Woodsmith - 040

NO. 40

NOTES FROM THE SHOP

$2.50

Sawdust Number 40

July/August, Editor Donald B. Peschke

Deslgn Director Ted KrallC
Art lil1rectOl Kay Mulder

Technical lliustrators David Kreyllng Mike Henry

Subscription Maneger Sandy J. Saum Subseiiption Assistants Chrls1el Miner Vlcii:y Robln.$on

1985

Sllt\.ttP.·Acouple of weeks ago I was helping • friend, set up and sharpen a brand new jack plane. As he took it out of the box for the firs~ time. He was a little surprised when I looked at it and said. "Boy. this is going to take a 10& of work." "rt's brand new,' he argued, "why should it need a lot of work?' The problem is tha. we usually think of "11e\v'! meaning l"hai iioJ;nething is in the best condition possible. Bverything n-om there on jus.t wears it OUI. Rut with ,vOC)(iworkingtools (espeeially hand tools). just the opposite is tl,,~.A new tool usually needs a lot of work .'pecially,ifit's one that has (or'is supposed to have) a sharp edge. Plane irons, chisels, and carving tools all need to be sharpened when theY"'e new. And this (ask continues as~ long as the ,tool is used. Oka)', ')~\femade

Inj'

case for l:lha'i·J>enin.g

It's messy, and the ends of your fingers turn a lot of different colors, but mixing your own stain is an interesting process. The article st .. ting on page 19 gives an overview of the different t.~pesof stains available. Then in Talking Shop (page 23) of this issue, we give a formula for making your own home brew, It opens a lot of posslbilities for coloring wood, TIllS article continues our series on finishing, \Ve're already at work On the upcoming articles on top coats. varnish, shellac, and urethane. 1"MUOUns. While I'm on the subject of discovering new ways to dOi!!&,things, I found iI new use for a tambour. Although the typical application IS to use it as a Sliding lid (as on a 1"Oll-topde~k)_ it does have at least one other intereating application . I used a tambour to form" cylinder to buJld the umbrella stand and planter stand shown in this issue. (See pages 6,"nd 10.) (By the way, in ease you!>'e wondering about the word "bambershoot" in the subtitle on page 6, it's English slang foJ' umbrella.) SOURCEBOOK.Last year in Septembe~ we sent out the fll'St edition of the lVood· 8'liritlt SOllTcel>Qok. The response to that first. effort \VASoverwhebning' - -mcre orders were placed than we (or the advertisers) thought possible. Which indicates one thing: the SOl,,,,e~k proved to be a use!ul guide to ~he information that's availilble on woodworking catalogs, tools, and supplies. Tbis year; we're doing an encore with the SOl,,'Cebook. I twill be mailed out the end of August so you should receive il by the middle of September, For those ofyou'Yho have subscribed to 1V00dsmitlt recently, the Sou)'cebook may ceme as a surprise. Almosteveryone likes the fact thab the pages of lVoodsmilh aren't cluttered with a lot of ads . On the other hand, many of our subscribers miss some of the information that advertising provides. So, we initiated the iVootL.mit/. Sourcebook to PI'Ovidea single source [0)' ordering catalogs and product

- albeit not. very centroversial one, es· p$2.50 cI'isp shavings; it's a thrill, to see the long (Ganada and Fotelgn: add $2 per ye~r.) •ibbon of shavings that emerges fl"Oma Change Of Address: Please be sure (0 Include well-she rpened ['orstnel' bit. In fact, it's both your oJd and new address, betl6.,. than ,nC.\\T. Second class postage paid at Oes Moines_, S'mf"S. Ft's obvious that I can got excited Iowa. about sharpening. But the. subject of anPo:stmaster: Send change of address notice. other article in this issue - working ,\,itb Form3579, to Woodsmltl1 pubnshlng Co•. 2200 stains - is one 11"0 never been too inter- dnformatlon. Grand Ave .• Des Moines. towa 50312. ested in. Inside this year's SOl<1'CeixIokyou'll find. Pari of it is that I like natural wood. descriptions of 43 woodworking cat;Jlogs BACK ISSUES Stain always seems artifieia]. But the and products. Yet, the lll'gos oflVooo$l>litit All bact issues Qf Woodwith are still avaIlable. other pal.. is ~hat J never knew what to do magazine stay just the way everyone likes Send 'or a tree booklet describing_ the COnl91'!1S with a stain if I didn'. like the particular them - advertjsing free. and price$ 01 all back issue s, tone 01'color. T~e big questlon forme waS: r hope you lind th~ S.l<",elxx>k helpful in liow do I get the colo,·'l wallt? providing the information you need to buy SAMeLE CaPlES It turns out that the ans\Vel' is not much shop tools and supplies. If you have a 'riend who would like to soo a copy different that the answer for how to J:(IlX'I'l'Atl-'''C. The september/October of Woodsmlth, just send Ihe name and address. shai
0".~.

2

WOODSMITH

Tips & Techniques --------------------------screws twisted rather than tightened as 1

NO-CLAMPS FEATHERBOARD

turned the wing nuts. I solved this by

Fumbling with clamps to f.. ten a feather-

cutting lh~slot in the top or each screw a

boanl to a saw table always seemed like a lot of trouble to make one CUL Recently I built this no-clamps featherboard to solve the problem. It'. an ordinary featherboard with" thin guide bar (Mten.d to lhe bol-

CLEANING UP NOTCHES

tom that mounts in the cnblo SJl\\f'S miter gauge slot. Ibegan by making n (eatherboard oulof 614 stock. Overall. mine L. 5" wide by 18" long and has a 45· cut on the feathered end. The indi"idual barbs o(the feather are"",; wide by 3" long. After the "feather" end is cut, rout two V,'·"ide by 6'-longa
Since I dOJ1'town a bandsaw, I used nly sabre Kl'\" to cut out the notches In the top and bottom pieces when I wns building the English Wall Lantern (Wood.mit/, No, 36). But I wasn't able to get an even, smooth edge. The router table solved the problem. AfWr making ~"-wide. full-depth end cuts on the ",ble saw. mark a c"t-
V,.

little deeper and then gluing

11

r.nit;hing

nnil into the slot with epoxy,

ness so it fits precisely in the miter gauge slot of your table saw, Make it at least as long as the entire table (or no'" - later it's cut to 12"'.

ofsemp fUl n stop that'sjuat thiek enough lO wedge in the groove. \\'endtll ;\,Idenwll Ho'n~lrood, Illinoi.s

Ro~rl K. Graul ,111011,1I1;'lOi$ MITERtNG SMALL STOCK

USllfHCf

TOaUIOf

WOIltQ'ttct IN Slu.JGHT lIHE

a.f1W1(N N01CH($

I've made a number of l)roj<'ClS that require 'I." quarter ..-round moldings as glass stops. These usually require a precise miter, it's difficult to hold the, smnll moldings tight ancl in the correct position on a

tnblc saw 01" traditional miter box, ~l)' solution was to make a miniature GUIDIaAa/'

miter box. The work surface is u piece of 44 .tock with a V.·-\\;de x l(.·.decp groove cut down the center to hold the molding. ('The.., measurements could be altered to fit the piece to be mitered).

Afiercuttingtheguide bo,' to fit the slot, CIIlI11J)the bar to the bottom orthe featherboard. Line it up parallel with the feathered end (that is, at a 46· angle to the edge)

or

the bit the same as the depth the table sawn notches. This should be just deep enough to clean off the 1',... and stl'llighten up the uneven edges.

Tb« Dmi)l. Woodland. ",<,./tillglon

and over the adjustment slots. Using the slots as a gauge, mark their locations on the guide bar with an awl.

Editor'« Not«: we lrird str: Drain'$. ~"tthod RJtd it lcori;8jiJre. But ~I"t'dlike to add a CQI'plt C(llltio'~3:Be not to

Unclamp and drill a ~"-dia. countersink nnd 11."-dia, hole centered on the guide bar

$(lICll

at each marked location. Afier the two holes nro drilled,

CUL

table so it's width is centered right over the blade. Then$lowly ralse the blade until there's an 8" long slot, Finally, the bar can be cut to 12" long. A•• emble the fe_therboard with a couple 2".long, y."-(Ii a. nllthcad machine 8CrC\"s. washers, and ,vlng nuts, llighten~ lnA'the \\ring nuts enU$CS the sca'e\vs to slide up into the countersink, As they slide up. the 1>," slot is opened and th" bar to hold it """"""Iy in the mller jr.Iug" slot. One problem I discovered was that the

\VOODSMITH

"ofella

80 U8 to gouge III(! C(lrttl'r$.

OWeOJTOM

(Stop blork. could be olUlcllcd 10 Iii. [en•• to p)'eu<,,!lI,ig), A,1d lUil" tlu: E"gli." "'.11

JIO IN VISE

Lantern,

SCREW BlOCK

a

v.."-stopped slot (kerf) centered on the hole•• 11the way through the guide bar. To do this. clamp the piece down to the saw

$P'".'''

co."/,,'

siort o>ld,lop 'h_ cuI 100far into tilt tobl.

to HOLO

To cut the 45" k",-r in the work surface, fi1'8Llayit out with a pencil, Then clamp a temporary guide board to the line and cut with a baeksaw along the board until there's a ~"-deep kerfin the work surface. No.t Oip the piece over and drill a II""-dia. finger hole centered on the groove nnd about S" from Iho kerf. 1'h" hole Jnttkc~ il cnsie1' to hold all(1 _'01l10ve the \I/Ql'kl)iccc and helps elenl' OUl8a\\f(lust bel ween Ctlts.

Then screw a block to Lhe bottom of the jig toclamp it in a \ise. F·in.,lIjr', ('Ut a pi~

th6 cut is bei'llg ~'Olttcdill fJ'Ild

orallt. Be 8"'·" 10 /wld 01l ttcCI'J'fly (1M a router bit ttray ··gra/)"the end 0,,1;11-

1-

-1

SIND IN YOUR IDEAS

1----------------1 Ifyou'd 1,1<810oh8l8 a ~

lip Wllh 01llef

readers of Woodsmilh. send YOU! Idaa to: Woodsmlth, Tips 8< Tocnnl
pI"".3

Sha~ening: Forstner Bits HOW TO GET A SHARP EDGE ON A BORING BIT f crstnerbits Can do IhillgS no other bit can do. Fur-example. if you want t~drlll a hole at an angte (even a very steep angle), a Forstner bit will do the job. U )'ou want to drill overlapping holes (for roughing.ouLa mortise, for example), a Fors mer bit is the one to choose. Or. if you need to drill. nat-bottomed hole, or if you nave to drill into end grain 01' wild grain ... you guessed it. The reason Forstner biM can accoltlillish these tasks when other bits can't is because the rim, rather thn)\ the center point, guides the bit through the wood. Although there is a small center point in the culting head, it's used only to position the bit at the starting location. It playS no role in guiding the bit through the wood. The rim scores the circumference of the hole being drilled. Then. while the rim is holding ehe bit in position, two chisel-like lifters (radiating from the center of the bill pare away the wood " vith a pJanit'lg action.

C,ENTER POINT Unfit BfVEl

A HEAT-SENSITIVE BIT But with all it's abilities, Forstner bits are not without problems. The most serious is it. tendency to overheat. Fo rs tner bits were developed for use in a bit brace (hand brace) •• nd not intended for the speed of. motor-driven driD pres •. Since the entire rim of the bit is in full contact with the wall of the hole, Forstner L. bits must be run at slow speeds (less than If the bit is sharpened, it will slice 400 rpm) or they will overheat. tfirough the wood with very little resisIf the bit is run too fast, a t.remendous tance (which reduces heat build-up). And amount of beat will be built up 8S the rim instead of clog~ng, it will actually produce rubs against the circumference of the hole. long ribbons of shavings, see photo. 'Phis heat can draw "the temper from the TOOLS NHDED FOR SHARPENING steel very quickly. (If the steel tW1lS blue, the temper is drawn.) However; a11 it takes is one look at the Once the temper is (l1'3}\'I1, the rlm will business end of • Forstner bit to real;:'.e be too scft, to hold n sharp cUlting edge. that there's )10 '''3)' to sharpen it. The rim Then it's usuaDy forced into the wood. or can only be reached from the. inside, and the speed is increased to II(al.·-e it cut, which the lift ers are.impossible 10·get to. Okay, it.~sno secret that sharpening' a just ruins the bit. Another problem with Forstner bils is Forstner bit is trickier than sharpening that they're very 1'00" ~t ejecting wood other edged tools. But it can be done. And chips, especially when they're not sharp. with the hell>of a few tricks and the .ight 'I'he eJection throats tend to clog and then equipment, it's really pretty ensy. J use it's difficult to feed the bit into the wood, two small e01·ve slip stones (medium and when this happens. t6e most common fine), and a simple jig to hold the bit. solution is to "jog" the bit - drill. Iitlle, SI.I~STON~. The slips I use are made for lift up, dlill a tittle more, lift up. If the sharpening carving tools: a small (o/~'x e.logging is really bad. you bave to stop bhe 2V<") medium-grit India and a hard A,·drill press and use an awl or ~malJ nail to kansas make a nice combination 1.'01'sbarpclear the ejec~ion throats. ening Forstner bits. (See Sources, page But, there's a better solution, Forstner 24.) rho India is used in lheinitial stagesto pits clog for one reason: they're not sharp. rough down the edge, and then the hard In facti even a brand new bit isn't as-sharp Arkansas is used to 'hone th~ edge. A.ltJtough rve used the Indiah\l'kansas as it should be.

.,M

'-S

4

stones for years/ I've recently switched 10a pair of Japanese water slip stones in 1000 and 4000 grit, These stones measure 2' x 4". (See Sources, page

24.) Because they're larger than the India/Arkansas stones, feeling for the o.oigil'lal ..J bevel is more difficult. But I find my •• lf putting up with this incon-

venience because the J apanose stones cut faster and produce a better edge. BOLDINGnc. '!b help bold the F9rstnel'

bit at the proper angle when using the stones, I use a simple holding jig. This jig isn't. fancy, it's just a piece of scrap with a hole the iSi?.eof the bit shank, see ,Flig. I. Shop Note: Cut a kerf through the hole so when the jig ts placed. ill a vise, the amount of pressure on the bit can be adjusted by loosening or tightening the vise. This will allow the bit to spin free or be held securely ill the hole. SHARPENING THE LInERS Once the sharpening

equipment

is col-

leeted, I start working' on Ihe lifters. SHARP};N LIf'TER U,\CK. The back of the li.fter has to be Oat and smooth before t.he bevel can be sharpened. The first step in flattening the back requires getting Ihe bit into position so the back of the lifter can b. .reached comfortably, see Fig. I. I find that-securing the jig in a vise so the bi~ is parallel to the Door and pOinting to the left feels comfortable. Tllis puts the back of the lifter in line \,·ith my arm for a

WOODSMITIf

,

na(ur&!b"'k-and-forth sharpening motion, Onee the throat is lined up comfortably,

6tart ,,,'ith the medium-grit stone to .mooth the back. Rock the stone on the back of the lifter until it ",51<> fiat. Then ~(roko back and forth. see F'ig. 2. '[1,. key il' to be consistent in the stroking motion.

R£1I0\,"E rue II1R6 F.I)G':. As the lifter bevel is honed, a wire edge i. raised on the back (nat) side. To remove the wire edge, position the jig and bit as the)' were when flattening the back, SeC Fig. I. Then very lightly rub the fine hlminl!'stone across the back to hone off tho wire .'Ige.

Keel) ~toning until the backs of both liftol'lIlook smooth and nat. Then switch to a fine honing stone and go through the

$tone on the in-side bevel of the rim. ~ Fig. 5. To $CCL a eonsistenr honing angle. slide the end of the stone in so it rests 011 the bit's center point. Now it's just a matter of holding the stone .tcudy and rotating the bit so the entire edgo of the rim rubs against tho edge of the slip atone. Justspin the bit with your- nng ers. When the i.. ide of the rim is uniformly smooth. repeat the process on the opposite rim. Then swileh 10 the fine stone to hone both rims smooth. Rt;~'O\8 "'IRE EOCE. The last step is to remove the wire edge from the outer surface of the rim. This takes just a second. Hold the faee of the stone flush against the .ide of the bit and rotate the bit against the

SHARPEN THE RIM

The next step is sh,lI-penlng(he lim s, Ifthe bit is in really bad _hOI><.', or h.. sloppy snARI'f." LIl"T&R sevecs. When both grinding from the factory. the inside conlifter backs are fiat and mirror smoetb, the tour of the rim has (0 be shaped before it Ufter bevel. can be sharpened. At lil'$t. it can be sharpened. Thi. requires a rather nul)' look like this part of the lifter is imunorthedox technique. po!'l;ible to ~t to. But there's. ~m.1Icleat'I scrape the edge "ith the sharpened anee noleh in the rim right next to the edge of a triangular liIe. 1'0 do this, lightly lifter. This notch allows enough clearance grind the three sides at the tip oflhe file to for the stone 14 rest fiat on the lifter bevel. make three sharp cutting (.'(lgC8. BCC3l1se To sharpen t.he lifter bevel, I begin by the file steel is con.idc,·.bl~' harder than clarnl)ing thcjig in the vise so (he bit i. hold the Forstner bit, this tool will actually almost upright, see t'ig. 3. Then place (he shave the metal. medium-grit slip stone on the bevel and Now hold the bit in one hand and use a foci for the original angle. sharp comer of the me to make several \Vben you lind the angle, rub the stone smooth strokes .lonlC the entire rim. see back and forth. (Although it look$ like Fig. 4_ It.'s easier than it sounds to carve ~'ou11ron into the rim as the slip stone i~ the inside be'-el to • ~mooth shape. streked, the angle of the lifter i$ ouch that sro~1"GnlF.RIM.The technique I use to the stone i. actually guided up and away sharpen the rim is to rotate the bit against from (he rim, see Fig. 3.) the rounded edge of the slip stone, Put the After one lifter is stoned. rotate the bit bit in the jig. and clump the jig in a vise so and stene the opposite lifter. Then repent it's roughly at. 46" angle. Make sure .he the I,roce$. with the fine stone to hone (h. bit is fI'ee to plvot. !il'lers to • sharp edge. Now plaee the l'(fund edgo of the slip

same procedure.

k~

'f-1L

c_1'I •-

I"

',-- -

J'Y ,,,,

(

(he rim. (lrthe cutting edge is beveled in. it will eut 8 circumference smaller than (he rest of the rim - so the bit won't feed.) T>;;,'TTilt £00.:. Once the bit is sharp. the final te-t takes place on the driU pre.,,_ Set it for lh e s lowest speed possible and find • piece of scrap to bore a test hole. The bit should slice a bole smootbly without clogging. If it's really sharp, (he bit will cut. a conttnuous strip of sha"ings - even in maple AS shown in the photo. Now, holl' could anyone call thal boring?

~'(~.~/)~~:f ~ ::... V " .'/../

lACK

~- ?-.

\I---~ I-

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

er eate a negative bevel on the outside of

"'~TUITlEa SlON.lACK flAT ON

OM

-,

stone, see t'llI. G. Milke sure the stone is fiat on the "in>of

HOIOING"0

J. \.. \\

___

Platten tlte Iif/ol·/tack by .'tl'ONng SIIIU1,"11 Iii_ lijler be.el by strokillg 2 3 lite ston« ttlllilf ,,'ail(ioi,!ing tIle orig· sUmeflat against th. surface. tinue till all tool marks oro g"" e, Ihe" jnai be,·rl. Clrol'
COIt-

hone to fr,irror jin;4h '''ill'fil~ 8tOrl~. I-ClHTU POI...

u'1'thoulePldallgrriug ri))l edge.

,

. / '
.... StOHl (.

r.t..........~~~_\ ) , :,: INSIOE tlEVES.

~

,.~

(C_.,;I !tOTAl' '"

I\

)'

/

~

{I

,

i)lside oj' nvr U..-ilil Bha~n.td Sharpen i•• idt 0/ nlll by rotati,lUthe tht wi" edge mised w/ltn 4 SIrat'e f>ld 01lriallgular file to uniform an- 5 bil (held 1008
gl<. Rotat. lilt and bit in opp
edgo of the .1011e. U.. pi.'OtllJe bil 0>1 the .'fd

In, cellltrpOint to lrueo!llJt rim lighUyagainst the.tone. 8. of th•• Ion•. Cd"'I,,1 not 10 lu",e a negal;'.. bl't..I_

5

Umbrella Stand strips.) Then cut the veneer to width to equal the combined width of the .trips (2(1 times lW' equals 25") pIll.';2" Cor trim. or 3 total oC ZT'. The startinl! edge sbould be trimmed to a right angle before applyinl! the conUlcl cement, To trim the edge. butt the lon~ edge oCthe veneer against tbe bottomedl!e ofthelayoulframc. Piace a Cr..minp:,;quare on the right edge and trim with • knife. APPL1' CO!\L\CT C£~lt:'I.\Vhen the "eaeer ~ square, cont8Cl cement can be applied to the veneer back and the backl<01 the strips. Apply two even coat. of conwcl cement. As the cement is brushed on lhe strips be careful it doesn't run down on the edges of the strips. (You don't want the edges to stick together when the cylinder

The column of thls umbrella stand i. an adaptation of the tambour ,,>\;OUSprojects. Iused C8n\'~ for the backmg. However, since the inner ~urra,* is ,wble on the umbrella stand, I decided to use flexible veneer (see Source- PII. 24) rather than can\'8b for the b.'w::king. THE STRIPS

1 started by CUtting the slrips needed to make the column. You need only 20 strips. but 1 made a fe,\! extra. jU~l in case. To make the strips, start with 12 pieces of ·1/4 stock Ilh" "ide b.)' 24" long. Then resaw (rip on edge) these pieces into strips ¥o,," thick. see Fig. I.

is formed.)

RESA\\'lSGTIJE STRII'S. When resu\\'ing

the strips, Leenteredthe blade Ilreei,ely so

I could cut two strips in one pass, see I-'ig. I.(Depending on the thickness of'the stock YOUstart 'lith, the strips Ina~'tun) out thicker than 0/.... That'. okay.) Shop Note: 1\) resaw the strip" aceurately (and safely) usc II fenth er boa'11 to hold the strip fi"mly against the felice. (Sec page 3 for. lip on making this fe..therboard.) MOI1NI),.,,.: f:D(lf:S. Aner nil the .trips

have beenresawn to thickness, cut them to final length of2Z¥.'. Then the outer edges are rounded QVe]' with u V,"I'oun(l·ovcr bil on the router table, sec Fig. 2. Shop Note: The strips lire "" thin that the pilot won't guide the bit. instead. UHO the fenee to control the width of the cut, see Cross Section ill Fig. 2. MAKE THE TAMBOUR

After all the $trips have been rounded. they can be glued to the veneer. However, keeping everything lined up and absolutely square t. eritical, 1 used • layout AGUUl

f''lIlne to keep 1.\VOlJT PRA''':. The frame is just two Oll'1lightboards clamped or tacked at right. angles to one another on a work surfnee, sec Fig. 3. It'.critical that the co", er b. exactly 90', so recheck before the boa"l. ar(; elamped down. C"l'1' VP..s£ER.Now the veneer can be cut to .i,.., using a knife and straight edge. t·i ...t cut it to length to equal the length of the strips (22¥."). (Note: The grain on the veneer runs the same direction as the

---

ASS~MBLY. Now the strips can be assembled to the ven ee ,·. Begin the assembly process by putting lhe veneer race down in the. corner of the assembly frame, (I [)lIt" couple of small pieces oC double-faced tape on the bble BUI'Caee to keep the veneer from shining.) Al'I'LYING rns S1'lt}llS, No"'. a»I)ly the first !!llip by butting the end of the .trip against the bottom edge of the assembly frame and "tipping" the st"ip down onto the veneer, As it's towered, make SU)'C the right edge of the strip rubs .gail'~l the right frame pieee. This will ensure the first strip is square just before it cont.'ct$ the veneer,

When the strip

contacts

the veneer,

press it firmly in 1'18" and pound it down with a block of wood and hammer for good adhesion on the entire surface. Apply each sue ee ssive strip like lhe first, rnakingsure the end is butted tightly against the bottom edge of the o...,,,,,mb[y frame. and the right side oC the strip i. tight against the previous strip.

uSt: lUSH STlCIt

12'.~ lOHO

....,

USEKHCI FfAlHER SOAi!O

."

StADt

A\JXIUA~ FINer

STRtP fACE·SIOt DOWN

flAJHlI IOARO

",.1 I

(

ROUlER tAO"

1/,,· ItOUN~Ovt.

III

WOODSMITII

-

----

After several ~trip$ are positioned, cheek for square, see Fig. 4. COlltinuC'to,

flGUR! 3

check periodically lind if the stril).< are getting out of line, increase the "plleing ever so slightly. The key is to make .ure the u.sl strip i~ parallel with the Ii"'l. (These t\\'O will meet when the cylincl(!r i~

formed.) "'-1£ CI..UB ." ..\1'. Whc.rt 20 strip" nrc in place, there should b. an ext ... flap of veneer lofl, "Vel' 'rhi. tJap is trimmed to form a glue flap, Remove lhe tambour from the layout frame and place one of the extra .trips (t.hal doesn't have contact cement on it) tight against the I.. t strip, see Fig. 5. Wit.h R sharp knife. trim ofTthe excess veneer

'21" •• stCllI:£ V(NUI fO WOII SUlM(:£ WIT11oouatE.S1DtO tAPE

fUXlIIf

VEHEEll

lea\'ing a glue OSI>that's-exactly nit wide as

.......

, G II 5

one strip (lY.r). RABBI;:1TI:grooves in the top and bottom rinll" of the umbretla stand, see Detail in I"il(. 6. The flex of the tambour presents a llute problem so it helps 10use a featherbonrd to hold the ends down tight against the table. Also. use. dado blade to cut the rabbet in one pass. see rig. 6.

US! 'RAMING SQUAll' to CHIC'; fOil: 5QUA.fN(S$

....

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

both ends. sand the tambour and it's ready for final assembly into a cylinder.

OS( DTiA ST""

NOlE: LAsr STRIPMUS' or

FORM THE CYLINDER

'AtlAlLEl Wlr~ 'IRSt STRI,

AS WIDTH GAUGI

,Olt ClJrflNG S"-I'

'1'0 form the tambenr into a cylinder, the glue flap is Iastened to the back (veneer side) of the tambour. refer to Fill'. 8. The glue ilap already has contact cement on it. so JUSt the veneer side on the cpposite end bas to be ccsted. To do this, murk the width of the glue nap on the back (veneer side) of the tambour. Then apply masking tape to the edge of this line. and apply contact cement to this area, see Fig. 7. When the cement is d,y. the masking tape can be removed. and the tambour is ready for assembly. ASS£>UlU·. To form the cylinder, lay the tambour down with the glue flap to tho fal' side, Then "011the tambour into" cylinder, ooing careful to bend the glue nap toward the inside of the cylinder. see Fig. 8. Butt the edltes ofthe fit'St and last strips tightly to8"ther. making certain the cnd. line up properl)'. Be very careful not to let the glue nap down until the edges lire alignecl. (It helps to have someone else hold the edge. tightly togethel:) When the edge. are aligned. pres.< the glue tJapagainst the contact cement on the veneer surface to form the cylinder. )IEASt'R& THE OIAMET£R. In order lO make the top and bottom rings to complete the umbrella stand, you have to know the "ough inside diameter of the cylinder. Place a basketball in one end of the cylin. del' to force it into a circle. Then you can measure the rough diameter, \VOODS~UTH

VIN.I.

T

StOE UP

w.o'" O. $fIll'

\ IOU.......,.,.

mUll'

TOP VIEW

INTO«UHorl

MEASUREINSIOf

DlAMfT11t

USE LAItOI IAU.

ot

MllONGBOWl TO S'.fAD

,,

T~1I0U. INTO DUE CYUNDI.

HOLD ,lAP UNnL EDGESOf nasr ) ANO lAST STllPS AilE aunto TOOITHU

7

.'1)1

2

USE ••

t'''>.,

SIOCJC ffGURE 11

US( YlUOW GWf TO .M)CHrtECU

StA.Jn &YGlUING MI.'

uS( WAXlO''''liON RAI' SUR'ACI ",OlD rOOITH(1\ FOR AIOUT ONE MlNUfl

2 HOlD HA" H(XAGON

_-

3 StiAVE ENDS to "fftUl'" JOINT liNtS

ttE 12

-HEXAGON

Once the tambour cylinder i. complete. the lop and bottom lings can be made. There are actually four lings (two for tho top and two for the bottom), refer to fig. 21. Each of thesse lings starts out as a hexagonal (six-sided) frame. lUTERTII&S1'OCK.To make the segments for the four hexagon.'. start with 2-1 pieces of 4;4 ffi') stock :r wide by 71',- long. see Fig. 10. Then cut a 60' miter on both end. .feach piece so the final lenjtth (from point to point) is T. To do this. first miter 0"" end of all 2-1 pieces to a rough length of 7'1.- ue the point of the miter). see Step 1 in Fig. 10. Then reverse the miter gauge in the .Iot to miter the other end. see Stop 2. (Thi. way YOludon't have to change the setting on the miter gauge.) Use a mitered stop block to hold the mitered end of each block in 1,I3cot<>cull he second miter SO the point-tc-point lenjtth

is 7",

TIGHT AGAlNST FENCE

-e-.--~

ft

MAKE THE RINGS

nAME

MAKE IlAL'··IIEXAGONS. Aft..r nil the blocks are cut, they're glued togothel' to form hexagons, The secrei to makinjr hexagons with tjght-fit.tillg joints is lo make half-hexagons first. Start by gluing pairs o(hexagon .ection~ together. Place 8 piece Or,~!lts.ccll)apcr on II nat work surface and hold lhe pail' down nat on the work surface while pl",~ging tho ends tightly together fOI'about 1I minute (hand pressure if; enough). see .'ig, II. Glue up eight pair" like this. and thon add 1I thiJ-d section to each pail' to fOI'11la half-

hexagon.

TRUETOE EIlG~S. When the giu~ i.dry. true the edges on lhe table saw. 'lb do this. mount the hau-bexagon to 3 pleee of plywood (screwing from the bottom side) and 'IOUR

shave the ends to form a $traight line, see Detail in Fig. 11. Th.n glue the oppo.inl!

1$

ADJUST CUTTING

half-hexagons togetber.

IAblUS INWAID UNlit CYUNDflt ,rrs INTO CIOOVE

MAKE ROUTING JIGS

LAYnlAlGHt fOGt ACaOSS JOINT lmlS CYUNOU MUST "f ~UGt.yINlOTtST GItOOVI

lOUT COUNlft OOC«WlS<

After the four hexagon. are formed, thev're routed into eirel es. To do thi s, meum each hexagon to a plywood 1>0.se. (I mounted each hexagon to ill! own base so I could make duplicate CUi' withou; having to reset the router each ume.) F,\SfE" TlIE I.&XACO~.Fasten the hexagons to the plywood bas •• with three ..,.,..W5. drilling &om the underside of the base. Locate the sere ws I~,from the out.ide edge so the points won't project into the bit's path, see Fig. 13. ~lAf(KTIlE Ce"TER.

AL-.o.

mount a piece

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

.-

... ROUTt THROUGH 'lYWOOO

8

TO fOl.M 10TTO#o\

mel point.attachmem, see Fig. 12. Then to locate the centerpoint for the trammel, lay a straight edge across Ihe joint lines and draw three intersecting lines on the bloek. see Fig. 14. Drill a hole 8tthi. point the trammel point.

f.,·

WOOOSMITH

~lQNEDVtEW

ROUT GROOVE

When thejigs are set up. the firat step is to rout, a v..~·\\ridegroove rOJ' the rabbetted edge on Ihe top and bottom of the column. sec Step 1 in Pig. 18. The trick is to lind the exact diameter for t..c groo\'e to hold the rabbeted ends of tho cylinder. TRI.\t. CL'T.The procedure I used was to rout a test groove in a pieee of +"4- plywood, Set the trammel attachment to cut a circle .lightly larger than the inside diameter of the column, see Fig. 15. Theil make a trial cut ill' piece of plywood, Reduce the diameter and rout another !>'Ul)!' until the eylinde,' fit. snugly into the groove, see Pig. 16. Ttll: 8
1

2

rout ;Y,,".dcep grooves in the!' t,\VO middle

3

hexagons. see Fig. 17. 1(0(.;'"1'L"TO RL.'iGS.Now t\1I(ow' hexagons can be routed into linin'. 1b eIlt the Inside diameter of the linin' .... t the trammel auaehmem to rout a radius 1t4" 1('55than the ....diu. of the groove for the rabbets. (TlII~ should be about 3-Yr.)

!'4.._

-

COlUMNliNG orA. 10" U' ItfNG DfA.. 10...... tAU tiNG OIA. 11 v."'

.... ...

lOUT AU OIJTSlOEOIAMfIDIS

ItO\lt a groove at this 15etling in aU four hexagons, see Step 2 in ~·Ig. 18. Then

JJrogressively lower th(_lbit to deepen the groove unril the center is rre<.'(1. TilE OL"1'3IDE.IIA." C'T.:n. Tocomplete the linin'. the outside edge or the hexagons ls routed to tbrcc dirrerent diameters, sec Step 3 in F'ig. J8. The cap ring is 101'.·,the two middle rings arc 10", and the base ring j.R 11v.... in diameter.

~

SECOND, SUO[ AUlOUARY

F(Ne' OVtl TO FRAME. ClAMP IN'LACE

FIRST: ...oSlftON RING f,liwce AND "LOT

00 NOT lOUT RJLlI"tOHLE IN OH[ ,,us

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

PROFILE THE EDGES

\VJ1('nan the riJlgs are cut to size, remove

AGURf 'J I

y,' SHOUf..OIl

them rrom the jigs _0 the edge. can be routed on the router table. I used the bits ~holl'n in Fig. 21 to rout profiles on the ""llIide edge of each ling. Shop Not,,: 1b support the ling while routing the profiles, I attached an auxil-

I

•

0

10.

",

illr~' fence at right nng'lc~ to the router table renee, see Figs. 19 and 20. (11.V.: THE RL~C:ST<><1r.'rIlF:Il. After routing the profiles, apply glue lo the inner surfaces of each ring and elamp the pairs together. For strength. make certain the joint lines l 't line up on both lings (jog them about Y."). rlSAL.'SSt,mL\'. Before l.~uingth"Iings to the eylinder to form the umbrella stand. inflert the plywood bottom into the oy!in. dc'·. Then, glue the rinll'! onlo the .alr betted ends of the eylinden .'ISI$H. When the glue WIIS dry, I finished this stand with two coats orMin'~'a.x Early American Slain. and two coats of Hope's 'lUng Oil \·amish. \VOODS~!ITH

MIDQLE RI,tI.Il NOTE:

ClUt fACtS WJTH SCIIW HOUS FACI

TOfAeI

.----

~I(.~

IOMAH

OGlE an

)

GItOOYt

'II'RD.

ovea 81T

)

9

Planter Stand CONTEMPORARY TAMBOUR IN THE ROUND When I tini.hed building the umbrella stand (page 6), I wondered it this same l<:ehniquc could be adapted to a more conten'IJOrtI.·y style. It only took a liltle experirn
the same as the length of the strips, Then cut the edge. $'IUll"lSO the final width is 2" longer than the combined width o( the 28 tambour strips (abcut ~7·1. APP1.\' (~(')I\"'A(~T(;"~1\II-;N'f,After the veneer is eut to ijiv.f',carerUu), brush contact

verslcn. Dc~lglI Note: Mony of the basic techniques us('<1 to build thi. planter/wastebaskeVgl",," (01) table are the same as used on the' tlmbreUn stand, 80 there are several reterelu..'es in lhi~ article to the one on the umbrelle stand,

THE CYLINDER

The sequence (or making the cylinder is almO>I exactly ihe same as (or the umbrella stand except (or the number o( $lrips and lh() dimensions. The finn step is to cut 21! tambour strips (plus. (ew exira just in ease.) Begin by cutting .1/4 ~tock into pieces 114'"wide by 13\<.. long. Then res aw these pieces into ¥,,,"-thick strip«, see page 6 for set ..up. AIter nil the .trip" are cut to final dimenI;!OI\, round the' t'{lgeg with a I/..~ roundover bit on the roul
cement on the hack. of Ihe strips and the back o( the vene ••·. A1"~-\(:11TII"~srun-s. While "he cement is drying. aSllcmbic the l'ight·angle layoul frame shown 011 page 7, Flit. 3. Then piaee the veneer in the frame and attach the strips. when .11 the slrips are 1)1"(:....... down. trim the exeees backing to ronn a glue flap that', <' and bottom edges. see Fig. I. This rabbeted ('(Ige is not mounted inwa groove. Instead. the ",boot forms a border area between Ihe nat .trip" and the circular cap and 1>.'1>1•• inl(l;, I cut it \\-ith a dado set and then sanded il smooth. FOIl .. TIIF. (:YI.INnEn. After rabbets ate cut 011 bolh encl. of Ihe Iarnbeur; ''011the

place a basketball in it to determine the inside diameter. Then the rings (or the top and base can be made, 'nl'!sc lings start out .., four hexagonal (~ix-.irled) frames. ~lt\K-';"Hf: S"~(:)I~!~'TS. Start

by cutting

241)iece. from ·11<1atoek :3' wide by 8"long. Then. miter t,he end. o( Ihe bloeks to 60', making certain t.J1C (inol point-to-pciut length o(the segments i. 7W'. see Fig. 3. The a.c:;sembl~'SCCIUCllt'C to (01'111 the four hexagons is the same (l~rQr the umbrella stand • see page 8. fig. II. THE RINGS After the (our (ram.", • re IIlued up, they're routed into eirele» to form the end rings. Theproeedure here b different (rom on the

umbrella stand because the cylinder doesn', fit in a groove. lnstead, it's glued to a rabbet routed on tho eutstde edge oft we rings. SAl<' fig. 7. Routing this rnbbct call. for some (airly precise work with u router and trammel attachment. r started by making some test cuts on a pieeo of :y,/' plywood.

tambour into n c:~'lind(lr.(Again, this is tJ1e 'I'FSTCUTS.The fi~ttest cut ismade with cylinder i~ same as on Ow umbrella iumbeu« .• 00 page the trammel attachment ndjustcd to cut l forllwd by mnkillll. tambour (just like on a 7. Fig. 8 fOl' all$embly dctails.) ci.'CJeslightly I"'!lel' than the OIli.,;d" diamTA~lll0Ult (·\·I,INI).:R. The

top de.k). except flexible veneer is used (or the tarnbeur I,"eking. Trim the veneer to a length o( laW 1'011

THE HEXAGONS when the tambour

c)tlindcr is formed •

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

stlaight bit in the router nnd cut. a circular' groove. see Fig. 2.

...,JKT

lEOUI'.S

2, STIltS

,.' ItOUNOOVIR \

lABan &01.. 'NOS OF TAM&OUIt ",'TIR ASSEMBlY FJRSflRour rEST

GROOVE 121r.~

OUT$tOE DIAMET£1t

TO.P VI~:ol>!

IHSlO! DlAMnlk

SfCONOlour ptOOtfssrvm Slr4AWI OfAMfTUS UNnt COlUMN fI'S SNUGl"'l IN TlST GlOOVl'$

10

WOODS~UTH

the cylindcl' fit. snugly ill the groove, TIlE uorro». 'Vhen the cylinder fiUlthe groove. make several more passes nt sueeessivelv d('(!per !>etHnIC"until a circle i. cut from the plywood, Snve this eut·Ulllit will serve il.'l the bottom later on,

flGU•• >

GUR

.c

SECTIONEDVIEW

TOP VIEW -

71,.

~

1

-

ROUTING THE RINGS

With this same diameter .ctting on the tra.m,ll{'l attachment. rout a groove in t.wo of the h~x.gonal f!lImcN, (\\'hen the •• two

12 .THIS MfASUliM(Hr

EQUALS

INSIDE DtAM£T'1 Of COlUMN

hexagons are cut into etreles, thts l(I'oove

will aClually be the rubbet that hold. the cylinder in place. ref.r to fig, 4,) FOR)! TIlE SUOt:LDEH. Start. by rouling a ')It-deep JlTOC)ve in two hexagons. sec ~'ig, ,I. These hexagona will be the middle rings that hold the eylinde.', ... F'ig, 7, Next, increase the trammel se \lillie to progre ....;,·.ly "iden tho JlTOC)"e;; outward until the outside diameter of the widened groove i. l(I""t.,. thall the outside diametel' of the tambour cylinder, see ~'ig,,I. ROL'I'nu'! I"SIOE, After this wide l(I'OO'e isrouted in twoofthe hexagons, thecenter of all four hexagons can be roul
NOTE:ROUT OIOOVts iN TWO MlDOU I'HOS ONlY

1 lOUT IN$JD( CKAMETU

TJACE OutslOe DiAMETER OF COlUMN TO OlTEIMINE outSIDE OfAMliTfR OF RINGS

Of AU fOUl .INGS

...

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

edges of all four he"''\gOn. are routed. To find the olltside diameter, place the cyhnder in the wid" groove in one ofthe middle rings, Then trace the outside diameter of

lOUToors.OI Of AU. fOUl IlHGS TO SAMI' DW,IDlI

...

2

the
the trammel auachment sc (he route)'

('lit.!;

• groove just outslde the traced circle. Make a trial cut. then make light u<\iust, ments until the inner edge of the routed gTOo". touches the traced circle, When the groov touches the circle, make the same cut on the other tlll'e. hexagons, Then progres-.ively tncre ase the depth of eut until the euteide Is cut B"'8)r' from all four rings. see Fig. 5. CLl!£ 111£

PROFilE DETAil

w tOUNo.Ovtl_ ENO .'NO

"' ....

MIDDLE.'NO .","lOUNo.ovtt_,""'"

mxcs 'T'O(;eTtl£R. After rout-

ing the rin~ to size, they're removed Irom Lhe jigs ulld glued tol(elher in pail'S, For strength, stagger the joints SOthey're offSOt by .bout ~., see Fig, 7, PROFILE THE EDGES

When the gille is dry. the edges oftht' rings can be rOllnded on the router table using. ~'" round-over bit. To roUt the outside edges, use the right-angle set-up on the router table as shown on page 9, Fig, 20,

NOlf:

WHEN GlUING liNGS roOITH!I,

StAGGER JOJNr UNES

The inside profile can be routed free hand. Fll'tAL I\SSE!'tUSLY. Ancr Lhe rings are routed and sanded, th~y can be glu!'d to the c)·Jinder. Be sure to in._">ert the pl)'\\'ood bottom into the tambour cylinder Iirst, see Fig, 7. f'L'lISll, 1 wanted U natural finish, so 1 rubbed 011 two coats of (ung oil. \VOODSMITH

II

_Joinery: Tongue & Dado THE STRONG, INVISIBLE SHELF JOINT It's one of the nlOst frequently used joints in woodworking (especially in cabinet work), and nobody knows what to call it. The joint I'm referring to is a tongue and

groove,

a tongue and dado, OJ' a stub tenon and dado. The name changes deJle]1ding on hO\\L i~~$ cut on tbe workpieces .. 1"01'

01'

example, it's called a tongue and

groove joint, when it's used eo join two

boards edge to edge - a longue is cut on the edge ofone bo.. ~1 and a groove is cut in the edge ofthe other, such as on tongue and groove flooring.

-But when tnis$amejoint.-is used tc jolnn shelf to the side of n cabinet, the names Change.The groove is now a dado because it's cut across the grain on hho face side (rather ,than the edge) of the board. The tongue.Js now a ~rl0n because it!s cut on the-end rather than the edge. 'lb take this one step further, a short tenon that fits in a dado rather than a mortise is usually called a stub tenon. APPLICATIONS

1 FUll THROUGH DADO

2 BARE-FACED TONGUE

APPEARANCE. The problem is that there are usually slight.- variations ill tJlicl;c'nes..~ across the widtll of the shelf, o"it's warped slightly. Then the dado is cut to fit the thickest part of the shelf, odt's cut a little too wide to accommodate the warp, SQ when the joint is assembled, there are

gaps. No matter what you call it. this joint is To produce a cleaner joint, cut the dado very handy in cabinet work. Most frequenlly iVs used to join shelves to cabinet sides, or to join the sides of the cabinet to the top and bottom. ft can also be used to

narrower than the thickness of the sbelf. Then it's easier to.cut-a tongue (!;tub tenon) on the end of the shelf to fit the narrow dado. Any variations are hidden inside the

construee drawers.

joint.

In all ~ftbese-spplications, what ,you're doing is euttin&,8 tongue (or. stub tenon) to fit ill a dado. (Even though I know it's not proper;1still caUthis joint a tongue and dadO,r'~he,· thanstub tenon and dado. Old habits die hard.) Bllt why use this joint in the first place? If you're joining shelves to the sides of a eabinet, xvhy not save time and cut Ithe dado to width to'match the thickness of the shelves, see Ftg. L This way you wouldn't have the extra step of cutting a tongue to fit the .dado.

STOPPED DADOES. Another way to improve the appearance of the joint is to cut slol'peil dadoes. If the dado is run all the way across the cabinet side, you ,viI) see the joint on the f"ont edge of the cabinet. Howey.. ; if the dado is stopped \,/, 0" SO from the l1'Ont,edge. it has • cleaner appeal'ance because the joint isn't exposed. BARe-FACE!)TONGUE.There's one more variation on this joint ..Ifth~ shelf is going to be subjected to considerable weight. the tongue can be made thicker lor greater strength,

~~------~~~= THIRD: MARK STOPlOCATIONS

AND, valll HO~STO WIDTH AND DiPTK OF DAOO

12

3 'TONGUE

AND DADO

In this case, the dado is cut only 110" narrower than the thickness of the shelf. Then a bal.. {ueed, tongue is cub on the end of the shelf. (A bare-faced tongue is one that has-only aile shoulder, sec Fig. 2.) Just to add to the confusion. this variation is usually called a rabbet/dado joint. (A rabbet is cut to produce tho bare-faced' tcngue.) This jointfis commonly used to join the top and bottom of a cabinet to the sides. and also tojoinihe back of a drawer to the sides. (See example on page 18, Fig. 29.) In both of ihese'cases, the rabbet is cut a little deeper to produce a thinner tongue. CUT THE DADO

Once the basic configuration of the joint is determined, the next decision to make is which part.to cut first, the tongue or the dado. I've found itts easier to sneak up on the size of the tongue (it's exposed and easier to geL to) than it is to adjust the width Qf the dado. So, I start with the dado, and then cut the tongue to fit the dado. $TOPPED DADO. There are a lot ofways fa go about cutting" dado, but the triek is how to cut stoppeil dadoes on bolh cabinet sides, and make sure they line up exactly, To do this, I use a router and the following procedure. First, I clamp tt1e t\VO c-abinet sides together - back edge to back edge, see Fig. 4, With the sid~s clamped together like this, mating dadoes can be cutin both pieces b)' routing one pass across the. boards. "OSITIONh'lG FENCE.1'he critical part or this procedure is positioning the fence to guide the router. I work off the center line of the dado. For example, on the wall cupboard (page 14) the top dado is centered ~" down from the top of the side piece. WOODSMITH

•

I

To position the fence, one method is to mark off a distance equal to one-half the diameter of the router's base. it.router with. 6"·di•. base is used, the fence is positioned 3" fJ"(Imthe center line of the dado. PROBL~"S. This method usually works fine, but noti~ed at times the dado has been as much as ¥a'" ofI'where I thought it .should be. The problem is that the collet that holds the bit ,is supposed to be centered in the router'. housing, and the housing is SUIr posed to be een tered on the plastic base, But this is rarely the cOS
I'".

cabinet'S side piece, see Fig. 4.

At these points, ,It-i11 a hole the same diameter as the width of the dado, (On the wall cupboard, r drilled a I(,·-
0/.-

THE TONGUES After the dadoes are routed in the cabinet's sides, the tongues (stub tenons) can becuton thuends of the shelves. There are actually two problems here. The tongues have to be cut so they fit snugly in the dadoes. But since tongues are cut on both ends of the shelf, the other, Clitical measurement is the distance between the shoulde r QC the tongue on one. end and tli. shoulder on the other end. To get the right sboukler-to-shoulder length, cut the shelf to length allowing for the length of the tongue. on each end. Then, as the tongu •• are cut to length to 611. WOODSMITH

the dado, also be sure to cheek the shoulder-lo-shouklerdistanee between the tongues. nOUT~R TAIl!.&. If I'm working with shelves made of plywood, Tuse the router table to cut the tongues. (The router always seems to cut a much smoother shoul .. de,' on plywood than a "Saw blade.) To set up for lhe CIII,_ T lise a ~raight router bi!, that's larger in diameter than the length of tl\e tongue, That is, if the t:. tc the sbelf is solid wood (rathe~ Inan plywood), I usually cut the tongue ona table saw or radial arm SAW using a dado blade. (S<>lidwood seems to put a lot oC strain on a router bit, so r switch 10 the saw and dado blade.) On both the t~ble saw and rac1ial arm ,'8\\', tfte tongue is formed by ma!>ing one pass with fhe.da(io blade to cut a rabbet on one faee and then flipping the shelf over to cut a I'abbet on the other fa ce. \Vllat remains is the tongue, lAe.tE SAW FEHC~

TAB(.E SAW. To use. the dade set On the

table

a~ac:h an auxiliaryweoden fence to the table saw's metal fence. Then move S8\V,

the wooden fence over the dado blade, see Fig. 5. 'Ium on the motor and raise the blade into the fence to cut a relief. Then turn off the motor and' adjust the blade height to cut-rabbets on both race. to produce the tengu es. Rt\OIAL AR(\1 SA\V.

On the radial arm saw,

the process is very similan Just clamp a stop block to the fence and adjust it's position so the dado blade cuts a tongue to th .• length needed. see Fig. 6. ge,OIAL

ARM

SAW

SAWDUST

."'IE'./ TRIM TONGUE

As mentioned above, 1usually cut stopped dadoes in Lhecabinet side. This means the front corner of the tongue has to be trimmed back to fit the stopped dado. It's tempting he.", to use a hand ssw to cut down the shoulders and fonn a notch. Bnta saw (evena Iine doveteil saw) makes a .1lgged cui. Iprefer to use ~ chisel to get a nice smooth shoulder on the front edge of the shelf. MARKSUOULI)Ea. Firstl mark the shoulder on the tongue by .hol,ling the back cic a chisel againsti one rabbet and roll it halfway over the top of the tongue, see F'ig. 7. 'fhe» pOSition il on the other rabbet and roll the other side. When the lop bas been marked, hold the chisel in this m,ark and press down Iilmly to mark Ibe shoulder line. Doo't use a mallet yet. It's better to use hand pressure to ca"efully mark the shoulder line and carve out a small-notch. This small notch sets the sheulderline as it \\~ll be seen on the front of the shelf. Once this line is set, it's just, a matter of using the chisel and a mallet to chip away a larger )lotch 10 fit the stopped dado, see

Detail in Fig. 7.

SIZE OF NOTCH. One thing about the size orthe notcb. It doosn't have to be cueso the front on ehe notch fits snugly against the Il:ontoith. stopped dado. In fact, iLean·be cut back an extra ViI' or VoN. AU of Ihe alignment of the shelf should be (lone o(flhe back edge because it's easier to get to during assembly. Ct1IStI. 1 S(T IN NOTCH ANDWDOWN WrTHMAUfl

¢=l2 CHIP OUT HorCH

fROM

~NO

13

Wall Cu~_b_o_ar_d

_

COUNTRY STYLE CHINA SHELF

,

If your family is like mine, you've probllbly acquired a number of family heirloom x, My collection includes the fonnal plate that my grandmother lmtionally used to serve the Thanksgiving turkey, • ""t of china that'. too good Cor everyday use, and some figurines that belonged to my j!1'C.t aunt. Afierpostponing it longer than I ~hould, I finally decided to build this w,,11 cupboard to display these heirloo"", and give them the home they deserve, THE SIDES

To build the cupboard. I started with the sides (A). Glue up enough 414 .tock to get two blanks with rough dimensiono of lOll," wide by 31" long. After these blanks are dry and planed Ilat, trim them to " final s)7.e of 10" x 29\>2', _ fig. 1. O;\I)()F.S. The two l:Iide pieces arc joined to the three shelves with tongue lind clndo joints. This mean. three Y.".widc by %"-dcep dadoes are routed in both side

pieces. ;\tARK CENTt;ttLI:-lf;S.

ji'iI'8t,

mark the

centerlines Of the three dadoe s, The top dado is centered 70/( down lrem the tOI) edge of the side piece and StAlll" 4'YI' Crom the back edge, sec ~'Ig, 1. The bottom two dadoes are centered 4%0' and lOW' up fI'OIn the bottom edge, and both of these cludoes are stopped 7v." from the back edge, ROL"'T DADOES. To rout the dud oes nnd keep them lined up 'C~6 both sides, 1 clamped the two side pie ces together, back edge to back edge (bookmatch style), and then routed the dadoes across both .idl' pieees at the same time. (See pug. 13 for. detailed explanation of this teehnique.) TilE SIDE PROf'II,f;$. An.r the dadoes are routed, the profile on the ~ide. ean be laid out. Star! by locating the six centerpoints to draw the six 8J'\':S on one or tnt side pieees , see Fig. 2. The small radius 3I"C> (at points A. B, D, and F) can be drawn with. standard pencil compass. But to draw the two lal'l(C arcs (at points C and E) I used a beam compass. Shop Note: A beam compass i. jW>t a thinstripofwood with a notch atone end to cradle the point of a pencil. Then a II,,· hole is drilled along the "beam" wherever • pivot point is needed, Insert a brad in this hole and pivot the beam around it to draw the Jarge radius arcs. (This i$ shown in n'ood8mith No. 38, page 4.) After the six ares are drawn. you have t.o draw some connecting curves to complete the profile, (This is just 8 matter of sketching a gentle curve tojoin 'Ire B tAlarc C. arc C to arc D, and are D to arc E.)

14

eU'T OIJT I'ROf"L€, Before cutting the profile. Iused a hole saw to drill the holes ot pc.ints D and F' to form the "',"·radius (1Y; diameter) arcs, (Since these arcs are

so small, a 1~"-dia. hole saw makes a $moother cut.) Then cut the rest of the pronle u.sing a sabre saw or bandsaw Shop Note: I found it was best to cut about to the outside of the marked prome, just to be on the safe side. Then 1 used • drum sander mounted on the drill press te sand the curves down to the

v.".

piece is sanded. us. it lUI U template to mark and cut the other side piece. THt SHUVES

Next, the three shelves are cut to size. Rip the top sheIC(B) to a width of 4\>2", and th~ middle and bouomshelves CC)toll width of T.Then eut aU th1'ee to • final length of

:»¥....see Fig. 3. t1.'T'TOSGI1ES. After

the se three shelve.

are eut to size, a tongue is cut on each end

CtlT SF.COSI)SliE. Aner the first side

to fit the dadoes in the side piece s, (See page 13 for more on the teehnique used 10 eut th ese tongues.)

MATERIALS LIST

CUTTING DIAGRAM

marked lines.

w.

Overall DiI'Mn,ion~37'hA Sid.. (2) • lop (I) C Mlddl.tlotlom Shelv" (2) o Otow., Divide ... (3) E Stop Molding' (2} F lode Ponti PiKe, (IO)

s~tr

G SpUn" H Orow., I Oraw.r J Drawer K Dtow.t

9'"d x 30";''' h 'YI•• 9 • 291h faA •• 4'..4 ~ 3S~ 'JA. x 7 ~3SY. tv.. r 7 ~SV. 'Vi •• Y. ~3S 'h. 3'h..32

•

twlbzz)J

5=

I

I

c

c

'\',••_sw ..72A

'.I

tlWO IOAItOS)

I,

on

,A

L'Ul

cut from wo,te 4'.1•• ~ 8'/1.

Fronts (4)

lilY, ••

Sid., (8) 8oelt& (4)

'h • 47/1•• 6'"

8oHom' (4)

.,......sw ~72'

'I. • 3Yt .7tA ,/." plywood (wt

10

bJII';'I~IIIIII"IAzllll'j

t)~Z)nlll'tlWlA

fit)

WOODSMITH

,\twr the tongues are cut to fit snugl!·in the dadoes. notch each tongue W' back {romthe front edge, see Detail in Fig. 3. (1'hM notch serves two PIlI'JlO5"5. First, it pro"ides a neat-looking joint line on
ftGU.f 1

r---~----'.

inerements.)

To get lho right .pacing. take the distanee between the shoulders of the shelf (this Mould be :151.nd dh;de tb~ distance by four (to get BY.I. Then add one-fourth the thickness of !.he drawer dividers (D) to this distance. (After planing and .andlng, my 4 '4 stock finished out close to y,••• 0 I divided "". by ,I to get I lidded this to S:y.- for (t total of 8Io/lll".) 'I'hls is thl' CUtilluncefrom the center or the middle ",opped dado to the center of the other two "lopped dadoes. see Fig. 6. (Note that th~ remaining distance is only 8'1\.' from the middle oflhesedadoes to lb. shoulders a( the .nds .fthe shelves. 1'hM is the correct di"nnl" to get equal spacing when the fli\"j(lcncarc in plaee.) After marking the centertines or the three dadoes. clamp the two shelves toll"th.r (bark edge to back edge) and u.."" the same technique A..~on the sides to rout the stopped dadoes, All three dadoes are Y."-\\'fide b)' v...-deep and stop 11.. from the Iront edge. see Fig. 6.

f ""NT'" t-

SIDE

J< •

I

leUI rwo "1~fS THISSIlO

11..-

POfN't 1 ."

.'.

Rour .AlL srOPi'lO OAooes I.. WID. II ..,.. OIEt'

NOTE, «(N'"

,-1.

I"OIN, 0 ~/.·It

M(ASUItIMIH1$ 10

0' DAOOIi$

•

"'

4

_ 2'.

P(IC'" I: 6~..• •

10~.~

T

1

I

f.-

'0'

' .... <..a

..

IOUND or,

SUO"tTlY .AOIUS fOOf

4'.·

tACk lOGE

1

l- ",

r ='=' '=.=---:f•._. ,..

_l

+

I'OINT C -

rLATt: GHOOVE,Next. a plate gTOO\'eis

routed On th~ same sides of these two pieces. (This i,. rounded groove that holds Ihe edge of !.heplates upright for display.) To make thi..groove, use a v". eore boxbil on the router table set to cut to a depth of ¥.... Center this groove 2v..· from the back tdg. of the shelves, see Detail in Fig. 5. IlAO(»;~''OR nl\'II)~R.-;'To complete the shelve••• topped dadoes .. ..,routed for the 1111..,.divide rs (0) that are mounted be· tween the middle and bottom shelves. rIb locate these (Inclocs. strut \\llUl the middle dado. I'h'tll, measure the distance between Ihe shoulder« on the ends of the shelves And Inlll'k n line centered on this di.l.nc. to locate the middle dado. see rig. 6. Then to determine the toearion o-f the other two dadoes, I bad to do a little math. (In order to get equal spacing between the divid ers, tho dadoes do 'tOllay OUt in-equal

SIDE PROFJLE DETAIL

SID); DADO DETAil

• ...u -.J

POINT fI

fl';

I'- .. ," ..j

If." ~

..~.-~;::::~.j II

Ir

35" SHOUlOEa lO SHOULDER

41"..

TOP SHELF

i1

~ ~=-=-!=-=-=-=-=-=-=-::::....IO_N~'="='«=)=="':O=Nl=OOG='=::~ r:

...

MIDDLfJBOTTOM SHEtVES ~ AU,TOHGU() CTWOf'IfC.fS! ." rHlClC_ '. tONG RONT lOCI: C(NfI.fO ON 5100

....

RONTlOGl

f-'ONT lOGl

lOUT!'

FEHer

0/0..

\I,IOODSMITH

lS"S}fOUlOOl '0 St40UW(It-

I TOP VIEW

stOflHO Ol.oolS IO' 0l4wtR (MVIDIIS ~

r

BACK .1. L

View

I

MIODlfSH[U- .: 10"0."

..

,. ~

r ••

~.1.

;,

AU.....," ......WfD£ _.

_+.- DH9-

.. .... ~

,r;-

..

am'IMIDOlI DAOO t(1'W(IN

tAex lOGf

""""ott>

v

.•

"~ .... -

T

..... ....

.

SH[lI

15

AGURl7

tONGUE.

( Dl.Y ClAMI' to DITUMIH SHOUlOEII: TO SHOULQlR OISTANC'E OF

.,•• THtCk

"l, ....tOHG

(INTl_fO

ON STOCK

DRAWER DIVIDERS

.-.< 1--' • , ~"4.

After the stoPlled dadoes are routed on the middle and bottom shelves. the three drawer dividers (D) can be cut to fit. (Note: Since the di v irlen; are mourned itO the grain run.' vertically, the length is shorter than the width, see Fig. 8.)

10_ ON_ '1:

f

-

DMOllS

DIVIDERDETAil

5' ,.

-

y r: ,

r

I

"'h&

HOIOl

""'" mTO SlOff'IO DADOU

.L

,,"

I' 10 FlONT lOG( OF MlOOUSKnF

;':':"~~--I

O£T£R'tISlNG THE 1.E~GTII. To

BUllNOSE DETAil

",.,...TONGU[ e(NT'.Eo ON srec..

deter-

mine the length or the divide rs. Imt dry clamp the middle and bottom shelves to the side pieces, Then measure the distance between the two shelves to gel the .houl· der-to-shcetder distance or the dividers, see Fig. 7. Th this measurement, add the depth or rbe rwo dadoes to allow ror the tongues on the ends or the dividers. In my ease. thi" came to a total length or 5Y.". Now CUt the three dividers to this length and to a width ofrto match the width of the 'helves .see Fig. S. Cl'TTISG TilE TOSG~&S. A Iter cutting the

dividers to PLAIf STQ_PDETAIL(!)

size. cut longue!' centered on

both ends to fit the dadoeo in the shelves. Next, notch the front edlle of each tongue to fit the stopped dado so the [l'Ont edge of thc divider rests flush with till' front edge or the shelves, S<~l'ig. 9. STOP MOLDING

1'0 Complete the shelves, l eut the tWO .tol> molding$ (E) that fit in the grooves routed in tb. top and middle shelves. 1'0 make these moldings, cut rabbets on FIGURf 12

-

-

all (otlr edges of a pieee of 414 $toek. creating tongues to fit the grooves in the s-helves. sec Pig. 11. Mel" t.he tongues urc cut, rip o/,"·\\ride molding strips off each

CLAMP ,AND c... ex. SHllF ENDS FOR SQUARe

edge.

.... I

USE .:~. SPAct. 1l000S

CUT STOP'~HG to ttT AfTI. ASSlMIll'

IOUHD OViI lOtH 'IOfoIT (OGU Of ~OfS

ROtlSOING TilE EOGES. Now the top edges of the molding Strips can be rounded to a partial bullnose profile. Thil5 profile i. done on the TOuter l ..ible with a ,v,," round • over bit .• ee Detail in Fill. 1J. ASSEMBLY

Before assembling the pieees. I used the

same set-up to round over both (ront edges oftbe side pi.. e. and the tOP .heU', the top front edge of the middle sheU'. and the bottom Cront edge or the bottom .helr .... Delllil in Fig. 14. I)R.-,\\·ERSTOP HOLES. There's one other

ItOUHO OVil 10TH ,IOHT reers Of rot' s..fll

eon"", SHll'

16

(

thingtodobe(ore assembly, Lawr. drawer stops are added to the unden1ide of the middle shelr. refer to Fig. 30. The pilot boles fer these stops have to be drilled bifore assembly . see Fig. 10. ASS&)lULY.At last •• verything is reody Cor asse rnbly, Start by gluing the dh·ide .... between the middle and bottom shelve •• making' sure that the ends are squ", e. see Fig. 12. When the shelf/dhider unit Is dry. glue

this unit and tho tOI>sheU' between the sides. As these pieces are clalnlJCd into position, be sure to push the .helv,", ror\VOODSMITH

Ail 'J

-

ward jU8~ enough to leave reom for the ~··thick back panel. To get uniform spscing. place a vt -thlek spacer block between each shelf and the pipe clamp. see Pig. 13. Finally, cut the stop moldingR to fit between the sides and glue them into the grooves in th{l shelves, we ~"'i,g. 14.

liOURE IS .,J 3",."1+-

I'

__.,. 3V.·~

(10 1S00ltOS)

I

1

"GURE 16

!lACKPANEL

.tOUl ',.

~

o

",r

••

are trimmed to Ht laten) CH.U[FERISG.NexL rout a tr',," chamfer on both edges of the face (front) side of the first eight pieces, but only Ollr edge of the \11'0 outside pieces, see Fig. HI. CL'TTIN(; ,.".: CRooVES. All oflhe"" back pieces are joined together with splines. To do this. first cut a 1/,.'-wide jtrQOve (kerf) centered on both edges of each piece, see t'lg. 17. (On the two outside pieces, cut the groove only in the edges wilh the chamfor.)

I_~'

3v.-

I

".

NOTE,

edges, see r'i$t. 22. To cut the curves, 1 made two templates. Tape" piece of poster hoard to the edge of the workbench and drav..· a 6",radius and a 3Y4"~radiusare to form the top profile, see Fig. :211. (Actuall)' this is only half of tbe profile, just Oip [he template over to trace the other half.) Follow tile same procedure to draw U 26"1'3di"5 lind 8 IO"-radius are f,II'the profile on Ihe bottom edge, sec fig. 2L crrnxc TIlE' PROFILE. No"- clamp [he back panel pieces together and use Lhe templates to mark the profile s. After they're marked, cut the edge. to shape

\vith a eabre SA',,, see J."ig. 22. Then sand the edges smooth and rout a YIII" chamfer on tbe top and bottom face (front) edges.

r}4

''I fit t

,

II .! ,,

." SlUNES

ruSH

~_J.

19 GWESPUHlS INTO ON!

,

~.~~ ...

!--..... ~

;r. -J )

..

.,

-

.

~

I

COHNKl tAHG(HfS WITH STRAIGHl UNf

3~~)aR

i

I

-

IOU

-.

•

,

~v7 17',,,'_

.

U:lf ON ONE fOGf Of OUfSJOE"[CIS

..

80TTOM_f~QFllf TfMPLAU

-

RlSTDaAW

o-!

11' ,

'1

-r

0-

r yo ",$l .J I

•

DRA::t, SHOUlDER 11 "

Jv,t

t

::::-:....

•

ro':"

I

13'.-

:..~

~

!"GUIlE 2'1

,,I..,,,,

''j

!lACl "OAll

,l

MAJ. SHOUl.OfR

!-

NOTE: CINTtR SCREWS ON 8ACI( 'I(CES OVER10f' AND IOno,,", SHRVlS

........ ' L

"..

1-

~

RGURE--2J

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

centered see Fig. in place

h

''''CH

foo

lAI'f f'Osr(1 IOAlO 5OUoUI W1THlOGE Of UNCH

;

l

10' Il

9'.1."

~

261.

~

"

SHOULD.R UNE

J

-~

~,.,

cur

.,

~''::;~

;: CE!""?-....

'
- '~j ._ , -/

-

GItOOYfONt'

,

TOPP~OFILETEMPlATE

$101

rOWA,JlOS'INCt

JIO

.0uR! 2G

"4CE

~,

K.(£';--QfAM'-(IIEO £00[$

uS<

rom.Of

SAW .. NCI

~1

..j

".u.. '~-

....."

r

-1 -'

r

".

).,.",..:t:I

\VOODSMITIi

lIIlM

I

L

\T"t.\CflL."'C; TilE U.\CK. At thi!C point the down by

back panel pieces
I Wli"

C£HT!RKI.' ON STOCK

J

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

.

I.

CC) off the edg" of a piece of 4/'lstoek. see '·ig. 18. Then glue each spline into olll!l 011' groo," oJ rocll back piece, see Fig. 19. Design )0/01<': Since the board. are unsupported at the top and bottom, the splines are ulK'd to keep the fnees of tbe boards nuoh - preventing them from twisting rcrward or backward, However; they're glued into only one groove to allow for expansion and contraction. CL.".t~G BACKTO FIT. Now. place the back pieces between the Iwo ..ide. on the assembled wall cupboard. The combined \\;dth should be too wide to fit. "0 lrim the two outside pieces until they fit between the sides, (see Talking Shop. p. 23). Tf:~IPLATES.To complete the back panel, curves are cut on the top and bottom

,

~

~

CHAMfla ONl,( OHllOGt 01 OUTSIDINCH

ftG.U1t[ 17

OU,SID1i~EC:ESExr.A

TllE SI'LINt;S. Now, lip y,.""thick spJil1es

I00'I'' J(NCl

'

THEBACK PANEL

To complete the wall cupboard, I made a baek panel out of 10 indh'idual ..,Iid-wood boards. Start by cutting eight pieces of Yo' stock 3Yt'" wide by 32" long. Then cut. ~\\'O 1T10l'epieces an extra Y.... wide (3%'"wide) for the two outside pieces, (These pieces

CHAMfER

otI 'Act SlOf.'\.

I

C

I,

iHOUlOlI

/f

-+ "'''

•

I

._-

~. .--

~-'" .. ...

~

_--:;::._

..\ \ ,\:c: .

TlMptAtf/

UNI POS1TM;ltf

•

~

'~

~

-.d?'

AUO..... D .. '~ '.' OF tAac MHtl FIrOM BOTtOM Of SlOf

CRO~ SECTION ...1_ COUNlUSINI( lACK A' PANEL scaEWS

PI'"

SHElI/

-"""__#i lo I"

,.. wooosca.w

17

fiGUltl24

FRONT

After the back panel is screwed in place. tbe only parts remaining are the drawers. FROl'ISA:t:S. To build the drawers. start by cutting the four drawer front. (H) from 414stock so they'", Yo." I••• than the width and length of the drawer openings. Then cut eight drawer stdes (I) out of 'I{ stock to the same widtb 3$ the fronts and 6~"long. JOL'<&Jn: The drawer fronts and ,ide> are joined together "ith dovetail tongue and groove jeims. (See Il'ood.mith No. 31 for more on thi!
414

AND SIOijS AU SAMEWIDTH

t'\ .,:l STOCk....

\

~~~~\!'IH ® """)\ OJ DlAWlI 'ItONTS

".

rr'- ~_

~.,":.

.

BACK ~

~

--....~ I'" SlOQCl

•"

-,

~I"'-

' .;

~

./

.

BOTTOM

""

SIDE

(,. ';000

.~/:

GROOVE

J

~P-Y/ v:;

'"

DETAIL

-

UNTilt NOtCH ON L(NGTH Of·., O.AWE. BACk

... ...._

OUWIt

SI:Ol

SHlAKWON TONGUl tiNT" If flfS GROOYt

~

ItOUl ONE fACE

It

T f(H(l

t~~~ ,T

_.1~

1"':

' ..

OOVttAIl III

PR~r'fr"============::::==============~ , .. ~

DO~I1AJ'

i~r~~L ~

I-~-

BOTTOM ® PLYWOOD (CUT TO Al}

'.'

~:'\ i' I

r-·o""." .

'/." V

'-'-..l. r<1It toTT"'" -.'TO M,.t.TCH IIOUIGOOO"'~\ PU'WOOO

It::l...-j

A

I~~"O'

DRAMI STO'

~GU.E2. RAISED PANEL

OETAll

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

_.'\ ..... _r

..

... DU.W!:R

~NI

~

-

,

_"",,')::~_

!....r

A

~

IJ ~

:.d~~ r n

StAllS ItAISED fiANEl&IT RGUltf 19

BACK CORNE!! DETAIL

l1r"···"'···1 LJ ;

"' f-l.- _to l-t- ',~.

D~~:R

, r'

It,·

18

-)

•

-T

I

r -.

n..c

.'..- ~

.. ONT

6· ..•

and measure the distauee between the sides. sec Fig. 27. Then add fOl·the two 14".long tongues and cut the back. to Ibis length and a rough width or "". Now join the back to the 'ido" with" tongue/dado joint. see }'1g. 29. Next, cut the
DRAWER

) I:? 7t

-

....

,

lOOf'.

--.::::_-_..".~

~

2.5

DOVETAIL GROOVE PETAIL .,J \l~ ....

...",

:n;;.::ss

......

flGut£

NOtE: ORAWER fRONTS

tHE DRAWERS

CUT'TONOUi)

To,n$AWi(t.F

..

',. ~

f

DRAW'. $IO( _

".

ftGURI3'

I

BACK ~

NOlE,

TO • ....,.,..

I

"'.N

01lAWl•• ..... W..

"'" I"IACI<-_'V'

~E'STOf' _

,

4I

...

OIVIOll

I

tOP

r t

V'EW

GlAWEIt GUID-LS

_;a" I- OIVIO'.

L

. BOTTOM OF:f."D

O"W"OUIOE-

~

10....

IS flUSH WrrH OPlNtNG - ..;

)

WOOD$MITti

Finishing: Stains A DYING ART \Vhy on earth would anyone want If> slain a beautlful piece of hardwood? That's a thOught Ihat goes through my mind whenever r see 8 can of stain. or especially when I see the mass-produced furniture in a. ShO\\TOOm (where the grain and character of the wood arc almost totally obscured with heavy stains and toners), There.

arc

BOJUe

perfect 11laich for some color or

shade they're rnrniliar with or already havc ona piece offurniture. Bob Aumann. Technical Sale. Advisor for the Minwax Company.gets phone ""lis all the time from woodworker. who are trying to match a color to an existlng piece or stained wood, He explains that it's next to impossible to obtain a /)('Ifecl color match lind better to talk about color

woods that 1

jUotplainrefuse to stain. It would be almost crtmlnal to stain any exotic wood. And there are some domestic woods that are best len alone to develop their cwu natu ... raJ COlorand patina us they age. Cherry is one example ofa weod 1 USllSUy leave alone, When cherry is ~-e5hl)'cut and planed, it's a light salmon colornot very interesting. But after it'~exposed to the ultra-violet

"tones."

ra)IS of the gun fot a couple

Inonths it slowly turns to a deep, rieh red. It may Seem quicker to IISC a stain to create thnt aged coloryears of fake patina ean be added by a quick wipe with a stain-eoverod mg. But once the wood is stained. the color will remain fair))' constant, over time, and it loses much of ittl character, However, I'll ndnlit there are times when [ reach for that can of stain. When the natural colors of the wood need a little assistance, or when the style of furniture (older period piece s, ror example) dictates a darker oolor. L"<-'OXStsrE~'TCQI..oRS.1think one ofth. best uses of slain is to even out ineonslstent, colors. No two boards (even of the same species) 31"0 the same tone. in rACt., color can vary dramatically within the

same piece of wood- between the heart· wood and sapwood. lf you have to glue up a wide panel u.ing several diffe.rent boards, the color variations can be very (Iist.nlct.ing. 111 this ruse. stain can help even out the colors,

theory about that famous blond. Marilyn llonroe. creating the popularity of this furniture. I always listen to hi. theory in its entirety and then tell him to get his mind back on his drawtngs.) Staining hn" become so poputar that wood in iUlnatural color seem. almost odd to many people. As a matter of fact. many people who don't work with hanlwood5 assume that oak is naturally golden the minute it'. CUtfrom lhe log. They're almost disappointed to find that maple i$n't uarurally honey brown, and cherry lan't naturally deep rod. To hasten nature (mel to "correct" the color of the wood. ~tain i. used to make the woodlook like the color we think it should be. TtlE :;.0'& GA"&. One of the problems with coloring wood(and one of the biggest points of confusion) is ~henames given to

stain colors. ftyery manufacturer has an

idea of what color "golden oak" or "brown mahogany" is. it's even worse with names ColOringwooo i. "ha~ staining is allabout. like "Earlv American" or "Provincial." Every period has had its popular colors, [t The name. are simply mark
\VOODSMITH

Each piece of wood is different and changes as it ages. So when staining wood. I look for a tone I like. or on. that's compatible \lith an existing piece of furniture. As I'm IOOkin,K at. color sampies. I try to pick out the closest lone to what I want. Let's say I want something that I would consider fruitwood. If I used the color samples as • guide. this might be anything from a light tan.to a reddish brown depending on the brand of atain. So the best nppreach is to ignore the names and look for the lOne that comes Clo.'WlSllOwhat ~tOUwant. Then ifit's not quite right. look foranother tone to balance it oUI. A. long as they're from the same manufacturer and have the same solvent base, 011(! stnin can be mixed with the other until you get the tone you want. Shop Note: I mix up samples using table'poons of stain mixed in baby food jars. I'll start "ith a light color and slowly add ~ dark colo. Each jar is labelled with the exact amount ofeach eolor added. Then when I get the correct tone. I use these prOI)()rtions to mix up enough in a quart mayonnai.c jar to complete the project. One ofthe biggest problem" comes when ~'OUwant to make one wood look like another. For example. oak is on.en stained to have the color of walnut. mahogany. or cherry, But one of the rule. of staining ls no~10~I"'y too far from the natural color. and don't. b-y t-o force a eolor on a \\'00<1 that's not right for it. resr s..,IPI.£s' Whilebuilding. project. I'C$CIlC • few scraps of wood to use as test samples before they reach the trash canor in my case get kicked under the table S:l\V. When it comes time to prepare the surfaec for finishing. sand these scraps the same 'Ill the rest of the project. Then. followthe camp/"If finishing procedure that will be used on the finished

19

project on all of lhese test sample •. Stain the scraps (liff'crcnt colors, and then take the time to follow up with a top coal. ~1oststainK (especially dye stains) elr)' much duller than lhey will appear under a top coat. The resins in vamishes aJ1(1oils

Lots of manufacturers claim to make pigmented stains that penetrate. But sine.• the pigment~ are filtered out, it's the solvent lha~ penetrate. the wood. not the pigment. When you think about it, pigment. are darken and intcn..-rl(,' colors. The onl)' way really ju..~ colored din - • contaminant to geta true idea of what the color wilt look that's added to the surface. Jr the layer of like Is to apply the top coat. pigments is light, some oflhel(l'nin pattern will still show tllrough. But mllll)' heavily PIGMENTS AND DYES pigmented (sometimes called semi-transPart of the conru~ionin staining is Mlmp):: parent) stains hide the grain almost enwading through the variety of materials tirely, like a light paint. available to color wood, There are "peneOY£S. Dye s. on (he other h..nd. don', trating oil stains." "pigmented wiplng' hide the grain or character of the wood, stains," "aniline dyes." "non-grain rait'lng lhey color It. Dyes soak in nnd penetrate dyes,' "gelled stains," and many others. the individual wood fibers. Since they acSo, \vhat's the difference between all tually "st.ln" the fiber., they're much these types of .talns! more trl\nRpal~nt than pigments. BasieaUy, all wood coloring materials can Oy" are some times rel'crrt~1to as "anibe broken down into two main groups. line dy... " Aniline is a benzene or coal tar those with pigments. and those v.ith dye s, derivative th.t's used in the manufacture PIc)IE~TS.Pigments

erals ground

w a very

are opaque min.. of rubber, vamtshes. reslns, 8J\d in this

fine powder nnd held

in suspension in a liquid solvent. - like bananas in jcll( •. A binder, usunlly varnish, is .1110lidded to lhe mixture UIhelp lhe pigments "stick" to the wood a....the solvent evaporates. The amount of blnder added can val')'. Those stains that art! called "sealer-atains" usually contain a higher proportion of binder allowing them to stain nnd seal in 011epass. But lhC'y also dl"Yslower because the binder take. longer to dry. Pigmented .lai"" are 3 surface treat. ment - they don't penetrate deeply into lhe wood cells. When the stain is applied and lhe solvent and pigment mixture soaks into the wood. the pigments gel mte,'Od out by the first row of wood cells. The pigments will.it in the PO''O'and on tep of the wood to forrn the layer of color.

FI

likely to J!')t blotchy - such as on pine, maple, 01" birch. lIut I choose a dye or II dyeJpigment

eombination such as ~fin\\'ax (see box below) when I want a deeper. richer oolor that accents the grain -such ason butternut, oak. or ash. Whether it's a pigmenl or a dye, the staining agent has to be dissolved in n liquid medium: oil. water, or alcohol, Each

has it'$

0\\"""

advantages and disadvan-

tage~. PIGMENTED OIL STAINS

The mest common stains on the market are pigmented oil stains. Duffy's, Carver 1\1[",'5, Ace Pigmented Wood Stains, and

Senl.. Open Hearth Stains

~uehas mineral spirits. AI PI.1CATfON. To apply n pigmented oil stain I use an inexpensive sponge brush, The br ....h shouldn't be dripping wet, but wet enough Cor the ~tain to flow out without excessive brushing on the wood surfaec. Sometimes I use 3 Q.Tip to get, into 1

l'tGM€NTI! VS. DYES. Okay, 80 how can

you tell if a stldn is a pigment 0" a dye? The easiest. way it; ~imply W open the call. PigmCJIltl!«lttle out and build up as sedimeet on the bottom of the can. They need UI be .~im.d before and oeeasion.Uy during use. Dye. are dissolved in the $01"en~ and thet<: should be little or no sodiment on the bottom. Geol'ge P,·.nk in his book Advelltures in Wood INlli8/';IIY deseribes the differenoe between u~ing dyes and using pigments "like the difference between getting a deep suntan and USing makeup to imitate 000." Whioh is actually better - .tain. with pigments or those with dyes? A. a general rule [ use pigmented stain. wherever I

want a uniform color 01' when the wood grain isn't. too spectacular. J'd uleo recom-

tight corners and molding,;. Bnhth with the gnin and whenever pessible, till the work SO the surface being 6tained is horizontal. If there are. number of vertical surfaces, .t.Hrt at the bottom and work up. This allow. any runs UI be wiped and blended into the already stained surf aces. It also helps to St_3t the middle

of a surface and \\'ork

so excess stain over the edges.

lO\\'artIs

the outside.

doesn't collect and drop

WIt'INC O,','TII& EXC,:;;s.Ifthe stain is to

be wiped (sometimes It's called a wipillg slain). allow it to si( on the surface for 5 to

• •• a closer look at Minwax

l've always liked using lIlinwa, W,,
ishe-s, but l've never been qulte sure \\'11:'1 they're c.aUed n 1"\'00<1finish" rather than a t'taill. I've al:-iO \vonciered

case, dyes.

mend a pigmented stain on weeds that are

'\'h~' only t'o
don't, he explained that some colon; (N~. contains mineral lipirill' that dissolve 21013. 2U, 2716, 218, 27IS, and 2760) are the resins. tranSI)Rl'Cllt and only contain t) (oil ~olNote: Dontt use l)luin 1l1ineral spiJits LJI ubI. dye.). The other 0010.. are wh.L he \\i~ off dlips or ruhl:' 0.' ~lrCasthat havo

the Min",a" colo", ,...m to settle 10 the bottom ofthe elIn. while other oolon. don't. I finally d~id('d to give Bob Aumann 0( ~lin"..1lX a call to qu(,~n<:h my curio~ity. Bob

called '·ma._king colol'$" and oontam both dyes and pir:m.n~. (It'. th.,. that we gunk in the boUom of the can. I How-

thick.ned

ever, since alIltlin\\1l.'( eolot'l\ arc dissol\'ed in the Snnl(! solvent, they can be inter-

and the surface "ill look bright and unifornI, il dilutes the color. After the wiped

[)ccouse it eontain~ a highe" per.c~tuge of r<)sin. than ",allY stains. (Regnl'(lIe •• of

mixed to got different shade •.

the name, it doe~nft contain \va.x),

apply. I follow lhe direclioll~ on the elIn and

Because of lhtse resins. Min\\'RX cJaintS their \\'00<1 rini,h"Oaks in and ;eal. in one step. Ho\\"e\'er, the)' admit that ror proj.

u..o;;e a rak or

said that ~('n\"oxis called a \\'(,)0(1tinish

eels thatC!om~in contnct 1\.ith \\'eal~(Iirt. or moisture (which [ consider just about ,my project), ~ top coat should be added ov~r the ~fillWax sl.in •.

\\'hen I a~k(.a(1him \\'h,:\' ~mC' M ill\\'l\x rolors settle out of solution \\'hen others

20

ha,·.

APlll~\'IS(; O'IIN\VA.\.X.l\1in\VAX

roam

Il! ea.sy l'o

brush and ti08k the sur·

Cace. Let it penetrate for 5 to 15 minutes and th.n \\ipe off all the ""irluc.

~Iinwnx1~a sloy.. dr)';ng st1tin (~'l~ of the reoin
because the .tain has spilled

ov\'r (rom another

:o:urface. Although min~ c_.ral1'Ipiri~ "-ill elean up the problem are~ n"l.'!l has dried a couple hours, it will be

much lighter thall the SU"''
stain ha...,n·t penetrated

e\'e-nl}', Then, a....

thedirection3 ~ugg.. t. al>plyalight second cont and wipe it off. The R,",ondcoat bring. the color lip and tends to soak into tho .. spot. lhat did not t~kc the first couto Finally. I always finish iLo(("ith a top tonI

or tung oil or varni~h. \VOODS~UTH

r

20 minutes before wiping. (Check the in-

OIL SOLUBLr DYfS

structiens on the can slnee t he amount of varnish added and Ihorefore the drying time varies from brand to brand). Then,

use a clean, lint-free rag to wipe in the direction of the groin. Sometimes I'U use Q.TiJl" ora dry bristle brush to soak up any extra stain in eorners 01' tight. spots.

The amount of pigment len on the sur-

fa.., or in the pores erthe wood (and therefore the intensity of the eolor) is controlled by IWO factors: 1) Ih. amount of time left before wiping - the long.. ' the time. the d.rk.r t he color, and 2) how hard the surfnoo Is wiped - the harder it'. wiped. the lighter the color. Don't try to stain and wipe 8 large surrace (such as a d.. ktop or tabletop) a seetion at a time. The stain ma,y be applied heavier or sit longer on one area thao an ..

other \\1bich results in (liffe-rent. shades, If this happens, a second c()n~may solve the problem, since it difl.~olv('l,otthe first coat. GEllED STAINS

I've had some good experiences with gelled stains. They eontain pigments suspended in a heavy-bodied oil mixture. One of the advantages of thi> approach is that Ihe pigments don't settle 10 the bottom of

the can. So, as the stain i~ used, the color remains consistent-It clO{'SIl't get darker 1\11 you get to the bottom of the can, However; 011 the n(!,w,tl"(1 side, gelled stains are much more difficult to mix to get a certain tone. The thickness of the gelled stains varies from brand to brand. Wood·Kale Gelled Stains, for example, are like Vaseline petroleumjeUy but Formsby's Wiping Stains

In addition to pigmented Qil~lllins, there

are powdered aniline ,IYC8that can be dis-

the eolorft when the)t come in eontaet with tannic acid in the wood.) The basle "rule of thumb" for measuremcnt" ifJ 1 oz. powder to 1 qt. hut. water,

solved in oil solvents such a~ IUCqlICI' thinncr, naphtha, and turpentine, or in finishing materials such as tung oil. varnish. or

(Nole: The various dye colo,'. differ in '\'eight, KGyou can't use volume ru; an indi-

Danish oil.

another.) If. darker shade is desired, ndd more powder. II a lighter shade i. desired, more water, J fa different hue i~ desired (fi,uch as red mrlhOl(anybeing too red), nnother dye (fol' example, brown mahOJ.,'1U1Y) can be added. Aft(!r the aniline dye mixture hns cooled, pou,' il through a filter or piece of chee.... cloth to fltrdin out an}' undissolved dye, Then keep the mixture stored in an airtighl gI...., or plastic container. APJ'I~YI'G,\ \\'ATER SOLL'UI.M 1)\',.:. Dyes soak inlo the wood and don't need the

)1

\1\.: VQI;R O\\'S, \'00 ~u811~' can't run

down to your local paint or hard ware store

and buy oil soluble powdered aniline dyes. (Though some of the Atinwax Wood Ptni,hes and someoflhe other brands labelled IICncu·.ting,oil finishes nctually are a solu-

tion of dyes in mineral spiritM nndreslns.) I usunlly send away for Ihe powdered dyes from one of the mail order suppliers listed in Source. on p. 24. I've been experimenting with mixing my

O\l..n colors in a solvent !Ouch ft... mineral

"Pigments are suspended in a liq~tidsotvent ... like bomamas i?t jello. Dyes at'e c01npletely dissolved, they penetrate and actually 'stain' the fibers." spirits,

u makes a penetrating

stain with

a

wide color choice that's slow drl'ing and won't I
and Behlen's Gel-Stain arc like \\·a:t..elj\ Morc common than the oil soluble d)'os are

cation

of quantity

\,rjpinJl' that. pigmented

from one color to

stains do. But some

strange things can happen.

In filet, it's

easy to panic after applying. watersoluble aniline dye and allowing it to dry. The t'Olo" thaI initially goes on i. very close 10 the color the dye \\;11 be once iI'S covered with a topcoat. However, as it drie •. the dye will lose it's brillianee and even ~h.Rnge colors. A brown ma~' turn

green and )'ou'U think you've ruined your whole pmject. JUSI put a lop eOllt 011 and the eoler will come back, I usually apply water-soluble dye. with a wide .pengo brush or rag. '10 darken the cclor,l1 second coat can be applied afte,·the first eoat iJ< completely dry. By applying more eoats, it will continue to darken, Be.idea having to nLse the grain, I've had one m'lior problem with w81.,. soluble

holf·mclted jello. (Now: The trucker ones ean build up in corners Bll(1 moterings and be difficult to wipe out of .ome projects.) The advantage of the_. slow drying gels (Ii the}t'J'e eas~tto wil)C on \vilh a rag, espe-

the powd", ...d aniline dy.s that arc made to be ,1I•• olved in wate1: 1110Y Ilrovide the

dyes - they {IOn'l settle do'\'1' \'er~'\\'ell into lh(' o)(!n gI'3.in of oak an(llI~h,'rhere arc little "llOl.$where the dye l'('rU.eS t.q

(leepclll, ,\ridt!st valicty, clearesl, and most l>ennnllcnt colors available, The)"re inexpensive.
penet,-atO. These spots stand oUI white against th. sl.1ined baekground. At\or talking 10 a number of finishers

cially on vertical surface!', You also don't have to W0rTY about spilling it all o,'er as

bleed inlo lop coats. Sounds like the perf""l 51ain, rillhl? 111 have 10 admil, they do .. und appealing.

and manufacturers.

you work. Lap

mar"'- aren'l

a problem

since llOU can "'ork in just the area \,'anl an
)'OU

LATEX STAINS

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

ngo \vhen fini$her$. like eve''Yone else. bct:ame coneerned aboul the chemicals in the products they wcre working with. Latex stains are en\,jronmentall!o' safe, "'on't emit fumes. and ~et\S)' lO clean up.

Den. is the mo.st eomroon brand and it.'s onc of the only pigmctll.(."(1stains that \'{on't

Un, under Deft Clear Finish

(a lacquer).

AIthough late~stuins cl'etlt{!. a uniform 8ul'fnce, the pignlcnts !:lit. fl.0 hen\'tily on the surface that the color iii very cloudy and Ihe grain is almost entirely hidden. I reel the disadvanlages of Ihi~ cloudy, hea"Y

color oul\'iteigh the 3
But like an)'thing, lhe)t have a m~ordisad\'nntage - the}' raise the grain. \Vhen a water dye contacls a f,'C.hly planed and ~an{Ic<1iiurface, the \\food nbcl':' 8\\'011 and 8umd right up like three days' gro"~h of whi$kcrs. R.t\ISI~·CTIlE GRAlS. Th~ WA)' to prevent.

lrus problem is to purposely mi8e the grain with elear water and knock orr the "whiskenl" bifort! applying the dye. Wipe tne enlire .urfa"" with a damp Aponge and allow two hours drying time. Lighlly sand orr the raised whiskers lind fil1llllyapply the dyo. PR":I'ARING \V..\TER SOl.UU!.I'; I)Y.;S. Alli ..

line po,vder dyes m'e soh.l in It 4,0)'8 oz. env~lopc8,jars. and cans., I nlix them up in a quart ma~"on~jar.(Never U~ a metal containcr since the metal '"'ill contaminate

l'\'e dil'Coov~red that

everyone _mo to have this problem, but no On(" seems to ]moy: \\1l~'it OCCU~. or whal to do about it - eXC
Ifit weren't fo" the problems of raising the groin and not soaking into oak and ""h pores, water soluble dyes would be great. Alcohol soluble aniline dyes .. h·e these problems (alcohol ,,"on'l raise the grain). bul ereate now problems. Alcohol .. Iuble dyes (sometime. called

spirit

8tains)

aJso come a~ a po\vder.

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

anol) in the sanle

1~1'Uleof

t.humb" gunntit.v

(stllrt Ollt by trying 1 oz. powder to I ql. .Ieohol). BUIthe problem with alcohol dyes is Ihat they dry almost instantly. This means they don't soak in very deep, and lap marks are

2l

a constant problem. Lap marks occur anywhere Ih. dye starts to dry and then a second pass is made over the dry spots. lValeo used to bave a line of aleobolbased Pi\'. ~linute Stains but discontinued that lin. a eouple years ago . .llany woodworkers withou; spra)' equipment found that they dried so quickly that they were dimcult to brush on, But alcohol dyes are good for touch-up

work.

FOJ"

example. if I'm rubbing out a

tOI' cont and rub right through the finish

and the stain
an alcohol A!.tunto repair it. Tbe alcohol

provides cnoujth "blte" to help the
Il would be I,.,,,at if • stain could be developed that had all of lhe beautiful color charaeteri"tiCl' of a water soluble aniline dye, but wouldn't rai se the grain like the aleohol soluble. It has. II's called a nongrain raising stain (or NGR stain for short) and eome. in a pre-mixed liquid form. ~GR slain. use the same Iightfast , transparent. and clear (lyes as the water soluble aniline dye~ but 3 special (and,

according to the manufacturers, secret) solvent that won't raise the grain. I use Bohlen's Solar Lux NGR stains and get excellent results (see Sources, p, 24). So what'. the pr-oblem? Why isn't everybody II81np:NGR stains? There's one cnteh. The sol"cnl dries quickly - not as fast as alcohol 8talns, but almost. So there remains the problem of lap marks. Once again. it's best to spray it on. Behlen has recognized the problem of applying NCR stains with a brush or rag and ha< developed a retarder that slows Ihe e\'al>oration of the solvent. Adding Solar I.ux Retarder (6-10%) slows down dJ;;ng time and helps prevent lap marks, I also apply Solar Lu., very weLand keep a weI edge. If you're stingy. youll get lap marks.lfyoudogetalapmarkoraecident· Iy hit your cloth Onan area already .tained, II)' putling ""me nIeohol on a clean doth

Andgo ove,' t.he area to even out the m.vks, PROBLEMS

1'hc biggest problems that develop when I'm staining usunlly don't have anythinll to do with t.he stain. They bave to do with the \\I1'Y

{,he surratt'

\\'as prepared

(see the

8'tiele on Surface Preparation in Wood· 8milll No, 38), Staining magnifie8 all the problems that shOUld have be<-n cleaned up .... lier. If there's glu. left on the surface, there \\;U be S<'aled white _pots aner it's slained. If there are 8C'I'atch~.grain tear~ut, dents,

A eoarse r !(lit sandpaper scratches the wood, opens up the cell walls, and creates whiskers Ihat so p up ..xtra stain. Stopping at SO!(lit sa ndpaper, for exampl e, and then staining will result in a much darker and seratehed up surface than a surface that's been sanded up to 22Q.grit, On rbe other hand, sanding too far beyond 220 will burnlsh the surface and

close orf tbe A'l'nin. Stohl won't soak ill and Ihe colo,' will be light 0" blotchy. Jo:NI)GIt,\IN, Another problem is end J.Tl"ain,r.{~tof' the time end grain is where you expect it (on the end of the board) and

the (lark nppenranee it luke$. on when it's stained is almost natural. But sometimes end grain turns UI) where you don't expect. (or WAnt)it. This happens on the beveled borders ofraiSl"d panels, lathe turnings, OT where grain switches dlreetion. Grain i. rarely .lraight in a board. It usually rolls along like 8 gentle farm field. Vccasionally it make" • sharp turn outward (such at! a knot and the surrounding

planer tear-out). Allor a sudden you're working with end ~in in the middle of a boanI. Stain soak." in unevenly and you get a blotchy ap""arnnce - pines, maples, and birches aTC notorious for this. SEAI..I~(: TO I.I~IITrf:NE"'RATIO~.In th ese s lt uat luns s e n le rs such as McCloskey's Staiu Coruroller and \Vood Sealer can be brushed onto these areas before titailling, nUL J usually just use a wash coat,ofdilul<' 8h.llae- I part3lb. CUL while sheline to 4 1'81'18denatured alcohol. If Lsuspec; lhat the whole surface might be blotchy, I eoatthe entire surfacewirh an cvttl coal of shellae scaJer, ""hen it's drj',

22

application o( scaler \\;th an artist's brush on the selected are ... is all that's needed, SANDINC; TO LI!)IIT I'.:SETRATION,

An-

other sohnion to the problem is simply more thorough sanding, I've discovered that sanding about two grits further-on end grain will result, In a lighter color, For example, if I finish •• nd the project with lSO·grit, )'11go back lind sand the end grain wit h 200'gril nnd then 220·I\")·il. The finer sawdust eloKStil) t he pores and the scratches are smaller and soak up less stain. It's usually just the rigbt depth of color to match the reilt of the project, CONCLUSIONS

In choosing 8 Slain. you need to decide if you want a unironnl,' colored surface that eon be easily eontrolled. but without much depth (pigmented stains) ... or some

depth, and some unitormit}' (penetrating oil/dye stains like ~lin\\'ax) . , , or a brilliant transparent surface that accents the grain but can be more tiiffic:ult to control (aniline dyes and NGR .!IItains), Part of the fun of working with all of

these stains is experimenting with mixing colors and concentrations and not l'el)rUlg on the standard pre-mixed colors. But. it's hnporL:111t to remember that stains arc not Jini$hcs,1'hcy can't (10it all. They're. simply 1\ IneUI1S of ehanging the color or bringillg' out the grain, The wood is still subject to heal. moisture, and dht anti must be finished \\'ith a top coat.

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

Com~ in a \'ariet~'of colors. Good penetra· lion, E3>yappliealion, butcanrunanddrip. • \\'ATER SOI~l'ljl ••: 1)1£, ~lost common of

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

the po\\'(Jert><) aniline
• O.)I,l.(::I) STAIN. PigJllcnts ij\18]>cn(led in gel (llsunlly I'lboUL the consi.stcnc~tofjello), Pjgtll~nt:; \von't sQttJe to bottOlll of can so

before applic1\Lion. 111~ufficient penetra·

you gel con~i8t(:nt colm' th,'oughout use.

line dye thal i. mixed with methanol.

Ver:'!' eas~''ll)plication.

Can be problem. wiping out of moldings.

Sometilnes call~cl "spirit stains, 'I 'Von't J-ruse the grain, t)ri~8 vc_r~' quickly \\'hich

eomc1"~. Difficult to 'nix eolor'$,

nlakes it difficult to a"oid lap marks unless

:
it"s applied \\'ith flprn~'l~llipment,Doesn't penetrate \'cr)' d('{·p. Bc!'t tor touch"up work,

• PIG~I.;''T.!I'()I'. ST.\IS,

Ranges from

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

t

parent, peI11lanCJ\l, colors, \Vide range ot pigments. Easy to apply. Slow drying. Wi"" o(f to cont,'ol color. Best ror re- colors th~\Lcan be cattily mixed, Inex· finishing work and on Ii{(ht·colored woods. pensive, Will not bleed into top coat. No with Iitlle grain (I,ine, maple). IVatch for ha,mful chemical. 0" ."I"ents needed, R.,. nillS [lful dli~.Colot'lJ call be mixed, quit"s the extl':I .lep of raising the I(l'ain

no drll>R OJ"runs,

• LATEX

t.ion in pol'es of oak lInd

(181 ..

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

• xo~GRAIS ItAISISG (~GR) ~'TALS.f're.. mb:ed aniline d)o'e (liimilttr to \\'ater d}'e) sold in liquid fonn Ihat won't raise the grain, En.:;.)'to mix colol"'5. Dries quickJ)', but I'elanler ean "" adeled ror brtlSh appU·

cation to prevent lAP marks, WOODSM1TH

,

If

SUMMARY

• OJI. SOl.L HI••: 1)\ t:, D)"C mixed in an oil·ba,s(odsolvent (lacclucr thinner. mineral spirits), Tran."il>arcnt llin\\"3..x colors are darker Ihan the rest of the surface, one ex;unpl('. t\1!;() u\'ailable in powdered llANU'SC, And if the wood is not saD
or mill marks, the pigments or dyes \\;U :;;cllledo\\1\ into th~ spots and color them

I'll ...,ff it with 22Q.!(lit sandpaper and then apply a eoat of pigmented oil stain, BUl ir il'ili just end grain such as on the beveled borden; of a raised panel, a careful

~

.. ___

Ta_lk_in_g Sho~

_

AN OPEN FORUM FOR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS The same goes Cor a protective (ace mask. It's not $0 much the protection

I tnjoytd youramele ill Wood.mith No. ~8 011 tI,t jire hazard of s.IIding d'l$l. and I ag ree ,vilk you Ihat tlu: /itst solidum lolhil! problem is to kee; yoltr .'wp 08 CWaIl as 7108Mbl e, I alway. lry to kcep (/16 dust 'ill

against the chip that might ny in my eye and cause damage. It's the chip that hits me on the cheek and causes me to mneh wpen I'm light in the middle of a cut.

As the boards are mounted, place three playing cards between the shoulders of each of the spline and greove joints. This should provide adequate spadng for the wood to swell during the humid summer months,

l1wllaueablc levels, ,wt ollly 10"reuelll afire /",:ard, bitt 10 ... duce what I feet is an evt .. more dangerous 'Ia:ord - i,!haling th•• ou:du.t 1>11 0 reg",

WOOD MOVEMENT

HOME BREW

Every tlme you use solid ~'00<1ror a project. you have to be aware or weod move-

The easiest way to get a pigmented oil stain isjust to buy it. Butsomctimes [can't find the exact color I want. It's.t these

WOODWORKING

DUST

11&1/ shop luitJ"tl

o.

ment -

the expansion and contraeuon

0'(

lor ba.iIl. I hat,. U> admit I'm .. guilty anyont lor nol ,,'tOTing 0 dll$l ",ask twrylul1el'm

wood during seasonal changes in humidity. When the humidity is high, wood (even pieces finished with varnish or polyurethane) will absorb moisture from the

11,,'lIen,itl8 little to thick as smoke,

low (usually winter months) the wood will

i" tit. shop, But !It. Q)I~ time I all""ys make a poi,d of lII°ori1t1lD,dust 1I111skis air

sa,td. The dust

gets {IS

Tlte masks I've fOlltld thai work the b•• t art calttd d,m re3piralora a"d are ap· P'rO.'tdby NIOSH (NotiO>lall1l.titutefo, Occupatio""l Softly and H.. IIII). Th••• respirat_ are ouite a bil differ. C'I.lfromtil6lypical hard..., ....stor« mask.. thai leak mort air (a lid dust) around tI.. cdg()IJtho" tirrouglt tltejilter. Not ollly do 1/.... cspira/o,.. thicke"fillers, Qui t/wy .1.0"8. 0 doub/~ 8!?'(t1l "I/.Iem that cr""(6. a••(/J.cti~. seal arollnd tit. mask, Tilt ollly 80"ret r.t ben •• ble tofilld.JOr tht.t ",ask" a,.. saftly ,,,pply .1(1n$. (I {oulld Owrlocal *"pptitr blll001'1ng umur Sqfttll Eqllip"lCli in the Ytl/o,o POg68). AWlo,,!!" they're good, Iltey',.. also er-

.1$.

nnd expand, Then when tho humidity is

release moisture and contract, How much does wood move? That's the

big question, As a general rule of thumb you can count en kiln-dried wood (that has been dried down to about 1'>1' moisture

content) moving about ~"per lZ- in \\1dth,

or about 1% in a typical home environ. ment, Noto: This illthe shrinkage fO"kiln-dried wood. Air ..dried lumber 1l1't!l:Icnts another problem. Air drying "ill usually only take the moisture content down to about 14% to 16<;>. When it's brought indoora (especially

times I mix m)'

O\\"D..

Mixing up a "home-brew" pigmented oil stain is not all difficult as it may sound, And it can be a lot cheaper than buying a dozen

caU$ or V:lriOU5 colors or stain to fi1ld the

one you like. Whell Ifil'Ststarted experimenting with

mixing my o' vrn stains, my greatest reser"anon was mixing the colors, 1 envisioned an artiot'$ pallet with a dozen ba:;i. colors and mixing them to produce subtle varialions until I found precisely the right color. But it's not really like that. You're not starting with basic colors like red, yellow, 01'

green, Japan colors and artists' oils

come in shades that are already very close

to many tltain colors. Per example, burnt umber is very close to a (ruitwood tone. YellO\\"ochre is a tannish yellow that will provide a light pine during the winter), it "'ill have much color. Burnt sienna is the reddish brown greater initial movement as it dries dO\\1JI that comes close to many of the stains

labeled mahogany or cherry, And Van Dyke is " dark walnut color. i.t box•• 0{00, alld. c081 aba,,190",Jerma$k, By choosing one ofthcse eetors lind then IIII! i!yo1l:rc 9&;1I9to 7",t "p with 'Wa"· in Bruce Hoadley's book, U"dI7'Biatldil1f/ adding dabs of another color; it' •• 'elalively Wood, (See Sources, page 2<1,) CJlsyto obtain the shade yeu want. [f you i"g a dusl mosk ill '''.{;''81 place. Ih.lea8t it ton. do ia'u:ork. \Vood movement was a mnjo)' considerawant to experiment, here's a formula that when we were designing the wall cup- will produce about one pint of stain that is a Thoma» Greenlee lion board shown in this issue (see page 14). medium bJ"OY,ncolor (somewhat JlimiJar to St. LoJ.i.s, .Jlissouri The back is made of 10piC
\VOODSM1TH

tJtCU'rcQl'lyavail
to the level of most homes, Then it will

begin it's seasonal movement cycles. 'l'hc best explanation I've seen on this is

23

Sources 986-4~17 (Catalog: $2.50). \Vood finishing Supply has 8 eomplcte line of Behlen stains and products including 15 Minute Wood Stains, Stainte. Wood Toners, Gel-Stains, NGR Stains, aniline dyes, and Japan

be patient as it might take him awhile [0 lind the time to send it OuL You can order the India and Arkansas slip MINWAX COMPANY.INC.. 102 Chestnut stones mentioned in the article from: Ridge Plaza, Montvale. NJ 07645. Min,,'3' Tiff: FINS TOO~ SIIOI'S. I.'C .. 20 Backus has a toll-free phone number to call with Avenue, Box 1262, Danbury, CT 06810; colors. questicns about their products. It's 800-243-1037 (Free catalog). india .thne, The speeltle p''Celfyred oak or that are (l\loilnble f)'Olll/JTJ\C \Vood,yorkers' It's available in )'fiJ'(lcOVCI' for $9,95 from .. " white oak (or sec catalog for other species Store include (see catalog for colors): The Taunton Press. 6.~South Main Street, and prices): 24" x 48" (for umbrella stand), Mi",,,,,,,, Wood Fini.", $3.80 per ~ pint, Box 355, Nc w t cw n , c'r 06470; $17.85; IS"x 48"(for planter stand), $13.65. $5.751>.r pint. $8.25 pel' quart. DeftVinyl 800-24$-7252, ([Aur) lVood Slo;',. $5.35 per pint. $8.25 InTalking Shop (1Iag<)23) we mentioned WALL CUPBOARD PCI'quart. Wood-Kale G.lled Wood S/4;'I$, the book Under.',"uJing Wood by R. Vou ean order the hardware for the wall $4.30 per 8 0e., $6.50 per pint, $9.95 per Bruce Hoadley. It's one of tho most useful cupboard (rom: quart. McClo.key·. Stoin Controue« & books we know of for information about rne W()(),)WORKERS' STORE. 21S01 InlI'ood Sl'Olcr,Order No. P1241, 35.75 per wood technology (espcclally problems with dustrial Boulevard. Rogers, M.\: 55374; pint, $8.95 per quart, $23.95 per gallon. moisture) and how it applies W designing (612) 428-1101 (Note: $7.50 minimum cash WOOOPI~ISIIIl
24

FORSTNER BITS

WOOOSMITH

,

Woodsmith - 040

Recommend Documents