A quick Internet search will reveal that there are many Crokinole boards for sale (some for nearly $400!) and a variety of accessories. But one reason I think that this game is gaining in popularity is that with a basic board and your game pieces (we found ours on Amazon), you will be set up for hours of fun.

The game can be played with two or four people. There are variations of play, too — each player for themselves or as teams. You play seated at a table, and one of the more interesting rules is that once you sit down, you may not move your chair from side to side. While the game is a bit complicated to explain in a sentence or two, you basically try to score by flicking your pieces into a specific spot or reduce your opponent’s score by bonking their pieces out of scoring position … or by doing both at the same time. Yep, it’s fun!

Crokinole: Finger-flicking Fun

Crokinole is unmistakably a Canadian creation, and its origin likely came about in Ontario in the 1860s. The game evidently blends components of English, French, German and even East Indian games (most likely pub games). There are regional variants to the game, and it became very popular in the 1950s with league competition common in both large and small towns. You can download rules to the game here.

Making the Base

Our board has a hardwood base or frame onto which we glue the actual plywood gameboard. I started out by making an octagon from walnut segments. This effort is a bit of addition by subtraction, as I eventually routed away most of the walnut material. And that’s the reason I did not use biscuits or dowels to help reinforce the octagon frame: they would be exposed by the subsequent machining. Glue the pieces together and use a band clamp to apply sufficient pressure as the glue cures. As you are basically gluing end grain to end grain, allow the glue to cure fully, and do not treat the subassembly roughly. You don’t want to break those glue joints.

To facilitate shaping the frame, use MDF or something similar to make blocking that holds the frame securely as you remove material with your router. Screw the blocking to a work surface or sacrificial board.

I chose to use a cordless DEWALT router mounted to Rockler’s circle-cutting jig to cut the walnut octagon round. The jig’s adjustability is key to making this project. You can quickly change the diameter with the twist of a knob. Because you will be not only cutting the frame round but also nibbling out a trough into the hardwood, that quick adjustability makes this task much more fun.

Find the exact center of the octagon/blocking setup and mount the circle jig right there. With a 1/4″-diameter straight bit chucked into the router, start out by cutting the frame round. Make a series of shallow cuts to keep the process manageable.

Switch to a 1/2″ straight bit to form the trough by removing more material in a series of cuts. See the Drawings for details. While my cordless router is not super powerful, by taking my time with shallow repeated cuts, it worked really well.

Building the Board

Next up is the gameboard. Made from 1/2″ birch plywood, it’s a round disc that has a bit of colored inlay and eight pegs mounted into the surface.

Start out with a 24″ x 24″ piece of plywood. Find its exact center and then go ahead and grab — you guessed it — your circle-cutting jig again Chuck a 1/8″-diameter straight bit into the router and set it to make a 1/8″-deep cut. You’ll be plowing circular grooves into the surface of the wood. Set the diameter of each circle according to the Drawings. Rout the grooves and then remove the circle-cutting jig for now.

We have a free downloadable PDF template that you can print out for the next step. Use it to lay out the locations of the peg holes as well as the straight grooves that connect the two outer circles. Those straight lines will form the playing quadrants when they get the dark wood filler put in them.

Use an awl to punch divots in the center of each peg hole; they will help you start the drill bit accurately. I used Rockler’s portable drill guide and a 3/8″ brad-point drill bit to bore the eight peg holes. Gently engage the brad-point bit onto the surface of the plywood to limit tearout.

With that taken care of, clamp a straightedge to the gameboard, as shown in the photo above. Use it to guide the router as it cuts the straight connecting grooves. Be careful not to rout past the circle grooves, which would look unsightly. With all those tasks in the rearview mirror, it’s time to make use of the circle-cutting jig one more time.

Reattach it to the center of the gameboard, and as you did with the octagon frame, rout the circle free from the square plywood sheet. Take several deepening passes to form the circle. Finally, use a 1-3/8”-diameter Forstner bit to bore the shallow center hole.

Making it Slippery Smooth

Central to the game of Crokinole is flicking the playing pieces across the board to various scoring positions. So it makes perfect sense that the more slippery the surface is, the better the game pieces will slide. Here’s how I went about getting a super-smooth finish on the piece.

First, I gently sanded the gameboard, starting with 150-grit and working up to 220-grit abrasives. Then I applied two coats of lacquer sanding sealer from an aerosol can. When that cured, I sanded it gently with 320- and then 400-grit sandpaper. At that point, I sprayed on another coat of sanding sealer. With the surface well-sealed and smooth, I loaded the grooves with Wunderfil Wood Filler tinted with black dye. After the first application, I sanded the waste away. The filler had shrunk enough that I leveled the grooves off with more filler. Then I sanded the surface with 320-grit paper to remove any excess. One more coat of sanding sealer and then two coats of high-gloss lacquer, again from a rattle can, completed the gameboard’s finish coat.

Now to glue the frame onto the gameboard. As you can see in the image at bottom right, I got creative regarding how to apply pressure to this broad glue joint. When that’s done, carefully apply sanding sealer and lacquer to the walnut trough to finish it.

Cut a 3/8″-diameter walnut dowel into eight pegs. I stuck them into a piece of cardboard to hold them while I applied a spray finish. Glue them in place on the gameboard. After a couple of days, I applied a coat of paste wax to make the gameboard surface even more slippery, and I was done. You can find the rules to Crokinole online, and I recommend you watch some YouTube videos demonstrating how the game is played. Enjoy!

Click Here to Download the Template.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Crokinole Gameboard appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Click Here to Download the PDF.

The post Crokinole Gameboard Template appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Now, we all here recognize that this project is a bit aspirational for most woodworkers. Heck, you might only have one sander or very little money to spend. And judging by the very long list of components I’ve integrated into this unit, you might shake your head in disbelief. But my hope is that once I walk you through this project’s design, there might be a few features to tuck away in the back of your mind for when you DO need a sanding station of some sort. And I hope this project overview of mine encourages you to visit rockler.com for the almost astonishing variety of dust collection fittings and accessories you’ll find there. If you need a dust collection solution, whatever it might be, Rockler probably has it.

A Walk Through the Station’s Basic Construction

You’ll see my starting point: it’s an amalgam of Rockler’s Rock-Steady Shop Stand legs, four 28″ stretchers and six 44″ rails. (I used four long rails for the basic stand and an extra two longs rails serve as supports for the upper shelf that holds our downdraft table.)

The shelf is also a raceway of sorts for the 4″ and 2-1/2″ dust hoses that pass through it on the way to the station’s top. Both the upper and lower shelves are made of 3/4″ MDF, and so is a side wall I built for mounting a central “trunk line” of dust collection fittings on the station’s lower shelf.

The top surface of my sanding station is a piece of Rockler’s 1-1/2″-thick x 28″ x 40″ prefab hardwood butcher block, which I split in half, widthwise, on the table saw. Its 28″ width fits the top of the Rock-Steady stand perfectly, and the material is rigid enough not to need any intermediate cross supports underneath. One half of the butcher block serves as a “table” for our spindle sander.

If you look closely at the opening photo of this article, I surrounded the downdraft table on three sides with two layers of 3/4″ x 2″ MDF strips to create a flush surface the rest of the way around the top of the Rock-Steady stand. After laminating these MDF strips together, I simply screwed them and the butcher block section to the top stretchers of the stand with #6 x 3/4″ flathead wood screws, driven up from underneath.

The other half of the butcher block is on the opposite end of the station. It mounts to the project with brackets from Rockler’s new Rock-Steady Knock-Down Table Saw Outfeed Kit.

The kit’s folding, telescoping legs make it possible for us to extend the cart’s worktop length when we need to by tipping this section of the worktop up. It folds down for storage when we’re done sanding. I think it’s a handy addition!

In terms of the basic order of operations for assembling the project, after I had wrenched together the steel stand and installed oversized casters on its legs, I cut the two shelf panels to shape. The upper shelf needed a couple of large holes cut through it for the two dust hose sizes to pass through.

I located these holes quite a ways away from the bottom trunk line of dust collection to ensure that the bends in the hoses would be as broad and gentle as possible; I didn’t want to restrict airflow by bending the hoses any more severely than necessary. Also, I actually reversed the orientation of the two long upper shelf stretchers so that the shelf panel could nest down inside rather than sit on top of them.

With this shelf in place, the downdraft table’s height was just where I needed it to be: flush to the worktop’s surface. For both the 4″ and 2-1/2″ hoses, I used 90-degree elbows to help them change direction where they pass through the upper shelf.

The MDF wall on the bottom left end of the station went in next. It’s doubled up with a narrower piece on the inside face to provide a thicker attachment surface for the dust collection fittings. This shorter inner layer also offsets the dust collection assembly from the station’s steel legs enough so a 4″ Dust Right Quick Change Handle can plug straight into it.

After I had the shelves and wall installed, I added the tip-up portion of butcher block using the Outfeed Kit. Rockler provides thorough instructions for how to mount the hardware components of the kit and its legs, so follow those carefully.

The leg brackets attach to the worktop with machine screws that pass all the way through it. I was able to easily tackle drilling those holes with my drill/driver mounted on Rockler’s Portable Drill Guide and using a long twist bit. The drill guide ensures that holes will run straight through whatever you’re drilling.

Once you have one of these drill guides, you’ll be surprised by how often it can come to the rescue for drilling through workpieces that are two big or bulky to hulk over to the drill press. I countersunk the worktop bolt holes for the tapered heads of the machine screws so there’d be no chance of them marring anything we happen to be sanding.

Rockler Downdraft Table Panels

Prefabricated downdraft tables, such as the blue steel version shown in the opening photo, are just one option. You can also purchase only the perforated top panels and build a downdraft table yourself from sheet goods and a dust collection port.

These 6-3/4″x 16-1/2″ steel panels with rubber grommets offer a more economical, customizable solution to fit your sanding needs and budget.

A Menagerie of Dust Collection Fittings

The last 13 items of the “Hard to Find Hardware” box are all dust collection hoses, fittings, adapters and brackets for creating this sanding station’s dust collection trunk line. I’ve already covered how the 2-1/2″ and 4″ hoses pass through the upper shelf. The smaller hose terminates on top in an adapter dust port that’s mounted below the worktop on the left end of the spindle sander table. This port enables smaller power tool dust hoses to be connected to the 2-1/2″ main hose with Rockler’s new Click-Connect tool adapters. This makes it simple to use dust collection with any sander we’re using and to have no excuses for not keeping the work area as clean as possible. I think that’s one of the big reasons why we often don’t use dust collection — it can be a hassle to hook up quickly and easily. That’s not a problem with this setup.

2

What about the components that form the dust collection trunk line down below? Well, that collection of fittings, adapters and sections of hose took a lot of figuring on my part. Because as I mentioned at the beginning of this article, one goal was to have all of the dust collection accommodations of this station be serviced by one 4″ dust collector. I also wanted the 2-1/2″ and 4″ hoses to be able to be used at the same time (for instance, to run a random-orbit sander and the downdraft table simultaneously) or to have the option of closing one or the other off when needed (say, to run just dust collection for the spindle sander or only the downdraft table when hand-sanding on top of it). Here’s how I did it. The two sizes of hose attach to a pair of side-by-side blast gates attached to the bottom shelf. The 4″ blast gate connects with a coupling to a 90-degree elbow, and a coupling in turn connects it to a 4″-to-2-1/2″ Y-connector.

3

The smaller blast gate ports into this Y-connector with a short piece of 2-1/2″ hose. From there, the remaining 4″ end of the Y-connector has a short length of 4″ hose that feeds to an adapter piece from Rockler’s Quick Change Tool Set. That’s where we attach the sanding station to our dust collector. Several Rockler Ready-Mount 4″ Brackets secure these various parts to the station’s side wall with short screws. This integrated trunk line was worth the careful planning, because so far it’s serving our sanding needs well by helping to keep the dust at bay!

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

Legs for Rockler Rock-Steady Shop Stands, 4-Pack, 28″H (1) #56980
Stretchers for Rockler Rock-Steady Shop Stands, 4-Pack, 28″L (1) #62379
Stretchers for Rockler Rock-Steady Shop Stands, 4-Pack, 44″L (2) #53469
Butcher Block Worktop, 40″L x 28″D x 1-1/2″ Thick (1) #61342
Rockler Rock-Steady Knock-Down Table Saw Outfeed Kit (1) #65575
Dust Right Downdraft Table (1) #57664
4″ 300-lb. Heavy Duty Stem-Mount Polyurethane Caster, Swivel with Total Lock Brake (4) #87643
Clear Flexible Dust Collection Hose – 2-1/2″ Diameter (1) #22784
Clear Flexible Hose – 10 Feet Long 4″ Diameter (1) #22791
Dust Right 4″ Quick Change Tool Set (1) #52594
Dust Right 4″ Mountable Dust Coupler (1) #58448
Dust Right Ready-Mount 4″-to-2 1/2″ Y-Connector (1) #66519
Dust Right Ready-Mount 4″ Mounting Brackets, 2-Pack (1) #65053
Dust Right Quick Connect 4″ Elbow (2) #34432
Rockler 4″ Dust Coupling (1) #27651
2-1/2″-to-2-1/2″ Ready-Mount Blast Gate (1) #69089
4″-to-4″ Ready-Mount Blast Gate (1) #65837
Dust Right Ready-Mount 2-1/2″ 90° Elbow (1) #62138
Dust Right Ready-Mount 2-1/2″ Mounting Brackets, Pair (1) #63960
Dust Right Click-Connect Upgrade Kit for FlexiPort Hose Kit (1) #61615

The post PROJECT: Ultimate Sanding Station appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Today, you can use spurtles for any number of kitchen tasks — as a stirring spoon for soups and stews, as a spatula for whisking batters or flipping pancakes or even as a knife for spreading toppings on your favorite bagel. Their uses are as wide open as your needs may be.

Along those lines, how you make a spurtle and what its final shape becomes is also up to you. There is no “right” way, and there is no “ideal” shape. The four sizes and styles you see here are my interpretation. But by all means, don’t be limited by what you see here. Part of the fun of making these is creating their shapes. And you may find that changing the design slightly makes a spurtle that reaches into the corners of a jar better or suits your sautéing or pancake-flipping just right. All the better!

Here’s my suggestion: After reading this article, grab a few pieces of 3/4″ scrap and practice the sawing and sanding process on material you’ll plan to just throw away or burn anyway. My first few attempts didn’t look great, but by the third try, I had a real “feel” for the shaping and sculpting process. I bet you will, too.

Reusable Templates

These spurtles are awfully handy in the kitchen, so don’t be surprised when friends and family ask you to make some — or you need a quick gift idea this holiday season! Why not make a permanent set of templates from 1/4″ plywood, so they’re always ready to trace whatever spurtle shape you need?

Download the Templates.

Routing the Slots

While you could use a router table and fence with a stop block to rout the three-slot pattern on a spurtle, the author opted to make a jig from scrap that traps the workpiece inside so he could rout it with a 1/4″ spiral bit in a handheld plunge router. The position and the length of the three slots is shown on the pattern.

Because router bases vary, and you may opt to make spurtles of different sizes than what’s shown here, we’re not providing the dimensions for this jig. Use it as a general guide for how slots can be cut if you choose this routing method.

My jig traps the spurtle workpiece between a fixed stop on either side and a square stop block on one end. The block serves both to help hold the workpiece down during routing and to limit the router’s travel on the handle end of the spurtle.

Taller fences on one side and end of the jig enable spacers to be inserted next to the spurtle to set the three locations and two lengths of the slot cuts.

This way, the spurtle workpiece can stay in the same position in the jig for the entire routing process.

The only thing that changes from cut to cut is which spacers are inserted to set up each slot cut. The author oriented the spurtle workpiece bottom-face up.

The two shorter slots were routed using the narrowest or widest side spacers in the jig, in tandem with two very narrow spacers positioned against the end fence and stop block.

The author routed these slots about 1/2″ deep, guiding the router base along the side spacer and feeding the router from left to right.

To mill the longer middle slot the thin end spacers were removed, and the middle-width side spacer was installed.

Band-sawing a Spurtle to Rough Shape

If you like my spurtle shapes, make the four templates and round up some 3/4″ stock. I used cherry, but any hard, close-grained wood is fine. Maple, birch or hickory all would be long-lasting options without an open grain structure that will be hard to keep clean. Trace the template shapes onto your workpieces, install a sharp blade on the band saw and carefully cut them to rough shape, just outside the layout lines. Sand the cut edges smooth.

The slotted style is the most involved of the options, so that’s what you see me making here. While the three slots in this spurtle are optional, they’re really handy for draining purposes. I routed those using a jig I made to a depth of about 1/2″ into the back face of the spurtle blank.

While you don’t see the slots in the first photo, they appear when you cut the top face of the flared paddle portion away. When I made this cut, it reduced the paddle to about 5/16″ thick, but again, that’s just a guide. It could be a bit thicker or thinner if you prefer. Keep the bottom face of the paddle flat. I did, however, cut the spurtle’s bottom front edge into a shallow beveled blade that extends back about 1-3⁄4″ along the bottom face. This edge will make it easier to scrape foods up.

Sculpting on a Sander

Here’s where the fun happens! Install an 80- or 100-grit belt on a stationary belt sander if you have one. An oscillating spindle sander could also work.

Sand the top and bottom faces of the paddle to smooth away the saw marks and to blend the front beveled edge into the bottom face.

It’s time to shape the handle into a round profile that’s comfortable to hold. I started by marking a centerline along the side and top of the handle, using a pencil and my finger as an index. I also drew a pair of parallel lines about 1/4″ in from the top and bottom faces of the handle to give me guides for how much material to remove.

Then, sanding a little material away at a time, I began to sculpt the handle by sweeping it along the belt in broad, angled strokes. My goal was to remove the handle’s hard edges, shape it from a wider bulb at the end into a narrower gripping area in the middle and to blend the handle into the paddle without hard transition lines.

The best way to understand how to do this shaping work is to just dive in on your scrap piece and try it for yourself. Your goal is to continue to remove wood until the handle slopes up smoothly from the paddle, is curved in all respects and feels comfortable in your hand. I kidded with our staff that you just keep taking off wood until it looks like a spurtle!

I also sanded away the bottom edges of the paddle’s perimeter, rolling those areas up into the top face. You’ll know when the shape is right enough for you and that you’ve tended to all the surfaces that need to be smoothed, softened and blended together. Just keep sizing it up as you work, and take your time.

Finishing Up

Spurtles should get used, so I applied a simple oil/wax finish for butcher blocks. That way, I can just wipe on another coat whenever it’s needed. And that should be often, because I’m finding that these are pretty nifty gadgets to have around the kitchen!

The post PROJECT: Kitchen Spurtles appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

You can make this table as large or small as you like. I’ve sized mine to fit on top of Rockler’s Material Mate Panel Cart. The cart enables me to tip the clamping table down when I’m done using it to save space. But you could mount this project to a wheeled cart or leg base you make yourself or even to a couple of prefab cabinets you already have on hand. There are lots of options.

Sizing Down MDF and Laminate for Assembly

You can certainly cut MDF with an ordinary circular saw or on the table saw with a helper, but be advised that a 3/4″-thick 4 x 8 sheet weighs nearly 100 lbs! So, I laid a thinner piece of MDF on the shop floor to serve as a waste board underneath, then cut my 3/4″ substrate for the clamping table on top of that. A track saw yielded perfectly smooth, flat edges when I trimmed the MDF to my 40″ x 60″ table size — but again, the final dimensions are entirely up to you. The other benefit of the track saw was its built-in dust collection, because believe you me, MDF creates clouds of fine powdery dust in no time! If you don’t have a saw with dust collection, be sure to wear a dust mask when you cut this stuff. Or consider hauling your sheet outside to cut it there on a nice dry day.

I’ll be using my clamping table regularly for glue-ups, so I wanted a durable surface for the project that would be easy to clean. High-pressure plastic laminate for countertops fills that bill nicely! I bought a 4 x 8 sheet of matte gray laminate from a local countertop supply company. I also bought a sheet of what cabinet shops call “cabinet liner.” It’s a much thinner plastic laminate that costs less. My reason for using it is that a backer piece of laminate will add durability to the bottom face of the table and creates a moisture barrier, like the top face. Balancing the panel helps the MDF from warping due to uneven moisture absorption.

Trim two sheets of laminate so they’re oversized for the project by 4″ in both dimensions — you want a 2″ overhang all around to provide some margin for error when positioning the laminate on the substrate. After marking the size of my laminate, I set my track saw blade super shallow and cut the pieces to size. Be very careful when handling these cut sheets after you’ve trimmed them: cleanly cut plastic laminate will have razor-sharp edges. You won’t notice how sharp they are until it’s too late and you’re searching for Band-Aids! File or sand those edges now to make the sheets safer to handle.

Laminating the Substrate

Applying plastic laminate isn’t difficult, and it’s a great technique to know for future cabinet or countertop projects. But before I explain the procedure, there are a few important things to cover. First, keep your work surfaces and laminate as clean as possible while installing it.

Any random sawdust or particles of debris can form bubbles under the laminate when it’s glued in place. They’ll not only show as a raised bump but are impossible to fix.

Second, whether you use 3M High Strength 90 aerosol contact adhesive as I did or a roll-on variety, once both surfaces have adhesive applied, they will stick together the instant they make contact, and undoing them is nearly impossible without breaking the laminate.

You’ll need to install a barrier or a series of spacers between the MDF and laminate in order to position them without accidentally sticking them together; I used a large sheet of cardboard as a barrier layer. But long dowels closely spaced will also work.

And third, if you use roll-on solvent-based contact cement, the fumes are harmful to breathe and flammable. Be sure to have adequate ventilation in the shop, wear a cartridge respirator and extinguish any pilot lights or open flame.

The photo series here shows how I installed the gray laminate to the top face of my clamping table, but the black cabinet liner is applied the exact same way. Start by vacuuming or brushing off the MDF and the back face of the laminate carefully — again, any debris will be problematic. Lay down drop cloths or use offcuts of laminate to protect from overspray if you use aerosol contact adhesive as I did. Then apply an even coat of adhesive over the entire back face of the laminate and the MDF surface.

The adhesive must dry to a tack before the parts are bonded together, so while you wait, consider how you’ll position the laminate over the substrate. Remember, the laminate is larger than the MDF, and it’s floppy to handle. I laid a long scrap stick against one end of my substrate so I’d have a visual reference for where this end was.

I also set several Bench Cookies along both sides of the substrate to serve as spacers for the cardboard along the edges. When the contact cement was tacky and nearly dry to the touch, I set the cardboard in place over the substrate. Then, I carefully laid the laminate on the cardboard (adhesive side down).

I adjusted the laminate and the cardboard to overhang the substrate, then pushed the cardboard and the laminate backward, exposing a couple of inches of the MDF. I carefully pulled just the laminate forward and stuck the laminate to the MDF. With that end of the laminate and substrate now stuck together, I could slowly pull the cardboard out from beneath the laminate to present both cemented faces to one another.

I used a J-roller to then roll the surface of the laminate thoroughly from the center outward, further bonding the adhesive. If you don’t have a J-roller, you can just wrap a towel around a piece of 2×4 or other large scrap and press the surfaces flat that way instead — it will work just fine. Take a few extra minutes to roll the edges of the table all the way around the perimeter so the laminate is fully bonded there, too.

Edge-trimming and Installation

I gave the contact cement several hours to cure, then I trimmed off the overhanging edges using a router fitted with a piloted 1/16″ roundover bit. If you still have the table’s other face to laminate, do that now.

Since my tabletop was ready to go, I could attach the panel to my Material Mate Cart with four scrap blocks — they just friction-fit against the corners of the cart’s top metal framework so I can lift it off when needed.

Routing the T-Slot Grid

The T-slot grid in my table consists of 3/8″-wide, 3/8″-deep slots spaced 2″ in from the table edges, then 6″ from the ends and across the field area. Rockler’s Indexing Dado Jig, mounted to my router, made easy work of milling this series of slots with a 3/8″ straight bit.

The colored grid shows how I set up the groove pattern. I routed the red slots first, then the blue slots, with the Dado Jig’s fence following the edges of my tabletop. From there, I could rout the rest of the green slots with the Dado Jig’s fence fitted inside the previous slot cuts.

Once all the slots were routed, I swapped my straight bit for Rockler’s T-slot Cutter Bit and left the Indexing Dado Jig on the router. I adjusted the router’s cutting depth so the bottom of the T-slot bit was flush with the bottom of my groove cuts.

Then, I could simply repeat the routing process with the new bit to reshape the lower areas of the grooves into T-slots. It’s a dusty process, but it worked great, thanks to the jig!

When I finished all of the T-slots, I knocked those razor-sharp laminate edges along the top of the grooves down with some sandpaper wrapped around a scrap to finish this handy shop project.

Advice for Using the Clamping Table

You now have a substantial grid of T-slots to help you for all sorts of project assembly or for other sanding and routing tasks! The more I use this accessory, the more applications are made easier by it. Here are a couple of tips I’ve learned to keep in mind. First, if you use Rockler T-slot clamps, choose the styles that push laterally, not the types that apply downward pressure. Those “downward” clamps can produce enough force for their T-bolts to lift and break the MDF, ruining the T-slot. Second, if you use this clamping table for glue-ups, you’ll invariably get some glue drips down in the slots. No problem! They’re easy to clean out by simply running the router and the T-slot bit through those slots again to whisk away the dried glue. Finally, I also use my clamping table for general assembly, which sometimes involves lots of small fasteners and other hardware that could get lost in the slots. In those situations, I just grab a larger scrap piece of sheet material and cover over the area of the clamping table I’m not using to hide that portion of the grid. It’s a simple way to keep those little items right where you can see them and out of the T-slots where they don’t belong.

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

Rockler Material Mate Panel Cart (1) #56889
Rockler Indexing Dado Jig (1) #59237
Rockler T-Slot Cutter Router Bit (1) #26099
Rockler Straight, 2-Flute Router Bit (1) #90462

The post PROJECT: Universal Clamping Table appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Building the Desk’s Top Substrate

This desktop is a built-up lamination of two sheets of 3/4″ (11/16″ actual) Baltic birch plywood. Rip and crosscut a pair of 24″ x 52″ panels, then pause to consider whether you’d like to add the wireless charger to your desk, as I did. If you do, you’ll need to cut a 4-1/4″ x 4-1/4″ recess hole in the desktop’s lower lamination before proceeding further. I positioned this opening 7-1⁄4″ in from the panel’s end and 7-1⁄4″ in from its back edge.

Once the recess hole is completed, set the two panels into a stack with their edges and ends flush and the bottom panel on top. We’re going to glue them together shortly, but glue will act as a lubricant before it gets sticky, so do yourself a favor and drill a couple of countersunk pilot holes through both panels. Their exact location isn’t critical, but spread them far enough apart so two screws will hold the laminations in alignment once the glue is spread and clamps are applied.

Ordinary yellow wood glue is what I used to bond the laminations together. Spread a thin layer over the inside face of the top lamination, set the bottom lamination into place and then drive in those first two registration screws.

Follow that up with more screws, locating the screws about 12″ apart to help pull the panels tight. I installed plenty of clamps around the edges of the desktop panel as well to ensure a tight glue seam here.

When the glue has cured — leaving it to dry overnight is ideal — take your panel to the table saw and trim the long edges flush, bringing the panel to its 23-1/2″ final width. Then tilt the blade to 45 degrees and carefully bevel-rip these long edges so they tilt inward toward the panel’s bottom face.

Steps for Optional Charger and Grommet

Outfitting this project with an optional ZENS PuK wireless phone charger and cord grommet should happen at various points during the construction process — at the beginning, about midway through and then near the end of the construction procedure. Here’s some additional help.

Prior to assembling the desk’s top laminations, lay out a 4-1⁄4″ x 4-1⁄4″ recess for the phone charger on the bottom plywood lamination. Drill a clearance hole at each corner of this layout.

Cut out the recess hole with a jigsaw.

After gluing the desk’s top laminations together, locate the wiring grommet and bore a 2″-dia. hole through the assembly.

The author used a shop-made template to rout the 81 mm round mounting hole for the ZENS charger over the recess hole.

Opening up access holes in the desk’s top veneer happens near the end of the build.

Use a flush-trim bit in a router for this task.

Feed the router counterclockwise around the precut plywood holes you made earlier.

Making and Installing the Wings

The best way to tackle this next cutting step is by using a large crosscut sled on the table saw to support the desktop panel. But a carefully aligned track saw will work, too. We’ll cut both wing pieces off of the opposite end of the panel from the charger opening. With your saw blade tilted to 45 degrees, trim the end of the panel to this angle. Swivel the blade back to 90 degrees and make a crosscut, 4″ in from the beveled end, to create the desk’s first wing blank. Repeat this process to make the second wing. Spin the panel end for end, and bevel the end closest to the charger. Then spin it around again, and bevel-cut the panel to final length.

Later on, when it comes time to glue the wings onto the desktop, you’ll thank yourself if you’ve created a means of accurately aligning these bevel joints. Otherwise, they’ll be much more difficult to clamp together perfectly.

So to prepare for that glue-up step far in advance, I laid out and cut three #20 biscuit slots in the wings and top blank. Once the slots are cut, dry fit the wings and top panel together to make sure the joints close tightly. With that work done, it’s time to cut an access hole through the top lamination for the wireless charger. And if you’d like to add a grommet to your desktop to use as a pass-through for other electrical cords, that hole should be bored now, too.

Thin veneer will telegraph even tiny blemishes and torn fibers in the plywood substrate, so take some time to fill any voids in the top surfaces of the desktop panel and wings with wood putty. Sand the parts up to 220-grit. I applied a coat of dewaxed shellac to further prepare these surfaces for the peel-and-stick veneer that comes next.

Applying Veneer

Rockler’s pressure-sensitive veneer is very user-friendly and eliminates the need for a vacuum press. Its peel-off backing makes veneering about as easy as applying a giant bumper sticker.

I started by examining my 96″-long piece of veneer for the best area of figure, then cutting a 56″-long section to length with a utility knife. Set the veneer and desktop so they’re upside down on your work surface, and position the top panel on the veneer, adjusting it evenly to allow sufficient veneer for the wings on either end. Keep in mind that to create a waterfall grain effect, where the grain pattern flows around the ends of the desk, you want the wing veneer to be made of pieces immediately adjacent to the piece you use for the desktop veneer.

Using a straightedge and sharp utility knife, lightly score through the veneer’s backing paper about 1/4″ beyond the beveled ends of the top panel. On one end, make a second scoring cut through the backing paper 8″ further in from the wing-scoring cut you just made. Then flip the desktop and veneer right-side up, carefully realign the veneer over the top panel again so the wing areas of the veneer overhang properly and clamp it in place.

Peel off the 8″ section of backing paper, press it down to the substrate and clamp the veneer and panel together using a plywood caul. Now carefully roll back the veneer and peel off the large middle section of backing paper but leave the paper in place over the other wing area of the veneer.

Ease the veneer sheet down onto the substrate and roll it with a J-roller to bond the adhesive. Work outward from the middle, pressing the entire surface. Be careful not to roll over the unsupported “wing” areas of the veneer.

Next, invert the desktop again. Peel off the backing paper in the wing areas, and set each plywood wing down into place on the veneer. Aim for the sharp, beveled edges of the parts to just about touch.

Then carefully score along these joint lines with a sharp utility knife to separate the veneered wings from the desktop panel.

Adding Aprons and Glue Blocks

Check out the Drawings to see that there are four short corner aprons and one long back apron yet to make, so lay out and cut these parts to size from more Baltic birch. Apply veneer to one face of each of these five aprons, and trim off any overhanging veneer as needed.

When that was done, I brushed a coat of dewaxed shellac onto the veneered faces of all the desk parts at this point to help protect them from glue squeeze-out in the next assembly steps.

Speaking of gluing, here’s where those biscuits will come in handy: go ahead and glue and clamp the wings to the desktop with biscuits installed in the joints. When the glue dries, glue the short aprons into place so their veneered faces are flush with the inside bottom corners of the bevel joints of the wings and top. Glue the back apron between the short side aprons.

To strengthen each of these butt joints, I made some short glue blocks and installed them where the short aprons meet the wings and along the inside back edge of the long apron where it intersects the desktop.

If you decide to use the same hairpin legs as I did for your desk, leave enough space under the glue blocks at the inside corners so the legs’ mounting brackets can fit underneath them. Now take some time to ease the sharp edges and corners of the desk with a sanding block.

Installing Hairpin Legs and Wiring Hardware

To prepare for final hardware installation, chuck a piloted flush-trim bit in your handheld router so you can trim through the top veneer to open up the grommet and charger holes. Apply a few more coats of finish — whether that’s more shellac or the topcoat of your choice — to all the “show” surfaces of the desk.

When the finish dries, flip the desk upside down so you can install the hairpin legs. That’s easily done: just press their mounting plates into the corners, flush behind the aprons, and drive the supplied screws through their four installation holes.

Snap the plastic grommet pieces into their mounting hole in the desktop, and install the wireless charger in its spot, following the instructions that come with it.

Even a minimalist desk like this can benefit from at least one drawer, so I added Rockler’s plastic organizer drawer to mine. And for more convenience for your electrical needs, consider mounting a power strip beside the drawer underneath your desk. I’ll be using that to power my laptop charger, phone charger and a desk lamp. Tidy up these cords with small zip ties to hide the fact that they’re even there.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

28″ I-Semble Hairpin Table Legs, 4-Pack, White (1) #87379
ZENS PuK 3 Qi Undermount Totally Concealed Wireless Fast Charger (1) #66909
White Cover Plate for ZENS PuK 3 (1) #61587
2″ Standard Plastic Grommet, White #57269
Perfect Fit Dado Jig (1) #59385
Organizer Drawer (1) #68264
24″ x 96″ Pressure Sensitive Veneer – Walnut (Plain Sliced) (1) #14266.

The post PROJECT: Waterfall Veneered Office Desk appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Well, at a more modest 14″ across, my wooden version of this iconic timekeeper is much smaller and friendlier to handle than that metal relic he remembers. It’s also lots of fun to build. If you’ve got a band saw, router table and a tapering jig that works on either your table saw or band saw, this clock could be hanging on your living room wall and marking the hours after just a day or so of time in the shop.

Material Choices

If you look at the Materials List, see that this clock has just four types of parts: a 1/4″-thick face, a 12-sided body piece behind it, a dozen pointed rays and loose tenons that connect the body to the rays. I made the face and body pieces from scraps of maple and the rays and tenons from walnut.

I like the contrasting wood tones, and the blonde-colored maple also makes the various pencil lines you’ll need to follow during the building process much easier to see. The project requires very little wood overall. If you’d rather use one wood species for the whole project, just two boards in the sizes shown above are enough to make two complete clocks.

Making a Template, Routing Jig

The trickiest part of building the clock is accurately routing slots in the body piece for the loose tenons. To do that, we’ll use a simple routing jig that registers and holds the body piece. And to make sure that the clock body fits into the jig properly, I’ll recommend that you first make a body template. You can find a copy of the template as a PDF at the bottom of this article. Cut out the paper pattern and adhere it to a piece of 1/4″ MDF or scrap with spray adhesive. Then very carefully cut out and sand the 12-sided template to shape.

Now make a routing jig that looks like what’s shown below, using the template to locate the jig’s three support blocks accurately. I made my jig from a 6″ x 14″ piece of 1/4″ MDF for the base and three scraps of 3/4″ MDF for its blocking. The jig should fit around the clock body snugly so you can rotate it for routing the tenon slots but also hold it securely in each position.

Forming the Clock Body

Next, use the template to trace the clock body onto your 3/4″ stock, and mark its centerpoint (I used a scratch awl driven into a tiny hole I drilled through my template).

Align one side of the template flush with a squared end of your board and another side to the board edge before tracing the shape — it’ll take care of two of the body’s flat sides immediately.

Then draw six lines across the body through the centerpoint, dividing the shape into 12 matching pie-shaped wedges. These layout lines will provide accurate references when sanding the body to final shape.

Once those lines are drawn, head over to your miter saw or table saw to slice the body off of the board with a square crosscut to define a third side of the shape.

The clock’s quartz works will recess into a 7/16″-deep, 3″-diameter hole in the body’s back face. I installed a Forstner bit on my drill press for this step. I like to use my brass setup bars whenever possible, and here was a chance to put them to good use for setting the drilling depth. Slipping the 5/16″ bar size under the bit and lowering the bit until it touched the brass bar, I could lock the drill press depth stop, knowing that my drilling depth would be 7/16″ (3/4″ minus 7/16″ equals 5/16″).

With that dialed in, I secured the body blank in a large wood screw clamp so I could hold it safely during drilling. After carefully lining up the Forstner bit’s centerpoint with the body blank centerpoint, I slid my drill press fence up against the back of the clamped blank and locked it in place.

Once that was done, I bored the hole at a slow speed so the big bit could cut the recess cleanly. Without changing the fence setting, I then switched to a 5/16″-diameter brad point bit to drill a hole through the body’s centerpoint for the clockwork’s shaft to pass through.

When you’re done drilling, you can unclamp the body workpiece. Take it to your band saw and, cutting just outside your layout lines, remove the remaining waste to form the other nine sides of the shape. When you do this, I’ll strongly suggest you don’t attempt to make these final cuts right up to the body’s perimeter layout lines. If you happen to accidentally cut one or more of these sides a bit too short, the body will fit too loosely in the jig during routing, and the tenon slots won’t be correctly centered on the sides.

Instead, this is where your disc sander or stationary belt sander can come in very handy for refining the body shape. Working carefully, sand opposite sides until you’re splitting the outer layout lines.

Be very careful not to sand too far; try to insert the body into your routing jig periodically as you sand opposite faces. You want the body to fit into the jig snugly so it doesn’t move. When pairs of sides fit into it well, pencil a check mark onto them to note your progress. Sand all 12 sides this way.

Ready for Routing

Prepare your routing jig for use by installing a 1/4″ spiral bit in your router table and setting the fence 1-7/8″ away from the bit. (This will center the tenon slots on each side of the body.) Then pass the jig along the router table fence to cut a slot through its base and blocking. Your goal is for the bit to cut 3/8″-deep tenon slots into the clock body at the bit’s final height. But to save wear and tear on the bit and to minimize tearout on the jig, cut its slot in two or three passes of increasing depth.

When the jig’s slot is finished, install the clock body in the jig with its back (recessed) face down, and rout the first two slots. Use a push pad to protect your fingers. Since these are “blind” cuts, feed the jig slowly over the bit so it can pass through both walls of the clock body without chipping the area around the slots as it enters and exits. Repeat this process five more times, repositioning the clock body in the jig each time, to cut the remaining 10 slots into it.

Creating the Rays

Follow the Material List to prepare a dozen blanks for the clock rays, plus a few extra to serve as test pieces.

Head back to your router table to reset the fence for cutting a centered 1/4″- wide, 3/8″-tall tenon slot into one end of each ray. I clamped a stop block to the router table’s fence to limit the length of these cuts; I made my slots 5/8″ long. Test your setup on a scrap ray to make sure the slot is nicely centered on its width, and make any fence adjustments that are necessary. When you’re satisfied, mill slots into all 12 rays.

With that work completed, you can now slice the rays into their pointed shapes with two cuts on a tapering jig. (I used my table saw for this operation, but you could also use a band saw if you prefer. Either option will work fine, depending on your tapering jig style.)

Mark both faces of a scrap ray with the taper angles, and adjust the fence on your tapering jig to support the first angled cut. Here, the fence is flush against the uncut side, and the slotted end of the ray blanks face down and forward in the jig.

Once those first cuts are done, however, the second taper cut involves flipping the rays over so the tenon slots face up. At this point, the workpiece is too narrow on its back end to rest against the jig fence without also cutting into the metal backstop found on most tapering jigs. So you’ll have to rely on the pressure of your jig’s clamps to hold the blanks securely for the second pass. If you are uncomfortable making these second taper cuts this way, you could cut them freehand at the band saw instead, using a push stick to support the parts while keeping your fingers out of harm’s way.

Now sand the rays up through the grits to smooth their edges and remove saw marks. Then go ahead and cut a dozen tenons to fit the slots. Draw a round clock face onto your 1/4″ stock with a compass, cut it round and drill a 5/16″ hole through its center. Sand the clock face and body up through the grits until smooth.

Final Assembly

Assembling your clock is easy. Set the rays in position on the body, spread glue in the tenon slots and press the tenons home; they’ll stand proud of the clock back by 3/8″. When the joints dry, flip the clock over and glue on the face. After that was done, I applied two coats of a wipe-on finish to all the clock’s surfaces and let it dry thoroughly.

The last step, of course, is to install the clockworks on the body and attach the hands to the shaft. Then find a prominent spot above your couch to enjoy this timekeeping blast from the past.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

Walnut by the Piece, 3/4″ x 5″ x 48″ (1) #30922
Maple by the Piece, 3/4″ x 5″ x 48″ (1) #35385
Soft Curly Maple by the Piece, 1/4″ x 5″ x 24″ (1) #32892
Mini Quartz Movement 5/8″ Max Face Thickness (1) #28365
Clock Hands, Tapered, Gold 3-3/8″ (1) #60959

The post PROJECT: Retro Starburst Clock appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Click Here to Download the Drawings.

The post Retro Starburst Clock Drawings appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

My stand’s height places the lathe’s spindle at about elbow height for me — right where you want the spindle to be for comfortable turning — and I’m about 5’10”. If you’re taller or shorter, you may need to change the length of the legs and their splay angle to make this project better suit your height.

Building the Leg Sets

Get this project off to a quick start by ripping a blank for the caster brackets and then forming a 30° angle in the middle of the piece. Cut the pieces to length and repeat the process. Then cut two square-ended blanks for the base gussets. Mark each caster bracket for bolt holes, and drill these holes all the way through; I located my casters 1/2″ in from the brackets’ square ends.

If you have a pocket-hole jig as I do, set it up for drilling 2x stock, and bore three screw pockets into the angled end of two caster brackets. Attach a drilled bracket to an undrilled bracket with 1-1/2″ coarse-thread pocket screws to create two caster bracket subassemblies.

A base gusset will strengthen these bracket miter joints; we’ll add those next. Bisect the gusset blanks with a square center line. Place a bracket subassembly on top of the blank with its joint aligning with your marked line and its outside edges at the blank’s corners.

Trace along the outer edges of the brackets, then cut the gusset carefully to shape on your band saw. Use the first gusset as a template to trace and cut the second gusset to shape. Drive six pocket screws through each gusset’s face and angled edges to attach it to its caster brackets.

Head back to your miter saw and pivot it to 21-1/2° so you can cut the four legs to length, mitering both ends of each leg. Set a pair of legs on a caster bracket subassembly with their bottom pointed ends even with the ends of the brackets. Center each on the bracket’s width.

Clamp the legs in place and measure across the outside top corners of the legs. Make sure this distance is 14-1/2″ or less so the legs will hide under the top boards. Check that the legs line up with one another well, then drive 3″ screws through the brackets and into the legs to secure them.

Next, rip blanks for the upper gussets to width, but leave them a couple of inches overly long. Flip the leg set over so you can mark the positions of both legs on its upper gusset, and cut out both gusset “trapezoids” on your band saw. Repeat as you did with the base gussets, fastening the upper gussets to the outside faces of the legs with more pocket screws.

Assembling the Stand’s Framework

Cut the bottom stretcher to length from a piece of 2×8. Line up the outside edges of the base gussets with the ends of the stretcher, and drive countersunk 3″ screws through the gussets and into the stretcher to lock the leg sets in place.

You can now crosscut both top pieces from a 1×8, set them together on top of the leg sets and drive countersunk 2″ screws down through them and into the upper gussets. Make sure the top pieces overhang the leg sets evenly all around and that their ends are aligned before you drive these screws. Then bolt the casters to the stand.

The last bit of woodworking involves building the ballast box that mounts beneath the stand. Crosscut the box’s top, bottom, sides and ends to length from 2×8 lumber. Now rip and crosscut two cleats from scrap 2x stock; these will support the box top. Screw the cleats to the inside faces of the box sides, 1-1/2″ down from the top. Assemble the bottom, sides and ends of the box with pocket screws. Attach the box to the stretcher with 3″ countersunk screws driven through the box’s bottom.

Add Sand to Finish Up

I used a piece of 6 mil plastic sheet to line the inside of the box, then poured 50 lbs. of coarse sand into the box and leveled it out before securing the top in place with countersunk screws.

You can apply finish to the stand if you prefer, although it really isn’t necessary. Then trick it out any way you like, with a tool rack, power strip, dust collection, task light and anything else that suits your needs. I’ve added a number of Rockler products to mine, and we’re providing a list of them as a “More on the Web” addition to this article.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

4″ Polyurethane Casters, Total-Lock Swivel (2) #23030
Kreg Jig® K4 Pocket Hole System (1) #53310
Kreg 1-1/2″L #8 Pocket Hole Screws (1) #38541

The post PROJECT: Mobile Lathe Stand appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

– 4″ Polyurethane Casters, Total-Lock Swivel (2)
– Kreg Jig® K4 Pocket Hole System (1)
– Kreg 1-1/2″L #8 Pocket Hole Screws (1)
– Excelsior Mini Lathe (1)
– Dust Right® Lathe Dust Collection System plus Lathe Chip Deflector (1)
– Lathe Tool Holder (1)
– Pen-Turning Ergonomic Carbide Turning Tools, 3-Piece Set (1)
– Nova G3 Reversible Chuck Bundle with 3 Jaw Sets and Case (1)

Click Here to Download This List as a PDF.

The post Mobile Lathe Stand Accessories List appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.