Oe Tee Fr WF Sees, see Seen er al un io MN S510) A ae) isa =) A Issue 56 | Re st Ee OF ai) Aue hs UE Wey el eae. Ue“Ge Nap, Ae W-fowng» Arle ‘Rar Coie Ramer tae Bon Sth ese es See ean ee octet etal Sore arrestee ieee oa {Sot eno sat dee rarsineoar ‘Eat ptt nent hcsrespstecs PRINTED IN USA. 2 EDITOR'S NOTE Cutoffs ‘ow much will a deep drawer hold? Sometimes too much. Unfortun- ately Hearned this the hard way. ‘Afew years back, Iwas building some shop cabinets. At the time I thought that big, deep drawers woukl be just the ticket for storing plenty of tools and sup- plies. Besides, it would be quicker to build a few deep drawers rather than ‘several shallow ones. Since then Ive realized that bieger isn't abvays better. Sure the drawers hhold allot of stuff. The only problem is, 1 have to sort through al tat suff to find what 'm looking for. ‘As faras saving time, any time L might have saved in building has Tong, been spent taking things out and putting them back to find what I need. You know how it is, the one item you're looking for always seems to be buried atthe back of the drawer. Well I finally decided it was time to rake a change. But didn't want to build anew set ofcabinets just wanted a way tomake the ones I have more usefl ‘That's the idea behind the dropin drawer organizers featured on page 26. ‘They're just wood boxes with lots of shop projects they’ve built. [fall online at cing Shop Tours on the ‘ShopNotes web site: wwwShopNotes.com ‘We want you to be part of our shop tours! To submit photos of ‘your favorite SliopNotes projects or ‘views of your shop, just follow the instructions you'l find on our web site, ‘ShopNotes compartments that can be rearranged dozens of different ways Other Changes - Speaking of ‘changes, there have been a few other changes around here. First we have two new project designers. Chris Fitch and Craig Iseke. Chris has been designing and building projects for a living, for ‘many years, And Craig set up and ran a ‘woodworking school in Canada. Second, Vince Ancona will be helping ‘out as an Associate Exltor. Vince isn't really new, he has been working on our ‘companion publication Woodsmith for several years. ‘And finally, my friend, Tim Robertson ‘who has been Editor of ShopiNotes has become the Editor of Workbench, our home improvement magazine. So I've picked up responsibilities as Editor here at SkopNNotes. if you've been a longtime subseriber my name tight ring a bell. was the managing editor for ShopNotes when it started back in 1992, 80 1 cer tainly feel right at home. {As always, well continue to provide ‘you with practical tips and techniques, ‘and unique project ideas that help you get the most out of your shop. Porrers No. 56 rase Contents Features Top Five Router Jigs _________8 Trim edging pertectly tush. cut smooth mortises. cout ‘custom dadves, and more — these five great jigs will tum ‘your hand-heid router into a shop workhorse. Cordless Tool Batteries______ 14 Prevent a power outage — learn how cordless fool ‘batteries work along with some quick and simple stops you can follow to keep your cordless tools running at full power. Circular Saw Miter Station _____ 16 Lock in perfect miters and crosscuts from your circular saw waits this miter station, A foolproo! indexing system and a ‘custom saw guide guarantee a precise angle every time. Drilling Large Holes ____ 22 Miter Station page 16 Need to dil @ lange hole? Here aro some options and a @ few handy techniques you may want to consider Drop-In Drawer Organizere________ 26 What's the best way to deal with the jumbled mess inside a Grawer? Divide and conquer, with an adjustable crawer insert and a pair of removable totes Departments Readers’ Tips _____-——— CF ‘Shop tested tips to solve common woodworking problems. Tool Talk Tired of kneeling on the floor to adjust the bit in your router table? Here are two innovative products that get ‘you back on your feet. New Products ______30 Two problems, two solutions, The Woodworkers Guide makes locating 4 past article in your old woodworking magazines a snap. Plus, the Blade-Loo turns the job of fable saw blade removal into @ simpler and safer task @ Sources—o________31 Mail-order sources and supplies to help you build the projects fetured in this issue, No. 56 ShopNotes 8ic meee eke) Readers’ Tips e Drying Easel 1@ When we had our house built, I decided to make all the trim myself I had several hundred feet of trim to finish and install. The finishing was casy, The challenge ‘was finding a place to set all the pieces of trim while they were drying. My workbench wasn't long enough and, ‘even ifitwas, [could only place five or six lengths of trim fon the bench at one time, So instead, I came up with @ simple solution, T made a pair of drying “easels to hold the trim pieces, see drawing at left ‘These easels work like a pair of ladders. Horizontal “rungs” support the ends of the trim pieces. The open design of the easels and the multiple rungs allow you to dry several pieces of trim at once. ‘The base of each easel is constructed out of a few scrap pieces of 2x4 stock. The two front legs are mitered on the ends so they form an inverted “V" shape. Then a pivoting back legis sandwiched in between the two front Jegs to provide support to the “V". A.hex bol, alock mut, and a couple of washers hold all three legs together (Detail) (You ned to drill an angled hole nea the @y ‘end of each front leg for the hardware.) A short length of chain isused to connect the back eg with one ofthe front legs, in order to prevent the easel from collapsing. The “rungs” are just some pieces of thick stock that are screwed to the front legs. Mark Vogel Anon Arbor, Michigan Stick-On Rules 1 Take a lot offi to use in my shop. And I findit handy to add a stcleon rule or nneasuring tape to many of these jigs. Although you can ‘buy stickon measuring tapes, they can get to be ‘expensive. So make my own. I start by using a CAD program on my per- Get more wood- sonal computer to create a set of rules with numbered working tips free, inch marks and graduations. You can make the gradiua- Vistuson the Web at tons in any increment you want. IS.coM _| print the rules out on a sheet of glossy adhesive- backed paper, see photo at right. (Adhesive-backed Spupresie ern ao mst oe sayy eStore? onaaey stores) Then I simply cut ther out and stick therm on my jigs or tools, wherever they are needed. Forlonger rules, butt two or three together, see inset photo. Ralph Bagnall Goshen, New Hampshire 4 ShopNotes No. 56Roll-Around Base Cord Wrap I really liked! Randy Hoy's portable workbench (see Readers’ Tips, issue 'No. 3). The power strip mounted on the side of the workbench is espe- ially handy. But made a slight mod- ification to improve it 1 simply mounted the power strip to.a wood block that was beveled on ‘one face to match the angle of the splayed legs of the workbench (15°) A Whenever he needs an extra ‘hand, Allan Fredrickson of Novelty. OH uses a small bar clamp to Support a workpiece on edge. No. 56 F Tr 1m Lrecenty built the role around tool base you fea tured in issue No, 22 for ‘my table saw. This base has two casters: mounted to the back. ‘To roll it around, a long handle is used to lift the front of the ‘base until the casters at ‘the back contact the foot. But found iteiicut to manewewer the base this way. So instead, I added a “third wheel” see photo. ‘This third whee! is removable. it's just an. additional caster that’s cen tered on the front of the base. The caster is mounted to a 4°-plywood ‘morntingpeud that slides in between 1 pair of 2d support blocks, see drawing, A dado is cut in each sup- port block to receive the mounting pad. Then the support blocks are ‘Then J took a piece of i" hardboard, cart anotch at each end, and screwed itto the top edge ofthe beveled block. ‘The hardboard prevents sawdust from falling into the holes in the ower strip. And the notches provide 2 convenient place to wrap an exten son cord forthe power strip. ‘Ryan Grimm Arlington, Massachusetts A For a quick, inexpensive too! ‘ack, Ryan Vogt of Urich, MO fastens electrical conduit straps {0 a narrow board ShopNotes, attached to the front ofthe tool ‘base with fag bolts ‘When I want to move my saw, I simply use a pry bar to lit the base enough to slide the caster and ‘mounting pad into the dadoes. Then when T want to set the base back down, I remove the caster, turn it upside down, and store it back between the support blocks, see inset photo above. Doug Tapper Marietta, Georgia. Send in Your Shop Tips Ifyou have a unique shop tip, we'd like to consider featuringitin one or more of ‘our print or electronic publications. ‘We'll pay up to $200 for a tip we pub- lish. Just write down the tip and mail it to ShopNotes, Attn.: Readers’ Tips, 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, 1A 50812. Or FAX it to 15282-6741, or send us an email at [email protected]. Please include your name, address and daytime phone number in case we have any questions.TOOLS OF THE TRADE m Adjusting the height of a router allows you to raise oF DiC in a router table can be a real lowerthe router from pain in the neck iteraly). You thetop of your router Ihave to reach under the rouler table, as you can see table top for the router controls inthe drawing below. ‘while straining: your neck trying to Crank it Up ~ When you first can gauge your adjustments, keep one eye on the bil so you can open the box containing the Router The Router Raizer will work with see how much you're moving it up Raizer, you might be surprised tosee over a dozen different popular or down. Well thankfully. now thatitslittle morethanabagofhard- models of plunge routers on the there's a better way: In fact, ware. (See Sources, p. 31) The key market today. (Bosch is one notable there are tno ways. ‘components of the Router Raizer are exception). However, it doesn't work precision machined lead screw and with fixed-base routers, ‘mainshaft which work together to. One of the nice things about the ROUTER RAIZER raise or lower the router. A remov- Router Raizer is that you don’t have Remember when it was the craze to lable speed wrench fits through a to sacrifice the plunge capability “Tift” a vehicle off its axle? Well, the ff small access hole in the top of the when using your router out of the Router Raizer is kind of like a “lit |f router table and engares the end of router table. And as shown in the it for your router. It replaces the mainshaft, see photo above. margin photo tothe left a drive knob the *Stock” height control Bach fill turn of the wrench atthe end of the mainshaft allows to ‘on your plunge raises or lowers the bit adjust the height ofthe router just as router and. exactly Ye", So you you would normally. Installation — Installing a Router Raizer isnt too difficult, but it does Wrench Wonk require you to slightly modify your re Slower | Incers Plata router had to enlarge a couple ot router bichaighe | novincladed holes in the router base) Don't ‘worry — there are separate instruc- tions for each model of router. 1K took me about an hour and a half to install the Router Raizer on ‘my router, (Note: Depending upon your router, you may have some unused parts lft over) Access Hole ~ Because the Router Raizer installs directly on ‘your router, you don't need to make ‘any major changes to your router table, All you have to do is drill a ‘small access hole in the insert plate for the crank. To prevent dust from loging this hoe, a tiny dust cover is provided. A magnet on the crank allows you 10 quickly lit the cover ‘out of the access hole, as shown in the inset photo above. rice ~ So what does allthis con- & Fine Tuning. venience cost? The Router Raizer When hand routing sells for about $90, That may seem 2 fop ave knob ROUTER FRET | likea lot fora router “accessory.” But lows you to make fine height adjustments. Incladed | Twas impressed with how smoothly the Router Raizer works. The parts are wellmachined and its apparent RAIZER No. 56TOOLS OF that a Jot of thought went into the design, Ifyou do a lot of work on a ter table, it's worth the money. ‘ROUT-R-LIFT Like the Router Raizer, the Rout Lift (see photo at right) also allows you to adjust the height of your router bit without having to teach under the top of the router table. But as you can see in the drawing below, the RoutRLitt is completely different. Instead of moving just the bit and motor housing, the RoutRLift raises and lowers the entire router. Essentially, the Rout Rift is a heavy aluminum carriage that rides up and down on a couple of 9a. steel rods. The router is mounted directly to this carriage and is raised and lowered by turning a removable crank on top of the router table. ‘Thanks to a belt and pulley system, the carriage travels smoothly and effortlessly. The entire assembly is ‘mounted to the underside of a Ya" thick, machined aluminum plate that doubles as router table insert plate Installation ~ fnstallng the Rout Lif is really no more difficult than installing a router table insert plate. You simply cut an opening in your router table top and then rout a rabbet around the opening to hold the Rout R-Lift. (Some basi installa: tion instructions are included with the Rout Lit) ‘Note: Ifyou plan to add the Rout- Rift to your existing router table, ‘you may have to enlarge the opening in your router table, To attach the router, you simply remove the base plate from your router base and transfer the screw hhole locations to the alumioum car- riage plate on the RoutRLit. After Ailing the holes, the plates simply screwed to the base of your router. Indexing ~ Index marks etched {nto the top of the Rout RLit let you know how much you're raising. or lowering the bit, see inset photo above. Each complete turn of the ‘crank moves the router 060". One ofthe main advantages ofthe No. 56 fo TRADE Rout Rit is that it works with both fixed-base and plunge-type routers. So it’s compatible with just about any router you may have. Insert Rings - To accommodate diferent diameter rower bits, the aluminum plate on the Rout Lit is fitted with a removable, phenolic insert ring, see margin photo at iteasierto lift the assembly out, butit, right. Tabs are machined on the doesn't do much to help with the edge of the ring to allow it to lock weight —it's quite heavy. into the plate. Aset of four additional Price ~ At $200, the Rout Rift insert rings of diferent sizes can be might seem a bit pricey (Gee page purchased separately (ee Sources). 31. for sources). But if you're Bit Changes ~ One drawback | building a router table from noticed with the RoubRLift is that scratch, the cost is a litle bit easier the carriage and steel rods get in the to justify when you consider the ‘way when you want to change router money you will save by not having A Insert ing. A bits. One way around this is to com- to purchase a separate insert plate, spanner wrench is pletely ifthe router and RoutR-Lift And } was impressed by the quality jncivdled with the out of the table for bit changes. construction of this product. Nearly Flout-A-Lilf to ‘There's a large geyfingerhole in all the parts are either machined remove the the suminum © ‘aluminum or steel, I seems rugged phenolic ning. and built to last, $& ROUT-R-LIFT Router Table Top (rot included)4 Straight Bit. A straight bitis a teat choice tor the heavy-duty work of routing a circle from a workpiece. =< ps —: Router Jigs Have you unlocked the hidden potential of your router? You can with these five top-notch router jigs. ne ofthe rt power tools bought was a handheld router. Along with a handful of bits, I was able to rout decorative profiles along the edges of my workpieces. Butt dda take long to realize there was more to arouter. ‘The trick to unlocking its potentials few shop made figs Five Jigs ~ Now, Tm not talking about a couple throw- away jigs that you only use once or twice. As a matter of fact, you'll want to keep the five jigs shown on the next L@ Circle-Cutting Jig ‘Thisis the las circle culting jig you'll ever need to make. (See photo at right) It's easy to build, inexpensive, and can be set just as quickly as the rip lence onatable saw. The secretis the arm — it’s an aluminum ruler that I picked up ata hardware store. AAs you can see in the Exploded View on the opposite page, this jr consists of three main parts: a base for the router, an aluminum ruler that acts as a pivot arm, and an adjustable pivot block that deter- mines the size ofthe circle. Base ~ T started on the jg by miiking the paddleshaped base shown in the Base Layout drawing on the opposite page. When mounting the router, the idea is to center it about 6” from the end of the base. ‘And this isnt hard todo, The router's base is a ready-made template for laying out the shape of the base and then marking and driling the hoes. ‘Blocks — After etting the base to final shape, you can turn your atten- tion to a pair of hardwood blocks ‘One block attaches to the base and allows you to mount the ruler. The other one will become the pivot block that’s used to determine the Size of the circle you cut. Since both blocks are the same size (and small), cutting a groove 8 ShopNotes down the center to accept the ruler could be a challenge. ‘To do this safely, its best to stat with an extra. long workpiece, Just make sure the depth of the groove is slightly less (/e!) than the thickness ofthe ruler. ‘Once the groove is complete, you can cut two blocks from the blank: ‘Then glue one block tothe base fash with the back edge, Gee Side View ‘on opposite page) Pivot Block - To create the pivot ‘lock, the second block is glued to a Yi" hardboard spacer. The spacer raises the pivot block to match the height ofthe block on the base. ‘The next step i to dri three holes dove the center of the pivot block. The outside holes are used to attach athairline indicator (added later) ‘The center hole is for the pivot pin, This pin suet a cutoff bolt that's ‘ued in place with epoxy. {few pages around for a long time. ‘That's because with these jigs, you can rout lange cir- les, cut perfect dadoes and mortises, or easily trim edging flush with plywood. But the really nice thing about these jigs is they're simple to make and they don't require 2 lot of expensive materials or hardware. In fact, you can probably build most of these jigs from scrap ‘materials you already have in your shop, Indicator ~The key to this jig is the hairline indicator that’s added to the pivot block. This indicator accomplishes two things. First, it allows you to lock the ruler securely to the pivot block. (Gee End View) And second, you ‘can accurately set the radius of the circle by aligning the hairline over the ruler. (See Top View) After cutting the indicator to size, drill a pair of holes to match the out- side holes in the pivot block. Then scribe a hairline on the indicator soit lines up directly over the pivot pin. “Assembly ~ Now you're rendy to attach the ruler to the mounting block oon the base. But frst, youl need to install the router bit you're going to use for cutting the circles. Ike to use a dia. straight bit (see margin) but the important thing is that you always use the same diameter bit. No. 56cHELTEAD BOLT MEAD CUT OFF) POSEDON RULER Ga Nowto find out where to atach the ruler, measure from the cutting edge of the bit tothe back edge of the base (Dimension A" in Side View) (In my ‘case, with « 14" bit, this was 5%") “Toallow you to use the ruler to set No. 56 the radius, postion it so that dimen- sion AV aligns with the back edge of the mounting block. Then screw the ruler in place. Note: The part of the ‘ruler that sticks past the edge ofthe ‘mounting block needs to be cutoff Using the Jig - Now that you have the jig complete, you're ready to start routing circles. But you'l ‘want to keep one thing in mind, Since you need a shallow 14*lia, hole for the pivot pin, it’s important ‘to drill this hole in the back side of the workpiece (Figure 1a). ‘The next step is to slide the pivot block along the ruler and set it to match the desired radius of the circle you want to cut. Then lock the pivot block in place. At this point you could set the router bitfor afl depth cut. But 've found it’s best to make a shallow (9 pass and work my way through the workpiece in multiple passes. Now slip the pivot pin in the hole in the workpiece and raise the router ‘off the workpiece. Then turn the router on and slowly lower it to the ‘workpiece (Figure 1b). Finally, rout ina counterclockwise direction,easy with a spiral ‘upcut bit. Plus, it pulls the chips out ot the mortise as ‘you work, Shining a smait flashlight down through the router and platform makes it easy (0 align the router bit wit the layout fines for the mortise. PU [2 Mortising Jig Deiling out a mortise on the drill press and cleaning itup with a chisel isn’t a problem — except when you have a lot of them to do. Then the ~ Rout Mortise ~ At this point, Dy youtre ready to rout the mortise. To ; 4o this, adjust the bit for a shallow \ CA) cut. Here again, youl need to tit the router as you lower the bit into the workpiece. “Then slide the router along the jie until it contacts the adjustable stop. onan Completing. the mortise is just 2 matter of resetting the bit fora slightly deeper cu and repeating the process. [3 Edge Guide When using a handheld router, an Base ~The baseis nothing more slots are cut to hold the fence and edge guide is great for routing than apiece of 4" hardboard, and its allow it to be adjusted easily. ¢ dadoes, grooves, or decorative pro- size isnt ll that important. I made Fence - When making the (a files near the edge of a piece. mine big enough to give me “solid” fence, what you want is a straight, Although most router manufacturers support, but not so big asto be cums smooth edge to slide against the 4 Decorative Bits. offer an edge guide as an accessory, bersome to use easily. workpiece. (I used hard maple.) Like the core box bit it's no trouble at all to build your own. In the center of the base, you'll Here again, to provide clearance for above, a decorative As you can see in the photo and need clearance for the router bit. the bit, cut a centered notch in the bit can be used drawing below, the edge guide con- And the larger the hole, the easier fence. Finally, attach the fence to wilh an edge guide sists of two parts: an auxiliary base it'll be to see what you're routing. (I the base with a pair of carriage to increase a BIDE ViEW with an adjustable femce, drilled a 1'4'ia hole.) Finally, two bolts, washers, and plastic knobs. router's potential. Bae ~ VIEW No. 56 ShopNotesAbane-held router and a lush trim bit ‘will make quick work of trimming the hardwood edging fush on a plywood panel — if you can keep the router steady. The problem is the edge of a panel just isn't much to balance the router on. This makes it very emsy to tip the router and gouge the wood. But with the flush trim jig shown in the photo at right, trimming the edging. fush is almost automatic After clamping the workpiece in a bench vise, you simply run the router along the edge — without feeling like a tightrope walker. ‘The Jig - As you can see in Figure 1, the router is attached to an couxitiary base that replaces the stan- dard base on the router. Adding @ vertical guide and guide support ta- bilizes the router and keeps the bit perpendicular to the edging: at the same time. A handle attached to the sis provides solid contro ‘To make the auxiliary base, Tused ‘my existing router base as a template for marking the mounting holes, I's 4 good! idea to drill and counterbore \ SN A Flush Trim Bit, A flush trim bit makes it a snap to wim eaging perfectly even with 2 piece of plywood. (2) Flush Trim Jig these holes alitle oversize igure 12). This way, you can shift the router on the ‘base when you need to “fine tune” the jg ater on. Both the guide and the guide support are the same width. But the guide is 114" shorterthan the sup- port. This way, a6 you glue the two parts together, i¢ forms a “step” for bit clear ance, as you can see in the inset photo at right Before attaching the auxiliary base, you can cut the handle to shape from 3/(thick stock and serew it to the guide support igure 1b). ‘Assembly ~ When attaching the suidesto the auxiliary base i's impor tant to align the inside face of the sntide with the bearing on the bit This ‘way, the guide can do its job of stab- lizing the router and the bit can do its jb of trirmming the edging fush ‘To do this, mount the router to the base and set the guide assembly in place. Then use a square to align the bearing as | closely as pos | sible and draw a | ine to mark the location (Figures 2 and 2). ‘Ater removing the router from the base, youll need to turn the ig over to dill the plot holes forthe screws. ‘To help keep the base from shifing out of place as you do this, attach a Piece ofcarpet tape tothe hase. Then use the pencil mark on the base to realign the guide (Figure 3). Finally remove the carpet tape and attach the guide tothe base (Figure 4). Aumuaryence aes BR, is ot, Perera Woes 12Test Cut — Ater screwing the ter back on the base, i's a good idea to make a test cut on some edging attached to a scrap piece. Simply run the router along the face ofthe serap and check the results U the edging isnt trimmed flush vwith the plywood, you'll need to adjust the position of the router. To do this, loosen the mounting serews and shift the router as needed. [& Dado Jig When cutting a dado, I typically use the table saw, But sometimes, the pane is just to large to handle, In ‘hat ease, it's eso clamp the panel toabench and rout the dado, ‘To produce straight, accurate cuts, use a handheld router and a pair of guides like the ones shown at sight. ‘These guides allow you to cuta dado with perfectly straight edges. In salition, the piece that goes into the dado wilt precisely. swiral dowmont bit (See margin), all you need is @ @© Gisides ~ Bact guide consists of The other thing to keep ia mind is spacer that matches two parts a hardboard base that the that the bit may not be perfectly cen- the thickness of router rides on and a wood fonce to tered in the router base. So be sure the piece that fs guide it Pigure 1). Note: I made my thatthe same side ofthe router baseis in the dado. Ate “sandwiching” the Lt Pies ‘guides 50" long sol could rout across against the fence when you trim each spacer between the guides, clamp the full width ofa sheet of plywood, guide to width (I make a reference the second guide in place and thea Also, it'sbesttostartwith an extra: mark on my router base.) remove the spacer. See inset above.) wide base, This way, once the fence Setup - Once the guides are Rout Dado ~ Atthispoint, routing is glued in place, you can trim the complete, positioning them on the the dado is just a matter of making a base to match your router perfectly. workpiece only takesa second, Start series of shallow (4) passes. To This creates a reference edge for by laying outthe location of one side define one side of the dao, run the —~f/ aligning the guide during use. But of the dado. Then align one of the router along the fence of the first there are two things to keep in mind. guides along that mark and clamp it guide (Figure 2). Then with the re’ A Spiral Downcut First, you'l want to use the same in place (Figure 2). ference mark against the second Bit. To got smooth router bityou plan to use when eut- Positioning the second guide is fence, run the router down the cuts in plywood ‘ting the dadoes. | like to use a4" even easier, Instead of a layout line, second guide for a perfect fit. without “tifting™ the veneer, ty using & TOP VIEW spiral downcut bit Nahe Ronetcnreane SeeiW THE SHOP Cordless Tool Batteries Here are the answers to some commonly-asked questions about cordless tool batteries. ven cordless tools first came ‘onto the seene about twenty years ago, no one imagined how ‘widespread their use would become. ‘Today, there are few power tools that aren't available in a cordless version ‘Without question, cordless tools ‘owe much of their success to the rapid advances that have been made in battery technology over the last two decades. Cordless tool batteries have been steadily improving over the years so that today’s batteries are not only more powerful but run longer between changes. When it comes to voltage, is bigger necessarily beter? ‘As youcan seein the photo above, cordless tool batteries are made up of individual bat- tery “cells” Each cell is capable of delivering 1.2 volts, So a 9.6volt battery contains eight cells Add two more cells and you jump to 12 volts. A couple more and you have 144 volts, and 0 on. With each step up In wotage, you increase the amount of power available forthe tool But there's @ downside to this, Most obvious is the fact that with each jump in voltage, the battery pack also increases in size and ‘weight. When you get up to the 18 volt and larger batteries, is almost like lugging around a bowling ball ‘Along with the increase in power comes an increase in price, both upfront and in the long run. You can expect to pay more for a higher voltage battery. And as a general u Ge volts) 10 cells (12 volts) 16 Celis (192 Volts ‘A Battery Types. Cordiess too! batteries come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on the contiguration of the cells insicle rule, the higher the voltage, the shorter the lie of the battery (the ‘number of times it can be recharged). Here's why. Heat ‘sabattery’s natural enemy. And the cells create heat during use. With the higher voltage batteries, the cells are packed into the case like sar dines in a can, The more cells there are the more dificult is fr the bat tery pack to dissipate the heat, thereby shortening the battery life. So how much voltage do you really need? A lot of it depends on the tool and how youTl be using it For a cordless drill | think a 12 or 44volt battery offers plenty of ‘power and isn't too cumbersome to ‘carry around and use all day. Bat for a larger tool lke a cir- cular saw or a hammer drill, the higher voltage battenes (18 or ‘more volts) may be a better bet These powerhungry tools gener- ally require more voltage. Nickel-Metal Hydride = = { A Ni-MH ve. Ni-Cd, Other than the Jabal, there isnt any real difference in the outward appearance of the two types of batteries. ShopNotes: 12.Volt Battery Cell Witla higher voltage battery run longer between charges than a omer voltage battery? Yes and no, The running time of a battery is measured not in terms of volts but by “amprhours.” Most bat- teries will have an amphour rating printed right on them (generally ranging from 1.3 to 3.0). The higher the amphour rating, the longer the battery will run between charges, But generally speaking the larger voltage batteries have higher amp-hour ratings. So even though there isn'ta direct correlation, the higher voltage batteries often have a longer run time What's the difference between Ni-MH and Ni-Cd batteries? In the world of cordless power tools, nickelcadmium (NiCd) batteries are the old standby. But about three or four years ago, a couple of tool manufacturers began introducing cordless tools that used nickel-metal hydride (N:MH) batteries. Other than the label, these batteries look just like the old Ni-Cd batteries. So why the switch? First is the quest for more power and longer running times. Although ‘great strides have been made in bat- tery technology, it appears that sci- centists have hit the wall in terms of expanding the amp-hour capacity of No. 56NiCd batteries. It seems unlikely that NiCd batteries will go beyond 2.2 amphours. On the other hand, NEMH batteries have @ greater potential for increased amphour capacity Infact, there are currently ‘some NiMH batteries on the market ‘that boast a 20 amphour rating. ‘This increase means that the battery can run longer bebween charges, which sa big plus. ‘The second reason has to do with the environment. Cadmium is con- sidered a hazardous waste — like lead or mercury. So disposal of Ni- Cd batteries is a problem. If thrown into a landiil, the cadmium eventi- ally leaks out of the battery and finds its way into the groundwater: Several European countries are moving towards a ban on NiCd batteries, making NiMH batteries the logical alternative. Here in the United States, a battery recycling program has been instituted in order to keep worn-out NiCd batteries from being tossed in landils. Butyou don't have to worry ifyou currently have a cordless tool that uses NHCd batteries. Manufacturers don't have any immediate plans to do away with NECA batteries, And the [NEMH batteries will still work with your old cordless tools. (You may need to purchase a new battery charger that is capable of charging both types of batteries) [EMH batteries cost more than NiCd batteries. And you won't be able to get as many charges out of a NeMIH battery as you would a comparable NiCd battery. But on the other land, NiMH batteries run longer on each charge, 80 in the end the useable life of the bat- tery is about the same. GB Should 1 tet my batteries run down completely before charging hem up again? You may have heard that recharging a battery that hasn't been completely drained willcanse it to develop a “memory” and eventie ally the run time of the battery will be shortened. This is really just a No, 56 miyth. There is no need to completely drain a bat tery before recharging i T typically leave my bat- tery on the tool until I notice it starting; to lose power. Then its time to pop it into the charger. One word of caution however. To maximize the life of your battery, you should let it cool down to room temperature before recharging it, Battery changers like the one shown at right have built in temperature sensors so they won't start charging ‘until the battery cools down, sit sat tease my batteries in the charger? ‘That depends on your charger Many (but not all) of the newer chargers sense when a battery has reached full charge and shut down automaticaly, or go into a “wickle charge” mode to prevent over charging. Some manufacturers of these “smart” chargers claim that it won't harm the battery to Teave it in the charger for days. Butwo beon the safe side, 1 prefer to unplug the charger before Hleave the shop, new charger that goes a step fur ther than the “smart” charger shown above. Called the Makstar system, this charger works in con- junction with Makita’s new 24-volt bat- teries (see photo at right), The battery has a data memory chip that records the "life his tory” of each cell, When the battery is placed fon the charger, a minkcomputer inside the charger reads this information and selects the ‘optimal charging route for maximum battery life. A display on the charger indicates the ‘condition ofthe battery and lets you know the progress during the charging process. In addition, the charger has a small, builtin ShopNotes Ni-MH & Ni-Cd << “Smart* Chargers. Many of the chargers on the market today have builtin sensors. They will deiay ‘charging ifthe battery is too hot and automatically ‘shut down once the battery reachos full charge. DI have a battery that no tonger takes a charge, Can it be repaired? Battery packs that have reached the end oftheir useful life can usually bbe serviced by a battery specialist. Basically, the individual cells are replaced with new ones. But unless you have a battery pack that’s obso- lete, its generally less expensive to simply buy a new battery and recycle your old one. To locate a bat tery recycling dropoff point near ‘you, call 18008-BATTERY. th alr Passageways fan that blows air through a series of passage- ‘ways inside the battery. This helps to keep the battery cool during the charging process, thereby extending the lfe ofthe battery. ‘The Makstar charger comes standard with all of Malta's 24-volt cordless tools. And by purchasing a separate adapter plate, the ‘Makstar charger can be used to charge all other Makita batteries, rom 72 to 18 volts, ‘both NiCd and NiMH. 15___ Circular Saw Get precise miters and crosscuts from your circular saw every time! UW Ten was the last time you used a portable cir cular saw to cuta perfect miter or make an exact ‘90° crosscut? For me, the answer is almost never — that 4s, until [built this miter station (see photo above). ‘To ensure accurate results, this station automatically positions the saw at 45° or 90° to the edge of a board. Even more important, it has a builtin guide that keeps you cutting in a straight line. Platform and Carriage ~ This project consists of ‘Wo parts. The first is a platform with a fence that’s used (V,¥ we & ‘A Stop Pin. At the end of a ul, the saw is stopped by a pin in the carriage. A Index Pin, A metal pin locks the saw carriage in piace for precise cuts every time. 16 C4 ati 5 tation ShopNotes to position a board under the saw. ‘The other part is a Jong, open frame tat forms a carriage which guides the saw. To get the carriage tothe desired angle, it pivots on 4 steel pin that Bits into the fence (see inset photo). Indexing System — One great feature ofthis project ishow easily you can setup to make a cut at a 90° or A5* angle. A simple indexing system locks the carriage in ‘exactly the right place Just pivot the cariage into posi- tion and push an index pin through the carriage unti it drops into a hole in the platform (see left photo below). Bronze bushings lin each hole to keep the holes from ‘wearing with use. The stops make it quick and easy to cut the most common angles. But you can cut any angle between 45° and 90° by just positioning the carriage where you need it and clamping itin place Stop — At the end of a cut, the saw’ travel is ‘topped by a metal pin that sticks up at the end of the carriage (ight photo) This keeps you from pushing the saw too far and having the back end of the carriage flip up. When the saw hits the stop, the cuts done. Replaceable Top ~ The top ofthe platform isa piece of hardboard that can be removed and replaced if it berins to wear Ifs held down with doublesided carpet tape so that it stays put while the station is being used (Gee the photo on page 21). No. 56Siren rn Materials Pistfoom ABase (1) 20 x40-%4 Py, B Fonce (1) tex th -40 CCover(i) 264x404 Hb. Saw Cariage D Rails (2) hx th 32 E Crosepon (2) texte 6% (rgh) F Sprt. Bik. (1) Nex Pl - 8% (rgh.) Hardware + (2) x24! Hex Head Botts # (6) "00.1" LD.-1" Bronze Bushings + (0). Weedia. x3" Cotterteos ‘altel Pin No. 56 sxor em Building this miter station does wonders for improving the accuracy of the crosscuts and titers you can make with your circular saw. But there are a couple of other things you can do that will improve the final fit and finish of the cut surface. ShopNotes EXPLODED VIEW ‘OVERALL DIMENSIONS: AOWHSBID KBTO"H In addition to cutting an angle accurately, 7), 1 it's just as important that the" cutbeasclean as possible, Fora cut with a satinsmooth sur- foce, choose a high-quality crosscut blade. [found a 40-toth, carbide-tpped blade at a local home center (see photo above). It was pricier than any other blade I've bought for my circular saw (about $22), but judging by the uality of the cuts, it was well worth it Once the blade is installed, make sure the base of the saw is perfectly square to the blade, as shown in the photo at left. When you do this, make sure you set the blade of the square against the body ofthe saw blade, and not against a tooth. 174 instaling Bronze Bushings. To get a bushing into a role without damaging the bushing, | press itinwith a C-clame Platform & Carriage ‘The platform of the circular saw ‘miter station provides a fat, stable surface with a fence for aligning the ‘workpiece. It also supports the car- Fiage that the saw rides on, Base — The platform starts out with a rectangular base (A) made of 34" plywood Figure 2), Fence — Next, « hardwood fence is added along one edge of the base. ‘The fence aligns the workpiece on the platform and supports one end of the carriage. The fence (B) is cut to the same length as the base. I cut mine from 14f"thick stock, but it could also be made from two pieces of %" stock glued together. Later, after the carriage is built, the carriage is attached to the fence by a short steel pin that fits into a bushing in the fence, So alter the fence is glued in place, a hole is dailed forthe bushing If you take a look at Figure 2, you'll se this hole is 1794" from one end of the fence — which end depends on your saw. I'your circular saw's blade is on the right sie of the ‘saw (ike mine), measure from the right end of the fence. i the blade is. ‘on the left side of the saw, measure from the let end ofthe fence. Once the hole is drilled, a bronze bushing is pressed into it. This bushing prevents the pivot pin from CROSS SECTION 18 ee ‘surrorT Block (a. SIDE VIEW cnooemece | svrvoer — P ae enlarging the hole. Driving the bushing in with a hammer could damage the bushing’s top edge. As Yyou can see in the margin, the solu- tion is to use a clamp, Cover ~ To complete the plat form, ahardboard cover (C) isadded to the base. The cover is the same length as the base, but it's 1 ‘rower to allow forthe fence. ‘The cover is meant to be replaced when it gets chewed up. For this FENCE Be a reason, it’s held down only with double-sided carpet tape, 2s you can see in Figure 2, When the cover isin place, the ends can be sanded flush with the base. Don't worry about sanding the front edge, as it will be ccut to shape later. SAW CARRIAGE ‘The second part of the miter station isthe saw carriage. This is @ rectan- ‘gular wood frame that guides the ci cular saw (Figure 1), A stee! pin in ‘one rail serves asthe pivot point for the carriage. A second pin sticks up at the far end of the carriage to act as 4 stop forthe saw atthe end of a cut. Rails - The rails (D) are long, narrow pieces of thick hard- "> wood, Take a lool at Figure 3 and CO Baer mr ANOTRER ACEO ShopNotes ‘you'll see that anotch needs to be cut in each end ofthe rails to accept the ‘cross pieces that “tie” the carriage together. And a rabbet along the inside edge of each rail creates a lip that guides the metal base ofthe saw. Teut the notches on the ends of the rails first, using a dado blade in the table saw. To do this, position the table sav rip fence 14" from the out- side ofthe blade to serve as a stop, as No. 56FEATURE PROJECT shown in Figure 3b. Then set the SUE blade height to 42". Now cut a notch 3 oon each end ofeach ral > ‘The next step is cutting the mb> MEBs: bets to make the track that the saw A rides on. These rabbets are cut on the opposite face from the notches. ‘And you doa't have to change the dado blade setup. As Figure Se shows, all you need to do is attach wood fence to the rip fence and “bury” part ofthe blade in it, leaving Vp" ofthe blade exposed. Then lower the blade to cut a"deep rabbet. Crosspieces - With the rails complete, the next step isto add the two crosspieces (E). The length of these pieces is determined by the ‘width of the metal base of your sa. ‘Simply measure the saw’s base and { add 2 to allow fr the width ofthe oman fhe SaRea rails. The crosspieces are 14" thick “nba ee so that when they’re glued into the aun notches in the rails, they sit fush omer ens with the bottom ofthe rails, ‘Before assembling the carriage, a slide in the completed carriage with To complete the carriage, all that's couple of holes need to be drilled. no “slop.” An easy way to get this needed are the stop and pivot pins. ‘Take alookat Figure and youl'see spacing is to clamp the rails around These are cut from the unthreaded that one hole is drilled through a thebase ofthe circular saw while the portions of a couple of bolts (see crosspiece and the other is drilled assembly dries. margin). Note that the pivot pin through a rail Later, steel pins are Support Block ~ After the car- glued into the rail (Figure 1b) is ued into each of these holes to riagehasdried,asupport block (F) is Jonger than the stop pin glued into serve as the carriage pivot pin and added under the undrilled cross the crosspiece (Figure 1c). I filed a the stop forthe saw. piece (Figure 1). This block sup- slight chamfer on each end of the Now you're ready to glue up the ports the end of the carriage and pins to make it easier to fit the pins rails and crosspieces to make the keeps the carriage level when it's into the holes. Sa ssw carriage. The thing to be aware placed on the fence. The support Cut Are ~ After the pins are & Steel Pins. The of here is the distance between the black is the same width and length epoxied in place, you can trim the pivot pin and the rails, The idea is to have the saw as the crosspiece back edge of the platform to shape. stop are cut from did this to reduce the size and the unthreaded weight ofthe platform, An easy way portion of a bott to lay out the arc is to use the saw carriage as a giant compass. To do this, simply hold a pencil atthe left front corner of the carriage and switig the cartiage from one side of the platform to the other, lke you see in Figure 4. (Note: If your carriage pivots on the left rail, hold the pencil atthe right front corner) Now set the carriage aside and tuse a jig saw to cut along the line. Some sanding will smooth the back ‘edge, Then rout a ‘Aq! chamfer on the top ofthe curved edge. No. 56 ShopNotes 19‘The key to the precision of this [Ej projects the index holes that let you position and lock the carriage to make perfect 90° crosscuts and 45° miters every time. It's important that. these holes are in exactly the right places. But don't worry. There's an ‘easy way to make sure you drill them Tight where they should be. Index Holes —I started by laying cout the indexing: holes at the 45° positions. If you look at Figure 6, ‘you'll see that a combination square can be used to position the carriage at a 45° angle to the fence, Then clamp the cariage in place. But I didn’t trust my combination square to be exactly 45°. So before | F drilling the indexing hole, I thought * : iB # ‘ SESS position of the carriage tomake sure 186 SECTION itwas dead-on. 3 To do this, place a piece of scrap ‘on the platform and cut through the ahead and drill the indexing hole, as index pin that locks the carriage in scrap. (See “Setup and Use" on the — shown in Figure 7. place (Figure 5). Moving this pin in ‘opposite page) Then flip one piece “To locate the opposite 45° angle, and out repeatedly could enlarge the @ of the scrap over as shown in Figure simply repeat this process. Finally, holes, so | lined the holes with 6a, and place the mitered edges use a try square to position the car- bronze bushings. together. If the two pieces form a riage for the 90° indexing hole. ‘The bushings T used were 1" long. perfect 90° angle, the carriage is Note: l'you think you'll be cutting However, the platform is just under properly positioned. If the angle is other angles frequently, go ahead 1" thick, so the bushings stick up off, nudge the carriage slightly and and drilholes for those angles. above the surface slighty. A few try the test again until you end up Bushings ~The holes in the plat- strokes with a file on each bushing with an exact 90° angle. Then go. form and saw carriage accept the fixed that. Then the bushings aresecured in the holes with epax Tl... (Note: Remove the hardboard cover ieee ad firstto avoid gluing ito the base.) | hgemr Ee On the carriage, T pressed in a bushing trom each face (Figure 8) ‘There's also some quick filing that tieeds to be done on the index pin. If you look at Figure Sb, you'l sce that a small spring-loaded nib sticks out from one side of the pin, I filed this nib flush with the shaft of the pin to ‘make it easy to get the pin in and out. SETUP AND USE Using the miter station is easy. You ‘want to clamp it your bench or a pairofsawhorses to keepitsabl, as shown in Figure & See the photo below for a way to clamp it in a portable workbench) Then clamp your workpiece to the miter station platform to keep it from shiting during the cut. And like you see in T~\_ cross SECTION Figure 8a, set the blade depth to cut i ed just 4" into the hardboard cover: ‘To make a eut, place the saw in in Figure 8 (This keeps the saw Safety Note: When you reach the the carriage and retract the blade from lurching back when you turn it end of the cut, let the saw blate stop @ szuar8 sights, Before turning the on) Now just squeeze the tigger, rotating before ling the saw from saw on, raise the ear ofthe saw to. lower the saw onto the cariage, and the carriage. Otherwise, the blade lift the blade off the cover, as shown push the saw along tothe stop pin, may bind in the fence and kick back. Other Features __ Hiere are some tips to help you get new cover and the location of the carriage in the desired postion, as the most from your miter station. indexing holes. Cut the new cover to shown in photo B. Replaceable Cover ~The hard- size, put fresh carpet tape on the Clamping Cleat~ Portability isa board cover is held on with carpet base and press the cover in place, great feature of the miter station. tape so that it can be replaced if it ike you see in photo A. Photo C shows how a cleat screwed gets chewed up overtime. Other Angles - You can use the to the bottom of the platform allows The old cover can be used a5 a miterstationtocutany angle between you to clamp the station in the jaws ‘template to lay out the shape of the 45° and 90° by simply clamping the of portable workbench. uN hsraer TO EARRAGE ANN No. 56 ‘ShopNotes aa ee The Whole Story On an » Drilling Large’ Foles IM THE To drill press and a guod setof brad point bits or twist will probably handle about 95% of the holes ‘you'll ever need to drill. That's because most of the time you're drilling small diameter holes. But the first time you need to drill a hole larger than say, an inch, you'll probably find yourself having to purchase a special bit. Points to Consider ~ Bits for making large holes aren't difficult to find — just open any woodworking catalog. However, there's more to selecting a bit than just knowing the size of the hole you want to make. “The material you're working with, whether it's a Spade Bit When it comes to drilling large holes, spade bitsarethe work: | horses of the stable. | ‘They're tough, work quickly, and are inexpensive through or blind hole, and the type of work you're doing all tactor into the equation. What works for one hole may not work for the next. And if you have to drill a Jot of holes, you might want to choose a different ‘method than you would for drilling just one or two. So how do you decide? Here's a look at several dit ferent types of commonly availble bits and tools for ‘making large holes, along with an examination of some of the strengths and weaknesses of each, Plus there's also a couple of methods for creating large holes that ‘you may not have seen before. SARS _ (couple of bucks apiece) > They are probably also 4&4 Spade Bit. Space about the simplest bit you can find. its are quick and —Justarod of ste! that's been fattened inexpensive. at one end. A long centerpoint and a ‘couple of spurs on each side guide the bitand score the perimeter of the hole, Size ~ Spade bits range in size from 44" to 144" in diameter. They ‘can be used in a hand-held drill or in a daill press (at slow speed). And when they become dull, they can be thrown out and replaced or simply touched up with efile Rough Work Despite these advantages, spade bits are really designed for construction works or where the appearance of the fin- ished hole doesn't make a bit of difference. The sides of the hole are left looking rough and jared. ‘And they tend to splinter the 4 backer board behind or under- neath your workpiece.) Still | lke to keep a couple sets ‘of spade bits on hand in the shop for those times when I don't want to take a chance on damaging some of my more expensive bits. Spade bits have one other advantage over many other types of its, If you ever need an odé-sized hole, its a pretty simple procedure to modify an existing bit to match the exact size you need, as you can see in the drawings at left. ‘4. Modifying a Spade Bit. Using a nail ase stop, clamp. the bit io @ scrap block so the side of the bit stands ‘slightly proud, File down the side of the bil. then fp i ‘over and repeat the process on the other side, 22 No. 56Forstner Bit. Although spade bits work fine for for rough holes, they're not very accurate. When it comes to driling, lean, precise holes, nothing excels ike a Forstner bit, Solid Rim - The secret of a Forstner bit is the rim. Instead of a couple of little spurs, the rim of a Forstner bit is solid. Is sharp edges, A closely-related cousin to the Forstnerbtis the sawtooth bit. This bit gets its name from the Jagged ‘teeth that line the rim of the bit. The teeth helpto dissipate the hea better than the solid rim of a standard Forstner, preventing the bit from overheating and burning the work: re ean sooo tsa holes a little faster than Forstner bits, which is a plus if you're in a No. 56 Cleanly score the outside of the hole asthe bit plunges into the wood. The result is a hole with clean, smooth sides and hardly any tearout. The rim also guides the bit, keeping it from wandering. Th what realy sets Forstner bits apart from just about every other bit Because the bit is guided by the rim hurry or have alot of holes to make Sawtooth. bits. work best when used perpen: dicular to the work. piece. They don't drill angled holes as well as Forstner bits because the teeth on the rim of the bit tend fo catch and tear the wood as you try to start the hole. Like Forstner bits, sawiooth bits can be used to deill a hole with 1 flat bottom. So they're a good choice for driling a counterbore to house aclock movement (see photo) or any other large recess, Sawtooth bits range from 14" all the way up to 4M in diameter. Shank Size ~ One thing to con- sider when selecting a sawtooth or Forstner bit isthe sizeof the shank AA thicker shank prevents the bit from chattering. And a longer shanic ‘ShopNotes instead of the center, you can ell overlapping holes and angied holes with ease. Asimportantas the rim is, it doesn't actually create the bole. ‘The bulk ofthe waste is removed by a pair of knife-like cutting edges on each side of the center point of the bit These slice away the wood in lage shavings, creating a perfectly fla ottomed hole —one ofthe main benefits ofa Forsiner bit Cost - Forstner bits vary con- siderably in price, according to their size and, more importantly, their quality. The less-expensive bits will do the job, but the edges af the bt don't seem to hold up as well as on the more expensive bits. And the edge of the hole tends to be a little bit rougher than with the higher-priced bits, will allow you to drill deeper holes. (Something to keep in mind when com paring prceson these types of drill its) ye ‘Cost ~ Sawtooth bits 4 tend to be a little less expensive than traditional Forster bits, and [ find that they work almost as well. orstners leave a slightly cleaner edige on the hole.) A Forstner or sawtooth bit is usually my first choice when I need to drill a large hole for a furniture project. But because these bits are fairly pricey in the large sizes, I buy them only a8 the need arises ‘Slow it Down ~ Whether you use. a sawtooth bit or a Forstner bit, the trick to drilling large holes is to take it slowly. Set your drill press at slow speed and back the bit out frequently woe: f chips. This will help pre- vent the bit from overheating and burning your workpiece 23 4 Forstner Bit This bit is great for citing fat bottomed holes ‘A Sawtooth Bit. A sawtooth bit is basically a Forstner it with teethAlthough Forstner and sawtooth bits work reat, they're typically available only up to 4 in die meter. What if you need to make a larger hole than this? One solution is to use a wing cutter. Avwing cutter (sometimes called a “fy cutter”) works quite differently than mostbits. Instead of drilling out hole, the wing cutter simply cuts around the hole, leaving a cookie- 4 Wing Cutter. With a wing cutter, you can make holes from 2" to 8° in diameter, size waste picce in the center. To do this, a. wing cuter uses a sharpened eater that is atached to an adjustable arm. As ‘the bit rotates, the cutter seores the perimeter of the hole. A center pilot bt helps to guide the cutter. Adjustable — The biggest advan- tage to a wing cuter i thatthe arma tbatholds the cuter can be moved in Expansive Bit ‘Wouldi't it be great if you could buy just ‘one bit that would cut almost any size hhole? That's the idea behind an expansive bit. Designed to be used in a hand brace ‘Gee photo at right), expansive bits have ‘been around for over a hundred years, Threaded tip pulls — Bitinto workuece Lockdown: screw’ or out. A scale on the arm helps in adjusting the bit So with this one bit, you can cut an infinite variety of hole Sizes (from about 2" to 8) Because they don't remove the waste from the center of the hole, wing cutters can only be used 10 cot through holes. And they also won't work on stock thicker than fn inch. Because of this, | typically use a wing cutter for cutting out large holes in sheet goods (lor speakers, fight fixtures, et) Using a wing cutter for the frst time can be 2 litle bit unnerving. ‘The expansive bit is something of 2 hybrid. The end of the bit resembles a tra ditional auger bit. But it holds an adjustable cutter that works more like the wing cutter shown above. A row of teeth along the edge of the cutter allows you to adjust the diam ter of the bit. By using different sizes of cutters, you can make holes ranging from 1R" to 3, see photo at left. All you do is chuck the bitup ina brace and start boring. Like most “one size fits all” items, expansive bits don't work: nearly as well as their individual counterparts. Although you can ada dill holes with this bit, its 9 real aera chore, especially when you start getting above 144". On top ofthis, the quality of the hole is pretty rough, especially for making fur niture, Sul, it works in a pinch. ShopNotes ‘That's because you've got this rather heavy cutter swinging around on the end of the arm. Combine this with the fact that wing cutters tend to chatter and vibrate while in use, and it may seem like an accident waiting 10 happen. But there are a few tips that can take away some of the ane fety associated with wing cutters. First, the drill press speed should ‘be set to 250 rpm or less, (Never use a wing cutter in a hand-held drill) Next, make sure your workpiece is securely clamped in place. And finally, check to see that the set screws which hold the cutter, pilot bit, and adjustable arm in place are all firmly tightened.Hole saws arent really “bts” in the traditional sense. As the name implies, a hole saw is really a small, cyindrical saw thatis mounted on an arbor, The saw cuts a round “plug” ‘out ofa workpiece, leaving behind a hole, The arbor also holds a twist bit that serves as pilot for the sa, Hole save typically range in diam ‘ter from 114! to 6". With the higher quality holes saws, you can purchase the wood around the hole. NCTC EC different diameter saves that will all ft on the same arbor, (These are otten packaged in sets) Like spade bits, holes saws are really more useful in construction than they are in furni- turemaking. They're seat for creating a hole for a lockset or driling holes through wall studs for pipes or clectrical ring. But as you might, expect, the hole is fairly ough. And they gen- crate a Jot heat as they cut, sometimes burning Like the wing cuter, hole saws are only useful for making through holes. And the depth of the hole is limited by the length ofthe hole saw. One ofthe problems Ive had wit hole saws in the past is that the saw gets jammed onto the arbor threads 9 tightly that it becomes almost impossible to remove when you want to change saw sizes. But then I found a neat hole ‘saw from Starrett that solves this , problem, 2s you Adal i ance below ‘Quleke Change - “The arbor on this hole saw has a couple of lock pins that soap down and engage a couple of holes inthe saw, 4 Hole Saw. Hole preventing it fom becoming saws are great for jammed onto the threads too tightly. _instaling locksets. To remove the saw, all you have to do is pull back on the collar of the arbor to retract the pins. ‘Then the saw easily spins off the threads, #4 You probably wouldn't think of using a router for “drilling” large holes. But when combined with a pattern bit and the circle template shown below, @ router can create very smooth and precise holes. The template is nothing more than a piece of high-impact plastic, with holes ranging from 14" to 314" in diameter, Creating a hole with the template is a two- step process. First, a fg saw is used to rough out the hole ‘Then the template is clamped in place over the work- piece, and the router and pattern bit are used to trim the edge of the hole, as shown at ight. Because it takes time to set up, the circle template is a good choice if youonly need tocreateafew ogi holes, or if you need to < create several different C 7 sizes of holes and don't «+ want to spend a fortune on individual drill bits. I's available through Eagle America (1-800872.2511). No. 56 ShopNotes. 25Ses Drop-In Drawer Organizers Interested in space-saving ideas for drawer storage? With an adjustable insert and a pair of handy totes, cleaning up the clutter just got easier. = ger is betes. At least that's what I thought when J built a storage unit for my shop. T added large drawers that [ was sure would make it easy to “hide” away all the things that used to be out in the open in my shop. And hide they did, ‘As time went on, looking through the drawer to find something 1 needed was more like a search and rescue mission. Whatever 1 was looking for seemed to find its way to the bottom of the drawer — some- ‘where near the back comer. Drop-in Organizers ~ To solve this problem, I built the dropin organizers shown in the photo ‘above. An insert that fits into the bottom of the drawer has adjustable dividers you can change to store a wide variety of items. Resting on top of the insert are a pair of totes, Each tote has a set of fixed dividers and a handle. Besides being easy (o organize, you can pull the tote from the drawer and take it right where it's needed. Note: Only ine tote is shown at let. For my drawer, 1 built a single insert and a pair of totes. But the nice thing is you can build any combina ton of inserts and totes you need. So ifyou have a whole set of drawers to organize, simply mix and match them to customize each drawer. Sizing the Organizers — Regardless of the arrangement, the organizers are built to fit the inside dimensions of the drawer. And the key to sizing them is to allow for a litle (je) slop.” This way, you can easily slip the insert in place. Plus, it makes it easy to remove a tote ‘without it jamming inside the drawer. Insert ~ To size the insert, first measured the overall length and width of the drawer. Then, since my drawer was 1894" long, I sized the Insert to be 18!%4e" in length (Ast less), Likewise, the width of the No. 56SHOP PROJECT drawer was 12", so my insert ended up L1e" wide. Determining the height (width) of ‘the insert is a little trickier. That's because it depends on whether you ‘stack any totes on top of the insert. If you have a shallow drawer, ‘simply measure its depth and then allow a Ac" clearance to make it easy to open and close the drawer, But if you're going to stack a tote (or two) on top like | did, youl need to split the depth of the drawer in Tlf (ater allowing for the clear ance). Since the inside height of my drawer was 7c, the height of my insert and each tote was 3°", At this point, you're ready to cut ‘the front/back (A) and sides (B) of the insert to final size (Figure 2). Just remember to allow for the rab- bets in the ends of the sides when ‘you cut the front/back to length. ‘The next stepis to ut the rabbets. ‘To do this, set the dado blade for a ‘ifowide cut. Then, after adding an auxiliary fence to the miter gauge (to prevent tearout) and rip fence (to avoid accidentally “shaving” into it), ‘cut the rabbets (Figures 2 and 2a). Dadoes — Since the dado blade is already set for a wide cut, 1 spent some time cutting a set of matching dadoes in each side. These dadoes are fora set of dividers that are added liter. Bottom — Now, you can turn your attention to the bottom of the insert, ‘The bottom (C) is nothing more than apiece of !/" hardboard that fits into ‘grooves cut near the bottom of the front/back and sides. EE overview RONT Since hardboard is. rarely 4" thick, af" dado blade would have ‘made for a loose fit. To get a snug fit, 1 reinstalled my YA'thick saw blade and made multiple passes to fit the hardboard exactly (Figure 1a). ‘At tis point, you can set the parts for the insert aside. ‘They won't be assembled until later after a litle more work is done to fit the dividers. ‘Tote — identical to the insert. But there are couple differences to keep in mind. First, it’s a good idea to allow a ‘Ya gap between the totes. ‘This makes it easy to slip the second tote in place once the first one is in the drawer, And second, the rabbets and dadoes for the totes are cut in the front/back pieces, not the sides. ‘With that in mind, i's a simple ‘matter to cut the front/back (D) andi sides (E) to sive. Then after cutting the rabbets and dadoes in the front/back, all that's eft to do is cut the grooves for the two bottoms ().A Adjustable dividers allow the ‘compartments in the insert to be rearranged as ‘your storage needs change. 1 Dividers ‘The handiest thing about the insert is the two sets of adjustable dividers ‘shown in Figure 3 and in the margin photos. As you can see in the photos the bono of he oon page, these dividers make it easy to adapt ‘the insert (and drawer) to suit the specific needs of your shop. Dividers — One set of dividers fits into the dadoes cut earlier in the ‘sides of the insert. These main dividers split the insert into two, three, or four compartments. A second set of three different length dividers are then used! to divide ‘the insert into smaller compartments. ‘These subdividers fit into dadoes in the front/back of the insert as well as SUBDIVIDER both faces of the main dividers. o DETAIL Main Dividers ~ But before you woedecnew can cut the dadoes that the subd | ee viders slip into, youl fist need to cut | ere et the main dividers to size from 14". i Ser o- “Sra oth me thick stock (Figure 3). Determining a ARS HERE the length of the main dividers is <> easy — theyre the same length as the tront/back ofthe insert. and both ces ofthe main diders, ‘Fest, youTl need to lay out he But theyre not the same width What's important here is that location of the dadoes on the work: ‘That's because they reston thebotiom these dadoes line up across from piece. To do this, “gang” the work: of the insert. So I simply measured each other. This way, the subdividers pieces together and then use a up from the top of the groove that will slip easily into place without square to mark matching tayout hholds the bottom and cut the mai angling to one side or another. lines on the top edge of each work dividers (G) to width. (in my case, The problem is you can't see the piece (Figure 4a). the main dividers were 314!" wide), layout lines for the dato when you Once that’s complete, you can Layout Dadoes ~ Once the main try to line them up with the dado transfer the layout lines down the dividers are cut to size, you can turn blade. The solution isto use an align- outside face ofthe front/back and on your attention to the dadoes the sub> ment notch cut into an auxiliary one face of the main dividers. dividers slip into. These dadoes are fence attached to the miter gauge The next step is to set the dado ‘ctin the inside face ofthefront/back (Figure 4). But more aboutthat later. blade for a ¥"-wide cut. Since mySI hardboard was slghily les than ‘A a C thick, this will make it easy to slip the 8, /subdividers in and out. CONS, Now youre ready to attach the aux ary fence to your miter gauge.Then — MSereBaa O— tase the dado blade toa height of 3! and make a single pas to cut the aign- ‘menitnotch in the fence Figure 4). ‘Cut Dadoes ~ At this point, cut ting the dadoes is almost auto- matic, Simply align the layout Tine on the face of each work piece with the notch and then cut the dado. Note: Be sure to reset the dado blade for an eep cut, So how do you go about cutting wSSiscRiw the dadoes on the opposite face of each main divider? Easy — just fp NoTEs neo overs, them over and use the dadoes you Rant hheck’srBce™ already cut to align the workpicces. ‘Once al the dadoes are complete, handle allows you to carry the tote the tote together. you can assemble the insert. It's right where you need it Handle ~ Completing each tote is simply glued and screwed together. Fixed. Dividers — Since the _justa matter of adding a handle. The ‘Subdividers ~ Now all that's lett dadoes for the fixed dividers were handle (L) is nothing more than a to complete the insert is to cut the cut earlier, the only thing left to do strip of 94"thick stock with a rabbet subdividersto size. Asyou can seein before assembling each tote isto cut cutat each end (Figure 5). the Subdivider Detail, there are the fixed dividerstosize Here again, ‘The rabbets fit into the notches three different sizes. These subdi- the fixed dividers (K) are the same cut in the top of the fixed dividers. viders CH, I, ) are matte from 1" length a8 the sides of the tote. And These rabbets are sized so the hardboard and cut to fit between the like before, theyre cut to width so handle is flush with the top edge of dadoes in the front/back and main they're flush with the top edge of the the tote. For a more comfortable dividers, Note: I cut my subdividers tote (Figure 5). arip, it's a good idea to ease the to length for a slightly “loose” fit. Notch — Before assembling each bottom edge of the handle before ie tote, you'll need to cut a shallow you screw itto the tote. notch centered on the top edge of All that’s left to do now is slip the Atthis point, you can tura your atten- the fixed dividers (Figure 5a). These insert into the drawer and add the tion to the totes. Each tote has a pair notches accept the handle for the totes. Once you divide things up, of fixed dividers and a handle. tote. Once the notches are cut in you'll be able to conquer the clutter Besides being easy to organize, the each divider, you can glue and screw in your drawers once and for all ¥ Hardware Storage. Turn your Y Assembly Supplies, Hand Too! Storage. Arrange the drawer into a miniature hardware Taking your supplies dividers of the Insert. into store by dividing tha insert into right where you need compartments of diferent sizes to them is easy with this sutt specie needs. handy drawer toto. No. 56 ‘ShopNotes 29& Print Version. A print version of the database is also available ($56) Woodworker's Guide Woodworker's Indexing “seeoneranenycam Rockler 100-279-4081 New Products Woodworker's Guide 1m Past issues of woodworking maga zines are a great reference source. ‘The hassle hus always been finding that technique article or project pla. you saw six months ago. That's ‘where the Woodworker's Guide ccomes in. I's a computer database that indexes articles from most of the major woodworking magazines that have been published in the last twenty-five years. Sold as & Windows™ compatible CD-ROM, the Guide is more than just a database. Once ifs installed on your personal computer, you can search througth thousands of entries by keyword or by subject category (or both) to find the atte you're looking for. Some of the entries even feature a brief summary of the article to further assist you in your search, Filter ~ One of the most useful features of the Guide is the maga: zine “filter” It allows you to cus tomize the database to match the ‘magazines that are in your personal “library.” So your search won't pull up entries for magazines you don’t have. A simple click of the mouse allows you to turn the filter off if you, ‘want to search the entire database. ‘Trial Offer ~The price for the CD- ROM database is $35. But for just $5, you can try out the Woodworker's Guide for 30 days. If you decide to keep it, the $5 will go towards the purchase price. Updates to the Guide (there's already ove out for the year 2000) can be purchased annually to keep the index current. ‘And what if you don't own a com> puter? You're stl in luck. The data- base is also available in a print ver: sion, see photo in margin. Search by Category and Keyword. To perform a search, first select the categories you want to search in, then ype in the keywords you want to search under. Blade-Loc \Woodsmith Store 800-835-5084 Woodcraft 800-225-1153. Rockler 800-279-4481 Garrett Wade 600-271-2982 Blade-L ‘1m Every once in awhile, a new tool comes along that's so simple, yet so ‘Practical, you have to stop and ask ‘yourself, “Why didn’t I think of that?” ‘The Blade-Loc, by Bench Dog Tools, isjust such a product. Made of a tough plastic, the Blade- Loc fits over the top of a 10" saw blade, allowing you to safely grip the blade while loosening or tightening the arbor nut, see photo, This elimi- nates the timehonored tradition of View or Print your Search. Search results appear as a ti ‘dentitying the magazine tile, Ssue and page number of each article, The list can be printed out for reference. hunting fora piece of scrap wood to jam against your table saw blade. The BladeLoc also protects: the fragile carbide teeth of the blade from being chipped if the arbor ‘wrench should accidentally stip BladeLoc carries a suggested price of $21.95, but it may pay to shop around. When 1 checked some of the retailers carrying the Blade-Loc, I found prices ranging from $13.95 to $20.99. & ShopNotes No. 56.ques OOUlCCS mam Hardware & Supplies To make it easy to round up ‘the hardicare and supplies — | ‘that you'll need to build ‘the projects featured in this fae, we've put logether a ruraber of convenient ‘mail-order sources. | tie t Saw Upeut ait “Pulls” pes ag Workpiece I Wing 7, cowcest | Drill Bits A é Expansive Chips away Therw’s nolhing difcult aout driig «lrg hoe (page 22) Al it takes is the right an 7 fom Router bit Asyoucansee inthe photo above there isa wide vase of dil bits avalable for Spiral Router Bits A riling large holes (something bigger than 1"), To make the right choice, you'll nood In the outer jigs article on page 8, we [tu consider the type of hole you need to de. Most of the bits shown above are for used spiral router its ("shown _ “rough” work. Bu if your projet calls fora hoe with smooth shes or 2 ft otto, above) to produce clean cuts with ttle | Porsner or sawtooth btisyour best bes, Many ofthe bits shown above are availabe at (iets | ening aso bal he cnt eer se a ee _at many woodworking stores and from: ‘what you need there, the following mail-order sources should be able to help you out: it wiosts9 | Lay : sons ‘Woodaraft 800-225-1153 |» Weodarft 800-225-1153 @ sWosinhsine sosssanes | “Meth siae sess > Router Raizer A Although not much more than a handful of hardvare, the Router Raizer kit (page 6) allows you to modify your roster ‘wo make it easy to raise (or lower) the router bit fom the ROUT-R-Lift & CERNE SENT BA: {op of a table-mounted router, This kit contains all the parts Another way to change the height of the router bit is with the Rout-R-Lift you need to modify any one of over a dozen plange routers _ (page 8). But instead of ming the bit, the Rout R-Lit raises and lowers the ‘available today. The Router Ruiver kit is available trom the router To do this, it's attached to an aluminum carriage on the Rout R-Lif. following mailorder sources: “Tho Rout R-Lift (and tho optional inserts shown at right) is available from: Puckett Tools & Fasteners B00544-8189 | + Highland Hardware 800-241-6748 Woodcraft, 200-225-1153 | + Woodcraft 200-225-1153 * Woodsmith Store 800-835-5084 | + Wloodsnith Store 900-835-5084 No. 56 ‘ShopNotes. 31Scenes biconm nats The Millers Falls Company created quite a stir when streamlined appearance, it's easy 10 see why too! they: introduced this ine of tools back in the late collectors today refer to these as “Buck Rogers” tools, 19408. With their bright red, plastic handles and after the space-traveling comic strip character.