. the edges oftht' rings

ca n

be

rO ll nd ed on

the router table using.

~' round-over bit. To roUt the outside

edges, use

t he r ig h t- ang le

set-up

on the

router table as shown

on

page 9, Fig, 20,

The inside profile can be routed free hand.

Fll'tAL I\SSE 'tUSLY. Ancr Lhe rings are

routed and sanded, th~y can be glu 'd to

the

c)·Jinder. Be sure

to i n . _ > e r t

the pl)'\\'ood

bottom into t he t ambour cylinder Iirst, se e

Fig  7.

f'L'lISll, 1

w ante d

U natural finish, so 1

rubbed 01 1 two coats of (ung oil.

2

lOUToors.OI

Of   U

fOUl

... IlHGS TO

SAM I '

DW,IDlI ...

T J C E O uts lO e Di   ME T E R

OF CO lU M N T O O lTEIM INE

ou tS IDE OfA M liTfR O F RINGS

 

NOTE:RO UT O IOOVt s

iN

TW O

MlDOU I'HOS ONlY

12 .-

THIS MfASUliM(Hr EQUALS

INS ID E D tA M £ T'1 O f COlUM N

 

NOlf:

W H E N G lU IN G

liNGS roOITH I,

S tAGGER JOJNr

UNES

. , lOUNo.ovtt_,

ENO.'NO

MIDDLE'NO

1

 

w

tOUNo.Ovtl_

PROFilE DETA il

SECTIONEDVIEW

G UR .c

lOUT IN$JD( CKAMETU

Of AU fOUl .INGS

- 71 . ~

TOP VIEW

the

cylindcl' fit.

snugly

il l

the groove,

flGU•  

TIlE uorro». 'Vhen the cylinder fiUlthe

groove. make several more passes nt sue

e es siv el v d ('( p er > etH nI C

until

a c irc le i

cut from the plywood, Snve this eut·Ulll

it will serve

il. l

the bottom later on,

ROUTING THE RINGS

With this same diameter .ctting on the

tra.m,ll{'l

attachment. rout a groove in t.wo

of

the h~x.gonal

f lImcN, (\\'hen

the•• two

hexagons are cu t into

etreles,

thts l(I 'oove

will aClually be the rubbet that hold. the

cylinder in place. ref.r to fig 4,)

FOR) TIlE SUOt:LDEH.

Start. by rouling a

')It-deep JlTOC)ven two hexagons. sec ~'ig,

,I . These hexagona will be the middle rings

that hold the

eyl inde .' , . ..

F'ig,

7

Next, increase th e trammel se \lillie to

progre ....;,·.ly   iden tho

JlTOC) e;;

outward

until the outside diameter

of

the

widened

groove

i

(I t.,.

thall

the outside diam

etel' of the tambour cylinder, see ~ ig,I.

ROL'I'nu' I SIOE, After this wide l(I'OO'e

isrouted in

twoofthe

hexagons,

the

center

of all four hexagons ca n be roul< d to a

circle, . '1 '1. set the trammel to rout a ,IVo

radius, sec ~ig 

,

i'1'01(I .. ively reset the

depth

and rout th ese

l(I'OOves

until

the

center i reed,

ROl,. TIIR OLI'SIU£. Next, the outside

edges of all four he ''\gOn.

a re r ou ted .

To

find the olltside diameter, place the cyhn

der in th e wid groove in one ofthe middle

rings, Then trace the outside

diameter

of

th e < yon der o nto th e bo tto m o f th e g reo ve,

se e Fig.

 

After tracing the ollUlide diameter •• et

th e

trammel auachment sc (he route)' ('lit. ;

• groove just outslde the t ra ce d c ir cl e.

Make a trial cut. then make l ight u<\iust,

ments until th e inner edge of the routed

g T O o . touches the traced circle,

When the groov touches the circle,

make the

same

cut

on

the other tlll'e.

hexagons, Then

progres-.ively

tncre ase

th e

depth of eut until the euteide Is cut

B 8)r

from all four rings. see Fig. 5.

CLl £ 111£ mxcs 'T'O(;eTtl£R. After rout-

ing the rin~ to size, they're removed

Irom

Lhe jigs ulld glued tol(elher in pail'S, For

strength, stagger

th e

joints

SO

they're off

SO t

by .bout ~., see Fig, 7,

PROFILE THE EDGES

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•

WOODSMITH

2

 

In this case, the dado is cut only

1 1

narrower than the thickness of the shelf.

Then a

bal {ueed

tongu e

is

cu b

on the end

of the shelf. (A bare-faced tongue is one

that has-only aile shoulder, sec Fig. 2.)

Just to add to the confusion. this vari

ation is usually called a rabbet/dado joint.

(Arabbet is cut   produce tho bare-faced'

tcngue.)

This jointfis

c ommonl y u se d

to join the

top and bottom of a cabinet to the sides.

andalso tojoinihe back of a drawer to the

sides. (See example onpage

18 ,

Fig.

29.)

In

both of ihese'cases, the rabbet is cut a little

deeper to

produce

a

thinner

tongue.

CUT THE DADO

O nc e th e b as ic

configuration of the joint is

determined, the next decision to make is

which part to cut first, the tongue or the

dado.

I've

found itts easie r to sneak up on

the

size of the tongue (it's exposed and easier

to ge to than it is to adjust the width Qf

the dado.

So,

I start with the dado, and

then cut the tongue to fit the dado.

  TOPPED DADO.There are a lot ofways fa

go about cutting dado, but the triek is

howto cut stoppeil dadoes on bolh cabinet

side s,

and make sure

they

line

up exac t ly ,

To do this, I use a router and the following

procedure.

First, I

clamp

tt1e t\ c-abinet sides

together - back edge to back edge, see

Fig. 4, With the sid~s clamped together

like this, mating dadoes can be cutin both

pieces b)  routing one p ss  cross the.

boards.

 OSITIONh' lG

FENCE.1'he

critical part or

this procedure is positioning the fence to

guide the route r. I w ork off the cente r line

of the dado. For example, on the wall cup

board (page 14) the top dado is centered

~ down from the top of the side pie ce .

THIRD : M A RK S TO P lOCA T I ONS

AND , va lll

HO~S

TOW IDTH

A ND D iP TK O F D A OO

  TONGUE AN D DADO

FU ll THROUGH DADO 2 BARE-FACED TONGUE

It's one ofthe nlOst frequently used joints

in woodworking (especially in cabinet

work), and nobody knows what to

call

it.

The joint I'm referring to isa tongue and

groove, 0 1 a tongue and dado, OJ   a stub

tenon and dado. The name

changes

de

  le ] d in g o n

hO\\L

 ~~ u t o n tbe

workpieces ..

1 01' example, it's called a tongue and

groove

joint, w hen

it s

used

eo

join

two

boards edge to edge - a longue is cut on

the edge ofone bo.. ~ nd

a groove

iscut in

the edgeofthe other, suchas on tongue and

groove flooring.

-But when tnis amejoint.-is used tc jolnn

shelf to the side of n cabinet, the names

Change.The groove is

now

a dado because

it's cut across the grain on hho face side

(rather ,than the edge) of the board. The

APPEARANCE.

The problem is that there

tongue.Js now a ~rl0n because it s cut on are usua lly s lig ht.- variations   tJl icl;c'nes..~

th e en d rather than the edge. across the widtll of the shelf, o it's warped

'lb

take this one

step further, a

short slightly.

Then

the

dado

is cut to fit the

tenon that fits in a dado rather than a thickest part of the shelf, odt's cut a little

mortis e is us ual ly cal le d a stub tenon. too wide to accommodate the warp, SQ

APPLICATIONS when the joint is assembled, there are

gaps.

No matter what you

call

it.

this

joint is To

p ro du ce a

cleaner joint, cut the dado

very handy in cabinet work. Most fre- narrower than the thickness of the sbelf.

quenlly

iV s

used

to

join

shelves

to cabinet Then it's easier

to.cut-a

tongue

( ;tub

tenon)

sides, or to join the sides of the cabinet to on the end of the shelf to fit the narrow

the top

an d

bottom. ft can also beused to

dado.

Any variations are hidden insidethe

construee drawers.

joint.

In all~

bese-spplications,

what ,you're

STOPPED DADOES.

Another way to

im -

doing iseuttin ,8tongue (or. stub tenon) prove the appearance of the joint isto cut

to fit ill a dado. (Even though

 

know it's slol peil dadoes.

 f

the dado is run all the

not

proper;

  sti ll c aU

thisjoint a

tongue

and way

ac ro ss the c abine t

side,

you ,viI) se e

dadO,r'~he,· thanstub tenon anddado. Old the joint on the f ont edge of the cabinet.

habits die hard.) Howey.. ;

if

the dado is stopped \,/, 0 SO

Bllt why use this joint inthe first place? from the l1'Ont,dge. it has • cleaner ap

If you're joining shelves to the sides of a peal'ance because the joint isn't exposed.

eabinet,

x y

no t save tim e a nd cu t Ithe BARe-FACE T O N G UE.Th ere s on e more

dado towidth to'match the thickness of the

variation

on thisjoint..Ifth~ shelf is going

shelves, see Ftg. L Thisway you wouldn't to besubjected to considerableweight. the

have the extra step of cutting a tongue to tongue can be made thicker lor greater

fit the .dado. strength,

~~ ~~~

_Joinery Tongue

  Dado

THE

STRONG 

INV ISIB LE SHELF JOINT

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13

¢ l 

CH IP O UT

HorCH

fROM

~NO

 

S T C t1IStI.

IN NOTCH

 N W OWN

WrTHMAUfl

T R IM T O NGU E

As mentioned

above,

1

usu all y

cut stopped

dadoes in Lhecab inet

side. This

mea ns

the

front

co rn er

of the tongue

has to

be

tr im

med back to fit the stoppe d dado.

It's tempting he. , to use

a

hand

ssw to

cut

down

the

shoulders

and fonn

a

notch.

Bnta

saw (evena

Iine doveteil saw) makes

a

.1lgged cui.

 

refer to use ~ chisel to

ge t

a

nice smooth shoulder on the front edge of

the shelf.

MARKSUOULI)Ea. Firstl mark the shoul

der

on the tongue by .hol,ling the

back c i c a

chisel againsti one rabbet and roll it half

way over the to p of the tongue, see F'ig. 7.

'fhe» pOSition i l on the other rabbet and

roll

the other side.

When the lop

bas

been marked, hold the

chi se l

in this m,ark and

press

down Iilmly

to mark Ibe shoulder line. Doo't use a

mallet yet. It's better to use hand pressure

to ca efully mark the shoulder line and

carve

out

a small-notch .

This small notch sets the sheulderline as

it \\~ll be seen on the front of the shelf.

Once this line is set, it's just, a matter of

using the chisel and

a

mallet

to

chip away a

larger )lotch 10 fi t the stopped dado, see

Detail

in

Fig. 7.

SIZE OF NOTCH .

One

thing about the size

orthe notcb.  tdoosn't have to be cueso the

front on ehe notch fits snugly against the

Il:ontoith. stopped dado.

In fa ct,

iLean·be

cut back

a n e xtra V i

or

V o

AU of Ihe alignment of the shelf should

be (lone o(flhe back edge because it's e a s

ier to get to during assembly.

S A W D U S T

. I E   . /

TAB( .E S AW .

To use. the d ade set

On

the

table

S8\V,

a~ac:h

an

auxiliaryweoden

fence

to the table

saw 's

metal

fence .

Then

move

the wooden fence over the dado blade, se e

Fig

'Ium

on

the

motor

and

raise

the

blade into the fence to cut a relief.

Then turn off the motor and' adjust the

blade height to

cut-rabbets

on both race.

to

produce the te ngu es .

R t\O IA L A R  \1 S \ V the radial arm saw,

ge,OIAL A R M

SA W

the process is very similan Just clamp a

stop block to the fence and adjust it's posi

tion so the dado blade cuts a tongue to th .•

length needed.

se e

Fig. 6.

l Ae .tE S A W

FEHC~

the dado, also be sure to cheek the

shoulder-lo-shouklerdistanee between the

tongues.

nOUT ~R T AIl  .& .  fI'm working with

shelves made of plywood, Tuse the router

table

to

cut the tongues. (The router al

ways seems

to cu t a m uch

smoother

shou l

de ,'

on

plyw ood

than

a  Saw bla de.)

T o

set up for lhe CII I, _ T lise a ~raight

router

b i ,

that's larger in diameter than

the length of tl\e to ngu e, That is , if th e

t:<mgUes .1I.00Iollg,use II~ or o y ;   straight

h it

on the router table.

Then i\,;; just •

matt er  

adjllst.ing the

fence for the length of tongue you want,

lind '1ljsing the bit to cut a rabbet on each

face of the shelf. (It's usually best to

ra ise

the bit in incr em ents, sneaking up on the,

thickness oi the tongue until it

fits

snugly

in

th e dad o.)

OAI)Ou w l J l .& . . . . .  '1 110 1>.c

the sbelf is solid

wood (rathe~ In an plywood), I u su ally cut

th e

tongue

ona ta b le

saw or radial arm SAW

using a dado blade. (S<>lidwood se ems

to

put

a lot

 

strain

on

a

router bit, so

r

switch

10 the saw

and

dado

blade.)

On both the t~ble saw and rac1ial arm

  8\\

tfte tongue is formed by ma >ingone

pa ss with fhe.da(io blade to cut a ra bbet on

one faee and then

fl ippi ng

the shelf over to

cut a I'abbet on the other face . \Vllat re

ma ins

is

th e tongue,

WOODSMITH

To position the fence, one method is to

mark off a distance equal to one-half the

diameter of the

ro ut er's

base.

it

outer

with. 6 · di•. base is used, the fence is

positioned 3 fJ (Imthe center line of the

dado.

PROBL~ S .

This method

us ua lly

works

fine, but

I .

noti~ed at times the dado has

been as much as

¥a'

ofI where I thought it

.shoul d

be.

The problem is that the collet that holds

the bit ,is supposed to

be

ce nte red in the

router'. housing, and the housing is SUIr

posed

to be

een tered

on the plastic

base ,

But this is rarely the cOS< .And it.'s  W

1'.ising how far off these things can be.

Since tile plastic base Play not be

centered on the housing, tl)e distance

from

the edge of the bas~ to the bit

<   l U I

vary.

This means the position of the groove de

pend .. on which  edge of the

router

base

you hold against the guide (onee.

ANOTHER ~ t, , '1 '1(01) .

After getting

fr us

tt

ted with this approach, 1 came up with

another procedure that

ensures

accuracy.

Clamp the boards edge to edge as be

fore, and mark the center line of the dado.

Then

mark

the

stop

points - where the

dado must

st op from

the front

edge

of the

cabine t S

side piece,

see Fig. 4 .

At these points,

, I t - i1 1

a hole the same

diameter as the width of the dado, (On the

wall

cupboard ,

r drilled

a

I ( , · - < l i

a .

hole, 0 / -

deep.)

Now here's a tr ic k , Mount a y straight

bit in the

router

and position the bit inOne

of the

 / -dia.

stop holes. Now hold the

router in the same l)ositi6 1 1it w ill be during

routing an d mark- a partia.l ID-C  In dicate

the fircuntf er .ence of the base, see Fig. 4.

Do the same

at the

other

stop

hole.

Then, using those two ares, align the

fence and elamp it in place. To   OU L ~he

dado, pia,.. t.he router bit inone oethe stop

holes to start the cut and rout to the other

stop hole.

Shop Note: Always move the router

counter-clockwise,

S ince he g uide fence is

a st'raight line, think of turning the cor

net  (he end onbe fence so therouter is

moving around the fence in a counter

c lockw ise.rotatio n .

T H E T O N G U ES

After the dadoes are routed in the cabi

net s sides, the tongues  stub tenons) can

becuton thuends of the shelves. There are

actually two problems here.

The tongues have to be cut so they fit

snugly in the dadoes. But sin ce tongues are

cut on

both

ends of the shelf, the other,

Clitical

measurement is the distance be

tween the shoulde

r

  the tongue on one.

end and tli. shoulder on the other end.

To get the right sboukler-to-shoulder

length, cut the shelf to length allowing for

the length of the tongue. on each end.

Then, as the tongu • • are cut to length to 611.

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,

WOODSMITH

.,......sw ~

72 

bJII ; I~IIIII IAzlll j t)~Z)nll tlWA

'\',••_sw ..72- tlWO IOAItOS)

I A I,

 

,A L Ul

c  .I

c

tw l b z z ) J

 

Overall

DiI'Mn,ion~

37 h 

9 d

x

30 ; h

A Sid..   2)  YI•• 9 • 291h

• lop s~tr

I) fa A • • 4 ..4 ~  S~

C Mlddl.tlotlom Shelv (2)  JA . x 7 ~3SY.

o Otow.,

Divide ...

 3) tv ..  

7 ~SV.

E Stop Molding  (2}

 Vi••

Y. ~3S

 

lode Ponti PiKe, (IO)

 h  3 h

32

GSpUn cutfromwo,te

HOrow., Fronts (4)

l il Y , •• 4  1•• ~

8 

/1.

I

Oraw.r

Sid., (8)  h• 47/1•• 6 

Drawer 8 o e l t (4)

 I. •

3Yt .7tA

K

Dtow.t 8oHom  (4) ,/. plywood

 wt 10

fit)

CUTTING DIAGRAM

ATERIALS LIST

piece is sanded. us. it

lU I U

template to

mark and cut the other side piece.

THt SHUVES

Next, the three shelves are cut to size. Rip

the top sheIC(B) to a width of 4 \ >2 , a n d th~

middle and bou om sh elve s C C)toll width o f

 

Then eut aU th1'ee to • final length of

:ȴ....see Fig. 3.

t1. T TOSGI1ES.

After the se three shelve.

are

eut

to size, a tongue is cut on each end

to fit the dadoes in the side piece s,

  See

page 13 for more on the teehnique used 10

eut these tongues.)

e U T OIJT I'ROf L€, Before cutting the

profile.  sed a hole saw to drill the holes

ot pc.ints

D a nd

 

to

form the

 ', · radius

 1Y;diameter) arcs, (Since these a rc s a re

so small, a 1~ -dia. hole saw makes a

$moother

cut.)

Then cut the

rest

of the

pronle

u.sing

a sabre saw or bandsaw

Shop Note:  found it was best to cut

about

v . .

to the outside of the marked

prome, just to be on the safe side. Then

 

used • drum sander mounted on the drill

press

te

sand the curves down to the

marked lines.

CtlTSF.COSI)SliE. Aner the first side

14

C to arc D, and are D to arc E.)

If your family is like mine, you've probllbly

acquired a number of family heirloomx, My

collection includes the fonnal plate that my

grandmother lmtionally used to serve

the Thanksgiving turkey, • t of china

that'. too good

C o r

ever y d ay u s e, and some

figurines that belonged to my j 1'C.t aunt.

Afierpostponing it longer than I ~hould,

I finally decided to build this w,,11 cupboard

to display these heirloo , and give them

the home they deserve,

THE SIDES

To build the cupboard.  started with the

sides  A . Glue up enough   .tock to get

two blanks wit h rough dimensiono of lOll ,

wide by 31 long. After these blanks are

dry and planed Ilat, trim them to final

s)7.e of 10

x

2 9\> 2 , _ fig. 1.

O ;\I ) ) F . S . T he two l:I id e p ie c e s a rc jo ined

to the three shelves with tongue lind clndo

joints. This mean. three Y. .widc by

  -dcep

dadoes are

ro u ted

in both

side

p ieces.

;\tARK CENTt;ttLI:-lf;S. ji iI 8t, mark the

cen terl in es

Of the three

d ad oe s,

The top

dado is centered 70/( down lrem the tOI)

edge of the side piece a nd StAlll 4  Y I Crom

the back edge, sec ~'Ig, 1. The bottom two

dadoes are centered

4 0

and

lO W '

up fI 'O In

the bottom edge, and both of these cludoes

are stopped 7v . from the back edge,

RO L 'T DADOES .

To

rout the dud oe s nnd

keep them lined up  C~6both sides, 1

clamped the two side pie c e s t og ether, back

edge to back edge ( bookm atch style), an d

then routed the

d ad oe s a c ro ss

both .idl'

pieees at the same time. (See pug. 1 3 for.

detailed explanation of this teehnique.)

TilE SIDE PROf'II,f; . An.r the dadoes

are routed, the profile on the ~ide. ean be

laid out. Star by locating the six center-

points to draw the six 8 J \ :S on one or tnt

side pieees , see Fig. 2 .

The small radius 3 I C> (at points A. B, D,

and F can be drawn with. standard pencil

compass . But to draw the two lal'l(C arcs

(at points C and E) I

used

a beam compass .

Shop Note:

A

beam

compass

i

W>t

a

thinstripofwood with a notch atone end to

cradle the point ofa pencil. Then a

II ·

hole

is drilled along the beam wherever •

pivot point is needed, Insert a brad in this

hole

and

pivot the

beam

around it to draw

the Jarg e radius arcs. (This

i

shown in

n ood mith

No. 38, page 4.)

A ft e r th e s ix

ares

a re d ra w n . y o u

have t.o

d r a w s o m e connecting c u r v e s to complete

the profile, (This is just 8matter of sketch-

ingagentle curve tojoin 'Ire B tA larc C. arc

Wall

C u ~ _ b _ o _ a r _ d _

CO U NTRY STYLE CH INA SHELF

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M(ASUItIMIH1$ 10

«(N' 0' DAOOIi$

R o ur .A lL

s rO P i lO O A oo es

I..

W ID .

II ..,..OIEt

leUI rwo 1~fS THISSIlO

I

11..-

r---~---- .

S IDE

S ID ); D A DO D E TA il

TO P

VIEW

r

r

twr

the tongues are cut to fit snugl · in

the dadoes. notch each tongue

W back

{romthe front edge, see Detail

in

Fig. 3.

(1 hM

notch serves two PIlI JlO5 5.F irs t , it

pro ides a neat-looking joint line on <he

front comer ofthe shelf. It alsoallows <he

shelf to be pu.hed fon ard 14 ·

10

permit

room for .heback pane l.)

STOI' OI.UING GIIOOVE. After the

to ngues are cut. grooves are routed on th e

lOP 8) \(1 middle sh elve s for the stop mold

ings

(E)

thaI

I lI O

mounted near the fr om

edge of the shelve s. (The grooves are

routed now , bU I the stop moldings

aren t

.ddc'li unu t late.. re fer to Fig. 140.)

1b

rout

these

gl'OOVt'S,

se t up the router

t. tlb le to rou t (I \1 4   x y   groove centered : Y .. ..

from the  nm l ecigeof both shelves. see

Detail

in ~·ig.4.

rLATt: GHOOVE,Next. a plate gTOO\ eis

rou ted On th~ sam e sides of th ese two

pieces.(This i,. rounded groove that holds

Ihe edge of .heplates upright for display.)

To make thi..groove, usea v . eore boxbil

on the router table set

to

cut to a depth

of

¥....Center this groove

2 v . . ·

from the back

tdg

of the shelves, see Detail in Fig. 5.

IlAO(»;~''OR nl\'II)~R.-;'To complete the

shelve••• topped dadoes .. ..,routed for th e

1111. . , .divide rs (0 ) that are mounted be·

tween the middle and bottom shelves.

rI b

locate th ese (Incloc s. strut \\llUl th e

middle dado. I'h'tll, measure the distance

between Ihe shoulder« on the ends of the

sh e lves A nd Inlll'k n line ce nte red on th is

di.l.nc. to locate the m id dle dado. see

rig. 6.

Then to determine the toe arion o f the

other two dadoes, I bad to do a little math.

(In order to get equal spacing between the

dividers, tho dadoes

do

'tOllay

OUt

in-equal

inerements.)

To get lho right .pa c ing . take the dis

tanee between the shoulders of the shelf

(this Mould

be

:1 51 .n d dh;de tb~ distance

by four (to get BY.I.

Then addone-fourth the thickness of .he

drawer dividers (D) to this distance. (After

planing an d .andlng, my

4  4

stock finished

out close to y •••

0

I divided   .

by ,I

toget

0 / 0 . . I lidded this to S:y.-for (t total of

8Io /lll . )

 I hls is thl CU ti lluncefrom th e

center

or

the middle ,opped dado to the center of

the other two  lopped dadoes. see Fig. 6.

(Note that th~ remaining distance is only

8 1\. fromthe middle oflhesedadoes tolb.

shoulders a( the .nds .fthe shelves.

1 hM

is

the correct di nnl to get equal spacing

when th e fli\ j(lcncarc in pl aee .)

After marking the centertines o r the

three dadoes. clamp the two shelves

toll th.r (bark edge to bac k edge) and u . .

the same technique A..~on the sides torout

the stopped dadoes,

All three dadoes are Y. -\\'fide b)'

v . . .-deep and stop

11..

from the Iront edge.

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\VOODSMITH

position , be

sure to push the .helv, , ror-

Before assembling the pieees. I used the

same se t-up to ro und o ve r bo th ( ro nt edges

oftbe side pi.. e and the tOP .heU', the top

front edge of the middle sheU'. and the

bottom Crontedge or the bottom .helr ....

Delllil in Fig. 14.

I R.-,\\ ·E R S TO P H OL ES . T he re s o ne o th er

thingtodobe(ore assembly, Lawr. drawer

stops are added to the unden1ide of the

middle shelr. refer to Fig. 30. The pilot

boles fer these stops have to be drilled

  ifore assembly . see Fig. 10.

ASS )lULY .A t last ••

verything is

reody

  r asse rnbly, Start by gluing the dh·ide....

between the middle and bottom shelve••

making sure that the ends are squ , e. see

Fig. 12.

When the shelf/dhider unit Is dry. glue

this unit and tho tO I> sheU '

between

th e

sides.

As

these pie ce s are clalnlJCd into

 

DRAWER D IV IDERS

After the stoPlled dadoes are routed on the

middle and bottom shelves. the three

drawer

dividers

 D)

can be cut to fit. (Note:

S ince the di v i rl en; are mourned

it O t he

grain run.' vertically, the length is shorter

than the width, see Fig. 8.)

O£T£RtISlNG TH E~GTII

o

deter

mine

the length

or

the divide

rs.

Imt dry

clamp the middle and bottom shelves to the

side pieces, Then measure

the distance

between the two shelves to gel the .houl·

der-to-shcetder distance or the dividers,

see Fig. 7.

Th this measurement, add the depth or

rbe rwo dadoes to allow ror the tongues on

the ends or the dividers. In my ease. thi

came to a

total length or

5Y

Now CUt the

three dividers to this length and to a width

ofrto match the width of the 'helves .see

Fig

S.

Cl'TTISG TilE TOSG~&S.A Iter cutting the

div ide rs to

size.

cut longue ' ce ntered o n

both ends

to

fit

the

dadoeo in

the shelves.

Next,

notch the front edlle of each

tongue to fit the stopped dado so the [ l 'Ont

edge of thc divider rests flush with till'

fr on t edge or the shelves, S ~l'ig. 9.

STOP M OLD ING

1'0Complete the shelves, l eut the tWO .tol>

molding E  that fit in the grooves routed

A il

in tb. top and middle shelves. ' J

1 '0 mak e the se moldings, cu t rabbets on

al l (o tl r ed ges

of

a pieee

of

414 toek .

cre

ating tongues to fit the grooves in the

s-h e lv es . s ec Pig. 1 1 . Mel  t.he

tongues u rc

cut,

rip

o/, ·\\ride molding strips o ff e ach

edge.

ROtlSOING TilE EOGES.

Now

the

to p

edges of the molding Strips can be rounded

to a par tia l b ull no se profile. Thil5 profile i.

d on e o n th e T Ou te r l . .

bl e

with

a

 v

round •

over bit .• ee Detail

in

Fill. 1J.

ASSEMBLY

16

eon ,

SHll'

ItOUHOOVil 10TH ,IOHT

reers Of rot s..fll

CUT STOP '

~HG

IOU HD OV iI lOtH

to

ttT AfTI. ASSlMIll IOfoIT (OGU Of ~OfS

USE .:~ .

SPAct. 1l000S

 

CL A M P ,A N D c . . .   x SHllF

- - E N DS F O R S Q U A R e

FIGURf  

B UllN OS E D ETA il

LAI f STQ_PDETAIL  )

  ,.,...TONGU[ e(NT .Eo

ON srec. .

  I 10

FlONT lOG( OF

MlOOUSKnF

; : : ~~--I

AGURl7

tO N G U E .

DIVIDERDETAi l

(

., •• THtCk   . ...OHG

(INTl_fO

O N S TO CK

  < 1-- •

,

~ 4.1:

D l .Y C lAM I '

f

r

HOIOl

to DITUMIH

I

1 _

HOUlOEII:

  _

TOSHOULQlR 5  .

OISTANC'E OF

-

 'h

TO

DMOllS

m

SlOff IO

y

DADOU

 L

r

-

 

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17

VOODSMITIi

ward jU8~ enough to leave reom for the

liO URE IS

 lACKPANEL

 GURE 16

~··thick back panel. To get uniform spsc-

.,J 3 , . 1+-

(10 1S00ltOS)

__ 3V·~

ing. place a

 

-thlek spacer block between

.tOUl ', . CHAMfER

I 

I

~

otI

 Act SlOf.\.

I00'I''

each shelf and the pipe clamp. see Pig. 13.

o • •

J(NCl

Finally, cut the stop moldingR to fit be -

I_~ 

tween the sides and glue them into the

1

3v 

,r

rooves in th{l shelves, we ~   'i,g . 14.

I

NOTE,

~

THEBACKPANEL

CHAMfla ONl,(

OHllOGt

01

c... . . . , . ....

J

To

complete the wall cupboard, I made a

OUTSIDINCH

 .

baek

panel out of 10 indh'idual ..,Iid-wood

ftG.U1t[ 17

. . . . .

 

boards.

Start by cutting eight pieces of Y o

~

-1

r

SAW

,

.. NC I

stock

3 Y t

wide by 32 long. Then cut. ~\\'O

OU,SID1i~EC:ESExr.A

r}4

C£HT RKI.'

IWli lIIlM ' ' I fit

t

ON ST OC K

-

1T1 0l'epiece s an ex tra Y....

w id e (3% ' w id e)

,

~

for the two outside pieces, (These p ieces

.

II

 4CE

are trimmed to Ht laten)

,,

$101

CH.U[FERISG.NexL rout a tr ',, chamfer

I.

r

~1

-

L

I

on both edges of the face (front) side of the

..j

K. £ ;---

first eight pieces, but only Ollr edge of the

  .

QfAM'-(IIEO

£00[$

\1 1 '0 outside pieces, see Fig. HI.

rOWA,J lO SINCt

C L'TT IN( ; , . .:

CRooVES.All oflhe back

  . u . . 19

pieces are joined together with splines. To

'~- . SlUNES uS<

GWESPUHlS

do this. first cut a

1/,. '

-wide

j tr ve

(kerf)

rom.Of ruSH INTOON

centered on both edges of each piece, see

~_J. JIO

GItOOYfONt'

 

lg.

17. (On the two outside pieces, cut the

-

~ ::;~

~~~

g roove only inthe edges wilh the chamfor.)

, ,

 .

.

TllE SI'LINt;S. Now, lip y,. th ick spJ il1 es

•

'<Cl t .

; : C E ? - . . .

 

off the edg of a piece of 4/'lstoek.

se e

,

'· ig . 18. Then glue each spline into

olll l 011

~v7

~,.,

-~

groo oJ

rocll

b ac k p ie ce

see Fig. 19.

cu r

U:lfON

Design )0/01<': Since the board. are un-

ON E fOGf Of

OUfSJOE [CIS

supported at the top and bottom, the

splines are ulK'd to keep the fnees of tbe

.0uR 2G

I

IOU

.,

80TTOM_f~QFllfTfMPLAU

boards nuoh - preventing them from TOPP~OFILETEMPlATE

twisting rcrward or backward, However;

. .

-

11' ,

o-

they're glued into only one groove to allow

17',,,'_

~

for expansion and contraction.

 --.....

. .

COHNKl tAHG(HfS '1

 

CL. .t~G BACKTO FIT. Now. place the

~

W I T H S T RA I GH l U Nf

0-

~

ack pieces between the Iwo ..ide. on the

i

I

  ,   l

DR A::t,

•

assembled wall cupboard. The combined

;r.

3~~)aR

I

r

SH OU lDER 11  

2 6 1 .

\\;dth should be too wide to fit.

 0

lrim the

Jv,t

 

- J

t

: : : : - : . . . .

l

wo outside

pieces

until they fit between

.  

-/

;

the sides, (see Talking Shop. p. 23).

-

 ~j

•

.

-

 

f:~IPLATES.To complete the back panel,

RlSTDaAW

J

S HO ULD .R U NE

curves are cut on the top and bottom

~

edges, see r'i$t. 22. To cut the curves, 1

~

9 .1 .  

10' Il

 

made two templates. Tape  piece of poster

r o   :

13'.-

I

hoard to the edge of the workbench and

fo o

' ' ' 'C H

drav..· a 6 ,radius and a 3Y4 ~radiusare to

. _

:..~

lAI f f'Osr(1 IOAlO 5OUoUI

,

form the top profile, see Fig. : 2 1 1 . (Actuall)'

W1THOGE Of UNCH

~

this is only half of tbe profile, just Oip[he

template over to trace the other half.)

  GUIlE 2'1

M.C~ e8I:: ELP~OF'tE

RGURE--2J

Follow tile s ame procedure to draw U NOTE: CINTtR SCREW S ON

26 1'3di 5 lind 8 IO -radius are f,II'the pro-

. . . . . . . .

 

L

8ACI( 'I(CES OVER10f' AND

 ..

IOno,, , SHRVlS

file on Ihe bottom edge, sec fig. 2L

  I . .

j

 lACl OAll

crrnxc

T IlE' PROFILE .

No - clamp [he

.

-

~

~

~ 

~

ack panel pieces together and use Lhe

MAJ.SHOUl.OfR

 

. . .. . _ : ; : : . _

templates to mark the profile s. After

 -

UNI PO S1TM;l tf

T lM ptAtf/

. .

~.

.

hey're marked, cut the edge. to shape

I

\ \ ,\:c: ~ - .d?'

vith a ea bre SA ', , , see J .   i g . 22 . Then sand

•

C

I -

the edges smooth and rout a Y I I I chamfer

AU O..... D .. '~

on tbe top and bottom face (front) edges.

, OF

tAac

MHtl '.'

\T t.\C flL.   'C ;

ilE

U.\CK.

At

th i C p oin t th e ).,. ,..:t:I

FIrOM

BOTtOM Of SlOf

back panel pieces <an b e [ .. tened down

by

iHOUlOlI

CRO~ SECTION

drilling countersunk pilot holes centered

1-

/f -+   '''

lACK A'

. . . 1 _ COUNlUSINI(

on the ,..idth of each back piece, see Fig.

• I

P A N E L

s c a E W S

23. Then screw the back pieces in place

P I

- __#i

lo I 

SHEI/

with No. S x I  flathead screws.

,. . w ooosca.w

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'ItONTS ~ .

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P R ~ r f r   = = = = = = = = = = = = : : : : = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~

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,

..

~ ... ...._ DRAMI STO' RA ISED PANEL

i=~1 '~~N~OT~CHI~..DEEI'

OETAll

_.'\ .....r

tHE DRAWERS

After the back panel is screwed in place.

tbe only

parts

remaining are the drawers.

FROl'ISA:<I.lSU>t:S. To build the drawers.

start by cutting the four drawer front. (H)

from 4 14 s to ck s o they' , Y o I•• • than the

width and length of the drawer openings.

Then cut eight drawer s tdes (I) out of   {

stock

to the sa m e widtb

3$

the fronts and

6~ long.

JOL'<&Jn: The drawer fronts and ,ide>

are joined together ith dovetail tongue

and groove jeims. (See Il 'ood.mith No. 31

for more on thi <joint.) first rut y.. -deep

dovetail groeves on lh. back oflhe drawer

front, using a   o l dovetail bit in lh(.' router

table. se e fig. 2 . 5 .

Next. keep the dovetail bit at the same

height and move the renee to rout a tonj \le

onone end eteaehdrawer sid c.see Fig.

26 .

Sneak up on it. taking a little bit off each

side until it just fits the groove.

Thhold the plywood bottom (K) in the

drawer. routstraighl grooves on the in.id.

of the sides and (ront. se e Detail in Fig. 24 .

Roul through grooves in the side •. But in

the front, sta rt and stop the b ou om g ro o ve

at the dovetail grooves, sec .'ig. 24.

RAISED fRI)'''1'. Aner the joints nre cut, I

used a Sears Panel R i.ing Bit (No.

9HT .25465) to cuta beveled bord er

011

each

drawer front, see l,'ig. 28.

THt: OftA'\''''I{ UA(,'K.

Now

ll\e drawer

back (J) can be cut 10 sire.

1'0

dete rm lne it.

length, dry assemble the sides to the front

and measure the distauee between the

sides. sec Fig. 27. Then add   t · fOl·the two

14 .long tongues and cut the back. to Ibis

length and a rough width or .

Now join the back to the 'ido with

tongue/dado joint. see } '1g . 29 .

Next, cut the <lrawer bottoms (K) out of

W ' plywood to fit. and slide them in place.

Then cut the back to fini.hl (l idth se it',

flush with the top or the side. when it',

  ling on the drawer bottom.

Also.

before gluing up the drawer, cut a

~· ·wid. notch centered on the top lodge of

the back for the drawer stop. see Fill. 27.

ORA\\,ER STOPS. The drawer st0l'$ are

simply small wooden turnbuckl •• that

keep the drawer from pulling oul too rar.

see Fig. 30. Mount tbem to the bottom 'ide

~f the

midd le

shelf.

DRAWER

GlaDES.

To

make the drawer

guides (L). rip eight ·wide pleees ju~t

thiek enough so that each drawer fits com

rortably when the guides arc glued to the

dividers, These guide. are rut to length to

act as drawer front stops, see fig. 33.

IIASGBRS. Finally. tc mount the wall

cupboard,

drill ~ holo. on the back edge

of each side and mount hange .. Over lhe

holes. see fig. 31.

PINISH. To finish the plate rack. I used

Minwa Puritan Pine Wood ~'ini.h and

lOPped it with two coais of lung oil.

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VOODSMITH

\V hy on earth

would a ny on e want

 f

slain a beautlful piece of hard

wood? Th at s a

thOughtIhat goes

through my mindwhenever r see

 can of stain. or especiallywhen

 

see the mass-produced furniture

in

 

ShO\\TOOm

(where

the g rain

and character of the wood arc

almost totally obscured with

heavy stains and to ners) ,

There   arc BOJUe woods that

jUotplainrefuse to stain. It would

be almost

cr tm lnal

to stain any

exotic

wood.

A nd there are so m e

domesticwoods that are best len

al one to

develop

their

cwu

natu . ..

ra J

COlorand patina

us

they age.

Cherry

is

one

example

ofa

weod

1

USllSUy leave

alone,

Whencherry

is

~-e5hl)'cut and

planed,

it s

a

li ght salm on

color-

not very interesting. But after

it ~exposed to the ultra-violet

ra)IS of the gun fot a couple

In o n th s

it

sl ow ly

turns to a de ep,

rieh red.

It may Seem quicker to IISC

a

stain to create thnt aged color

years of

fake

patina

ea n

be added

by a

q uic k w ip e

with a stain-eoverod mg.

But oncethe woodis stained. the color will

remain fair constant ove r tim e , and it

loses much of ittl character,

However,

  ll ndnl it

there are times

when [ reach for that can of stain. When

the natural

co lors of

the wood

nee d

a little

ass is tance

o r

when

the s ty le o f f urniture

(older period p ie ce s ror example) dictates

a darker oolor.

L <-'OXStsrE~'TCQI..oRS.1think one ofth.

best uses of slain is to even out ineon-

s ls te n t colors. No two boards (even of the

sam e spec ies 3 1 0 the sam e tone. in rA C t.  

color can vary dramatically within the

same piece of wood- between the heart·

wood and sapwood.

lf youhave to g lu e u p a wide panel u.ing

se ve ral diffe .re nt bo ards, the co lor vari-

ations can

be

very

(Iist.nlc t.in g .

11 1

this

ruse .

stain

ca n

help even out

th e co lors 

COLORS

ColOringwooo i. ha~ staining is allabout.

Every period has had its popular colors, [t

was golden oak in the early part of this

century and blood red mahogany during

the

Vict orian

era.

In

lbe

1950 ••

the fad

was to

bleach

woo d

(even walnut) to obtain

  lig d

blond color:

(It's at this point that Dave. one of our

technical illustrato rs,

always

memions his

p erf ec t l ic h for

so me

color or

shad e they 're rnrn i l ia r

w ith

or

al-

ready havc

ona

piece

offurniture.

Bob Aumann. Technical Sale.

Advisor for the Minwax Com

pany.gets phone lis all the time

from woodworker. who are try

ing to m atch a co lor to an existlng

piece or stained

wood ,

He ex-

plains that it's nex t to impossible

to obtain a

/) I fec l

color match

lind

better

to talk about color

  tones . 

Each

piece ofwood is different

and c han ge s a s it ages. So when

staining wood. I lookfor a tone I

like. or on. that's compatible\lith

an exis ting piece o f

furniture.

As I m IO O k in ,K at.

color

sam -

pies. I try to pick out the closest

lone to

what

I want. Let's say I

wan t s om e thing that

 

would con

sider fruitwood. If  used the

color samples as • guide. this

might be anything from a light

tan.to a reddish brown depending

on the brand of atain.

So the best

nppreach is

to ig

nore the names and look for the

lO ne that c om e s C lo .'W lS llOwhat ~tOUwant.

Thenifit's not quite right. lookforanother

tone to balance it oUI.A. long as they're

from the same

manufacturer

an d h av e the

sam e so lvent base , 011(  stnin can be m ix ed

with the other until you get the tone you

want.

Shop Note: I mix up samples using

table'poons of

stain

mixed in baby

food

jars. I'll start  ith a light color and slowly

add ~ dark colo. Each jar is labelledwith

th e exa ct amount ofeach eo lor added. Then

when  get the correct tone. I use these

prO I)( )rtio ns to m ix up enoug h in a quart

mayonnai.c jar to complete the project.

Oneofthe biggest problem comeswhen

~ OUwant to make one wood

look

like an-

other.

For

example.

oak is

on.enstained to

have the color of walnut. mahogany. or

cherry,

But one of the rule. of staining

ls

no~10~I 'y too far from the natural color.

an d don't. b-y t- o force a eolor on a \\'00<1

that's not right for it.

resr

s.

. IPI.£s

Whilebuilding. project.

I 'C CIlC • few scraps of woodto use as test

samples before they reach the trash can-

or in my case get kicked under the table

S:l\V

W hen

it

com es

tim e

to prepare the

surfaec

forfinishing.

san d these scraps

the

same  Ill the rest of the project.

Then. followthe

camp If

finishingpro

cedure that will be used on the finished

theory about that famous blond. Marilyn

llonroe. creating the popularity of this

furniture. I always listen to hi. theory in

its entirety and then tell him to get his

mind back on his

drawtngs.)

Staining

hn  

become so

po putar

that

wood in iUlnatural colorseem.

almost

odd

to many people. As a matter of fact. many

people who don't

work

with hanlwood5

assume that oak is naturally golden the

minute

it'. CUtfromlhe log. They're almost

disappointed to find that maple i n't

uarur-

ally honey brown, and cherry lan't natural

ly deep rod. To hasten na ture (mel

to

 c or -

rect the colorof the wood.~tain i. used to

makethe woodlooklike the colorwe th ink

it should be.

TtlE

:;.0

GA &. One of th e problems

with coloringwood(and one of the biggest

points o f confusion) is

~ he names

g iven

to

stain co lors  ftyery m anufac turer has an

idea of

what color golden oak  or

 brown

m ahog any is . it's e ve n w orse with names

like  Earlv American  or Provincial.

The name. are simply mark<ting tools

- It s nicer to  A~f  Earll American

rather than

 Number 230. Bul other than

that thej'<)'sreally no particular r••• on for

th e names and no co n s is ten cy {1 00 m manu-

facturer to

manufacturer,

COWR TO~.S. Another <Iosely related

problem ts that most peoplewant to find a

Finishing: Stains

A DYING AR T

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\VOODS~UTH

0

contains mineral li pirill' that disso lve

the

resins.

N ote: D ontt us e l) luin 1 l1 inera l sp iJi ts L JI

  ~of f d lips or ruhl: 0.  ~lrCashat havo

thick.ned because the .tain has spilled

ov r

(rom ano the r :o:urface. A lthough min~

c _ . r a l 1 I p iri ~

 -ill e lean up the problem are~

and the surface ill look bright and uni

fornI, il dilutes the color. After the wiped

n l.' l has dried a couple ho urs , it will b e

much lighter thall the SU ''<lundingurea.

I S':(,ONIJ C O A T . After the staln drie.

eompletcly (12-24 hoW'll), t he color may

look pal. ond lhere rna)'

b e

'poLS ,nere the

stain ha..., n· t pe ne trate d e \'e -n l} ', Then, a....

thedirection3 ~ugg.. t. al>plyalight second

cont and wipe it off. The R, ,ondcoat bring.

the color lip and tends to soak into tho ..

spot. lhat did not t~kc the first couto

Finally. I always finish iLo(( ith a top tonI

or tu ng oil

o r

varni~h.

 

PIGMENTED OIL STAINS

The

mest common stains

on the market are

pigmented oil stains. Duffy's, Carver

1\1[ , 5,

Ace Pigmented Wood Stains, and

S e n l .. Open Hearth Stains <II

-e

all example.

of pil(1l1entedoil stain •. They're made of

pil(1l1.nts and a binder that are held in

suspension

in

a

petreehemle l

(oil)sol\·ent.

~uehas mineral spirits.

A I

 

PI.1CA TfON . To apply n pigmented oil

s tain

 

use an inexpensive sponge bru sh

The b r .. . .h shouldn't be dripping wet, b u t

wet enough   r

the

~tain

to

flow out with

out excessive brushing o n the wood sur

f

a e c .

Sometimes Ise 3Q.Tip to get, into

tight corners and molding,;.

Bnhth with the gnin and whenever pes

sible, till the work   the surface being

6tained

is

horizontal.

If

there

are.

number

of vertical surfaces,   t H r t at the b o tto m

and w o rk up. This allow. any runs UI be

wiped and blended into the already stained

surfaces. It also helps to St_3t the middle

o f a s urf ac e and \\ 'ork lO\\ artIs th e ou ts id e.

so e xc es s sta in doesn't collect and drop

o v e r

the edges.

WIt'INC O,','TII&

EXC,:;;s.Ifthe

stain

is to

be wiped (sometimes It's called

a

wipillg

slain). allow it to si( on the surface for 5 to

mend a pi gmented stain on weeds that are

likely to J )t blotchy - such as on pine,

maple,

0 1

birch.

lIut

I

choose a dye or

 

dyeJpigment

eombination such as ~fin\\'ax (see box

below) when

I

want

a

deeper. richer oolor

that ac ce nts the g rain -suc h aso n butter

nut,

o ak. o r as h.

Whether it's a pigmenl or a dye, the

staining agent h  s to be dissolved in n

liquid medium: oil. w a t e r, or a lc o h o l, Each

has it'$ 0\\  advantages and disadvan

tage~

do n't, he

explained that some

co lo n;

(N~.

2 1 0 1 3 . 2 U , 2 7 1 6, 2 1 8, 2 7 I S , and 2 7 6 0 ) are

tranSI)Rl'Cllt and o nly contain < l ) o l > t) (oil ~ol-

ubI. dye.). The other 0010. are wh.L he

called '·ma._king colol'$ and oontam both

dyes and pir:m.n~. (It'. th.,. that

h a ·

we gunk in the boUom of the can. I How

ever, since alIltlin\\1l.'(

e o l o t ' l \

arc d is so l\'ed

i n

the

Snnl(

solvent, they can be

in ter

mixed to got different shade •.

APlll~\ IS(;

O I IN \V A.\ .X. l \1in\VAX I l ea.sy l o

apply. I follow lhe direclioll~ on the elInand

u o e

a rak or r o a m brush and

t i 0 8 k

the sur·

Cace. Let it penetrate for 5 to 15 minutes

and th.n \\ipe off all the irluc.

~Iinwnx1~a s lo y . . d r) ';ng st1tin ~l~

of the reoin <ontent) so lap mark~ ure n.L a

problem. nul if the humidity i. low, lhe

stain (aotIl811)'the resins) ran j(otl(Ummy

befOre it can be wiped off. I f this happens.

l ' e + v , ' e t t . h e

~urfac:e\  it h

m o r e

~lin\\'ax-

it .

l v e always liked using lIlinwa, W , , < J < l F i n

ishe-s , but l've never been qulte sure \\   :

they re c .aU ed n 1 \ 00<1 finish rathe r than a

t'taill. I  v e al:-iO \ v o n c ie re d  \ h~ n l y t o < u n co f

the Min ,a  colo , ,...m to settle 10 the

bottom ofthe elIn. while other oolon. don't.

I finally d~id('d to give Bob Aumann  

~lin ..

1lX a call to

qu(,~n<:h

y

curio~ity.

Bob

sai d

that

~('n\ ox

s called a \\ ( , )0( 1

tinish

[)ccouse it eontain~ a highe per.c~tuge of

r<)sin. than ,allY stains. (Regnl'(lIe•• of

the name, it do e ~ n ft co ntain \v a.x),

Because o f lh tse res ins .

Min\\ RX cJaintS

their \\  0 0 < 1 rini,h Oaks in and ;eal. in one

step. Ho\\ e \ e r , the )' adm it that ro r proj.

ee ls thatC om~n co ntnct 1\. ith \\'eal~

(Iirt.

or

moisture (which [ consider just about ,my

project), ~ top coat should be added ov~r

the ~fillWaxsl.in •.

\ \ hen I a ~ k .a 1h im \\ 'h,:\' ~ m C M ill\\ l\x

rolors settle out of solution \\'hen others

• •• closer

 o o

t inw x

I

Lots of manufacturers claim to make

pigmented stains that p e n e tr a te . B u t sine.•

the pigment~ are filtered out, it's the sol

v e n t

lha~ penetrate. the wood. not the

pigment.

When you think about it, pigment. are

really ju..~ colored din - • contaminant

that's added to the surface. J r the layer of

pigments is light, some oflhel(l'nin pattern

w i l l

still show tllrough. But mllll)' heavily

pigmented (sometimes called semi-trans

parent) stains hide the grain

 lmost

en

tirely, like a light paint.

O Y £ S . Dye

s.

on (he other h . . n d . don',

hide the grain or character of the wood,

lhey color It. Dyes soak in nnd penetrate

the individual wood fibers. Since they ac

tually st.ln the fiber., they're much

m o re

trl\nRpal~nt

than

pigments.

Oy are sometimes rel'crrt~1to as  ani-

line dy... Aniline is a benzene or c o a l

tar

derivative th.t's used in the manufacture

o f rubber, vamtshes. reslns, 8J\d in this

case, dyes.

l'tGM€NTI VS. DYES.

O k a y ,

80

how can

you tell if a stldn is a pigment 0  a dye? The

easiest . way i t; ~imply W open th e ca ll.

PigmCJIltl «lttle out and build up a s s e d i

meet on the bottom of the can. They need

UI be .~im.d before and oeeasion.Uy dur

ing use. Dye. are dissolved in the $01 en~

and thet<: should be

li tt le

or no

s o d im e n t

on

the bottom.

Geol'ge P ,· .n k in his book Advelltu res in

Wood INlli8   ;IIY deseribes the differenoe

between u~ing dyes and using pigments

 like the difference between getting a deep

s un ta n a nd USing m a ke up to im ita te 000. 

Whioh is actually better - .tain. with

pigments or those with dyes? A.

a

general

rule [

use

pigmented stain.

whereve r

I

want

a u n i fo r m c o lo r

0 1  

w h e n

the

w o o d

grain is n't. to o spectacul ar.

J 'd

uleo

r e c o m -

project on all of lhese test sample •. Stain

the scraps (l iff'crcnt co lors, and then take

the time to follow up with a top coal.

~1ost

sta inK

(especial ly dye

s ta in s) e lr )

much duller than lhey w i l l appear under a

to p co at. The re sins in vamishes aJ1(1oils

darke n and i ntc n..- rl (,' c o lo rs . T he o nl )' w ay

to geta true idea of what the color w i l t look

like Is to apply the top coat.

PIGMENTS AND DYES

Part

of

the conru~ionin staining is M lm p)::

wading through the variety of materials

available to co lo r wood, The re are  pene

trating oil stains.

pigmented wiplng'

stains, anil ine dyes.

non-grain

rait'lng

dyes,'  g elled stains, and m any o the rs .

So, \vhat's the

difference between

all

these types of .talns

Basi eaUy , a ll w o o d co loring m ate rials c an

be broken d o w n into two main groups.

those with pigments. and those v.ith dyes,

PIc IE~TSPigments are opaque min..

er ls

ground

w  

very fine powder

nnd

held

in suspens io n in a li qu id s olv ent. - like

bananas in jc ll ( •.

A binder, usunlly varnish, is .1110idded

to lhe mixture UIhelp lhe pigments stick

to

the w o o d a....he solvent evaporates.

The

amount of blnder added c an v al ') '. T ho se

stains that art called sealer-atains

usually contain

a

higher proportion of

binde r

allowing them to

stain

nnd seal in

011epass. B ut

l h C y

also dl Yslower because

the binder take. longer to dry.

Pigmented .lai

a r e

3

s u r f a c e

treat.

ment - they don't penetrate deeply into

lhe wood cells. When the stain is applied

and lhe solvent and pigment mixture soaks

into the wood. the pigments gel mte,'Od

out by the

first row

of wood cells. The

pigments will.it in the PO''O'and on tep of

the wood to fo r r n the layer of color.

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2l

OODSMlTH

the eo lorf t

when

the)t come in

eontaet with

tannic acid in the wood.)

The basle rule of thumb for measure

mcnt i f J 1 oz . powder to 1 qt. hut. water,

(Nole: The various dye colo,'. differ in

'\'eight, K Gyou can t use volume ru ; an ind i

cation of quantity from one color to

another.)

If. darker shade is d esired, ndd more

powder. II a

lighter

shade i. desired, more

water,

  fa

different

hu e

 ~

esired ( f i,uch as

red mrlhOl(anybeing too red), nnother dye

(fo l   example, brown mahO J. , 1U1Y) can be

added.

Aft( r the

aniline dye

mix ture hns c oo le d,

pou,' il through a filter or piece of chee....

clo th to fltrdin out an} '

undissolved dye,

Then keep the m ix ture stored in an air

tighl gI...., or plastic container.

APJ I~YIG,\

\\'ATER SOLL'UI.M 1)\',. :. Dyes

soak inlo the wood and don't need the

\,rjpinJl' that. pigmented stains do.

B ut so me

strange things can happen. In filet, it's

easy to panic after applying. watersoluble

aniline dye

and

allowing it to dry.

The t'Olo  thaI initially goes on i. very

close 1 0 th e color the dye \\;11 be once iI'S

covered with a to pc oat. However, as it

drie •. the dye will lose it's brillianee and

even ~h.Rnge colors. A brown ma~' turn

green and )'ou'U think you ve ruined yo ur

whole pmject. JUSI put a lop eOllt 01 1 and

the eoler will come back,

I usually apply water-soluble dye. with a

wide .pengo brush or rag. '10 darken the

cclor,l1second coat can be applied afte,·the

first eoat i completely dry. By applying

more

eoats,

it

will

c ontinue to

darken,

Be.idea having

to

n e the grain, I've

had one m'lior problem with w81.,. soluble

dyes - they

{ IOn'l

se ttle do'\'1'

\ er~ \'ell

into

lh(

o)( n gI'3.in of oak an llI~h,rhe re

arc little  llOl. where the dye l'('rU.eS

t. q

penet,-atO. These spots stand oUI white

against th. sl.1ined baekground.

At\or talking 10 a number of finishers

and m anufac ture rs . l'\'e

dil Coov~red

that

everyone _mo to have this problem, but

no On( seems

to

]moy:

\\1l~

it OCCU~. or

whal to do about it  eXC<lptto not use

wawr .. Iuble dyes on o ak or ash.

ALCOHOL SOLUBLf DYfS

Ifit weren't fo  the problems of raising the

groin and not soaking into oak and   h

pores, water soluble dyes would be great.

Alcohol soluble aniline dyes .. h·e these

problems (alcohol ,, on'l raise the grain).

bul ereate now problems.

Alcohol .. Iuble dyes (sometime. called

sp irit 8tains) aJso co me a~ a po\vder.

'l'heil'O dissolved in wood alcohol (meth·

anol ) in the sanle 1~1 Uleof t.humb  gunntit.v

(stllrt Ollt

by

trying   oz. powder to I

ql.

.Ieohol).

BUIthe problem with alcohol dyes is Ihat

they dry almost instantly. This means they

don't soak in very deep, and lap marks are

spirits, umakes a penetrating stain with a

wide color

choice that's

slow

drl'ing and

won't I < U l v C lap marks.

 1

get a tone that's s im iln y

to

Minwax s

Golden Oak for example. I mix I oe, of J.

E. M  r's Golden Yellow Oak Oil Soluble

Aniline Dye and  qt. of mineral spirits.

WATlR SOLUBLE DYES

Morc

co m m o n

than the oil

s olu ble d o s a re

the powd , ...d aniline dy.s that arc made

to

be , 1 I• • olved

in

wate1: 1 1 1 0 Y Ilrovide the

(lee pc ll l, ,\ridt st valicty , cleares l, and mo st

l>ennnllcnt colors available, The) re inex

pe nsive.

< lry

reJatively quickly , and w on't

bleed inlo lop coats.

Sounds like the perf l 51ain, rillhl? 1 1 1

have 10 admil, they do .. und appealing.

B ut like an)'thing , lhe)t have a m~oris

ad\'nntage - the} ' raise the grain. \V hen a

water dye contacls a f,'C.hly planed an d

~an{ Ic< 1

iurface, the

\\food nbc l :

8\\'01 1 and

8umd

right up like three days' gro ~h of

whi kcrs.

R.t\ISI~·CTIlE

GRAlS.

Th~ WA)'

to prevent.

lrus problem isto purposely mi8e the

grain

with elear water and knock orr the whis

kenl bifort applying the dye. Wipe tne

enlire .urfa  with a damp Aponge and

allow two hours drying time. Lighlly sand

orr the raised whiskers lind fil1llllyapply

the dyo.

PR :I'ARING \V..TER SOl.U U .I'; I)Y .;S. A lli ..

lin e po,vder dyes m'e so h. l in It 4,0) 8 oz .

env~lopc8,jars.

and cans. , I nlix them up in

a quart

ma~ on~jar.

(Never

 

a me ta l

containcr since the metal ' 'ill contaminate

  Pigments are suspend-

ed in

 

liq~tidsotvent .. .

like

bomamas

i?t

jello . Dyes

at'e

c01npletely dis solved, they

penetr te  n actually

'stain' the fibers. 

OIL SOLUBLr DYfS

In addition to pigmented Qil~lllins, there

a re powdere d

aniline

,IYC8

that

can

be

di s-

so lved in oil solvents such a~

IUCqlICI

thin

ncr, naphtha, and turpentine, or in finish

ing material s such as tung oil. varnish. or

Danish oil.

 1

\ \ :

VQI;RO\\ S,

\ 00 ~u811~an't run

down

to y our lo cal p aint o r

hard

ware

store

and buy oil soluble powdered aniline dyes.

(Though

some

of the Atinwax Wood

P tn -

i,hes and someoflhe other brands labelled

IICncu·.ting,oil finishes nctually a re a so lu -

tion of dye s in mineral sp iritM nndreslns.) I

usunlly send away for Ihe powdered dyes

from one of the mail order suppliers listed

in Source. on p. 24 .

I 've been experimenting with

mixing

my

O\l.n colors in a solvent Ouch

ft...

mineral

20

minutes

before wiping. (Check the in -

structiens on the can slnee

t

he amount of

varnish added and Ihorefore the drying

time

varies from

brand

to

brand).

Then,

use

a c le an ,

lint-free

ra g to

wipe

in th e

direction of the groin. Sometimes I'U use

Q.TiJl ora drybristle brush to soak up any

e xtra s ta in

in

eorners 01

tight.

s p o t s .

The am ount o f pig me nt

le n

on the sur

fa..,

or

in the pores

erthe

wood (and there

fore the intensity ofthe eolor) is controlled

by IWO factors: 1)  . amount of time left

before wiping - the long.. ' the time. the

d.rk.r t he color, and 2) how hard the sur

fnooIs wiped - the harder it'. wiped. the

lighter the color.

Don't try to s ta in a n d wipe 8 la rg e s ur

race (such as a d.. ktop or tabletop) a see

tion at a time. The stain ma,y be applied

heavier or

sit

longer on one area

thao

an . .

other

\\1bich

results in ( lif fe -re nt. s ha de s, If

th is happens , a second c )n~may so lv e the

p r o b l e m , sin ce it d i f l . ~ o l v ( l , o tthe fi rs t coat.

GEllED STAINS

Ive had some good experiences with

gelled stains. They eontain pigments sus

pended in a heavy-bodied oil mixture. One

of the advantages of thi> approach is that

Ihe pigments don't settle 10 the bottom of

the can. So , as the s tain  sed, the co lor

remains consistent It clO{ SIl t

get

darker

  \

you

get to the

bottom

of the

ca n,

Howev er; 011 the n( ,w,tl (1 s ide , gelled

stains

are

much more diff icult to m ix to get

a certain to n e .

The thickness of the gelled stains varies

from brand to brand. Wood·Kale Gelled

Stains, for example, are like Vaseline pe

troleumjeUy but Formsby s Wiping Stains

and B ehl en's Gel-S tain arc like \\ · a:t..elj\

holf·mclted jello. (Now: The trucker ones

ean build up in c orners Bll(1 m oterings and be

difficult to wipe out of .ome projects.)

The advantage of the_. slow drying gels

  Ii

the}t'J'e

e s~t

o wil )C on \vilh a rag, espe-

cially on vertical su rface ', Y ou also don't

have to W0rTY about spilling it all o,'er as

you work. Lap m a r   - aren'l a problem

since llOU can 'ork in jus t the area ) OU

\, 'anl an<l the ge l \\ 'on'  drip or run.

LATEX STAINS

Lutex stain. became llOpular a few ye...,.

ng o \vhen fi ni$ he r$. like eve''Y one else .

bct:ame coneerned aboul the chemicals in

the products they wcre working with.

Latex stains are en\,jronmental l o' safe,

  'on't emit fumes. and ~et\S)' lOclean up.

D en. is the mo .s t e omroon brand and it.'s

onc of the only pigm ctll.(. (1 stains that \'{on't

U n under Deft Clear Finish

(a

lacquer).

AIthough

late~

s tuin s c l e tlt { . a un ifo rm

8 ul fnce , the pignlcnts   :l i t f l.0 h en \ t ily on the

surface that the color

i ii

very cloudy and

Ihe grain is almost entirely hidden. I reel

the disadvanlages of Ihi~ cloudy, hea Y

color oul\'iteigh the 3< lvantages.

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a c on stant problem. Lap marks o ccur any-

A eoarse r (lit sandpaper scratches the

I'll ...,ff it with 22Q. (lit sandpaper and

where Ih. dye starts

to

dry and then a wood, opens up the cell walls, and creates

then apply a

eoat

of pigmented oil stain,

If

econd

pass

is made

over

the

dry spots

whiskers Ihat sop up ..xtra stain. Stopping BU l ir il 'il i just e nd g rain such as on the

lValeo used to bave a line of aleobol- at SO (lit sandpaper, for example,and then

beveled borden; of a raised panel, a careful

based Pi\'. ~linute Stains but discontinued staining will result in a much darker and applic atio n o ( sc aler \\;th an artist's brush

that lin. a eouple years ago. .llany wood seratehed

up surface than a surface that's

on the selected are ... is all that's needed,

workers withou;

s pra)' equipm ent fo und

been sanded up to 22Q.grit, SANDINC;TO LI )IIT

I'.:SETRATION,

An-

that they dried so quickly that they were

On rbe other hand, sanding too far -

other

sohnion

to the

problem

is simply

dimcult

to

brush on, beyond 220 will burnlsh the surface and

more thorough sanding , I've

discovered

But alcohol dyes are

good

for touch-up

close orf tb e A'l'nin. Stohl w on 't soak i ll and that

sanding about

two

grits

further-on end

work.

FO J  

example. if I  m rubbing out a

Ihe colo,' will be light 0  blotchy.

grain w il l result In a lighter co lor, For

tOI' cont and rub right through the finish

Jo:NI)GIt,\IN,

Another problem is end

example, if I finish •• nd the project with

and

the stain <Io \l n to the bare

wood,

I use

J.Tl ain,

r.{~t

of' the time end grain is where lSO·grit, )'11go back lind sand the end grain

an alcohol A .tunto repair it. Tbe alcohol

you expect it (on the end of the board) and wit h 200'gril nnd then 220·I\ )·il.

provi des cnoujth  blte to help the <lye the (lark nppenranee it luk e$ . on when it's

The finer

sawdust

eloKS til ) t he po res

and

penetrate Ih,'Ough II sealed surface,

sta ine d is almost natural. But sometimes the scratches are smaller and so ak up less

N GR S TA IN S

end

grain turns

UI)

where

yo u don't e xpe ct.

stain. It's usually just the rigbt depth of

(or WAnt)it. This happens on the beveled color to match the reilt of the project,

Il would be I,.,,,at if • stain could be de- borders o f ra iS l d panels, lathe turnings ,  

CONCLUSIONS

veloped that had all of lhe beautiful color where grain switches dlreetion.

charaeteri tiCl' of a water soluble aniline Grain i. rarely .lraight in a board. It

In c ho os ing 8 Slain you need to decide

if

dye, but wouldn't rai s e the grain like the usually rolls along like  gentle farm field.

you want a uni ro nnl,' c olo re d s urf ac e

that

aleohol soluble. It has. II's called a non-

Vccasionally it make • sharp turn out- eon be easily eontrolled. but without much

grain raising stain (or NGR stain for short) ward (such

at

a knot and the surrounding depth (pigmented stains) ... or some

and eome. in a p

re-

mixed

liquid form.

p lan er te ar- ou t). A llor a sudden you're depth, and some unitormit}'

 penetrating

~GR slain. use the same Iightfast ,

working with end ~in i n the middle of a

o il/dy e s tains like ~lin\\'ax) . , , or a brilli-

transparent. and clear (lyes as the

water

boanI. S ta in soak . in unevenly and you ge t ant transparent surface that accents the

soluble aniline dye~ but

3

special (and,

a blotchy ap arnnce - pines, maples, an d

grain but can b e more tiiffic:ult to contro l

according to the manufacturers, secret)

birches aTC

notorious

fo r this .

(aniline dyes and NGR . IIta in s) ,

solvent that won't raise the gra in . I use

SEAI.I~(: TO I.I~IITrf:NE 'RATIO~.n Part of the fun of working with all of

Bohlen's Solar

Lux

NGR stains and get

th ese s lt uat luns senle rs such as the se stains is experim en ting w ith m ix in g

excellent results (see

Sources 

p, 24). McCloskey's Staiu Coruroller and \Vood

colors

and

co nce ntratio ns and no t l'el)rUlg

So what'. the pr-oblem? Why isn't

Sealer can be brushed onto these areas on the standard pre-mixed co lors.

 

verybody II81np:NGR stains? There's one

before titailling , nUL

 

usually just

us e

a

But. it's hnporL:111t to remember that

cnteh. The sol cnl dries quickly - not as wash coat,ofdilul<' 8h.llae- Ipart3lb. CUL

stains arc not Jini$hc s,1'hcy can't ( 10

it

all.

fast as alcohol 8talns, but almost. So there

while sheline to 4 1'81'18denatured alcohol.

They're. simply

1 \ IneUI1S

of ehanging the

remains the problem of lap marks. Once

If Lsuspec; lhat the whole surface might co lor or bring illg ' out the grain, The wood is

ag ain. it's

be st to spray it on.

be blotchy, I eoatthe entire surfacewirh an still subject to heal. moisture, and dht anti

Behlen has recognized the problem of

 vtt

coal of

shellae

scaJer,   hen it's drj , mus t

be

finis hed \\ 'ith a top coat.

applying NCR stains with a brush or rag

and ha< developed a retarder that slows

SUMMARY

he e\'al>oration of the solvent. Adding

Solar I.ux Retarder (6-10%) slows down

dJ;;ng time and helps prevent lap marks,

• PIG~I.; T. I

()I . ST.\IS,

R an ge s from Com~ in a \'ariet~'of co lors. Good penetra·

I also apply Solar Lu. , very weLand keep

hea\ ')··bodied to thin and nann} ', Lies on

lion, E3>yappliealion, butcanrunanddrip.

a weI edge. If you're stingy. youll get lap

the .urillee and tend. 10 hide grain. Pro-

• \\ ATER

SOI~l'ljl•:

1)1£,

~lost co mmon of

marks.lfyoudogetalapmarkoraecident·

\ides unif'onn color, but $tir \\ 'ell to m ix up

the po \\'(Jert><)anil ine <Iy es . Cle ar, traJ1s..

  hit your cloth Onan area already .tained,

pigments. Easy to apply. Slow drying.

parent,

peI11lanCJ\l,

co lors, \Vide range

ot

II)' putling me nIeohol on a clean doth Wi o(f to cont,'ol color. Best ror re-

colors

th~\L

can be cattily mixed, Inex ·

A nd go o ve ,' t.he are a to e ve n o ut the m.vks ,

finishing work and on Ii{(ht·colored woods.

pensiv e, Wil l not bleed into top coat. No

PROBLEMS

with Iitlle grain (I,ine, maple). IVatch for ha,mful chemical. 0  . I ents needed, R.,.

n ll 

[lful

dli~

Colot'lJ call

b e

mixed,

quit s the extl':I .lep of raising the I(l'ain

1'hc biggest problems that develop when

• O.)I,l.(::I) ST AIN PigJllcnts ij \18]>cn( led in

before

applic1\Lion.

11 1~uffic ient penetra·

I'm staining usunlly don't have anythinll to gel (llsunlly I l b o U L the con si.s tcnc~t ofjello), t.ion in pol'es of oak lInd (181 . .

do with t.he stain. They bave to do with the Pjgtll~nt:;

von 't sQttJe

to

bo ttOlll of can so

• AI£OlfOI,SOI.L IJ1.Y.I)YJ::. PO\\  iered ani-

\\ I1'Y

{ ,he surratt' \\ 'as prepared (see the

you gel con~i8t(:nt colm' th,'oughout use. line dye thal i. mixed with methanol.

8'tiele on Surface Preparation in Wood·

Ver:' 'eas~'ll )pli catio n. no drll>R OJ runs,

So metilnes call~cl   spirit stains,  I 'Von't

 m lll No, 38),

Can be problem. wiping out of moldings.

J ru s e

the g rain,

t)ri~8vc_r~'

uickly \\'hich

Staining magnifie8 all the problems that eo m c1 ~.

Difficult to 'nix eo lor'$,

nlakes it difficult to a oid lap marks unless

shOUld have be<-n cleaned up .... lier.

If

• LATEX :<TAl .Cloudy, hea\'y color \\;th

it s applied \\ 'ith

flprn~'~llipment,

Does n't

there's glu. left on the surface, there \\;U

Uttle n.tration. lIide><grain. ~o har.sh

penetrate \'cr)' d('{ ·p. Bc 't tor touch up

be S<'aledwhite _pots aner it's slained. If

chemical$. EMY water c1ean~up.

work,

the re are 8C'I'atch~.grain tear~ut, dents,

• OJI. SOl  HI••: 1)\

t:,

D) C mixed

in

an • xo~GRAIS ItAISISG

 ~GR)~ TALS.

're..

or m ill m arks, the pigments or dyes \\;U

oi l·ba, s(odso lvent ( lacc lucr thinner. mineral

mb:ed an il ine d) o'e

(liimilttr

to \\'ater d} 'e)

 

;;cllledo \\ 1\ into

th~

s po ts and

colorthem

spi ri ts ), Tran . il>arcnt

ll in \ \  3 x

colors are

sold in liquid fonn Ihat won't raise the

darker Ihan the rest of the surface,

one ex;unpl('.

t\1  ; )

u\'ailable in powdered grain, En. :;. )' to mix co lo l '5 . Dri e s qui ckJ)',

llANUSC 

And if the wood is not saD<led

(o ml to make

~ our

\\ 'n s tn in s. Po\\'der can

but I'elanler ean adeled ror brtlSh appU·

uniforml)', the stain \\ 'ill so ak i n une ve n1)  be mixed \\ 'ith oi l finig h4, $an(1 \'aJ'nis he s, cation to prevent lA P m arks,

  WOODSM1TH

,

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VOODSM 1TH

HOME REW

The easiest way to get a pigmented oil

stain is just to

buy

it. Butsomctime s [can't

find

the exact color I want. It's.t these

times I mix m)' O\\ D..

Mixing up a  home-brew  pigmented oil

stain is not all difficult as it may sound, And

it can be a lot cheaper than buying a dozen

caU$ or V :lriOU5 co lors o r s tain to fi1l d the

one you like.

Whell

 

il'Ststarted experimenting with

mixing my o' vrn stains, m y greatest reser-

 anon w as m ix ing the co lo rs, 1 envisioned

an artiot'$ pallet with a dozen ba:;i. colors

and mix ing the m to produce subtle varia-

lions until I found precisely the right color.

But it's not really like that. You're not

starting with basic colors like red, yellow,

01

green, Japan colors and artists' oils

come in shades that are already very clos e

to man y tl tain co lors.

Per example, burnt umber is v ery c lo se

to a (ruitw oo d to ne. Y ellO \\ ochre is a tan-

nish yellow that will provide a light pine

color. Burnt sienna

is

the reddish brown

that co mes close

to

many of the

stains

labeled mahogany or cherry, And Van

Dyke is dark walnut color.

By choosing one ofthcse

eetors

lind then

adding dabs of another

co lo r;

it' •• 'elalively

CJlsyto obtain the shade yeu want. [f you

want to experiment,

here's a

formula that

willproduce about one pint of stain that is a

medium bJ OY,nco lor (somewhat JlimiJar to

Min,\'sx '  Earl) ' American

S lain).

10 make the stain, add 2 tablespoon. of

burnt umber Japan color

w

I cup ofturpen·

tine and mix thoroughly. Then dd Y cup

boiled linscod oil and I tablespoon of val 

nish (not polyu,·ethane). (1'hc v ,'nish

serve~ as n binder, holding the pigments to

the wood as the turpentine evapornte •. )

S ta rti ng \ \;th this basic mixture, it's just

a matter of experimenting to get the tone

de~ired, This mixture can belightened to a

 fruiIWood  color by using leas bunll urn·

berO tbop, in,t.,.d of2tbsp.), or darkened

by adding dab of Van Dyke.

Y o u c a n

ev en start

\~ tit.h

a diffe l'ent. base

mixtuI'Cby using a diffCl1lntJapan <'Olor,If

yo u W l,nt a \\'w nut stabl, start.  il h Van

Dyke. If you want a eherry .. ain, start

wi th burn t sie nna. The n just e xpe rim ent

to g1 tthe color you want.

As the boards are mounted, place three

playing cards between the shoulders of

each of the spline

and

greove

joints. This

should provide adequate spadng for the

wood to swell during the humid summer

months,

The same goes

C o r

a protective (ace

mask. It's not

 0

much the protection

against the chip that might ny in my eye

an d cause damage. It's the chip that hits

me on the

cheek

and

cau ses

me to mneh

wpen I'm light in the middle of a cut.

WOO MOVEMENT

Ev ery tlme you us e s olid ~'00<1o r a pro j

ect. you have to be aware or

weod

move-

ment - the expans io n and contraeuon 0

wood during seasonal changes in humidity.

When the humidity is high, wood (even

pieces

finished with varnish or

poly

urethane) will absorb moisture from the

air nnd expand , Then when tho humidity is

low (usually winter months) the wood will

release

moi sture

an d

co ntract,

How much doe s

wood

move? That s the

big question, As a general rule of thumb

you can count en kiln-dried wood (that

h as

been dried down to about   > moisture

content)

moving

about ~ per lZ- in \\1dth,

or about 1% in a typical home environ.

ment,

Noto:

This illthe shrinkage

fO   kiln -d ri ed

wood.

A ir ..

dried lumber

1 l1  t l : I c n ts

another

problem. Air drying ill us ua lly only take

the moi sture content

d o w n

to about 14%

to

  6< ;>  

When it's brought indoora (especially

during the winter),

it 'ill

have much

greate r ini ti al movement as it d rie s d O\\1 JI

to the level of most homes, Then it will

begin it's

seasonal movement

cycles.

'l'hc best explanation I   e see n on this is

in B ruce Hoadley's book, U dI7'Biatldil1f/

Wood , (S ee S ources, page 2<1,)

\Vood

movemen t was a mn jo considera

lion w h e n w e w ere d esigning the wall cup

board shown in this issue (see page 14).

The back ismade of 10piC<Ct\0(solidwood.

eaeh 3 ' wide. Since each board is

(astened to the she1ves y :ith s.crc\\ S c eo ..

t . e r < . i on the  tid th, \\ 0 were concerned

with the wood expanding  nd buckling 'he

piece. at each joint.

'Ye built this project ill the .ummel',

50

the wood is already at it's wide.t on the

expansion/contraction cycle . As \\ e

mounted the boards, we pushed them

tog1 ther with light pressure, Howe,'er,

if

we had built this projec1. in the int r, the

boards should be laid out with gtIl' wallow

for 8ummenim e e~pansion.

Using the 1% rule of thumb, there

should be aboula V. ·gap between each of

31{, \;de board. 1'he easiest way to gauge

this gap i. with plajong card •. The com·

bined thickness of three playing   Md is

wilhin a few thou.<andths of ~ •.

Thoma» Gre en le e

St. LoJ.i.s

.Jl isso ur i

Ediwl s NotA :After reading Mr. Green

lee's letul; we bought. box of the 3M

home insulation dust reSI)il'at.ol'S#8710,

a d \yere impresSE:d

\ , I i th

ho\\  \\fe ll they

work. They do cost mOI'O, but we f~el

they're

\y orth it.

1'here's ene other thing I'd like to men·

lion about the safety

  u t u t r d s

concerning

sawdust.

r

know the obvious thing is thst

you're breathing indust thatmay be harm·

ful to your lungs, aut there's another

problem.

When I'm working on the saw or router

table, I'm usually not so concemed about

breathing the dust and harming my lungs.

But I am co_med about b.1lathing the

dun and sneezing ... eSJ)< eiallywhen I'm

right in the middle of. cut. That hapJ)< ned

to me once. Now I wear a dust mask.

WOO WORKING UST

I

tnjoytd youramele

il l

Wood.mith

No.

~8

011 tI,t

jire

hazard o f s.IIding d'l$l. and I

ag re e , vi lk y o u

Ihat

tlu: /itst solidum

lolhil

problem is

to

kee; yoltr

.'w p 08CWaIl as

7108M bl, I alway. lry to kcep (/16 dust 'ill

1 1   1 /

s h o p

l u i tJ  t l

l1 w ll a ue ab lc le ve ls   w t

ollly

1

reuelll

afire

/ ,:ard,

bitt

10...

duce

w ha t I

fe et

is an evt . . more dangerous

 Ia:ord - i, haling th•• ou:du.t 1> 11 reg ,

lor ba.iIl.

  hat,. U >

admit I'm .. guilty

 

anyont

lor nol   tO Ting  dll$l ,ask

twrylul el m

i

tit shop , But  It

QI~

tim e I all ys

make a poi,d of lII°ori1t1lD ,

dust

1I111sk

s

1 1 , , 'l I e n ,

t l

8 li t t le to sa td. The dus t g e t s { I S

thick

as

smoke 

Tlte masks I've fOl lt ld th ai w o rk th e b•• t

art calttd

d m re 3p ira lora a d ar e

ap ·

P'rO.'tdby

NIOSH

(NotiO>lall1l.t itu tefo ,

Occupatio  l Softly and H.. IIII).

Th••• respirat_ are ou ite a b il differ.

C'I.lfromtil6lypical

hard..., ....

st or«

m a s k . .

th ai le ak mort air  a l id du st) around

t

cdg()IJho t irrougl t t lte jilter. Not

ollly

do

1/.... cspira/o,..   1

thicke filler s,

Q u i t/ w y

.1.0 8. 0 doub/~

8 ? (t1l

  I/ .Iem th at c r (6 .

a••( /J .c ti~ . seal arollnd tit

mask,

Tilt

o llly 80 re t r.t ben ••

ble tofilld.JOr

tht. t  ,ask  a .. saftly ,,,pply .1(1n$.

 

{oulld Ow rlocal * pptitr bll l00 1'1ng umur

Sqfttll

Eqllip lCli in th e Ytl/o,o POg68) .

AWlo, , they're good, Il tey ', .. a ls o

er-

p e 1 J l J iv e / l . O l t r ar c a. tJ tC U r c Q l l y a v a i l < tb l e

i. t box•• 0{00,

alld.

c081aba,,190 ,Je rma$k ,

IIII

i yo1l:rc 9& ;1I9o 7 ,t p w ith

'W a  ·

i g

a dusl mosk il l '''.{;''81 place.

Ih.lea8t

it ton. do ia u:ork.

.

_ _ _ T a _ lk _ in _ g Sho~ _

AN O P E N FO R U M FO R C O M M E N TS A N D Q U E S TIO N S

7/21/2019 Woodsmith - 040

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WOOOSM ITH

4

be patient as it m ight take him aw hile

[

lind the time to send it OuL

MINWAXCOMPANY.INC.. 102 Chestnut

R idge Plaza, Montvale. NJ 07645. Min,, '3'

has a toll-free phone num ber to call w ith

questicns about their products. It's

800-026-0495.

In 'T hlkin g Shop,

(pllge

23) we mad e ref-

erence to J a p a n C Q lo, I \ and a rt is t s o il s .

Ja pan co lo rs lire nVll illlble from W ood Fin

ish ing Supply an d W ood~ 'inishing Enter

prises. Artisti\  oils arc available in

toothpa ste -s ty le tu b e s (u su ally 1.25 fl. oe.)

fr om

art

supply store •. C om m on b ran d

n a me s a re

L iqu it ex , B e ll in i, G r umbaehe r,

and Windsor   Newton' s. Prices range

fro m $ 2 to $ 7, b ut earth o olo rs (the siennas

and umbers) are the loast expensive,

GOOD lOOKS

In the

artiele

on

~taining \VC u s e d

a quo

ta tion from George Frank'. book Ad,,,n·

III,..,Sill

Wood

F'n ohi y. T ho bo ok isn 't

th e mos t p ra ct ic al f in i~ h ing book avail ab le ,

but

it

makes (or great reading. Frank

in ·

eludes tips and stories from nft.y years of

woo d finishing and it's one of those bo ok s

that's

just, fun to

si l

down

and

read.

#...

It's av ailab le in

)'fiJ'(lcOVCI'

for  9 ,95 from ..  

The Taunton Press.

6.~

South M ain Street,

Box 355, Nc

w

tc

w

n,

c r

06470;

800-24$-7252 ,

InT alk in g S ho p (1 Ia g< )23) we mentioned

the book Under.', uJing

Wood

by R.

Bruce Ho ad ley . It's o ne o f t ho m ost u seful

books we know of for inform ation about

wood te ch no lo gy (espccla l ly problems with

moisture

and how it applies W designing

an d buil d ing proj .. ,t s.

It .

also a va ila ble In h ard co ver fro m T he

Taunton Press f or $19. 95 .

WOODWORKING

cures

Here are

some new additions to ow-list of

woodwork ing c lub s:

ARIZON t\ ASSOCIATION Of<'. INt \VOOl).

IVORKp.ns. This groU I) formed over tw o

yea rs ago to

se rv e a ll

wocdwerk ers from

novices to master

CI n l.g \len, Since thnt

time they hav e g ro\vn LOover 100 m em -

bel's. They hold bimonthly m eetings and

mon thly demonst ra tl ons , Ify ou are in ter

ested, eentaet R obert Sw anson, P resi

dent, P .O . Box 4 4264 , Phoenix, AZ

85064-1264.

W OOI)Bt 'TCn&RS . R ic ha rd Wond erlic h

dropped b~ ' ou r of fi ce and told us about this

c lu b in so uth eas te rn Iowa. They have

about fifty members and

Iry

to get ..

to ge th er o nce

a

m on th . T he ir C hristm as ....

to y p ro j..,t last y ear w as a b ig success. Fo r

m ore inform ation contaet R ichard W on

derli.h, R te. 2 , M t P lo38.,nt, lA 62 641.

986- 4~17 (Ca ta log : $2 .50 ). \Vood f in is hi ng

S up ply h as  eomplcte l in e o f Behl en stains

a nd p ro du cts in clu din g 15 M inute W ood

S ta in s, S ta in te . Wood T on er s, G el-S ta in s,

NGR Stains,

aniline

dyes,

and

Japan

colors.

The speeltle p''<l<luCIlIisted in ou r a rticl e

on st ai ns thnt

AI'C

avalla ble from Wood

Fin ishing' Supply incl ude (see catal og for

co l

ors):

B,lIIe,,'. Gel

SI.

ill. $5.39 per pi nt, $3.6 8

PCI ' qUR,1 .

J. E. Mo.c.'. Gold,, Yellow

Oak Oil Soluble Aniline Dye, Ord er N o.

Ll990, $3.00 perl 07.. $7.52 per 4 00..

$12 .64 per 8 oz. Behlen'« Sol...

T

LIl-

NGR) Sloi •• 35.39 per pint. $8.61 per

q uart, $ 21 .9 1 pe r gallon. Bell ''''. Solar

LIl Retard. O rder N o. B 5Q O.O OA 2ii,

35.11 per pint. B.hl I·.JaptJlI Colors,

$ 6.3 8 p cr ~ p in t. $ 15 .0 0 p er q ua rt.

TilE WOOIl ORKf:HS' STORE. (see ad

dress above). The W oodw orkers ' Store

carries a complete lin e o f M in wax prod

ueis,

Deft s tains ,

wate r

and a lc ohol so luble

aniline dyes, Wood-Kote G elled Stains,

M cCloskey Sealers  and other finishi ng

products.

The spec if ic products listed in Our a

r

ide

that ar e (l\loilnble f)'Olll/JTJ\C \Vood,yorkers'

Store include (see catalog for co lo rs :

Mi Wood Fini.

$3.80 per ~ pint,

$5.751>.r pin t. $ 8.2 5 pel quart. DeftVinyl

 [Aur) lVoodSlo;',. $5 .35 per pint. $8.25

PCI' quart. Wood-Kale

G.lled WoodS/4;'I ,

$4.30 pe r 8

0

e. , $6.50 per p in t, $ 9.95 p er

quart .

McClo.key·. Stoin Controue«

 

lI'ood Sl'Olcr,O rder N o. P 12 41, 35.75 per

p in t, $ 8.95 per q uart, $2 3.95 p er g allo n.

WOOOPI~ISIIIl<G

.:~TERPRlSt:S.

1729 N.

68 thS t. , \VauwatO 'a , W I5 .'l 213 . WoodJ- 'in

i shing Enterpr ises

is

a v ery small oompany

th at h as speclalized i n prov id ing hard-to

o btain lini.h ln g pro du cts to w oo dworkers

8n(1mus ica l i ns trument makers sinc e

1980.

We c alled Dale 1 7.ybyl, the ow ner, and

foun d out th t hi8 b usines s

is currently

a

part tlme cpe rn tion l U U out of his home.

Therefore,

he

muy be 810\\ 'in processing

ord er s

and yo u hav e to be ve ry patie nt

when y ou orde r   \ - < u n h im,

W hat does Impres s us about W oo d

Finishing Ent.erpl'ises is his complete

se lec tion o fha rc l- to -f ind f in is hi ng p roduc ts

(w here else ean you obtain alk an et ro ot,

c utc h e xtrac t. y ac ca resin, and Dragon 's

b lo od ?) . D ale i~   c hem ist a nd o bta in s his

[m is he s fro m a U over th e wo rld . He has a

vC ")'

complete

selecton

of

a ni l ine dyes

(oil,

water. and aloohol soluble), p ig me nts. an d

Japan eelors.

W o od F in ish in g E nte rp rise s ca ta lo g is

interesting just to brow se through. D ale

wilj

s e n < 1

it

f re e o f c ha rg e, but o nc e a ga in ,

 our es

SHARPENING FORSTNER BITS

Y ou c an o rder the

 

d ia an d A rkan sas slip

ston es m en tio ned in th e article fro m:

Tiff: FINS TOO~ SIIOI'S. I.'C .. 20 Backus

A venue, Box 12 62 , Danbury, CT 06810;

800-243-10 37 (F re e c ata lo g) . india .thne,

medium, Order N o. 6 00-12 2 9. $ 4.9 5. AT

k O lIS l.8 8 tO O , super fine, Order No.

500-12 30 . $ 7.9 5. Y ou c an o rd er b oth sto ne s

in • • et, Ord el' N o . 5 00 · 12 3 1, $ 10 .9 5. E ac h

s to n e m e a s ur e s 2 Y x  h i   x 'VIIi ,

Y ou c an

order

the Japanese w ater slip

stones m en tio ned in th e article fro m:

\, tOQIl I . .INK: TI'F; JA PA . , \\· OOD\VOltKf ;R.

1731 Clement Avenue, A lameda. CA

94501; (415) 621 -1810 (Ca ta log : SI.5O).

1{) ) )

Gril JoptJ tJstWaitTSlip. O rder N o.

01 .100, $ 4 .95 . 4{) ) ) Grit JaptJ. ,< Water

Slip.

O rd er N o. 0 1.1 01. 35 .9 5.

UMBRILLA STAND/PlAN TER STAND

V ou can order the flexible veneer for tb e

u mb re lla sta nd a nd

the

p lan te r s ta nd fro m

the f ol low ing sou rc e:

8011 ~lon :I\NrrOOV\VonKlNG surrl.L¬ SS.

112 3 BR rdsw wn R oad, Louisville, l y

40204 ; (602) 4 56 -2 64 6 (C atalog: $1.00).

F'1. ,ibleVen.cr . Hill cu t, S I>Ce lfyed oak or

wh ite o ak (o r sec cata log for other species

an d

prices :

2 4 x 48 (f or umbrella stand),

$17. 85 ; I S x 48 ( for p lan ter sta nd ), $13.65.

WALL CUPBOARD

V ou e an o rd er the hardw are for the w all

c up bo ar d (rom :

rne W()() , )WORKERS'STORE. 21S01 In

du strial B ou lev ard . R og ers, M.\:

55374;

( 612 ) 4 2 8 - 1101 (No te : $7 .50 m i nimum cash

o rd er. C at.l .... $ 2.0 0) . Hangen  2). brass

with 2 screw s, O rder N o. 00008, $2 .0 5 p er

10.Maplt Knob

(01), 1

V(

dia. 

unfinished

w ith b ra ss center top. O rder N o. E 1 78 0.

S.85 caeh (N ote: K nobs are in their sep-

a ra te K itc he n Con .s id e''a tio , ,'' c atalog).

You c an o rd er th e panel-raising route r

bit for the drawer fronts from :

S~;ARS.ItO. 'UCK. Mill CO.• (1985/86 Tool

Catalog). Pa OI 1 CI 8 U b it , carbide

tipp ed . O rder N o. 9 HT -2 54 85 . $2 1.99 .

STAINS

Y ou can purchase m any stain. (M inwax.

Duffy s Horner Formsby'a, Carver

T ri pp 's . De ft . Aee Hardware. Sears, an d

othe rs  a t l oc al h ar dwa re an d pa in t s to r es .

B ut m an y o fth e a nilin e d yes and non-grain

raising (N GR) stains referred to on

pp,

1 9- 22 a re d iff ic ult to fin d lo ca lly .

lV e o rd er m an y o f o ur fin i'h in g su pp lies

f rom th e f ollow in g s ou rc es :

\"000 fINIS'IING Sl l'llLY CO.

I~C..

1267

Mary Drive, M acedon. N V 14 502 ; (31~)