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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) $10. Tw o
yea (1 2
Issues}
~18.
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Of
Add res s: P lease be s ure (0 Include
both
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and ne w
add ress ,
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Iow a.
Po:s tmaste r: Send change of address notice.
Form3579 ,
to Woodsm lt l1 pubnshlng
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Ave . •
Des
Mo in es. towa
50312 .
BACK ISSU ES
All ba ct
i s s u e s
Q f oo with ar e
s t i ll
avaIlable.
S e n d o r t r e e booklet d e s c r i b i n g _ th e C O n l9 1 1 S
and price
01 all
back issue s,
SAMeLE CaPlES
If y ou have a 'riend w ho would like to soo a
copy
of W oodsm lth , ju st send Ih e nam e and ad dress.
and w e'lI
S O < ld sample
ta t n o cost).
Editor
Do nald B. P eschke
Des lgn D irector
Te d KrallC<lk
Assistant
E dttOf S
S teve K ro h m er
Dougl.s L. Hicks
D ouglas M . L idster
Art lil1rectOl
K ay M ulder
Technica l
lliustrators
David K reyl lng
Mike Henry
S u bs crip tio n M a ne ge r
Sandy
J.
Saum
Subseiipti on Assistants
C hrls1e l M ine r
V lc ii:y R o b ln .$ 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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\I,IOODSMITH
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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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t'\ .,:
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'ItONTS ~ .
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P R ~ r f r = = = = = = = = = = = = : : : : = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~
~GU.E2.
,
..
~ ... ...._ 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
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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~)