Woodsmith 125 - Oct 1999

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WOODSMITH STOREManager. Dave Larson • Assistant Manager: Paul Schneider• Sales Staff: Pat Lowry,Wendell Stone, Jim Barnett,KathySmith, LarryMorrison, Harold Cashman· Office Mgr.Vicki Edwards

Woodsmith® (ISSN 01(44114) is published bimonthly (Feb., Apr.,June, Aug.• Oct., Dec.) by August Home Publishing Company, 2200Grand. Des Moines, JA 50312.Woodsmith® is a registered trademark ofAugust Home Publishing.Copyright© 1999 August Home Publishing Company. AU rightsreserved.Subscriptions: Single copy: $4.95. Oneyear subscription (6 issues),$21.94. (Canada/International add $10 per year, U.S. funds.)Periodicals Poslal!e Paid at Des Moines, JA and at additionaloffices. USPS/Heartland Press Automatable Poly.Postmaster:Send changeofaddressto Woodsmith,Box 37112, Boone,JA 50037-2112.Subscription Questions? Write to Woodsmith, P.O. Box 842, DesMoines JA 50304-9961 or call 1-800-333-5075, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.CentndTime, weekdays. Or send an e-mail to:[email protected]: [email protected] Wide Web: http://www.woodsmith.com

Printed in U.S.ANo. 125

up to an impressive looking project. (Take a look at the photos on thefront cover.) At a glance, it might looklike an intimidating project to build.But don't let its appearance fool you.It's actually much easier than it looks.

For one thing, you don't have tomake one big piece of furniture. Thiscbest-on-ehest dresser is designed to bebuilt in two separate units. And the joinery used to build the top and bottomches i the same - the only difference i the size of the pieces.

peaking of ize, this is a rather tallproject. It stand ju toverfivefeetwhencomplete. If that' too large (or youdon't need that much torage space),you don't have to build the entire project. It' de igned 0 you can buildeither the top or the bottom che t andu them separately.

DOV£tAJ LJIG. Another way to simplifythe construction ofthi chest-on-ehestdre r i to use a dovetail jig whenmaking the drawers.

The dovetail jig we used is the sameone we've been using for the last elevenyears. (It' the dovetail jig we built backin i ue o. 58.) And during that timewe've come up with several tips andtechniques to get perfect-fitting dovetailjoints. So we've included a separatearticle (beginning on page 24) thatwillhelp you get the most out of either theWoodsmith dovetail jig or other models of half -blind dovetail jigs.

Woodsmith

SAWDUST

~e feature project in this issue is a~~herry chest-on-ehest dresser. (The

article begins on page 6.) As the nameimplies, it looks like two chests, onestacked on top of the other.

While it's similar to several otherpieces of cherry bedroom furniturewe've built in the past (there's a photoof all the pieces on page 35), thi cheston-chest has quickly become one ofmy favorite projects. But to be hone 1,

I was having a hard time putting myfinger on exactlywhy I liked itso much.

So I did a little scientific research. (Iwalked around and asked several otherpeople what they thought of thi project) I kept hearing the same wordover and over again: timeless, elegant.heirloom, and classic.

A CLASSIC. That got me to thinkingabout just what is it that makes a project "a classic." I've decided it's not anyone thing, Rather, it's a combination ofseveral features that work together tocreate a special project

In this case, we started with traditional frame and panel construction andsolid wood drawers held together withdovetail joints. Then we refined thingsa bit We chamfered the edges of theframes that surround the panels. Webeveled the edges of the drawer fronts,to give the drawers the look of raisedpanels. And to add interest, we appliedstrips of cove molding.

Altogether these small details add

October, 1999

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No. 125

A LOOKINSIDE

,~~'

CONTENTSFeatures

Chest-an-Chest 6Traditional molding, raised panel drawers, and frame and panelconstruction come together in this chest-an-chest to create anheirloom that will be passed down for generations .

.Under-Bed Storage 20Make use of the space under your bed with this pull-out storageproject. It can be a great chance to try your hand at routing halfblind dovetails. Or you can choose to build a quicker version withsimple rabbets instead of the dovetails.

Machine-Cut Dovetails 24Whether you're building one drawer or seven, a common halfblind dovetail jig makes it easy to rout strong, traditional-lookingdovetails. Here's what you need to know when setting up your jigand routing the workpieces.

Wall-Mounted Utility Shelf 28One way to keep your worksurface clutter-free is to make sureyou have plenty of storage space - within reach. This easy-tobuild shelf is a good solution. It has a convenient "open" designand a handy shop light underneath.

Table Saw Extension Wing 34One of our readers sent us this clever, space-saving idea. It's atable saw extension wing with a hinged lid that lifts up to reveal ahandy storage area for your table saw accessories.

Departments

Tips &Techniques 4Shop Notes 18Sources 35

Chest..on..Chest page 6

Under..Bed Storage page 20

•Machine..Cut Dovetails page 24

Wall..Mounted Utility Shelf page 28

No. 125 Woodsmith 3

TIPS FROMOUR SHOP

...~~~ •..§.:..z..-",,~~~~~"'k.:£,

TIPs & TECHNl UESCentering a Lathe FaceplateI do a lot of faceplate turn- the workpiece. The spoting on my lathe. But before where these lines cross isI start turning, I often have the center, see Fig. 1.trouble trying to center the But trying to center thefaceplate on the blank. faceplate on this spot can

Finding the center ofthe be a challenge.That is, untilblank is easy - you just I realized that all it takes tomark diagonal lines across accurately center a face-

plate is a spade bit.To center the faceplate,

find a spade bit that is thesame diameter as the opening on your faceplate. Then,place the point of this bitdirectly on the centerpointof your blank.

While holding the bit inplace, simply slide the faceplate down over the end ofthe drill bit, see Fig. 2. Nowjust screw the faceplate tothe blank, see Fig. 3.

Edward]. MenicheschiHershey, Pennsylvania

SECOND:Slide faceplate overend of bit

I

II

Flip Up Sanding Mat

No. 125

SUBMIT YOUR TIPS

If you would like to share an original shop-testedtip, send it to: Woodsmith, Tips and Techniques,2200 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50312. Orif it's easier, FAX it to us at: 515-282-6741. Or useour E-Mail address:[email protected].

Include a brief explanation and sketch or photo.If your tip is published, you11 receive $30 to $150,depending on the published length. And don'tworry, we11 rewrite the tip and redraw the art, ifnecessary. Also, please include a daytime phonenumber so we can contact you if we have anyquestions regarding your tip.

Woodsmith

use the mat, I found a wayto keep it within easy reachat all times.

I attached the mat to theback edge of my benchwith a small cleat and a fewwoodscrews, see drawing.

Now, I just flip the matup on the bench when Ineed it And when fm done,it flips back down out oftheway, see photos at right.

David YoungrenClovis, California

Whenever I'm sandingsmall pieces with a palm orbelt sander, I like to use anon-skid sanding mat. Theproblem is that! can neverseem to find my sandingmat when I need it.

Rather than constantlyhunting around my workshop every time I want to

Sanding matis sandwichedbetween cleatand edge of bench

~"

4

Radial Arm Saw Cut IndicatorSometimes, I'll have a project that requires a lot ofprecise crosscuts on myradial arm saw. But with aradial arm saw, it can be difficult to line up the sawblade with the layout lineon the workpiece.

To solve this problem, Iplaced several strips ofmasking tape on the tabletop in the path of the blade.When I make the first cut,

the blade leaves a neat linein the masking tape.

Now, I can line up the layout line on my board withthe edge of the tape andeasily cut it to the desiredlength, see drawing. Note:Make sure your tape coverage is wider than the actual cut so itwon'tbe coveredup by your workpiece.

James c. SmithWashington, Illinois

Transferring aPatternCreating a full-size pattern .from a scaled drawing cana be a bit of a challenge,even if the scaled drawingis on a grid. I've tried enlarging patterns on a copymachine before, but it's difficult to get precise dimensions on a photocopy.

To make things easier, Iuse a pattern cutting board.These can usually be foundat any store that sellssewing supplies.

The pattern cuttingboard has a nice, bold 1"square grid printed on it.

Plus,the columns arenumbered for easy layout.

To transfer a l"-squaregrid pattern from a magazine or book, I start by taping a piece of tracing paperdown to the board andtransfer the coordinatesfrom the drawing to thetracing paper. Then I simplyconnect the dots and cutout the pattern to use onmy workpiece.

Ronnie SorgiEden, North Carolina

Cutting a lid from a BoxOver the years, I've seen box up against the blade.)several differentways to cut Then, adjust the rip fencea lid from a shop-made box. so the distance between theBut the method I've used fence and blade equals thefor years seems faster and desired height of the lid,easier than any other. see Fig. 1a.

First, I set the saw blade Now, simply rip all fourabout %2" below the thick- sides of the box, see Fig. 1.ness of the box sides, see Butbecause the blade is setFig. 1a. (I usually just eye- just below the thickness ofball this measurement by the box sides, the lid willplacing a scrap from my remain attached to the box

by a thin membrane ofwood. This membrane isjust enough to keep thekerf of the wood frompinching the saw blade.

Once you've ripped allfour sides of the box, thelid is ready to be removed.To do this, use a sharp utility knife to cut through themembrane, see Fig. 2.Note: Always cut through

the membrane on all foursides. Ifyou crack the membrane, you might accidentally damage the lid.

After you've separatedthe lid from the box,sand all the edges tocompletely remove theremaining slivers of themembrane, see Fig. 3.

Bueron B. TaylorSacramento, California

No. 125

--,- -~-

CROSS SECTION

Set bladejust belowsurface

---_.---- --- -- ------------

Woodsmith 5

FEATUREPROJECT

CHEST--ON--CHESTWith its cherry frame and panel construction and raised panel drawers,this chest--on--chest will be an elegant focal point in any bedroom.

6

Chest Options ~With a few minor modifications, either

section of the chest-an-chest can bebuilt as a separate project. The lower

chest requires a solid wood top, see leftphoto and page 13. And the upperchest only needs a kickboard base,

see right photo and page 17.

Woodsmith

This project has a long history - in~~oreways than one. Woodworkers

have been building chest-on-{;hestfurniture for over two hundred years.And while this project isn't a historical reproduction, itgot its start twelveyears ago with a bedroom set thatbegan with a lingerie chest in Woodsmith 0.53. (To get an idea ofwhatall the pieces look like, check out thephoto on page 35.)

Though this chest-on-{;hest is tall,don't let its imposing size and classicdetails fool you. Like the otherdressers in the bedroom set, the joinery isn't complicated. The cases aremade up of frame and panel assemblies built with tongue and groovejoinery. And the machine-cut, halfblind dovetails make quick work ofassembling all seven of the drawers.Even the bevels on the drawer frontsare easier than they look. (They'resimply cut on the table saw.)

To further simplify the buifdingprocess, the upper and lower chestsare built separately. This also givesyou the option ofbuilding (with a fewminor modifications) one or bothchests as separate pieces offurniture,see pair of photos below.

No. 125

-- - - - -~---------======---~;O;;;;===;=:;l

Plasticturn

buttoncatchesdrawer

Drawerstop

SIDESECTION

VIEW

Bullnoseprofilecreated

with tworound-over

bits

(7,>Drawers "

flush withcase front

3" bail pullhas porcelain

rosettes

A The two sections of the chest aresecured with hidden threadedinserts and machine screws.

OVERALL DIMENSIONS:

60%"H x 38%"W x 20%"0

U3" Brass bail pull

with porcelain~rosettes

Raised panelson drawers cuton table saw,see page 19

ConstructionDetails

Drawers ride onwood runners

and guides

Drawer frontsand backs joined to

sides with machine-cut,half-blind dovetails, see

article on page 24

Two narrow::::>:;~"I--~drawers separated

by vertical divider

Kickboardmiters strengthened

and aligned withhardboard splines,

see page 18

, I ,

I: \- I I

, I

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, ;)

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I

II I

I I I

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Covemolding

Chamfersrouted onoutside ofcase andinside offrames ----..-...,

'----

Frameand panelassemblieshave bullnose profileon frontand sideedges

Cases builtwith frameand panelassembliesjoined withtongues andgrooves

No. 125 Woodsmith 7

j,I I

.' i" ,

" ' SideI assembly'

'; i i ; ,: ~; ~

! j 'i I 11i i, I

NOTE:All solid wood is%" -thick, Panelsare '4" plywood.

panel assemblies have been gluedtogether, the two front stiles (I) canbe cut to size, see Case Exploded\"lew. Then you're ready to cut thecomer joints for the case.

COR.HER JOINTS. The corners of thecase are held together with tongueand groove joints, see box. But aftercutting the groove in both the frontstiles and the stiles on the back asselhbly, you'll need to cut an extra rabbet,see Steps 1 and 2 in box below.

At this point, it's hard to see thepurpose for these rabbets. But whensome dadoes are cut in the back

NOTE: To makeF===r,r=i=r>-=::=-,corner joints, a. JENDsee box below VIEW

RAILSFRONT @@ w

___----lST:LE CD®-----------

Ie'FACE ~~piy.VIEW

21'4"

BACKSTILE@

I" \ !

\ ''\ \ :\ \. \,

i \ ~II

Side, assemblyI' , I

CASE EXPLODEDVIEW

NOTE: Frameand panels gluedtogether beforecutting corner joints

mixed up, I labeled them carefully.Next, I cut centered groove on all

the pieces to hold the plywood paneThen to complete the frames I cut astub tenon on the ends ofall the rail(A, B, E & F), sizing them to fit intothe grooves, see detail 'a' above.

Already you're at the point whereyou can dry assemble the frames andcut the side panels (D) and backpanel (H) to fit in the groove . Jutnote the direction of the grain whencutting the back panel - it shouldrun vertically like it does on the sides.

FRONT STILES. After the frame and

TOPVIEW

Lower Chest CaseThe upper and lower chests are nearlyidentical, and you can startwith either.I tend to work from the ground up, soI began by building the case of thelower chest, see Case Exploded View.

FRAME & PANELS. The case is madeup of three frame and panel assemblies glued into a U-shape with twostile pieces added to the front, seeCase Exploded View. For now, Ibegan work on the frame pieces.

Both the sides and back have anupper (A, E) and lower rail (B, F)and two stiles (C, G). And to makesure all these frame pieces didn't get

1First, using a 1f4"-wide dadoblade, cutagroove l!.z" deep

along the back assembly stilesand two front stiles.

Each corner ofthe case is held •together with an

ordinary tongue and groovejoint. What's out of the ordinary is the rabbet cut on thegrooved pieces (the front andback stiles). This rabbet''hides'' some dadoes cut laterso you won't be able to seethem on the outside ofthe case.

Front stile(V2" '4" (and back

....... I: assembly--I

V/ ,:::.......t/ /, Inside',/,/./ /' W f~:r~

"'"'7"""; // l;/~ /:,/),/

TI

2 Now on the same edgesas the grooves, cut a 1f4"

deep rabbet with a dado bladeburied in an auxiliary fence.

3 Finally, tongues can be cuton the side assemblies to

fit into the 1f4"-wide grooves inthe back and front stiles,

8 Woodsmith No. 125

I

J

NOTE:Size tongues

on rails tofit dadoes on

front stiles andback assembly

A While assemblingthe case, positionthe clamp headscarefully so thefront stiles willend up tightand square.

oINSIDE

RAIL(make six)

NOTE:Use spacerto holdfront square

NOTE: To clampback center rail,

use "spring" clampsmade from thinstrips of wood

\I .I

\ 1~I I II \I I

II\

I

a.

assembly and front stiles later, theserabbets will prevent the dadoes frombeing visible on the outside of thecase, see details 'c' and 'd.'

Note: When cutting the cornerjoints, make sure that the good faceof the plywood will end up on the outside of the case when it's assembled.

RAIL DADOES. After the matingtongues are cut on the side assemblies (Step 3 in box), the dadoes I justmentioned can be cut. These dadoeswill hold rails that create the draweropenings. And their positions on thefront stile and back assembly are thesame, so you can cut them at the sametime, see Figs. 1 and 2. But there area couple things I should mention.

First, since the rails create the drawer openings, the center dado on eachpiece should be positioned carefullyso the openings end up the sameheight. Second, the dadoes are cut114" deep, but they should be asmidgen less than the rabbet cut ear-

~~~~~~~~ ~:~~~:tda~o::l:shoulder of the rabbet, or you'll seethem after the case is assembled.

ASSEMBLY. At this point, the case canbe glued together, see Fig. 3. Thoughthere are front stiles, you're basicallydealing with a three-sided assembly,and keeping the corners square canbe a trick. My solution was to add a"fourth" side to the assembly byclamping a temporary spacer betweenthe sides. Still, even with the spacer,you'll want to position your clampscarefully, see margin photo at right.

INSIDE RAILS. After the glue has dried,six rails can be added to the case, seeRail Exploded View. These strengthen the front of the case and create thedrawer openings, and they slide intothe dadoes already cut in the case.So after cutting the inside rails (J)to fit between the sides (measuring atthe back of the case), a tongue canbe cut on each, see details 'a' and 'b.'

Gluing the inside rails is prettystraightforward - justclamp them inplace. However, you won't be able toget clamps on the middle rail in back.But a couple of thin scraps will workjust fine as "spring" clamps. Theseare simply wedged between the frontand back rails, see Exploded View.

No. 125 Woodsmith 9

®

NOTE:Cut grooves

to fit tongueson inside rails

Railin case

a.

7. Since the plywood panels get in theway of the bearing on a chamfer bit,I used a quick, shop-made jig and a Vgroove bit. (I'll explain more aboutthis procedure on page 18.)

NOTE:Glue runners

and guides together,then glue to inside rails

chamfer bit, see FIg. 6. Then Icleanedup the ends, see margin photo at left.

There are also stopped chamferson the insides ofthe frames, and theserequire a different approach, see FIg.

Case CONTINUEDWith the rails glued inside the case,there are a few odds and ends left tocomplete the case. FIrst, the front railsrequire some trim pieces. Thendrawer runners and guides need to beadded to the case. And finally, I routedsome decorative chamfers.

RAIL TRIM. At this point, the insiderails aren't flush with the front of thecase. But there's an easy solution. Iadded trim pieces cut to fit betweenthe front stiles, see Fig. 4. The widetrim (K) covers the rails and theopenings above the top and bottomrails, see Fig. 4a. The narrow trim(L) simply covers the middle rail, justlike edging on a piece of plywood.

To attach the trim pieces, you'llneed to cut grooves to fit over thetongues on the rails, see Fig. 4a Thenthey can be glued in place.

DRAWER RUNNERS & GUIDES. Next, Iadded runners and guides for thedrawers that "bridge" the rails insidethe case, see Figs. 5 and 5b. Thesetwo-piece assemblies will support thesides of the drawers and guide themin and out of the case.

First, I cut six runners (M) to fitbetween the rails, see Figs. 5 and 5b.Then the guides (N) can be planedor resawn SAl" thick. (This way, theones on top will be flush with the topof the case.) The guides are rippedto stick out from behind the frontstiles 1/32t1, see Fig. 5c. This way, thedrawers won't rub against the stilesas they're opened and closed.

With the pieces cut to size, theycan be glued together and then gluedto the rails inside the case.

CHAMFERS. The last thing to do isrout some chamfers. The ones on theoutside corners are no big deal. Imarked the starting and stoppingpoints and r0l!ted to the lines with a

A The end of arouted chamferisn't symmetrical,but with a doweland some sandpaper, you canmake both sideslook the same.

a.

SECTIONVIEW

10 Woodsmith No. 125

#8x11f,,"Fhscrew

SECTIONVIEW

3W'

Y2" roundcover bit

assemble. (I'll go into this process ofadding splines a bitmore on page 18.)

When the kickboard is assembled,you can glue it to the bottom of thebullnose frame (the face with the %"radius), see detail 'c' above.

ASSEMBLY & COVE MOLDING. Now theframe and kickboard assembly canbe screwed to the case, flush with theback and centered side-to-side, seedetails 'a' and 'c' above. Then I created some cove molding (U) with a Ih"cove router bit, see detail 'c.' (Startwith a %"-thick blank that's extrawide. Rout the profile and then ripthe molding %" wide.) This moldingis mitered and glued and nailed to thefront and sides of the case.

NOTE: Glue kickboardto bottom frame, then 13%"

screw to case flush withbac~ and centered side-to-side

Bottomframe

b.

a.

2 Nowon the opposite edge of theframe, rout a 0z" roundover, using

the fence to guide the assembly

EDGE DETAIL

After the panel (R) was cut to sizeand the frame was glued together, Irouted a bullnose profile around thesides and front, see detail 'c.' This isdone in two steps with two differentsized round-over bits. For more onthis, take a look at the box below.

KICKBOARD. Next, I worked on a kickboard assembly that consists of afront (S), back (S), and sides (I),see Base ExplodedView. These piecesare mitered on both ends. (The framewill overhang the kickboard 3Js" onthe front and sides, see detail 'c.')

With any frame that has beveledmiters, I like to add splines to the corners, see detail 'b.'This both strengthens the frame and makes it easier to

1The first step to routing the bullnose is to rout a W' roundover

with the bit raised 3M' above the table.

All the bottom and top frameassemblies have a bullnose profile. These are routed with a %"roundover (raised 3M', see Step1) and a lh" roundover, see Step2. When the frames areattached to the case, the Ihll

roundover should face tmvardsthe case, while the %" edgefaces away from the case.

Ha;:ff~:r~d~38. NOTE,

Bottom frame andkickboard attached to

case flush with back andcentered side-to-side

Lower BaseWith the case complete, Ibegan workon the ywo-part base it sits on, seeBase Exploded View. This is just aframe and panel with a bullnose profile that sits on a mitered kickboard.

BOTTOM FRAME. To make the bottomframe and panel, I cut the front (0),sides (P), and back (Q) to finishedwidth but rough length. Then to holdthe %" plywood panel, a centeredgroove is cut on each piece. The frontcorners are mitered so the completed frame will overhang the case 1%"at the front and sides. (It's flush withthe back.) The back piece is cut to fitbetween the sides, but remember toallow for the stub tenons that are cutto fit in the grooves.

fu1~~NOTE:Add~ __~cove molding BOTTOMafter screwing FRAME BACKframe and kick- Qboard to case

BASEEXPLODEDVIEW

No. 125 Woodsmith 11

NOTE: To cutraised panels ontable saw, seepage 19

®rh.S~:P/'~

V'?%"NOTE:

For more on routinghalf-blind dovetails,

see article on page 24

tom. But looks are deceiving here.The holes actually need to be drilledabove center. Plus, since the pulls aremounted with a threaded post and anut, I drilled a counterbore inside thedrawer to hide the nut and post. aalso trimmed the post slightly.)

GLIDE STRIPS. Now all that's left aresome little details to add to the casethat will make the drawer easier toopen and close. First, I added nylonglide tape to each runner, see Fig. 8.This makes the drawer slide moresmoothly, but it also "lifts" the drawer offthe rail and trim, reducingwear.

Next, I added two 1;411-thick stops(Z) to the rails below the drawers, seeFig. 8. They stop the drawers flushwith the front of the case. And sincethere will be twelve stops (includingthe upper chest), I made a rabbetedspacer to position them. The shoulderof this spacer rests on top of the railand matches the thickness at the edgeof the drawer front, see Fig. 8a.

Finally, I screwed a turn button tothe rails that are above the drawers soyou can't accidentally pull the drawers all the way out, see Fig. 9.

y

BOTTOM(%" ply.

171,12" x 32W')

NOTE:Center groovefor bottom onbottom tail

b.END ® I, N

TallVIEW C.3

/ 32" fence- Ir- I SawTI ~ blade3;' " Itilted -; 12",

I[I,~

3" bailpull withporcelainrosettes

12" bevel

34"

t SIDESECTION

VIEW

DRAWER EXPLODED VIEW

®

a.

Flip turnbutton to release

drawer

Second, two notches are cut in eachback piece so they will fit over thedrawer stops that will be added later.

PULLS. After assembling the drawers, I added the bail-style pulls, seedetail 'a.' My first inclination was tocenter the mounting holes top to bot-

SIDESECTION

VIEWStop positions drawer

flush with casefront when shut

Plastic turn buttonprevents drawer fro

being pulled out of case

•

DrawersWith the base ofthe lower chest

complete, I beganwork on the two large

drawers, see DrawerExploded View. These fea

ture raised panel fronts and half-blind dovetails that I routed with a

common router jig, see page 24.CUT TO SIZE. The first thing to do is

cut the drawer fronts (V) to sizefrom 3J411-thick stock and the backs(W) to the same size from %11 maple,see Exploded View. These pieces aresized so that when the assembleddrawers are placed into the case, therewill be a lf1611 gap at the top and bottom and on each side. Then the sides(X) can be cut from %11 maple.

After routing the half blind dovetails on each piece, I cut a groove ineach to hold a bottom 00. Don'tworry too much about the exactdimensions here. The important thingwith this groove is that it's sized tohold 1;411 plywood and is centered onthe bottom tail on the side pieces.

RAISED PANELS. Before assemblingthe drawers, there's still a couple ofthings to do. First, I cut the raisedpanels on all the fronts, see detail 'b.'This can be done on the table saw,with the blade tilted 12° and a tall auxiliary fence added to support thefronts. (See page 19 for more.)


%"-Iongwire brad

This lower casecan "stand on itsown" as a project.All it requires isa solid wood toppanel with a bullnose profile. ,

• (4) 3" Brass Bail Pulls w/Porcelain Rosettes• (2) Plastic Turn Buttons w/Screws• (1) 6'-long Nylon Glide Strip• (8) #8 x 1%" Fh Woodscrews• (8) #8 x 1%" Fh Woodscrews• (20) %"-Iong Wire Brads

BACKCC

ALSO NEEDED:One 48" x48"sheet of W' cherryplywood and one48" x 48" sheet ofW' maple plywood

TOP EXPLODEDVIEW

a.

LOWER CHEST MATERIALS & CUTTING DIAGRAMM Drawer Runners (6) % x 19;16 - 15Y2N Drawer Guides (6) % x 1%2 - 17%o Btm. Frame Fr. (1) % x 2% - 38%P Btm. Frame Sds. (2) % x 2% - 20%Q Btm. Frame Bk. (1) % x 2 - 34Y2R Btm. Frame Pnl. (1) % ply - 16Y2 x 34Y2S Kickboard Fr./Bk. (2) % x 3Y2 - 38T Kickboard Sides (2) % x 3Y2 - 20U Cove Molding (1) % x % - 160 In. in.V Drawer Fronts (2) % x 8% - 327/8

W Drawer Backs (2) Y2 x 8% - 327/8

X Drawer Sides (4) Y2 x 8% - 17%Y Drawer Btms. (2) % ply. - 17% x 32%Z Drawer Stops (4) % x 1 - 3AATop Frame Fr. (1) % x 4Y2 - 38%BB Top Frame Sds. (2) % x 4Y2 - 20%CC Top Frame Bk. (1) % x 3% - 30%DD Top Frame Pnl. (1) % ply. - 13% x 30%EE Spacers (2) % x 1% - 327/8

I AA f------~9c-"'~---"""V7~

%" x 43,4" - 84" Cherry (Two Boards @ 2.8 Bd. Ft. Each)

12222'2"'222~2??ZZ???'22j?2:22",,?,?~?????J)????~~'-U

Vz" x 4%" - 72" Maple (Two Boards @ 2.4 Sq. Ft. Each)

I X ; X I X I X ~W' x 4%" - 72" Maple (Two Boards @ 2.4 Sq. Ft. Each)

[ W L w ~

A Upr. Side Rails (2) % x 3 - 13% G Back Stiles (2) % x 3 - 21%B Lwr. Side Rails (2) % x 3% - 13% H Back Panel (1) % ply. - 31 x 15%C Side Stiles (4) %x2%-21% I Front Stiles (2) %x1%-21%D Side Panels (2) % ply. - 13% x 15% J Inside Rails (6) % x 1318 - 35E Upr. Back Rail (1) % x 3 - 31 K Wide Trim (2) % x 1% - 33F Lwr. Back Rail (1) % x 3% - 31 l Narrow Trim (1) % x % - 333.4" x 5W' - 96" Cherry (Two Boards @ 3.5 Bd. Ft. Each)

1,1/ 1/ I/~~ 1/ 1/ 1/ l S!et:':&//ZZ7JzvJff~M3%" x r -96" Cherry (Two Boards @ 4.7 Bd. Ft. Each)

I ~ l7Zzzzzz57Zzzz7Z1zzzzzzz~zzzz~zz~t """ '~"2",13.4" x 5" - 96" Cherry (3.3 Bd. Ft.) L

~ ,ffl/ 1/ 1/ ,1/ 1/G: F ; 22 vzzzzmJ/Z////7Z7~%" x 5" - 96" Cherry (3.3 Bd. Ft.) EE

NOTE:W' -deep grooves

1 sized to hold~30~" ~"p~

:~a~:~~s~oadd the top to the ~ _. TOP'·- / - - --' '-~~'1P:ZZ2J>4V~case, see Top Exploded View. This ~ _..:::_ ;;'"-.:.~Pt!ffL__//>.....' ~

4i!;~ .......;;;;::-"" --- - ~ I ,,~frame and panel assembly is nearly~ z -........... /' /'_ _ ~ ./ 30W'137,1" /' -- -identical to the bottom one you built a~

earlier. But this time, the pieces are ~383;4" SPACER(%" x 1Va")

wider so you can attach the upper and BBEE

lower chests with threaded inserts TOP

and machine screws later. And sec- FRAMESIDE

and, the profile on the edge is ori-ented different - the W' roundoverwill end up on the bottom ofthe frame.

After the top frame front (M),sides (BB), back (eq, and panel(DD) have been glued together, itcan be screwed to the top of the case,and the cove molding can be added.But first, to fill in the gaps at the frontand back, I added a couple %"-thickspacers (EE), see detail 'b.'

OPTIONAL TOP. Ifyou're justbuildingthe lower chest, you'll want to makea solid wood top instead of the frameand panel assembly. Just glue up apanel and cut it to size (Zo>ls" x 38%"),see right margin photo. Then routthe bullnose profile on the front andsides and screw it to the case. (You'llwant to add the spacers here too.)


NOTE: All dadoes v.:"x 1f4"

b.TOP SECTION

VIEW

Iand I used a temporary spacer at thefront W hold the case square just likeI did before, refer to Fig. 3 on page 9.

INNER RAILS & TRIM. After the glue hasdried, I cut ten inside rails (J) W fitbetween the sides of the case, seeFig. 1.Ton~es are cut on these railsto fit into the dadoes in the front andback of the case, and then the railscan be glued in place. Here again,you'll need to use "spring" clamps

a.Dado forinside rail

front stiles and back assembly, seeExploded View and detail 'a.' Again,position the dadoes carefully. The bottom three drawer openings shouldend up the same - you don'twant tohave to custom fit each drawer.

When you've got all the dadoes cut,the case can be assembled. TIlls chestis slightly taller than the lower unit,but the assembly is exactly the same.The number of pieces is the same,

A UPPERRAIL

It doesn't take long to see that theupper unit is nearly identical to thelower one, see photo. The case construction is the same, and the drawers are too. There are a few notabledifferences, though. There are twonarrow drawers at the top; there's nokickboard (unless you're buildingjustthis unit, see box on page 17), andthe top is a solid wood panel.

SIDE & BACK PANELS. Like the lowerunit, I began by building the side andback panels, see Case Exploded Viewbelow. After cutting the side and backrails (A, B, E, F) and stiles (C, G)to size, I cut the grooves and stubtenons that would hold their panels(D, H) and then glued the threeframe and panel assemblies together.

Next, the front stiles (I) can becmws~,andthewn~eandwoo~

joints (with the extra rabbet on thefront stile and back assembly) can becut for the corners of the case, seedetail 'b' and the box on page 8.

Now before you can glue up thecase, there are a few dadoes to cutThese will hold the inner rails, soyou'll need to cut five dadoes in the

UPPERCHEST

CASEEXPLODED

VIEWi

2834" , I. ,~.

,. 1 I 32Sfs- '.\' ')

, J

~I II I

' )

I /® I I, @'. I . '

I BACK! I SIDE 261,1;":26W PANEL PANEL 2

I . I

I ' , I I

")II .. , I!J :

! i ,'\\

32Sfs-NOTE: ..,~

To make 11corner ~i

joints, ~see boxon page 8

I., , ,,. I

F

LOWERBACK RAIL

NOTE: Glue frame andpanels together first,then cut corner joints

NOTE: Dadoescut after backis assembled

IFRONT STILE

NOTE: Keepgood plywoodfaces out

Dado for inside rail


a.

d.

K

WIDETRIM

(need two)

assemblies. But here, the piecesextend past the center divider on bothsides, so one runner and guide willwork for both drawers, see Fig. 3a.(When glued in place, the guideshould stand proud ofthe divider %2"on each side.) Also, to fit behind thedrawer divider, the runner sets backfrom the end of the guide only 3fs" inthe front, see Figs. 2a and 3.

TOP VIEW

• I \

J " '

'. "\I', \

I'I I I

! :/I I'

I I

,I'. '

I II illI , 1\: ' , \,

case, where there was no chance ofbowing. Then after cutting the dividerto this length, it can be screwed inplace, centered side-to-side and flushwith the front edge, see Fig. 2a.

CENTER RUNNER & GUIDE. With thedivider in place, the last pieces to addare the center runner (P) and guide(Q), see Fig. 3. These do the samething as the other runner and guide

(thin strips ofwood) to hold the middle back rails in place, refer to theRail Exploded View on page 9.

Next, the wide (K) and narrowtrim (L) can be cut to size, and thegrooves that fit over the tongues onthe rails can be cut, see Figs. 1and la

After the trim has been glued inplace, the chamfers on the inside andoutside of the case are ready to berouted. These are identical to the oneson the lower case, and I used the samejig for routing around the insides ofthe frames, see page 18.

With the chamfers routed, it's timeto work on the pieces inside the casethat support and guide the drawers.As on the lower chest, the ten drawer runners (M) and guides (N) willend up glued together as a singleassembly, with the runners fittingbetween the rails and the guides resting on top of the rails, see Figs. lband lc. But the important thing is thatwhen these assemblies are added tothe case, the guides need to stick outpast the front stiles lAd' so the drawers don't rub against the stiles, seeFigs. lc and ld.

DRAWER DIVIDER. At this point, thereare a couple of"new" pieces to add tothe case. To divide the top opening inhalf for the two narrow drawers, avertical divider and an additionalguide and runner assembly need tobe ~dded, see Figs. 2 and 3.

The center divider (0) is simplya %"-thick piece of stock that's cut tofit between the upper two rails, seeFig. 2. As I was measuring for thedivider, I noticed a slight bow in oneofthe rails. This isn't uncommon sincethe case is fairly wide. And the solution is simple. I measured the heightbetween the rails at the side of the

@V3Z~

I FRONTrt-~-h SECTION

VIEW


a.

I: ~11'8~"l-I":. 4

,,I

: 1414"

Threaded ins~~---:'~ j;'/' :;:'.114' machine scr~lIl.'~ ,r

SIDE ,,/'~=- ~

SECTION VIEW ~~

thick cove molding (V) can be gluedand nailed to the case, see detail 'c.'

Note: If you're building the upperchest by itself, you'll need to build akickboard for it, see box on next page.

TOP. The top of this chest is solidwood. So rather than make a frameand panel assembly, I glued up a %"thick top panel (W) and cut it to finished size, see Exploded View above.

Like the top on the lower chest, thispanel still gets the bullnose roundover(with the W' roundover on the bottomthis time). And when attaching it tothe case, it requires the same spacers (X). But this time, the shank holesshould be oversized so the panel canexpand and contract, see detail 'b.'This expansion and contraction alsomeans you don't want to glue or nailthe cove molding to the solid wood top- only to the sides of the case.

DRAWERS. Finally, there are a fewdrawers to build, see Fig. 4. You'llneed three large and two narrowdrawers. The large and small drawer fronts (Y, CC) are %" thick. Thebacks (Z, DD) and sides (M, EE)are Ih"-thick maple, and the bottoms(BB, FF) are %" plywood.

As before, I joined the drawers withhalf-blind dovetails routed with a dovetailjig (see page 24) and cut the raisedpanels on the table saw (see page 19).

SIDESECTION

VIEW

Plasticturn button

catchesdrawer

BACK <!)

___ ,/J

. __ 3014"------.;

..- ..' tIOrrOM:-: 13" ---- -PANEL. --~ @ :-

I" 30W'-------±--~

• FRONT® . S116"f-::::-::--f--::-----+------.-----" Countersunk

shankhole

BOTTOMFRAME

Sfa"3'l'2"

?16%"

BB ~ NOTE:LARGE Center groove

BOTTOM for bottom on '---__l:::::::t=='=====7(16Sfa" x 30W) bottom tail

R

BOTTOM

19" .~y~e,TOP~'%'o~ibottom IT""'e with a front (R),V ~,&DB:awers sides (8), back (I), and panel (U),You're on the home see Base & Top Exploded View and

stretch now. To complete the upper detail 'a' above. The front corners arechest, all that's left is to add a base mitered (the back has stub tenonsframe, top panel, and some drawers. that fit in the grooves for the panel),

BASE FRAME. Like the lower chest, I and the bullnose profile is routed onworked on the base first But where both the front and sides. ('The WIthe lower base has a frame and panel roundover is on top.) And after screwand a kickboard, the base here is just ing the frame to the case, some %"-

NOTE: Drawerfronts sized for Vi6"gap on each side 3"

NOTE: To cutraised panels ontaqle saw; see page 19

COVEMOLDING(Sfa" -thick)

V

Sfa"wirebrad

NOTE: Covemolding gluedand nailed tocase frontand sides, notto top panel

BASE &TOPEXPLODED VIEW

NOTE:Top panelmountedflush to backof case

C~~MOLDING,,,..thi<k<


________ ~=======o__ ____'

And inside the case, I added nylonglide tape, 1J411-thick drawer stops(GG), and plastic turn button catches, see Figs. 4a and 4b. But note thaton the small drawers, there's only onestop centered in the opening (and onenotch cut on the drawer back).

ATTACH UPPER & LOWER CHESTS. Finally,you can attach the upper and lowerchests. To secure the two, I mountedfour threaded inserts into the bottomof the upper chest, see details 'a' and'c' in the Exploded View at left.

To get a threaded insert in straightcan be a real trick, and I typically usea nut and a section of a bolt chuckedinto a drill press, turning the chuck byhand. But here, I had to use a shopmade hand tool to get the insert instraight, see page 19. Then I drilledthe mounting holes in the lower chestand attached the two with machinebolts, see detail 'c' in the ExplodedView on previous page. m

The upper chest can also be built as a stand-alonepiece of furniture. (It'll end up 37%11 tall.) All youneed to do is build a kickboard that's sized so thebottom frame overhangs it %11 on the front andsides, see drawing and detail 'a' below. Addingsplines to the corners will make the assembly easier(and stronger), see page 18.To attach the kickboard, :firstglueit to the bottom frame and then screw the assembly to tl1e case.

, ,

UPPER CHEST MATERIALS & CUTTING DIAGRAM

1F

TlUUUUU?;U?R?U?ukzzzzzzizzzzjz:zzzzzzz~

Ib%~"X=7\{=4'='-=9=6~"y~C~he=r~rY=(4=.~8~Bd_'.bF_t.)=_=_y=_==.b-=_==Y===_~

34"x r -96" Cherry (Two Boards @ 4.7 Bd. Ft. Each)

I ; I OJ tzzllOIOll 27 27 ? zz zz 27t27 27 27 ? zzJ27 12 ?C?~ 27 zz~K

34"x 6" - 96" Cherry (Two B~ards @ 4 Bd. Ft. Each) .... I ~

ti¢:l4)/~=3 "eN I, IT :4; le k_N1(Z?:-&~~34" x 5~" - 96" Cherry (Two Boards @ 3.5 Bd. Ft. Each)

[ W ' W ~

%"x 7W' - 96" Cherry (4.8 Bd. Ft.)

%" x 5" - 72" Cherry (2.5 BdjKX

E2= ~zzzzzzzzzzzz;~L

V/' x 7W - 72" Maple (Three Boards @3.6Sq. Ft. Each)

K Wide Trim (2) % x 1% - 30%L Narrow Trim (3) % x % - 30%M Drawer Runners (10)% x 19116 - 14%N Drawer Guides (10) % x 1Y32 - 16%o Vertical Divider (1) % x 1Y2 - 6%P DWL Ctr. Runner (1) % x F/s - 14%Q DWLCtr.Guide(1) %x 13116-157/sR Btm. Frame Fr. (1) % x 3% - 36Y2S Btm. Frame Sds. (2) % x 3% - 19%T Btm. Frame Bk. (1) % x 3% - 30%U Btm. Frame Pnl. (1) % ply. - 13 x 30%V Cove Molding (1) % x % - 150 In. in.W Top Panel (1) % x 19% - 36Y2X Spacers (2) % x 1Ys - 30%Y Lg_ Drawer Fronts (3) % x 7 - 30%Z Lg. Drawer Backs (3) 112 x 7 - 30%AA Lg. Drawer Sides (6) Y2 x 7 - 16%BB Lg. DWL Btms. (3) %ply_ - 16% x 30YsCC Sm. Dwr. Fronts (2) % x 6Ys - 147/sDD Sm. Dwr. Backs (2) 112 x 6Ys - 147/sEE Sm. Dwr. Sides (4) Y2 x 6Ys - 16%FF Sm. DWL Btms. (2) %ply. - 16% x 14%GG Drawer Stops (8) % x 1 - 3• (8) 3" Brass Bail Pulls w/Porcelain Rosettes• (5) Plastic Turn Buttons w/Screws• (1) 15' Nylon Glide Strip• (8) #8 x 1%" Fh Woodscrews• (8) #8 x 1%" Fh Woodscrews• (20) %"-Iong Wire Brads• (4) %"-20 x 1%" Rh Machine Screws• (4) 114"-20 Brass Threaded Inserts

ALSO NEEDED:One 4' x 8' sheetof W' cherry plywood and one4' x 8' sheet of W'maple plywood

NOTE: Both unitscan be built withone full sheet ofW' cherry plywoodand one sheet ofW' maple plywood

F Lwr. Back Rail (1) % x 3% - 28%G Back Stiles (2) % x 3 - 32%H Back Panel (1) % ply. - 28% x 26112I Front Stiles (2) % x 1% - 32%J Inside Rails (10) % x Ws - 32%

% x 3 - 12%% x 3% - 12%% x 2% - 32%% ply. - 12% x 26112% x 3 - 28%

A Upr. Side Rails (2)B Lwr. Side Rails (2)C Side Stiles (4)D Side Panels (2)E Upr. Back Rail (1)

No. 125 Woodsrnith 17

Routing Inside ChamfersNOTE:

Width ofguide

determinesstop andstart of

chamfers

Center edgeguide on bit

a. BOTTOM VIEW

hidden, I used lJs" hard·board rather than cut solidwood splines. (But if youdo use solid wood splines,the grain should run acrossthe joint) And just to be onthe safe side, I cut mysplines slightly narrowerthan the depth of bothkerfs, so the spline won'tprevent the miter from closing completely. m

keep in mind. I like to cutthe kerfcloser to the insidecorner (the heel) ratherthan the tip, see Fig. 2. Thisway, the tip isn't as likely tobreak ifthe joint is stressed.Plus, this lets me insert awider spline to providemore glue surface.

SPLINE. Next, splines canbe cut to fit in the kerfs.Since the splines here were

gluing this rectangularpiece to the new base, justbe sure that it's centeredon the point of theV-groovebit (so there's %" on eitherside of the bit), see detail'a' below right

Before routing the frame,turn on the router and raisethe bit into the guide untilit's at the right height Thenrout the chamfer, using theedge guide to start and stopthe chamfer along eachedge, see Figs. 1 and 2. m

TIPS FROMOUR SHOP

-

SHOP NOTESTo create a chamfer, I typically use a router and achamfer bit But with thestopped chamfers on theinside edges of the frameson the chest-Dn-chest (page6), the panels interferedwith the bearing on the bit

Instead I used a V-groovebit with a shop-made edgeguide, see drawing at rightAV-groove bit has no bearing to get in the way, andthe guide keeps the bit auniform distance from thepiece. Plus it automaticallystarts and stops the chamfer at each corner.

To make the edge guide,first replace the originalrouter base with one madefrom WI hardboard, seedrawing at right The guideis another piece of hardboard cut Iljz" wide. When

Miter & Spline JointThe kickboard base of the and the splines help keepchest-Dn-chest is joined with everything aligned.miters, and I decided to add CUT KERFS. The first thingsplines to the corners for a to do is cut the kerfs for thecouple reasons, see photo. splines. To do this, simplyFirst, a spline stengthens a lower the saw blade aftermiter joint by providing cutting the miters, but keepmore glue surface. Second the blade tilted 45°. Then(and more importantly), slide the rip fence over tomiters tend to slide out of act as a stop, see Fig. 1.alignment as you glue and This is simple enough,clamp the pieces together, but there are a few things to

~ A hardboardspline willstrengthen amiter andmake it easierto assemble.

jiII

Woodsmith

Hardboardspline

No. 125

Kerfcloser

to heel

Deeper kerfholds wider spline

Tip maybreak

I---_.-,-_.-.-_---=-.--;:-:::::-7.'-J

~Kerf

too closeto tip

18

• This simple tool makes it easy to insudl a threaded insertstraight. A nylon bushing and a spring help hold thethreaded insert upright as it's driven into the workpiece.

• Threadedinserts (andmachine screws)allow you to

join two piecesso they can bedisassembledeasily later.

NOTE: Cutdown a 3"-longbolt so only W'

of threads remain

Fmally, between the bushing and the nut and washerthat are tightened againstthe insert, I added a spring.It provides just enoughdownward pressure to helpthe threads on the outsideof the insert to begin cutting into the wood. m

'!4" 1.0. x1" nylon---<-_--<Ibushing

'!4"-20hexhead

bolt

!I.," 1.0. x1" spring

Threadedinsert

Nut andbrass washer

NOTE:Apply waxto insertbeforeinstalling

notch to hold a %"-20 hexhead bolt and a nylon bushing. The through hole issized to hold the bolt, andthe 1/2"-dia. counter bore isdrilled 1114" deep to acceptthe %" i.d. bushing thatholds the bolt straightwhileyou tighten it down.

easy as you might think. Soto help install the insert inthe upper units, I got out ahand-held threaded inserttool that I'd made earlier,see photo below.

The tool is justa block ofhardwood with a %"-deepnotch cut in one corner, seedrawing. A counterboredhole is drilled through the

Threaded InsertsWhen it was the time toattach the upper and lowerunits of the chest-on-ehest,I had a few threaded insertsto install, see margin photo.This is usually done with anut, a bolt, and a ratchet.The trick with this procedure is keeping the insertstraight as you're driving itinto the wood - it's not as

Raised Panels on the Table SawMany raised panels have aslightly curved profile thatrequires a special router bit.But the raised panels on thedrawers of the chest-onchest are simple bevels,and you can cut them easily on your table saw, seeFig. 1 below. But there area couple of tips I can passalong to make the job goeasier and so you end upwith smooth, clean bevelsand square shoulders.

TABLE SAW SETUP. The firstthing you'll need to do isadd a tall auxiliary fence toyour rip fence, see Fig. 1.Cutting the bevels on thelong edges is no problem,but when standing thepieces on end, you'll wantextra support.

With the auxiliary fencein place, tilt the saw blade(12°) and raise it to the correct height (%"), see Fig.1. Then using a test piece,

you can sneak up on theposition of the fence untilthe shoulder of the profileis 3/32'1, see Fig. 1a.

Now that the fence is set,you can begin cutting thebevels on the drawer fronts.I like to cut across the short,end grain edges first. Thisway, if there's any chipoutnear the tail end of thebevel, it will be removedwhen the bevel is cut on thelonger face grain edges.

SANDING. Even a sharpsaw blade will probablyleave some swirl marks, soafter the raised panels havebeen cut, the last step is tosand the bevels. But there'salso another little area thatneeds some attention. Sincethe blade was tilted, the %2"shoulder will be slightlyundercut. To square thisup, I made a sanding blockthat has a bevel cut on oneedge, see Figs. 2 and 2a. m

END VIEW

Sand profileto removesaw marksand squareup shoulder


STORAGEPROJECT

-

UNDER--BED STORAGE BoxThis handy rolling storage box will help you tum the unused space underyour bed into a convenient storage area for clothes or children's toys.

ll7hen I was growing up, I rememVl~er keeping a box under my bedthat was filled with all my "treasures."Each night, I would pull the box outand sift through the contents.

I still store things under my bed,but these days, it's much less excitingstuff (clothing and shoes, mostly).And as I'm getting older, it's gettingharder to the haul the box out Whichis why I like this project.

At first glance, it looks like this boxis floating above the floor. But inreality, it's resting on wheels. You justcan't see them. That's because thewheels are concealed in narrow"pockets" at each end of the box.

The point of all this is that thewheels make it a lot easier to pull thebox out from under the bed. Thenafter you've taken out (or put away)your things, the whole box rolls backunder the bed, out of sight And it's alot kinder on my back.

JOINERY. The corners of this box arejoined with machine-cut dovetailjoints. Ifyou've never used a dovetailjig before, this is a good project tostartwith. And ifdovetails don't inter-

estyou, we've provided an alternate method for joining the corners of the box.

BOX CONSTRUCTIONThe box frame is made up of sixpieces - a front and back andfour end pieces, see the BoxExploded View. Two of theseends are dovetailed to join withthe front and back. But the other

i With the lid closed, this storage box rollseasily underneath the bed. A handle isbuilt into the front edge of the lid.

...

20

If you don't have a dovetail jig, you canuse rabbet joints to connect the endsof the box with the front and back. Allyou have to do is cut rabbets on theedges of the front and back pieces tomatch the width of the ends, see detail'a.' (Make sure your dadoes are thesame depth as your rabbets so the holesfor the wheels line up correctly.) Thenjust assemble the box with glue and counterbored screws, plugging the screwholes with wood plugs, see drawing.

'"

RABBET JOINERY

Cut %"-widerabbet, S116" deep

#8x 114"Fh woodscrew

;L

Woodsmith

@

au ;;:;

a.

t ::;:;;c: .. % ;:;;;:pta

#8x 114"Fh woodscrew

_'I .. AZ2!

No. 125

~~~- ---

S176" X 2"hex head bolt(cut to 1%")

--:-s: SECOND: Drill hole s.='without moving ~-~.

fence or stop block

BOX EXPLODED VIEW

3"-dia.plasticwheel

/~ FIRST: Drill ~'"-/-.-. counterboreZz:2L.L

NOTE: All pieces(except bottom)are%"thick

%" wide.) But to derermine the depthof the dadoes, you'll need to measure the length of the dovetails onthe end piece, see Fig. 3a. This way,all four end pieces will fit betweenthe front and back of the box.

NOTE:All four endsare cut to samelength and width

3"-dia.plasticwheel

S176"shankhole

a.

@FRONT

see the boxon the opposite page.CUT DADOES. The interior end pieces

are joined to the front and back witha simple dado joint, see Fig. 3. Thewidth of the dado should match thethickness ofyour stock. (I made mine

two will fit into dadoes cut near theends of the front and back pieces.11llsdoubl~wallconstructioncreares

the cavity for the wheels.CUT PIECES. To build the box, I began

by planing all my stock to a ~uniform thickness (%").Shop Note: 11lls is importantfor the dovetail jig to work lproperly. Then I cut the frontand back (A) and the ends (B)to size, see Exploded View.

DRILL HOLES. Before starting on thedovetails, I drilled the holes in theend pieces for the wheel hardware,see detail 'a.' It's easier to drill theholes at this point, before the box isassembled. You just have to positionthe holes carefully so they will lineup exactly when the box is assem-bled. To do this, I used a drill presswith a fence and a stop block.

I started by drilling the counterbores first After laying out the holelocations on all four pieces, I set up astop block on the fence of my drillpress, see Fig. 1. Then I drilled a 1"dia. counterbore on one end of eachpiece, see Fig. la.

Now without moving the fence orstop, drill a hole through each pieceusing a 5/16"-dia. bit, see Fig. lb. Whenyou're finished with these holes, setup the stop block on the other end ofthe fence and repeat the procedure todrill the holes and counterbores onthe opposite ends of the workpieces.

ROUT DOVETAILS. Once the holes aredrilled, you can rout the dovetails onthe front, back, and two ends, seeFigs. 2 and 2a. (Note: Make sure thecounrerbores are on the outside faceswhen routing the dovetails.) And ifyou don't want to use dovetails, youcan try an alternate joinery method,

1'8"W

1'8" dovetailsspaced

1'8" 1'8"apart

G

---Mitergauge a.auxiliaryfence


Screw bottomin place

These are sized to fit the grooves inthe rails. You can make them on thetable saw by burying a dado blade ina plywood fence that is clamped tothe rip fence, see detail 'c' in the LidExploded View. Shop Note: I found iteasier to "sneak up" on the thicknessof the stub tenon by raising the bladea little at a time between passes.

Mter cutting the lid panel (F) from

~---.::::=::::::;;<;;=- ----j a.

#6x%"Fhwoodscrew

Turn boxupside-down androut 3fs" -widerabbet allaround bottomof opening

NOTE:Bottom is made fromW' birch plywood

a centered groove along one edge ofeach piece to hold the plywood panel,see detail 'b' in the Exploded View.

To center the groove on the thickness of the rails and stiles, cut thegroove in two passes, flipping theworkpiece between passes.

STUB TENONS. With the grooves cutin all four frame pieces, stub tenonson the ends of the stiles can be cut.

LID CONSTRUCTIONWith the box completed, you can startworking on the lid, which is nothingmore than a plywood panel in a hardwood frame. It's designed to be flushwith the box on the ends and back,but it overhangs the front 1lfz". Thisprovides room for a handle later.

CUT FRAME. To make the lid, I beganby cutting the frame pieces to size,see the Lid Exploded View on theopposite page. The lid frame is madeup oftwo rails (D)and two stiles (E).

GROOVES AND TENONS. Once thesepieces are all cut to size, you can cut

Box CONTINUEDOnce you have the dadoes cut to size,you're ready to glue and assemblethe box. I glued up the dovetailedpieces first Then I slid the two interior end pieces into the dadoes andclamped the box together.

BOTTOM. The box is almost complete, but the 1J411-thick plywood bottom (C) still needs to be added. Oncethe glue dries, start by routing a %"wide rabbet around the large opening in the bottom of the box, see Figs.4 and 4a. The depth should match thethickness of the plywood bottom.

When you're routing across thefront and back, you may need toclamp a support block flush with thepieces to support the router base, seeFig. 4. (The double-wall ends shouldprovide enough supportfor the basewhile you're routing across the ends.)

The router leaves the corners ofthe rabbet rounded. So I squaredthem up with a chisel, see Fig. 4b.Then I cut the bottom to size andscrewed it in place, seeFigs. 5and 5a.

,I

}

ALSO NEEDED:One 4' x 4' sheet ofW' birch plywood

B

314"x 5!t2" - 96" Hard Maple (Two Boards @3.67 Bd. Ft. Each)

I A \-------'-B-rx 5W ~ 84' H"d ~'PI' (3.2 'd. Ft.J

MATERIALS, SUPPLIES, & CUTTING DIAGRAMA Front/Back (2)% x 5% - 36 F Lid Panel (1) % ply. - 21% x 31% • (8) 5/i6" WashersBEnds (4) % x 5% - 23% G Handle (1) % x 1% - 36 • (4) 3" -Dia. Plastic WheelsC Bottom (1) % ply. -23%x32% • (20) #6 x %" Fh Woodscrews • (1) lh" x30" Piano Hingew/ScrewsD Lid Rails (2) % x 2% - 36 • (4) 5/i6-18 x 2" Hex BoltsE Lid Stiles (2) % x 2Y2 - 21 % • (4) 5/i6-18 Lock Nuts


Auxiliaryfence END VIEW

E

LID STILE

NOTE:AI/lid pieces

(except panel) are%" -thick stock

A handle allowsyou to grip the boxwhen pulling itout from under

, the bed.

c.END VIEW

NOTE: Width ofgroove shouldmatch plywood

in the Exploded View on page 21.Shop Note: To make the axles for thewheels, I cut 2"-long bolts down to1%". Iused 2" bolts (instead ofshorter ones) so each wheel has a smooth,unthreaded portion to ride on. m

//

@@.",,/1"

£ /)/

.,,,/ .;//

b.

"Nibble"away wastewith router

NOTE: Rout3fa" roundoveron top edges of lidafter assembly

G

HANDLE

I used a Vix bit to center the pilotholes for my hinge screws.

ADD WHEELS. All thafs left now is toadd the wheels. Hex bolts serve as"axles," and washers and lock nutshold everything together, see detail 'a'

WI plywood, the lid can be glued up.Then the edges are eased by routinga %" roundover on the top.

ADD HANDLE. There's oneother piece to add beforeattaching the lid - a handle. The handle (G) is astrip of hardwood that runsalong the front edge of the lid, seeExploded View.

To make the handle, I cut a pieceof stock to match the length of the lid(36"). The finished handle has aroundover routed on the front andback edges, see detail 'a.' But I had tocreate this profile in two steps. FirstI rounded over just one edge of thehandle (the inside edge). But beforerounding over the front edge, I gluedthe handle to the lid. (It's easier toposition the clamps while the frontedge is still partially square.)

HINGE MORTISE. The lid is attached tothe box with a piano hinge. This hingeis mortised into the back of the boxand simply screwed to the surface ofthe lid, see Fig. 6a.

To create the mortise for the hinge,I used a router and a straight bit, seeFig. 6. To provide some support forthe router base, I clamped a scrappiece to the back of the box, flushwith the top. Then I "nibbled away"the waste, working from one end ofthe mortise to the other, see Fig. 6. Achisel can be used to square off theends of the mortise, see Fig. 6b.

FINISH. Now is a good time to applya finish to the box. (I used a wipeon oil finish). After the finish dries,the lid can be attached. First screwthe hinge into the mortise. Usingsome spacer blocks for support, position the lid so that ifs flush with thetop of the box, see Fig. 7. Then simply screw the hinge to the lid. Note:

NOTE: Attachhinge to box first,thentolid~

No. 125

NOTE: Align lidwith ends of box

-~

~'-"':::::'

Woodsmith

y

! Test fit. With the pieces removed from the.jig, test the fit of the joint. The tails shouldslide halfway into the sockets. A soft malletcan then be used to drive the joint home.

! Rout dovetails. The template guides therouter in and out as the dovetails and pinsare routed simultaneously. This ensures aperfectly-aligned joint every time.

! Clamp pieces in jig. After positioning bothworkpieces underneath the jig template, tighten down the cams on the clamping bars to

hold the workpieces securely in place.

ficult. All it takes is a littlepatience and perseverance.

HALF·BLlND JIGS. There are several kinds of dovetail jigs on themarket designed to cut a variety of dovetails. But one of themore cornmon types is thatwhich cuts half-blind dovetails,see box below. (Half-blind dovetails are often used on drawerswhere you don't want the dovetails to be visible from the front.)

All half-blind dovetail jigswork in the same fashion, seeseries of photos at right. Thetwo workpieces are clamped inthe jig at a right angle. Then acomb-like template is placedover the workpieces. A bushingon the router base (or sometimes a bearing on the routerbit) guides a dovetail-shaped bitaround the "fingers" of the template,. cutting both the pins andthe tails at the same time.

differences lie in the type of clampingsystem (some use cams, others usewing nuts), the material used for thetemplate (plastic or metal), and theease of adjusting the stops.

A bare-bones jig can be purchasedfor as little as $60 while heavier-dutyversions sell for $300 to $350.

Editar's Note:. Although we used theWoodsmith dovetail jig for this article,the procedure is nearly identical for allhalf-blind dovetail jigs of this type.

HALF·BLlND DOVETAIL JIGS

MACHINE-CUT

DoVETAILSWith a router and a dovetail jig you cancut a perfect-fitting joint in seconds. Thetrick is getting the jig set up properly.

I still remember the first time Iused a dovetail jig. I don't

know if itwas the high-poweredscream of the router, the showerofchips, or the rhythmic motionof moving the router in and outaround the template, but I washooked. For the next fewmonths, I used dovetails on justabout every project I made.

Although that initial excitement has subsided a little, I stillthink a dovetail jig is a greataccessory for any shop. I can'timagine building the chest-onchest featured in this issue without one. For speed and accuracy, a dovetail jig is hard to beat.

But there's more to cuttingdovetails than simply flippingthe switch on your router. Thejig and router requires a careful setup. Plus, you'll need a couple test pieces to "fine-tune" thefit. Fortunately, this isn't too dif-

While there are a number ofhalf-blinddovetail jigs on the market, tiley allwork in the same manner. The main


The template controls the spacingof the dovetails. Most templates aredesigned to cut WI-wide dovetailsspaced %" apart. So it's best to planyour projects so the width (height)of the drawers is always a multiple of%". This way, you'll end up with ajoint that is symmetrical- a perfecthalf-pin on both the top and the bottom, see drawing in margin.

TEST CUTS. The template may controlthe spacing of the dovetails, but thereare still a couple of adjustments thatyou'll have to make to control the fitof the joint. And since you don't wantto risk ruining your finished workpieces, you'll need to practice on acouple oftest pieces that are the samewidth and thickness as your drawerpieces. Then once you get the settings just right, you can rout the dovetails on your actual workpieces.

SmlNG UP THE JIG. Essentially, thereare three different adjustments thatyou'll need to be concerned withwhen setting up the jig.

First, a "stepped" stop on eachend of the jig is used to create anoffset between the two workpiecesand to position them from side-toside underneath the template. (Onsome jigs, this offset is created byusing two separate stops.) This stopensures that the dovetails are centered on the width of the workpieces (leaving equal-sized half-pinsat the top and bottom).

When you're making a drawer orbox, half the joints are cut on the leftside of the jig and half are cut on therightside. (This way, the bottom oftheworkpiece is always against a stop.)So you'll have to set the stop at each

Bottomedge

front/back

2 With the test pieces in the jig,adjust the stop so the edge of

the front test piece is centered in thefirst notch or opening of the template.

No. 125

CLAMPINGBAR

THREADEDROD

STOP CAMNUT

1The stops on the ends of the jigare used to create a 'l76" offset

betvveen the tvvo workpieces and toposition them from side-to-side

end independently, see Step 1.The second adjustment to make is

to the template. Two stop nuts on thethreaded rods control the front-toback positioning of the template,which affects the depth of the sock

ets. (Ibe sockets are the spaces intowhich the dovetails fit.)

Movetemplate

3 Stop nuts should be adjusted inor out so fingers of template are

centered over the 'Joint line" betvveenthe tvvo test pieces.

Woodsrnith

CAM

b.STOP

CLAMPINGBAR

Template Bearing

DOVETAIL LAYOUT

beneath the template. You'll needto adjust each end of the jig independently, since half the joints arecut on the left and half on the right.

And finally, raising or lowering theheight of the dovetail bit in the routercontrols the fit of the dovetails.

Later, you'll fine-tune each of theseadjustments. But for now, you justwant to get them "in the ballpark" soyou can make your first test cut, seeSteps 2 through 4.

4 Mount 'l76" guide bushing ontorouter: Then to start with, raise

bit V2" from router base. It may haveto be adjusted slightly later on.

25

• To get a perfectfitting joint,you'll need torout a few testpieces firs t.

26

Rout Test PiecesOnce you have the initial

settings in place, you're readyto start making yourtest cuts and "tweak

ing" the adjustments. Todo this, place a test drawer

side under the clamping baron the front of the jig and a test

drawer front under the clampingbar on top of the jig.

Make sure that both pieces aretight against the stops and the endof the drawer side piece is flush withthe top face of the drawer front piece.(This is also important when itcomes to routing the dovetails inyour actual workpieces.)

ADD TEMPLATE. Next mount the template on the jig. Hold it down flat onthe workpieces while you tightenthe wing nuts. Check to make surethe template is resting flat and isn'tflexed by the workpieces (especiallyifyour template is plastic).

ROUT THE TEST PIECES. Now the piecescan be routed. To prevent chipout,start by making a light scoring passfrom right to left, see Step. 5. SafetyNote: It's normally not a good ideato rout in this direction (backrouting). But it's okay in this case sinceyou are taking just a light pass.

After the initial scoring cut, startgently moving the router in and outof the fingers, beginning on the lefthand side of the jig, see Step 6. Youshould be able to feel the guide bushing stop at the back of each notch.

Let the bushing and the templateguide the router. You want to keepthe bushing in contact with the edgeof the template, but you don't need

7 Finally, remove the template (butnot the workpieces) and check to

make sure that all of the dovetailsand sockets are uniform.

Make alight pass to

prevent chipout

5 To prevent chipout on the drawerside, start by making a light pass

from right to left. This skim cut establishes a clean shoulder line.

to force it. Shop Tip: To help therouter glide smoothly over the template, try applying a little paste wax tothe router base and the template.

One other thing. When you're routing the dovetails, be careful to keepthe router base flat on the template atall times. If you accidentally tip therouter or lift it up, the bit will take achunk out ofyour dovetails, your template, or both. (This is not good.)

REMOVE TEMPLATE. When you've finished routing the dovetails in thetest pieces, turn off the router andremove the template to examine thedovetails. It's a good idea to leavethe pieces in the jig until after you'vechecked to make sure that you'verouted every pin and socket cleanly, see Step 7. This way, if you missa spot you can simply place the template back on the workpieces andclean up the area you missed.

TEST FIT. Now you can remove thetest pieces from the jig and see howthey fit. Before fitting the piecestogether, though, take a second toblowout any chips in the sockets

8 Before testing the fit of the jointblowout any remaining wood

chips andsand offany "whiskers" thatare still attached to the pieces.

Woodsmith

6 Next move the router from leftto right in and out of the notches.

Push the router into each notch untilthe bushing hits the back of the notch.

and lightly sand off any wood fibersremaining on the pieces, see Step 8.

Slide the pieces together to see howthey fit, see Step 9. Ideally, you shouldbe able to slide the dovetails abouthalfway into the sockets by hand.Then a light tap or two with a malletshould fully seat the tails.

Don't worry if the fit isn't perfecton the first try. Chances are you11have to make some adjustments tothe jig or the router bit (or both),see box on opposite page.

The important thing is to avoid trying to adjust everything in one fellswoop. Instead, focus on one thing ata time and keep making test cuts untilyou get it right. Shop Note: You canre-use your test pieces by simply trimming the dovetails off the ends.

Once you're satisfied with the fit, trycutting a test joint on the right side ofthe jig as well to make sure the stopon this end is positioned correctly.(You shouldn't have to change the bitsetting or the stop nuts for the template.) Now you're ready to rout thedovetails on your actual pieces.

9 The dovetails should easily fit intothe sockets about half way A

couple of taps with a mallet shoulddrive them in the rest of the way

No. 125

...

ner joint (No.3) using the same procedure. (place the drawer back pieceon the top of the jig.)

The other two joints (Nos. 2and 4) are routed with the piecestight against the stop block onthe right side of the jig.

When routing on the right side ofthe jig, follow the same procedure.Make a scoring pass from right to leftand then move the router in and outof the notches from left to right.

Now it's just a matter of repeatingthis process to cut the dovetails onthe remainder of the drawers. m

Rout Drawer PiecesThe procedure for routing the dovetails on the final workpieces is thesame one that you used for routingyour test pieces. But this is whereall your patience in adjusting thejig pays off. Now it's just a matterof clamping each piece in the jigand routing the dovetails. The onlytrick is keeping all the drawerpieces organized as you go along.

LAY OUT JOINTS. To help keep thingsstraight, I like to start by laying out allfour drawer pieces on top of mybench, with the inside faces up, seedetail 'a.' Then I number the matching corners (starting at the left, frontcorner) and label each piece (front,back or side). Finally, label or markthe bottom edge of each piece.

When you've got all the pieces. labeled, you're ready to start routing

the first corner. There are two mainthings to remember when placing thepieces in the jig. First, the pieces arealways inserted so the inside facesout. And second, the bottom edgesshould always be against the stops.This means that you have to cut halfthe joints on the left side of the jig

and half on the right side. Shop Tip:To help myself keep straight whichcorner goes where, I also label theends of the jig, see drawing above.

ROUT FIRST CORNER. To rout the firstcorner, place the drawer side in thefront of the jig and the drawer fronton the top of the jig, just like you didwith the test pieces. Make sure thepieces are against the stops and theclamps are tightened securely. Thenrout the dovetails.

At this point, you've routed the jointat the left front corner of the drawer(No.1). Next, rout the right rear cor-

Numberends ofjig to

correspond withcorners of drawer

a.q- VJ

14BACK 1 '" '"

~ "BolTOM3~

..

I Ii I' WOJJ.og "Itu~9

"' co .lJ<O}J,j- to

NOTE: Label drawerpieces on inside faces

Too Deep. Ifpins go deep,move template forward.Too Shallow. If not deepenough, move back.

Offset. If the pieces don'talign at top or bottom,they may not have beentight against stops.

aren't flush when you assemble the joint,the problem is either with the offset of thestop blocks (it should be 7/16,,) or the factthat the pieces weren't tight against thestops, see third photo.

OTHER PROBLEMS. Most other problemsare usually caused by the pieces not beingclamped down in the jig so they are flushacross the top, or because they move outof position as they're being routed.

middle photo below. To correct this,move the template forward (toward you)by turning the stop nuts on the studscounterclockwise. (Be sure to adjust thenuts on both ends of the jig.)

TOO SHALLOW. If the pins don't go farenough into the sockets, move thetemplate back (away from you) byturning the stop nuts clockwise.

OFFSET. If the top edges of the two pieces

Too Loose. If joint is tooloose, increase bit depth.Too Tight. If the joint istoo tight, decrease depth.

Setting up torout machine-cutdovetails isalways a trial anderror effort.There's usuallylots of fiddling

around with testpieces and adjusting of the

jig to get a perfect fit.TOO LOOSE. Ifthe joint is so loose that the

pieces wiggle around when they're puttogether, the depth ofcut is too shallow, seefirst photo. Increase the depth ofcut about%2" and try again.

TOO TIGHT. If a trial cut is so tight thatthe pieces can't be tapped together, therouter bit is extended out too far from therouter base. Decrease the depth of cutabout %2" and try again.

TOO DEEP. If the pins on the drawer sidesgo too far into the sockets on the drawer front, the sockets are too deep, see


SHOPPROJECT

{

WALL-MOUNTED

UTILITY SHELFThis simple storage shelf is great for a workshop, a garage, or any otherplace where you want to keep things liliiii close by - yet out of the way.

LIGHT. There's only one problemwith a wall shelf that's mounted overa work area. It tends to block the lightand create shadows. So to overcomethis, I added a low-profile fluorescentlight fixture to the bottom ofthe shelf,see photo below.

A A fluorescent light fixture mounted underneath the shelf will eliminate shadows andlight up your work area.

- ..~

~ ..

can be mounted on the wall over aworkbench, everything is still close athand. In fact, the open shelving designmakes it easy to grab whatever youneed, whenever you need it.

BIG DIFFERENCE. What's really niceabout this shelf is that it doesn't takemuch time or material tobuild, yet it makes a big difference in the appearanceand organization of yourshop. But a shop isn't theonly place it can be used.

After I built this shelf, Igot to thinking that it wouldbe handy in the garage or alaundry room. Any placewhere you need to addsome accessible storage,but don't want to spend awhole lot of time or money.

After a particularly long day a fewweeks ago, I decided to spend a

couple of hours relaxing in my shop.When I got to my workbench, however, I discovered that it was litteredwith tools and supplies - a not-sopleasant reminder of my last project.So instead of woodworking, I spentthe next hour clearing off my bench.

As I was cle3!1ing up, I realized thatwhat I needed was a place to putthings while I'm working on a project.Some place where things will be outof the way - but still within easyreach. That's where the idea for thisutilitywall shelf came from.

It's not designed to hold every toolyou own. But it's just the right size tokeep all the tools and hardware itemsyou use most often off your benchand up out of the way. And since it


back edge ofeach side to hold a backthat's added later, see Fig. 1. To dothis, simply bury a dado blade in anauxiliary fence that's attached to yourrip fence, see Fig. la.

ROUNDED CORNERS. Next, the front

SIDEA

~11"

B

SHELF I,II I

20%"

I 1 \I \

I

I~

\I

CASEEXPLODED VIEW

NOTE:Shelves andsides should allbe the samethickness

corners of each side are roundedoff, see detail 'a' in the ExplodedView. You can cut away the wastewith a sabre saw or band saw. Thenjust sand the edges smooth by handor with a disk or belt sander.

1Wradius

NOTE:Cut allshelves tothe same size

SIDEVIEW

a.

\

\

SIDE@I

I \,

i III

(

CaseTIlis storage shelf is reallymade up of three shelvessandwiched between twosides. The bottom shelfisdivided into four separatecompartments for holdingplastic storage bins or optionaldrawers. The middle shelf is splitinto two main sections, with a space inbetween for storing sandpaper.

MATERIAL. A word about the materials used to build this shelf. I usedlxl2 pine boards for my shelf. (Theseare commonly available at most homecenters or lumberyards.)

Ifyou go this route, just make sureto select boards that are all the samethickness, or else plane them lightlybefore you start building. This wayall the dadoes that will join the piecescan be cut the same width.

Another alternative is to build theshelf out ofplywood. Baltic Birch plywood would be a good choice sinceit's stable and doesn't have a lot ofvoids along the edges.

CUT PIECES TO SIZE. To build the shelf,start by cutting the main pieces tosize - the two sides (A) and thethree shelves (B). The dimensionsare shown in the Case Exploded View.

Shop Note: Since the shelves arefairly long, you might want to attacha long auxiliary fence to your mitergauge to help support the shelves asyou're trimming them to length.

RABBETS. After the pieces are cut tosize, you can set the shelves aside.There's still a little work to do on thesides. First, a rabbet is cut along the

CUTTING DIAGRAM

======B======[f[EEB

-A

1x12 - 8' #2 Common Pine

1x6 - 5' #2 Common PineAlso needed:One 4' x 8' sheetof14" hardboard

1x6 - 8' #2 Common Pine (need two for optional drawers)

l222222222222252ZZZ(ZZZZ22222)~

MATERIALS & SUPPLIESA Sides (2) % x 11 - 20%B Shelves (3) % x 10% - 52Y2C Large Dividers (2) % x 10% - 10%o Small Dividers (3) % x 10% - 4%E Upper & Lower Rails (2) % x 2% - 53%F Back (1) % hdbd. - 157/8 x 53%G Sandpaper Shelves (5) Y4 hdbd. - 9% x 10%H Drawer Fronts/Backs* (8) % x 41;16 - 127;'6I Drawer Sides* (8) % x 41;16 - 10%J Drawer Bottoms* (4) % hdbd. - 9% x 117;'6

*optional

• (12) #8 x 2" Fh Woodscrews • (59) 3d Finish Nails• (28) #8x 1Y2" Fh Woodserews • (4) 1"-dia. Knobs*

No.l25 Woodsmith 29

34" _tL-79"=FF"=:,"';\,'1~=f2"~;::i::::::::::=;:::n

t I '1014" \

3/U-----J.b~'~4%"

NOTE: All screwholes are centeredon width ofdadoes

%"

...----------------.... %"a.

CROSS SECTION

3h6" -dia. £shank hole

,127,/2"

~34,,7

NOTE:Screw holesare countersunkon oppositeside of dadoes

12%"

~

NOTE: Size width of dadoesto match thickness of shelves

and stock being used for dividers

I I

i0 II :

I I I,II

.. Using a pair ofguide fences, youcan rout perfectdadoes every time,see page 33 formoreinfo~tion.

Case CONTINUEDThe shelf is assembled with glue andscrews. But in the exploded viewdrawing above, you'll notice thatdadoes are cuton the sides to hold theshelves, and also on the shelves tohold the dividers that are added later.

So why use screws and dadoes?The reason is simple. The dadoeshelp align the pieces during assembly.But dado joints andglue alone aren'tstrong enough to hold the shelftogether. The screws provide theextra strength that's needed.

DADOES. Because all the dadoes inthis projectare the same size, it makessense to cut them all at the same time,even though you haven't made thedividers yet. This way, you only haveto set up your dado blade one time.

Since the dadoes are for alignment,they don't have to be very deep. Butyoul1 want to pay close attention to thewidth. In order to get a good fittingjoint, the width should match thethickness of your stock.

There's a couple of different waysto do this. If you have a dado blade,you can "fine-tune" the dado width byusing shims (with a stack dado set)or by "dialing" in the width (on a wobble-type dado). Or you can rout thedadoes with a straight bit and a simple jig. (For more on this technique,please refer to the article on page 33.)

Ifyou're using a table saw, you canuse the rip fence to position thedadoes. For the side pieces, this isjust a matter of setting the rip fence

and pushing the workpiece over thedado blade, see Fig. 2.

But for the shelves, I did things alittle bitdifferent. Because the shelvesare fairly long, Iadded a long auxiliaryfence to my miter gauge to supportthe workpieces, see Fig. 3. SafetyNote: It's okay to use the miter gaugeand rip fence together in this situation since you're not cutting all theway through the workpiece.

SCREW HOLES. Normally, I drill the pilotholes and add screws after assembly.Butbecause the interior spaces ofthecompartments are too small to get adrill into, I decided to predrill all thecountersunk screw holes on the drillpress before assembling the shelf,see drawing above and detail 'a.'


10W'

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: ! II

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, II, II I, I I

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t I 1\/1WI hardboard

to fit This back (F)is simply nailed in place with somesmall (3d) finish nails. Shop Note: Idrilled small pilot holes in the hardboard to make the nailing easier.

SECOND:Glue andscrew small dividers~between shelves t

DIVIDER 4%" ~I I, /EXPLODED f I 10314"VIEW Yy

FIRST:Glue andscrew large dividersbetween shelves

T-J,' I \ I

I / @Y101,12" I LARGE

DIVIDER

1 ,: ,:! \\~

NOTE:Glue and screwsides to ends of shelf

shelves, see Figs. 5a and 5c. Finally,the rails are glued and screwed inplace, see Fig. 5.

To make the back of the shelf, simply measure the opening between therails and the sides and cut a piece of

Dividers & BackOnce you've finished drilling all thoseholes, you can move on to makingthe dividers. There are two sizes ofdividers in the shelf. A pair of largedividers (C) separates the top andmiddle shelves. And three smalldividers (D) separate the middle andbottom shelves.

The small dividers are simply cutto size, see Divider Exploded View.But the large dividers contain aseries of %"-wide dadoes to holdsome hardboard shelves that areadded after the shelf is assembled.

When the dividers are finished,you're ready to begin assembly. Inorder to get at all the screw holes easily, it's important to follow a certainorder when assembling the shelf.

First, you apply glue in the dadoesof the upper and middle shelves andsandwich the large dividers inbetween. After screwing these piecestogether, you can add the smalldividers and the lower shelf. Then,sandwich the entire assemblybetween the two sides, again usingglue and screws, see Fig. 4.

CLEATS & BACK. At this point, the shelfis almost finished. All that remains isto add a back and a couple of rails tostrengthen the shelf and provide ameans for hanging it. I made theupper & lower rails (E) first Theseare just two narrow strips of woodthat have a tongue cut on each end tofit in the rabbets in the end pieces,see Figs. 5a and 5b. Then a rabbet iscut along one edge ofeach rail to allowthem to fit over the top and bottom

E

/: LOWER'; / RAIL

CROSSSECTION

a. END VIEW

-+~'2" \ ,I,

1 Ii;, ' ,~"I

%"~II__W'

c., :

®, I: \

NOTE:Drill pilotholes for3d finish nails

#8X1W'Fh woodscrew

TOP VIEW

b.

®BACK

('.4" hardboard,15¥S" x 53'14")


• The lower compartmentsof the shelf are sized to

hold plastic hardwarestorage bins_

Lightfixture

II ~

NOTE: \Attachlight

fixtureafter

hanging

Ishelf I

• I I

I I ! 1\ II , ' I \ 'II I I,J 'I I/. I I

I I

I~ !

to the ~~":shelf mount- ~-

ing screws on thelower rail, so it has tobe added after the shelf ismounted.) I chose a 48", low-profilefluorescent fixture, see drawing.

The nice thing about this fixture isthat it has a switch on one end. Soonce it's wired and screwed to thebottom of the shelf, all you have todo is plug it in, then flip the switch toturn it on and off. m

GSANDPAPER

SHELF(%"

hardboard) ~~

ly into the wall ~studs, which is impor- ~

tant since the shelf will be -"'",-holding quite a bit of weight. "'-.Shop Note: You may have to changethe spacing of the screws to suit thespacing of your wall studs.

BINS. The compartments betweenthe middle and lower shelves aresized to hold plastic storage bins, seephoto in margin. These bins are commonly available through mail ordersources and are great for hardware.But ifyou prefer, you can make drawers for the compartments instead. Seethe box belowfor more details on this.

LIGHT. Once the shelf is mounted tothe wall, you can add the light fixture.(The light fixture blocks your access

Sandpaper ShelvesThere's only one more thing to add tothe shelfbefore hanging it on the wall.To create flat storage compartments

for sandpaper or projectplans, I added some smallshelves between the twolarge dividers (C).

These compartmentsare kind of like the mailsorting bins thatyou usedto find in old hotel lobbies.The only difference is thatthe slots are horizontalrather than vertical. Andinstead of letters, theyhold sandpaper.

These sandpapershelves (G) are nothing

more than pieces of W' hardboardthat are cut to fit in the dadoes in thesides of the large dividers, see drawing at right. They simply slide intoplace. (I didn't glue the sandpapershelves into the dadoes just in case Iwanted to take them out later.)

MOUNTING. After wiping on a coupleofcoats ofan oil finish (I used GeneralFinishes' Arm-R-Seal) the shelf canbe mounted on the wall. The shelf isscrewed directly to the wall throughthe upper and lower rails. Threescrews are driven through each rail,each spaced 16'1 apart. This spacingallows you to drive the screws direct-

Bins are handy for storing hardware and otheritems, but becausethey're open, they collect a lot of dust.Replacing the bins withshop-made drawerssolves this problem.

Tbe drawer construction is straightfor

ward. The drawers are sized to fit the openings ofthe shelf, see drawing. Solid, %"-thick stock is usedfor the front, back, and sides of each drawer.

The ends of the drawer front and back are rabbeted to hold the sides, see detail 'a.' A groove nearthe bottom of each piece holds a %"-thick hardboard bottom, see detail 'b.' Glue and nails fastenthe sides to the front and back. Finally, a wood knobis added to the front of each drawer.

b. END VIEW

--t %"F~-®CD-:--~m-w-

I f.>lr


... With a router and a couple of shop-made guide fences, you can makeperfect-fitting custom dadoes every time.

ROUTING DADOESA table saw and a dado blade is usu

ally my first choice when it comes tomaking dadoes. But sometimes aworkpiece is too large or awkward tohandle on the table saw. In that case,it's best to clamp it to a bench androut the dadoes using a hand-heldrouter and straight bit

The secret is to use a pair of simpleguides to produce straight, accuratecuts, see photo. And a spacer blockensures a "custom fit" joint.

GUIDES. Each guide consists of twoparts: a hardboard base that acts asa routing platform and a wood fenceto guide the router, see Fig. 1.

Shop Note: If you plan on using-these guides for other projects, youmight want to make them longenough to rout across the width of afull sheet ofplywood (48" long). Also,it's best to start with an extra-widebase (6" in my case).

After gluing on the fence, the nextstep is to trim the base to final width.The idea here is to use the samerouter bit you plan to use when cutting the dadoes. (I used a WI straightbit) This creates two reference edgesthat establish the sides of the dado.One thing to be aware of is the bitmay not be perfectly centered in thebase of the router. So be sure that thesame side of the base is against the

fence when trimmingthe base pieces towidth. ShopTip: Makea mark on the routerbase and keep it incontact with the fenceat all times.

SETUP. Once theguides are complete,positioning them onthe workpiece onlytakes a minute. Startby laying out the location of one side of thedado. Then align thereference edge of oneof the guides alongthat mark and clampthe guide in place, see Fig. 2.

SPACER. To position the secondguide, there's no need to layout theother side of the dado. The spacertakes care of that (This is justa scrapthat matches the thickness of thepiece thatwill fit in the dado.) Set thespacer against the guide that'sclamped to the workpiece. Then buttthe second guide against the spacer.Now clamp this guide to the workpiece and remove the spacer.

ROUT DADO. At this point, you're readyto rout the dado. This is accomplishedby making a series of shallow, overlapping passes. (Since the dadoes for

the shop shelf are only lfs" deep, youcan set the router bit to cut the fulldepth of the dado in one pass.)

To define one side of the dado (andremove part of the waste material),turn on the router and run it alongthe fence of the first guide in thedirection shown in Fig. 3. Note: Don'tforget to orient the mark on the routerbase toward the fence.

After routing all the way across theworkpiece, turn the router so themark is oriented toward the fence onthe second guide and then repeat theprocess. This produces a tight-fittingdado joint every time. m

I NOTE: Run router along one guide,then back along opposite guide

TOPVIEW .--~~.L...IO(

Workbench

- _ FIRST: -_--.I-"_ Align reference

- edge ofguide ----with layout line--

----- Workpiece -

!ll"straight bit

Base

Fence(3J4" x 1" - 48")


READER'SJIG

""'~""~!i:.Eild.(,;d,!·'~1W"J

TABLE SAW EXTENSION WING

2W

from falling back when it's opened.And a finger hole drilled near the edgeof the lid makes it easier to open.

The extension wing is simply bolted to the rails and side of the tablesaw, see detail 'a.' Just check to makesure when installing the wing that it'sflush with the top of the saw. lit

Miter gauge

CROSS SECTION

BOTTOM(14" hard

board)

b.

DIVIDER

Counterborefor railhardware

NOTE: Allpieces (except 25Y2"bottom) are*" plywood

a.

Adding an extension wing to theside of a table saw is a great way

to increase the surface area of thetable for working with wide boardsor panels. But an idea sent in by BillPalmer, of Downers Grove, illinois,goes one step further. Bill's jig is a

table saw extension wing thatdoubles as a storage compartmentfor blades and other accessories, see margin photo.

Essentially, the extensionwing is nothing more than aplywood box with a hinged lid.With the lid closed, the box provides a wider table surface forripping or crosscutting. But lifting the lid up reveals a sizeable

storage area that is easily accessible.The inside of the extension wing

is divided into two separate compartments - a large, main compartment and a narrow, shallow compartment on the edge nearest the saw,see photo in margin.

This split-level construction allowsyou to build the main compartmentdeeperfor holding larger items, whileat the same time leaving enough clearance under the shallow compartmentto be able to reach the blade tiltwheelon the side of the saw.

CONSTRUCTION. The extension wingis made out of %"-thick plywood,except for the bottom which is WIhardboard. Start by cutting the twoends to size and then layout and cutthe curve on the lower corner ofeachpiece for the handwheel clearance,see Exploded View and detail 'b.'

Next, you can cut the dividers tosize. There are two large dividers forthe main compartment and a narrower divider that encloses the shallow compartment, see drawing.

Note: You may need to alter thelength ofthe dividers to suityour saw.

The large dividers and end piecesare grooved to hold a couple of %"hardboard bottoms. Then after

.. A chain fastenedto the inside of thebox prevents thelid from fallingback when youopen it.


SOURCESSimilar project

supplies andhardware maybe ordered from

the follow,ingcompames:

Van Dyke's Restorers800-558-1234

Chest-an-chest hardware,Reader's jig hardware

Lee Valley800-871-8158

Chest-an-chest hardware,Reader's jig hardware

Woodworker's Supply800-645-9292

Reader's jig hardware,Under-bed stomge hardwa"e

RockIer Woodworking800-279-4441

Chest-an-chest hardware,Under-bed sto1'Qlje hardwa1'e

Woodcraft800-225-1153

Under-bed stomge hardware

Ifyou're interested in theother pieces in the set,Woodsmith Project Supplies is currently offeringa special price on the fourissues with the plans for theother furniture. (Also, Ishould mention that issueNo. 58 has plans for thedovetail jig we used to buildthe drawers in this issue.)• Bedroom Set Back Issues703-040 $13.95

Note: Hardware kits forall the bedroom projects inthe set are still availablethrough Woodsmith ProjectSupplies. m

hardware except for theplastic turn buttons, andVan Dyke's Restorers hasall the items except thenylon guide strips.

A The chest-on-chest is just one piece in a cherry bedroom set we've built over the years. For more on building the other pieces, see "Bedroom Set" below.

MAILORDER

SOURCES

BEDROOM SETThe cherry chest-on-ehestin this issue is the latestpiece in a cherry bedroomset that we've been building for awhile now. The setalso includes the lingeriedresser (Issue No. 53), fourdrawer dresser (No. 58),night stand (No. 76), andclassic cherry bed (No.108), see photo above.

CHEST-ON-CHESTThe most visible hardwarefor the cherry chest-onchest on page 6 are the 3"brass bail pulls with porcelain rosettes. But there arealso a number of otheritems needed as well: nylonglide tape, plastic turn buttons, threaded inserts, andof course, woodscrews.

A complete hardware kitfor the chest-on-chest isavailable through Woodsmith Project Supplies.• Chest-on-ehest Kit7125-100 $79.95

Note: Although the chestcan be built in two separatesections, the kit is only available with supplies to buildthe entire chest.

If you wish to buy thehardware separately, theitems are available from thesources listed at right.However, I should note thatLee Valley has all of the

length of chain also isneeded, and both of thesepieces should be easy toiind locally or through several of the sources at right.

READER'S JIGlike the under-bed storage,you'll want to get a pianohinge to build the reader'sjig on page 34. A short

UNDER-BED STORAGEOther than a handful of~screws, the only hardwarepieces you may have toorder to build the underbed storage box are a 30"long piano hinge and%"-thick plastic wheels.Both of these pieces arereadily available throughseveral of the mail ordersources at right.

Note: Piano hinges comein standard lengths (up to72"). I bought a 36"-longhinge and cut it down to 30"with a hacksaw.

Woodsmith Project Supplies is currently offeringhardware kits for one of theprojects in this issue.Similar supplies, as well assupplies for the other projects featured, are also available at local woodworkingstores or the mail ordersources at right.

New Onhne Customer ServiceClick on Subscriber Services at

www.wooc/smith.com• Access your account slatus• Find out if your payment has been received• Change your moiling or e-mail address• Tell us if you've missed on issue

• Over 100 Woodworking Tips Online

• Project Plans You Can Download

• Catalog of Project Kits, Tools, Jigs & Plans

• Forums for Woodworking, Tools & Classifieds

• Links to Other Woodworking Sites

• Woodsmith/ShopNotes Back Issue Index

• Visit our other August Home Publishing Sites

www.woodsmith.com1-800-444-7527

When ordering, please use Key W125

Note: Prices subject to change after December 1999.

To order hardware kits from Woodsmith ProjectSupplies, please use ourToll Free order line, see below.It's open Monday through Friday, from 8AM to 5 PMCentral Time. Before calling, please have your VISA,MasterCard, or Discover Card ready.

If you would like to mail in your order, call thenumber below for more information concerning shipping charges as well as any applicable sales tax.


A LASTLOOK

FINAL DETAILSChest-on-Chest. ~

This tall project is simplytwo shorter chests stacked

on each other like largeblocks. Both feature the

same woodworkingtechniques with frame

and panel constructionand raised panel drawers.Step-by-step instructions

begin on page 6.

Wall-Mounted Shelf. ~This shelf takes less than

a full day to build, andits open "cubbies" and

extra lighting will makeworking at your be_nch

more convenient andenjoyable. Turn to

page 28 for easy-tofollow directions.

.. Under-Bed Storage. Like adrawer on wheels, this quickproject will put the space beneathyour bed to good use. Detailedplans begin on page 20.

Woodsmith 125 - Oct 1999

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Transcript of Woodsmith 125 - Oct 1999