NO.

59

~I

NOTES FROM THE SHOP

$3.50

W 1.)( smith
Number 59

October, 1988

Edifor Donald B. Peschke

OesignOkeefor led Kralicek
ManagingEditor Douglas L Hicks
AssistantEdfton; Douglas M. Udster
Kent A. Buckton
ProjectDesigner Ken Munkel
Ted1nicalll.,_ton; David Kreyling
Cary Christensen
RodStoakes
Chris Glowacki
CustomerService Sandy Baum, Mgr.
Jackie Stroud
PatKoob
Usa Thompson
ProjectSuWlles Leslie Ann Gearhart
CompuferOperationsKen Miner
AdmlnistratJve
Assls. Cheryl Scott
Jean Carey
BuiklmgMaintenanceArchie Krause

The Woodsmith Store

OperaJlonsSteve Krohmer
MarketingManager Steve Dozier
StoreManagers;
St. tools, MO Jon Behrle
Berkeley,CA Michael DeHaven
Des Moines, IA Kent Welsh
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Sawdust
AIl0UTTmS ISSUE.'Ve have tried to make
i~ a tl..dition to devote one issue of Wood
811';/1, to small projects - especially as
Christmas neal'S. The challenge is to COme
up with ideas that make nice gifu<, yet. are
fun to build too.
The projects I like belt are those that
offer a challenge 1 haven't tried before,
Since I'm not a skilled (01' fl'equent) turner,
the omaments in this issue caught my e.ye.
immediately. As soon 8. Ken (OIU' Pl'oject
designer) showed me his prototypes, I was
in front of the lathe, really to try my hand
at them.
It was (l-ustra tinl; at first. My hands did
not follow the curves and shapes I saw in
my mind's eye. But that changed faster
than T thought it would. In short order, I
IVa.'!

cl1In)<ingout ornaments, ane!having a

great time.
I didn't stop there. Three of the ornaments have a little can-ing added. Again,
with 8 little practice I was chipping away
and thrilled with the sense of instant aecomplishruent,
In bot)! cases, Ican't profess to be any
where close to an expert, But I had fun,
and the finished oi "aments will make
great gifts.
PRQJ.ECT SUPPUES. A ye-.u' ago, we
started a new service. We offered a kit or
parts for the classic roadsier shown in
WQot(.smilJ, No. 61. \Vhen iha~ issue came
out, Iwasn't SlII'<), what the reaction would
be to tl.is new service,
Up until then, we listed a number of
mail-Q.xlru'sources ro. the hardware and
various parts needed to build the projects
in Woo<l$mUJt. (This informatio is shown
in Sources, page 24 of every issue.) !luL we
ran into two problems.
First, we couldn't find mail-order
sources for some of the parts needed

some

ot the

[01'

projects (like a small piece of

Plexiglas needed rol' the roadster),
The other problem was more serious. A
few or the companies we listed went out of
business or stopped carrying the products
we had listed.
We thought the belt way to solve both
problems was to offer the supplies directly
through IVoods1lliIJ,.
Since then, we have had thousands of requests fOI' I)ro,iect supplies. To help fuIfiJl
all those requests, Leslie GearllRrt has
joined us. 1.....lie has done a remarkable
job of tracking down sources and ordering
the products we needed.
In addition to gett.ing the aupplies
needed fill' the proje~1S in the pa.% eight
issues, she has been working to find the
hardwlU'e for a few of the older projects.
We have added hardwru'e kits ror three of

these older projects. (For more on this. see

Sources, page 24, and the l'1'Oject i:>'upplies
lisUngs on the protective eover.)
800 NUMBER, In the past we have Ol~y
accepted orders by mail for the project supplies and back issues. Now we have an 800
(toll free) phone number to accept Mastel'
Card and Visa orders.

Ifyou would like to order any of the back

issues 0" project supplies, just give us ,I

~a11at 800-4447002.Jaclde, Lisa. or Pat ,,';0

be haPl)Y to take your order. However,
ordering by phone is only "vailable 8:30 to
4:80 Central Time, Monday through
Fliday.

the past
ten years we handled all of the subscription orders here at Wootlsmitl1. But the
circulation has grown IlOmuch that it Was
taxing our abiliby to handle it erficiently.
This past summer we began talking to a
subscription f,dfillmeni company, Kable
New. of Mount MO'1is, lL. 'I'he folks there
have a very professiona! organization, yet
they also offer personal servie.. and have
been delight.ft~ to work with.
III short, Kable News is now handling
all or our subscription and renewal request". (We still process the back issue and
project supplies orders.) If you IlRVC 3
question about your subscription (or renewal), you call call them at8OO-43J;-0715(In
IllinQis, 800$.2-0753). Just tell them you
FCU'ILUlIENT

SERVlCF:S- For

want information about WOt><i8lr1illt. and

they'll get you to tbe right person.
NEWFACES.As we began the search for
another editor to help with the w.iting
chores rO)' WoodsmiJlI, it became clear that

we were looking for someone with a particular mix of talents. We needed someone
who loved woodworking; knew ItO\\' to do
technical writing, and could work comfol'!.ably on a variety of computers. (All of the

w.iting is done on eomputers.)

We found Kent Buckton, In addition to

being an avid woodworker, Kent has the
writing skills we were looki.ng for, Over
the past 10years, Kent has produced man;'
technical rublieations on subjects ranging
from computer software to diesel engines.
Kent adapted quickly to ou. mix of
wOQ(I\\IOI'killg

and writing. His first morn-

ing here, we put him .ight to work on a

project, for the next issue, He had" quick
illu'Qdlletion to the "hop (where he buill
the 1)''Qject). By lhe next day he WlIS back
in front of a (.'OIUjluteJ', \v~itingthe article,
It's good to have Kent here, I'm sure it
will help speed things al~ng in our que!\t
to get back on schedule and stay the,e.
NEXT MAILING. The next issue of Wood
smith wiD be mailed dUl'illf!,'tI,e week of
Decembel' 26, 1988.
WOODSMITIi

-.

T_ips & Technigu_e_s __

__

PEGBOARD TOOL RACKS

CLAMPING ROMAN OGEE MOLDING

made 3 wooden chisel rack with "ears"

on both ends to hang up on the pegboard
over my bench, but the wood rack was
shaky and WObblywhen it was fit over
couple of pegboard books. Whenever I
pulled out a chisel, the rack and all the
other chisels wanted to come with it. r
knew [ could design a sturdier rack.
I discovered there 1II'e a couple things
that can be done to stabilise a rack like this.
First, straighten the slight angle out of the
pegboard hooks so they project oul 90'
from t.he walls. This helps the rack hang
stl'aightel' on the pegboard wall.

ln Wood$mUh No. 57 there were plans for

fIaroul l, SI(Jlcler
SWM College, Pennsylvania
EDGE STRIP SANDING BLOCK

10 the Shop Notes section of

,
, '
e

a wall mirror that ha(l Roman ogee molding around t he inside. You mentioned tbat
the molding profile makes it almost impossible to clamp the moldings in place so
you held each piece with your fingers until
the glue grabbed.

NUT HOLDSlAC.

TO
HOOK
TOOt RACK

PEGBOARD
HOOK

\.._

, t,

::,..;~IIC:==:;:::::"THR~

WffH orE sa

The trick that really helped was to cut

threads on the end of 'I.i' pegboard hooks

with. 6-32 die (To cut threads, go slow and

use even turning pressure.) When
finished, tighten a ~ nut and washer onto
the hook. Now the rack doesn't rock on the
wall. (Note: Use 10-32 OJ' '/.-20 dies and
nuts for V,' pegboard hooks.)
Since making the chisel rack, I've used
the same method for making holders for
small tool. such as screwdrivers, files, and
spade bits.

I (Iiscovere<1another solution to clamping the molding inside the fI-aII1e, As you

explained in the same issue (page 23),
Roman ogee bill; have two radii (a concave
and a convex) lhat are the slime. So if two
pieces of the molding are reversed and put
together, they "nest" into one another.
By culling some ,m011, scraps of the
molding and snugging them against the
molding on the inside of t.he frame, you
have a wide clamping surface 9n the back
side of the SCI"I)molding. Then hook yow'
clamps around to the outside of the f,.. me
to hold the molding tight.

,,,,,,,ted

to try this mle O1,tin

.w,d,

threading pegixKtr(lltooks, 'il:1i

GLUE BOTTLE STOPPER

Olir M!Qp-

USE 'I," I N$IOE

DIAMETER VINYl
TUBrNG 1" LOfIfG

8!<e<;e.,.'.

WOOOSMlTH

Sf Nil IN YOUR IDEAS

OCCASIONAllY
CLEAN l1P AND

It yoo'd like 10shere a woodwotkinglip wi1llolhe'

INSIDE OF fUBING

Woodsmith. Tips & Techniques, 2200 Grand

Ave., (!)es Moines, Iowa 50312.
We pay e minimum01$10 lor tips. aIldS15 or
more lor special lechnlques (Ihal ar. accepted
for publicalioo). Please give. complele exptana-

gl-eat to

be
able iiI add nih,.. threod 10 It ca,,i.age bolt

will, som

Nail a scrap piec-eof edge strip (the same

thickness as the edge you want to sand) to
a lIat block Next glue or carpet-tape sandpaper to the Irshaped sanding block. Then
sand the edge strip with the sanding block
\;ding on the front face until it's lIush with
the. plastic laminate or plywood.

Jack. C. 'fIUymP.'01'
8;'!ghamlon, Neui Ymok

,,;a.

or cle(1J~up some damaged thread. And

ux'-uc even tried wpping inlo harduood.

No. 56 you presented a method for bringing an edge strip flush with a plastic laminate 01' plywood top. No matter how careful you are, r think there is always some
risk of harming the surface from either
planing or scrapin\t.
Here's what I feel is a safe way to bring
th~ edge strips flush. After gluing the
strips so they're above the surface a very
stight amount, I make a sanding block to
slide along tl)e front face of the edge stJi}>.

BCMO>t A. Bowditch
Mas.'J(I.(')I,,~e.tI s

but we did,,'t. have", Ip ",,,d die set. So I

we"t to ,. local hardw(1J. store ",u/

S'lt>p.-ised to
Ihat a bwric lap aml die
set is,,'I. tll.QJ,e>:/xmsive. Sear.. hM a 1~
piece homeoumer set Ji)?' wu/cr $JIt. t
lio"Uk! mUl wilh qJtite a Jew "lOre sizes cf
u"ps a'll(/' Itie$ FIr Itlu/cr tzo. ttlllilJi.dlt1
dMs cos! alma rt to $.~.
And lite" tlwfi"\ began. In. addu;on 10

Woods>nitlt

Ccmway,

1~seems the stoppers that come with most

glue bottles either get lost, fall on the 000)'
01' get stepped on. I solved this problem
J.,. A. Jess6>! by making my Own stoppers out of vinyl
0001'/",,,(1, M is.joltl-; tubing available at most hardware stores
Editor', Nou: Like aU oj (lUJ tips"", print, or building centers.
I

0/"

glue bottle nozzle. (In most cases,

inside diameter tubing works fine). Cut the
tubing to a length of 2:. Then stick a short
lengtb of matching (~') dowel into the top
end of the tubing.
To keep the stoppe flvm getting separated from the glue bottle, drill a small
hole through the dowel. Then thread nylon
fishing tine, suing, 01' some tight wire
through the hole and tie it around the
botlle top.

The inside diameter of the tubing bas to

00 the same as the outside diameter of the

readers of Woodsmith. send your idea 10:

tion 01your idea. If a skelch is needed,

along; we'lJ draw a new one.

sand

il

TllJ'ned Ornaments
SIX WAYS TO SPRUCE UP A CHRISTMAS TREE
We couldn't think of a better \I>l\Y to get
ready fOI'Christm ...s than turning a few ornaments for the tree. \Vc had a lot of fun
coming
wilh 8 variety of shapes - but
tried to keep the basic tlU11ingteehniques
to a minimum. 'l'his 81"0 kept the number
of tUI1ting lool. 10 ,) minimum. (I used a
roughing ~1lJS(C." 'I.( gouge, a 1'." gouge.
" VI' purting tool, and a Vi' skew.)
As for tho wood. you need six turning'
squares 2~', "quare by 41'. long. (See
Sou"""', page 24.) After a little experimenting. we settled on basswood for these

"I'

ornaments,
B'lI;l;wood i, lil."'t enough so you don't
have to hollow out the ornament to keep
it from beudinl( th~tree br.ulcll too much.
If the ....'s a problem, it's that basswood is
somewhut ""ft, "lid tends to tear rather
than eut cleanl)', (1.< harder woods do.
S'l'EIIlYSTEP.

The specific procedures J

followed to turn tho ornaments are shown

on the next two pages. 1'he techniques
shown here are' nol necessarily the most
common ones used in turning. Ruther, we
tried to show techniques we thought would
be the ~lSicRl to use even if you're not
skilled at IUl11ing.This generally means
that we used scrolling techniques as well
3$ tthcruing techniques,

" ...

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,

,.

,,_- ......

~'~II.

10/,
'I."

2 ',.

11 !Iv., I

.y,,~41,,"

:A.,- 1$.1,

1"." ';;

111-1

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1,.10

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$111 SEND fOR RlLl.SlZE PAnERN. SEe PAGE 24,

TAKEnos PAGE TO A CO, ... CINTlR AND fNlAIO '200% TO GET R1U. SllE.
ORNAMENTS AIlE SHOWN HALF

J.
2

"

t" II
~I." 1/4")~.
'h,'

1'VI ...

...

tJ"t.1/'

OR

2\.-

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2' ."

- ..
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",,"l

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lim. I d~'Cidcdto wid

,.",

tT-~ 1
NOTE;

@,

'1\l)'lIillg Ul(' ornaments is only h,,'f the

II liltle deeorativo
carving )1\ th"cc- or the ornaments, see
concave cUl'V(I (uM<1 on Ornaments A, B~ page 7. \Vh.'11 the omameuts
were
C). turning' thn gemlc convex curve (on A. finished. I .ol'('wC'(1II small screw eye in
B. C). ClItting the V'l(rOOve. (on A. B. C, the 101'button to hanl( them. Then the orD. F), and 11l"lling the button lit the top nament. eun he 1)"i"t..<I, OJ' just sprnyed
(011 all of the ornaments),
with dCaI' Deft to 1)I'Ow<:tthem .
Vlc ('hO~llto t'Uu1.with Ornament A to
show some techniques cornmon to most of
Lhr OI11;1tI1(lntli: how to turn the s\veer)ing

~ ~

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~

p, I'

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WOODSMITH

Ste~.-By.-Ste~
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TUlNINO

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~rOCK

MEA?]

STOOC

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CARO.O./_

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PATtERN

.~ .'V ., t.
~xr

"SI

ment starts out as a basswood blank

about 214' square by 4 'h' long. Rough
down the blank to a 2" diameter, Then
mark the transition lines, (refer to Fig. 1
for dimensions). I marked the transition
Un(!Son a piece of cardboard and cut
notches at each line to hold the point of the
pencil. Finally, part down both ends, stepping the ends back.so there's 1'(J()m to work.

\L

(\

I-

1d

~<...:.

I
Iv r
r

~
~'",ING

TOOL

~~5:

.A

TOP CURVE.

nOIlGH CURVED BO'lTO~L

V:!"

gouge. Hold it stmight in at the light

shoulder of the blank. To get the sweeping shape establish a pivot point with yow'
left thumb. Then gradually swing the
handle out from 6:00 to 4:00 while rolling
the cutting end ocunterelockwise (to the
left). The cutting end should roll over to
about a 45 angle at tile end of the cut.

'---~

.c:6

,~ARnNG
(
OOlLAID
ON SiDE

'I

f !

"

-....;:

'-.."

[i.

2 curve 011 Ornamellt

To turn the sweeping 3
Thute's
A, 1 used a
very genUe curve on the bottom of the

f IlNG
TOO<LAID
ON SIDE

..J

r-

",

,~

111 i
I":
,

4>

<,

11l0UCR Al'/l) MARK OUT, Each 01'00'

l-

"

[\., GOUG':"1

,.. V

1--

rooi
I

' :'

ornament, Although a skew could be used

here, 1 found it easier to use a parting tool.
Stal'i with a whisker-wide eut, Then push
in, increasing the width of cut while keepDIgthe side of the tool rubbing against the
stock G""luaily pull the handle around to
the 6,00 position to end the cut, Only a few
passes at" needed to rough it down.

"'--_

'"

-: ""

'i
'"

IlOtI.
fA'"NG lOOl
UNTIl. CUmNG
EDGE 1$vtltTlCAl

\..

')

rJ

4 SMOOTH
CUllVEO BO'lTOM. It's dilli
5 theV.()ROOVES.
The band at the waist of 6 1'01' nurrox Next. I marked the
cult to cut the curve on the bottom
ornament, has two V-grooves.
shoulder tine for the button at the tol)
and get a smooth shape, especinDy with a
parting tool. It can be smoothed with a Vpoint scraper, however J chose all unor
thodox approach. SUIOO
1 was \vo..king with
the parting fool anyway, I just rolled it
over on its side and used the curve of the
tool like a SCl'aI)0l'to shape the bottom. (It
may help to re-sharpen it to a long point.)

,,

f-

r
f--

-.
7

..

<,

f'~

Ill'

SKEW
, '~

'-..

uses

the same basic techniques to turn the

sweeping curve, the 'rounded bottom. and
the buttons. The orolyaddition is to cut the
curve (bead) at the top that blends into the
button, y011 could use a skew with sh.. u
ing action. However, I found it easier to
hold the skew nat on the tool rest, and cut
the bead with a scraping action by moving
the handle from 6:00 to 4:00.
WOODSMITH

1";j.:.-

SK~~.

TURNINGA BEAD. Ornament

These grooves are located ~. from the of the ornament. Then part a V,.".deep
shoulder of the sweeping top curve, and shoulder, about 'y,," long. I continued with
v,r (''OIll the rounded bottom curve. I cut the parting tool to shape the halfmuml
these grooves wit h the parting tool. LIly button. Starting at the shoulder, gently
the tool on its side and push it straight in. 1'011 the parting tool to fhe right (clockwise)
Make the cut slowly. The V-groove only to cut, the button shape, A" the cutting
needs to be \/i,,'wide- it!s easy to get ClIJ edge reaches the vertical position, it will
ried away and make this cut too deep.
shape the lop of the button.

T r-,
..t.

Ii)

r
}-:-

V~

7i'T

,~
~

{D'S! two.

SKEW.

However, 1 mounted it "'ith tlte

bottom enll on the right, because it was
easier to turn the sweeping curve. Next,
1 cut in a bead at the waist. Again. I used
a skew with a scraping action. Hold the
skew nat Ollthe tool rest, Then rotate the
long point into the waist, moving the
handle from (;:00 to 4:00.

.
~OllPAtTJNG TOOt.

8C is sortnEAl>
WITH
Ornament 9
of an inverted version of the
small bead
WAIST

II)

_r

umll

CUTTING

EDGE 15 VEAnCA.L

BEAO WI1'H 1',\RT1NG 1'001...

J\ second

is cut to complete the

waist. This bead can be scraped with a
skew. but 1 used a pru1.ingtool. Start. with
the patting tool straight in and roll it to
the left until lhe cutting edge is vertical
and cuts a crisp waist line, '1'0 complete this
ornament, use a skew to serape an elongated bead at the light end (Step 7), and
turn the bottom as ill Steps :3 alld 4,

Step ...BY''''Step;:=.======~ '"

\,

'"
TURNINGA BALL,SHEARING.On.
of the most difficult shapes to turn
is one of the simplest - 8 ball. Besides
developing the actual technique, you have
to develop an eye for the shape. The
fastesb way to turn a ball is to use a 1" skew
with shearing action. This is more difficult than it looks. You have to keep the
bevel riding ~nst the stock nn(! rotate
the tool so you don't "catch a corner!'

10

'"''

~
~

'.

-1 . / '}

:..

r/

SKEW

TURNING A BALl., SCRAPING. An

easier approach is to use a scraper
to shape the ball. Or, you can lise a skew
in a scraping position. Tum the skew on
its side and hold it fiat on the tool re st with
the long point leading around Lhe end of
the stock. Slide the skew around the end,
while keeping the center of the cutting
edge on the curve. It's slow, but 1es.....risky
than using a shearing cut.

11

'l'UlININCA BALL,PARTINGTOOL.
Both M the previous methods are
awkward when t\ll'l1ing the left end (if
you're right-handed). If all else fails, grab
a parting tool. (In fact, 1 find it much easier to use a parting tool on both ends.)
Strut at the waist, with just a hairline cut.
Then push the parting tool around the
curve pressing its side against the stock.
and gradually increasing Lhe width of cuL

12

'"

'I"

GOUGE

SMOO'ni BALL.PAfING TOOl. It's

0 and ~'
!-ather easy to rough out tile basic
have a small cove at the waist that
shape of the ball with a parting tool. The is cut with a small (v.') gouge. The motool is very forgiving so you don't have to tion is the same as shown in Stell 2. Stick
worry too much about technique, WId can the gouge straight in the center of the
concentrate on vi~uatizing the shape of a cove. To cut the left side, roll the cutting
sphere. (Look at tile top edge.) Thell to end counterclockwise (to the left) and move
get the final shape, [roll tlte parting tool tbe handle from 6:00 to about 5:00. For the
on its si~ and use it as a scraping tool to . light side, go back to 6:00 and roll clocksmooth the ball to shape.
wise while moving the bandle to 7:00.

13

,~

m:

Ri .,...
~

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~\

14

\
~

SANOINGCOVE. I don't have any

reservations about using any tool
that \\111gel the job done. In the ease of
lhe eove, I found it difficult to get such a
small cove symmetrieal-c- Lh.,.. 's not much
room to play around and correct mistakes.
So [ turned it down to rough shape and
finished it with a strip of -s3ndpapel'
wrapped !U'OW1(l a '/.," dowel. This gave
me Lhe exact shape T wanted.

15

,,

v~
~" .

f-!-i

"""" ""'""

100<

I'-"

rnI

A!P """

PARnNG

SMALL COVE. Ornaments

=.iI-"
",'

GOUGE

<,

SROl)J..DEREO BEADS. Turning OrSaOULOE.Rll,O COVE. Ornament F

FINAL STEPS. Ml ornaments are
16
nament E is difficult because you 17 begins as a cylincll!r with a cove at 18 turned down to about a W' diamehave to get a perfect sphere. As the left. the waist. Then a shouldered cove is cut at ter at both ends (enough to hold it on the

side is turned, stop short to create the

angled shoulder at the bottom of the OL'I1ament. Since I used a parting tool, (his decoration starts rigbt where the parting tool
leaves off. Then two more shoulders are
turned at successively steeper angles
(about 4:30 then 3:30 positions).

the bottom. (Tip: Sine-e I'm right-handed,

1 found it easier to turn this cove with the
ornament mounted "upside down" - so the
cove is on the right.) Complete the omament by parting off a shoulder below the
cove and turning the large button. Then
cut V-grooves and a button on top.

lathe). Then sand with 150 and 240 grit

sandpaper. Remove the ornament from
lathe and saw waste off ends. I used knife
to completely shape the ends and sanded
them smooth, Thl~ ornaments have
carving (see next page). Then to protect
tbem, 1 sprayed on a coat of clear Deft..
WOOOSMITH

Carving the Ornatnents

r couldn't

resist. Although the turned ornaments shown in the previous article can
stand on their own without any further
decoration, it takes jUst a few strokes of a
knife to add a unique accent to three of the
ornaments. Even if you've never dona any
carving before, this is easy.
Ornament A has a seties of vertical
notches extending between the two Vgrooves that were tltTned around the bottom band. On Ornament E. I added foul'
stars around the middle of the ball. And
on Ornament F, 1 cut in a zigzag pattern
on the two waist bands. (Refer to drawings On page 4.)
CARVIl!!GKNIFE. AU of these cuts are
made with the same \001- a shaping knife
with a sheepfcct blade. This type of knife
has a straight cutting edge with a back that
curves to a point at the end of lhe blade,
see Fig. 2 below.
Although you can buy a carving knife for
this project (see S<>Ul'CeS, page 24). this
type of blade is sometimes found on pocket
knives. It's also the basic shape of a St.1.,..
ley or Sears utility knife which could be
used if y~u want.
LAY OUT THE PATTERN

After the ornaments are turned and

sanded. J marked out the carving patte,,,

by drawing the stroke lines with a pencil.

ORNAMENT A. The layout on Ornament
A is easy, Just <I.'8W a series of vertical
lines between the V-grooves on the bottom band of tile ornament, see Fig. 1 on
page 4. To get the spacing right, j wrapped
strip of paper around the ornament and
marked a point to indicate the eireumference, see Fig. 1, below.
Unwrap this strip and mark a series of
lines about
apart, The ~pacing may not
work out perfectly. Adjust the spacing on
the last few lines to complete the pattern.

the advantages of using basswood is that

it's vel'Y easy to carve.
The cuttin~ stroke is the same on Omaments A "tid F. Just poke the point of the
knife in at one of the V-grcoves (the
grooves lhat were I."rlled on the band).
Then <l1'lIW the knife toward you cutting 8
slighL crescent (curved) shape to the Olr
posite V -groove, see Fig. 2.
I made this cut on olle~de of all the lines
first. Then 1 tamed the ornament end-for
end to make the second cuts, see Fig. 3.
The cuts should be made in one eontinuORNAMENT F. Tbe zig-zag pattern on ous cut, slightly less than the depth of the
Ornament F is also laid out between the turned V.grooves. Try to make cra ch cut in
V-grcovee on the waist. bands. Again, one motion. It's very difficult to go back
Wl'8P a strip of paper around the O)'nruneIlL and "clean up" a cut-it
almost always gets
and mark the circumference. Then mark worse rathe, than better.
off equal sections about II,. wide on the
The same type of cut is made on Ornapaper. Transfer these marks to the cir- ment F, except the shape of the carved
lines ('IDl be more of a crescent shape, see.
eumference of the ornament to indicate the
Fig. 4.
points of each zig'7~'ll, refer to Fig. 4.
ORNAMENT E. The star on Ornament E
When carving the stars in Ornament E,
is marked by drawing two crosslines 1" don't II<) sby about the depth of the cut.
long on the center of the ball. Then sketch The knife has to go in quite deep. Make
the crescent-shaped curves between the the first, cuts on the waist of the ornament
ends of the lines.
(ho.izontal on the ornament). see Fig. 5.
Then make the second cuts vertical on the
CARVING
ornament. see ~'ig. 6. This sequence will
After drawing lhe layout tines, 1 used the help prevent chipping out the corner where
knife to cut V-grOOvesat Lhe tines. One of the cuts meet.

V.

FIGURE '2

RGUR! 1

CARVE CRECSENT SHAPE:

ON RtGH'T SIDE OF
EACti UNE

'-

-.
\

FIGURE 4

..

CARVE CRESCENT
SHA9f ON ACH
%IG.,%AG UNE

RGU~E5

FlOUAE 6

cOMPlEtE cors
IN ONE MOTION

tAAKE OEEP CUT

/WRH kNfFE

/.

\
WOODSMlTH

Dis~lay
Case
---------------------------------------------------A SHADOW BOX FOR SMALL TREASURES

Afte, turning the Christmas ornaments

shown on page 4, I decided to design and
build a di:;play case for them. But as soon
as I was done, I had requests for more of
these cases (at ditTerent sizes) to display
everything from thimbles to figurines,
The case shown is made of !It'-thick walnut [or the frame and y"H_thi<!k basswood
for the dividers. (See Sources, page 24.)
THE fRAME

1 started by making the outside frame.

Each frame piece has a large rabbet on the
inside faee (cut almost a(:J'IlSSits width)
which holds the glass front, see Fig. I,
cur THE PlllCES. Since it's easier' to cut
the rabbet on two long pieces than four'
short pieces, I began by cutting two pieces
of W stock to a finished width of ZYr
and II rough length of IS".
RABBET.To cut the rabbets, set the saw
blade %" from the fence and raise it 2%"
above the table. see Detail in Fig. l. (This
will leave a ~. x
lip .t the top.)
MITER oro LENGTH. After the rabbets
are cut, the two long workpieces are cut in
half and then mitered to finishe(llength to
produce two side pieces (A) and the top
and bottom pieces (B), see Fig. 2.
ShOllNote: If you try to miter the pieces
with the outside (good surface) lip, they
won't sit Oat on tire S<IW because of the rabbet. To solve this problem, I slipped a
SCI'311
of If.H Masonite under the workpiece
and into the na bbet, see Fig, 3.
ASSEMBLY. Now the frame can be assembled. To keep the frame square, cut H
piece of plywood to the =ct length of the
inside miters. Then clamp the frame
around the plywood, see ~'ig. 4. (put wax
paper behind the corner blocks to keel)
them from being glued to the frame.)
BACJ(. Aft.e, the frame is assembled, J
edge-glued a back panel (C) from V.,"
stock. (You could use v.r plywood.) When
the blank is dry I plane it Oat and then cut
it to fit inside the frame, see Fig. 2. (Note:
If using solia stock, cut the back about Y,."
narrower than the opening to allow for expansion with changes in humidity.)
~H

CUTWUTON
TWO 16" LONG ,ree ss

'I." xV."
~

US.
PUSH

UP

STICK

,i
"P

ftNCE

i:r14===::::7"=-~ ,=..'lil-.-r,.~==='
...
=- ==,,-j" .".
..
SIDE
(CUTTWO PIECES)

TOPI8OTTOM

2."

(CUTTWO NCES)

j_

GURE 3

ftG\lRE 4

j_

7""-----1
SHOP MADE
COItNER BlOCKS

EGG CRATE DIVIDERS

The "egg-crate" dividers that partition the

frame, consist of three center dividers and
four outside pieces, refer to Fig. 7.
TESTKERF.Since the center dividers (0
and E) interlock in saw-cut notches, the
thickness of each center divider must equal
a single saw kerf. To determine the width
of the kerf made by yow' blade, cut a test
kerf in 3 piece of scrap,

,,,.
SPACEI

CUT

SCRAP

CROSS SECTION

Pt.WOOOTO
HOLD fltAoMl
SQUARE

WOODSMITH

IlESAWTO T1UCKNESS.Now resaw the

stock for the dividers to thickness to match
the kerf, Resaw enough for two vertical
dividers (D) (rough sizes 2\4' x '7') and
one horizontal divider (E) (2\4j' x 8'1.

ShOP Note: To allow for planing and

sanding, it's belIt to resaw these pieces
slightly thicker than the kerf. They should
fit the test kerf aft,el sanding.
llESAW OUTSIDEPJ)::CEl;. The fow' out.
side pieces (F,G) of the egg-crate ru-emade
thicker (11.0") because half of their thickness
is hidden behind the If,!' rabbet on the
frame. (When viewed from the front of the
ca.se, only ~. thickness will appear.)
CUT TO size, "0 make these 'I,"thick
outside pieces, start by cutting two vertical outside pieces (F) to "oughly 2\1,' x r
and two horizontal pieces (G) 2'(''' x ft.
To determine the fiual. lVUlt" of all the
dividers, measure tlte depth of the box
Irom the bottom of the Up to the back edge
(2'Y.'? 111en subtract the thickness of the
glass (~') and the thickness of the back
(v.."). In my case this meant cuLting the
dividers 211.i"ide,

vI'

VERTICAL PIECES

(cur

(CUT TWO 'A~THIQ() (CUT TWO '/ THtcK)

--i

HORIZONTAL PIECES
ONE

w THICK) (CUT TWO ,,,r THICK)

DETAIL A
IMPfENCE

-.

~'I'"

2'1..

T
1",."

'f

see Fig. 5.

Now (,/I the pieCes can be cut

to final length so they fit snugly i,(side the
frame, refer to Fig. 8. This is 6%" for the
vertical piece. (D,F) and 7V1' for tI,. horizontal pieces (E,G).
END NOTCHES. Next, 1 cut notches in all
of the pieces t.o assemble them. These
notches are cut exactly half way up the
width of each piece. Stal'l by cutting 11.,..
wide end notches in all the pieces to match
the thickness of tile outside pieces (F,G).
To cut these end notches, set the fence
as a stop 11... Doom the outside of the blade
and the blade height equal to half the
width (height) of the pieces (l'l':~.see
Detail A in Fig. 6. Then make a pass at
the end of the pieces. (Note: You can cui
a number of pieces at once.) To finish the
notcb to ';"- wide, push the ends against
the fence and make another pass.
CENTER NOTCIlES. Next, I cut the e'en'
tel' notches on the opposite edge of the end
notches. That is, the pieces should be
turned $0 the end notches ru... on the top
edge when the center notches are cut.
On the shorter vertical pieces (D,F), cut
a notch centered on the lengtb (in my case.
3\1,.. from the end, see Fig. 5). 0)1 the
horizontal pieces (E,G). cut a notch 2'11'
from each end, see Detail II in Fig. 6.
LENG1'H.

SECOND:

')

ADD VI' 1HICK vat:r.CA.l _,

OUTSIDE PIECES

AGURE 8

WRHiONS

DETAIL

,-:-

=>,

I finished them with two coats of tung oil.

&~':,._

Then 1 cut a piece of glass to fit the frame.

Now, slide in the egg-crate pieces. (If
the thickness of the stock matches the
width of the notches. the pleees should

""'"

WVIDe.

~~~~~~:::

,,7

"""V

To hold the back panel in place, I

two metal turn buttons into the
P:US:'h~t:oge~t:her~\:~~lh:O:U:t~gI:u:e,~s~'e~e~F:~_'_7_.)
__
back edge of the frame. see Fig. 8.
SCl... wed

TlJR:NaunoN
BACK PANft

GLASS

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Before putting all of the pieces togethe,

113J:'h-Fh
WOODSCREW

~====~======~

GiASS

/~/===~=,,=====:=
...
==<================~

WOOOSMITH

""V

Kid's Sled
BUILTFOR SNOW, SHOW AND GO
------~--~----~-------A 1.'00<1.Ied i$ like a fine sport, car. You
feel like it'~ part of you as you slide down
hill. Even Uloul(h Our "led doesn't have a
fancy sleeling mechanism or flexible runners, U\C'kid. wlll find it ""1S like a Sj)OIt~
cal' for fll"t maneuvering down the slopes.
'J'hi~gubjc'ctof speed brings me to. topic
thut 1'\l~'Civcclsome discussion in the Wood
.mill, offici'S, Given the light bill and the
light "nOW conditions, this sled is fast.
Dave's kids (our low-budget tell pilots)
praised its speed, Dave, forgetting bis 0"1'1
youth as a thrill seeker. got the ehiIls.
W. Mnl .11<'O\II"~ge u.,ing tbis sled on
bi& with trees or other immovable Dbstaeles. For young thiklrcn, this is a pull
sled, not " co:L,ting sled,
Tho line between the use and abase of
anything isn't fine. It's obvious what's fun
and what'. (oolhardy. This sled is a lot of
fun when it's u:;(,1 intelligently, Used reekle.. ly, it can be'd.Ulgerous. But, "0 C<Ul sliding down II hill on a conventional sled - 01'
even on a piece of cardboard,
011('other thing to keep in mind: all sleds
ore meant fo" coooting 011 snow, not icc,
The plastic trim on ow' sled's runners
mttke. it ('sll('cinlly good, even in powdery

snow But, unlike the steel runners On

commercial .1<!<ls, this plastic won't bite

into ire. So, steer clear of icy spots before
you ""'" control o( your steering.
MAnlUALS

The .I<!<I L, mo<leof ,.,Iid ash . the same

wood u",,1 since th~ last ice age for dog

~eds, "'lOw.hue<, and skis, Ash has been

popular for winter transportation because
it stay,; nexible even through hourly
free7.(>JthawcYClelO.
f'Ah'TI:{NBlt!i. In.'iwacl of using rawhide

thon!!" to Illsh the 1~11tstogether, we used

knock-down fllrnitlll'e fasteners. On these
r...Wncl'i<the shnnk i. threaded to screw
into II steel cro"" dowel nut. 1'hL~design
lets them be l'ttighton(!(1 without stripping
the holes. Duling the slimmer the sled can
be broken down and packed away.
RUNNER EOOING.The runners have
strictly modern trimmings. We covered
the edgl'S with ,'inyl Tmolding - tbe table
edging that's commonly used on inexpensive ~~'ood and particleboard furniture.
This trim mnk ... the runners slick and
abrasion "",.,tant. And the T-mo!ding i;>
easy to rel)~",e if it', worn or damaged.
MAKE RUNNERS

The .1('(1 consiste o( lwo runners (A) connected by two cro!!.,braces (8) and six slats
(C) thal (1I'C screwed to the cross braces to

10

fonn the ""at. I oog"n by cutting the runners r"un ,-1 ( .- to 10/,. actual) brown
ash, 6" widl' by 3Cj" long, see Fig. I.
RUNNERS. The runners (A) form the
sides "r til(' sled. To cut them to shape,
begin b~'IIlylng out the profile, <ee Fig. 1.
Since th~ p""ition o(the, 45" angled cuts on
the r~al' of Iht' l'Unnel'Sis determined by
the lll't'"orthe til'Clc. that form the 001110''5,
I drew the cil'llies fil"'t.
CORNt:RS. The two l"C~U'COI11el'S,as

well

"" the nooc of the runner. are mnde by

dra"ing I" l"ddiu., circles, Locate the front

circle and lower rear circle tight at the
corners of th4.> workpiece, ~ Fig. I.
Next, to Incaw lh~ upper rear comer,
mea,...ure ill

a
c

a"",_

(2)

c...u_(2)
$eo, SIa" (6)'
D Dowol. (2)"

1'1,. x 6 - 36
1\"
71/. _ .4
1/, 2 _ 2OY.
:Jh,

point of a t'Oll1llU"-' on this tin~ and draw II

I' l'lldill>!circle 110 il touches the top edge

ufthe workpiece. Then III'llWaline tangent

to tbe lIpper :tncl lower circles, When the
waste is cut 00', the :Ingle of the rear end
of the runner will be "bout 45'.

MATERIALSLIST

IA

"It frorn the end and square

tine down (""n the lop edge. Place the

cunlNG

DIAGRAM

x 140/"

* RESAWTO'"''
CUT FROM ONE o/i' 36" DOWEL

WOODSMITH

fRONT BIlGY_The curve at the front of

the runner i. """I. by drawing an arc with
a IT," radius, The center point of thi,
are i< 12'"bark from the from edge of the
sl<'<1and 171'; up from the bottom edge.
Alter d"minl( thb curve, cut to shape and
sand smooth, Then use it as a pattern to
Jay out thf:l' (.'\11"\'(' on the opposne runner ..

FlGUIf ,

".

Sl[O RUNNER PRORl[

....

17'.-.

,.

MORTISES

When both runners are cut to shape, blind

mortises aro made on the inside faces for
th(l CI'~!;bra~(l:I.There ..ue two sets of
mOl'Li!'". 1'ho>'<)in (l'ont are round holes
for the t \\I() (10\\'(1)handles. The other mortiS('~ U1't-'1'Cct.ailJtUlar for the CI"O...~braces
that SUPi'Olt the
slats, see Fig. 2.
ROUND MOIt1)sES. The round mortises
are .,.-<I~" IUtt,bot.med holes for the
dow.I" 1'0 bore Ih("" holes. first mark
their lo<ation.,centered 2'"and 6"' from

"".t

9',,,"

....

~GURE 2

we

front of we runner and 'rio" do'", from the

top Ig.'. Then use a v. Forstner bit to
bore the hole, '" deep.
IIECTANGUI.AR ~IOJmSES. 1'0 make we
1'f>Ctan.c:ul;umortises for the C~

braces

(ll), begin by ""ing a combination

,;q\I3'"('

3.

I""

--2.,,"---

5...

... ....
,
... (

.,.

.....

.....

-_

MORnSE '.

DEI'

to la,)'out their positieu.....

, see FIg. 2. (Note:

'1'lw width of the mortise equals lhe thickness of the C)I)$.. braee.) Next, remove
mo<t of the W!I"1.e within the outlines. I
roughed it out with II '10" straight bit ill 8
,,,nlt'" set to cut 'I.' deep, ROO Fig. 3.

SQUAll UP SlGES
AND CORNERS
WITH CHISEl

Al\.(~l' nl()!~t of the waste is removed,

and the corners of the
m0l1 ill('" with II chl""I, see Fig. 4.
Clp811up tI", I","

CENTER CUTOUT
MOI11SI _

Now the eemer of ~"ch runner can be cut

out to pro\id( a good hand-bold and

lighten the sled's weight,

POSITION C'IJ\CLES. J made the cutout
by ct'tting away an area of waste between
two ['/-".Iiu< drtlc,; centered on the

IOUAlS

1MICJCNISS 01 STCIQ
ftGlJlf S

CROSS
SECTIO,N

width <)r th( runners, ~(,..e Fig, l, Position

the center of (hp "NU' circle 9\1,,' from the

rear of the sled. Then scribe We forward
circle II" in frunt of the rear one.
ell)' OUT c.:N'r~ll.An.el' drawing both
Chili,,", sC"ibt top and bottom tines to connect them, then cnt out t.he waste with II
sabre saw, !'e ~'Ig.5.
nOUNO INSIDE BOGES. Now the inside
edges can be rounded to provide a com,
fortable hand ~.,.jp. To do this. I used a
router ",ith a ~" round-over bit set to cut
"",- (IN.11). !'(_"(l' Cross Section in Fig. 5,
RUl>'NIiRSLOTS. \\'hiIe Ihad the router
out. I cut the slots for the T,molding tha;
goes ,uwIVI the perimeter of the runners,
To do this I used 'I.." slot cutter bit.
Rcgin by pmclicing on a scrap piece the
same thickne.;.. as the runner stock, Adjust the bit uutil it cult; " slot exnct/y
("('nu'l'I'd all the edge, Then cut We groove
all thp way around the runner, see Fig. 6.
Snop Note: The pilot 011the slot cutter
,ml.c)muticlIlly makes a 'It,deep groove,
WOOOSMITlf

NOTE

QNI# NNN(1

OOWNWOI(

1lOU11HG

"'lC1lON

lIOUTlHG

..

'

Slot

,.

NOTE,

SlOT cunE'!

ROV' COUNlEJtClOCKWISE

81'

AROUND aUNNER

II

RGURE 7

SEAT SUPPORTS

CROSS
BRACE
1l:NON
DeTAIL

RGUR! 8

SHOULDERS .........AlE ~V.."DEfP~ ___/

,/..- LONG
(SEE DETAIL)

CROSS BRACE STOCK

EQUAlS MORns.; WIDTH

CROSS SECTION
/

NOTE:

THICKNESS OF

.UNNEJI
TOP fOOt
CROSS BRACE

1'1,"

FIGURE 9

NOTE:

.H,.
"PORrAllGN

After the runners an! finished, the cross

braces (B) that support the seat slats can
be made. These braces also are 414" brown
ash, 3" wide by 14' long.
TENONS. To join the cross braces to the
runners, simple tenons are formed by cutting v... by Vo" notches on the top and bottom edges producing 2~N-wide tenons to
fit the mortises in the runners, see Fig. 7.
I cut these notches on the table saw
using tlte miter ga uge for support. Since
the fence is used as a stop, T fastened a
scrap of o/,N plywood to the side of fue
fence to protect it from the blade.

uS( HOlES

THRO<JOH
RUNNeRS TO

MOtE

STRAlGIfT

POSITtON BIT

"'..

OIIfll 8fT

ASS ......
CROSS BRACES
TO RUNNERS

~REIO

NOTE:
TOP IDGES
stAY SQUAH

SET

'It

lIfT

ROUNOOVER
BIT

'A." OfEP
ROUND BOrrOM
EDGES ONLY

AGURE 11

.DOWEl

IQoIOCK.ooWN

__

fASTENERS

Aftel' cutting the tenons, the cross braces

aloe ready for the knock-down fasteners,
see Fig. 8. To do this, three sets of holes
have to be drilled.
HOhES 1:N lU1NNBRS. The fu'St set of
holes goes through the runnel'S for the
body of the bolts, see Fig. 8. To locate
these holes, square a line from the center
of the mortise. Next, mark the hole positions 1Vi' and 3~down from the top
edge of the runners. Then drill ,. holes
1i-01Othe outside into the mortise.
1':ND BOLES. Now the holes for the
shanks of the bolts can be <hilled il1to the
ends of the cross braces. To do this, 1 temporarily mounted the runners to the
braces. Then I used the holes in the runners as guides and drilled 0/,.1' holes 2%"
deep into the ends, see Fig. 9.
N\TI' HOLES.Finally, the holes for the
cross <,lowelnuts can be drilled on the back
face of the Cl'Q$S braces. To do this, scribe
lines centered on the end holes and continue them across the inside faces of the
braces, see Fig. 10. Then bore the 'Vt.""
dia. holes centered 1%' from the ends of
the braces. (These holes are "100' deep.)
PROFILE EDGES. Next, I rounded over
the OOtt<n edges of the cross braces, see
Detail in Fig. 10. (Leave the top edges
square to support the seat slats.)
f'RA1d1l ASSIlMBJ,.Y. The sled can be assembled at this point. First cut two 0/.,dia. dowels 14%" long to fit between the
runners IUIdbore a 'Y." tow rope hole 1" in
from each encl. Then tighten the fittings.
A PLACE TO SIT

To make the seat, begin by ripping six

slats (C) U-01O l!(,N stock (or resaw 414 stock
to
thick) to 2" wide by ~:W'long.
J:>Al>OES.
To help hold the sled square
and ligid, the seat slats have dadoes on
both ends that fit over (he cross braces.
You have to make sure these dadoes an!
spaced to match the distances between the
two Cl'()SS braces, To do this, I cut the dado
only on one end of all the pieces first,
SETDADOBLADE.To cut the dadoes, set
up the dado blade to match the thickness
~N

14-\4"

1,2

WOODSMITH

of the cross braces (1%.' in my case), see

Detail in Fig. 12, Next, use the fence as a
stop by setting it 1" from the dado blade,
see Fig, 12, Then cut the dado \4' deep
across the end of all the pieces.
0'l'IIE1t OAllO. To position the dado on
tile other end of the slats 1 set the slat on
edge over the cross braces with the dado
exactly aligned over one brace, see Fig.
13. Then, I marked the position of the
other brace OJ) the bottom of the slat.
Next, reset the fence and cut the dadoes.
ItOUND ENDS. Before fastening the slats
to the braces, the ends of the slats are
rounded on the router table, see Fig. 14.
FASTEN TO BRACES. The slats are
fastened to the cross braces using No. 8 x
1" bl"JSSFh woodscrews, Begin by drilling
0/,,' countersunk shank holes centered
over the dadoes on each of the slats.
After the shank holes are drilled, position the slats on the braces with \!.i" space
between the slats. (1 used scraps of \4"
Masonite to maintain the spacing between
the slats and the outside stats.) Then drill
%oM pilot holes into the braces,
SCREWS. Brass

DETAIL
TAmE
SAW
FENCE

AGURE 13

MAlIK POSITION
0Pf0S1TE (SlOSS

Of

BRACE ON SlAT

screws are used because

they won't rust or corrode. But. they're

weaker than steel screws and sometimes
break where you're tightening them. To
alleviate tbis problem, J tighten a steel
screw into each hole first to cut the
threads. Then I back it out and tighten the
brass screw in place.
Note: The ends of the screws that go
throug!! the two outside seat slats are positioned directly over the knock-down
fasteners. To keep them from running into
the fasteners, 1 cut off the ends so the
overaUlength of the screws was about %".
Now all that's left is putting On the '"0ners. To do this, start the plastic molding
in the groove On the top center of the top
of the runner, see Fig. 15. Then stretch it
while pressing it in place until you come to
the curve at the nose of the runner.
mONT CURVE. To make the tight curve
at tl)e nose, the "T" patt of the stlip bas
to be notched SOit won't buckle. To do this,
cut V-sheped notches about \I.," wide
where they join the bottom edge, <lee
Detail in Fig. 15.
After cutting the notches, press and
stretch the T.molding the length of the
bottom of the runner. When the bottom rear
corner is reached, more notches will be neeessary to make this bend. Then bend the
T-molding up the angled rear end and cut
one more set of notcbes to make this bend.
END. Finally I press in the ship along the
top of the runner and cut off the end so it
butts tightly against the startlng' end.
FINISH. Since this sled ,,;U be used in
weather unfit fOI' man or beast, it deserves
a tough, flexible finish. I laid on three coats
of marine spar varnish.
WOO1)SMl't'li

CROSS

ROUTtR

~Eglo.~

TABtE

FEMe:<

'I,"

NOTE:

RUNNER STRIPS

11--'"'--f...1.....j

CUT T-MotOING
TO 8UTT EN.OS

PRE.TH RAS) HOLES

WITH STEELsatEWl;-

CUT SCREWS

ON

FliST AND lAST SlATS

(S1:ECROSS StenOH .'LC1W)__I

....

CROSS SECTION

DETAIL

SEAT'lAl-._

"~18x t"
UA5S
-SCREW

f-MOLOING

TO MAI( BENDS
AT ENDS

13

S_e_t_vi_ng Tray

___

CUTIING CORNERS A ROUNDED WAY

Sometimes the best reason for building a
project is to test out new technique. Tl,at
was my approach as 1 started to work on
this serving (ray. 'the tray didn't seem as
important as having the chance to tr), out
a corner joint Ihadn't used before,
The technique involves cutting 8 radius
(01' rounded) corner, without bending it.
That in itself isn't too difficult. But the
challenge is to join this corner piece to the
othel' frame pieces, That takes some planning ahead on how the corner pieces are
laid out and cut. (Note: A detailed .,title
on making the COl"!!"" pieces is on page 18.)
CORNER PIECES

To make the corners (A) Cor this serviag

tray. I sooted by laminating two pieces of

414 stock (0/," to '0/,,;' actual thickness)
which \\;11 produce a blank I~'to l~"
thick, see Fig, l. (Or, you can use a piece
of 814 stoek.) Cut this piece to a width of
40/,,;, and a length of 29".
CUTBWCKS. To cut out the four blocks
needed for the corner pieces, begin by cutting oft'the end of the blank at a 45 angle.
Then cut off foul' tri""Ul(iar-shaped blocks.
see Fig. 1. 1'0 make the sqUat'e blocks, cut
the

to

{(eat'S" Off t\VO

I((!e

ROUGH BlANK CORNER B.LO_CKS

corner'Sof the triangtes

2.

blocks 3'4' square. (I eut off the

"ears" on a band saw.)

LAY OUTTIlE CORNeRS- Now the CUrved

corners can be laid out On the blocks. 'the

easiest way to do lhis is to tape the four
blocks together, Then use a 0(101)lIS5 to
draw tWQ circles, see Fig. 2.
The outside circle has a ramus of 3'. The
inside circle is drawn :;0 the COrnel' pieces
have a thickness equal to the stock thickness you want to use for the tI-ay sides. (1
used stock that was 'ttl' thick so the
radius of the inside circle is 2iY",.)

WASTE AREA

Lf--'---

T tM\IoNATttwO PlEaS OF
- 4f4 STOCK TOGETHER
l'lt
)'~"THICK

CUT TRIANGtfS

CUT FOUR

to

AT 45 ANGLE

IDENTICAl
COiNERS
CUT OFF

"tARS

SIDES AND HANDLES

After drawing these circles, I cut the stock

for the tray's sides and handles, The two
sides (B) are 11')1,;'long, see Fig. 5. These
side pieces are cut to width so lhey equal
the tlticlm6S.~(height) of the corner block
(10/.. ' in my case).
The pieces for the handles (C) are cut to
a length of 6', see Fig. 5. Since the handles rise above the level of the corner
pieces and the sides, these pieces are cut
extra wide (tall), to a height of 3W.

fiGURE 2:

NOTE:
GRAIN DIRECTION

SHOUU) ROW
WITH THE
ARC

MARJrBOTH

RADII ON BLOCKS

GROOVE AND SPLINE JOINTS

Now the joints can be cut to connect all the

pieces. I used II decorative version of II
spline and groove joint. This requires cutting grooves in the mating ends of each

14

NOTe,

..J

DIFFERENCE
eETWEEN RADII MUST
EQOAl THtCKNSS Of SIDE

TAP! All FOUR

BLOCKS TOG-ETHER

WOODSMITH

piece, and then cutting splines to fit the

RGURE 4

grooves.

GROOVES. To show off the joint, 1 cut a

set of three groove. in each piece -

tWQ

shallow grooves with a deeper groove

centered between them.
To cuI, the shallow grooves, set the blade
LO a height of \I.... Then positfon the tip
fence so it's '!j,N from th~ inside of the
blade, see Detail in Fig. 5.
Shop Note: J used a ';1) blade to cut
these grooves. AU the teeth 011 rip blade
are ground Oat aCJ'O-.<S the tOI).which produces a flat-bottom groove.
CU'l' CROOVES IN CORNERS. When the
saw is set up, hold lhe corner block firmly
again~t the fenee, and cut a shallow groove
in one edge of each COl1leJ' block, see Fig.
3. (Make sure the groove is cut on an edge
where the ends of the curve aJ.. drawn.)
Then rotate the block and make a second
cut in the other edge where the other end
of the curve is drawn,
cor GROOV";SIN SIDES. Next, matching brrooves are cut in the ends of tbe side
pieces (B). Here, Iused a 2x4 block to suppori the piece while it's pushed through
tbe blade, see Pig. 4. Make this cut on both
ends of the side pieces - making sure the
same edge is against tile fence fo,' both
cuts.

'1114 WOOD

.,ock

NOTE:

CUT GROOVES ONLY

ON BOfH ENI)$ OF CURVE

. USE SAME
BlADE SETTlNG

\VOODSMITH

ANt)

SlOE PIKES

fiGURE S

NOTE:

FIRSTCU'-!l:_..
-e-~::::::::"

~2'"--

MARK All~~OIIl'~SI:"~(T""~)
EDGESWIn.
"'I:"
__

;;..;.---

J '~

SIDE
(TWO PlEaS)

DETAil

CORNR
BlOCK

THICKNESS

t
HANDLE

(TWO PIECe)

Shop Note: Since this entit'e procedure

requires working with the same edge
against the fence for all three cuts in each
piece, J marked the olltside (top) edge of

all pieces with an X", see Fig. 5. \Vhen I

was ready to make the cut, J cheeked to
make sure the "X" was out. (away from
Ihe fence), refer to Figs. 3 and 4.
CU'l' GROOVES(1'1 HANOLES. With the
saw still in the same set-up, make this
same cut in both ends of the two handle
pieces (C). Again. 1 used a '2x4 block La
support, the handle as tile groove is cut.
SECOND GROOVE.To cut the other shallow groove, it. would seem easiest. to
simply tum the pieces around (so the opposite edge is against the fence) and make
the cut.
This would work fine on the corner
pieces and the sides, but not on the handle
since it's wide,'. Instead, you have to adjust the rip fence So the measurement Doom
the olll.ricleof the workpiece to the olltlid.
of the blade is %N, see Detail in Fig. 6.
CU'l' GROOvE;S.When the fence is adjuste<l, make the second set of shallow
grooves in the ends of all the pieces (corner
blocks, sides, and handles). When YOU'I'e
done, all of the pieces should have two
shallow grooves as shown in Fig. 6.
CUT CENTERGROOV:E.The last step is
to cut the deeper center groove. Raise the
blade to a height of %N. Then position the
fence so the blade is centered between the
first two cuts, see Detail in Fig. 7. Make
this cui using the same procedure Oil all
pieces, keeping the "X" edge out.

fO,

fEN(.f

DETAIL
R"

fENCE

.---.......- ....
CORNEst
IlOCJ(

CORNEa
S,lOCK

' ....

IIAN...

NOTE,
KEEP ''X'" lOGE OUT
WHEN CUTTING

RGURE T

THIRDcpr

P_aAlt

'"
\

FENCE

.... CORNER
BLOCK

IlANDU!

&nwtEN

GROOVE.
CulS

15

Ft<iVItE

THE HANPLE ANP CORNERS

HMoiDLE LAYOUT

MmTOI'

Of- CORNIIt

ROC.

THICKNESS

,
flGUIt(

01 CORNER \
BLOCK

~OUNO OvtR EOGES

OF CUTOUT WITH
ROONDOVEIt BIT

AFTtR CUlTING
WA$Tt. lOUND

OUTSIOE

tADlUS

OYti

TOI' INNER EDGE W1TH

v." IOUNDOVER 10'

.y,

Ale MUSt
I';'''

After the grooves are cut in all the pieces,

I cut the handle to fmal shape. The inside
of the hanrlJe is defined by
-dia, holes
at each end. !'AX' Fig. 8. Then a Z' -radius
are is drawn to connect these two holes.
DRAW CURVes. The outside of the tray
handle is shaped by two intersecting
curves, One is a 2'y,,' radius drawn from
the sallie center point ,IS the radius for the
inside of the handle. 1'hi~ curve intersects
with t\\TO 1o/M'" .. ru(liuR CUI"VP.S drawn from
each top corner of the block, see Fig. 8.
CUT ovr HANDLES. Alter the curves aloe
drawn, drill the V"-dia. holes. Then cut
out the center of the handle with a jig saw
or sabre saw unci sand the edge smooth.
Next. round over these inside edges with
a 1,1." round..,ver bit, see Fig. 8. Also cut
the top out.<kleedge of the handle to shape
and
il .mooth.
THE CORl<ERS. Alter the handles are
shaped. I cuI the i"xid~ radius of tbe
corner pieces on 8 band saw, see Fig. 9.
Then 5al1<1tJ,is edge smooth with a drum
sander on a drill press, (However, leave
the outside corner square. It's used as a
cialnpinl( $urfllce during assembly.)
ROUND OV~R P.OOES-Usually I would
waiLuntil "lU". ll''''embly to ..and and round
over the t~lg(!~.But in this case, you can't
round the lop in.ide edge. Of the tl'3y beCU1l8.the handles will be in the way.
l rounded over Ih. top edges of the sides
and Mndlc. with :I '1'.' round-over bit
mounted on tbe rooter table. see Fig. 10.
AI"" round over the top inside edge of the
corner pieces see Detail in Fig, 9.

NOTE,
LfAVE OUTSIDE COlNERS
SQUARE 101 C~NG

DETAIL

'I.'

",Ind

ASSEM8LY

ItOUT

~'a~

ROUNOovtR
ON 10TH

tOP EOG(S

PEtAll

GWE SPUNES TO
JOIN CORNERS
AHO HANDlE

16

In order to join lhe pieces, you have to cut

three l;pline. ror each joint, see Fig. 11.
The splines can be cut from the same wood
to match the tr-ay stock, or from eontrssting (darker) wood to highlight the joint.
For ((1'<),,((
.. 1 HII'<)ngth,the splines aloe
cut SOthe ((111in1'Un.' perpendicutar to the
joint line. I cut the splines by resawing
(ripping on edf,'C) \4.-thickstrips (to match
the width of the A"'OOveH).
see Fig. 1 I.The
width of these .trip" should be enough so
the splint'>'extend out f!'Omthe sides of the
frame about W' to allow for some shifting
during glue-up, see Fig. 12.
U':GIN GLUING. Alter the splines are cut,
assembly can begin. First, glue the splines
to join two corner pieees and one handle.
Then clamp thi., unit together, see Fig. 12.
A., the damp i., tijthtened, make sure the
ends of the comer pieees do n<Jt twist.. They
must be "Quare so they can be joined to
tbe side pieces, (I placed a straightedge
against the ~nrl~ of the corner pieces to
check fOi' "QUal'C, see Fig. 12.)
ADO$IO.:S. Alter the two end units are
gtued up, add the sides. ')'l,L, is where it
can be tricky to keep the whole frame from
WOODSMITH

twisting. The best approach is to place the

clamps on II smooth level sunace, see Fig.
13. Then put the frame in position and
'Pw;h down firmly against the clamps.
TIghten each clamp a little at a time,
making sure the frame doesn't twist .

FIGURE 1J

NOTE:

POSITION CLAMPS
ON A lEVEL SURFAce
TO AVOID lWl$l1NG

COMPLETE CORNER PIECES

\Vhen the glue is dry, you can complete the

comer pieces. First, use a band saw to cut
off the outside COllier. see Fig. 14.
F[L INSIDB.As these cuts are made,
the band saw automatically trims off the
spline's excess on the outside of the tmy.
Use a file to remove the excess on the inside. Tllen sand the inside and outside
edges of the tray frame.
ROUNDOVER CORNERS.All of the tray's
top edges were rounded over be(ol'e assembly. except the outside P,dges of the
comer pieces. Rounding over these edges
is awkward. l held the tray frame vertically on the router table and slid it in all
are into a '11.' round-over bit, see Fig. 15.

NOTE:
ADJUST ClAW'
PRESSUIitE to SQUAJtf
UP fIIAME

ftGUtE 15

ROUND OVEa OUTSIDE

fOO Of CORNERS WITH

~ .. ROUNDOVllt 6fT

THE TRAY BOTTOM

The last step is to add the bottom. Here

you have a few choices. The bottom can be
made ou~ of hardwood plywood to match
the tray frame stock. Or. it can be made
of a fancy burl 01' exotic veneer that's laminated to plywood or Masonite. Or, it can
be made from plastic laminate (see page
24) laminated to plywood 01' Masonite,
ROtIT nASSET. However, before getting
to the tray's bottom, a rabbet has to be cut
on the bottom edge of the {rame. '1'0 cut
Lhisrabbet. 1 used a rabbeting bit on the
router table, see Fig. 16. Set the bit to a
height of W' and rout the rabbet around
the entire inside perimeter. (See page 23,
for another way to do this.)
Shop Note: The depth of the rabbet
(shown as 'I.in Fig. 16) is actually ,/","
deeper than the final tray bottom thickness to allow room for the cork pads .
.. ARK OUTLINE OF BOTI'OM. A.liel' the
rabbet is routed, lhe tray bottom can be
cui to fit. Place the tray frame on the tray
bottom. Then mark the outline of the rabbet, see Fig. 17.
Shop Tip for plywood bottom: if you're
using hardwood plywood, eut it to width
and length (on the marked lines) on a table
saw to get a smooth CUt. Then sand the
corners round on a disc sander.
Shop Tip for laminated bottom: If you're
laminating veneer 01'plastic laminate, see
Shop Notes. page 23, for some tips on eutting the laminate to match the bottom.
FINAL STEPS. Alter the tray bottom is
cut to shape, fasten it to the frame with
brads. (If plastic laminate is used, ;t helps
to drill pilot holes for the brads.) Tben glue
the cork pads to the bottom. see Fig. 18.
Finally, 1 sanded the tray with 240 grit
sandpaper and applied two coats of polyurethane varnish.
WOODSMITH

FIGURE 17

RGURE 16

TRACE AJtOUND
'NSIDE EDGE
OF 1/L86n

-_.;:;',

W
ROUNOOVE'1t
ON OUTSI.E

8OnOM EDGE~

I
~
.j..-:::
"l'

cut A ." RASUT

1/." DEEP AROUND

lNSIOE Of fRAME

F1GUR! 18

BOTTOM

ogAlL

W'

aRAD

~./

~-,--...j ,
CORK PAD

17

Cutting Round Corners

STEP BY STEP
direction I turned the square

The easy way to make the

rounded corners for the serving tray and clock is to Jay out
the radii on a piece of stock and
cut out the COIner on the band
saw. It may be the easy way
and it dpesn't use much wood,
but I don't ()),ink iCs the best
way to cut corners.

blocl<s 45" and cut them from "

larger blank, 'lee Pig, 2.

To determine the size blank to

cut these blocks from, first you
need to know the desired outside
radius of the comer. (As an example, we will use the 2'Ii' outside radius for the clock, The
serving tray has a l&loge" 3" outside radius),

PROBLEMS

The problems with using this

method have to do wjth the
direction of the grain, Since
the corner makes a 90' turn,
tbere il; an area where the
gt-ain cuts direetty across the
narrow width, see Fig. 1. If
there's stress 011 the COiner, it
m,ight crack at this point.
A

WEAK JOINT. There's

another problem -

the jolnts

connecting the comer pieces to

the sides 81'e weak, On one end
of the corner piece, end grain ..........joins end grain. On the opposite end, side
graln joins end grain. Neither of these
joints is very strong, and visually the side
to end grain joint, breaks the Pl'Oject'S overall grain flow.
OO-CORNERS. Okay, $0 why don't you lay
out the corners so the grain cuts diago'wily along the corner piece, rathel' (han
across it? That's just what T did, but
there's a problem here too. 1'0 form a reetangular or square project, the ends of the
eomer piece have to be exactly 000 to one
another, The best way to make clean,
smooth cuts at 90" is on a table s:<w Or
AGURf 1

A WEAl( CORNER

LAYOUT

square is laid Gut on papal',

measure diagonally '01'0-<;$ the
square, This gives the width of
the blank that the four corner
blocks can be cut from (30/0.- fol'
the clock and 4%. for the serving tray).
radial aim saw, not on a band saw,
Note: The exact width of the blank can
In short, to make lhe COrner pieces, I be calculated. Start by adding V. to the
went thl'ough a more difficult P''OOeSS,used destred radius (2V.r + Vi' = 2'1.") and
more \9'00<1, but ended up with row' attrac.... square the sum (2V.1" x 2y-'J' :: 5".06>.
Then mUltiply tbat figure by 2 (5.06 x 2 =
tive, strong comers,
10.12). Now, find the square rooe of your
MAKING THE BLOCKS
answer (square l'Oat of 10.12 = 3.181
I cut the rounded COIners out of square
which is equivalent to 3'V.."). This figure
btocks, see li'ig. 2. The square allows the will equal the width of the blank.
two ends of the comer piece to be exactly
LENGTH OF BLANK. To determine the
90" to each other and there's a fiat clamp- tel/gtk of the blank, multiply lhe width diing surface for assembling the tray or mension times 5 and add 7" to allow room
clock, refer to Step 7 Oilthe opposite page,
for the kerfs and some extra to hang onto
Bul to get the p;nun running the correct
when cutting, see Fig. Z,
AGURE 2

r
W

END GRAIN

EQUAlS
FIVE
TIMES
WIDTH
PlUS Of-WASJE-----...,

CLOCK 3V.....
WASTE AJlEA

----{"'--------'-'-->.'v",-'
--f1:AY4~/I.~

JOINS--~

CRACkrNG
POSSIBlE IN
IHJS AREA

WIDTH OF BLANK, Alter the

r------LlNGTH

END GRAIN

SQUARE. Draw

square on paper with each side of

the square baillg equal to Lhe
desired outside radius (2'1.',)
pll<$ II.", see Fig. 2, (The Val'
gives extra room for cutting.)

~,

~'

~-

..j

SlOE GItAIN j
JOINS :.:.,/
END GIWN

CUT Off EAIlS

TO P'IIOOUC

SQUARE SlOCK

A STRONGER CORNER

18

WOODSMlTH

CUTTING THE BLOCKS

Once you know the blank's width and

length, cut it to size from 814 stock, see
Fig. 2 on the opposite page. (Or, laminate
two pieces of 414 stock.)
C\YI' WASl'fi:. AJ\er the blank was 'cut to
size, I started cutting out square blocks to
produce the corners, (The square blocks
start as triangles, then the "ears" are cut
off to produce a square, see Fig. 2.) To
make the blocks, start by cutting a 45'
angle off one end, see Step l.
Shop Note: When usUlg the table saw,
screw an au.xiliary fence to the miter
gauge. Then clamp the workpiece to the
fence so it doesn't creep, see Step I.
CUT FIIjST TRIANGLE. After thelirsl cut
is made, flip the blank upside down and
align the heel of the cut end with the saw
blade, see Step 2. Now cut off a triangle,
see Step 3.
C\YI' REMAINING TRL.\NGLS. Use the
same procedure to cut off three more triangles. Always line up the cut on the heel
of the previous cut as in Step 2.
C\YI' THE SQU;\RT;!S.After cutting four
triangles, I cut the "ears" off to produce
four square btoeks, 1 fouod it easy to make
the cuts on the band saw, see Step 4.
To do this, clamp a stop block to the
miter gauge so the distance from the blade
to the stop block equals the desired outside radius plus !A,", see Step 4. Now,
stand the bitmgle on edge and cut the
"ear" off one side. Then cut the .....ar' off
the other side to make a square block.

AUGNSAW
8LAOE W'n"B
HEEL OF

WASTE CUT

a.tUu;/t alt """'ilw..'11fence to the

1 First,
t4ble saw mitilr gallge and clamp the

blank to UUJfen"". With the mue,' gauge

set at ';5", cut. til. end Off tlui bl1J.uk.

To .. lake a square block. cui. the (,.;"

angldar "Mrs" off witlt a band sato,
Cu.mp stop bWck SO ood. side Qf square
equaUi the destred radius plus 'IN',

THE RADII

Once the blocks are square, tape the fow'

blocks together and layout the inside and
outside radii with a compass, see Step 5.
The distance between the two radii must
equal the stock thickness you use for the
side pieces. $0, if you use to/,,{'-thickstock
for the sides, make the distance between
the radii

lttl;';,

Depending on the project,

there are a few more steps involved with
cutting kerfs and splines, To cut the kerfs
for the clock, see Figs. 2 to 3 on page 21,
and tor the serving tray, see Figs. :l to 7
on page 15.
CUT INSIDE RADIUS. After the ke~rs are
cut, then cut out the inside radius of the
comer piece, see Step 6. The outside
radius is cut after assembly.
C\YI' KERl'S.

Tape Ihe four squa.... block. togefl.er

'Wilhmasm7lg tape. Then: draw tiM inside and outside m(lii of the corner piece
on tJuJ blocks wilh a COJl!lXMS.

After kerfs haw been cut to joi", the

C<lrIUJr pices to Ihe side pieces (see
clock or smJing troy mticie), cut enu the
i1l:side 'l'Cl(iiU$ 011 (/16 band saw.

ASSEMBLY

To assemble the pieces, I started by connecting two corners to a straight piece by

gluing splines into the grooves, and clamping tbe pieces together. The outside radii
haven't been cut yet, so itls easy to clamp
across the comers, see Step 7. After the
glue is dry, assemble the other pieces, tben
cut off the outside radius of each comer
piece and sand smooth.
WOODSMlTH

\.

'-----CHE<lX

f.().R AUGNMEt(I
wrJ1i $J~IGHTEDGE-

When a.<Jsemblittgtire cernUJrpieces to

~idellic. To check if the uoo open
7
a side piece, clamp acr(>ss CQI"UJrsends oj tite conW' piece.s aUgn, hold a
'Witha pipe cio.mp. AUg" tJUJ clamp heads straightedge aCJ'()$$tJUJ e7lds or sflmd tite
tile

1100

so

eqtUlt

pre.98ure is di1' ctlyin line wiJ;h assenwly up

0"

a flat smface.
19

Wall Clock
GREAT FRAMEAROUND THE CLOCK
Building the frame around this wall clock
was only half the fur), 'rhe other half was
seeing the diffel'ent "personalities" the
clock took on when 1 changed Ule color of
the face.
The face on the first clock I made was
red plastic laminate - perfect for a recreation room. White laminate would fit a
kitchen, and glossy black has a modern look
for an office. (To order these three larninates and Ule other parts for the clock, see

page 24.)

But before deciding on the final color of

the face, I made the frame with it's

rounded corners. rrhere's a detailed stepby-step article on making the corners on

pages 18 to 1\).)
~OUND CORNERS

The first step in making the corners is to

laminate two pieces of 414 stock (0/.," to
"Y,. actual thickness) together _-to make a long blank, see Fig. 1.
(Note: You could also use 814
stock. Just so the completed
thickness is I'lt to 1%" thick.)
CUT TO SIZE. After the glue
dries, cut the blank to a finished
width of 3",~"and length of 23',
see Fig. 1. ('!'lIe blank is this sire
to get the grain in the right dlreclion and provide clamping Surfaces. This is aU explained on
page 18.)

CUTFOURBLOCKS.To get the

four blocks for the corners, start
by cutting a 45 angle off the light
end of the blank. Then cut off four
triangula."-shapoo blocks, see
Fig, 1. Now to make, squlLre ..... "-'i.1oiOI>l
blocks, 1 cut the "ears" off two sides of the
triangle with the band saw.
DRAWRADII.Next, the round corners
can be IOOd out by drawing l"adii on each
block. To do this, I taped all four bJ1X:kstogether and drew two circles (refer to Step
;; on page 19). First, draw a 2'1.<" outside
radius. 'I'hen, draw the inside radius so the
thickness of the corner equals the thickness
of the stock you plan to use for the frame
pieces of the clock. (Since my Irame, stock
was

2'/0'"

WIOTH OF

FltAMI PIECES

Before cutting tbe corners to their final

rounded shape, I cuLthe four frame pieces.

The width of these pieces must equal the
thickness of the squa, .. corner blocks, see
Fig. 1. After cutting them to willth, cut all
four pieces to a uniform length of 7#:.

20

1
f

OIRECtJON

ICUT fOUR PIECes)

_~:-._

1.)

NOTE GRAIN

lr'----7'1'".---~
Yor"':i=:======::::::::::::\
FRAME SIDES

"v... thick, 1 marked an inside radius

of 10/,.",see Fig.

-~

RGURE 1

-,3r~

ftI!JM

23"

BLANK

::>

AREA

/"

/~

ct)RNER
.~

WASTE

SlOES

EQUAlS THICKNESS
OF CORNER BlANK
(lIN' TO 1%1

~::;.-

",,/

-I

..... /"

L
~
- - -

,,-:;;.--

"

/'-

.~

-- -

(lAMlNATE TWO PIECES 414 STOCK OR ONe flEeE 814 STOCk)

WOODSMITH

FIGURE 12

GROOVES

Now the joints can be cut to join the Irame

pieces to the round corners. 1 used a spline
and groove joint here. This requires cutting grooves in the milling ends of each
piece and w.ring a spline in the grooves.
CU1'ClROOVES. To cut the gI'OOVC!8 in the
frame pieces, mise the blade to a height of
W. see Detail in l;'ig. 2. Then position the
rip fence so the saw blade is centered on
the thickness of the frame piece.
Once the blade is centered, cui a grceve
in both ends of all fOUl' (rame pieces always
kceping common race against the fence,
see Fig, 2. (When making this cut, I
backed up the workpiece with II 2x4 block,
or YOU could use a tenoning jig.)
GROOVE8LOCKS.The grooves in Ihe
corner block. have to match the grooves in
the frame pleees. To do this, hold a frame
piece against the end of " OOI1.cr piece so
it aligns with the radii lines drawn. Then
transfer the groove location onto tne
corner block, see Fig. :1.
Now, move the table saw "ip fenee so
the saw blade lines up with the groove
lines. Then cut tl.e grooves in each come.'
block, see Detail in Fig. 3. (Note: If the
grooves are cut slightly off center, you can
always redraw the comer 11Idii.)

SLAOE ON
THtcKNESS OF

- WO"l(,flEeE

..

J.-

RGua.e 3

DEIAlb

AUGN

SAWBLAOE

WITH LAYOUJ MARKS

AUGNStDE
WI11i CORN ER
lAYOUT UNE~

~CORNatBlOac

RIP
FlNeE

.;- ........
c.... -

:;y

iL(
CX
;(

TRANSFEillOCAnON
0' GROOVETO

C9ANER BlOCI(

FlGUR.E 4

CUnlNG

~~0

SPLINES

~r
-

artr='"'il

'1,.- "":0...;

1"

Y'>t,-,<: ""'-'

'7

~PllNe BLANK
)
\.._

:UT fJl:OM 414 StOCK)

W'OIH1uAlS

t..

-, ~,,r

C!O/ABINED OEPJ'H

OF 80TH GROOvtS

EQUALS ~'J1DTH
Of GROOVE tV.1

APTER:

ASSEM8UNG
CUT OUtSIDE
RADIUS RUSH

WITH fRAME

PitaS. S.EE:
DETAil a

jiECOND,

ASSEMBLY

WOODSMITH

CENTER SAW

FENC

Next, I cut splines to fit the grooves, FOl'

the ~tmngest joint, Lhe grain in the splines
should run the same dh"ction as the grain
in the frame pieces. (When malting the
splines, 1 used Ihe same kind of wood, but
you could use a contrasting wood to amphasize the splines.)
cur SPLINES. To make the splines, set
Ihe .ip fence SO the dislnllce from tile blade
is equal to the width of the groove, see
StCI) I ill Fig. 4. Now make two cuts on
both ends of a 4"wide block.
Then, to Clll lhe splines off, set the fenee
so (he distanee 1i'O", the outside of the
blade to the workpiece end equals 0/.;(that is, Ihe combined depili of the two
grooves). see Step 2 in.Elg. 4. Fl11alJy,trim
the splines to a ''O'lgh width of 1%" with
a chisel.

block, see Detail A ill Fig. 6.

GLUE UP ENOS. Now the (tame call be
assembled. Start by gluing and cl.mpu.g
two corner blocks to a frame piece. Then
glue and clamp the OPI>O.~ite
side and connect these two sectlcns to complete the
Frame. When the glue is dry, plane the
splines off flush with the top of the frame.
CUT OIJ1'SIOERAmUs. To complete the
basic frame, cut of( the outside mdii Oil the
row' corner blocks (see Detail B), and then
sand the inside and outside radii smooth.

PIECE

"IP

SPLINES

There's one mo." step before assembly.

Band saw the ;"Suib radius on each eorner

!RAM(

DETAIL

I
CUT CENTWO
GROOVE ON
BOTR eNOS

GlUe FRAME SIDES 8ETWfEN

TOP;8onOM

SECTIONS

KEfPSPUNES
FlUSH WlTHBorrOM

EDGE

DETAIL A

CUI
INSIDE
RADIUS
8EFORE

ASS.EMa\Y

21

FIGURE.

FINISHING

NOTE;

Before you begin work on the face, there

are a couple more steps on t.he fram .
ROUND OVER FRONT EDGES. First,
round over both II-ont edges of the frame
with a v., round-over bit, see Fig. 6.
RABlIET BACK. Next, rout out a '10' l-abbet 1"' deep on the back inside edge of the
frame to accept the fat... To do this, 1 used
a pin-routing jig on the route r table, see
~'ig. 7. (For more on the jig, see page 23.)

MOW fftAM FROMW

TO RtGJ!! WIo4ENROUTING

CLOCK FACE

ltI~!OF FAAME

~OU~OVEft

mONT EDGtS

!)JJl~ OF 'RAME
'/4" ROUND
OVER 8lT

NOTE;
CUT MB8n IN twO
V,.:' WIDE PASSES

fiGURE

8:

fiGURE 9

CLOCK FACE LAYOUT

MARK OUTUNI

Of RAUn
ONCLOCK fACE

AGU.RE- 10

DETAil

draw a 4Y.i" radius circle with a compass.

ctEAT-

and 9 o'dock markers on the circle, see Fig.

9. 'l'hen, use a protractor to mark out. the
rest of the markers at 30' intervals. After
the how' markers are laid out, drill a \Ii,,"

Next, mark the locations of the 12, 3, G,

HANGING
HOUR
MARKfRS

BRACJ(Er \
CLOCK

MOVEt.\fNl

RU88:A
WASH1!R

rabbet is routed, the clock rat..

can be made and cut to 6t.
MAKE THE FACE. I made one face out of
v... plywood, then I tried a couple more
with plasuc laminate 0" burl veneer glued
to 11.,' Ma.~onite. (Note: Laminate or
veneer call be glued to the Masonite either
before 01' after the face is cut to fit the rabbet, see Shop Notes, page 23.)
The onlY thing critical hel'e is ~hat tohe
completed face material must be le.ss tilan
%" thick. 'I'his allows tbe stem on the clock
movement to stick Ollt the front, and the
"""-thick movement to fit behind the face.
~lAnK AND CU'!' OU'!' FACE. Once the face
material is cut slightly oversize, place the
clock frame on the face and mark the outline Ofthe rabbet, see Pig. 8: Now cut the
face to width and length on II table saw,
Theil sand the corners round On a disc ,...
sander until they Jll the rabbet,
CEN1'Elt HOLE AND MARKeRs. Before
mounting the face, I laid out a center hole
and the leeatiou of th~ how' markers, see
Fig. 9. (Note: If you order the dock parts
from Wood.rmitlt, a face template is included, see page ~t.)
To lay Ollt the face,
start by Ilijding the center point, Then
After the

MOVf FRAMEfROM BJQ.I:ft

TO \HI WHEN ROUTING

ONLY

UP THE FRAME

CAP NUT

MOOR MARKER
BRASS WASHER
ANDNUT---......

center hole for the stem.

FIN'ISFf. Before fastening the face into
the rabbet, 1 finished the frame (and the
face if it's not plastic) with tung oil.
ASSEMBLE FACE TO FRAME
When the finish i~ dry you can mount the

#4

II

'h"

In WOOOSCRE\V
WAT

22

p..)

face into the frame with cleats, see Fig. 10.

GIVE IT THE WORKS.Aftel' screwing the
cleats down to hold the face in. mount the
works in the back with the hanging bracket
between the movement and the face.
MARKERSAND HA"'DS.The only thing
left, is te add the hour markers and the
hands. On p~e 24 we'.e given sourees fo,'
gold.oolored markers in both dots and
clashes. You could also make hour markers
from dowels, plugs, or screw hole buttons,
Now, add the hands and the cap nut.
Then it's time to hang up your new clock.
WOODSMITH

Sho~
Notes
--------------------------

SOME TIPS FROM OUR SHOP

A DEEP RABBET

When I was building the wall clock, I had

to rout a ,.,"wide by l' -deep rabbet in the
back of the n'''m~ to hold the face. The
problem WIll! how to cut. rabbet that size
a/le,' tho n.mc was assembled?
Not<:Befort' it's assembled, you can cut
the rabbet on the straight pieces with a
table saw, But the round comer sections
have to be cut with a router, SOyou might
3$ weU wait until the frame is 8."Sembled.
NO ItABIIE'llNCBIT, [ usually cut rabbets with a rabbeting bit mounted in the
rooter I.'hle (.uch 8.<on tbe serving tray,
_ Fig. 16 on page 17), BUI most rabbeting bi!"; cut 8 'It or "'wide rabbet, and
you n('t1d y',,;de rabbet till r deep
into the back Of the dock frame.
PIN 1I0VTF.R.For the rabbet in the buck
of W,e clock, [ udded a jig to my router
table 1\11(1 turnl'll it into 8 pin router. It's
"imply a pin h~ld in a wood block directly
above 1I glraight bit. A~ the pin foUows the
curved and straight sections .''Olm(lLJ1C in
side of the clock frame, the bit below cuts
a uniform rabbet, The width of the rabbet
depend. on the location (relationship) of
the bit to the pin. 1<00 drawing on right.
1'0 make the pin router attachment, cut
a pieeeof >:I1IP to a width of 1 !f.{ and
length or b Then drill a hole near one end
to hold the pin. Since I used a If':x 4" mao
chine bolt ,,;th t.hto threads cut oII 3$ a pin,
I drilk.oda v.' diameter hole.

..

'/

' ,;

."

-MAC.....

OO!T

CUT Off

To make the pin beighl atljllSlable, (lon't

glue it in pemulIlent!y. just "pinch" the pin
in placl.'in the hole. To do this, 6,.,,.'1;
tilt a
,,"W kerf in lh"",gh the hole, and about I"
beyond, Then tighten screw across the
kerf, to hold the pin in tight.
S~'Tl'IN(;IJI'. AlWr the jig was built, I
IlCI'ewed it to the lOp of the router table
fence, and I,hen set UI)to mllke the cut.
WOODSMITH

'!'he important thing here is the relationship between tlle pin and the router bit.
To cut U rabbet, th~ cutting edge of the bit
must slick out from Ihe edge of the pin.
(Since the pin i" ntt."hecJ to the Fence, it's
(),'\l;y W move the pin slightly by moving
the fenoo,)
fiN RUBS
AGAJNSl

,....

'NSIDE Of

WO.I<PlKf

IOUTU

'AIU

....a

1'0 cut the ~. rabbet in the back of tbe

clock frame, I mounted a 'h" straight, bit
in the roow,' table and raised it r above
the table, Then :u\ju.,t the pin (by moving
the fcn<l') ,., the bit takes a very light
(1'1.") cut, (That ;" set the edge of the pin
..". in from the culling edge of the bit.)
CVTllNC nit: ItAHBET, Usua1Iy when I
cut a rabbet, I make a light <coring pass
ixl<k".. rds fi...t to prevent ehipout Oil the
top ('(Ige of the rabbet, But, I wouldn't recommend it he re. Th~ bit is taking a deep
0') cut and it tend. to b'Tab and poll the
wood throllj(h. So instead, I just made a
couple of Ii~ht (V"fwide) cuts in the 001"
rect dh't'ctic)I\ to get the ~wid~ rabbet,
Rut lite"". something else to consider
here. 'l'ypi<lIl1y ,YOU push the workpiece
across the router table 0'001 right to left.
It's different with the I)in router. Since the
workpiece is b<>hilUl the bit, you have to
pnl! the clock frame again.<t the pin and
then mov" the frame Irom left to right
(clockwi.<earound (he bit). Thi; keeps the
Ii-.une movinp: a)lllin.t the rotation of cut.
ANO'TIIr.:H IJ~E. Shortly after I used this
jig for the clock fnunto. I found another use
for it. I u,,,'(1the jig to clean out a rabbet
on an old pk-ture frame to accept my
favonte picture be-ea use the existing frame
rabbet was too small, When doing this,
moke X"''C all metal objects, n.uls, SCTe\VS,
lead l)Qjn~'",,,I bils of glass are removed
befo'" c1~aning Ollt the existing l<lbbet.

CUTTING LAMINATNEN1t TO SHAPE

There are a couple of options for the materials on the bottom of the tray and the face
of Ihe clock. Y IIU can make these pieces out
of \(,' hal~lwo()(1plywood, Or you can glue
pl.. tic laminate 0" wood veneer to the top
of 1I ,/,' M""".IIlile01' plywood substrate.
Cutting plywood to fit the ... bbet in the
tray or clock frame L< no problem. But
there are u tOllpl. of ways to approach a
plastic laminate 01' veneer-laminated piece.
You ClID fi...t glue the plastic laminate or
veneer to the ""~te.
then till both together to fit the opening. Or you C3Il cut
the substrate fi",i to fit the opening, then
glue on an ov~"'iwd top L'yer and trim it
to match.
GLUE FIRST. The "glue tirst., then cut to
lit" approach i. probably the easiest, but
thel"e al'e two disadvantages, First, sometimes lh~ edj(c of plastic laminate and
veneer will 8jJlint.rr 0" crack out ~tighUy
when it's being cut.
Second, tI'i~
appmaeh only gives you one
chance at culling lh,' material to fit the
opening, If you should cut undersize,
you've wasted not only your substrate, but
the lop hlyer which may be an expensive
veneer or your lust piece of laminate.
CVTFIRST. The aPPl"OOCh
I took on these
project. was to first cut a substrate of inexpensive 'I," M,~<onite(or plywood) to fit
the opening. If it didn't quite fit. I cut
another until I Ill>! 0'10 thaI did. (Since the
openings have """vl corners, sometimes it
take; couple piee...'" to get a good fit.)
Once you get lh~ substrate to fit per.
fectly, glue an OVCOOY.c piece of Iaminat.e
01' veneer 10 the (01), Then mount a flush
uim bit on the router (able and set the ball
bearing on thl' bit to rub against the Masonite, see d",winl(, The cutter will trim
the laminate 0" V~'l('N'perfectly flush with
the t.1a.~nit,cand leaves a smooth surface.
SU'STUll

cu,,'"

rtIMS AWAY

",ass

lAMINAn

FLUSIITRIMurrs, These router bits are

typically used by countertop installers.
Most COlIt betwoon $15 and $20, but you
can get a "10,,11one 0'1)10the Sears catalog
(No.9 Y 2[>413)(0" only $9.49,

23

Sources
CHIUSTMAS ORNAMENTS

The six basswood turning blocks, screw

eyes. and Iull-size patterns are aVailable
as a package that includes two practice
blocks. Extra blocks are available. You can
also order a carving knife.
Ornaments.
Order No. 759110,
$15.95. ThIs package includes;
(6) Clear Basswood Blocks, 2't," x
21//'

4'4" long.

(2) LaminatAld Practice 13looks. 2v,,"

x 211....414" long. (Glued up basswood blocks used for practice.)

(6) ScI'eW Eyes, %" long.
(1) Full-Size Paper Pattern of nil six
ornaments.
Clear Basswood Blocks, Order No.
759-111, $2.50 each. Includes one extra
screw eye pel' block. Min. order: 3 blocks.
Laminated Practice Blocks, Order
No. 759112, $1.50 each. Extra gluedup
blocks for practice. Min. order: 3 blocks,
Car-ving Knife, Order No. 759120,
$6.50. This i~ shaping knife with a sheepCootblade. Blade is 2o..<.."long.
Knife overall length is 6%".
Ornament Pattern, Order No. 759
113, $1.00. This is the.full-size pattern for
the ornaments, see above.

Sled Hardware (Red), Order No.

759420, $14.95. This bas all tlle same components as No. 759410 (mentioned first),
except the T-Illolding is red color,
Sled Wood <Brown Ash), Order No.
759-450, $44.95. This package includes an
the wood (Select Brown Ash) needed fOI'
the sled. (See the article on the sled fOI'
advantages of using ash.) Brown ash has
a beautiful grain and is tanner than white
ash. This package includes:
(2 pes.) 'o/,,{' x 6" - 36" (For the runnet'S of the sled.)
(2 pes.) '0/,." x 3" - 14" (For the
CI'OSS braces.)
(6 pcs.) th" x 2" - 2OJ4" (Slats.)
(2) 0/," x 18"-long birch dowels.
Slot Cutter (1/,.,,), Order No. 75.9470, $19.95. This slot cutter includes an
arbor (v.... shank), bollt'illg, and !lie" cuttel' with three carbide cutting tips,
SERVING TRAY

Since it's difficult to find clear walnut and

basswood. we are offering all the wood
needed for the display case, planed and
sanded to the thin dimensions needed.
Display Case Kit; Order No. 759310,
$18.95. This kit includes:
(2 pes.) \01,' Walnut, 2y.." x IS".
(2 pcs.) v,," Basswood, 214" x 16~.
(l pe.) ';,r Basswood, 2'1'" x 23".
(1 pc.) 1/, Walnut Plywood, good two
sides, 7%" x 70/4",
(2) 1" Bras s Turn Buttons with 'It x
#3 Fh Brass Woodsc''ews.

111the article on the sel"illg tl'l1Y we suggesc using either plastic laminate 01' oak
plywood for the bottom er the tray. Also
included with these packages al'e four cork
protector disks for the t r<lYbottom.
Serving Tray Laminate, Red, Order
No. 759510, $5.95. This includes one piece
of \Vilsonru't brand plastic laminate (Holly.
berry, Oat red) that measures 12" JI 18".
(This is lal'gel' than needecl so it can be
trimmed to fit the base of YOUI' LIay.)Also,
includes foul' :y,,-dia.cork disks,
Serving Tray Laminate,
White,
Order No. 759-520, $5.95. This is the
sallie package as above, except the laminate is white (Frosty White).
Ser-ving Tray, Oak Plywood, Order
No. 759-550, $5.95. This package include$
one piece of \1,,. (nominal) red oak plywood, 12" x 18", and fOUl' o/."-din. cork
disks. ('I'he actual thickness of the plywood
L<slightly more than 0/,." thick.)

SLED

WALL CLOCK

The hardware needed for the sled i$ available as package. The wood (brown ash)
we used to build the sled is available as a
separate package. Also, if you don't have
the '10." slot cutter fOI'the 'r-molding, be
sure to order it separately.
Sled Hardware (Brown), Order No.
759410, $14.95. This package includes:
(14 Ft.) T-~folding, fits in 1/","slot,
1ty,1,' wide. Brown (;OWl'.(See "ext
listing fOI'red color T-llfoiding.)
(8) Joint Connector Bolts, 2'~" long.
(8) Cross Dowels, 0/",' long, '%2"
diameter, to fit bolts above.
(14) Brass Fh SCI'eWS,Phillips Drive,
#8 x 1"(Two extra screws provided.)

The components needed fo.the wall clock

are available as four packages. AD packages include one Qual'tz Movement and a
Paper Templete (to help locate the hour
markers), Then choose the package that
has the Hands (brass 01' black) and the type
of Hour Markel' (dots 01' dashes) you W!II1t.
Wan Clock, Order No. 759-6]0, $9.95.
(B1'(lSShands, t/otiJ.)
Wall Clock, Order No. 759-620, $9.95.
(Brass hands, Ilaslws.)
Wall Clock, Order No. 759-630, $,'1.95.
(Black hands, dots.)
Wall Clock, Order No. 759-640, $9.95.
(Black hands, da~/U!$.)
You can also order a piece of plastic lami-

DISPLAY CASE

24

r-.
nate lor Ole clock {ace separately.
Clock Face, Red, Order No. 7(;9-6r,o,
$4.95. This is one piece of \Vilsona!'1.brand
plastic laminate, 12" x 12", Red color.
Clock Face, 'Vlrite, Order No. 759660, $4.95. See above, White colo!'.
Clock Face, Black, Order No. 759
670, $4.95. See above, Gloss Black color.
ORDERING INFORMATION

'1'0 order the project supplies, mail ill the

order form on the protective cover of this
issue, 01' call the toll-free number listed
below. If'ordering by mail, send your 0111er
and payment to:
WQO(ismitJl Pl'oject Supplies
P.O. Box 101150
Des Moines, IA 00306
Phone Orders: 800-444-7002. Customer service is available from 8:30 AM to
4:30 PM Central Time, weekdays only. We
accept 1tIaslcl<Atrd and VlSA cl'edit cards.
Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery, Postage
and handling free. (Iowa residents add 4%
sales tax.) Prices good through 12-31-88.

I------:-,-::"...,-,..-,==-----i

NEW KITS

1---------'--'''--'------1
Wood.,mill. i. now of(eling supplies for "...
some of Lhepl'uject.-;lhat have appeared ill
eartier issues. 1"01' a complete description
of what's included (wood is not inchided Ull
less $peeified), see lhe protective cove)' on
this ;ssue. If it's not available, call lhe tolln... number or write the address abeve.
REGULATOR CLOCK (#36)

Regulator
Clock, Quartz Clock
Movement, Order No. 736-110, $74.95.
Regulator Clock, Brass Keywind
Clock Movement, Order No. 736-120,
$99.95.
CRADLE (#48)

The spindles and buttons for the cradle are

now available in oak, walnut or cherry.
Each package includes maple knobs.
Cradle Parts, Oak, Order No. 748110, $4.').95.
Cradle Parts, WaIJ,>ut, Order No.
748-120,$59.95.

Cradle

Parts,

Cherry,

Order

No.

748-130, $54.95.
WORKBEI'ICH (#50)

Front Vise and Handle,

Order No.

750-110, $114.95.

End Vise and Handle, Order No.

750-120, $44.95.
Wooden Bench Dogs, Order No. 750130, $10.95 per pair.

Oak Drawer Pulls, Order No. 750150, $12.95. Set or six pulls.

WOOOSMITH

r-"